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ST. Authentic Ben Jones Jersey . LOUIS -- Former World Series MVP David Freese was traded by his hometown St. Louis Cardinals to the Los Angeles Angels in a four-player deal Friday that reunites Albert Pujols with a pair of ex-teammates. In a conference call with media, Freese said he got a welcoming text from Pujols and responded with a reference to the 2011 World Series: "Remember what we did the last time we played together? Lets go try to do that again." Freese didnt think his drop-off in production last season had anything to do with the pressure of being the "hometown kid." "Obviously, Im a little sad closing this chapter, but Im extremely pumped about joining the Angels," Freese said. "If it was going to go down, I wanted it to happen on a team like the Angels." St. Louis obtained a new starting centre fielder in Peter Bourjos, plus outfield prospect Randal Grichuk. The Cardinals also sent reliever Fernando Salas to the Angels. "Overall, we just felt this was a very compelling deal to make," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. Freeses departure did not come as a surprise. "I definitely would look myself in the mirror and say, Where am I going to be in March?" Freese said. "I was ready to go anywhere. Im excited to get this going." The 30-year-old was the MVP of the 2011 NL championship series and the World Series, setting a major league record with 21 post-season RBIs and hitting a game-ending, 11th-inning home run in Game 6. Freese injured his back chasing a foul ball into the stands during spring training this year and never hit stride. He hit only .179 in this years post-season, going 3-for-19 (.158) with no RBIs in the six-game loss to Boston in the World Series. "David, growing up in St. Louis, this could not have been the easiest place to play," Mozeliak said. "I do think he may be looking forward to a fresh start. This was not an easy year for him." Freese batted .262 with nine homers and 60 RBIs, a letdown from career bests of 20 homers, 79 RBIs and a .293 average the previous year. Freese made $3.15 million and is eligible for salary arbitration. "He knows how to drive in the important runs," Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto said. "Thats something that really fits in our lineup." The Angels were a match because they need a third baseman and Freese didnt figure as the long-term solution at third for St. Louis. The Cardinals will move second baseman Matt Carpenter to third, opening a position for former top draft pick Kolten Wong. Wong batted just .153 in 32 games last fall and was picked off first base to end Game 4 of the World Series against the Red Sox. Mozeliak said that was just a "snapshot" of Wong, who batted .303 with 20 steals in 21 chances at Triple-A Memphis. "It gives Wong a clear shot," Mozeliak said. "I think hes going to hit." Pujols also played on the 2011 title team before signing a $240 million, 10-year deal with the Angels. Bourjos said Pujols called him just before the start of a teleconference with St. Louis media and Bourjos planned to call back later, adding, "Im going to pick his brain a little bit more, but I cant wait." The trade adds about $4 million to the payroll of the Angels, who have yet to add starting pitching. Jason Vargas left this week for a $32 million, four-year contract with Kansas City. The Angels havent had an accomplished third baseman since Chone Figgins left after the 2009 -- their last post-season appearance. Their outfield next season is likely to be Josh Hamiliton in left, Trout in centre and Kole Calhoun in right. Coming off their second World Series appearance in three years, the Cardinals have shed more than $45 million in payroll with Chris Carpenter, Carlos Beltran, Jake Westbrook, Rafael Furcal and Edward Mujica also off the books. The 28-year-old Salas had 24 saves in 2011, but did not have a major role in the bullpen the last two years and spent part of 2013 in the minors. He was 0-3 with a 4.50 ERA in 27 games last year. The 26-year-old Bourjos, who bumps Jon Jay to the bench, was supposed to be the Angels everyday centre fielder last year after Los Angeles allowed Torii Hunter to leave and traded Kendrys Morales. Trout was moved to left to accommodate Bourjos, who is a better fielder. "We did juggle some things around to make sure he got an opportunity, and it didnt play out the way we hoped or the way he hoped," Dipoto said. Bourjos missed May with a hamstring strain, then broke his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch in Houston on June 29. He played just 55 games, said he was "getting real close" to full strength. A career .251 hitter with speed, Bourjos stole 41 bases in 54 attempts and was among AL leaders with 11 triples, 17 bunt hits and 38 infield hits in 2011. Allen Craig will move to right field next year, making room for slugger Matt Adams at first base, with Matt Holliday in left field. Top prospect Oscar Taveras is expected to make the team but without the pressure of starting in centre field. The 22-year-old Grichuk was the 24th overall selection in the 2009 amateur draft, one ahead of Mike Trout, and starred at Double-A Arkansas last season. Dipoto said Grichuk likely would have begun next season at the Triple-A level. "Theres still some growing he needs to do at the plate, but Randal has the upside to play at the major league level," Dipoto said. "I hope he ends up a major league player." Grichuk had 57 extra-base hits, including a team-leading 22 homers that ranked sixth in the Texas League. He batted leadoff the majority of the time and made two errors in the outfield, playing centre and right field. Grichuk has a .284 average with 61 homers and 259 RBIs in 433 minor league games. Garrett Graham Jersey . As Valanciunas was whistled for a rare technical toward the end of the third quarter - a result of waving his hand at an official after being called for a foul - Lowry pulled the Raptors sophomore aside, corralling him by his jersey and patting him on the back.Keshawn Martin Houston Texans . The Dutch were knocked from top spot despite winning two European Championship qualifiers, including an 11-0 victory over San Marino. Germany stays third and Uruguay rises to a best-ever fourth.CLEVELAND - As the old saying goes, if you play with fire, youre going to get burned. Dwane Casey, who has used the phrase as a cautionary tale after lethargic starts of the recent past, came just short of saying I told you so Tuesday evening. His team had been getting away with it, far more often than any team should. Yes, theyre a resilient bunch and that was the case again in Cleveland as they clawed back from a 21-point deficit - even taking a brief fourth-quarter lead - but its been masking the underlying issue. Theyre an open-faced sandwich, missing the top bun. "You cant play in this league that way and expect to come back each and every night," Casey said after Torontos 102-100 loss to the Cavaliers. "Its bit us more than weve won, it feels like." "Until we fix that, among us, among ourselves, then its going to be an uphill battle every night." For the second time in three days, the Raptors trailed by nine after the first quarter, allowing another team with a losing record, also missing their best player, to shoot above 52 per cent to open the game. The start was eerily similar to Sundays, at home to Atlanta, lacking effort, focus and purpose on both ends of the floor. Even without injured point guard Kyrie Irving, Cleveland killed the visiting Raptors with speed and precision, exposing a reoccurring hole in their interior defence by darting into the paint at will. The comeback was inevitable. Its what they do. Down by 21 early in the third, Toronto staged a 21-9 run to close out the quarter. Kyle Lowry - running back and forth from the locker room all night, battling an upset stomach - scored half of his team-high 22 points in the frame. Greivis Vasquez would give the Raptors their first lead since the opening minutes, draining a three-pointer midway through the fourth before reality set in. "I think everybodys energy was low from having to come back," Lowry said. From that moment on they hit just one of their final 10 shots and on the last possession, down only two, they failed to even get one off. It was a play they had just run with success. Amir Johnson was looking for Lowry to turn the corner, but he was cut off. Instead, Vasquez took the handoff and, trying to spin right, towards the bucket, he lost his footing. "It was me going to my weak hand and I lost my balance, stepped kind of weird," said Vasquez, who scored 16 points of Torontos bench. "I turned the ball over. Ill take responsibility. Im not going to run away. Im a man." A noble gesture but, as Casey pointed out, its not the reason for the loss. "Thats not the game-decider," the Raptors coach said. "The game was decided the way we approached the first quarter." "Its easy to get up for OKC, its easy to get up for Miami, its easy to get up for Indiana but the teams that are not in the playoff picture, they are playing for something, too," he continued. Authentic J.J. Watt Jersey. "Theyre playing for pride, which is probably a little bit more dangerous than guys trying to save minutes and save themselves for the playoffs." Theres a lesson to be learned from this loss and it shouldnt take long to figure out whether or not its been absorbed. The Raptors - now the Easts fourth seed, leapfrogged by the Bulls with Tuesdays defeat - will travel to Boston in the second night of a back-to-back and first game of a home-and-home set with the Celtics, another scrappy team looking to play spoiler. "Weve got to get the mindset of being the hunter instead of the hunted because," Casey added. "Thats how we got where we are, being a desperate team, a hungry team and not believing the press clippings or where we are in the standings." Birthday blues Although Lowry would have preferred to celebrate his 28th birthday with a win, the Raptors point guard recorded his 18th double-double with 10 assists to go along with his 22 points. Lowry extended his career-high streak of 19 or more points to 10 games and also became the first Raptor to score 20-plus in eight straight since Chris Bosh did so in 2010. Amir passes VC on blocks list With his third-quarter swat on Spencer Hawes, Johnson recorded his 416th block as a member of the Raptors, passing Vince Carter for second on the teams all-time block shots list. Johnson, who had 12 points and nine rebounds on Tuesday, still has a ways to go to catch Bosh, topping the franchise list with 600 blocks. Patterson nearing a return Patrick Patterson, who has missed 10 straight games with an ulnar collateral sprain in his right elbow, was reassessed on Monday and is headlong well, the team revealed before Tuesdays game in Cleveland. Although hes been cleared for contact, theres still no timetable for his return to game action. "Its a lot up to the medical staff and when they feel he can go," Casey said. "Its one of those things where if he gets hit in the wrong way it could be trouble for a lot longer so thats why they want to make sure its well enough." The stat The Raptors fell just short of matching their largest comeback of the season. They last overcame a 21-point deficit in their home win over Dallas on Jan. 22. Toronto hasnt had multiple wins in which theyve trailed by 20 or more points in the same season since 2004-05. The quote "Weve just got to understand what were playing for," Vasquez said. "Weve got a big one tomorrow [in Boston]. Its a must-win because were actually playing for something. If you dont get up for that youve got to get your gas up. Weve just got to be motivated, man. This is crunch time. This is important for us. Tomorrows a must-win, no matter what. No excuses." ' ' ' |
