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DETROIT – Pat Hentgen isnt traveling with the Blue Jays this season, having ceded his role as bullpen coach to Bob Stanley in order to spend time with his ailing father, but his eyes light up at the mention of the ballclub. "You know I watch every single game, right?" He once again holds the title of special assistant to the organization, which affords Hentgen the opportunity to rove through the minor league system. Hes at home a lot, he needs to be with his dad battling cancer, but he may as well be at the field with the way he scrutinizes each development. "Buehrles great start right off the top, 10-1 is huge, it reminds you of what Buchholz did last year for the Red Sox," said Hentgen. "On top of that, Dickeys solid. Hutch is solid. The starting rotations been pretty solid overall so I think thats been a big difference." The statistics back Hentgen up. How many times did you hear general manager Alex Anthopoulos say, last year, no team that ranks in the bottom five in starting staff ERA has a chance to compete? The answer: more than a few times. The Blue Jays starters ERA of 3.77 ranks 14th in baseball and is the best in the American League East. Last year, only the Minnesota Twins had a worse staff ERA than Torontos. Rare was the occasion last season, when Hentgen presided over the disappointing clubs bullpen, its greatest strength, its best players were on the field at the same time. Brett Lawrie missed the start of the season with a strained oblique. Jose Reyes rolled his ankle in the second week of the season and Lawrie, back from the oblique, did the same in late May. The two werent on the field together until after the All-Star Break and by then, it didnt matter because the Jays were out of the race. Now, Lawrie is the key to manager John Gibbons rotation which features Juan Francisco at third base against right-handed starting pitching and Steve Tolleson at second base against left-handers. Lawrie fills the positional void on the infield. "I like the fact that theyre getting platoons because sometimes those guys need the rest," said Hentgen. "When you run the same nine guys out there every single day, its not easy for the position players, especially on our turf. The rotation of the designated hitters is a nice move." Blue Jays fans old enough to remember Hentgens heyday will recall his nasty, looping curveball. Naturally, Hentgens impressed with 23-year-old rookie Marcus Stroman. "He really spins the ball well, really well actually," said Hentgen. "I think hes got multiple looks with his breaking ball. He can curve it, he can slide it, he can cut it, you know, talented guy. I think hes just got to focus on staying on top of the ball and driving the ball down with his fastball, especially when hes behind in the count. Hes got great stuff and hes a hell of a competitor." What about adjustments? Stroman made the likes of Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler look silly on two-strike curveballs last Saturday. Stroman will start Friday nights opener against St. Louis and surely, the Cardinals will have a better book on the young righthander. "Second time through the league, you have to make an adjustment as a pitcher because the hitters will and I think that he will," said Hentgen. "Hes athletic enough and hes good enough. Hes just a young guy whos trying to get his feet wet here and get established. Hes got a great start under his belt already and probably looking forward to his next start here. I think he shouldnt change a thing. He should go at St. Louis like he just did against Kansas City." Hentgen isnt trying to split the atom with his analysis of the current Blue Jays. Continued good health, he believes, is the key. "The starting pitchers have got to stay healthy," said Hentgen. "The key relievers, the core guys out there, they have to stay healthy and obviously the position players. We saw what happened last year when we lost Reyes and Lawrie and Jose (Bautista). Its not easy when you lose three-fifths of your rotation and three of your position players." Encarnacions Special Month Edwin Encarnacion is the American League Player of the Month for May, the first time in his career hes been awarded the honour. "Its a lot more special for me because the way weve been playing, weve been winning games so thats the more important thing for me and my teammates," said Encarnacion. "Its nothing about just myself. Its just something that we want to play like a team and win like the way weve been doing so thats made it more special." The numbers dont lie. Encarnacions 16 home runs in May set a Blue Jays franchise mark for a single month; he became only the third player in major league history to have five multi-home run games in a single month (Harmon Killebrew – May, 1959 and Albert Belle – September, 1995). He led the league with a .763 slugging percentage and 22 extra-base hits. Encarnacion is also putting together a strong season at first base. "I feel very proud about my defence," said Encarnacion. "I worked very hard during the offseason. Its something you have to do great. If you dont play good defence, you cant win games." Lineup Construction When the Blue Jays face a right-handed starting pitcher, Adam Lind and Juan Francisco are in the lineup. Manager John Gibbons has, typically, employed two different middle-of-the-order constructs in these situations. 3. Bautista4. Lind5. Encarnacion6. Francisco Or 3. Bautista4. Encarnacion5. Lind6. Lawrie7. Francisco Gibbons picked the latter for Tuesdays game against Tigers right-hander Anibal Sanchez. "Weve bounced them back and forth a couple of times," said Gibbons. "Tonight, Im looking at Eddie. You know, Sanchez has been tough on Francisco. Hes got the good breaking ball and good off-speed stuff so space them out a little bit." Gibbons went with the first lineup on Sunday, a 4-0 win over the Royals and right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. "The other day against Guthrie, I mean Francisco had three home runs off him in six at-bats," said Gibbons. "I just look at the pitcher were facing, this guy can maybe give him trouble, maybe thats the case, protect Eddie with Lindy there instead." Injury Updates Colby Rasmus is rehabbing his injured right hamstring in Dunedin, Florida without a timeline for his return to the Blue Jays. His skipper hasnt received any updates of late. "No," said manager John Gibbons. "When I do, Ill let you know." Rasmus has been on the disabled list since May 13. The word is hes progressing toward getting into game action. As for Sergio Santos, out since May 10 with a strained right forearm, hes scheduled to throw a bullpen session at Comerica Park on Thursday. If that goes well, hell throw another bullpen session in Toronto on Sunday. If that goes well, Santos expects to join the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on a rehabilitation assignment next week. nike vapormax plus γυναικεια .C. -- Tony Stewart will not race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the third Sprint Cup race hes skipped since his car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. nike vapormax skroutz γυναικεια . -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored three goals in 33 seconds of the second period en route to defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday. http://www.vapormaxgreece.com/ . According to the Globe and Mail, a decision between the NHL and the Players Association should come within the six months. "I can tell you, (a decision) shouldnt take all that long," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Globe and Mail. Nike Vapormax Flyknit 3 Φθηνα .com) - Maria Sharapova reached her 10th career grand slam final after beating Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets at the Australian Open on Thursday. nike vapormax ανδρικα . Justine finished first with a score of 22.44 while Chloe was second with 21.66 points. Defending champion Hannah Kearney of the U.S., was third at 21.49. A third Dufour-Lapointe sister, Maxime, failed to make the final group and finished 12th while Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City was 10th.GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Phil Jackson lost out on his preferred coach, but hes working hard on keeping his star player. The New York Knicks president said Friday he has talked to Carmelo Anthony about postponing free agency, and the All-Star forward responded that hell think about it. "I told him it might be a good idea to hang in here and see what its like for a year, and go out the next year," Jackson said. Anthony can opt out of the final year of his contract, which would pay him $23.3 million, and has repeatedly said that was his plan. But Jackson said there are financial benefits to Anthony waiting, for both sides, and told him that during a dinner about a month ago. "He opened the door and I stuck my foot in it and said this is what we can do," Jackson said to the teams beat writers. Jackson also told Anthony that Steve Kerr would be coming in to coach, a plan that didnt work out. Kerr was his first and only known candidate to replace Mike Woodson, and Jackson said Kerr had essentially committed to leave the TNT broadcast booth to take the job. But then the Golden State job opened up when the Warriors fired Mark Jackson, and Kerr preferred that one to remain close to his family in California. "Unfortunately for him, he committed to me the day before the job opened with Golden State. So I had to kind of release him to actually go to this job and say you have to do whats right for yourself," Jackson said. "I understood entirely the process he was going through to have that job open up. That was something he kind of thought would be a good fit for him. So thats good, were happy for him." Jackson said hes been doing some interviews, though wouldnt name those candidates. Hes interested iin talking to Derek Fisher, who played for him in Los Angeles, after Oklahoma Citys season is finished, but ruled out Brian Shaw, his former player and assistant who just completed his first season as Denvers first coach.dddddddddddd The Nuggets have said they are happy with Shaw -- and Jackson doesnt want to give them any compensation even if they would consider letting him leave. "Brian is under contract with Denver," Jackson said. "Denver has everything that we owned for the last few years, so theres nothing else I want to give them." He was referring to the exorbitant price the Knicks paid to acquire Anthony from the Nuggets in 2011. It is still costing them even now, as Denver owns the Knicks first-round pick next month in Jacksons first draft in charge. The deal would hurt even more if Anthony left this summer. But perhaps Jackson, who is a little more than two months into his job, wont have to worry about it after giving Anthony something to think about that he previously wasnt considering. "Im not losing sleep over it, but Im definitely concerned about the idea of a guy going into free agency," Jackson said. "It only takes one bidder out there that has the ability and can ruin your hopes and your chances. "We will survive it. Thats what Ive said and well go forward. But this is a guy we recognize his talent and his skill is the kind of skill and talent that gets you through playoff games where things get sticky, grind out and basketball becomes a force game and suddenly you need to have a player who has the capabilities of scoring with someone hanging on them in a situation thats critical. "Hes one of those players, one of the few players who can do that." ' ' '