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Theres nothing like a win to give us confidence to put anothe

Started by wff0605, 2014/07/10 04:56AM
Latest post: 2014/07/10 04:56AM, Views: 326, Posts: 1
Theres nothing like a win to give us confidence to put anothe
#1   2014/07/10 04:56AM
wff0605
LOS ANGELES -- Zack Greinke showed up alone to a mid-November meeting at Dodger Stadium, asking as many questions as he answered. When he left three hours later, the pitcher thought he may have found his new team while the Los Angeles Dodgers brass knew they had to land the top arm on the open market. They did, signing Greinke to a $147 million, six-year deal that is the richest for a right-hander in baseball history. The Dodgers beat out Texas and the rival Los Angeles Angels, for whom Greinke pitched last season. "Hes the one we wanted," said Magic Johnson, a partner in Guggenheim Baseball Management, which bought the team last spring. "A guy of Zacks ability and also his commitment to his craft, they dont come on the market too many times. Were so thrilled to have him. Dodger pride is on the way back." Greinkes introduction on Tuesday culminated a more than $200 million spending spree by the Dodgers in which they also signed South Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin, who got a $36 million, six-year deal. The club also spent $25.7 million on a posting fee that gave the Dodgers exclusive negotiating rights with Ryu. "Nobody worried about the Yankees when they were doing this and winning," Johnson said. "Were here to win." The Dodgers havent won the World Series since 1988, but that didnt discourage Greinke. "Besides the money, the No. 1 (reason) was they have a team that could win a World Series for several years," he said. Greinke, the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner, and Ryu give the Dodgers eight starting pitchers under contract for next season, joining 2011 NL Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Josh Beckett, Ted Lilly, Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang. The Dodgers were eager to bolster their pitching this winter knowing that Billingsley (elbow) and Lilly (shoulder) are coming off operations. "A lot of things have to come together," Greinke said. "You cant just throw names on a team and be good. If everyone comes back healthy it should be a good ride. They could be good for every year of my contract, so there is no rebuilding." With Greinke locked up, the Dodgers plan to discuss a contract extension with Kershaw, who can become a free agent after the 2014 season. Casey Close, Greinkes agent, said Texas was in the hunt for his client until the end. "At one point, I was favouring Texas," Greinke said before the negotiations made him change his mind. The Angels didnt make it that far, according to Greinke, who said his former team "never really got into it when the details came." "Theres a point where every team has to have a stopping point and they obviously reached it," he said. "Im not mad at them. I dont think theyre mad at how I went about things." The 29-year-old righty started last season with Milwaukee and was later traded to the Angels, going a combined 15-5 with a 3.48 ERA. He is 91-78 with a 3.77 ERA in nine seasons with the Brewers, Dodgers and Angels. In 2009, Greinke went 16-8 with a major league-leading 2.16 ERA for Kansas City, and hed like to recapture that form. "I was consistent that whole entire year," he said. "Most years Ill start strong and hit a roadblock." Greinke impressed Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, president and CEO Stan Kasten and manager Don Mattingly simply by showing up alone to their meeting. "He was stunning. It was probably the best free-agent meeting Ive ever had," Colletti said. "I cant remember one that didnt bring an agent or friends. If the questioning got a little tough, they had a fallback." Greinke showed hed done his homework on the Dodgers, discussing younger players in their system, his strategies for retiring everyone in the teams lineup, and what the club would be like in three years. He saw Dodger Stadium as the kind of park that would allow him to be a fly ball pitcher. "This was always a place I wanted to play," he said. "I loved it there (in Anaheim), so I assume this will be just as good." Kasten impressed Greinke with his plans for the organization and what the pitcher said was "his ability to keep so many things under control." "I dont want to make his head too big, but I thought Stan was the smartest person I ever talked to," Greinke said. "With him in charge, I thought they had a chance to keep things going good." coach handbags outlet . And through the first week and a half with his new team, the change has been good for both him and the AL Central leaders. Taking over at third base and batting second, Youkilis had 11 RBIs and two homers in his first 11 games. coach outlet online . Advantage, Djokovic. The top-ranked Serb got the big break when he needed it late in the third set and held off Murray 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 at the O2 Arena. "Another great match. Another great performance from both of us," said Djokovic, who has known Murray since they were 11 years old. http://www.coachfactoryoutletweb.com/... . Ryan was let go a day after running backs coach Skip Peete was fired, and less than a week after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said things were going to get "uncomfortable" at team headquarters in nearby Irving. "At this time, the decision has been made to move forward in a different direction philosophically on defence," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said in a statement. [url=http://www.coachfactoryoutletweb.com/]cheap coach handbags . The Sacramento Kings extended Smarts contract through the 2013-14 season on Monday. Smarts deal had been set to expire after the upcoming season. coach factory outlet . Commissioner Gary Bettman has suggested placing a two-week moratorium on stalled collective bargaining negotiations, multiple sources told The Canadian Press on Thursday night.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ramon Sessions wanted another chance to prove he had some ice left in his veins. He got that chance Monday night and took advantage of it. Sessions scored nine of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds left to seal the game, and the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Milwaukee Bucks 102-98. The Bobcats trailed by 11 in the fourth but battled back, going 16 of 16 from the free throw line down the stretch. Sessions two free throws came after Monta Ellis missed a 3-point attempt with 5.9 seconds remaining, sending the Bucks to their first road loss of the season and lifting the surprising Bobcats (5-4) back above .500. Sessions was 10 of 10 from the foul line and the Bobcats shot 90 per cent (27 of 30) for the game. Sessions missed two key free throws last week against Minnesota in the games final seconds and the Bobcats needed a jumper from Kemba Walker with 0.7 seconds left to pull off an 89-87 win. "When I missed those two I wanted the chance to redeem myself," Sessions said. "Its one of those things that comes around and I had to take advantage of it." Walker and Byron Mullens each scored 19 points for the Bobcats, while rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist turned in another solid effort with 15 points and nine rebounds. Ellis scored 31 points for the Bucks (6-3). Mike Dunleavy scored 16 points and Brandon Jennings was held to 10 points on 5-of-18 shooting. The Bucks never led by more than four until the fourth quarter when Ellis began to turn it up a notch, scoring six quick points to help put Milwaukee up 11. But the young Bobcats rallied. Sessions hit a long 3-pointer to tie the game at 96 off a pretty feed from Mullens and Kidd-Gilchrist added two free throws to give the Bobcats the lead with 2:01 to go. Trailing by two with under a minute to play, Samuel Dalembert missed badly on an awkward looking 13-footer off a pick and roll. Dalembert later called it an "indecisive" play. "I was about to go and drive, but when I saw a man coming I decided to shoot," Dalembert said. The Bobcats had a chance to build on the lead, but couldnt get into an offensive play and Sessions turned the ball over at the top of the key with 19 seconds left. The Bucks had a chance to win it, but Ellis missed a 3-pointer from the left wing.dddddddddddd Charlotte is coming off the worst season in NBA history, finishing 7-59 while losing their final 23 games. It took the Bobcats 36 games last season before they won their fifth game, but this years team looks nothing like last years -- playing hard, physical basketball under new coach Mike Dunlap. Charlotte came into the game in the top 10 in the NBA both in steals and blocks, one of only three teams with that distinction. "The one theyre doing is really playing hard," Dunleavy said. "They compete every night and theyre not going to roll over. When you do that in this league youre going to win more than seven games. Theyre going to blow that mark away this year obviously. Theyre headed in the right direction." Still Dalembert said the Bucks missed a golden opportunity to get a win. "No disrespect to Charlotte, but those are the games that we should be winning," Dalembert said. But Bucks coach Scott Skiles said its tough to win in the NBA when youre not focused. "I dont want to short-change their win. They deserved to win the game," Skiles said. "... But our whole approach tonight was not good. We had great difficulty remembering plays and we were just mentally kind of out of it." The Bobcats shot 53.5 per cent from the field in the first half to take a 55-54 lead at the break. Walker was on fire early, hitting 6 of 6 shots from the field in a 15-point first half, marking the ninth straight game hes reached double digits. Charlotte is now 4-0 on games decided by four points or less. "Theres nothing like a win to give us confidence to put another page in the blueprint on how to close games out," Dunlap said. "Weve had a lot of close games and won most of them. So thats a good sign for a young team." NOTES: The Bobcats announced before the game that F Tyrus Thomas is expected to miss approximately two months with a torn muscle in his lower left leg. An MRI revealed a second-degree strain of his left calf muscle and a tear of the plantaris muscle, a smaller muscle that assists the calf in flexing the ankle. ... Charlottes Ben Gordon left the game in the second half with a right knee contusion. ... Dunleavy had a season-high four blocked shots for the Bucks. ' ' '


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