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ST. PETERSBURG, Florida - Brett Lawrie, still looking to find his offensive groove, spent Thursday afternoon taking extra batting practice. When he wasnt swinging for the fences, he was swinging back at Twitter followers expressing frustration with his slow start. "All u people who chirp when things dont go good have never done anything in pro sport .. Ever .. So shut ur mouths #LetsGetThisThingg #jays," said Lawrie in a tweet that was later deleted. He later clarified what he meant. "I expect that," said Lawrie. "I expect a lot out of myself but at the same time, Im not going to sit there and take all that from people that I dont know. So if I want to say something back, I have more than the right to. Freedom of speech. People want to come at me with something then Im not scared to say something back." As reporters meandered into the press box shortly before three oclock, Lawrie could be seen down on the field, alone with hitting coach Chad Mottola, working on his swing. First he hit off a tee; he progressed to soft toss and finally, batting practice pitching. "Just getting reps," said Lawrie. "Not necessarily working on anything, just getting reps, just getting rhythm thats about it." Surely there was more to it. "Were just trying to control him a little bit more," said Mottola. "The way hes wired his high intensity and in hitting most of the time it doesnt work. Just trying to get some things that will slow him down without saying take away his quick twitch. You know the way he plays third base, the way he hits hes got to be moving but were just working on modifying that a little bit." Lawrie was hitting .175 in 21 games; his on-base percentage a woeful .247 entering Thursdays action. Lawrie shrugs off as an "excuse" the notion hes still catching up after a spring training cut short by a ribcage injury suffered on March 6. Mottola, however, believes theres truth to it. "We were trying to change some things from the prior year as well," said Mottola. "So I think he needed spring training more than other guys so he could go through the transition period of at bats meaning nothing. And the way he wants it so bad and the way hes probably worse than the way the public wants it so weve got to protect him against himself sometimes because he wants it so bad he tends to try to go get the ball out of the pitchers hands. The way the game works you cant do that." Manager John Gibbons removed Lawrie from the leadoff spot for the finale of the series against the Rays. "Yeah he hasnt been getting on base a whole lot," said Gibbons. "Rajais (Davis) in there against the lefty, well get him there at the top because thats a good spot for Raj when hes in there." Mottola is conscious of Lawries intense nature; his inclination toward constant movement. The mechanical adjustments are minor – specifically moving Lawries hands in closer to his body – and arent meant to change Lawries approach at the plate, which Mottola doesnt believe is an issue. "Every guy is wired differently and thats the way hes wired so we cant take that away," said Mottola. "Were just trying to modify it and control it and put it in different spots of his swing. Saying, okay, you can do all this but lets not do it as much with the body. Hes seeing the ball well because hes laying off some tough pitches, hes getting in to hitters counts but hes not doing what he should do once he gets in those hitters counts so were just trying to shorten it up a little bit." "This is one of those things," said Lawrie of his slump and his effort to work out of it. "Youve just got to keep grinding it out, a lot of ABs and a lot of games to go so Ive got to stick to what Im doing, stick to my plan and just keep getting my work in and keep doing it." Red Berenson Jersey . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. 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Martin Brodeur Jersey . - Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings was speaking to a group of local high school students earlier this week when the conversation turned to the importance of being prepared when opportunities in life arise. NEW YORK -- Baseball players and owners had a deal to expand active rosters from 25 to 26 players for most of the season, but the union backed away in the final stages of collective bargaining.As part of the deal, the limit from Sept. 1 on would have been lowered from 40 players to 28.We thought we were going to make an agreement, had a tentative agreement, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred told The Associated Press on Friday, but nothings done until its done.Union head Tony Clark characterized the talks differently and said the parties could revisit the topic during the five-year contract they agreed to Wednesday.I dont know that there was an agreement to do it and that it came apart. There was a lot of dialogue over the course of this round where we were moving in a direction that we inevitably werent able to agree to, he said. It simply got to the point with all of the moving pieces that were part of the conversation during the course of the year that we lived to talk about it another day.Rosters have long expanded for the seasons final full month as minor league affiliates end their campaigns. The roster expansion gives managers the ability to make more frequent pitching changes in an attempt to gain favorable matchups.Some managers and general managers have complained it doesnt make sense to play most of the season under one set of rules and then switch as pennant races heat up. While some teams add many players and a few reach the 40-man limit, others make relatively few call-ups.There were very mixed opinions on the club side, as well, Manfred said. Maybe we were going too far, too fast.Many players make their big league debuts in September, and the union has long been concerned about the loss of service time if the limit were to be lowered from 40.To reduce the roster to 28 people would jeopardize the ability for people to get their feet wet in the big leagues, Oakland catcher Stephen Vogt said in a text. September is a great time for teams to teach the young guys how to act and be in the big leagues and get their feet wet in a comfortable environment.Given the increasing importance of bullpens, some believe a 26th player likely would be an additional relief pitcher.I know there have been a lot of concerns from the other side related to just how it would work and how it might affect the games or the length of games, Clark said. Trying to appreciate that extra player and who it may be is hard to predict based on whatever the organization philosophy is of any one team.Management and the union released details of the deal Friday, an agreement that will extend the sports labor peace to 26 years since the 1994-95 strike -- baseballs eighth work stoppage since 1972.We kept the game on the field, Manfred said.dddddddddddd We made an agreement within our current structure which I think shows that we have a durable structure. We moved some things our direction, and we moved some other things their direction.The threshold for the luxury tax, known formally as the competitive balance tax, rises from $189 million this year to $195 million in 2017 to $210 million in the deals final season. There are some rate increases and new surtaxes.The premise of the CBT altogether was a drag at the top to keep teams from running away from the group, Clark said.Manfred added: Theres two dynamics around the threshold: stopping people from running away but also having them low enough that people can aspire to spend a little more to be a little more competitive.Among the new details that emerged:? The penalty for a second stimulant violation goes up from 25 to 50 games and for a third rises from 80 to 100. The penalty for a first violation remains follow-up testing.??Random urine tests will increase from 3,200 to 4,800 in-season and from 350 to 1,550 in the offseason, ensuring at least one offseason test for all 40-man roster players. Random blood testing rises from 260 to 500 in-season and from 140 to 400 in the offseason.? The number of teams disqualified from revenue sharing drops from 15 to 13. A person familiar with the details, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made, said Atlanta and Houston were the teams that became eligible.? Major league players may not be traded during the final week of the regular season.??The new All-Star bonus pool for the winning team is $640,000, which calculates to $20,000 per player.??After fan and player voting, the final roster selections in each league (seven in NL and five in AL) will be made by the commissioners office rather than the All-Star managers.??While a team with a payroll $40 million or more above the luxury tax threshold would have its highest draft pick dropped 10 places, the top six selections are protected, and those teams, if penalized, would have their second pick dropped 10 slots.??The commissioner may schedule regular-season games at ballparks other than the regular sites, and players would receive additional compensation.??Players would receive $15,000 to $100,000 each for special events such as games in Mexico, Asia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and London.??Signing bonuses of $10,000 or less do not count against a teams international signing bonus pool.??Teams will increase their annual pension and medical benefits contribution to about $200 million. 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