TORONTO – Standing just a few steps from the ice, a pace or two away from the Marlies dressing room, Ben Scrivens is explaining the intricate wiring of his thought process. Hes only a few months removed from a bold 2011-2012 campaign which saw him post microscopic, league-leading numbers en route to a surprising berth in the Calder Cup final. With those weighty accomplishments however come expectation and this fall the sizeable expectations are nothing less than a repeat of last season. Hes on the cusp of a job in the NHL, but with that league locked out and looking hopeless, hes got no choice but to raise the bar at Ricoh Coliseum and beyond that in Syracuse, Hamilton, Peoria, Adirondack and wherever else. Searching for the proper analogy to describe his way of thinking in midst of a critical third pro season, Scrivens finally lands on baseball. “Whats your goal, a .300 average?” he asks rhetorically. “Well yeah that can be your goal, it can .350, .250, whatever it is, but youre not going into the game saying ‘Okay Ive got to hit a home run in the second, you go into the game saying ‘I want to stretch out my at-bats, I want to be selective with my pitches, dont swing at the first pitch. Its simple, but its the only way that you can follow a plan is making it simple and repeatable.” Scrivens is not the type to jot down goals on a sheet of paper, crossing them off upon completion at the end of the year. Instead, hes the one to lay all the puzzle pieces on the table, dissecting what patterns and strategies will be necessary to ‘make whole the picture on the front of the box. “If you focus on the process then youre not readjusting your goals every time that youve achieved something,” he explained, sounding more like the author of a self-help book than a promising goaltender. “You look at it in hindsight as ‘Okay, thats what I accomplished and this is the way that I accomplished it so next year Im going to focus on these things again and hopefully try and replicate and maybe become more consistent.” Admittedly “trying to minimize the valleys and maximize the peaks” Scrivens aspires for a more stable approach this season. A “huge proponent of a cyclical way of thinking” the 26-year-old believes less in luck than in logic and reality, confident that the breaks of the game will even out at some point. Hes inclined to stream-line his focus from save to save rather than a scoped out set of big picture ambitions and clearly-defined objectives. Watching the Alberta native up close over the past two seasons, Marlies coach Dallas Eakins is steeped in the pressure that surrounds his number one goaltender, the weight of repeating and even exceeding last years success. But hes loath to run from it and insists upon the same from Scrivens. “Listen, I dont like limits on anyone,” said Eakins. “If you can run a six-minute mile, well lets go run a five-and-a-half mile. If you can climb a mountain thats 10,000 feet, go find one thats 12,000…I want these guys to push their limits. Even if he was MVP of the season last year and we wouldve won the championship, I want him to be better this year.” After last season wrapped up, coach and goaltender conversed and ultimately concluded that Scrivens league-leading goals against average (2.04) could have actually been lower. “Its something that our organization is very proud about and Im proud of Ben individually for that and he should be proud as well,” said Eakins of the mark. “But we look back at the season and he went through about a four or five week-span where there was a bunch of goals he definitely wanted back. He couldve been even lower there.” After three starts this fall, Scrivens has allowed seven goals on 60 shots (.896 save percentage), winning once and losing twice. Drawing near in his rear-view mirror are back-ups Jussi Rynnas and Mark Owuya, the former posting a shutout in his first start of the season this past Saturday. Scrivens wont consume himself with numbers and remains glued to the process, but after swimming in the NHL waters for 11 games with the Leafs last season, its clear that his mindset has altered slightly from a year prior. With the lockout ongoing, however, his sights admittedly cannot stray past the next save with the Marlies. “Obviously this year wouldve been a different mind-set and a different approach for the season,” he said. “It wouldve been less of a set yourself up for a chance to get called up and more of a steal someones job, not that its available for the taking or its going to be given to you. But I now have a little bit more experience at [the NHL] level and a few more accolades down here. I feel like Im ready to make the jump and Ive got to earn it at this point.” . ODea, 25, began his youth career with Glasgow Celtic FC and made his team debut for Celtic in September 2006. [url=http://www.ussoccerteamshopjersey.com/alejandro-bedoya-world-cup-jersey.htm... 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For a team that conceded just five goals in 10 qualifying games, Greece have been woefully inept defensively in this tournament.WASHINGTON -- Entering the 14th inning, the New York Yankees were 0 for 14 with runners in scoring position, and Washington Nationals teen sensation was Bryce Harper was 0 for 6 at the plate. The Yankees got off their goose egg. Harper didnt. Mark Teixeiras two-run double to the right-field corner made the difference Saturday as the Yankees won their eighth straight game, beating the Nationals 5-3. New York outfielder Dewayne Wise, who cut down a runner at the plate in the eighth inning to keep the game tied, said it felt as if the game "was going to go 25 innings. I was looking at the bullpen thinking I may have to come in and throw an inning or two." Jayson Nix opened the 14th with an infield single, then stole second and advanced to third on Derek Jeters single to left. Jeters hit made the Yankees 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position, but Nix couldnt score because he had to make sure the ball made it past the infield. After Curtis Granderson struck out, Teixeira got the Yankees up to 2 for 16 with the double off Brad Lidge (0-1). It was Teixeiras only hit on a day that started -- seemingly long ago -- with strikeouts in the first, third and fifth innings. "Find a way to get it done, and thats what our guys did," manager Joe Girardi said. "To be honest, I was having a hard time remembering how we got our other three runs. It was so long ago." Freddy Garcia (1-2) pitched two innings to get the win. Rafael Soriano earned his 12th save, but only after allowing consecutive one-out singles to Jesus Flores and Steve Lombardozzi. The game ended when Soriano got Harper to ground out, ending the rookies 0-for-7 day that included five strikeouts. "I thought he was really amped up," Washington manager Davey Johnson said. "Ive never seen him swing at balls out of the zone. He was chasing balls. He got into that mode of trying to make something happen." One day after turning 40, Andy Pettitte allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings in his Nationals Park debut. He particularly embarrassed Harper by getting the 19-year-old to strike out three times lunging at off-speed pitches in the lefty-vs.-lefty, old-vs.-young matchup. Harper laid off the off-speed pitches his fourth time up against Pettitte and hit a fastball deep to left-centre with a man on the seventh inning, but Granderson made a running two-out catch that temporarily preserved the Yankees lead. Harper also was callled out on strikes in the 10th against lefty Clay Rapada and went down swinging in the 13th against righty Garcia.dddddddddddd Harper declined to speak to reporters after the game, but he was the talk of the Yankees clubhouse. Despite the kids tough day, Girardi was concerned about a storybook ending when Harper came up in the 14th. "You start thinking, OK, this guys has a really tough day, and people are cheering for him, and it could just change his whole day," Girardi said. But it didnt. The Yankees won for the 18th time in 21 games. The only thing missing was the requisite home run: New York won for the first time all season without hitting a homer, ending an 0-12 streak. Ian Desmond hit a solo homer in the Washington eighth off Cory Wade that made it 3-all. The Nationals had a chance to take the lead later in the inning when pinch-hitter Adam LaRoche singled to right with Tyler Moore on second. Wise, who had just moved to right field from left field in a double switch for LaRoches at-bat, charged the ball and threw out Moore on a close play at home. Replays appeared to show that Moores hand slapped the plate just ahead of catcher Russell Martins tag. "I dont want to say it, but, you know, I made a good throw," Wise said with a laugh. "The umpire says he was out, so that kept us going. Thats the main thing -- you make it close, you never know what might happen." With Alex Rodriguez taking the day off from the starting lineup, Eric Chavez started at third and reached base four times, including a double off the scoreboard in right-centre that gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the sixth. Washington starter Jordan Zimmermann allowed three runs and five hits over six innings. NOTES: Pettitte set a major league record by starting his 52nd interleague game, passing Livan Hernandez. He is 19-16 in AL vs. NL matchups. ... Rodriguez appeared as a pinch hitter in the 10th inning and grounded out to second base. ... The Roger Clemens trial is taking place a dozen blocks or so from Nationals Park, but its hardly the talk of the clubhouse. "I follow it, but I just wish it wasnt in the news," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "I just wish that we could get by that. He was a great pitcher. Hes got a lot of my respect, and I hate to see any negative light shed on baseball in any way, and on any of the great players." ... Yankees OF Nick Swisher left the game with a bruised quad. ' ' '