When Brett Lawrie arrived with the Blue Jays in 2011, he looked even at age 21 to have the raw potential to become one of the franchises greats. [url=http://www.officialauthentictexansstore.com/authentic-jordan-akins- jersey.html]Jordan Akins Jersey[/url] . In a 43-game stint, he batted .293 with nine

When Brett Lawrie arrived with the Blue Jays in 2011, he looked even at age 21 to have the raw potential to become one of the franchises greats. Jordan Akins Jersey . In a 43-game stint, he batted .293 with nine homers and 25 runs batted in with a .953 OPS. He played spectacular defence and seemed to have a skill for pumping up his teammates and electrifying the crowd. You had to ask yourself how Milwaukee let him get away in that trade for right hander Shaun Marcum? But in the last two seasons, Lawrie has gone through some growing pains. Hes had injury problems, some awkward in-game moments, such as throwing a batting helmat in the direction of an ump, and the berating of a teammate for a perceived miscue on the bases. (Lawrie was wrong). On top of that his production has dropped off, to the point where some have wondered if that blaze of glory in his first stint with the club was a fluke or a flash in the pan. The thing to remember is, Brett Lawrie is only 24. Skipper John Gibbons suggested this week that Bretts peak performance years could still be a couple of seasons away. If you go by a couple of third basemen from the Blue Jays past, Gibbons may well be right. Kelly Gruber spent nine years with the Jays, hitting .259 with 114 homers, 439 runs batted in and 80 stolen bases. He was stolen away from Cleveland in the Rule 5 draft and spent his first couple of years as a Jack-of-all-trades utility man before becoming the primary third baseman in 1987. At age 24 for the Jays he hit just .196 with five homers and 15 runs batted in. It took until 1990 for him to have a star impact season. At 28 years old, he hit .274 with 31 homers and 118 RBIs. Gruber was still the starting third sacker for a division title run in 1991 and for the Jays first World Series victory over Atlanta in 1992. Ed Sprague offers up another example of a player who peaked in his late 20s. Sprague was the Jays regular third baseman for six seasons. After Gruber was moved to the Angels, Sprague took over at third in 1993 at 26. He hit .260 with 12 homers and 73 runs batted in and was a key member of the Jays second straight World Series victory over the Phillies in 1993. Still he didnt have his first really big year until he was 29, when he broke through with 36 homers and drove in 101 runs. Yes there are exceptions to the rule...guys who hit the ground running and continue to thrive practically from the moment they arrive in the Majors. Two of those kind of guys enjoyed brief stints with the Blue Jays in the last decade. Troy Glaus came over from the Diamondbacks along with Sergio Santos in a deal for right hander Miguel Batista and infielder Orlando Hudson. Glaus played third for the Jays for two seasons in 2006 and 2007. As a 22-year-old with his original club the Angels, he hit .240 with 29 homers and 79 runs batted in. At 24 with the Halos, he upped his power numbers to 41 homers and 108 runs batted in. Glaus had a good year with the Jays in 06, but his numbers fell off a bit in 2007, and he ultimately asked for a trade since the artificial turf at Rogers Centre was playing havoc with his back. The Jays dealt Glaus to St. Louis for another standout third baseman in Scott Rolen, who had had a falling out with Cards manager Tony LaRussa. As a 22-year-old with his original club the Phillies, Rolen - arguably the best defensive third baseman the Jays have ever had - hit .283 with 21 homers and 92 runs batted in. Rolen only spent one season with the Jays, at age 33 before asking for a trade to the U.S. midwest to be closer to his family. He wound up going to Cincinnati in a deal that saw the Jays land two pitchers, Zach Stewart and Josh Roenicke and a guy named Edwin Encarnacion. The point of all this is, Lawrie is still young enough to take off the way Rolen and Glaus did, or he may take a little longer like Gruber or Sprague. If you want to pipe dream a bit, consider Royals legendary Hall of Famer George Brett. At 24 he batted .312 with 22 homers and 88 runs batted in. The bottom line on Lawrie is, with the defence he plays, and the infectious hustle he plays with, the Blue Jays will be very patient with him indeed. The real Brett Lawrie could even emerge this season, if only he can stay healthy. Spring Roots The Blue Jays may not be leaving their spring training home in Dunedin after all. About a year ago a story first surfaced that the Houston Astros were talking with the Jays about teaming up with them on a new two-team state of the art facility in Palm Beach County on Floridas east coast. The Astros lease with Kissimmee, Florida runs through 2016, so the target date for moving obviously would have been 2017. However a local group of citizens didnt want any part of having this type of complex in their area and threatened a lawsuit. So now the Astros are looking elsewhere in Palm Beach County and are now talking with the Washington Nationals about being their potential partners. Sammie Coates Texans Jersey . DETROIT LIONS AT ATLANTA FALCONS, 9:30 AM (ET) Detroit - RB Reggie Bush, TE Eric Ebron, TE Joseph Fauria, WR Calvin Johnson, QB Kellen Moore, TE Brandon Pettigrew, OT LaAdrian Waddle Atlanta - CB Javier Arenas, DT Jonathan Babineaux, OT Cameron Bradfield, WR Freddie Martino, QB Sean Renfree, OT Jonathan Scott, LB Tyler Starr SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Seattle - DT Jordan Hill, CB Byron Maxwell, OT Andrew McDonald, TE Zach Miller, C Max Unger, LB Bobby Wagner, WR Bryan Walters Carolina - CB Bene Benwikere, LB Chase Blackburn, WR Philly Brown, G Amini Silatolu, G Trai Turner, RB Fozzy Whittaker, RB DeAngelo Williams HOUSTON TEXANS AT TENNESSEE TITANS, 1:00 PM (ET) Houston - OT Jeff Adams, DB Josh Aubrey, LB Brian Cushing, DB Darryl Morris, WR DeVier Posey, QB Tom Savage, LB Jeff Tarpinian Tennessee - RB Antonio Andrews, WR Kris Durham, TE Richard Gordon, DL DaQuan Jones, CB Coty Sensabaugh, OT Will Svitek, TE Taylor Thompson BALTIMORE RAVENS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS, 1:00 PM (ET) Baltimore - CB Chykie Brown, LB Arthur Brown, DL Chris Canty, TE Owen Daniels, G/C Gino Gradkowski, RB Bernard Pierce, OT Jah Reid Cincinnati - RB Rex Burkhead, DE Will Clarke, WR A. Tyrann Mathieu Jersey . -- Josh MacDonalds second goal of the game kept his team alive as the Peterborough Petes edged the host Kingston Frontencas 6-5 in overtime on Friday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action. http://www.officialauthentictexansstore.com/authentic-tyrann-mathieu-jersey.html . Belfort was originally schedule to fight Chris Weidman at UFC 173 on May 24, but a Nevada State Athletic Commission ban on testosterone replacement therapy forced the former light heavyweight champ to withdraw.FRISCO, Texas -- Bradley Wright-Phillips scored in the 71st minute to help the New York Red Bulls beat FC Dallas 1-0 on Sunday. New York extended its unbeaten streak to four games to improve to 3-2-5, and FC Dallas dropped to 5-3-1. Thierry Henry assisted on the goal with a through ball from the top of the penalty box to Wright-Phillips, who fired a shot into centre of the net from 6 yards. Wright-Phillips scored his sixth goal of the season and his fifth in the last three games. "Its one of those things when you are scoring you get the luck of the green," Wright-Phillips said. "Im just trying to get in the right spot and focus and hit my target." The Red Bulls played most of the game with a one-man advantage after Dallas Je-Vaughn Watson was given a red card in the 10th minute for a hard foul on New Yorks Tim Cahill. Watson kicked Cahill in the lower stomach. "It was a karate kick, I see those once or twice a year," Cahill said. After the game in the locker room Cahill showed the red scratches on his stomach from the foul. The two teams combined for four yellow cards on top of the red card. "It was a combination of things," New Yorks Dax McCarty said. "It was a stone-cold red card, extremely chippy play in the first half. In the second half it seemed the ref swallowed his whistle. I thought Dallas was verry physical and did a lot of stuff off the ball that you dont necessarily want to see. Martinas Rankin Texans Jersey. " The game was the 100th career game for Henry, who registered his third assist of the season on the goal. "Im not thinking of the 100th game, today we did enough to win," Henry said. " They (Dallas) played better than us with only 10 men, its difficult because Dallas did not deserve to lose." Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles made a diving save to his right side to stop Blas Perezs penalty attempt in the 58th minute. FC Dallas was awarded the penalty shot after Cahill was called for a foul on Danny Garcia. Less than two minutes later, Robles made a two-handed leaping stop to prevent a goal by Garcia. Garcia made his MLS debut in the game. Robles finished with three saves and FC Dallas goalkeeper Raul Fernandez also finished with three saves. "Very heartbroken and very disappointed," Dallas coach Oscar Pareja said. "On a day that we couldnt put a lot of things together, we end up losing against New York, a team that took advantage of their one opportunity in the second half. Disappointed to play 80 minutes with 10 men, its hard." Dallas played the game without Zach Loyd and Michel because of yellow card accumulation suspensions. Loyd and Michel had both started the last five games for FC Dallas. Stitched Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Discount Jerseys China NFL Hoodies China NFL Hoodies Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China ' ' '