WASHINGTON - Forgive Washington Nationals owner Mark Lerner if he got swept up in the scene.
[b]Nike Air Force 1 Just Do It Blanche Pas Cher[/b] .Speaking after a news conference Wednesday to announce the addition — via a $210 million, seven-year contract — of 2013 AL Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, Lerner was thinking big thoughts. After all, the clubs starting rotation, at least for the moment, also includes Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez.If they all stay healthy, began Lerner, whose father, Ted, is the teams principal owner, I guess its a possibility we may give up the fewest runs in National League history during a 162-game schedule, which is amazing.Let the speculation begin, then.Who will start on opening day, an honour thats gone to Strasburg the past three years? How good could this staff be?As it is, in 2014, Washingtons starters led the majors with a 3.04 ERA.How far can those pitchers take the Nationals, who won the NL East in 2012 and again last season before bowing out in Washingtons opening playoff series each time?And, perhaps most intriguingly, will general manager Mike Rizzo keep that group intact? Or will he wind up trading someone, perhaps Zimmermann or Fister, who can both become free agents after next season?Until those last two questions are answered, Rizzo certainly shares Lerners enthusiasm for the current collection of arms.Well stack our rotation up with anybodys in our division, our league and maybe in baseball, Rizzo said, and compete against them.Of course, things dont always shape up on the field the way they do during the off-season.The terrific Atlanta Braves group that included three Hall of Famers in Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz wound up with only one World Series championship. Thats one more than the Philadelphia Phillies won after assembling Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt.Still, if thats the discussion connected to the Nationals now, it represents a sea change from where this franchise stood a half-dozen years ago.It was noteworthy to hear the word winning over and over Wednesday at Nationals Park, where the scoreboard displayed a Welcome to D.C. greeting for Scherzer and his wife, and the diamond was covered by the afternoons dusting of snow.This is a club that lost 100 games in both 2008 and 2009 and found it difficult to attract top talent in free agency, but the perception has changed.Theres no doubt about it, Rizzo said. Weve got a lot of good baseball people around here. Weve got a lot of good professionals. The selling portion of it from five years ago to today is night and day. We certainly have no problem with players wanting to be Washington Nationals.Asked what reasons led him to sign with Washington, Scherzer replied, One: winning. I think this team is capable of winning and winning a lot. When you look at the near term and long term, this is an organization you want to be a part of.The size of the contract probably didnt hurt, either.The 30-year-old Scherzer, who became a free agent after spending the past five seasons with the Detroit Tigers, received the most guaranteed dollars for a right-handed pitcher in big league history.I dont play this game for money, said Scherzer, who was 18-5 with a 3.15 ERA in 2014, a year after going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA, but yet at the same time, when you have an offer like that, it just makes you go, Wow.The deal includes a record $50 million signing bonus, of which $5 million is due this year and $15 million each in 2019, 2020 and 2021.The total payments of the contract are spread over 14 years, reducing the present-day value and making it palatable for the Nationals.If that didnt happen, there wouldnt have been a deal, Mark Lerner said. We had to make it work for us financially. It was really my father and Mike coming up with a creative deal.Because of the deferred money, the deal had a present-day value of $191.4 million, by Major League Baseballs calculation. It counts as $28.69 million annually for purposes of the luxury tax, which uses a different methodology.Lerner joked about Scherzer: I want to ask him for a loan.
[b]Nike Air Force One Low Pas Cher[/b] .Y. -- Scott Chandler is returning to Buffalo, where he spent the past three seasons establishing himself as the Bills top pass-catching tight end.
[b]Air Force 1 Haute Femme[/b] . Rinehart joins safety Darrell Stuckey and linebacker Donald Butler as potential unrestricted free agents who are remaining with the team.TORONTO – On Tuesday night, Jose Reyes extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an infield single off of Rays starter Alex Cobb. For the first time in his tenure with the Blue Jays, the superstar shortstop is healthy and wreaking havoc on the bases. Hes once again the catalyst that made him famous - not to mention rich - and a current teammate who watched Reyes up close while with the Mets likes what hes seeing. “I think its just really a matter of health for him, but as far as what hes showing it is very similar to the guy that won the batting title the year that I was with him in New York,” knuckleballer R.A. Dickey told TSN.ca. The year to which Dickey is referring is 2011, Reyess last of nine seasons with the club that signed him as a 16-year-old amateur free agent in 1999. Reyes hit .337/.384/.493, career bests to this day. He walked more times that year (43) than he struck out (41), which has happened only one other time. It could occur again this season; so far Reyes has taken 15 free passes and whiffed 15 times. Reyes already has 11 stolen bases, only four shy of his injury-plagued 2013 total. Hes been caught stealing only once. With Melky Cabrera hitting behind Reyes, manager John Gibbons has executed the hit-and-run and Cabreras found the holes created by the defence. “The thing that I thought made him so special was there were so many different ways that he could impact a game in New York,” said Dickey. “Last year he was limited with his ankle injury and you didnt really get to see what he was capable of doing at all, really, because when he came back he was still kind of limping around.” The Blue Jays have been at or near the top of baseball in key offensive statistics like home runs (76 – 1st), slugging percentage (.450 – 2nd), on-base plus slugging (.781 – 2nd) and walks (179 – 6thh).
[b]Nike Air Force 1 Low Pas Cher[/b]. Theyve been creeping up the ladder in on-base percentage and now sit fourth in the majors (.331). “The genesis of any good team is guys with good on-base percentage,” said Dickey. “I think what were seeing this year that we might not have had much consistency with last year is that factor. Guys are getting on base. Pillar, Gose, Tollesons a big pick up the way hes playing. Melkys on base all the time.” Dickey, the pitcher, then offers a thought on what it must be like to be a mound opponent of the Blue Jays these days. “The less breaths that youre allowed to take, the harder the outing,” said Dickey. “Really, in our lineup the way that its going, you have to hold your breath the whole game and thats tough on a starter because you constantly have to execute pitch after pitch after pitch after pitch and youre not really allowed to have a lapse. When you feel like you cant have a lapse, or else, it can influence other pitches.” RASMUS REHAB PLAN Colby Rasmus, on the disabled list since May 13 with tightness in his right hamstring, would prefer to avoid a minor-league rehabilitation assignment and get right back into the Blue Jays line-up when hes activated. The sentiment isnt shared by his skipper. “He needs to go down and play,” said manager John Gibbons. “Hes been doing some running and things like that. The trainers, they usually come to me when hes about ready and we put a game plan together. But, yeah, he needs to go down and play some games.” The Blue Jays are enthused about the platoon combination of Anthony Gose and Kevin Pillar the club has employed since Rasmus got hurt. Entering Tuesdays action, in the 13 games Rasmus has missed, the Jays have gone 11-2. Goses speed has created runs on offence and hes often made difficult plays look routine in centre field. ' ' '
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