TORONTO – While assessing Brett Lawries season up to this point, its important to consider that the 24-year-old is doing something for his team that few other players, if any, could. Brian Dumoulin Jersey . One day, hes providing the Blue Jays with Gold Glove-calibre defence at third base. The next, hes more than holding his own at second base. All the while, Lawries posting respectable offensive numbers overall and is providing an elite bat in clutch situations. It would be ignorant to look at Lawries slash line of .224/.275/.412 entering Sundays action and conclude hes having a down year. Consider that Lawrie already has eight home runs, going deep in 4.8 per cent of his at-bats. Thats a marked uptick from last year (2.7 per cent) and 2012 (2.2 per cent). Lawrie also has 26 RBI, which ranks him third on the club behind Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. His best work has been done with runners in scoring position (RISP). With runners on second, third or both, Lawrie is hitting .366/.400/.732 (1.132 OPS) with four home runs and 21 RBI. All of it, as a reminder, while playing a third base/second base hybrid. Not even Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays does that anymore. When Zobrist hasnt been hurt this season, hes predominantly been a second baseman. “I dont see any player in the league doing it, unless youre a utility player, which hes not,” infield coach Luis Rivera told TSN.ca. “Its tough because hes very good at third base. Hes one of the best third baseman and then you have to move to second base. He was at second base before, hes learning the position again and there are a few things he needs to continue to work on and he can be better than what he is right now.” Lawrie goes about his business, taking ground balls during batting practice at the position hes scheduled to play that day. That, in and of itself, would be overwhelming for some players. Yet it isnt for a player, still young, who earned himself a reputation for being hot-headed and immature, two labels which should be dissipating by the day. “Its tough knowing one day youre here, the next day youre there,” said Rivera. “Mentally, you have to prepare. You have to be mentally strong.” The terms “Lawrie” and “mentally strong” didnt used to be used in the same sentence, thanks in large part to incidents like the infamous helmet-throwing incident in May, 2012 and his stare down of Rivera and Adam Lind when Lind didnt score on a Lawrie fly ball 52 Sundays ago. Considering what hes being asked to do and considering the success with which hes accomplishing the request, maybe its time to give Lawrie some credit. “Theres a lot going on, man,” said Lawrie. “Theres always a lot going on, especially now just from having to play all over the park and just Ive got a lot of stuff going on, but for the most part Im just trying not to think about it too much even though there is a lot going on.” Hes a third baseman, hell tell you that repeatedly and Lawries proud hes made himself an elite third bagger at the big league level, which is a testament to his athleticism. Hes all-in on the move because it makes the platoon splits work for manager John Gibbons. Lawrie is at third and Steve Tolleson at second when Toronto faces a left-handed pitcher; Lawries at second and Juan Francisco at third base when the Blue Jays take on a right-hander. “Its just something that I have to do for the team and its what makes the team a little bit better, so for myself, its just what I have to do in order to make this ball club better and to, obviously, win ballgames,” said Lawrie. “The most important thing is that he wanted to do it,” said Rivera. “So if hes willing to do it, hes going to be fine, but when you fight yourself not to go one place and then play another position, play third base, ‘I dont want to play second base, thats going to make it real hard on him, on the coaches and on the team. Right now, hes willing to do both, so thats the easy part.” After Sundays series-sweeping 3-1 win over Oakland, the Jays sixth in a row, 11th in 13 games and 16th out of 21, getting a buy-in from Lawrie is a much easier task. “Its just fun,” said Lawrie. “Its just good to be competing. Thats the biggest thing is just being able to go out everyday and compete and, obviously, have a chance to win a ballgame every single day. Thats the biggest thing, but just competing on an everyday basis as a group is obviously a lot of fun.” Mario Lemieux Jersey . If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles. Michel Briere Jersey . The Brazilian driver had the second-best time in last months tests at Jerez and said the "good start" could play to his advantage when the season gets underway in Australia in March. http://www.authenticpenguinsshopnhl.com/paul-martin-jersey/ .FIFA said its appeals panel ruled the case not admissible.The former U.S. Attorney had objected to ethics judge Joachim Eckerts summary of the World Cup bid investigation, claiming numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of his work.WASHINGTON -- Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates wants his team to focus less on power plays and more on even-strength situations. "Its tough to tell Ovi about that," Oates said. For one night, Oates will give Alex Ovechkin a reprieve. Ovechkin scored two goals, including one on a power play and assisted on Nicklas Backstroms game-tying power-player goal at 14:10 of the third. He also scored in a shootout, and the Washington Capitals rallied from an early three-goal deficit to beat the Calgary Flames 5-4 on Thursday night. Washington was 2 for 3 on the power play. Michal Neuvirth, who replaced an ineffective Braden Holtby, made 27 saves and stopped Sven Baertschi and Jiri Hudler in the shootout. "Youre looking for some sort of momentum change," Oates said of switching goalies after Calgary took a 3-0 lead in the first period. "The time it takes to do that, maybe a new guy, the guys start talking among themselves. Some coaches yell. I just kind of said things to guys. Youre just looking for them to re-group." Marcus Johansson assisted on all three second-period goals for Washington, which earned its first win after dropping the opener to the Blackhawks on Tuesday night. Connor Carrick and Nicklas Backstrom also scored for Washington. David Jones, Lee Stempniak, Hudler and Lance Bouma scored for Calgary. Karri Ramo made 35 saves. Calgary, which has missed the playoffs the past four seasons, has lost four straight season openers. "Very happy with the effort, obviously disappointed with the result," Flames coach Bob Hartley said. "I told the boys, Its one thing to play in the NHL, and there a different way to win in the NHL. "Were not going to start tonight on Game 1 saying, Oh, were young and this. Theres absolutely no excuse." The Capitals fought back in the second period, scoring three goals -- the second two by Ovechkin and first by Carrick, who got behind the Flames defence and had a clear path to the net. David Jones, acquired in an off-season trade with the Coloraado Avalanche, gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 5:18 of the first period. Womens Penguins Jerseys. About three minutes later, Lance Boumas check left Washington defenceman Jack Hillen injured on the ice while Tom Wilson had a fight with Bouma. Wilson and Bouma both connected punches before Wilson flipped Bouma to the ice. Both received five-minute majors. Hillen, who suffered a lower-body injury and did not return, was helped up and off the ice by teammates. Ovechkin escorted Hillen, who leaned on a trainer, across the ice to the bench. Oates said Hillen was at the hospital "is going to be out for a bit." Stempniak made it 2-0 with the teams playing 4-on-4 midway through the period. Hudler added a power-play goal with a slap shot at 16:22 of the first. Oates said he believed his team was still reeling from its loss Tuesday, when Chicago earned a 6-4 win. "I think we were really flat coming out. I really do," Oates said. "I didnt expect it, but I really thought we were. And you know what? It was their first night. They were flying." Notes: Oates said Holtby would start when the Capitals play the Stars on Saturday. "Everybody has hiccups," Oates said. "Everybody." . The Capitals claimed defenceman Alexander Urbom off waivers from the New Jersey Devils and assigned centre Michael Latta to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. Urbom, a native of Sweden, has two goals and nine penalty minutes in 14 career NHL games. He had 64 penalty minutes in 68 games with the AHLs Albany Devils last season. Latta made his NHL debut against the Blackhawks on Tuesday. ... The Olympic torch and outfit worn by Ovechkin during his portion of the torch relay in advance of the Sochi 2014 Olympics was schedule to be displayed on the concourse during the game. ... Three first responders from the Metropolitan Police First District, the area that includes the Capitol, received a rousing ovation when introduced before the national anthem. Earlier in the day, a Capitol Police officer was injured during a car chase from the White House past the Capitol. Cheap Saints Jerseys Cheap Ravens Super Bowl Jerseys Cheap Chiefs Super Bowl Jerseys Cheap Panthers Super Bowl Jerseys Cheap Falcons Super Bowl Jerseys Cheap Redskins Jerseys Cheap Chargers Jerseys Cheap Browns Jerseys Cheap Texans Jerseys Cheap Ravens Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Titans Jerseys Cheap Chiefs Jerseys Cheap Bills Jerseys Cheap Rams Jerseys Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Falcons Jerseys Cheap Bills Super Bowl Jerseys Cheap Colts Jerseys Cheap Bengals Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys ' ' '