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NEW YORK – As the Blue Jays venture into Yankee Stadium for an important three-game series with their foes in pinstripes, there are a number of storylines to latch on to before considering who will take the mound for Toronto on Tuesday night. Ted Larsen Jersey . Its the first-place Blue Jays against the team closest to them in the American League East. Toronto enters the series with a four-and-a-half game lead on the Yankees. Its another chance, the second of what will be as many as six, to wave goodbye to New Yorks future Hall of Fame shortstop, Derek Jeter. Here in New York, the dulcet voice of the late, great public address announcer, Bob Sheppard, brings No. 2 to the plate. Jose Reyes is back in New York, too. He made his name over in Queens playing for the Mets. R.A. Dickey is here but wont pitch. He won the Cy Young award two seasons ago on the other side of the city. Oh, and dont forget about the Blue Jays rookies mound opponent on this Tuesday: a rookie himself, technically, the Japanese phenom Masahiro Tanaka, whos dominated the early days of his major league career like he dominated for years back home. Then there is Marcus Stroman. Its strange that this, essentially a homecoming for a young man raised in the Long Island town of Medford, is somewhat lost in the shuffle. Hes the 23-year-old who stunned general manager Alex Anthopoulos, blowing his bubble gum in the middle of his windup. The kid seems born for the spotlight, even if it will shine more brightly on others. "Im usually pretty good with dealing with things like that," Stroman said on Sunday. "I dont let anything get to me or get me overly excited or kind of get me out of my game. Im fine. Im in a good place mentally. I feel good going into it. I have kind of an off-day just to hang out with friends in the city and then it will be Game on Tuesday." Medford is a sleepy town, according to Stroman, more than an hour from New York City. Its closer to the upscale Hamptons, a drive of about 45 minutes. Medford has one high school, Patchogue-Medford High School, which Stroman attended before moving on to college at Duke University. The town will awaken this evening. Many of its inhabitants, in fact, will venture to Yankee Stadium to watch the hometown boy pitch. Stroman has purchased up to 70 tickets for close family and friends. He said hes been told by another 50 or 60 people theyve bought ducats. Hell have a throng of about 130 people here rooting him on. "Anytime you have an opportunity to pitch in front of a bunch of family and friends, its exciting," said Stroman. "I should have a lot of – a bunch of people texting me, bunch of friends from high school, college, a lot of people reaching out to me saying theyre going to be at the game so thats always exciting to pitch in front of people whove been there along the way." Stroman is 3-1 in his first year in the big leagues, 2-1 as a starter. Hes gone six innings in each of his first three starts, losing his last outing against the Twins. In two of those appearances, including the Minnesota defeat, he didnt walk a batter. He has impressed with his fastball. His breaking stuff, particularly his curveball, has baffled opposing hitters. Hes developing his changeup. Hes not developing confidence. He already has it. His coaches brag about it. "I certainly dont see him as a guy whos going to nibble and pitch around guys," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "Hes definitely on the attack. His walks have been down and I would like to think that thats going to continue with him. He certainly trusts his stuff. Theres no doubt about that." Growing up, Stroman went to Yankees games at the old stadium and saw the Mets at Shea. He didnt cheer for either team. He admired players. Like most native New Yorkers, he watched Jeter in awe. On Tuesday night, hell pitch to Jeter. He doesnt know what to expect. "I cant even tell you," said Stroman. "Im sure itll settle in once Im kind of on the mound but Im pretty sure it will be surreal." Justin Bethel Kids Jersey . -- Reginas Mark McMorris is taking home a silver medal and a fractured rib from Saturdays slopestyle event at the Winter X Games. Ted Larsen . Ulissi made his move inside the final 300 metres, bursting out of the peloton to edge Robert Kiserlovski for a second stage win in the race. Wilco Kelderman was third on the 179-kilometre (111-mile) leg from Foligno to Montecopiolo, which had two category one climbs, including the final ascent to the finish.This week the 2013/14 Premier League season comes to a close. Here at TSN.ca we will take a look back at the season by bringing together a panel of experts to help pick the best 50 players of the season. This list is based purely on their performances this season. It is not a list of who we think the best 50 players in the league are. Fourteen members were asked to take part (panel below) and submit their top 20 players of the season. Their list was then placed into a scoring system and then the totals determined the overall positions in the top 50. Each day this week we will release the list in 10s. The sport is very much about opinions, so please feel free to write your own list in the comments below. You can read part one of the list here. You can read part two of the list here. Here is how the Top 20 were scored – 1st place – 30pts; 2nd place – 25; 3rd place – 22; 4th place – 20; 5th place – 18; 6th place – 17; 7th place – 15; 8th place – 14; 9th place – 13; 10th place – 12; 11th place – 10; 12th place – 9; 13th place – 8; 14th place – 7; 15th place – 6; 16th place – 5; 17th place – 4; 18th place – 3; 19th place – 2; 20th place – 1. The Panel Six members of TSNs soccer team were on the panel and were joined by eight other members from around the world who were asked to represent their specific field. Joining our staff members were two outstanding statistical experts, Jonny Blain and Simon Gleave, two brilliant reporters/commentators covering the league, Stewart Coggin and Paul Sarahs and two extremely knowledgeable tactics writers, Tim Palmer and Ritesh from the False9 website and a man who covers the development side of the league like no other, Aidan from the England Youth website. In addition, also involved was arguably one of the knowledgeable writers covering the league in the world, Michael Cox, aka Zonal Marking. Follow the Panel on Twitter Aidan from England Youth – https://twitter.com/englandyouthJonny Blain - https://twitter.com/jonoblainNoel Butler - https://twitter.com/TheSoccerNoelStewart Coggin - https://twitter.com/StewartCogginMichael Cox - https://twitter.com/Zonal_MarkingJason DeVos - https://twitter.com/jasondevosSimon Gleave - https://twitter.com/SimonGleaveKristian Jack - https://twitter.com/KristianJackTim Palmer - https://twitter.com/timhpalRitesh from The False9 - https://twitter.com/TheFalse_9Paul Sarahs - https://twitter.com/PaulSarahsPete Schaad - https://twitter.com/PeteSchaadGareth Wheeler - https://twitter.com/WheelerTSNLuke Wileman - https://twitter.com/LukeWileman 30. Petr Cech (Chelsea) – “He is one of the best in the world,” said his manager Jose Mourinho this season. Not all that comes out of the mouth of Jose is correct, but it is hard to argue with Cechs incredible consistency. Prone to a high-profile error now and then, he, perhaps, will never be seen as reaching the real elite level of all-time goalkeepers, but he had been outstanding for Chelseas new-look tight defence this season. The best goalkeeper in the Premier League, according to the panel. 29. Romelu Lukaku (Everton) – Lukaku didnt score as many goals this season for Everton as he did for West Brom last season, but his second successive loan campaign was very successful. The Belgian simply grew as a player under Roberto Martinez, linking up better with teammates and playing any role that was asked of him by his manager. This was never more apparent than at home to Arsenal last month when his lethal runs from out wide showed his maturation as a forward and caused many problems for the opposing defence. 28. Gareth Barry (Everton) – Last August, Martinez knocked on Barrys door and wanted a chat. In his living room, he convinced the Englishman to come to Everton and be a part of his new-look Toffees. Barry was the perfect player for Martinezs system, allowing the full backs to push on, knowing a defensive-minded, ball-playing central midfielder can drop deep and split the centre-backs. The Spanish manager has raved about him all season and, unlike Lukaku, looks likely to turn the loan into a full-time move this summer. 27. Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle) – Cabaye left for PSG at the end of January, but hhad left his stamp on the Premier League, guiding Newcastle to safety and allowing the club to be one of the worst in the league since and not lose their top-10 status. Frostee Rucker Kids Jersey. The French midfielder was a true difference maker at St James Park, happy to play in the deep-lying playmaker role where he tore teams to shreds or, as he did at Old Trafford, just off the striker where he was equally effective. A Brilliant passer and set-piece taker, Cabaye isnt just missed by Newcastle fans, the Premier League misses him, too. 26. Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea) – Simply one of the most underappreciated talents in the league. Playing for such a big club, in a high-profile league, it really is quite remarkable how little attention Ivanovic gets. The Serbian has been brilliant this season and has improved considerably as a right back under Mourinho, where he isnt required to make too many inroads into the opponents final third. At centre-back, he might be even better and he was absolutely magnificent in Chelseas 2-0 win at Liverpool last month. 25. Per Mertesacker (Arsenal) – One of the most improved players of the season, although, he was excellent in the second half of last season, also. Mertesacker has been a great mentor to Laurent Koscielny and the two have formed a strong partnership in central defence. The German also brings something to Arsenal that is very important – a winning mentality. He knows what it takes to get to a level that the Gunners remain too far away from. Far too many empty promises come from that dressing room and sidelines, but Mertesacker is not guilty of any of them. Easy to look at his performances in those away thrashings and question his spot but collectively Arsenal were pathetic on those days. 24. Vincent Kompany (Man City) – Not a vintage year for the captain of Man City, where too many mistakes led to goals and red cards, however, Kompany continues to be one of the games finest defenders, who makes players around him better. At the moment, he is the face of the team, but if they want to progress to to the level of a true European powerhouse, they need to find at least one centre-back who is even better than the Belgian. 23. Samir Nasri (Man City) – The Frenchman had lost his way under Roberto Mancini and the Italian manager told the media that ‘he was wasting his talent. Frustrated at a lack of playing time and his narrow system, Nasri was unleashed by new manager Manuel Pellegrini and has had a great season at the Etihad. City are blessed with playmakers behind their strikers, who have an appreciation of space and can pick key passes in and around the box. Nasri is no David Silva, but he is now a star on whom City can rely heavily. 22. Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace) – Every season a player is promoted and then makes a name for himself by becoming such an important member of a team that stays up. Last season, it was Southamptons Morgan Schneiderlin, who led all players in tackles and interceptions. This season it is Jedinak who, remarkably, leads all players (who started more than 58 per cent of games) in those categories. The Aussie has been the heartbeat of a Crystal Palace team that was on life support in November. Throughout their struggles he was excellent and was even better when they molded into a solid team, around him, under Tony Pulis. It was a fitting moment that Jedinak scored the penalty at West Ham that won the game 1-0 and assured the Eagles of another year in the top flight. 21. Ross Barkley (Everton) - With all due respect to Eden Hazard, the PFA Young Player of the Year Award was made for a player like Barkley. Few had heard about the midfielder this time last year and the Scouser had a breakthrough campaign, playing with a youthful energy that helps him glide by opponents on the ball with an arrogant swagger not seen enough by a young Englishman since Paul Gascoigne. He is, however, more than just an attacking midfielder who can score spectacular goals, as he isnt afraid to get involved in the physical side of the game, much like Steven Gerrard was at his age. The hype machine could develop quickly with those comparisons, but he has a manager and a club that will keep him grounded for now. Itll be a crime if he isnt named in Roy Hodgsons squad for Brazil. ' ' ' |
