Dein erstes Forum » You feel like superstars here

OAKLAND, Calif. -- If those independent league road trips werent humbling enough for Scott Kazmir, starting over from square one with his delivery and mechanics sure did the trick. As Kazmir looks back a couple of years now, a fresh $22 million, two-year contract with the Oakland Athletics in hand, that challenging time in his baseball career is all worthwhile. "The past couple years the organization has had a great team, a great fan base and that definitely swayed my decision a little bit," said Kazmir, who drew serious interest from several clubs. The two-time defending AL West champion As announced the deal Wednesday after Kazmir passed his physical. The addition of Kazmir fills a key rotation spot with a player plenty familiar with the division after his stint pitching for the Los Angeles Angels. As general manager Billy Beane, who also made three trades in the past three days to build his 2014 roster, isnt ready to pencil Kazmir into a particular spot in the clubs young rotation. That will be up to manager Bob Melvin. "The advantage of having as much good starting pitching as you can get is something that has helped make us successful," Beane said. "The more we looked at it, the more we thought we should jump on the opportunity to bring him in. Having five good starters, and I think in some respects we have more, puts us, puts the club in a position of strength." That was before the two-time All-Star was limited to one start in 2011 for the Angels before going on the disabled list with a lower back strain and being released. The 29-year-old Kazmir then spent the 2012 season with independent Sugar Land before bouncing back to go 10-9 with a 4.04 ERA in 29 starts and 158 innings for Cleveland this year. "Pitching in the AL West, Im very comfortable there. I like pitching in the Oakland stadium," Kazmir said. "After my time in Los Angeles with the Angels, I kind of did a lot of self-evaluating and a lot of hard work getting to where I was last year." A stint in the Atlantic League with Sugar Land -- a mere 20 minutes from his Houston-area home -- provided Kazmir an ideal place to find himself again. "It was a great venue for me to get back into the game, get my feet wet again, face hitters. It surprised me, the challenge that was in that league, definitely surprised me and got me ready for this past season," Kazmir said. "It was a lot of fun. The road trips werent ideal to say the least." Kazmir went 9-15 in 2010 for Los Angeles and Beane recalls his early days among baseballs best lefties. Taking the long road back to the big leagues has only helped Kazmir get to this point. "Its probably a great learning experience. He was one of the top prospects coming out of high school in the game," Beane said. "It was probably a character-building experience for him as much as anything. Theres an appreciation in having made that climb back that will serve him well going forward." Despite all of the hours in the video room, tweaking his delivery and mechanics, Kazmir still considers himself much like his old hard-throwing self -- just with some added elements. "Stuff wise, I feel like Im the same pitcher," Kazmir said. "Im a lot more of a pitcher now than I was in my early years. I was more a guy who threw as hard as I could and got swings and misses." Zapatillas Baratas Outlet . Mauer drove in two runs before leaving with an injury, Eduardo Nunez homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 10-2 on Tuesday night. Air Max Baratas Spain . Week 2s biggest games include Florida facing Miami and Notre Dame travelling to the Big House to conclude their rivalry against Michigan in primetime on TSN2 and TSN 1050. https://www.zapatillasbaratasspain.es/za...pain-d1188.html. Lineup news, Fantasy and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES St. Louis Blues – After rolling the San Jose Sharks for seven goals, for the second time in a week, the Blues have a bunch of players on hot streaks. Zapatillas Nike Baratas Outlet .Y. -- Syracuses streak lives on -- barely. Air Max Baratas Hombre . Tyrell appeared in seven games with the Lightning this year, he had no points in those appearances. The 24-year-old has seven goals and 17 assists in 132 career NHL games, all coming with the Lightning. He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2007 draft.MONTREAL - The first part of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts went perfectly for defending champion Rachel Homan. The Canada skip from Ottawa led her squad to a perfect 11-0 round-robin record with a 7-3 victory over New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford (6-5) at the Maurice Richard Arena on Friday. Homan will face Chelsea Careys Manitoba rink (9-2) in the first-versus-second game Friday night. Carey clinched the No. 2 spot with a 6-4 victory over P.E.Is Kim Dolan (3-8). Homans rink is looking to become the first to go through the Scotties undefeated since Linda Moore in 1985. Homan was satisfied her team recovered from the disappointment of losing at the Olympic trials in December. "We played really well," the 24-year-old said. "Some people might have doubted how we were going to do after the trials and I think we regrouped and got over it." Carey said she struggled against P.E.I because she wasnt feeling well and hadnt slept much but will be fine for the showdown with Homan. She is 7-5 in her career against the Canada skip. "Its great to win but its not life and death," she said. "Were not looking at it as a do or die thing so we can just go play and see what happens. "Either way, you get another chance." Saskatchhewans Stefanie Lawton (8-3) finished third and will face Albertas Val Sweeting (8-3) in the three-versus-four game Saturday morning.dddddddddddd The winner advances to the semifinal Saturday afternoon against the 1-2 loser. Lawton ended the round robin on a downer — watching her last rock hit and roll just out of the rings to give Yukons Sarah Koltun (2-9) a steal for a 6-5 win. "We didnt quite finish it off," said Lawton. "Just a bad shot by myself, otherwise we would have won. "In the end it doesnt make a difference for us. It would have been nice to finish that game off, but well rest up and get ready for the playoffs." Koltun was a crowd favourite all week and the 2,061 spectators gave her a long ovation after her upset win. The 20-year-old from Whitehorse is the first player ever to skip at the Canadian junior championships and the Scotties in the same year. "Its been really cool," said Koltun. "Its so much bigger. "You feel like superstars here, where at juniors youre just another team. The crowd loved us and we loved them. Its been incredible." Nova Scotias Heather Smith (4-7) ended the round robin with a 7-6 win over Ontarios Allison Flaxey (3-8). The final is Sunday night. ' ' '