Meerwasser allgemein » the Cubs. Strop throws hard enough, though he

Some notes from the first week of MLB action, including Blackmon, Solarte, Bonifacio, Belt, Eovaldi, K-Rod and more. Mesut Ozil Jersey . Charlie Blackmon, CF, Colorado - A 27-year-old who just surpassed 500 career plate appearances, Blackmon hit .309 with an .803 OPS in 82 games last season, and has opened this year with 13 hits in 24 at-bats (.542). As long as he hits, and a minor-league batting average of .309 with an .843 OPS in 2222 plate appearances is an indication that is a possibility, then Blackmon should stay ahead of Drew Stubbs in the Rockies outfield rotation. Josh Hamilton, LF, L.A. Angels of Anaheim - After last seasons flameout, Hamilton is an interesting rebound option in 2014. Remember, hes one season removed from 43 homers, 128 RBI and 103 runs scored for Texas. In the crazy small sample of the first week, Hamilton has at least been showing a touch more plate discipline, with 12.5% swinging strikes his lowest rate since his rookie year in 2007. Yangervis Solarte, 3B, N.Y. Yankees - 26-year-old rookie flew under the radar when the Yankees added veteran infielders Kelly Johnson and Brian Roberts in the offseason, but Solarte hit .429, with a 1.061 OPS in the spring, hitting .282 with a .736 OPS at Triple-A over the past couple seasons. Hes off to a nice start (8-for-17, .471 AVG, 1.232 OPS) for the Yankees; certainly fortunate with a .500 batting average on balls in play, but also making a lot of contact, with only 2.7% swinging strikes. Chris Colabello, DH, Minnesota - The 30-year-old DH had his first major league plate appearances last year, when he hits .194 with a .631 OPS in 181 plate appearances for the Twins, but he mashed in the minors (24 HR, .352 AVG, 1.066 OPS in 89 GP at AAA last year) and is off to a strong start this year, leading the American League with 11 RBI while hitting .391 with a 1.112 OPS. Hes been more fortunate (.500 BABIP) than can be expected, but Colabello also has higher line-drive and flyball rate, with a lower groundball and infield flyball rate compared to last season. Xander Bogaerts, SS, Boston - Coming into the year as the leading candidate for AL Rookie of the Year, 21-year-old Bogaerts hasnt done anything to slow down that talk, hitting .381 with a .956 OPS, hitting fifth in the Red Sox lineup. Emilio Bonifacio, CF, Chicago Cubs - Its a wonder that a player with a .628 OPS over the previous two seasons would be playing regularly, but such is the situation with the Cubs, and 28-year-old Bonifacio is off to a blazing start, hitting .500 with a 1.120 OPS and tied for the MLB lead with four steals. Bonifacio has always been valuable on the bases, stealing 98 bases on 120 attempts (81.7%) in the previous three seasons, but he hasnt always been able to hit enough to hold down an everyday job. Mark Trumbo, LF, Arizona - Over the last three years, four players -- Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Beltre, Jose Bautista and Jay Bruce -- have hit more home runs than Trumbos 95, and hes crushed five in nine games to start the year. Trumbo, whose outfield defence is not a strength, is hitting enough that he wont have any concerns over playing time. Brandon Belt, 1B, San Francisco - The progress has been steady, if sometimes slow, for the 25-year-old first baseman, but Belt has mashed four home runs early. Not to rain on his parade, since Belt is a nice breakout candidate, but hes been unusually aggressive at the plate early, seeing fewer pitches per plate appearance (3.65) than his standard (3.96 for his career) and hasnt walked once in 31 plate appearances. Yovani Gallardo, RHP, Milwaukee - Responsible for murdering fantasy teams (including one of my own) last season, when he had a career-high 4.18 ERA, Gallardo emerged unscathed from his first two starts. Dont get too carried away with the praise, however, as his strikeout rate (seven in 12 2/3 IP) is way low and hes been fortunate enough to strand every runner thats reached base against him. Nate Eovaldi, RHP, Miami - A 3.46 ERA in two starts is nice for the 24-year-old, but there are more promising results in underlying numbers. For one thing, Eovaldi has been a hard thrower who struggled to miss bats in the past and his average fastball is still up near 96 MPH, but hes missed more bats, and his 14 strikeouts in 13 innings (9.7 K/9) is far better than the 179 strikeouts in 260 1/3 innings (6.4 K/9) to start his career. Francisco Rodriguez, RHP, Milwaukee - The 32-year-old received the early closing opportunities for the Brewers, while they waited for Jim Henderson to find his form. Even without great velocity, K-Rod has six strikeouts in three innings, with a couple of saves, so its not like the Brewers figure to be rushing him out of the role. Pedro Strop, RHP, Chicago Cubs - A 28-year-old journeyman with four career saves entering the year, Strop is pushing Jose Veras, who has six walks in 1 2/3 innings, for the closers role with the Cubs. Strop throws hard enough, though hes been slider-heavy in the early going this year. Jose Valverde, RHP, N.Y. Mets - With word that Bobby Parnell is undergoing Tommy John surgery, the Mets closer role is open for 36-year-old Valverde, who busted out of the role in Detroit last season after allowing six home runs in 19 1/3 IP. With six strikeouts in 3 1/3 IP, Valverde is off to a good start in that spot, but has spent a career walking the high wire as a closer who rarely makes it look easy. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Leon Goretzka Jersey . Yoenis Cespedes proved he can play through a hurting right heel, giving Scott Kazmir and the As a spark with a pair of RBIs that helped spoil the Minnesota Twins home opener with an 8-3 victory on Monday. Manuel Neuer Jersey . - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday. http://www.germanynationalshop.us/Mesut-Ozil-Germany-Jersey-Soccer/ . The Earthquakes (6-9-7) were coming off a 5-0 loss at home last Saturday to FC Dallas. Even with the draw, the Sounders (13-7-3) climbed back into a tie for both the Western Conference and overall top spot in MLS. Seattle, West co-leader Real Salt Lake and East leader Sporting Kansas City all have 42 points. MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens hired Dan Lacroix as assistant coach and Rob Ramage as player development coach, and also gave new responsibilities to some management personnel on Wednesday. Lacroix, 45, replaces Gerard Gallant, who left to become head coach of the Florida Panthers. He worked as an assistant coach in the NHL for seven of the past eight seasons, including last season with the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers. He previously worked as assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2010 to 2013 and with the New York Islanders from 2006 to 2009. The Montreal native also worked as assistant coach with the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Canadiens main affiliate team in the AHL during the 2009-10 season. "We are very pleased to welcome Dan Lacroix as part of our coaching staff," Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien said in a statement. "Daniel earned the respect of his peers for his coaching skills and his impressive knowledge of the game. He has worked as a coach for almost 15 years, including seven seasons as assistant coach in the NHL. "He knows the Canadiens organization and his experience at the professional level made him a much coveted candidate. He is an excellent addition to our coaching staff and to the Canadiens organization." "Its a step up. Its an opportunity to work for a great organization and with great people," said Lacroix Lacroix had 11 goals in 188 NHL games for five teams in the 1990s. He also played seven full seasons in the American Hockey League with Binghamton, Providence, Hamilton and Rochester. He recorded 213 points in 352 regular season games (101 goals, 112 assists), and totalled 1,618 penalty minutes. Ramage, 55, wass employed by the St. Mats Hummels Germany Jersey. . Louis Blues organization as amateur scout for the past two seasons (2012-13 and 2013-14). He also worked as an assistant coach with the OHLs London Knights during the 2011-12 season. He replaced Patrice Brisebois, who left to spend more time with his family. A native of Byron, Ont., Ramage played a total of 1,044 regular season games in the NHL between 1979 and 1994 with Colorado, St. Louis, Calgary, Toronto, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Montreal and Philadelphia. He was drafted first overall by the defunct Rockies in 1979. "Rob is a dedicated and competent hockey person who will contribute to our player development group," said general manager Marc Bergevin. "Our entire organization, and particularly our young defencemen, will benefit from his experience and his knowledge." Ramage registered 564 career points (139 goals, 425 assists), and was assessed 2,224 penalty minutes. He won the Stanley Cup with Calgary (1989) and Montreal (1993). He spent time in prison after being convicted in 2008 of impaired driving causing death. The charge stemmed form a 2003 car accident in Woodbridge, Ont., that claimed the life of one of Ramages passengers, former Chicago Blackhawk Keith Magnuson. Ramages four-year sentence expired this month. The Canadiens also announced that Rick Dudley was promoted from assistant general manager to senior vice president, hockey operations. Scott Mellanby was promoted from director of player personnel to assistant general manager, to work with Larry Carriere. And Trevor Timmins was appointed vice president of player personnel, while retaining his responsibilities as the Clubs director of amateur scouting. Discount Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online Jerseys NFL China Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping China Jerseys Cheap ' ' '