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PostPosted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 2:56 am 
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CINCINNATI – The late, great Earl Weaver once was asked about momentum and whether it existed in baseball. “Momentum is only as good as the next days starter,” the long-time Baltimore Orioles manager famously quipped. Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons was smacked in the face with that truth on Saturday. Less than 24 hours after his club staged the second biggest comeback in franchise history, winning 14-9 on Friday night in a game it had trailed 8-0, J.A. Happ (6-4) imploded on the mound and the Reds won a laugher 11-1. “He didnt have it today,” said Gibbons. “We really never had a chance. You know, just kind of sucked the wind out of us right away but, hey, we move on. Show up tomorrow.” Happ got the first two outs of the first inning. Reasonably quickly, too, as Billy Hamilton grounded out and Todd Frazier lined out. Then, inexplicably, Happ fell apart. He walked Joey Votto. He walked Brandon Phillips. He walked Jay Bruce to load the bases. Ryan Ludwick smacked a two-run single to centerfield, scoring Votto and Phillips. Happ walked Devin Mesoraco. Finally, Ramon Santiago grounded out to end Happs 37-pitch first inning. Whatever the events of Friday night had done to ease the burden of an ugly sweep in New York, Happ had put his team in another hole and this time the offence couldnt climb its way out. “I was trying to be too fine, maybe, or what Im not sure,” said Happ. “I let three guys go and then the base hit, kind of a tough way to start. I tried to be aggressive after that, but we didnt have a ton for them today and that started with me.” Jay Bruce hit a solo home run in the third, the Reds scored four more times on three singles and two doubles in the fourth and Happs day was done. So was the Blue Jays afternoon; they could muster only a Colby Rasmus solo home run in the seventh off of Reds starter Mike Leake (5-6). REYES LEAVES WITH KNEE BRUISE Jose Reyes wont start on Sunday after fouling a ball off his left knee in the fifth inning of Saturdays loss to the Reds. He didnt take his shortstop position after finishing his at-bat, replaced by Steve Tolleson. He doesnt think its serious. “I hit it pretty good there, but its not a big deal,” said Reyes. Reyes confirmed hed already been approached by manager John Gibbons, who informed him that he wouldnt be in Sundays starting lineup. Reyes is hitless in his last 12 at-bats and Gibbons suggested a breather could do his shortstop good. RASMUS ON A ROLL Colby Rasmus is off to a nice start since coming off the disabled list in time for Wednesdays game at Yankee Stadium. In four games, hes 6-for-14 with a home run and two doubles. He drew a walk, a crucial one at that, leading off the ninth inning of Friday nights improbable come-from-behind, 14-9 victory over the Reds. He scored the winning run on an Erik Kratz double. Rasmus missed 33 games with a strained right hamstring. He didnt waste time while he was hurt. He went to work in the gym and he credits his easy transition into the lineup to increased strength. “Going on the DL, Im able to put a little weight on and get stronger and lift (weights) and do a lot more things that Im not able to do when Im playing because, when Im playing, its hard to get those good lifts in where you can be sore the next day,” said Rasmus. “You dont want to mess yourself up. I was able to get stronger and that helps.” The Blue Jays went 23-10 in Rasmus absence, for most of the stretch maximizing the potential of the Anthony Gose-Kevin Pillar centrefield platoon. What Gose gave the Blue Jays with speed on the bases and defensively in centre, he couldnt make up for the power threat of Rasmuss bat. As the club began to struggle and the power numbers regressed to normalcy, it became clear how much Rasmus was missed. Hes back and hes resumed the same approach he brought into spring training. “Im not letting any pressures make me feel pressure,” said Rasmus. “In the past, when I was younger, people tried to always light a fire under me because Im kind of chilled and just kind of laid back, quiet and they always tried to make me get real amped up and it didnt help me none because I drove myself crazy wanting to do good. Id get myself so amped up and then not do good and the let down can break you down over time. I try to stay away from that, put me some country music on and stay relaxed, slowed down and then the game will speed me up.” On that crucial walk Rasmus drew against Reds flamethrower Aroldis Chapman on Friday night, he went up to the plate looking to greet one of Chapmans famous heaters, which consistently top 100 miles per hour. “Im looking for cheddar cheese balls,” said Rasmus, referencing one of his many nicknames for the fastball. “I mean, it is what it is, you cant worry about his offspeed stuff even though hes got a good slider, a good change-up.” NAVARRO JUBILANT AS MESSI SCORES Dioner Navarro is a fan of Argentine soccer great Lionel Messi. That, in fact, may be an understatement. Navarro wears a Messi jersey underneath his batting practice jersey everyday. Hes got the schedule laid out, too. When Messi is playing for his club team, FC Barcelona, Navarro sports the striped, red and blue home jersey. Currently, with Messi captaining Argentina in the World Cup, hes wearing Messis Argentine attire. When Messi scored in extra time to lead Argentina over Iran, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon, Navarro sprung up from a clubhouse couch and did a lap of the room, high-fiving teammates along the way. For Navarro, the game was too close for comfort. “I just got a few more greys on my head,” said Navarro. “What a goal.” Navarro admits his infatuation with Messi is strange, especially because its uncommon for one professional athlete to fawn over another. The admiration began about a decade ago. “Back home, Venezuela, we grew up and we didnt have much money,” said Navarro. “We had only the local (television) channels and my parents were trying to get us as far away from whatever they were showing us on TV, violence and all that stuff back home. We used to get the games from Spain and I kind of grew up watching the games from Barcelona and, when Messi stepped in, he was 17 years old the first time. Every year he keeps growing. He keeps doing unbelievable things.” Argentinas win was as much a relief to Navarro as it was a thrill. Hed been getting grief from his teammates. “They were all over me, oh my gosh,” said Navarro. “The last thing I wanted was it to be tight because I knew everybody was going to be talking smack to me. Messi came through.” ROSTER MOVE The Blue Jays optioned right-handed pitcher Liam Hendriks to Triple-A Buffalo before Saturdays game. Left-handed reliever Rob Rasmussen was recalled from the Bisons, which marks his second stint with the Blue Jays this season. Rasmussen made four appearances from May 20-29. He pitched two innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out two. Adidas Shoes Online .Y. -- First, Ryan Miller. Adidas Shoes Clearance .That sight softened the blow of what ended up as a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Knowing their teammate was fine after a scary headfirst fall in the opening minute of the game helped calm the Maple Leafs. http://www.originaladidasshoe.com/. Wiggins, who had been seen as a contender for a podium finish in Paris, was one of about 20 riders caught near the back of the peloton with 38 kilometres to go in the 218-km flat stage from Le Mans to Chateauroux.PHILADELPHIA -- Lewis Katz, a self-made man who built his fortune in New York parking lots, billboards and cable TV, and went on to buy the NBAs New Jersey Nets, NHLs New Jersey Devils and The Philadelphia Inquirer, died in a weekend plane crash. He was 72. Katz died Saturday night in a Massachusetts crash that claimed six other lives. His death was confirmed Sunday by his son, Drew, and his business partner Harold H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest. Katz grew up in working-class Camden, New Jersey, and worked as a lawyer before earning hundreds of millions of dollars investing in the Kinney Parking empire and the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network in New York. He went on to become a major philanthropist in the Philadelphia region. "Youve got to make money in the world that we live in, in order to accomplish what your ultimate goal is. But along with making money, equally important is preserving, for the community, a community trust," Katz testified at an April hearing on the Inquirers sale. "Thats what this paper represents." Tributes poured in from prominent figures in sports, media, politics, business and education, reflecting the wide range of his interests and charitable endeavours. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called him "a visionary"; the Yankees held a moment of silence before Sundays game. Temple University recalled his recent advice to graduates to "have as much fun as you can conjure up." "He was a visionary businessman who touched the lives of so many with his tireless pursuit of innovation and enterprise, as well as his deep commitment to his family, friends and community," Silver said in a statement. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in a statement called Katz a man of "tremendous influence" and sent condolences to Katzs family and "the many organizations that benefited from his philanthropy." Katz, in his April testimony, said he had lost money on both the Nets and Devils, but made it big through the 2012 sale of the sports cable network. "We lost our shirt in the Devils and the Nets," he testified. "But for the YES network, Id be back in my law office in Cherry Hill, waiting for the clients to come in again." He hoped to be a hands-off owner of the Inquirer, where his longtime companion, Nancy Phillips, was the city editor. "Im spending, hopefully, a lot more time with my grandchildren and Ive opened a school in Camden for approximately 300 children," he testified. "Im not active in business, anymore." Katz had agreed to invest $16 million for a 26 per cent stake in the Inquirer and Philadelphiia Daily News in 2012 at the behest of former Pennsylvania Gov.ddddddddddddEd Rendell, who wanted to return the newspapers to local ownership after a bankruptcy that left them in the hands of New York hedge funds. But a feud with rival investor George Norcross, an equally powerful business leader, over the direction of the news business forced him to be more a more active owner. Katz filed suit last year to stop Norcross from firing Pulitzer Prize-winning editor Bill Marimow. He succeeded, then joined Lenfest in bidding $88 million to buy out Norcross and his allies at an auction Tuesday. "He was very creative, as a person and as a business partner," Lenfest said. "He thought beyond the edge. He had wonderful, creative ideas." The sale had been set to close June 12, but will now be delayed for 30 days to give Katzs family time to get the estate in order, Lenfest said. "Well lose his expertise, but the paper will continue because we both intended to put a new CEO in charge of the day-to-day operations," Lenfest said. Drew Katz will take his fathers seat on the board of directors, Lenfest said. "My father was my best friend. He taught me everything," Drew Katz, who was often seen at his fathers side at business events, said in a statement on behalf of him and his sister. "He never forgot where and how he grew up, and he worked tirelessly to support his community in countless ways that were seen and unseen." Katz had recently given $25 million to Temple University for its medical school, and had previously given $15 million to another alma mater, Dickinson Law School, where he had graduated first in his class. He also supported the Boys & Girls Clubs in Camden, along with many Jewish charities. Katz recently helped fund a charter school in impoverished Camden. "There are so many organizations that he endowed, many anonymously," Marimow said Sunday. Marimow described Katz as a brilliant man and generous philanthropist who developed a love for journalism from a college stint working for the syndicated columnist Drew Pearson. "That really inspired an appreciation and a love for journalism that lasted his whole life," Marimow said. His wife, Marjorie, died in December. His survivors include his son, daughter Melissa, and several grandchildren. Katz, a classmate of Bill Cosby in Temples 1963 graduating class, had spoken at the schools commencement last month, and received an honorary doctorate. "Life in my view is meant to be enjoyed," he told the graduates. "Its meant to have as much fun as you can conjure up" Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '


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