Thomas Godoj Thread » ar with the Tigers but went on a late-season hitting

The Toronto Blue Jays have dropped three of their last four after that incredible 11-game win streak. They are still just four games back of Baltimore for the second wild card slot, but its pretty clear, if the Jays are going to stay in the thick of the fight, they must upgrade their starting pitching. One bad start Thursday night shouldnt necessarily turn Chien-Ming Wang into a write-off, but face it; Wang was generally regarded as stop gap when the Jays got him, and with the uncertainty about the return dates of Brandon Morrow and J.A. Happ, Alex Anthopoulos has to strike while the Jays still have a chance to make some noise in the race. Ill bet there will be more scouts in the press box Friday night at Miami than there will be fans in the seats. The Padres are taking on the Marlins and both starting pitchers are rumoured to be on the block. Edinson Volquez, whos (5-6) 5.67 ERA will be facing one of the few recognizable faces the Marlins have left in righty Ricky Nolasco, whos 4-7 with a 3.68 earned run average. The Dodgers are rumoured to be willing to pay a pretty hefty price to get Nolasco, but the Orioles, Red Sox and Blue Jays are looking for rotation help as well. Boston could be getting desperate now that Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester are both hurting, while the Os dont seem to have a definitive ace. The Blue Jays have reportedly already scouted Volquez at least once. Nolasco, who is 30-years old, is making $11.5 million this season and is an impending free agent. Volquez turns 30 next week and comes a bit cheaper at $5.725 million for this season. He too is in a contract year. Nolasco has the better career ledger at 80-71 with a 4.43 ERA and once won 15 games in a season. Volquez is (49-46) with a 4.65 earned run average. Those arent the only two said to be available. The Blue Jays were one of several teams at Milwaukee Thursday night scouting Cubs righty Matt Garza. The scouts were well rewarded for their time. Garza, coming off an elbow procedure that delayed the start of his season, was outstanding for the Cubs. He scattered eight hits over seven innings and struck out a season-high of 10 to boost his record to 3-1. The Cubs downed the Brewers 7-2. Garza, an imposing figure at 64 and 215 pounds, is making $10.25 million this season and can walk at the end of the season. Hes 29-years-old and has never quite fulfilled his potential, racking up a career record of 60-62. An old friend, Chicago sportscaster George Ofman, is speculating Garza could be dealt before the weekend is out but Texas is rumoured to be the team to watch out for if the bidding steps up. One thing that really makes Garza enticing to the Jays is that he won 34 games over a three year span pitching in the AL East with Tampa Bay, including a 15 victory season in 2010. Another possibility is the Brewers Yovani Gallardo. Hes only 6-7 this season with a 4.20 ERA, however, over his career in Milwaukee, the 27-year-old is 75-50 with a 3.69 earned run average. Arizona has been looking closely at him. The problem for the Jays is that the price tag on any of these starters is going to be driven up by the number of teams that are interested. The Blue Jays also gave up a flock of prospects last year to get the likes of R.A. Dickey (Travis DArnaud and Noah Syndergaard) and Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle ( Henderson Alvarez and Adeiny Hechavarria). The July 31 non-waiver deadline is still just over a month away but if the Blue Jays are going to stay in contention, they may have to be creative and strike now. Quite a week for a couple of Blue Jays "fan faves." Munenori Kawasaki, who captured the hearts of the fans and his teammates, was optioned to Buffalo to make room for the return of Jose Reyes. The very same day, Pittsburgh designated John MacDonald for assignment. For the 38-year-old Johnny Mac, you wondered if his career might be over. Talk about reversal of fortunes, after Thursday nights game, Kawasaki was called back up to replace Melky Cabrera on the roster after he went on the DL with a sore left knee that had been bothering him for the bulk of the season. Then, the Pirates swapped MacDonald to the Phillies and all was right in the Baseball Universe. The Pirates, incidentally, have pulled into a first place tie in the NL Central with St. Louis and appear poised to end a 20-year string of missing the post-season. The Blue Jays, of course, are right behind them with a 19-year playoff drought.Jose Martinez Jersey . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Miles Mikolas Jersey . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/cardinals-enos-slaughter-jersey/ . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Dexter Fowler Cardinals Jersey . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Carlos Martinez Jersey . -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars.DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers werent about to make a change for the sake of change.Brad Ausmus will return next year for a fourth season as Detroits manager after the team announced Wednesday it was exercising the 2017 option on his contract. The Tigers were eliminated from playoff contention Sunday, but a 12-game improvement from 2015 was enough for Ausmus to keep his job.I think the team is prepped to compete and improve going forward, and I think Brad had a big part in that, general manager Al Avila said.Ausmus is 250-234 in Detroit and the Tigers have finished first, last and second in the AL Central during his tenure. He took over after the 2013 season, when Jim Leyland stepped down. After leading Detroit to its fourth straight division championship in his first year, Ausmus has presided over a decline that may have been in some ways inevitable as the Tigers have battled age, injuries and the departure of some key stars.Detroit made a run at a wild card this year, going 86-75, and Avila said missing the playoffs wasnt necessarily a reason to switch managers.Its not as simple as, `Hey, you didnt get in, you ought to whack a guy and move forward, he said.With Ausmus coming back, the Tigers could begin next season with plenty of continuity. If they pick up options on closer Francisco Rodriguez and outfielder Cameron Maybin, they wont have any major free agents who might leave this offseason. The core of Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez was able to stay fairly healthy this season, and Verlander re-established himself as one of the American Leagues top starters.Ausmus is looking forward to the opportunity to keep managing a team with a chance to win, and theres never been a hint of discord between him and Avvila, who just finished his first full season as GM.dddddddddddd Although Detroit fell short of its goals this season, the manager and front office appear to be largely on the same page.Im excited about it, Ausmus said. Al and I work very well together. We get along great, which from what I hear isnt always the case.There was speculation toward the end of the 2015 season about whether Ausmus would be back, but the team kept him for 2016. His position seemed particularly tenuous this past May, when the Tigers lost 11 of 12, but they fought back and were only a half-game out of a postseason spot before dropping their final two games at Atlanta last weekend.Detroit stayed in it thanks to the performance of Verlander and rookie Michael Fulmer, who boosted a rotation that was hurt by Jordan Zimmermanns injury problems and Anibal Sanchezs continued decline. Justin Upton struggled for most of his first year with the Tigers but went on a late-season hitting tear that nearly lifted the team into the postseason.Ian Kinsler had a fine season at second base, and Cabrera produced his usual outstanding line with a .316 batting average, 38 home runs and 108 RBI.Detroit has a clubhouse full of veterans, many of whom have accumulated their share of individual accolades and experienced plenty of team success. Avila gives Ausmus some of the credit for the fact that the Tigers were able to stay in contention all the way until the end this season.A manager obviously manages people, manages situations, Avila said. In this case, I think he manages the clubhouse very well.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister ' ' '