Turniere » me anything nice since Ive been here," Butler said,

The Toronto Blue Jays have made it abundantly clear how much they are counting on Brandon Morrow for the coming season. Morrow made 30 starts in 2011 and appeared to have the "stuff" of which stars are made. He looked even better early in 2012, until a strained oblique muscle shut him down in early June. The injury woes continued in 2013 when an entrapped radial nerve in his pitching arm effectively shut him down from the end of May. So Morrow went from 30 starts in 2011 to 31 combined in 2012 and 2013. Morrow has really only been a starter for four seasons and last lost large chunks of the past two to injuries. So where does that leave us? Well, Morrow has a career record of 41-40 with a 4.22 ERA. He has never pitched more than 179.1 innings. In 102 career starts, he has four complete games, yet when he has been healthy, Morrow has had moments of sheer brilliance and could easily pass for a staff ace or at least a number two starter. He will make $8 million this season in the final year of a three-year pact, with the Jays holding an option year worth $10 million. There are those who will say that since Morrow is about to turn 30, if he doesnt make it it now, he never will. In some cases that is true, but you would be surprised at the number of pitchers whose careers didnt take off until they hit 30. Curt Schilling, who won a pair of World Series titles with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox only won 52 games through the age of 29. From that point until he retired, he racked up 164 victories. Eventually, he could wind up in the Hall of Fame. Though not as extreme an example, lefty Mickey Lolich, who won three games for the Detroit Tigers in the 1968 World Series, won 101 of his 217 career victories after turning 30. Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield didnt come to pitching until his late 20s, having tried to make it first as an infielder in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, but from 30 on, he put up 156 of his 200 career wins. The remarkable Jamie Moyer, the soft tosssing lefty control artist, pitched untill he was 49 and totalled 269 victories. Due to injury, Moyer didnt pitch in his 29th year, but from 30 on, he won the incredible total of 235. So, in other words, at age 29, Morrow has more victories than Moyer did. There are a couple of other lefties worth mentioning, as well. Jim Kaat, whos probably remembered as much now for his broadcasting work nationally as he is for his playing days, won 283 games over his career, He won 128 games through the age of 29 and 155 after that until he retired in his 40s. Tommy John, for whom the operation is named, won 288 games, the seventh-most all-time amongst southpaws. He won 95 games through the age of 29 and he won another 29 more before having elbow transplant surgery at age 31. He missed the entire 1975 season in recovery. John then returned to win 164 more games until he retired in 1989 at age 46. These last two examples put up the most amazing totals of all after turning 30. Hall of Fame knuckleballer Phil Niekro only had 31 victories through the age of 29. He finished with 318. Do the math. He won 287 games from the age of 30 on. Another man enshrined in Cooperstown, lefty Warren Spahn, was almost impressive and, in some ways, even more so. At the age of 21 after just part of one season in the Majors, Spahn left for three years to serve in the United States Army during World War II. When he resumed his career, Spahn racked up 86 wins through the age of 29. From that point on, he won another 277 games for a grand total of 363. Im not saying Brandon Morrow is a lock to follow this same kind of path, not at all, but if he does, you shouldnt be all that surprised. Baseball, as you can see, has had plenty of late bloomers...even late blooming Hall of Famers. - If you can track it down, you must read Joel Shermans piece in the New York Post from February 16th. Its the incredibly fascinating story of how badly Alex Rodriguez wanted to play in Boston and how close it came to actually happening before the Texas Rangers ultimately shipped him to the Yankees. Incidently, the World Series Count since that trade is Red Sox 3, Yankees 1. - The Yankees final series of the coming season is in Boston. That has led fans in the "Hub" to do whatever they can and pay whatever it takes for the chance to see Derek Jeter play his final game of his career in the "Pinstripes." But I would caution the fans that there is no guarantee Jeter will make an appearance. If any or all three are meaningful games and Jeter is healthy, of course he will play. Remember, though , this past season Mariano Rivera made his final appearance at Yankee Stadium. Though he accompanied the team to Houston for its final series with the Astros, he announced in advance, that he wouldnt be pitching in that series. If you want to dial it even further back, Red Sox legend Ted Williams homered in his final at-bat at Fenway Park back in 1960. That was it for the "Splendid Splinter," as he opted not to go to New York at all for the final series of the season against the Yankees. So for the sake of those spending all the money, lets hope Derek Jeter is healthy and there is something on the line in that final series. Cheap Puma Shoes Australia . "Uuufff," was all shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria could come up with after Stantons latest mammoth shot. Puma Mens Australia .com) - Patrik Elias registered the winner in the shootout as New Jersey nipped Toronto 2-1 at Prudential Center on Wednesday. http://www.wholesalepumaaustralia.com/.J. Mayo made seven three-pointers and scored 25 points, Ersan Ilyasova added 20, and the Milwaukee Bucks placed seven players in double figures in a 130-110 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost their 11th straight game on Monday night. Puma Shoes Australia Sale . -- The Anaheim Ducks have signed left wing Dany Heatley to a one-year deal, returning the 33-year-old unrestricted free agent to the Pacific Division. Puma Australia Sale . Stepanek gave the Czech Republic its second straight Davis Cup title Sunday, sweeping past Dusan Lajovic in straight sets in the fifth and decisive match to secure a 3-2 win over Serbia in the final. CHICAGO -- Stung by the Luol Deng trade, the Chicago Bulls found a way to ease their pain. Taj Gibson had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Chicago beat the Phoenix Suns 92-87 on Tuesday night in its first game after parting with Deng. Joakim Noah added 14 points and 16 rebounds, helping the Bulls to their sixth win in eight games. D.J. Augustin and Jimmy Butler each scored 13. Tony Snell added 12 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers during an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter that extended the lead to 13. Chicago sent Deng to Cleveland in a deal that was announced early Tuesday morning after the two-time All-Star recently turned down a proposed contract extension, a move that hurts in the short term but gives the Bulls flexibility to add to their roster down the road. It also could also help knock them into the lottery, although thats far from a sure thing given the weak state of the Eastern Conference. Either way, they werent conceding anything on Tuesday. "We lost a really great teammate, a really great player last night/this morning," Butler said. "Im glad we got the win." Goran Dragic scored 21 for Phoenix, but the Suns simply couldnt get into gear after winning 11 of their previous 14. Their 87 points were one off their season low, and they matched one with 12 assists. Tops in the NBA in fast-break points, Phoenix managed just 10 against defensive-minded Chicago. The Suns played without guard Eric Bledsoe, who missed his third consecutive game with a sprained right knee, but the Bulls were hardly operating at full strength. Besides dealing Deng, they were without Carlos Boozer. He missed his second straight game because of a sore right knee, leaving Chicago with just nine players available. The Bulls were leading by five early in the fourth when Snell hit back-to-back 3s. Noah then scored on a layup to make it 78-65, and Chicago hung on after it got tight again late in the game. Phoenixs Miles Plumlee hit a free throw to make it 85-81. But Kirk Hinrich answered with a 3 to bump the lead to seven with two minutes remaining. "It doesnt matter if they have five people or 12 people," the Suns Channing Frye said. "Theyre going to come out here and play as hard as they can. They have really good players. Guys that want to prove themselves." It was a difficcult day for both teams, with the Suns departure from Phoenix delayed to Tuesday because of the subzero temperatures in Chicago and the Bulls trading away one of their best players.dddddddddddd. Chicago acquired three draft picks from Cleveland along with Andrew Bynum, who was promptly waived in a move that took Chicago off the hook for the remaining $6 million on his two-year, $24 million deal. But trading Deng was yet another big blow for a team that expected to challenge the Miami Heat for supremacy in the Eastern Conference. Derrick Roses season-ending knee injury in November dashed those hopes, and Deng is gone now, too. "We can accept our circumstances as they are, or we can do all we can to change them and turn them into something positive," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Thats one of the things Ive admired about our team -- theyve accepted every challenge." Theyre facing another one after trading Deng. Snell referred to him as a "big brother," and Butler has repeatedly mentioned how much he learned from him. "He told me hes going to miss me, and Lus never told me anything nice since Ive been here," Butler said, grinning. NOTES: Along with Bynum, Cleveland also sent the Bulls a first-round pick, two second-rounders, and gave Chicago the right to swap first-round choices in 2015 if the Cavs are not in the lottery. ... Bulls executive vice-president of basketball operations John Paxson apologized to Deng for the way the organization publicly handled his illness during last years playoffs. The Bulls said at the time he was out with flu-like symptoms. An angry Deng posted on Twitter from a hospital that he had a more serious condition that required a spinal tap to rule out meningitis. "We did not handle that as well as we could have and should have," Paxson said. "We spoke to Lu. I guess we didnt understand the gravity in that moment, and thats on us. Over the summer we talked to both Lu and Herb (Rudoy, his agent). We apologized. Thats something that we dropped the ball on." ... Leandro Barbosa arrived in Chicago and was expected to sign a 10-day contract with the Suns. Barbosa spent his first seven years with Phoenix but has not played in the NBA since he suffered a season-ending knee injury playing for Boston on Feb. 11, 2013. ' ' '