TORONTO – The tendency is to idealize the modern professional athlete as a gifted, money-making machine.
Air Jordan Sale . A person who lives a life about which most can only dream. Remember, though, these guys are human beings. Wandering around the clubhouse before Saturdays game against the Rays, the stench of a listless effort still lingered. The Jays had been shut out the night before, two-hit by an opposing pitcher for the second time in three games. Sometimes, players arent that far removed from the fanbase. Theyre stumped about the slump. They have similar inquiries. One player pondered this in a casual conversation with TSN.ca: “What I cant understand is when did we get so bad?” This is a club at a crossroads. Its a team that from a positional perspective is built to win now. Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Lind, Melky Cabrera and Jose Reyes are in the primes of their careers. Aside from Mississauga native, outfielder Dalton Pompey (now with Triple-A Buffalo), there are no positional prospects of consequence playing higher than A-ball. From a pitching perspective, theres a veteran presence featuring R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and J.A. Happ, but its clear where the franchise is headed. Its rotation will be built around Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman, Daniel Norris and, perhaps, Sean Nolin. The Jays are poised to build around their cadre of young pitching. If thats the case, its unrealistic to expect 200 innings and dominating 2015 seasons from those arms. Is the time coming to trade seasoned veterans to help replenish the positional prospect pool with major league-ready or near-major league ready players? At what point does Jose Bautista, who will be 34 in October, believe hes got a better shot at an elusive playoff appearance somewhere else? Will Adam Linds $7.5-million option be picked up or will the club buy him out for $1-million and go in a different direction? Casey Janssen, Colby Rasmus and Brandon Morrow are almost assuredly gone, although the latter could return should he agree to lesser terms after his $10-million club option is declined. Should potential suitors be investigated for Buehrle and Dickey? Would there be any interest? There may be, but likely only if the Blue Jays are willing to eat part of Buehrles ($19-million) and Dickeys ($12-million) 2015 salaries. What should be particularly concerning to fans is that some players believe others in the room are still moping about the clubs relative inactivity leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Heres the problem: whats done is done or, in this case, what wasnt done, wasnt done. The players need to rally around one another, forget all else and play to win each day. The problem is some players were hoping for and expecting a move, or moves, at the deadline because they felt the team had significant holes that needed to be plugged. The August record of 5-13, entering Saturdays play, serves to confirm that notion and results in lingering frustration. It becomes a vicious circle. Guys who are upset nothing got done and are annoyed they werent addressed by the general manager or team president in the aftermath of July 31 begin to believe the organization doesnt care. Its impossible to imagine anybody not caring but, as is often the case in life, how an individual perceives a matter is his reality. The Jays offence is suffering from a power outage (10 home runs in August). The team that was stealing bases and using the hit and run during Mays hot stretch isnt doing much of that anymore. Jose Reyes has six stolen bases since the All-Star Break and Anthony Gose is back to plying his trade at Triple-A, the victim of being a guy with options. Meanwhile the pitching has gone into a funk in August (5.10 staff ERA). The team is struggling. Its playoff hopes are dwindling. Baseball is a game of failures, confidence can waver. If the Blue Jays are to make one final, desperate run toward an unlikely playoff spot, the team must first believe its good enough to do so.
Air Jordan Outlet . His apology came before a pregame ceremony in which the team honoured its 2004 team that won Bostons first World Series championship since 1918. "I realize that I behaved bad in Boston," Ramirez said.
Wholesale Air Jordan . They showered him with "MVP! MVP!" chants. In many ways, it seemed like hed never been gone. LOS ANGELES -- Nearly eight months after Kobe Bryant limped off the Lakers home court with a torn Achilles tendon and a career in doubt, he struggled to keep his composure when he finally stepped back onto the same hardwood. And though his comeback night didnt quite go to script, Bryant couldnt help reflecting on the work necessary to get back on that court -- and all the months of steady labour ahead to reclaim his game. Bryant had nine points and eight rebounds in his season debut, but Amir Johnson scored a career-high 32 points in the trade-depleted Toronto Raptors 106-94 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday night. Bryant began his 18th NBA season by going 2 for 9 with four assists and eight turnovers in 28 minutes. The fourth-leading scorer in NBA history got hurt April 12 and persevered through several months of rehabilitation to return for Los Angeles 20th game of the new season, only to struggle with his shot, his timing and his new teammates. "My rhythm is completely out of sync," Bryant said. "But this is a start, and I guess a start is good." Nick Young scored 19 points for the Lakers, who went 10-9 without Bryant this season, forging a winning record without the five-time NBA champion and with little help from fellow injured MVP Steve Nash. Adoring fans cheered Kobes every move and forgave every misstep, but Bryant couldnt rally the Lakers late despite another huge game by Los Angeles reserves. Bryant was touched by the fans reception and his teammates encouragement, although his ruthless competitive nature chafed against his natural emotions before the opening tip. "You try to control it as much as you can, but you cant help thinking about the hard work," Bryant said. "You try to put it to the side as much as possible and do your work. ... It makes you appreciate the game, this franchise and this city, and all weve been through." The Lakers never led, and Toronto improbably snapped its five-game losing streak despite playing without forward Rudy Gay, who is expected to be traded to Sacramento on Monday as the centerpiece of an apparent seven-player deal. Kyle Lowry had 23 points and eight assists, and DeMar DeRozan added 10 of his 26 points in the final 4:35 of the Raptors first road win over the Lakers in 11 tries since Dec. 28, 2001. "(Bryant) was a little rusty, and you could tell because a lot of his shots were short," said DeRozan, who grew up in Los Angeles watching Kobe. "We were going against him his first game back, but hess going to get it going again and hell be back to the old Kobe.
Fake Jordan. ." The Raptors had 11 players available after holding out Gay, centre Aaron Gray and forward Quincy Acy, all set to head to the Kings in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Chuck Hayes. That turned out to be plenty, thanks to two Los Angeles natives. Johnson, who attended nearby Westchester High School, went 14 for 17 and surpassed his previous career high early in the third quarter. Johnson didnt take a shot in the fourth, but USC product DeRozan and Lowry held off the Lakers. "We knew we were down because half our team got traded, so our mindset was just to go out there and play hard and win this game," Johnson said. "It was real emotional. It happened to us last year in Atlanta, too. We talked to those guys, and Rudy was still at the hotel, so we called him in and told him how much we all appreciated what they did for this team and the city." The building had the buzz of a playoff game before the opening tip, with thousands of fans training cameras on Bryant during opening warmups. The building erupted in loud applause at every mention of Kobe, who was introduced last in the starting lineup to the thunderous strains of "The Imperial March" -- Darth Vaders theme from "Star Wars." The crowd roared again the first time Bryant touched the ball, and he found Robert Sacre underneath the hoop for an assist on Los Angeles first possession. With his wife, Vanessa, and two daughters sitting courtside, Bryant hit a free throw for his first point in the second quarter, followed shortly by an 8-foot, double-pump, left-handed bank shot for his first field goal. Bryant added a signature 22-foot face-up jumper later in the period, but also showed clear signs of rust and unfamiliarity with his new teammates. "Were going to have to carry Kobe a little bit, because of course hes not 100 per cent, not in game shape," said Xavier Henry, who scored 17 points. "Its going to be fun. Its a long year, and hes just getting back." NOTES: The officials allowed Toronto C Jonas Valanciunas to make two free throws out of a timeout late in the first quarter, but belatedly realized Lowry was supposed to take the shots. They wiped the two points off the board and put Lowry back at the line, where he made both shots anyway. ... Terrence Ross banked in a shot from beyond half-court at the first-quarter buzzer to put Toronto up 30-20. ' ' '