240 strikeouts in 32 starts with

PITTSBURGH – Sergio Santos arrived at PNC Park on Saturday afternoon and met with manager John Gibbons, who delivered the news everyone was expecting he would. "Were moving Sergio out of that role," said Gibbons of the closers spot, less than 24 hours after Santos blew his second save of the road trip and third of the season. Until Casey Janssen returns, Gibbons will go with closer-by-committee. "It could be Loup," said Gibbons. "It could be Cecil. Over the next few days it could be any of those guys." The change is necessary and while fans arent about to take pity on a multi-million dollar athlete, Santos struggles are a reminder of the human element of sports. There he was on Friday night, having blown a two-run, ninth inning lead, hunched over at his locker, his head in his hands for what seemed like an eternity. Santos then stood up and addressed the media. Later, once the ballpark lights had dimmed and he was back in his hotel room, Santos sifted through the litany of text messages he gets after each appearance, good or bad. His wife had written him and so had his parents. One of Santos brothers, Gabe, chimed in. He got messages of support from aunts and uncles, too. Like the goal crease in hockey, the pitching mound can be a lonely island when things arent going well. Out on the road, its easy to get lost in your thoughts. "You go to the hotel and that night, the night of the game, its usually the hardest, you know what I mean, that whole night," said Santos. "I mean, you close your eyes and you cant help but think about it. You think about a million different scenarios, what you could have done different." The sun, as they say, always comes up the next day. "The second you wake up the very next day youre presented with, basically, a choice," said Santos. "You could either feel sorry for yourself and say poor me or you could use the next day as an opportunity to know that what happened last night is not who I am." Santos turned to an old teammate and friend for advice. He often plays the online game Words with Friends with Darren Oliver and on Friday night, Santos sent Oliver a message. He wanted to talk. Oliver invited Santos to call on Saturday morning. "He said, Ive been through this a million times. I was in the game for so long. You go through stretches where theyre rough and theyre ugly," said Santos. "He says, its up to you to put a stop to it. They can go on for the whole season or you can nip it in the bud, get that confidence back and go out and pitch." Santos need only look at his numbers for a stark reminder of how bad things have been. Hes taken two losses, has blown three saves and has posted an ERA of 10.61 with a WHIP of 2.250. He insists he wont dwell. "For me, my edge has always been my confidence," said Santos. "Even in the midst of the biggest adversity, confidence, I think, is the one thing thats such a useful tool. So to even lose that, and dont get me wrong doubt creeps into your mind all the time, you get there, youre going, "Crap, is it going to happen all over again today? Whats going to happen? But its so important to just push those thoughts out of your mind." Santos is powerless over his role in the bullpen. He cant disagree with Gibbons decision and he wont. All he can do is wait until Gibbons calls his name again. "My whole thing is to help this team win in any way I can," said Santos. "Whether right now thats me throwing in the seventh, eighth, okay so be it because I know when Im going good I can help this team win. More importantly, for this team to win, Ive got to get right." New York Jets Jerseys . 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Klose has a bruised pelvic bone and abdominal muscle problems but team doctors are trying to get him fit in time for the match. Bender has a hamstring injury. Germany is already without half-dozen players, due to injury or bad form.Lakeland, FL - Detroit Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer has declined a long-term contract offer from the club. Scherzer avoided arbitration in January, agreeing to a one-year deal that is reportedly worth $15.25 million. The Cy Young winner can become a free agent after the 2014 season. Talks with agent Scott Boras for a long-term deal continued through the spring, but were unsuccessful and the Tigers said Sunday that further discussions would not take place during the season. "The Detroit Tigers have made a substantial, long-term contract extension offer to Max Scherzer that would have placed him among the highest paid pitchers in baseball, and the offer was rejected," the Tigers said in a statement. Scherzer was 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA and 240 strikeouts in 32 starts with the Tigers last year. He became the second Tiger in three years to capture the Cy Young, following 2011 winner Justin Verlander, who agreed to a five-year extension with a vesting option for 2020 last spring. "As we have reiterated, it has beeen the organizations intent to extend Maxs contract and keep him in a Tigers uniform well beyond the 2014 season," the Tigers statement continued.dddddddddddd "While this offer would have accomplished that, the ballclubs focus remains on the start of the upcoming season, and competing for a world championship. Moving forward there will be no further in-season negotiation and the organization will refrain from commenting on this matter." Scherzer will be entering his fifth year with the Tigers, who acquired him from Arizona as part of a three-team deal that sent Curtis Granderson to the New York Yankees before the 2010 season. The 29-year-old right-hander has been a double-digit winner in each of his four seasons with Detroit and has a record of 64-30 with a 3.62 ERA in 128 starts as a Tiger. He was 9-15 with a 3.86 ERA in two years for Arizona. Overall, Scherzer owns a career mark of 73-45 with a 3.67 ERA and has 1,069 strikeouts in 1,019 innings in 174 games, all but nine of which have been starts. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '