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Oct 9 2014, 03:40 AM
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Monday afternoon is the deadline for Major League clubs to tender contacts to players who are arbitration eligible. Its usually a routine matter, but every year a few players are non-tendered and become free agents. The Blue Jays have four players who fall into this category, including catcher J.P. Arencibia, centrefielder Colby Rasmus, lefty reliever Brett Cecil and righthander Esmil Rogers, who started in the bullpen and moved into the rotation as injuries took their toll. All four figure to be offered contracts, even Arencibia, who is coming off a horrible year at the plate and not much better behind it. The most interesting case is Rasmus, who can become a free agent after this season. The Jays will tender him, but have to decide relatively soon if he is the long-term answer in centre and thus deserves a long-term contract. All this deadline talk takes me back 32 years to one of the most tumultuous off-seasons in Boston Red Sox history. In those days, players had to have their contracts mailed out to them by December 20. By some oversight or office error, the contracts of two of the BoSox biggest stars didnt get to them on time. The two were centrefielder Fred Lynn, the first American Leaguer to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards (1975) and Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk, who hit the iconic extra-inning homer run to send the World Series against the Reds to a seventh game. Arbitration threatened to make both players free agents. In another time, it would have been like the Yankees losing Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra. As it turned out, the Red Sox traded Lynn to the Angels for outfielder Joe Rudi and lefty Frank Tanana. Oddly enough, this trade didnt help either team as Tanana only won four games for the BoSox in 1981, while Rudi, nearing the end of a solid career, only hit .180 in his lone season in Boston. Lynn didnt fare much better, hitting only .218 for the Angels. Fisk ultimately did leave Boston as a free agent, signing a five-year $2.9 million contract with the Chicago White Sox and went on to further cement his Hall of Fame credentials. A mailing error like that could never be repeated in this day and age, but it sure made for a stormy winter in Boston in 1981. Shocking Signing Phil Hughes was once a prime prospect and later an All-Star with the Yankees. But first shoulder troubles then back issues made him a shadow of his former self the last three years in New York. In 2013, he was 4-14 with a 5.19 earned run average and an even worse 1-10 record at Yankee Stadium with a 6.32 ERA. Thats why it was so shocking on the weekend to see him get a three-year, $24 million deal from Minnesota. Josh Johnson must be scratching his head becausee only got a one-year, $8 million deal from San Diego. Past Winter Dealings With the Winter Meetings just a week away at Orlando, it was interesting to look back at the biggest trade of the 1989 meetings. San Diego dealt catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. (Robby older brother), outfielder Chris James and minor league third base prospect Carlos Baerga to Cleveland for one Joe Carter. Just after the trade was announced, Carter signed a three-year, $9.2 million contract with the Padres, making him the highest paid position player in the Majors at that time. The Indians did just fine in the deal thanks to the contributions of Alomar and Baerga. Carter, meanwhile, only lasted one season in San Diego hitting only .232 albeit driving in 115 runs. At the following Winter Meetings almost one year to the day later, Carter and Roberto Alomar were dealt to the Blue Jays for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez. The Blue Jays went on to make the playoffs in 1991, and then won back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 93. I still believe if Sandy Alomar hadnt been part of that first trade, Roberto may not have been dealt to the Blue Jays. cheap jerseys from china . The incident happened during Barcelonas 3-2 win at Villarreal on April 27th when Alves, who is black, picked up the banana thrown by 26-year-old David Campayo Lleo, bit off a piece and then discarded it. cheap jerseys china . -- Packers cornerback Tramon Williams has been fined $26,250 for contact with an official, per NFL guidelines. http://www.cheapjerseyschina.cc/ . -- Chris Wondolowski scored his 10th goal of the season and the San Jose Earthquakes made it stand for a 1-0 victory against the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday. cheap nfl jerseys . CSN New England reports that the team is interested in Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, whom they reportedly tried to acquire last off-season. cheap jerseys . -- Philippe Cadorette made 22 saves as the Baie-Comeau Drakkar shut out the Victoriaville Tigres 3-0 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action Monday.SAN DIEGO -- Less than five months after having back surgery, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray propelled Britain into the next round of the Davis Cup and earned some time off. Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. "Im still not quite there yet," said Murray, who beat Donald Young in straight sets on Friday. "Winning matches of that length and quality so soon after the surgery is good. And changing surfaces and stuff. Ive done 13 weeks consecutively without a break of training and playing tournaments to try and get myself back. I need a break now to take some days off after I get back home. I deserve it." Murray won his 18th straight Davis Cup singles match and Britain beat the Americans for the first time since 1935. Britain advanced to the World Group quarterfinals for the first time since 1986. It will face Italy, which defeated Argentina. The United States is relegated to the World Group playoff in September and will need to win to stay in the World Group. The last time Great Britain won in the United States was in 1903 in the World Group Challenge Final at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston. American captain Jim Courier was asked to put that in perspective. "It feels great to be alive in 2014," Courier said. "We certainly dont feel a lot of kinship to the last team that lost to the Brits on American soil since theyve been dead a long time. It has nothing to do with us. We come to play on our own terms." Murray split tiebreakers with Querrey in the first two sets, breezed through the third set in 29 minutes and won the match when Querrey returned a serve long. Murray leaned back and pumped both fists, and then swatted the ball into the stands on the opposite end of the court before joining his teammates in a celebration huddle. Later, he had a hot bath, an ice bath andd other treatment on his back.dddddddddddd Britain clinched the match at 3-1. The fourth singles match was cancelled. Murray reached matched point on Querreys serve in the eighth game of the fourth set before the American won three straight points to stay alive. After falling behind 15-30 in the ninth game, Murray got a new racket. He then double-faulted, giving Querrey break point. Murray won the next three points to clinch the match. In the first-set tiebreaker, Murray was down a mini-break before rallying to win when Querrey hit a drop volley into the net. "I tried to do a little too much with it," Querrey said "Every now and then you miss an easy one. It happened to be at a big moment." Querrey won the second-set tiebreaker on a forehand passing shot and then jumped for joy. Murray immediately rebounded by breaking Querrey twice to go up 4-0 in the third set. He broke Querrey again to win the set in a seventh game that went to deuce four times, clinching it when Querrey hit into the net. Murray said it was important to win the first set "because I felt like I was playing the better tennis for the most part of it. Then he started playing better at the end of the set. He probably played a better tiebreak than me as well. Just missed a couple of shots, like the volley on set point was a bad one, but he got himself into a great position. "If I had lost that it wouldve been tough after having served for it. Yeah, in these sorts of matches, first set can be crucial." Although Murray struggled on clay last year, he said he was surprised the Americans chose that surface for this match. He said the clay might have affected Querrey in his five-set loss to James Ward on Friday. "When we got here the court was pretty slippery and tough to move on," Murray said. "I would say for myself, one of my strengths is my movement on the court. I didnt know if that was something they had done intentionally or just the nature of putting down a temporary clay court. "Obviously it did have a bearing in the tie, you know, for Sam especially. I think his best surface is hard courts. He will have had all his best results on hard courts." ' ' '
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