of wills.Youve got to run

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There were plenty of critics who thought the Blue Jays gave up too much to the New York Mets for knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, even though he was coming off a Cy Young Award in 2012. Many felt the Jays would regret giving up righthanded pitcher prospect Noah Syndergaard and catcher Travis DArnaud over the long haul. But you just never know with young unproven players. Both Syndergaard and DArnaud have have had their problems over the last few weeks. They were ranked the Mets top two prospects coming into this season. However a couple of weeks ago, Syndergaard, who can get it to the plate in the 95-97 mph-range, developed a flex strain in his pitching arm and had to shut it down at Triple "A" Las Vegas for a week or so. Fortunately, the MRI showed it had nothing to do with his elbow. As soon as he returned though, Syndergaard got bowled over in a homeplate collision as he was covering home after throwing a wild pitch. He suffered a sprained AC joint in his left (non-throwing shoulder) and once again has had to shut it down for about a week. Its nothing career-threatening, but it is a setback and will delay his anticipated call-up to the Mets this season. DArnauds problems are more troublesome. He was sent down to Vegas by the Mets on Sunday after hitting just .180, and only .113 over his last 41 at bats. Worse than that, his defence which was supposed to be a strength was the worst of any catcher in the National League. A concussion suffered earlier this season may have factored in, but Mets skipper Terry Collins said DArnaud wont be called up again until he starts hitting and dominating in the Pacific Coast League like the prospect he was supposed to be. Whatever you may think of Dickey, he already has 20 victories over his brief stay in Toronto, hes an innings eater and has helped put them in first place in the AL East. If you were wondering why teams seem so reluctant to trade starting pitching at this point of the season consider this; only two teams in the Majors, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia are further than 6.5 games out in the Wild Card chases. The Rays are 10 games out and the Phllies are seven back. Ever other team, including the Cubs, Astros and Diamondbacks, who got off to horrible starts, are within 6.5 games of a Wild Card spot or closer. If you are that close, even if your overall talent isnt that good, its not easy to tell your fans you are trading for the future with almost 100 games left. Even Boston with a 10-game losing skid and then a five-game win streak is still only five games out of a playoff spot. It only makes sense for the Rays to deal their ace lefty David Price but I cant see him being moved to any other team in the American League East. Texas might make sense, but I have a hunch Price could end up with the Mets. They lost six in a row and are in danger of tumbling into becoming a mere afterthought in New York and the National League. The Mets are loaded with  pitching prospects like Syndergaard, Zach Wheeler, Rafael Montero and Jake deGrom. These are the kinds of young arms that should entice the Rays. New York is seven games under .500 heading into Mondays play, but they are only five games back of Atlanta, Washington and Miami, who are locked in a virtual tie for first place in a winnable National League East. Price to the Mets makes sense, if only to upstage the Yankees who have pitching issues of their own. If youre going to trade for pitching prospects, though, you still could get burned. When the Blue Jays dealt David Cone to the Yankees in 1995, they received three young righthanders in return, in Mike Gordon, Jason Jarvis and Marty Janzen. Gordon and Jarvis never climbed higher than Double "A", and Janzen had only a brief stint with the Jays. Over parts of two seasons, he went 6-7 with a 6.39 ERA. He was ultimately claimed in the expansion draft by Arizona after the 1997 season and then was traded back to the Yankees. However, Janzen never saw the light of day in the Majors again. Cone helped the Yankees win four World Series (1996, 1998-2000) to go with the ring he won with the Blue Jays in 1992. Looking Ahead The next 16 games are going to be huge for the Blue Jays. Over that span, they play 10 games against the Yankees and Baltimore, starting with a four-game set at Camden Yards later this week, then a road series with the Yankees on the same trip followed by a three-game set at Rogers Centre June 23-25. Show of Respect I dont know if it was a one-off or just the "Cardinals way" but it was impressive and classy when the St. Louis players lined up in front of their dugout Sunday for the anthems. Home, Not Sweet Home One of the oddities of this season is the L.A. Dodgers home record. For all their starting pitching and their talent laden lineup, they are only 13-19 at Dodger Stadium. The only team in the Majors with a worse mark is Arizona at 11-23. The timing couldnt be worse for the Dodgers, since the Giants are starting to run away with the division at 42-21, the best record in MLB. Luckily for the Dodgers, they are still just a half game out of a Wild Card spot, battling it out with the likes of the Braves, Nationals, Marlins and Cardinals. If this continues, the Dodgers figure to be one of the more active teams by the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. China Jerseys Wholesale . Still, Encarnacion felt a sense of relief. He felt a pop just before crumpling to the ground after running out a groundball in the first inning of Saturdays game. It could have been worse. “Its going to take maybe two weeks,” said Encarnacion. “It depends how Im going to be and how Im going to be day after day, feeling better or not. China Jerseys Quality .C. - Brent Sutter scored 1:32 into extra time as the Charlotte Checkers came from behind to defeat the visiting Abbotsford Heat 5-4 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. http://www.chinajerseyspaypal.com/. Gonzalez participated in his final game on Sunday, Atlantas 21-20 defeat at the hands of the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers, having posted four catches for 46 yards. China Jerseys Fake . -- Jake Paterson made 39 saves as the Saginaw Spirit halted the Guelph Storms seven-game win streak with a 6-3 victory on Sunday in Ontario Hockey League action. China Jerseys NFL Authentic . - The Green Bay Packers got back to work on Friday without star quarterback Aaron Rodgers.PHOENIX - As it is, a pretty persuasive case could be made that Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and the rest of the Seattle Seahawks defence is among the very best groups on that side of the ball in NFL history.The Seahawks are the first team since coach Buddy Ryans 1985-86 Chicago Bears to give up the fewest points per game and fewest yards per game in back-to-back seasons.Theyre also the first team in more than 40 years, since the Minnesota Vikings Purple People Eaters of 1969-71, to lead the league in points allowed for three consecutive seasons.Where would Seattle rank, though, if it manages to beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Sundays Super Bowl, a year after overwhelming Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-8 in the championship game?Not surprisingly, in this age of Twitters ability to instantly transform a mild boast into motivational material for an opponent, the Seahawks are not quite willing to wade into a debate.That would be cool, once you look back 20 or 30 years from now, to see how good you are. I remember the great defences back in the day. Theyre still being talked about. Teams from the 70s, from the 80s, theyre still being talked about to this day, even, linebacker K.J. Wright said. So when it gets to 2040, we can look back and just see how good we are. Itll be pretty fun.Others are ready to assess the Seahawks today.Over a two-year period, theyre as good as anybody thats played, said Brian Billick, coach of the Ray Lewis-led 2000 Baltimore Ravens that set a league record for fewest points in a season.Another former NFL head coach, Steve Mariucci, is impressed by the way Seattle has put up strong statistics year after year lately.Theyre in the conversation because of continuity over time, said Mariucci, now an NFL Network analyst. The Bears were pretty good over time, too, but they didnt win another Super Bowl. They were one-and-done.Those Chicago teams featured Hall of Famers, but they also used a never-before-seen scheme that confounded opponents. The Seahawks ddont necessarily present creative formations or try to confuse offences.ddddddddddddInstead, they rely plenty on everyone sticking to their assignments, hard hitting, turnovers and closing speed that helps limit opponents yards after catches.To try to avoid fumbling Sunday, the Patriots worked this week on protecting the ball.Running with slippery balls. Guys trying to strip the ball from you all practice, receiver Brandon LaFell said, adding that coach Bill Belichick puts a ton of water on the balls, and weve got the greased balls that are real slick.Brady calls playing against the Seahawks a grind and a test of wills.Youve got to run good routes. Youve got to make good throws. Youve got to throw into tight windows, Brady said. Theyve got a lot of eyes on the quarterback, so youve got to be conscious of those things, and youve still got to be able to play aggressively and play with confidence. You cant let one bad play affect another.The Seahawks defensive lines ability to fluster Brady and slow burly running back LeGarrette Blount could be key Sunday, and much of that responsibility will fall to Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril.But Seattles success really starts in the secondary with the self-styled Legion of Boom, led by All-Pros Sherman at cornerback and Thomas at safety. The other safety, Kam Chancellor, gets less recognition, but as Sherman put it: He doesnt fly under the radar on the field.Another vital cog is All-Pro middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, whose value became most clear when he was out of the lineup for five games with a toe injury. Since his return, Seattle is 8-0.If they make that 9-0 with another Super Bowl victory, then maybe even the Seahawks will be ready to rate themselves.We can definitely talk about it. We have to win the game first, Wagner said. But if we win the game, we can talk about it.___Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich___Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '