snapping the Penguins mini-slump and slowing the Sabres late-season surge

Their season is just four days old, but the Seattle Mariners are off to an impressive 3-1 start. Air Max 95 Nere Scontate . They swept the Angels, then lost a 3-2, 12-inning heartbreaker to the Oakland As on a Coco Crisp walk-off home run. The biggest story in my mind though was the performance of their number three starter James Paxton, in an 8-2 victory over the Halos. He pitched a two-hitter over seven innings and immediately threw himself into the mix for those to watch in the Rookie of the Year race this season. Paxton is a 64", 220-pound lefty who hails from Richmond, BC. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, hes one that got away. Paxton was originally drafted by the Blue Jays 37th overall in 2009, but he chose not to sign. He intended to return to the University of Kentucky, but was ruled ineligible because he had signed an agreement with agent Scott Boras. Paxton went on to pitch briefly for the Independent Grand Prairie Airhogs of the American Association in 2010. That year he was drafted by the Mariners in the fourth round. With Hisashi Iwakuma and top prospect Taijuan Walker rehabbing from injuries, Paxton may be around for awhile and could be a key part of the Ms resurgence. Seattle has another impressive young lefty in their rotation in Cuban-born lefty Roenis Elias, who pitched well, but got saddled with a no-decision in the Mariners loss to the As. The only question coming into this season was over their ability to score runs, even with the addition of ex-Yankees star Robinson Cano. With this seeming wealth of starting pitching, the Ms may be able to deal for the bats they need as the season unfolds. Cano, by the way, is off to a decent start with Seattle, going 6 for 16 with a pair of intentional walks. Here and Now Theres no sense fretting now over the Jays not getting Paxton. Better to concentrate on the top two pitching prospects they do have. Marcus Stroman started the Buffalo Bisons season opener on Thursday against the Twins Rochester farm club, the Red Wings. He was on a pitch count and over four innings, made 73 pitches - 47 for strikes - gave up four hits and two earned runs, struck out three of the first four batters he faced and got a no decision in the Bisons 6-3 victory. The Bisons are veteran team, with 16 players on their roster who played in the Majors last season. Matt Tuiasosopo, who was just picked up on waivers last week from Arizona and then three days later was outrighted to Buffalo, led the attack with three hits. After Stroman, the rest of the Buffalo rotation consists of Ricky Romero, Kyle Drabek, lefty Sean Nolin, who was briefly with the Jays, and Liam Hendricks. J.A. Happ is expected to join them as well in the near future on a rehab assignment. Bisons closer Neil Wagner, who figures to be up with the Jays at some point this season, struck out three of four batters and racked up the save. Blue Jays blue chip prospect Aaron Sanchez started opening night for Double "A" New Hampshire at Trenton. He was described as being dominant over his five-inning stint, giving up just one hit and striking out five while walking two. He also got the victory in the Fishercats 6-0 victory over Trenton. Fresh Start Emilio Bonifacio, who was a bust with the Blue Jays last season and eventually moved on to the Royals, signed with the Cubs as a free agent and is off to a torrid start at the plate with Chicago. Hes 11 for 16 with four stolen bases on the young season. Hes been batting lead-off and playing centre field. The Cubs - weather permitting - will be marking the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon in their home opener against the Phillies. Great trivia question on Wrigley: name the only person to hit the scoreboard. Heres a clue, it wasnt a ball player. It was golf legend Slammin Sammy Snead. He teed off from homeplate in a publicity stunt and hit the 89 high scoreboard, which was 420 feet away on the fly. On his next try he hit it right over the scoreboard. Wrigley has also hosted two of the wildest games in Major League history. In the highest scoring game ever, the Cubs beat the Phillies 26-23 on August 25, 1922. The Phils got their revenge in 1979, 57 years later, when they edged the Cubs 23-22 in 10 innings. Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt hommered off Cubs closer Bruce Sutter to win it. The teams combined for 11 homers, including three by the Cubbies Dave Kingman. Roys Return Great move by the Blue Jays to get Roy Halladay to throw out the first pitch for their home opener Friday night at sold-out Rogers Centre against Derek Jeter and the Yankees. It makes you wonder if they will put Halladays name up on the "Level of Excellence" tonight or at some point down the road. The pitching match-up couldnt be more intriguing with the comeback king Dustin McGowan facing Japanese star Masahiro Tanaka, who will be making his first Major League start. Air Max Plus Ingrosso .com) - Theres nothing better for a team than to send out the staff ace in the most important game of the season. Air Max Outlet Italia .Y. -- Sore nose and all, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 on Friday night, snapping the Penguins mini-slump and slowing the Sabres late-season surge. http://www.airmaxitaliascarpe.it/scarpe-air-max-1-scontate.html . His Chicago Blackhawks teammates werent shocked when he found it. Kanes career has been defined by his brilliance in the Blackhawks biggest moments, and his tiebreaking goal with 3:45 to play in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals will rank among the best.6) I grant you, Juan Francisco homered against Texas on Sunday, but he also committed two errors at third base while Brett Lawrie committed one at second base. I promise I wont hammer away at this every week, but shouldnt Lawrie be the Blue Jays everyday third baseman? (Ill revisit this next week).7) Would the Los Angeles Kings players laugh at coach Darryl Sutter if he told them that game two against Chicago was a "must win" game?8) Mike Weir lost by two strokes at the Byron Nelson and missed two four-foot putts on consecutive holes during Saturdays third round. Its not as simple as saying that Weir should have been in a playoff with Brendon Todd, but can we not agree that we could have made those putts?9) Tony LaRussa is in charge of the Arizona Diamondbacks as their "Chief BASEBALL Officer". This title was chosen why—to avoid confusion?10) This is 2014. Qatar is scheduled to host soccers World Cup in 2022. Do you worry about anything else that may or may not happen eight years from now?11) If there was nothing wrong with Sidney Crosby, I still want to know what was wrong with Sidney Crosby, dont you?12) If the Indiana Pacers win the NBA title, or if they make the NBA Finals, will NBA analysts who called the Pacers the most dysfunctional team ever known stop being NBA analysts?13) Thomas Vanek will soon be in the news when the New York Islanders decide which year, this or next, their first-round draft pick will revert to the Buffalo Sabres as part of the payment for Vanek. Meanwhile, shouldnt Vanek be making news now, as a member of the Montreal Canadiens? Or is being invisible newsworthy?14) Speaking of the Buffalo Sabres, if the next NHL season begins with them looking for a goalie and Ryan Miller looking for a team…. Scarpe Air Max 180 Scontate. hould I continue?15) When the Cleveland Browns say that Johnny Manziel did not display a "diva-style" personality at their rookie minicamp, do you want to say "Hey, Cleveland Browns, it was only rookie minicamp"?16) Do you believe that good spring training results lead to good regular-season results? If so, you should offer as proof Melky Cabreras MLB-leading 30 spring hits, and his current regular-season total of 58, #2 in the majors. You should not refer to the spring-best RBI total of Kansas Citys Mike Moustakas. He knocked in 18 runs in 56 exhibition at-bats, and he has followed with 17 RBI in 121 regular-season at-bats, and a .153 batting average.17) I dont want to gang up on umpires, but wouldnt it be funny to hear one say that the 50 per cent of his calls that were upheld by video review were the ones he thought he had blown?18) Is Mark Jackson an NBA coach who sometimes broadcasts NBA games, or is he an NBA broadcaster who sometimes coaches NBA games?19) Are you a Blue Jays fan who longs to see a perplexed John Farrell in the dugout of the Boston Red Sox? You should have been watching the DET-BOS weekend series, or maybe youll get another chance this week. Its up to the Jays, because the Red Sox are doing their best to play their worst.20) And finally…..the thing Ive learned about this story of California Chrome and breathing strips is that breathing strips still exist. Remember when they were all the rage for humans? Is it only horses that wear them now? ' ' '