正文

n good shape and

(2015-03-31 01:05:48) 下一個
WINSTON-SALEM, N. Jeff Samardzija Authentic .C. -- Mike Krzyzewski may have poured too much emotion into No. 4 Dukes trip to Wake Forest. The rest of the Blue Devils didnt seem to have enough. The Demon Deacons upset Duke 82-72 on Wednesday night after Coach K experienced enough dizziness and light-headedness to force him to kneel during a late timeout and skip his postgame news conference. Associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski -- who filled in for him -- says Krzyzewski has not been sick, is in good shape and expects to make a full recovery. "There was a great emotional investment in the game," Wojciechowski said, "and I think maybe the emotion got the better of him." The rest of the team might not have had that problem. Duke (23-7, 12-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) was playing for the first time in over a week -- after going 4-1 in an 11-day span before that -- and Wojciechowski says the Blue Devils simply werent prepared emotionally. After taking a late seven-point lead, Duke went without a field goal for 5 critical minutes while allowing the Demon Deacons (16-14, 6-11) to reel off 17 straight points and go up by double figures. "Im not sure that ... we were as prepared from an emotional standpoint," Wojciechowski said. "I dont know if our guys had the needed edge to compete against a Wake Forest team that played their hearts out." Tyler Cavanaugh scored a career-high 20 points, Travis McKie added 19 in his final scheduled home game and Codi Miller-McIntyre had 13 for the Demon Deacons. They followed one of their worst performances of the season -- a home loss to sub-.500 Boston College -- with one of their best. Their first win over Duke since 2009 also marked their biggest upset since they knocked off No. 2 Miami last February. "I couldnt picture a better ending," McKie said. "Everything was just perfect tonight. The fans were perfect. Me, being my last (home) game, everything we did was great." Jabari Parker scored 19 points and Rodney Hood added 16 for the Blue Devils, who missed six straight shots down the stretch and were just 6 of 27 from 3-point range while falling to 4-5 in ACC road games. Parkers dunk with just under 6 minutes left gave the Blue Devils their largest lead, 66-59, and by then, they appeared on their way to their ninth straight win in the series. Instead, thats when Wake Forest took command. "I knew we were going to win -- it was just one of those feelings that you get down the stretch," Miller-McIntyre said. "You could see it in all of my teammates eyes, that they werent ready to fall over." They didnt. After Devin Thomas and McKie hit two free throws each, Cavanaugh -- a sophomore backup forward -- became unstoppable. His left-handed jumper over Hood, who had four fouls, with 3 1/2 minutes left gave the Demon Deacons the lead for good at 67-66. After Miller-McIntyre hit a pretty crossover layup, Cavanaugh followed by sticking back Thomas miss to make it 71-66 with 2 1/2 minutes left. Coron Williams ended the run with a layup that was goaltended by Parker and made it 76-66 with 1:08 left. At the other end, Duke couldnt do anything right. A key 3-point attempt by Rasheed Sulaimon went halfway down before rimming out -- one of five 3-point attempts the Blue Devils missed during that untimely cold spell. And point guard Quinn Cook had a layup slammed hard off the backboard by Thomas. "All five guys were on the same page today," Thomas said. "We didnt let them get the 3s, because we know they live and die with the 3-ball." Sulaimon finished with 14 points for Duke, which had plenty of built-in excuses for perhaps taking the Demon Deacons lightly. Maybe they were rusty after not playing since a Feb. 25 rout of Virginia Tech. Maybe they were looking ahead to exacting revenge from North Carolina on Saturday night. Maybe they were overconfident after beating Wake Forest by 20 points last month at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Or maybe the Demon Deacons simply arent as bad as their record might indicate. "Heart. We played with heart," Cavanaugh said. "We know we can play with anyone." Williams and Arnaud William Adala Moto finished with 12 points each for Wake Forest, which led for all but about 3 minutes of the first half after holding Duke to one field goal in the first 7 1/2 minutes. They went up by eight points and responded to their only deficit of the half by reeling off the final seven points. Miller-McIntyres steal and layup just before the buzzer put the Demon Deacons up 36-33 -- just Dukes second halftime deficit of the season and first since the loss at Syracuse. "I thought they outfought us," Wojciechowski said. "This time of year, if youre not tough and youre not together for 40 minutes, it can be some very hard lessons." Gordon Beckham White Jersey . -- As expected, coach John Fox has officially ruled out Wes Welker for Denvers game against San Diego on Thursday night because of a concussion. Bobby Jenks White Jersey . Make that 2-40 now. Tony Gwynn Jr. led off the ninth with a walk against Miami closer Steve Cishek and later scored, Ben Revere added the go-ahead run when Miami second baseman Donovan Solano bobbled a potential double-play grounder and the Phillies rallied past the Marlins 5-4 Thursday night to snap a six-game losing streak.DUNEDIN, Florida – The Blue Jays kick off their 31-game exhibition schedule on Wednesday and there are decisions to be made at key positions. Heres a breakdown of where the battles will be, the players involved and how one decision may have an effect on another. This goes without saying: Were working within the confines of the current Jays roster. STARTING ROTATION: Guaranteed: R.A. Dickey, Brandon Morrow, Mark BuehrleAlmost Certain: J.A. Happ As many as nine guys, some with almost no chance of landing the job, but are included here, anyway, are vying for the final available spot. They are Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond, Drew Hutchison, Kyle Drabek, Marcus Stroman, Sean Nolin, Ricky Romero, Chad Jenkins, Aaron Sanchez and Dustin McGowan. This will be intriguing because there is a business case to be made and, depending on how spring training plays out, potential performance cases to be made. On the business end, Rogers and Redmond are out of options, meaning both must break camp with the club or risk being lost on waivers. The bullpen is an option if neither gets a starting spot – more on that later when we look at the possibility of a seven-man or eight-man bullpen. Hutchison and Drabek each have big league experience. Drabek dating back to 2010 and when he cracked the opening day roster a year later and Hutchison when he was a mid-April call up two seasons ago. Both are back to full health following Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgeries in the summer of 2012. Drabek needs to drastically improve on 1.683 career WHIP over 169 1/3 innings, particularly in the walks department – hes averaged 5.8 bases on balls per nine innings over his brief career. Hutchison is a control pitcher, not overpowering, and appears to be the most polished of the non-established big leaguers in the group. Nolin, a big lefthander, and top prospects Stroman and Sanchez would have to mesmerize Torontos brass to break camp with the club, which itself will be a tall task. There are voices amongst the decision-makers who caution against putting too much value on Grapefruit League numbers because there are occasions when pitchers are facing what amount to minor league-calibre line-ups. Jenkins, like Nolin, has options remaining and can be sent to the minor leagues without waivers. Stroman and Sanchez arent on the 40-man roster at the moment and can be sent to the minors without burning one of their three option years, at least not right away. Romero appears to have been relegated to afterthought status, a deep valley for the one-time ace, just three years removed from a 15-win season and All-Star appearance. McGowan has interest in starting, but after multiple shoulder surgeries and not having consistently started in six years, its an unlikely scenario. Hell be stretched out this spring, but McGowan is likely destined for the bullpen. Barring an incredible spring performance, it seems one of Rogers, Redmond, Hutchison or Drabek will come away with the final starting spot. Stroman has an outside shot. If the decision is strictly business, itll be Rogers or Redmond starting the season in the rotation. Regardless, most of the kids on the list are bumping their heads on the minor league ceiling and are expected to be contributing to the Blue Jays sooner rather than later. BULLPEN (SEVEN-MAN or EIGHT-MAN?): Guaranteed: Casey Janssen, Steve Delabar, Brett Cecil, Sergio Santos, Aaron Loup and Dustin McGowan. General manager Alex Anthopoulos has to decide on whether to go with a seven-man or eight-man bullpen. Choose the latter and youll have one fewer bench player (three instead of four) at manager John Gibbonss disposal. The eight-man bullpen scenario occurs if neither Rogerrs nor Redmond secures the final rotation job. Jeff Samardzija White Jersey. The Blue Jays were reminded last year that a club cant have too much pitching and theres a strong probability either would be lost if exposed to waivers. Jeremy Jeffress, a flame-throwing right-hander, who briefly impressed with a 0.87 ERA over 10 1/3 big league innings last season, also has a shot at making the team. He adjusted his arm slot downward late last season and is in the process of successfully treating a juvenile epilepsy diagnosis. Jeffress is out of options and clubs love hard-throwing pitchers. The Jays got Jeffress through waivers at one point last season. There is no guarantee they could do it again. Left-hander Juan Perez, 35, has returned to health after straining his elbow last summer. Hes caught in a numbers game. Meantime, Neil Wagner appears destined for Triple-A Buffalo regardless of performance. He has an option and he, too, is caught in a numbers game. SECOND BASE: Competing: Ryan Goins, Maicer Izturis, Chris Getz (non-roster invitee,) Jonathan Diaz (non-roster invitee,) Munenori Kawasaki (non-roster invitee) and Steve Tolleson (non-roster invitee.) Goins is the incumbent, having concluded last season as the Jays second baseman. Anthopoulos loves Goinss defense, saying last week he believes Goins is the best in Toronto since the days of Orlando Hudson. Goinss biggest challenger is Getz, a former Royal, who has familiarity with both Gibbons (Royals bench coach, 2008-2011) and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer from his days in Kansas City. Getz is a left-handed bat. BENCH: Here is where the Blue Jays thin out considerably, especially if they begin the season with an eight-man bullpen. Backup catcher: Erik Kratz or Josh Thole. Kratz, who strikes an imposing figure at 64", 255 lbs, is a right-handed bat whos hit 18 home runs in 378 at-bats over the last two seasons with the Phillies. Considering the likelihood the second catcher will play more this season (Dioner Navarro hasnt played more than 89 games in a season since 2009,) the Jays could value Kratzs offense over Tholes long history with knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Navarro wont catch Dickey. Kratz spent a week with Dickey in Nashville in the offseason and has caught all of his bullpen and live batting practice sessions so far this spring. Right-handed Bat to Platoon with Adam Lind: Moises Sierra is out of options and Toronto needs to determine if he is the viable option. Backup Infielder: Manager John Gibbons has said on more than one occasion that he prefers to use Izturis off the bench because he can play around the infield. Its a role Izturis became accustomed to in Anaheim. So, if the Jays go with an eight-man bullpen, thats it. Anthony Gose, under the scenario presented above, would begin the season in Buffalo. Should the Jays go with a seven-man bullpen, the roving outfielder spot opens up and is likely Goses to take with the likes of Kevin Pillar and Kenny Wilson getting more seasoning in the minor leagues. REPLAY Each club will play five games this spring under the new instant replay rules. Managers will be encouraged to throw the challenge flag at some point each game during the exhibition contests. "We had that meeting last week and they said the umpires will notify us before the game and say, hey if you get a chance, try it," said manager John Gibbons. INTRA-SQUAD GAME The Blue Jays played a four-and-a-half inning intra-squad game on Tuesday at the Bobby Mattick Complex. Drew Hutchison, Marcus Stroman and Sean Nolin each pitched a scoreless inning. Aaron Sanchez gave up the games only run, a Maicer Izturis single. It was the fourth and final hit he allowed in his inning of work. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' '
[ 打印 ]
閱讀 ()評論 (0)
評論
目前還沒有任何評論
登錄後才可評論.