CLEVELAND – Ask a Blue Jays fan still hesitant to believe in the team whether a 5-4, nine-game run through Baltimore, Minnesota

CLEVELAND – Ask a Blue Jays fan still hesitant to believe in the team whether a 5-4, nine-game run through Baltimore, Minnesota and Cleveland would be satisfactory early in the season, and the answer likely would be in the affirmative. Brayden Point Lightning Jersey . Yet its those defeats, snatched from the jaws of victory, which sting the most and Toronto had two of them on the trip. The Jays led 4-2 in the sixth inning when Aaron Loup walked the bases loaded and gave up a bases-clearing, three-RBI double to the Indians David Murphy. Cleveland had a lead it wouldnt relinquish, ultimately winning the game 6-4. The meltdown was relatively minor compared to Thursday nights eighth inning debacle in Minnesota, which saw three relievers give up six runs on just one hit and an unseemly eight walks in a 9-5 loss to the Twins. Its jarring because the Blue Jays bullpen has been consistently reliable. It raises two concerns about the pitching staff. First: the walks. Six more on Sunday afternoon for a season total of 81, which pending the behaviour of Arizona Diamondbacks pitchers in their game against the Dodgers later Sunday, ranks second-most in baseball. "The walks have killed us so far," pitching coach Pete Walker told TSN.ca before Sundays game. "I think its cost us a couple of ballgames." Walks just cost them another one. Second: with the exception of Mark Buehrle, the starting staffs inability to pitch deep into games. "Bottom line, weve got to get some innings out of our starters or our bullpen will be dead come May," said manager John Gibbons after Sundays defeat. Such was the dichotomy of Brandon Morrows performance on Sunday. His six strikeouts over five-plus innings belied the fact Indians hitters battled him throughout. Michael Bourn led off the game with a nine-pitch at-bat. He struck out. In the second, Michael Brantley put the Indians ahead 1-0 with a solo home run on the ninth pitch. An inning later, in the third, Jason Kipnis worked a full-count, 10-pitch walk. Morrow was done at 95 pitches one hitter into the sixth. He threw almost 30 per cent of his pitches (28 of 95) in those three plate appearances alone, leaving Gibbons to wish for more efficiency. "I havent been able to do it as much as I would like to," said Morrow of pitching into the sixth and seventh innings. "Today it was one long inning in the middle; without that I would have been in a better position to finish that sixth." Walker is preaching contact early in counts. He doesnt want pitchers worried about strikeout totals. He wants aggression and laments that radar gun readings are posted on electronic scoreboards. "Its trusting your stuff and really believing that your fastball is good enough that day," said Walker. "I think a couple of our guys might be down in velocity and sometimes that affects your approach. You dont see that 97 on the board and its 92, 93 and all of a sudden you dont trust that fastball in as much as you did last year." Its easy to fall in love with the radar gun and easy to forget that the Blue Jays best pitcher to this point, Mark Buehrle, no longer tops 84 miles per hour with his fastball. "I think it comes down to realizing its not the velocity, its the location," said Walker. "Your fastball is your fastball that given day and it needs to be located regardless. I think, for the most part, thats what we need to get back to and thats something were focusing on is fastball command and pitching inside a little more aggressively." Through 19 games Blue Jays starters have pitched 103 2/3 innings, averaging less than 5 2/3 innings per start. A team with playoff aspirations needs more. R.A. Dickey is presented with the next opportunity to join Buehrle in bucking the troubling trend. He starts Tuesday nights series opener at home with Baltimore. NAVARROS STRANGE ALLERGY If youve been to a Blue Jays game and noticed that Dioner Navarro kicks away the catchers box chalk outline before kneeling for first inning warm up pitches, theres a good reason. Navarros allergic to chalk. The problem dates back years to Navarros minor league days. He would come home after games with skin cracks on his hands. His wife put two and two together since Navarro would always swipe at the dirt to improve his grip, and she suggested he be tested for allergies. Now its habit for Navarro to kick away the chalk before the game begins. Anton Stralman Jersey .C. Now hes squarely in the U.S. capital and helping the Washington Wizards playoff drive. John Wall scored 33 points, Gooden got 11 of his 21 in the final quarter and the Wizards overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 101-94 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night. Yanni Gourde Lightning Jersey .J. Ellis hit an RBI single in the ninth inning, Hanley Ramirez hit a tape-measure, three-run homer in the first against Cliff Lee and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 on Saturday night. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Slater-Koekkoek-Jersey/ .com) - Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 51 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder took down the struggling Bucks 114-101 on Tuesday.CALGARY -- Canadas medal prospects in the new Olympic sport of freestyle halfpipe are bright if the World Cup in Calgary is an indication. Canadian men swept the podium and placed four in the top five Friday at Canada Olympic Park event and that was with reigning World Cup champion Mike Riddle of Sherwood Park, Alta., sidelined with a bruised heel. Justin Dorey of Vernon, B.C., Calgarys Noah Bowman and Matt Margetts of Penticton, B.C., finished first to third respectively in the halfpipe, which makes its Olympic debut next month in Sochi, Russia. Simon dArtois of Whistler, B.C., was fifth. "We have a lot of talent on the halfpipe team right now," Dorey said. "I think were all capable of putting down podium runs." Dorey, 25, posted a combined two-run score of 87.20 points for his first World Cup victory. Bowman, 21, was second with a 84.40 score, while Margetts, 25, was third with a score of 82.60. Calgarys Megan Gunning finished just outside the womens medals. Rowan Cheshire of Britain won the womens event with a score of 80.40 points. Virginie Faivre of Switzerland second with 79.80 points and Amy Sheehan of Australia third with 79.20. Edmontons Keltie Hansen was eighth. As in snowboard halfpipe, the freestylers use momentum generated by the pipes slopes to gain air and perform tricks. Former world champion Rosalind Groenewoud of Squamish, B.C., underwent surgery on both her knees last month. She wasnt yet ready for competition although she intends to compete in Sochi. The U.S. team wasnt in Calgary so reigning world champion David Wise and world silver medallist Torin Yater-Wallace were not in the mens field. "Theres no doubt there were some strong podium contenders who werent at this event, so that opens up a little bit of room," Canadian coach Trennon Paynter said. "That being said, our guys who podiumed today have all podiumed at major events in the past. "We had four of the top five. Its one of the best results weve ever had as a team. At this time of the year as were building towards going into Sochi, its such a positive note. Were all stoked." Canada will have to leave some halfpipe talent at home for the Winter Games. The country can enter a maximum of four men and Riddle has alreaddy qualified for one of those spots. Slater Koekkoek Jersey. "We have some of the best halfpipe talent in the world, which is pretty crazy," Margetts said. "Its pretty cool we have that. It also makes it really difficult because we have so many good competitors, teammates we have to compete against and theres so few spots. "I still had two Canadians, two teammates, two competitors who were still ahead of me. Even though we all did well today, they still did better than me which gives them that little more of an opportunity to go, which kind of sucks. Youre obviously stoked for your friends, but youre competitors at the same time so its kind of difficult emotionally to deal with that." Dorey felt some of the pressure to qualify for Sochi lift with his victory. "Its not official that Ill be going, but I feel really confident in my position to get on the team, so now I can start pushing it a little bit more and start working on my Sochi run," he said. "The pressure, Im starting to learn how to deal with that a little better. There will be plenty of that in Russia. Im stoked to go there because Ive been doing this for almost eight years and lot of the guys I grew up with doing this sport have kind of phased out of it." Bowman joined Canada Olympic Parks freestyle club at age 14, so standing on the podium in the place where it all began felt special to him. "It means so much to have a podium with two of my best friends and teammates here in Calgary," he said. "It was so amazing to have friends and family out here supporting. Hearing all them cheer before I dropped in, I got chills." Both Bowman and Margetts said there was a standing bet among the Canadian men that if they ever achieved a medal sweep, Paynter "had to start smoking again," said Margetts. Paynter disavowed all knowledge of the wager to reporters. Canadas three male medallists each received a $5,000 bonus from WinSport, which operates Canada Olympic Park. WinSport established the Sarah Burke Performance Awards in memory of Burke, a Canadian freestyle ski pioneer who died following a training accident in January, 2012. Any Canadian athlete who earns a World Cup medal at COP earns the financial award. Cheap Heat Jerseys Cheap Bucks Jerseys Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys Cheap Pelicans Jerseys Cheap Knicks Jerseys Cheap Thunder Jerseys Cheap Magic Jerseys Cheap 76ers Jerseys Cheap Suns Jerseys Cheap Blazers Jerseys Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys Cheap Spurs Jerseys Cheap Raptors Jerseys Cheap Jazz Jerseys Cheap Wizards Jerseys ' ' '