Vorstellungen » is in the process of rebuilding his confidence. "It

TORONTO - First things first: Episode 3 of The Baseball Podcast is up for your listening pleasure. Toronto Star baseball columnist and TSN contributor Richard Griffin joins me for a half-hour of talk on manager John Gibbons strategy when it comes to his starting pitching and struggling bullpen, whether Brett Lawrie will see increased action at second base and Jose Bautistas great start to the season. Give it a listen here. GIBBONS LIKES HIS OFFENCE The Blue Jays entered Thursdays action with 166 runs scored in 34 games. Thats an average of almost 4.9 runs per game, good for fourth in the majors. Manager John Gibbons is in his seventh season, over two tenures skipping the Blue Jays. He believes this is the strongest offence hes had. "I would think this is probably the top," said Gibbons. "My last go around here we were really strong in the pitching department. We had some good offences but I dont think it equaled what we have here now. You need that in the American League. You need to be able to slug it out." Toronto boasts the league leader in on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) and walks. Hes Jose Bautista. Bautista and Colby Rasmus, with nine home runs each, are amongst the league leaders. Melky Cabreras 48 hits are the most in the sport this season. As a team, the Blue Jays rank second in home runs (44); second in slugging percentage (.432) and third in on-base plus slugging percentage (.761). ENCARNACION DISCUSSES FRANCISCO General manager Alex Anthopoulos has credited Edwin Encarnacion with helping to lure Juan Francisco to the Blue Jays. "Ive known Juan from a long time ago, he was playing with me in Cincinnati," said Encarnacion. "When he was young, I was older in here and hes one of my best friends. He had a couple of more (options) to go so I called him and asked him to come here because they can give him the opportunity to play here at this level." Francisco, 26, hit 18 home runs last season while playing with the Braves and Brewers but was cut by Milwaukee late in spring training. He signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays on April 2 and began the year at Triple-A Buffalo. His contract was selected on April 20 to replace Adam Lind, who went on the disabled list with a back injury. Aside from the opportunity the Blue Jays could afford him, Encarnacion was pressed Francisco to come to Toronto out of fear he would sign with another American League East team. The division, specifically the ballparks in the division, are friendly to power-hitting left-handed bats. "Thats why I dont want him to go to another team, like Tampa or another team," said Encarnacion. SANTOS STARTING FROM SCRATCH Sergio Santos pitched a scoreless eighth inning in Wednesdays 10-0 win over the Phillies. Thanks to the big lead it was a pressure-free inning. After two-straight outings featuring blown saves and three on the season, Santos is in the process of rebuilding his confidence. "It was nice to execute on the things that I wanted to do as far as locating my fastball, moving it in and out," said Santos. "It was nice. Its a nice first step, hopefully in the right direction." His stuff is good. Santos has struck out 18 hitters in 10 1/3 innings. The problem is hes walked nine and of the 12 hits hes allowed, three have been home runs. Santos expects more of himself. "Hopefully I can build off what happened (Wednesday) night and never look back again," he said. LAWRIE UPDATE Brett Lawrie took part in batting practice and fielded ground balls before Thursdays game. He left the fourth inning of Monday nights game in Philadelphia with lingering tightness in his right hamstring. Fridays game against the Angels may be more hopeful than reality. Lawries more likely to return on the weekend. Donte Jackson Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Wild getting Matt Moulson from Buffalo. The Wild Get: LW Matt Moulson and LW Cody McCormick. DaNorris Searcy Jersey . The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. http://www.thepanthersofficialstore.com/authentic-torrey-smith-panthers-jersey/ . -- Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno was admitted to the hospital Friday for observation due to minor complications from cancer treatments, his family said. DJ Moore Jersey . Amaro broke the NCAA all-time record for receiving yards in a season for a tight end with 1,352 during his junior campaign, eclipsing the mark of 1,329 set by Rices James Casey in 2008. Marquis Haynes Panthers Jersey .com) - Tony Parker scored 17 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a comfortable 99-85 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.NEW ORLEANS -- The Pelicans offence hit a cold streak at the worst time. Mike Conley hit a driving layup against Austin Rivers with 1.5 seconds remaining to complete Memphis 9-0 run over the final 3:22 and the Grizzlies escaped with a 90-88 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. Conley initially drove to his right, and then split the lane before pulling up just short of the goal for his game-winning basket.. The Pelicans were out of timeouts and Rivers missed a long desperation shot as time expired. "Its very sweet," said Conley, who scored 16 points in leading the Grizzlies to their fourth consecutive win. "We knew who they had on the floor. They were going to switch the pick-and-roll. I ended up splitting it and having a lane." The undermanned Pelicans, playing without guards Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon, missed five shots and committed one turnover during the final 3:22. "Its tough," Rivers said. "We felt like we had the game won. We should have known better. They are a veteran team." Anthony Morrow missed a 3-point attempt with 14.3 seconds remaining, setting up the Grizzlies for the winning shot. "It felt great," Morrow said of his missed shot. "I was open, just a little bit off." Marc Gasol added 15 points, and Zach Randolph and Tony Allen 13 each for Memphis. Anthony Davis scored 29 points, including 22 in the first half, for the Pelicans, who had won their past three games. Rivers scored 14 points, Brian Roberts 12 and Morrow 10 for New Orleans. Davis, who turned 21 Tuesday, added 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. "The last few minutes we could not get anything," Davis said.dddddddddddd"We couldnt run a play. We had a couple of bad shots, turned the ball over." After taking a 57-48 halftime lead, the Pelicans were held to 31 points in the second half, equaling their second-quarter output. New Orleans, which scored 14 points in the final quarter, finished with 17 turnovers and 16 assists. "We just couldnt score," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "We couldnt get into an offence. We kind of went away from the things that weve been doing, pushing the ball down the floor off stops." Memphis juggled its defence against Davis in the second half, using Tayshaun Prince, then James Johnson. The ploy worked as Davis, who was 8 of 11 in the first half, finished 9 of 14. "I thought that was effective but it was an effort thing," Memphis coach David Joerger said. "We didnt play hard enough or with enough energy in the first half. Then, in the second half, we picked up more energy. We went small a little bit just to kind of junk up the game." Davis was dominant in the first half, scoring 22 points. He displayed his full arsenal, scoring underneath or stepping out and hitting the open jumper. Randolph led the Grizzlies with 12 points and four rebounds in the half. He was 5 of 7, taking advantage of his matchup against the Pelicans Alexis Ajinca. NOTES: The Pelicans made all of 22 of their free throw attempts, the first time they were perfect from the line since March 18, 2013, against Golden State. It was the second most free throws made while staying perfect in franchise history. Blackhawks Jerseys Store Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Penguins Jerseys Store Capitals Jerseys For Sale Blues Jerseys Store Cheap Kings Jerseys Adidas Lightning Jerseys Stars Jerseys For Sale Cheap Predators Jerseys Ducks Store Sharks Jerseys For Sale Cheap Sabres Jerseys Rangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '