Over 16,513,768 people are on fubar.
What are you waiting for?

ekansekans's blog: "df"

created on 10/29/2012  |  http://fubar.com/df/b351055

NEW YORK -- The idea is certainly appealing to the New York Mets: R. Robert Mathis Jersey .A. Dickey on the mound every four days instead of five. Dickey puts less stress on his arm than a conventional pitcher because he features a knuckleball. So he probably needs fewer days of rest between starts. And with Dickey the most dominant force in baseball right now, Mets manager Terry Collins acknowledged the thought of starting his unlikely ace more often than usual is definitely tempting. "Absolutely," Collins said Tuesday. "Theoretically, he probably needs three days." Still, the Mets have no plans to try it at this point, though Collins conceded that if they make the playoffs theyll have a potential weapon most other teams wouldnt. "Everything looks great now -- its June. Ask him how he felt last September. He was tired," Collins said. "And the one thing we arent going to do is look up in August and have this guy worn out because were bringing him back on three days rest." Collins said he and pitching coach Dan Warthen mapped out the whole scenario last month, curious what it would look like for the entire rotation. In the end, they decided to scrap it. "Maybe we were going to try it for a month to see if it would work," Collins said. "We just havent been brave enough to try it just yet, because I think it just screws up the other guys also. "I was more concerned about the other guys. Im not really worried about R.A. as much. But I do believe that because it would be such a drastic change, I think hed fatigue," the manager said. "I just wanted to see what it would look like. Dan and I sat down and ran the thing out and didnt really like the way it looked and the way that it would affect (Dillon) Gee and Jon Niese. So we kind of canned it." The 37-year-old Dickey (11-1) became the first major league pitcher in 24 years to throw consecutive one-hitters Monday night in New Yorks 5-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He has not yielded an earned run in 42 2-3 innings and entered Tuesday tied for the major league lead in ERA (2.00), strikeouts (103) and complete games (three). With an uncanny ability to control a knuckleball that he often throws more than 80 mph, harder than virtually anyone else whos made a living with the pitch, Dickey has an amazing 71 strikeouts and six walks in his last seven starts. He has won six straight outings and nine consecutive decisions. But just because hes a knuckleballer, that doesnt mean his arm is invincible. "You talk to any doctors and theyll tell you, no matter who it is, theres only so many bullets. And when youre going to break, youre going to break," Collins said. "Hes still got to throw -- even though maybe hes not a plus-plus power guy -- thats still a lot of pitches. Thats a huge workload, trying to do that. And no disrespect, but 37 years old, thats a lot of work. ... Just because he doesnt throw 95 (mph) doesnt mean theres not wear and tear in that shoulder." Collins said the team hasnt approached Dickey about pitching every fourth day, which was the norm for most starters until a few decades ago. Dickey said hed be open to speaking with his manager about the idea, but hes not sure he would agree to it -- and hes not certain it would be the best thing for the team. "I could get out there and pitch probably every fourth day. How effective I would be, I dont know," he said. "I like the routine that Ive been in." Dickey said the most taxing part of working regularly on three days rest might have nothing to do with his arm. "Maybe your brain, to be honest. I mean, its a mental grind. Not that I dont love the challenge of that, but its just all of it. You know, conglomerately. You feel it in your feet, your knees, your joints, your hips. I know I move around out there like an 18-year-old, but Im not," Dickey said with a smile. "I think I would have to condition myself differently for it." The only active knuckleballer in the majors, Dickey has made five straight starts with no earned runs allowed and at least eight strikeouts. The Mets said thats the longest streak of its kind in big league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Now some are wondering whether his incredible success story might convince more pitchers to take up the knuckleball. "It could," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said at Yankee Stadium. "I think it would be more on the individual to take that step, rather than the team. It takes a lot. A guy might have to go down to the independent leagues to work on it. Its not easy." Orioles manager Buck Showalter agreed. Instrumental in persuading Dickey to remake himself into a knuckleballer when both were with the Texas Rangers, Showalter called the right-handers situation back then "the perfect storm." He said a successful conversion depends on a wide range of factors, everything from a pitchers personality to his fingernails. Showalter even thinks Dickey was helped by the fact that hes missing a key ligament in his pitching elbow, which allowed him to practice throwing his knuckler all the time without hurting his arm. Years later, Dickey and the Mets are reaping the benefits. Andrew Luck Youth Jersey . -- Two late-season wins helped take a bit of the sting of the Toronto Argonauts ugly season from defensive end Ricky Foley. Andrew Luck Jersey . Falling behind by four runs in the first inning hardly helped. "I was going to pitch as long as I could," he said. http://www.coltsfanstore.com/dwight-freeney-jersey . The South African hasnt slept much after flying to Malaysia following his loss to Bubba Watson on the second playoff hole at Augusta on Sunday. But he is determined to keep playing well in a tournament co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours. Reggie Wayne Jersey . After losing nine of 11, the Braves have bounced back in a big way and enter tonights contest on the heels of sweeping the Miami Marlins. On Thursday, Martin Prado went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in Atlantas 8-2 victory. Vick Ballard Jersey . Simmons hurt his finger on a head-first slide in Sundays game at Philadelphia. The Braves on Monday said Simmons hand will be in a cast for four weeks. PORRENTRUY, Switzerland -- Thibaut Pinot gave France its first stage victory in the Tour de France on Sunday while Bradley Wiggins of Britain kept the overall lead as the race entered Switzerland. Pinot broke away from the pack during a steep, final climb and captured the 157.5-kilometre (98-mile), eighth stage from Belfort to the Swiss town of Porrentruy. The 22-year-old Frenchman, the youngest rider in the main pack, held on during a frenzied chase in the last 10 kilometres (6 miles), a mostly flat stretch. This was by far Pinots biggest achievement. His previous top performance was at the 2010 Tour of Romandie, where he was honoured as the best climber. "I will remember this day my entire life," Pinot said as teammates embraced him. "I cant yet get my mind around it." Overall, Wiggins leads defending champion Cadel Evans by 10 seconds. The Australian mounted a late but unsuccessful attack on the Briton. Italys Vincenzo Nibali was third, 16 seconds off the pace. Defending Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez withdrew after a crash 56 kilometres (35 miles) into the stage. He broke his right hand and injured his left shoulder, and could miss the London Games. Sanchez fell on his side before two other riders landed on him. He sat on the ground in tears, clutching his left shoulder and arm as medical teams tended to him. He could not get back on a bike and was put on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital in Montbeliard. Sanchez entered the day in 12th place. Crashes have marred the first week of the Tour, with nearly all of the 20 riders who have withdrawn from the race thus far out with injury. Evans was second, 26 seconds behind Pinot -- the same time as Wiggins and seven other riders, including several title contenders. Dwight Freeney Womens Jersey. The ride into the Jura range next to the Alps, known as the birthplace of the Swiss army knife, offered double drama: A hard last climb that splintered the pack, and a nail-biting chase of Pinot to the finish. The days last, and the steepest climb over the 3.7-kilometre (2.2-mile) Col de la Croix, obliterated the pack, with riders like Alejandro Valverde of Spain and Peter Sagan of Slovakia dropping off the back. Frederik Kessiakov of Sweden pressed the pace, but Wiggins and others, chasing the title, were content to let him go. The Astana rider began the day in 80th place, 19 minutes behind the British race leader. Pinot, bounding out of his saddle with powerful legs, chased uphill and then sped past Kessiakov with a few hundred meters left before the peak of the Col de la Croix - and held on all the way to the finish. Wiggins called the stage "a tough day on the team," referring to his British squad Team Sky, and said he was content to get through it: "Another tough day ticked off." But Wiggins enjoyed the late jockeying. "It was good fun coming in at the end there," he said. "It was a bit like being in a junior race again. Everyone attacking in ones and twos. Its good -- its what its all about." Wiggins also hailed a "fantastic ride" by Pinot. "It was a tough day out there and to do that last 10 to 15k into a headwind, solo, it shows how good he is," the Briton said. Mondays stage returns to favourable territory for riders like Wiggins and Evans: A time-trial. Riders will set off one by one in the 41.5-kilometre (26-mile) race against the clock from Arc-en-Senans to Besancon. ' ' '

Leave a comment!
html comments NOT enabled!
NOTE: If you post content that is offensive, adult, or NSFW (Not Safe For Work), your account will be deleted.[?]

giphy icon
blog.php' rendered in 0.0651 seconds on machine '8'.