Clan-Members » e been a head coach, Carroll said.

Imagine if you will a Jays team starting this season with Roberto Alomar at second base, Joe Carter in right field, Devon White in centre, John Olerud at first and Paul Molitor at DH. Not to mention a pitching staff, that includes Dave Stewart, Juan Guzman, Pat Hentgen and up-and-comers like Woody Williams, Al Leiter and Todd Stottlemyre. This team would also have three young prospects who could be the foundation of a great team for years to come in Carlos Delgado, Shawn Green and Alex Gonzalez. You might already be printing the World Series tickets. Well it didnt exactly turn out that way for the 1994 Blue Jays. They did win six of their first seven games and got off to decent 12-6 start including a six-game win streak. However it didnt last, and by the time the strike came in mid-August that led to the eventual shutdown of the season, they had faded to 55-60 and the dream of a three-peat gone with it. I painted that little scenario to show you how difficult it can be to predict division winners, let alone World Series champs. The 1994 Jays had most of the key components back from the team that had repeated in 1993, including having WAMCO intact as the top five hitters in the lineup (White, Alomar, Molitor, Carter and Olerud). There were three missing pieces. Closer Duane Ward had injured his shoulder in the offseason and was never really able to come back and be the dominant bullpen stopper he had been. Shortstop Tony Fernandez and left fielder Rickey Henderson had been allowed to leave in the offseason as well. Still, there was more than enough talent for this team to contend. Darren Hall, a mere shadow of Ward took over as closer and recorded 17 saves. Veteran Dick Schofield played the bulk of the games at short and journeyman Mike Huff played left for the most part. I would submit the 94 Blue Jays had far more talent than the current Jays, yet they finished the abbreviated season five games under .500. You dont want to be a total buzz-kill about the 2014 Jays, because they do have talent. If they both stay healthy, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion are capable of hitting at least 40 homers. Melky Cabrera, sans back tumour, is looking more like he could have been batting champ with the Giants a couple of years ago. Jose Reyes, again when healthy, is one of the top shortstops in the game. Brett Lawrie could be on the cusp of developing into one of the top third basemen in the Majors, and this is a free agent contract year for Colby Rasmus, so the pressure is on for him to produce. In other words, the offence should be there. As it has been the past two seasons, pitching is the question. The starting rotation has to log enough innings to give a solid bullpen the chance to produce results for the entire season, not just the first half, after which they could fade from overuse. If Drew Hutchison is the real deal, and it looks as though he just might be, the top three in the rotation looks pretty decent, though you always worry about the inevitable age-related declines of veterans like R.A. Dickey ( 39) and Mark Buehrle (35). The question marks are the 4 and 5 starters. Brandon Morrow has to prove he can put together a dominant healthy season and finally realize his vast potential. As for Dustin McGowan, youd have to have a heart of stone not to be pulling for this guy, whos battled through injury after injury to finally crack the Opening Day roster for the first time since 2008. Top prospects Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman are waiting in the wings, but probably wont make significant contributions this season, unless there is another rash of injuries, or the Jays drop so far back, they just decide to go young. After calling the Jays to win 92 or 93 games a year ago and contend for a wild card spot, Im reluctant to make any kind of a call on where they will finish in 2014. But my gut tells me they will win 83 or 84 games and be battling for fourth with Baltimore or maybe even Boston. I really do hope Im wrong. Jays Elsewhere Not a really good well for Canadians in the Majors or ex-Jays. The Cubs released Canuck catcher George Kottaras, while Minnesota out-righted lefthander Scott Diamond of Guelph, Ontario to Triple "A" Rochester. Lefty Frank Viola, a Cy Young winner and World Series star in his days with the Twins, had a brief stint with the Jays near the end of his career. The now 53-year-old Viola is taking a leave of absence from his job as the Mets Triple "A" pitching coach at Las Vegas after undergoing open heart surgery. The man taking Violas place is Tom Signore, who was the Blue Jays Double "A" pitching coach at New Hampshire the past three years. So Signore will get to work with the Mets top pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard, whom he also had in the Blue Jays system before he was traded as part of the package for R.A Dickey. Former Jays righthander Shaun Marcum was sent to their minor league camp by Clevleand. Marcum, who was dealt to Milwaukee for Brett Lawrie, has seen his career hampered by injuries. Over eight years in the bigs, the 32-year-old Marcum has a 58-46 record with a 3.88 earned run average. The Indians are hoping he can battle his way back at some point this season. J.P Arencibia was hoping to get some significant playing time in Texas this season to re-establish his career. When the Rangers number one backstop Geovany Soto went down for 10-12 weeks with torn meniscus in his right knee, it looked as though J.P would be the man but skipper Ron Washington has been more impressed with Robinson Chirinos. So it appears J.P., at least for now, is stuck as the backup. One Jay having a good week, in fact a good spring, is catcher Yan Gomes. He appears to have won the number one job with Cleveland after the Indians moved Carlos Santana from catcher to third base. The Jays traded Gomes and veteran utility infielder Mike Aviles to the Indians for righthander Esmil Rogers in the previous offseason. Considering how Gomes has progressed and Rogers has faltered this spring, the Jays might like a mulligan on that one. Nick Chubb Womens Jersey . "Its amazing to do this coming from such a small island, where tennis isnt necessarily recognized as one of the main sports," Puig said. "Im just happy Im able to be here playing tennis not only for myself, but for my country too. Odell Beckham Jr Jersey . Nainggolan scored his first Italian league goal at Bologna, in October 2010, and he also opened his Roma account there following his January move from Cagliari. The Belgium midfielder volleyed home Miralem Pjanics cross from close range eight minutes from time. http://www.brownsrookiestore.com/Browns-...akitaki-Jersey/. INJURIES - Reds RF Jay Bruce is facing knee surgery for a torn meniscus and it could cost him a month of playing time. Chris Heisey, who has shown some pop (43 home runs, . Bernie Kosar Youth Jersey . He made that dream a reality Wednesday night. Olt, who grew up in Branford, Connecticut, attended UConn and made a nearly 2 1-2 hour trek to Boston a handful of times to watch the Red Sox, belted a two-run homer, one of four hit by Cubs in a 16-9 rout that completed a three-game interleague series sweep. David Njoku Womens Jersey . Patty Mills had 20 points, Tim Duncan had 11 points and 13 rebounds in limited action, and San Antonio rolled to a 110-82 victory over Milwaukee that kept the Bucks winless in the new year.RENTON, Wash. - Pete Carroll talks about it constantly, almost to the point of exasperation, about how protecting the ball is the most important thing in the Seattle Seahawks program.Not having the fiercest defence in the NFL or a dynamic offence based around a strong running game. But simply holding on to the football.Ive been trying to emphasize this better than anybody in the world for as long as Ive been a head coach, Carroll said.Clearly his team is listening.The Seahawks set a franchise record this season for the fewest turnovers, giving the ball away just 14 times during the regular season. That was three fewer than the previous best mark for the Seahawks when they committed only 17 turnovers during the 2005 season and Seattle made its first Super Bowl appearance.It continued a trend of Seattle being better at protecting the ball with Carroll in charge. Seattle committed 31 turnovers in Carrolls first season in 2010. The Seahawks had 23 in 2011, 19 in 2012 and 18 last season on their way to the franchises first Super Bowl title.This season the Seahawks finished third in the league in fewest turnovers. And not surprisingly, the two teams ahead of Seattle — New England and Green Bay each had 13 turnovers — are also still playing on championship weekend.Its a conscious effort for those guys, Seattle offensive co-ordinator Darrell Bevell said. Its something that we talk about all the time. Its something that we show them all the time. There are things that happen on the field that we preach about all the time. Its in the front of their mind quite ooften as ball carriers.ddddddddddddSeattles proficiency in holding on to the ball is a mix of emphasis, conscious decision-making and a good deal of luck. Quarterback Russell Wilson has made better decisions with his passing, watching his interception numbers drop to just seven. Surprisingly, six of his seven interceptions were thrown at home.Ive always prided myself in that. You dont want to give them the ball and just making key decisions, anticipating things, too. Understanding what the defence is and what theyre trying to do and also if its not there, throw it away, Wilson said. I throw the ball away a good amount if its not there. Thats just trust in my guys and trust in the system.There is also the aspect of luck. Seattle fumbled the ball 23 times in the regular season, yet lost only seven. Three of the fumbles were credited to punter Jon Ryan, safety Earl Thomas and centre Stephen Schilling.Wilson put the ball on the ground 11 times in the regular season and didnt lose one.The reduction in turnovers was critical in a season where the Seahawks defence didnt force as many turnovers. Seattle opponents committed only 24 turnovers this season, compared to 39 last year. Four times in the regular season, Seattle failed to force a turnover, a stark change from 2013 when the Seahawks only went one time without an interception or fumble recovery.This was just the second time in Carrolls five seasons that the Seahawks failed to force at least 30 turnovers in the regular season.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '