forward to him beginning rehab and returning

The Oakland As have the best record in the American League at 13-5 and are second only to Milwaukee by a half-game for best record in the Majors. This organizations success, at times, defies logic. They play in the most in-need-of-repair stadium in the Majors and traditionally draw in the bottom third, if not worse, in the Majors. Yet, here they are at 13-5 atop the American League West after starting last season at 12-5 en route to a 96-win season. There were a couple of things that caught my attention about the As 4-1 victory over Houston. First, it was the starting pitcher. Jesse Chavez was actually with the Blue Jays back in 2012 as a reliever. He didnt see much action with a team that had three starters - Brandon Morrow, Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek - down with injuries. Later that year, the Jays lost the then 28-year-old on a waiver claim by Oakland. Last season, he worked in the As pen as a reliever. Now the As, thanks in part to injuries, have given the 30-year-old right hander the chance to start. So far, it looks as though the As have struck gold. Chavez has made four starts and in doing so, became the first starter in franchise history to go at least six innings in his first four outings and give up one or fewer runs in each. Sunday, he picked up his first Major League victory as a starter and has solidified his spot in the Oakland rotation. The other thing I noticed is the As lineup. Of the 11 players who appeared in that 4-1 victory over Houston, only one was actually signed and developed by Oakland. That was budding Cuban star Yoenis Cespedes, who defected in 2011 and signed a four-year, $36 million contract with the As in February of 2012. All the rest were picked up in trades - many descript or on waiver claims or lower-tier free agents. Take Daric Barton, who came on late in the game to play first, but can also catch. He was picked up in a trade with St. Louis, along with infielder Kiko Calero and right hander Dan Haren, for then ace lefty Mark Mulder, who ultimately blew out his shoulder with the Redbirds, sat out a few years and ultimately had to abandon a comeback this spring. Barton is still contributing to the As and Haren is still going strong elsewhere. Josh Donaldson failed as a catcher in the Cubs organization and with the As. Then they made him into a third baseman and hes turned into a star. The As, with a limited payroll, just keep finding ways. If you roll back the clock to the year 2000 and then go over the As records over the following 14 seasons, theyve had nine winning seasons, four losing seasons and one .500 season. In fact, they had five seasons in a row between 2007 and 2011 where they only reached .500 once. But their successes have been mighty; two seasons with over 100 victories and seven more with at least 91. In 14 years, the As have finished first in the AL West six times. They have made the postseason eight times. Grant you, they have only won one division series and were defeated in the only ALCS they made it to. But I dont think I have to remind you there have been plenty of other teams that havent come close to making the postseason over that 14 year span, teams that have a lot more money to spend and better venues to play in. The other amazing thing about the As is their attendance. If you go back to when they were the Athletics in Philadelphia, where they resided for 54 years, the Athletics never broke one million in attendance once. During their 13 seasons in Kansas City, the As only surpassed one million twice, while in 46 years in Oakland, they have only bettered the two million mark, which is generally conceded to be the break-even point, 11 times. How good have they been over the last 14 years? Well collectively, they have finished 204 games above .500. The only two teams in the American League that have been head and shoulders better than them are the Yankees at 390 games over .500 with two World Series wins and two losses, and Boston at 265 games over .500 with three World Series triumphs. Billy Beane and Moneyball may have been overrated to a degree, but the As have proven to be one of the great franchises in the game against all odds. The Blue Jays have a significant homestand starting up Tuesday night. Baltimore comes to town for three followed by Boston for three. At 10-9, the Jays are one game ahead of the Orioles and Bosox. The Jays starting rotation will have to deliver more innings over these next six games. Last turn through the starting five, lefty Mark Buehrle was the only one able to get through the sixth and then beyond. The Jays have a bit of a psychological edge in both these series. The Orioles will be coming off an emotional Patriots Day game in Boston Monday morning and a draining series against the Bosox. Then Boston goes from that series to a three gamer with the Yankees. Both the Os and the Red Sox could be a little battle worn by the time they hit Toronto. Everybody talks about the Jays someday regretting trading Noah Syndergaard to the Mets. Well Henderson Alvarez is already in the Majors and looking dominant at times with the Miami Marlins. Saturday at home, he hit 96 MPH on the radar gun and pitched a complete game two-hitter, as the Marlins shut out Seattle 7-0. He faced just 28 batters, one over the minimum. It was Alvarezs first victory since he no-hit the Tigers on the final day of last season. He is 1-2 this season with a 2.66 ERA. Giants righty Tim Hudson is joining some exclusive company. He set a Giants record over the weekend by throwing 30 innings without issuing a single walk. He has also come close to a Major League mark by starting a season with four games of at least seven innings without walking a single batter. A gentleman by the name of "Tiny" Bonham also did that in 1944, according to ESPN, and Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander had a six game run in 1923. We mentioned right hander Dan Haren a little earlier in connection with the As. Well, hes trying to reboot his career with the Dodgers. His control has been impeccable in the early going. He has 20 strikeouts and just two walks. Of all active pitchers, Dan Haren has the top strikeout-to-walk ratio at 4.09 to one. Cheap Vapormax Womens . Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Buddy Robinson scored 43 seconds apart in the second period to lead the Binghamton Senators to a 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs in American Hockey League action Friday night at the Bell Centre. Cheap Vapormax . TSNs coverage of the Third Round gets underway Sunday with Game 1: Los Angeles at Chicago at 3pm et/Noon pt. TSNs broadcast schedule for the Third Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs is as follows: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Los Angeles Kings• Game 1: Los Angeles at Chicago – Sunday, May 18 at 3pm et/Noon pt• Game 2: Los Angeles at Chicago – Wednesday, May 21 at 8pm et/5pm pt• Game 4: Chicago at Los Angeles – Monday, May 26 at 9pm et/6pm pt Featured in the broadcast booth for TSN are play-by-play announcer Chris Cuthbert and game analyst Ray Ferraro, with Farhan Lalji contributing reports from rinkside. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-vapormax-plus-clearance.html .com) - Colorado may be ahead of the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings, but they are a club that the Avalanche may want to avoid in the playoffs. Cheap Vapormax 2020 . INJURIES - Cardinals 1B Matt Adams has been put on the DL with calf tightness, resulting in some lineup shifting, with Allen Craig moving from right field to first base, so that the Cardinals could bring up top prospect Oscar Taveras, who was the No. Nike VaporMax Plus Bleached Aqua Black+Bleached Aqua-Vivid Sulfur . According to Dave Stubbs of The Montreal Gazette, preliminary talks have begun between Markov - an unrestricted free agent this summer - and general manager Marc Bergevin.WINNIPEG -- Two is better than one for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers this season when it comes to kickers, at least when theyre both Canadians. Coach Mike OShea says they opted to stick with veteran Mike Renaud for punting and go with Canadian newcomer Lirim Hajrullahu for field goals and kickoffs. He says American Brett Maher was pretty much in a tie with the Canadians, and as an import he needed to win all three battles. "I said all along in that battle he had to win the job outright in all three phases and I think he drew even in all three phases," he said Monday after Maher was released. "I think it was a pretty even draw. . . And the way our roster shapes up, that wasnt necessarily good enough." But he says Maher is a quality kicker who should find a home if anyone watched what he did with the Bombers. Renaud is entering his sixth season with Winnipeg. Rookie Hajrullahu is a native of St. Catharines, Ont., whose 402 points and 72 field goals are records at Western, where he played for the Mustangs through 2013. Winnipegs roster issues when it comes to the import-Canadian balance werent helped any Monday with the news linebacker Graig Newman could miss the entire regular season, after suffering a serious ankle injury in their final pre-season game in Calgary. OShea held out some hope he might return earlier. "Graigs a guy we went after hard in the off-season and Im not saying hes done for the season," he said. "I know thats whats been said in the report but Im optimistic and sos he and well see him soon. Hes already in his mind figuring out his rehab and how hard hes going to work. . . Ask me again in a couple of months, three months possibly." Newman was scheduled for surgery Monday after dislocating and fracturing his ankle in their 23-20 loss to the Calgary Stampeders Saturday night, the Bombers second pre-season loss after bowing 24-22 to the Toronto Argonauts last Monday. "Graig is not only a great football player, but a great person, and our entire organization supports him throughout this process," general manager Kyle Walters said in a release. "We look forward to him beginning rehab and returning to the field as soon as possible.dddddddddddd" The six-foot-one, 195-pound native of Langley, B.C., had 18 tackles and one sack last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He also had one punt return for seven yards. "This is obviously very disappointing as I was really looking forward to being a part of all the new things going on in the Blue Bomber organization," Newman said in a statement issued by the team. "This is a great province to play football in, and I look forward to getting back out there as soon as possible." The Bombers also cut veteran Canadian offensive lineman Chris Kowalchuk on Monday. He was entering his sixth season, although he had only played a total of six games over the last two. They released three rookies as well, Canadian running back Errol Brooks and pair of imports, receiver C.J. Tarver and linebacker Kenny Tate. OShea says playing both pre-season games in less than a week was tough and he decided to give the players Monday off. "It makes it harder to practice right now," said OShea. "The guys had two games in six days, theyre tired and they need a little bit of a rest." He says its still training camp mode in terms of their practice shcedules, but theyre also getting ready for the CFL season opener, which will be played in Winnipeg against the Toronto Argonauts June 26. The break is timely, OShea said. "Our focus is cleaning ourselves up with the focus shifted to our opponent." He also said he has no worries about how the offensive line is shaping up, despite some criticism of the way they allowed Calgary to get to their quarterbacks on the weekend. "Theyre taking the techniques . . Theyre applying them in the game. . . By the time we roll into week one theyre all going to be better and theyre going to be better as a unit." He also said he wasnt worry about a defence that lost the battle in both pre-season games. "Im not concerned at all. I know what weve put in and I know that well keep working. The efforts there, the buy-in is there." ' ' '