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TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers several questions each week. This week, topics include fallout from Marcus Stroman throwing at Caleb Joseph, whos primed to bounce back in the AL East in 2015, the Los Angeles Angels emerging as American League favourites and Derek Jeters exit from the game. 1. Did Torontos Marcus Stroman have to throw at Caleb Joseph on Monday after it appeared Jose Reyes overreacted to the play at the plate? And why would he appeal the decision now, when youre out of the race, rather than just get it over with before next year? It is so hard being a major league pitcher, sometimes. Those darn unwritten rules can bite you in the behind. Nobody has to say anything - you just know. When one of your stars has a beef with the other team and he has been attacked, it is up to the pitcher to show he is a good teammate. The way a pitcher shows he is a good teammate is to throw at the individual player involved in the beef or the other teams star. When Jose Reyes believed he was intentionally stomped on when sliding in to the plate, Orioles catcher, Caleb Joseph, suddenly had a target on his back. Fortunately, Marcus Stroman missed his target and the pitch soared past the head of Joseph. That is a no-no. Pitchers should never throw at an opponents head. A beaning can end someones career or even kill them. Based upon the circumstances, I understand why the umpires and Commissioner Bud Selig believe the pitch was intentional and why he was suspended. When there is a bad blood, the primary participants are the focus of the umpires attention and protection. Stroman has remained steadfast in his claim that there was no intent in the pitch that almost domed Joseph. He is appealing because he truly didnt mean to throw at Joseph. It makes no sense otherwise. If he intended to do it, he should just accept the respect of his teammates and his punishment. Missing six games when you have already been eliminated is painless. If you do the crime, you have to serve the time. He will lose his appeal and sit for six games sooner or later. 2. Aside from Baltimore, the entire AL East underperformed this year. Who among the Blue Jays, Yankees, Red Sox and Rays is best suited to turn it around in 2015? This has been a down year for the AL East. It has long been the best division in basebal,l but not this season. Over the years, the spending and success of the Yankees and Red Sox caused every other AL team, particularly in the AL East, to spend more and add power. For almost two decades, everyone in the AL chased the Yankees and Red Sox. The last time the Yanks and Sox both missed the playoffs in the same season was 1993. The Rays, before this season, have had nice run of competitiveness for a small market team and the Jays have the power bats to slug with anyone. Every team has flaws of some sort. Teams that make the playoffs tend to have fewer flaws or they have enough impact in some areas of the game to compensate for their weakness in another. Of the four AL East non-playoff teams the one with the best chance to sit on top next year is very difficult to predict. It will take good general managing to fix all of these teams. The Rays are going to depend upon the growth and development of their young players. They are hoping for a healthy season for key players like Matt Moore, Wil Myers and Desmond Jennings. They wont have money to spend in the free agent market, so they have to hope Joe Maddon can rebuild the young roster into a competitive one. The Red Sox started the reconstruction process early. The Jon Lester and John Lackey trades brought them Yoenis Cespedes and Allen Craig that immediately improved an offence that lacked punch from the right side. But by trading Lackey, Lester and Jake Peavy, they left themselves with huge holes in a rotation that already wasnt good enough. I expect the Sox to be players in the free agent market for Lester, Max Scherzer and James Shields for sure. The Yankees need an overhaul. Joe Girardi gets as much out of his roster as any manager. The reality is that the Yanks need offence, defence and pitching. They will have gaping holes at second base and shortstop, as well as an aging Mark Teixeira and a returning Alex Rodriguez to third base. The pitching staff has fallen off significantly, as CC Sabbathia is half the pitcher he used to be and Masahiro Tanakas great first half and career is now clouded by a tear in his elbow. The Yanks have money to spend, but too many holes to solve all their needs in one off-season. That leaves the Jays. The Jays are in their window to win. They have a first-place offence and some first-place pitchers. They need an ace, though. They need the guy who will keep them out of the losing streak because he is the stopper. He wins after a loss. That pitcher will cost money and lots of it. It seems remote that the Jays will be big spenders in the free agent market, but if they get an ace they have a legitimate chance to win the division. So, here are my predictions for next year. The team that is closest to being the team to beat next year is the Jays. They have balance and depth in every component of the game, except starting pitching. The Red Sox and Yankees need starters too but they both have other significant offensive needs as well. The one advantage that the Yanks and Sox have is that they have money to get what they need. The Jays most likely do not have money to spend. The Rays will be competitive, but they dont have enough offence to support their good young arms. 3. Since June 6, the Los Angeles Angels have been on fire, posting a 63-29 record (.684 winning percentage) and have skyrocketed to an 11-1/2 game lead in the AL West over the Oakland Athletics. Their overall record of 95-57 is the best in the majors as well. Are the Angels the favourites to win the World Series this year or are they a team who has a lot of success in the regular season and then falters in the playoffs? The Angels had huge expectations in 2012 after signing Albert Pujols. They had even bigger expectations last year when they added Josh Hamilton. But both years, they were dismal failures. This season has been absolutely remarkable. The Angels are playing Angels baseball again. They are fundamentally sound. They take the extra bases. The Angels are the best at going first to third on a single. They score from first on doubles. They are a solid defensive team. They make plays. They have pitched better than expected. I knew Jared Weaver and CJ Wilson would be high quality starters, but there were real questions about the rest of the rotation. Garrett Richards took advantage of the opportunity that he finally got and became the ace of the staff. When Richards went down to injury, Matt Shoemaker emerged and rounded out the rotation. In fact, after the loss of Richards, the Angels played even better than they had already been playing. Mike Scioscia reconfigured and developed his bullpen on the fly during the season and he is one of the best at managing the bullpen. Offensively, the Angels are the highest scoring offence in the AL. They have the AL MVP in Mike Trout and a former MVP in Pujols. They have gotten significant contributions from veteran middle infielders Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar, as well. Sciosca has done a nice job blending in some young players, as well. Youngsters, CJ Cron and Kole Calhoun are important to their line-up as they add length, depth and power. They clearly have a potent offence. The Angels will end up with the best record in the AL and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. That is certainly a big leg up, as they have the best home record in all of baseball. But I do have a concern about the Angels: starting pitching depth. Without Richards and, possibly, his replacement Shoemaker (strained oblique,) Games 3 and 4 of the playoff series will put them at a disadvantage. I believe the Angels will get to the ALCS and lose to the Detroit Tigers. 4. The Blue Jays lost to the Yankees last night 3-2. Both teams are still mathematically alive for a wild card spot, but the odds are remote that either will get there. So, effectively, both teams are just playing out the string. In Thursday nights one-run win, the Yankees got a solo home run from Derek Jeter. In and of itself, not a huge deal, since he has hit 260 in his career, but it does exemplify Jeters career. This is the final road trip of the Jays season or, more appropriately, the final homestand of Derek Jeters career. It is only fitting that he gives Yankee fans something to cheer for. On Wednesday in Tampa, Jeter broke an 0-for-28 slump just in time for his return to New York. He cant finish his final season in pinstripes in a funk. Jeter always seems to get it right and his finishing his career in a flurry sure feels right. Everywhere New York teams go, they are despised by the opposition. They have been the villains in baseball for decades. They win too much or they spend too much or they are too smug or they are just from New York, etc. People found reasons to hate them. Yet the face of baseball has been Derek Jeter over the last two decades. He has endured and been bigger than every distraction. He is bigger than the game. Jeters on-field performance has been remarkable. He has the most hits ever by a Yankee - more than Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. In fact, he has more hits (3,453) than all but five players in the history of the game. He has won five World Series championships. He was the AL Rookie of the Year, All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP. He won the Gold Glove five times and was second in MVP balloting in 2006. Once can make the argument that he was the best shortstop ever. Even for those unwilling to give him that moniker, he is in the top five all-time. He is and always will be a legend in Yankee lore. But Jeters most significant accomplishment is that he has been respected by every teammate and opponent he has ever known. Jeter always did the right thing. He respected the game. He respected umpires and teammates. He respected his closest competitors. He never got caught up in his own hype. He never took the bait to respond inappropriately to any situation. He maintained a respectful and friendly relationship with the media. He has done everything right. There are no perfect people, let alone baseball players, but Jeters career has been perfect. He couldnt have played better. He couldnt have represented the Yankees or the game of baseball better. He is simply amazing. In this day and age of social networking, with Twitter and cameras on phones and all of the other ways that we invade each others privacy, he has never had a misstep. He is always classy and appropriate. He is grateful for what he has and has never taken any aspect of being a big leaguer for granted. Jeter has dated some of the biggest stars and models, yet never a scandal. He treats women with he same respect he treats everyone else. It is not only Yankee fans that will miss Derek Jeter - it is all baseball fans. I will be at Jeters last home game at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, September 25. I for one will stand and applaud to show my respect and gratitude for how he played and his success. I will mostly be standing, though, out of gratitude for his representing the game I love with class and dignity. I applaud him for being a role model for so many young kids. We all wish our kids could grow up and be just like him. So please join me in saying, “Thank you, Derek for 20 great seasons. You broke our hearts many times, but we never held it against you because you beat us with grace, class and dignity.” Oh, and by the way, “Good riddance!! Maybe we can win a championship now, too.” Dan Fouts Womens Jersey . And all things considered, the first 40 games have offered a little bit of everything from a hockey club that faced many questions in its first year under new management, with a new head coach and with a number of new faces in the lineup. However, with a recent dip in scoring, it seems some of the same old questions persist and several new ones have been raised after a somewhat troubling homestand. Dan Fouts Youth Jersey . One out away from finishing off an impressive shutout, they let a must-win game slip away. http://www.chargersauthenticofficialonline.com/authentic-mike-williams-jersey.html . Dane Dobbie had four goals and two assists, Karsen Leung had two goals and two assists, and Matthew Dinsdale scored two and helped on another for Calgary (6-3). Shawn Evans and Jeff Shattler had eight-point games with a goal and seven assists apiece, and Jon Harnett and Geoff Snider also scored. Kellen Winslow Chargers Jersey .com) - Mike Conley scored 20 points with five assists to help the Memphis Grizzlies remain unbeaten with a 91-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. Dan Fouts Chargers Jersey . - For years William Gay kept quiet.BROOKLYN, N.Y. - A whopping 59 turnovers in three post-season games. Thereve been times the Toronto Raptors playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets has resembled a kick-ball tournament, with balls bouncing wildly off feet. The Nets lead the best-of-seven playoff series 2-1 heading into Sundays Game 4 at Barclays Center, and the Raptors know they desperately need to clean up their act to avoid heading back to Toronto trailing 3-1. You can catch the game live NOW on TSN and TSN GO with pre-game coverage. TSN.cas coverage includes live streaming of the fan festivities at Maple Leaf Square during the game, in-game highlights and live streaming of the post-game news conferences. "If we can get it down to 13, 12, somewhere in that area we are happy with that," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "Some of the no-look passes, passes where we think our teammates are going to be, are things we can correct. "You are not going to turn some of our guys into Magic Johnson overnight but we can make better decisions of things we control in our turnovers." Giveaways have been a theme of all three games, and each time, the Raptors have come away vowing to do a better job of protecting the ball. Yet the kick balls and the crazy passes continue. They coughed it up 19 times in Game 1, 21 times in Game 2, and 19 times in Friday nights Game 3, a 102-98 loss. The Raptors practised at Pace University on Saturday, just across the bridge from Brooklyn. It was a long morning of making adjustments on both the offensive and defensive end, said Casey, ahead of Game 4. The Raptors are looking for their first playoff victory on the road since a win over Philadelphia way back in 2001. At least for part of the practice, Casey addressed turnovers. He said aggression has something to do with it — players are getting bumped and giving up the ball. He spoke of working on players "dispositions," which goes for both their aggression in holding onto the ball, and playing with aggression period. The Raptors were manhandled by the Nets for the better part of four quarters Friday, finally fighting back late in the game to come within a point. But disposition isnt an easy thing to coach with just a day or two between easy games. "Well, you have to appeal to the guys pride, their ego and intelligence and we have some intelligent players on this team," the coach said. "Again, its playoff basketball. If you cant get a disposition in the right order at this time of year, this is what we play for. "Our franchise hasnt been there for a while so if we cant get excited now about being tough, physical and fighting through the screens, not complaining about it but fighting through the screens and not letting them hold you and getting to your spot, all those things are disposition plays." DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas have been Torontos best two players this series, but theyve also turned the ball over more than anyone. Valanciunas has turned it over 13 times, one more than DeRozan. The Nets have turned the ball over 31 times combined over the three games, and the discrepancy in giveaways is the one glaring statistic in a series that is otherwise so even. The Raptors have outscored the Nets by just a single point — 678-677 — in the seven meetings between these two teams this season.dddddddddddd "Man weve just got to be strong with the ball," said Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry. "Theyre definitely physical when we drive the lane but weve got to be a little bit stronger. Its playoff time. Weve got to be stronger with the ball when were driving." Casey said the previous night that Lowry looked like hed been through a "15-round bout," and the gritty point guard looked similarly the worse for wear Saturday morning. Parked on a bench before addressing the media, the teams medical staff inspected his right knee and his busted lip that required a stitch to close Friday night. Lowrys knee was sore from a knee-on-knee collision. "Im going to get treatment around the clock to get healthy. Ice, stim (muscle stimulator). . . weve got a great training staff. We did some work this morning, well do some work when I get back. Get to as close to 100 per cent as possible right now," Lowry said. "Right now its very sore but I have no doubt that Im going to play." DeRozan — who scored 30 points on Friday to become the first player in Raptors history to record 30-plus points in back-to-back playoff games — likes the quick turnaround between games. "I cant wait to play (Sunday)," the Raptors all-star said. "Honestly, get back out there and get a game." "(One day between games) is a lot better," DeRozan added. "I think we could use that to our advantage too, with the quick turnaround. Just come out with high energy knowing we need to get at least one game in their place before we go back home." While the Raptors expected a hostile crowd in Brooklyns Barclays Center — especially after GM Masai Ujiris now famous F-bomb when mentioning the city — it was a pretty docile crowd that awaited them Friday. "It felt like another game to me, like a regular-season game," DeRozan said. "When you talk about atmosphere, honestly, it didnt have nothing on Toronto at all. Thats just our fans though, so it was a lot different. Playing out there felt like another game. I felt comfortable out there. We just have to clean up some things." The Raptors have to hope for better from starters Terrence Ross and Amir Johnson. Ross, who scored 51 points in a game earlier this season to tie Vince Carters franchise record, has struggled mightily. He has yet to score anywhere near double figures, finishing with five points on Friday. Johnson, while given the tough assignment of guarding perennial all-star Paul Pierce, has been hit or miss. He had seven points and four rebounds on Friday. Their teammates continue to be supportive of the two who were key in the Raptors getting to the playoffs this season. "Hes still the same Terrence," DeRozan said, when asked about how Ross fared in practice Saturday. "We all understand everybodys not going to have their best nights. We all understand that. Our job is to keep everybodys confidence high. "Amir, Terrence, they understand whats at stake in this next game and theyre going to definitely come through for us." ' ' '