ekansekans's blog: "df"

TORONTO -- Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau cant wait to have a normal off-season. Over the past two years the 31-year-old native of New Westminster, B.C., has had to deal with the side-effects of a concussion that he picked up in July 2010 on a play at second base against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Morneaus had various other ailments, including surgery to stabilize a tendon in his left wrist one year ago, and isnt expected to play in the season-ending series against the Jays because of general wear and tear from his longest season since 2009 and soreness in the wrist. But at least hes looking forward to an off-season without surgery. "Its nice to be able to work out with the goal of getting stronger instead of rehabbing from an injury or surgery or a combination of them both," Morneau said. "Im really looking forward to that and spending some normal time with my family in October for the first time in a few years. "Its a huge difference obviously compared with the ones I was on last year and the year before. Once I start working out again it should be refreshing. It seems like work sometimes when its rehabbing from a surgery or whatever it is, but when the whole goal is getting stronger for the season, it has a different feel to it." If Morneau is indeed done for the season he will have batted .267 with 19 homers and 77 runs batted in and an OPS of .773 in 134 games, his most since 2009 when he played in 135. "This winter will be a nice winter for him actually," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said before Tuesdays game. "Hes not going to have to rehab, all he needs is rest and then get just back into his workouts. Now its just letting everything heal and that doesnt happen during the course of the season." After playing 81 games in 2010 and 69 in 2011, it took Morneau some time to get back into a hitting groove. A sore wrist also put him on the disabled list in May. "Probably somewhere around the all-star break, after the all-star break, I started to feel like my swing was closer to what I wanted it to be and I started hitting lefties better," he said. "I think I started 8 for 90 or something against lefties. It was a combination of things. I had some issues with my swing." Before the break he batted .246 with 11 homers and 38 RBIs with a .752 OPS. After the break, he had eight home runs and 39 RBIs but batted .289 with a .793 OPS. "There were times when it was good," Gardenhire said. "There were times as Mornie always put it, shrugging his shoulders, Weve got to play, lets go, it is what it is. He went through that a lot off and on but there were times when it was great, no issues whatever and thats when you saw his swing staying through the ball. "He played through it, which I expected him to because hes been through so much over the last couple of years that he didnt want to get off that baseball field. Pretty good year, considering everything he went through." Morneau was eased back into the Twins lineup as designated hitter this season and he played there for most of April. "It didnt last long before he said, Ive got to play, Ive got to be on first base," Gardenhire said. In mid-May when he returned from a stint on the disabled list, he played first base regularly. Morneau agreed that he didnt like being DH. "Its something that takes some getting used to and when youre struggling its hard because you dont feel like youre contributing anything to the team," he said. "Those oh-fers are tough. Youre oh for the three at-bats, youre not feeling like youre contributing and you put too much into that last at-bat. "It helps if you get a hit early. Its something you should be able to deal with as an experienced hitter but it makes it difficult if youre not having any success." Morneau, who was the American League MVP in 2006, hopes a regular off-season routine can get him back on track. When he suffered the concussion in 2010, he was having a big season, batting .345 with 18 homers, 56 RBIs and an OPS 1.055 in 81 games. But before the 2013 season begins there is the World Baseball Classic in March. Morneau and left-handed pitcher Scott Diamond, a teammate on the Twins and with Team Canada, watched on their computers recently as Canada qualified by winning a tournament in Germany. "Im looking forward to it," Morneau said. Griffin III Jersey . - Nine Canadian wrestlers received their ticket to London today, as they were nominated the Canadian Olympic Team. Robert Griffin III Womens Jersey . It was the second time in as many days that the Blades had full control as they blanked the Pats 9-0 on Saturday in Saskatoon. Matej Stranksy and Josh Nicholls also scored twice for the Blades (15-14-1) while Shane McColgan had a goal and an assist. http://www.dancewithmeusa.com/new.html . Manship joined the team in time for Sundays game against the Detroit Tigers. The Twins designed reserve outfielder Erik Komatsu for release or assignment to make room on the roster.BALTIMORE -- The night before White Sox rookie Dylan Axelrod was scheduled to pitch against the Baltimore Orioles, teammates Gordon Beckham and Paul Konerko pulled the right-hander aside and gave him something to think about. The way Axelrod remembers it, the message was: "The season is on the line. Youve got to win this." Axelrod delivered, allowing one run and three hits in 7 1-3 innings to guide Chicago to an 8-1 victory Wednesday night. "I know they were just kidding me," Axelrod said of his teammates speech, "but it was a good win against a good team." The White Sox spoiled the Orioles debut of Joe Saunders, scoring seven runs off the left-hander -- including four in the first inning. That was more than enough backing for Axelrod, who overcame four walks to earn his third career win. Recalled from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday as a replacement for injured Gavin Floyd, Axelrod (2-2) retired 13 straight batters before a one-out walk in the eighth ended his night. Although Beckham and Konerko intentionally overstated the importance of the game for the first-place White Sox, the victory did break a five-game skid on the road and put Chicago in position to salvage a split of the series with a win on Thursday. "We told (Axelrod) after last nights game that he better win, because we kind of needed it," said Beckham, who contributed three hits and three RBIs. Afterward, Axelrod was optioned to Double-A Birmingham. It didnt matter to him one bit, because that assignment puts him in position to be recalled sooner than a return to playoff-bound Charlotte. "Get my work and get ready to come back," he said. "I am thankful that they want me back so soon." One night after White Sox ace Chris Sale didnt get past the fourth inning, Axelrod put the brakes on Chicagos mini-slide. "They talk about being a stopper. Im not that, but I came out with that mindset," he said. "Put forth my best effort and get this team back on a winning track that hopefully carries into (Thursday) and into (a weekend series with) Detroit as well." Alexei Ramirez went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and scored twice to help the White Sox notch their most lopsided win since an 11-4 rout of Minnesota on July 24. Omar Quintanilla drove in the lone run for the Orioles, whose four-game winning streak ended. Baltimore remained 3 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East. Obtained on Sunday in a trade that sent reliever Matt Lindstrom to Arizona, Saunders (0-1) gave up 10 hits and six earned runs in 5 1-3 innings.dddddddddddd He was undone by an awful first inning in which he yielded four hits and a walk. "It just didnt go my way there in the first, and that was pretty much the game as it ends up," said Saunders, who grew up an Orioles fan in northern Virginia. Baltimore is his third stop in a major league career that began in 2005 with the Angels. The Orioles success of late and the prospect of seeing Saunders debut barely caused a ripple at the turnstiles: The game drew a crowd of 13,098. Saunders launched the Baltimore portion of his career in wretched fashion. Dewayne Wise singled on Saunders second pitch and Kevin Youkilis hit a fly ball to the warning track in centre before Adam Dunn walked. After Konerko got an infield hit, Alex Rios hit a two-run double and Ramirez singled in two runs. "I was making good pitches," Saunders insisted. "I kind of looked back at (catcher Matt Wieters) and said, Whats going on here?" Chicago added an unearned run in the fourth when Beckham hit an RBI double after Wieters dropped a foul pop behind the plate. Baltimore closed to 5-1 in the bottom half when Wieters doubled, took third on a fly ball and scored on a sacrifice fly by Quintanilla, his career-high 16th RBI of the season. Saunders was pulled after the White Sox opened the sixth with two singles and a sacrifice. Beckham greeted Kevin Gregg with a two-run single. An RBI single by Dayan Viciedo made it 8-1 in the seventh. NOTES: Orioles manager Buck Showalter shot down the notion of prized pitching prospect Dylan Bundy joining the club when rosters expand on Sept. 1. Showalter said he wants the 19-year-old to focus on pitching for Double-A Bowie in the playoffs before participating in the instructional league. ... Chicagos A.J. Pierzynski wasnt in the starting lineup, but manager Robin Ventura said the catcher would start in the series finale. Pierzynski is hitless in his last 14 at-bats and 5 for 31 over his last 10 games. ... White Sox RHP Jake Peavy is still expected to start in Detroit on Friday despite being hindered by an eye infection. ... Baltimore has been outscored 80-48 in the first inning this season. ... Inserted as a defensive replacement in the seventh, Chicago 3B Ray Olmedo promptly made an outstanding stop on Mark Reynolds grounder down the line, then threw him out. ' ' '