Dein erstes Forum » Bendik came up big as the game

TORONTO – The Blue Jays put an end to an ugly four-game losing skid and afterward the manager was happy to state the obvious. Cheap Authentic Nike Sneakers . “It was a much needed win, I will definitely say,” said John Gibbons after his club beat Boston 7-1. Baseballs a strange game. It was an ugly homestand, the Blue Jays lost four of six to divisional rivals the Orioles and Red Sox, yet are sandwiched in-between the two teams with Baltimore a half-game ahead and Boston a half-game behind. In five of the six games, Toronto at some point held a lead of three runs or more. The Jays won only two of those five games, Sunday afternoon being one of them. Yet a crisp, efficient win which combined strong starting pitching, clutch relief work, good defence and potent offence buoyed the mood of the club as it heads out on an eight-game road trip through Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. “It was a complete joint effort,” said R.A. Dickey, who tossed 6 1/3 innings of one run ball. “I felt like we all had a hand in todays game. It was a game that I felt really good.” Dickey, who didnt walk a hitter for the first time in his Toronto tenure, left with one out in the seventh. The Red Sox had runners at second and third following a hit batsman and a double. Steve Delabar came in and got Jackie Bradley Jr. to pop up to third baseman Brett Lawrie and David Ross to fly out to centerfielder Jose Bautista. Inning over, the 2-1 lead preserved and the Jays would tack on two in the seventh and three more in the eighth to issue a final score that doesnt reflect how close the game was played for most of the afternoon. Edwin Encarnacion had two hits and two RBI, hitting four line drives in his four at-bats. Combined with the final out he made in Saturdays loss, a line drive to centerfield, Gibbons is seeing signs his slugging first baseman is beginning to emerge from a near-dormant first month of the season. “Today I thought he was really using his hands well,” said Gibbons. “Hes like anybody else. Confidence can waver a little bit. I dont care how good you are, how long youve been around or how productive youve been the last couple of seasons. This games all confidence.” Brett Lawrie hit his sixth home run of the season, a solo shot off Jon Lester in the second inning. The timing was important; the Red Sox had taken a 1-0 lead in the top half of the inning. “Definitely,” said Lawrie of the quick response. “This is one of those games you want to win, especially with an off day (Monday) and us going on the road and leaving a sour taste in 40-thousand peoples mouths when we go on the road (with a loss.) We want positivity going on the road.” The Blue Jays open a three-game set in Kansas City on Tuesday night. Right-hander Dustin McGowan will get the start against Royals left-hander Jason Vargas. MORROW UNFAMILIAR WITH McGOWANS DIABETES-RELATED FATIGUE As Dustin McGowan considers a change to his in-game regimen in an attempt to combat fatigue, fellow type 1 diabetic Brandon Morrow is in a comfortable routine and hasnt experienced anything similar to what McGowans going through. “Ive never felt physically fatigued during a game,” said Morrow. “I have nothing to compare it to. What would somebody without diabetes be feeling at the same point? I feel like I recover, physically, as well as anybody else with regulated blood sugar. I think its almost, not an advantage but you really learn your body well.” McGowan deals with wild swings to his blood sugar levels during games in which hes pitching. In Wednesdays outing against Baltimore, he took a reading of more than 300 milligrams per deciliter. To put that in perspective, the average blood sugar level for a resting, non-diabetic is between 100 and 120 milligrams per deciliter. He will wear his insulin pump in Tuesday nights game at Kansas City in the hopes of regulating his blood sugar level. Morrow, on the other hand, has a strict program he follows that begins about four hours before each start. There are six to eight checkpoints, as he calls them, during that time span. Morrows food and drink schedule is meticulous; his exercise and warm up routine equally so; he checks his blood sugar level about an hour and a half before first pitch. Shortly before game time, hes paying close attention. “If I ever go low its in the bullpen,” said Morrow. “Thats a two, three minute adjustment. During the anthem, the anthems always a time I check my blood sugar and if I need a juice or whatever we have something ready to go.” When the Blue Jays are on offence, Morrow will check his blood sugar level two or three times in the early innings of his starts. “My blood sugars crept up a little bit during games sometimes but Ive never felt like Ive just lost energy, like saying getting into the sixth inning and my body just shuts down,” he said. “Ive never felt that way.” High blood sugar levels can sap a diabetic of energy and can cause vision problems, particularly blurriness. Morrow says its never gotten to the point where he blames the condition for an inability to command his pitches. Low blood sugar levels can have an effect similar to drunkenness. There have been times when Morrows been awakened in the middle of the night. Hes in a cold sweat and his hands are shaking. He quickly drinks a glass of juice or eats a small portion and then waits the 15 minutes or so it takes for his body to regulate. WALKER DISCUSSES EJECTION Pitching coach Pete Walker wasnt pleased with home plate umpire Jeff Kelloggs strike zone in Saturdays 7-6 loss to the Red Sox. He was ejected in the third inning. Walker and Kellogg exchanged words following a mound visit. Perhaps the fact his pitching staff has walked 99 hitters so far this season is grating on Walkers nerves?“Maybe its been building, I dont know,” said Walker. “Its frustrating to watch the staff that we have walk guys because they are guys that know how to throw strikes, know how to attack the strike zone. Their philosophy and our philosophy is to attack early and expand late. It seems like were getting behind and making poor pitches behind in the count.” Heres another frustrating fact: entering Sundays play, the Blue Jays have had leads of at least three runs in four of the first five games of this home stand. The record in those four games: 1-3. The pitching isnt holding up. One day its the starter and the next its the bullpen. “Its really slight, slight mechanical adjustments for a couple of guys but for the most part its their mentality of attacking the zone and trusting their stuff and not buying into the fact that something like this can become contagious,” said Walker. “You walk a few guys, you start thinking about it. The sooner they can get out of their own heads and just get back to pitching and making pitches and trusting their stuff, the sooner we get over this hump.” Cheap Nike Sneakers From China . He was with the New York Jets in 2011 when the NFL locked out their players after they failed to agree on a new contract. Willy went undrafted but was given a look by four NFL teams before heading north. Wholesale Nike Sneakers China .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. http://www.cheapsneakersnike.com/ . The Grizzlies erased most of a 25-point deficit before Durant, the leagues scoring champion, got hot.It was a classic "Dont ask how, but how many" kind of night for Toronto FC. TFC was second best for long stretches in the second leg of their Amway Canadian Championship tie against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place. Good, however, was good enough in a 2-1-regulation loss, making the home and away tie 3-3 on aggregate. The scoreline was sufficient to send the game to extra time and, after 30 minutes solved nothing, for the first time in Toronto FCs history, a match would be decided in penalties. All five Toronto FC penalty-takers scored and goalkeeper Joe Bendik saved Kekuta Manneh, good for a 5-3 win on penalties sending TFC to the two-legged final against the Montreal Impact. It was full value for entertainment in Vancouver and a great night for Canadian soccer. It was end-to-end stuff for much of the match from two teams featuring far-from-full-strength starting XIs. The crowd of 18,470 was electric and the energy on the field matched the enthusiasm. It had a cup final feel about it despite first choice talent watching from the sidelines. Whitecaps manager Carl Robinson elected to go with a similar young team that lost 2-1 at BMO Field a week ago, making eight changes from his team that won 1-0 at Columbus on Saturday. Robinson brought on more accomplished regulars late in the match as he searched for a winner. You have to wonder if hes asking himself "What if?" Toronto FC was ripe for the picking. Perhaps a more established starting XI could have found the goals needed to advance, but his young, inexperienced side came oh-so-close, and was deserving of a better fate. They were the better team. Toronto FC manager Ryan Nelsen made five changes from his team a week ago, including three along the backline. Regulars Jermain Defoe, Steven Caldwell, Julio Cesar, Justin Morrow, Jackson and Alvaro Rey were all either unavailable and/or didnt play. Nelsen will be happy with his teams spirit and ability to remain mostly composed against a team heaping on the pressure. The same questions remain of whether or not Toronto FC can be something more than a team reliant on the counter attack. Is it the players, the tactics or unfamiliarity that are holding Toronto FC back from dictating a positive pace in a match? TFC has yet to meet expectations and will now be tasked to move closer to that bar without their best player, Michael Bradley, who leaves for World Cup duty. While it may not go down as a vintage Toronto FC performance (out-chanced and out-passed by over 100), advancing in the competition is an all-important step in making the club competitive on all fronts. As the team continues to build into a club with true ambition and the framework/ability to do-so, qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League and silverware of any kind are stepping stones. Here are five thoughts from Toronto FCs Canadian Championship second-leg in Vancouver. 1) Controversial Goal – Whitecaps supporters will claim Toronto FC should never have had the away goal that ultimately sent the tie to extra time. Doniel Henrys 4th-minute goal was highly disputed, but not truly without the assistance of video replay. Bradleys free kick sailed into the Whitecaps 18-yard box and defender Nick Hagglund beat goalkeeper Marco Carducci to the ball in the air. The referee allowed the play to continue, despite Hagglund looking to impede the goalkeeper with a forearm to the face. The ball went off the crossbar to Henry who tapped the ball home. Although it wasnt noticed at the time, Henry should also have been called offside. It looked as though Henry was fair game to make a play on the ball with a Whitecaps defender covering on the goal line. However, FIFAs offside rule, law 11, states a player is offside if hes nearer to his opponents goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent. Because Carducci had come so far out to challenge the ball and, thus, became the second last defender, it left Henry in an offside position. The linesman was in no position to make the call, playing the defender, rather than Carducci, as the ‘last man or second last defender. Confusing, but completely understandable, why offside wasnt given. It will go down as a missed call by the letter of the law. That being said, it was the missed call on the Hagglund foul where the play should have been blown dead and that was the bigger injustice for me. 2) Oh Henry, again – Sloppy challenges by Henry continue to provide ample ammunition for his detractors. The Canadian international has all the physical attributes annd intangibles hinting at sky-high potential. Cheap Nike Sneakers Wholesale. The 21-year-olds night wont be remembered for his goal, but instead a series of questionable tackles, playing his team into trouble. Henry simply needs to learn to stay on his feet in vulnerable areas. The timing, placement and manner of his challenges were front and centre on three separate occasions. Henry was fortunate not to be called for a penalty on a tight challenge on Manneh early in the first half. Early in the second half, he was cautioned for a diving challenge from behind, dangerously close to being inside the box. Henrys third mistake came in the 85th-minute, diving in from behind once again against Erik Hurtado, making for an easy penalty decision, leading to Vancouvers 2-1 goal. There was no arguing the decision and it was the third penalty Henry has conceded on the year. Far better is required, but Nelsen will continue to live and die with his young centre-back. He has far too much promise to sit on the bench. Nelsen, a former defender himself, needs to continue to preach patience and positioning with his young player. Maturity in these kinds of decisions will become more critical as the season wears on. 3) Midfield Meltdown – If youre a regular in this space, it will come as no surprise seeing criticism on Toronto FCs ability to hold on to the ball and build sustained attacking play. Toronto FCs midfield was overrun again this match with the Whitecaps having more than 55 per cent of possession. Its troubling how cheaply TFC gives the ball away, making it difficult for the midfield four, consistently falling too deep and not in position to support the forwards. The problem was further complicated Wednesday with more natural wing-players Rey and Jackson not in the team. It must be said that the team had better stretches late in the game with Daniel Lovitz, making his TFC debut, looking comfortable on the ball. Systematically, Nelsen may need to add an attacking midfielder, resorting to a 4-5-1, to provide more support and a player to link the attack. 4) Questioning Nelsen – It is remarkable how many TFC supporters are openly questioning the manager this early in the season. For a club with a history of being a conveyor belt for managers, youd think common sense would prevail in having some patience and seeing this process out before jumping to conclusions. Some are not convinced in Nelsens tactical approach. While its true the team isnt playing the free-flowing football many desire, it must be acknowledged a team with so many new players and a squad that has dealt with a number of early season injuries will take time develop said cohesiveness. Nelsens reluctance to move away from a preferred 4-4-2 has been decried by many, but that, too, is a work in progress. This is only Nelsens second season as a manager. Last years team was too short on talent to make any reasonable conclusion of Nelsens managerial abilities. What we do know is this team will fight and play for him. Nelsen is a players manager and is well liked within and around the room. His decision-making and adjustments certainly need work. It was peculiar that Hagglund started at right back when he is a preferred centre back and Bradley Orr started at centre back when he is a preferred right back. That being said, he has pulled the right strings earlier this season, namely in Columbus and Seattle, and continues to discover what he has and doesnt have. Time is required and a better evaluation will come months from now, not in May. This is a marathon, not a sprint. 5) Not-so Average Joe – Goalkeeper Joe Bendik was not overly impressed losing his starting job to Julio Cesar this season. With Cesar set to go on his World Cup adventure, Bendik was handed another start, in back-to-back games, and he didnt disappoint. Bendik came up big as the game opened up in the second half, coming off of his line multiple times, diving at the feet of an attacker and taking away goal-scoring opportunities. He kept them in the game when needed most, not to mention his penalty save. Goalkeeping is and will continue to be a position of strength for Toronto FC. The team has confidence in Bendik and will be comfortable with their "number two" while Cesar is on international duty. Its reassuring that Bendik has taken this short term setback in stride and looks to prove himself worthy as a starting goalkeeper in Major League Soccer. Toronto FC (3-0-4) welcomes the New York Red Bulls (3-5-3) to BMO Field Saturday at 430pm (TSN, TSN 1050 Radio). ' ' '