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| SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Padres took a break from a dizzying series of trades Friday afternoon to introduce one of their new sluggers, Matt Kemp. Lance Painter Jersey .Kemp, in turn, put the blockbusters by general manager A.J. Preller into perspective as only a guy fresh from Hollywood could.This is unbelievable. Hes a GM rock star right now, moving in and out and doing so many things right now, said Kemp, who sat between Preller and manager Bud Black at news conference at Petco Park. Every day theres something different.Preller smiled and said, Thats definitely the first time Ive gotten the rock star tag.Later, Preller, a native New Yorker, said he listens to Frank Sinatra most mornings, but I dont know if that characterizes me as a rock star.Preller has certainly gotten the Padres humming with a badly needed new identity in just more than a week.Since Dec. 11, Preller has worked a five-player deal with the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers to get Kemp; an 11-player deal with Tampa Bay and Washington to get outfielder Wil Myers, the 2013 AL Rookie of the Year with the Rays; a six-player deal with Atlanta for slugger Justin Upton; a four-player trade with Oakland that landed All-Star catcher Derek Norris; and a straight-up trade with Boston to get third baseman Will Middlebrooks for catcher Ryan Hanigan, who came over from Tampa Bay.Prellers wheeling and dealing isnt over yet, since he has a surplus of outfielders.Its a stunning haul for a team that has had only two winning seasons since its last playoff appearance, in 2006.Preller said acquiring Kemp kicked-started the process, and the other deals started falling into place.Preller has managed to give Black a more well-rounded club that gives us a chance, while retaining top three starters Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross and Ian Kennedy, and most top prospects.We wanted to get a core group that we could give to Buddy and his coaches and hopefully have that group play together for a long time, Preller said.Preller said the Padres are taking a win now and win later attitude. I dont think we went out and just emptied the cupboards and dont have any other players in the system. We definitely looked at different paths to the off-season and one of the things that was attractive to us was to find a way to get offence without touching the front-line pitching in the big leagues.Black said the calibre of players that have come in in a short period of time is extremely impressive, from All-Stars to MVP candidates to guys who are talked as potentially some of the best players in the game as far as talent and production.Preller was hired in August after developing a reputation as a hard-working, hard-charging scouting and player development executive with the Texas Rangers.Kemp and Upton are among the games top power hitters.Kemp had a strong second half in 2014 for the NL West champion Dodgers. He finished the season with a .287 average, 25 home runs and 89 RBIs. That deal, agreed to early the morning of Dec. 11 at the winter meetings in San Diego, was finalized Thursday night.Although hes hit well at Petco Park, Kemp said he hated facing Padres pitchers.Now we have some offence and were going to help them score runs, he said.On Thursday, there was a report the Padres were concerned that Kemp had arthritic hips.Ive got a little arthritis, he said, adding that its nothing to worry about.These hips are unbelievable, man, he said to laughter. These hips are great. You all keep talking about my hips. You want to see my hips, man? Strong hips.Upton, who will earn $14.5 million in the final year of his contract, had 29 homers and 102 RBIs last season. That deal has yet to be finalized.Preller seems to be a later-day Trader Jack McKeon, just without the cigar. McKeon was general manager of the Padres when they went to the World Series in 1984, earning his nickname for his fondness for deals.The Padres also got catcher Tim Federowicz and $32 million from the Dodgers to help defray the remaining $107 million on Kemps deal. The Padres obligation of $75 million to Kemp during the next five years becomes the biggest contract in club history. The Dodgers got catcher Yasmani Grandal and right-handers Joe Wieland and Zach Eflin.Myers and Hanigan came over from Tampa Bay in an 11-player, three-team deal. The Padres gave up catcher Rene Rivera and four prospects. Shortly after that trade was finalized Friday morning, Preller flipped Hanigan for Middlebrooks.Upton and a minor league pitcher cost Preller four prospects, including lefty Max Fried.The Padres had a historically awful offence in the first half of 2014. Although they played better in the second half, they finished at the bottom of the majors with a .226 average, .292 on-base percentage and 535 runs. Their 109 homers were the second fewest in the baseball.___Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson Michael Cuddyer Jersey . After Mariota was pushed around by Stanford on Thursday, finishing 20/34 with 250 yards and two touchdowns in Oregons Title hope-crushing defeat, hes going to need a poor performance or two from the remaining frontrunners to have a shot at the most coveted individual trophy in college sports. Matt Holliday Jersey .ca. The NHL Play of the Year showdown kicks off with some slick moves going head-to-head with a combination of soft hands and endless patience. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/1074t-brendan-rodgers-jersey-rockies.html . After not scoring 40 points in the opening quarter in the last five seasons, the Rockets have done it five times this season and twice in the last three games.This story was tired during round 2, but the media keeps hammering it like it has the narrative of a Philip Roth novel. The passing of St. Louis mother was tragic, as is any unexpected death. Or death in general. Death is tragic. Thats why tragedies end in death. This is a narrative trope older than the playoff beard. But did it "galvanize" the Rangers efforts? Perhaps. But when reporters answer their own questions by asking players, "Did the passing of Martys mum bring this team closer together?" the story is being written and not reported. Its one of the tragic flaws of sports journalism. Additionally, part of the story being left out is how St. Louis sulked like a petulant child when not named to Canadas Olympic team, played poorly when added to the squad justifying managements decision to leave him off in the first place as he did not fit into their system, and then forced his trade to New York. Good player and teammate? Maybe. Virtuous hero of a tragic narrative? Hardly.Celebrities(Source: FameFlynet Pictures)Welcome to TMZs NHL final. With the Stanley Cup being played in New York and Los Angeles, the opportunity presents itself for endless celeb spotting. Coverage will no doubt be tirelessly freckled with shots of Robert De Niro, Michael J. Fox, and Wayne Gretzkys daughter. "Oh hey, look! Its venerable character actor ?eljko Ivanek! He watches hockey just like a normal person!" I fully expect at least one, if not two, Scott Oake "Inside Hockey" features on Matthew Perrys beer league for displaced Canadians in L.A. If somehow Jay-Zed and Beyoncé make it rinkside, NHL media types might actually spontaneously combust, leaving a trail of iPhones and unwritten columns about who will play Marty St. Louis in the movie version of the postseason smoldering in the press box.Major Markets(Source: cgodley - Hollywood Reporter)Yes, L.A. and New York are the two largest media markets in the league, so ratings for this final should get a bump from years past, at least stateside. But in actuality, a Stanley Cup final on NBCSN 7 or whoever it is who televises hockey poorly in the United States these days still rates lower than a Reba marathon on CMT. Add in the fact that the NBA finals feature a rematch of last years epic Heat-Spurs series, a compelling Lebron as Jordan narrative, and the dichotomy of the Heats talents in South Beach and the Spurs team first philosophy, some Americans might not even find time to watch Reba. Certainnly a major market clash is good for the NHL, and good for hockey. Vinny Castilla Jersey. But it wont be the epic sea change in the sports national visibility and popularity that the media will portray it as.Canadians (Source: nhl.com/kings)In the absence of Canadian teams in the final, the nationalist hockey media will do its best to attach Canada to the series narrative as best they can. Theyll count the amount of Canadians on each team. Theyll do a feature on the Sutters, how theyre cheering on Darryl from Viking, but cant make it to the games because the spring crop needs a plantin. There will be mention of how many Canadian Olympians are on each team. Stephen Harper will somehow make an appearance. Therell be something about a loonie at centre ice. And, of course, the annual Bettman-MacLean smug-off where Ron will ask about Quebec City and Gary will wish he were still with the NBA. If it goes 7 games, the contrived Canadiana will get thicker than a beer commercial. The Unmentioned(Source: Dirk Shadd - Times)The final will be notable not just for the tired recycled stories of rounds past, but also the issues facing hockey that will not be mentioned. Sure, a wedding isnt the place to discuss your partners flaws, but during its second biggest moment of the year (to the inexplicably popular outdoor games) certainly some of the sports challenges could be included in the pre-game and intermission discourse. It would be interesting, and beneficial, to have the pundits debate why fighting barely exists in the playoffs yet is apparently crucial to the game, if Zenon Konopkas PED use is an isolated case or hockeys dirty little secret, or have an open dialogue about concussion protocol, or the lack thereof, especially in the postseason. And Dominic Moores story is a truly heartbreaking tale, but some moment should be found to mention how it has been ten years since Todd Bertuzzi ended his brothers career, how Dominic was at times ostracized from NHL circles because of it, and how the case has yet to go to trial. But, you know, Don Cherry trying to pronounce Anze Kopitar is interesting in its own way.The Stanley Cup final matchup promises an entertaining series. Both the Rangers and Kings are built around speed, hard forechecking, and timely goaltending. There will be plenty of stories that will grow organically. This is the beauty of sport; the story writes itself, and that story will be best told if its storytellers eschew the contrived and indulge in its evolution. ' ' ' |
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Onderwerp: Dominic Moores story is a truly heartbreaking
