BOSTON, Massachusetts - If it was possible for steam to emit from a mans ears, manager John Gibbons office would have been engulfed by a blinding fog after Sundays 5-4 series-losing defeat to the Boston Red Sox. Cheap Adidas Shoes . "Thats the most frustrating loss of the year, to be honest with you," said Gibbons. "Simply because of who were playing, where were at and so many opportunities. I cant remember that many opportunities we let get away." Case in point: the sixth inning, when the Blue Jays were trailing 4-2. Josh Thole, whod replaced Adam Lind – more on that in a moment – walked. Rajai Davis and Colby Rasmus followed with singles to load the bases with nobody out. Toronto didnt score. J.P. Arencibia and Maicer Izturis were retired on infield flies and Emilio Bonifacio, pinch hitting for Munenori Kawasaki against Red Sox left-hander Craig Breslow, struck out. Inning over. While the Jays did manage to recover, tying the game thanks to solo home runs by Jose Reyes in the seventh and Jose Bautista in the ninth, it wasnt enough. With one out in the Boston ninth, Juan Perez gave up a single to Brandon Snyder and then walked Jacoby Ellsbury. Casey Janssen replaced Perez and got a ground ball out of Shane Victorino, which was misplayed by Thole and rolled into right field. Jonathan Diaz, pinch running for Snyder, scored the game-winning run. Thole, appearing in only his second major league game at first base but who has played the position 156 times in the minors, cut to the chase. "It sucks," he said. "Ive just got to catch the ball and make an out." Sport often weaves a narrative. In that vein, perhaps its fitting that in their 81st game, the halfway point of what has been a disappointing season, the Blue Jays suffered a disappointing loss. Lind woke up Sunday morning with tightness in his back, the first time this season hes made mention of a problem which plagued him between 2010-2012. Lind is hopeful he misses no more than "a couple of days." After the game, it was revealed Mark DeRosa injured his neck taking batting practice on Sunday morning and wasnt available. Gibbons short bench was rendered even shorter and he was forced to go with the struggling Bonifacio in that sixth inning pinch hit spot. Perez, riding a 15-inning scoreless streak, took the loss when the unearned run scored in the ninth. Ordinarily, he wouldnt have been Gibbons first choice to start the frame but because starters Chien-Ming Wang and Josh Johnson gave the club only five combined innings on Thursday and Friday nights, the bullpen was taxed. In one game, it all added up. Just like inconsistent starting pitching, sometimes shoddy defence and hit-and-miss offence have conspired to add up to a 40-41 record through 81 games. The second half begins with a Canada Day matinee back home against the Detroit Tigers. The Blue Jays are expecting a sell-out crowd. "Hopefully, the crowd gets behind us," said Mark Buehrle. "I mean, the last couple of games we were home, it was pretty impressive playing there. Hopefully, we can come back and start playing better." Bautista has 200th home run ball Jose Bautista hit the 200th and 201st home runs of his major league career in Saturdays 6-2 win over the Red Sox. His 200th, a two run shot in the sixth, cleared the Green Monster seats and landed in the parking lot on the other side of the left field wall. A clubhouse attendant retrieved the ball for Bautista, who, by the way, was wearing a pair of R.A. Dickeys pants to accommodate the high socks look. Bautista changed his look to change his luck at the plate and, apparently, it worked. He had three hits, including a game-tying home run (202) in the ninth, in Sundays series finale. Reyes being patient with himself Superstars are used to having success. It makes the first few games after a long injury layoff especially difficult. Jose Reyes keeps reminding himself to be patient, stay positive. "Im just going to continue to go to home plate aggressive," said Reyes. "I know that I missed a long time and its going to take a little while. Hopefully sooner than later, I get my timing back but Im going to go to home plate with the same attitude and just try to put a good swing on the ball. Whatever happens, happens. I come in here and work with (hitting coach) Chad (Mottola) every day on my swing and I need to understand that its a process." In five games since his return from a 66-game absence with a sprained left ankle, Reyes is 4-19 (.211) with a home run and two walks. Cheap Nike Shoes . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. Cheap UA Shoes .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. http://www.cheapshoesfree.com/ .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. (STATS) -- Senior Day at Villanova will take on a whole new meaning this year.When the Wildcats honor their graduating class prior to Saturdays showdown with fellow CAA Football powerhouse James Madison, theyll also pay tribute to the only coach the program has known since being reinstated in 1985.Theres still a real chance this wont be the last time Andy Talley walks off the Villanova Stadium turf, however, and the No. 9 Wildcats (7-2, 5-1) would make a playoff home game a virtual certainty if theyre able to knock off the high-powered Dukes and win next weeks rivalry game at Delaware in the regular-season finale. A sweep would give the retiring 73-year-old one more cherished parting gift -- at least a share of the conference title.Im pretty excited about the game, said Talley, wholl hand over the reins to longtime assistant Mark Ferrante at seasons end. Thank God its at Villanova.JMU (8-1, 6-0) has plenty to play for as well, perhaps more.Sixth in the STATS FCS Top 25 and fourth in the FCS selection committees latest rankings, the Dukes appear to have the inside track on securing home-field advantage through the quarterfinals of the playoffs, which theyll receive the CAAs automatic bid to if they win Saturday.The Dukes will have earned it, having already beaten three teams (Richmond, New Hampshire, Maine) residing in the conferences upper half -- all on the road.Weve attempted to build this team from back in January to be a physical, hard-nosed football team, because those are the kinds of teams that win on the road, those are the kind of teams that win late in the season, coach Mike Houston said. I think our identity has changed, its changed pretty drastically from last year. I think thats certainly helped in those road venues.That toughness was fully evident a week ago, when JMU twice overcame a second-half deficit to outlast Richmond in a 47-43 thriller and end the then-No. 6 Spiders 11-game home winning streak.Despite the daunting assignment of facing two straight top 10 opponents on the road in as many weeks, Houston isnt overly concerned about the possibility his team could be mentally drained off such a grueling game.Certainly there was a lot of emotion in that game. That being said, its on to the next opponent, he said. Thats kind of been our motto each week and all throughout the year, and I think the players have done a really good job of that. Theyll understand the whole deal. I expect that theyll be completely dialed into a very, very good Villanova team.Houstons more pressing worry is solving a Wildcats defense thats among thee stingiest at the FCS level.ddddddddddddThe unit, anchored by NFL prospect Tanoh Kpassagnon (34 tackles, 16 TFL, 7.5 sacks), ranks third in the subdivision in both total yards (268.0) and points (14.9) allowed per game. Villanova has yielded only one passing touchdown and four offensive scores over the last five games and came up with four interceptions in last weeks 26-7 win at Maine.They have maybe the best player in the league with (Kpassagnon), hes a great player, Houston said. Theyre what you expect when you think of Villanova football. I think that weve got our work cut for us to move the football.Talley shares the same fears about a JMU offense thats been close to unstoppable all season long. Second only to No. 1 Sam Houston State in points per game (49.1), the Dukes have gained at least 430 yards in every contest and put up 31 points or more against each of its FCS opponents.Weve got to be able to take some time off the clock and keep the ball out of their hands, Talley said. Richmond got in a shooting match with them, and Richmond has the kind of skill set to do that. I dont think we have the kind of skill there. I think were going to have to keep the game in the teens or low 20s to have a chance.Talley can take some comfort in his quarterbacks recent performance. Now fully over a concussion sustained last month, Zach Bednarczyk completed 23 of 31 passes for a career-high 326 yards and three touchdowns in the Maine win. The sophomore appears back in top form heading into an intriguing matchup with counterpart Bryan Schor, whos hit on a remarkable 79.2 percent of his throws for 858 yards and 12 touchdowns with no interceptions over a three-game roll.It just doesnt matter for either of these guys. It could be rain, sleet or snow, and theyre going to perform, Talley said. Theyre both real good at finding people on the run, especially Bryan Schor. Hes done a great job with that. I must have watched the JMU-Richmond game five times and continued to be amazed with how long he keeps plays going. I think its a matchup of two really, really good quarterbacks and two football teams that are on a hard charge.Bednarczyk rushed for a career-high 157 yards and two touchdowns in last years meeting with JMU, but committed four turnovers -- two of which the Dukes returned for touchdowns in a 38-29 victory in Harrisonburg.The home team has won six straight in the series, with the Dukes last winning at Villanova in 2008. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
The Wall