id. "I think that to bring other people in just for the proces

Things got a little nasty this week in the Arizona Diamondbacks camp when general manager Kevin Towers fired a couple of the teams coaches, including pitching coach Charles Nagy. It didnt end there. Towers, during a radio interview, slammed his pitchers for not executing "eye for an eye" justice by not hitting opponents with the pitches after their own players had been plunked. Towers added that he wanted a pitching coach with more fire who would convey the message that the Dbacks pitchers had to have more "fire in their bellies" and do a better job of protecting their teammates. That made me wonder if there is any correlation between pitching staffs hitting batters and those teams making it into the postseason. This season, for instance, Pittsburgh lead the Majors in hit batters with 70 and made it to the Wild Card game before losing the division series to St. Louis in 5. Cincinnati was second with 66 and lost the Wild Card game to the Bucs. The Central-winning Cardinals hit 64 batters. The top American League team was Texas with 65, and the Rangers made it to the tiebreaker game where they lost to the Rays. Arizona, surprisingly, fits in right after that with 60; which is a bit surprising considering what Towers had to say. I suppose he was just more than a little upset that his team led the NL West early, only to see the Dodgers overcome a horrible start and go shooting past them to win the division. L.A only hit 43 batters while the other National League playoff team, Atlanta, nailed 51. In the American League, after Texas, Cleveland hit 58 and then the numbers drop off from Tampa Bay at 52, Boston 47, Detroit 42 and Oakland just 35. A year ago, Towers had two of the top pitchers in hitting batters - Ian Kennedy with 14 and Trevor Cahill with 11 - but this year he wound up trading Kennedy to San Diego. You dont have to hit batters to be effective but you cant be afraid to pitch inside either. Clevelands Justin Masterson certainly qualifies. He led the Majors with 17 hit batsmen this season. The Tigers feisty right hander Doug Fister was second with 16. Interestingly, the Blue Jays two winningest pitchers also plunked the most. R.A Dickey with 10 and Mark Buehrle with nine, accounting for a combined 38 per cent of the Jays hit batters. If you look at the all-time career list, Gus Wehhing - who played the bulk of his career in the 1800s -leads the way with 277. Randy Johnson tops the modern era and is fifth overall with 190. Based on my perceptions growing up, I would have pegged Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson as being near the top of the list, but Drysdale checks in at number 18 with 154, while Gibson may be the most intimidating and greatest pitcher I ever saw was only tied for 79th place with 102. The biggest surprise name on the list was 38-year -old Jamie Wright whos still pitching out of the Rays pen with 151. Hes number 19 all-time. If you dont count Roger Clemens, the highest ranking Jays pitcher is Dave Stieb who nailed 129 batters. Thats good for a tie for 37th place and 37, of course, just happens to have been his number. A certain synchronicity to that, I guess. Watching all of these brilliant young pitchers in the postseason, you wonder what might have been if one had landed with the Blue Jays. In the 2011 June draft, the Blue Jays had no chance to get Gerrit Cole, as he went number one overall to the Pirates. The one who may turn out to be the best pitcher in that draft, Jose Fernandez, went number 14 to the Marlins while Sonny Gray, who starred for the As down the stretch and into the postseason, went 18th overall. The Blue Jays chose Tyler Beede at 21, but then were unable to sign him as he chose the college route. The 2012 draft is a little more frustrating. The Blue Jays opted for outfielder D.J Davis at number 17 and while he may turn into a solid Major Leaguer, St. Louis at 19 grabbed right hander Michael Wacha out of Texas A&M. The Jays took hard throwing right hander Marcus Stroman at number 22. Though he could start next year at Triple "A" Buffalo, he could appear with the big club at some point next year. Although the draft order could change a bit after all the free agency wheeling and dealing in the off season, right now, the Blue Jays will pick ninth overall in 2014 and also at number 11 (compensation for not signing their first round pick in 2013, right hander Phil Bickford at number 10). This could be the Jays most important draft in a decade, especially when you consider the average age of their pitching staff this season was 30.9 years old second eldest in the Majors behind the Yankees at 31.8. Haloti Ngata Eagles Jersey . Canada Day is here and with it comes Free Agent Frenzy as the NHLs 30 teams storm out of the gate for signing season. Haloti Ngata Jersey .com) - Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard notched a win, while second-seeded two-time champion Ana Ivanovic, third- seeded Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova and fifth seed Sabine Lisicki all exited the draw at the Generali Ladies Linz tennis event. http://www.eaglespromart.com/. According to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, the deal will pay Schenn $2.25 million in the first year and $2.75 million in the second year. In 82 games with the Flyers in 2013-14, Schenn scored 20 goals and added 21 assists. Josh Sweat Eagles Jersey . This has become the Raptors mantra as they embark on a new era with a new regime and, in the not-so-distant future, a new image. Michael Bennett Eagles Jersey .com) - Marian Gaborik scored his sixth goal in the last four games to help the Los Angeles Kings top the Arizona Coyotes, 4-2, Saturday at Staples Center. CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Pitching coach Bryan Price was first on the Reds list of manager candidates. Three hours of answering every question tossed his way ended their search rather quickly. After one interview, it was over. The Reds stayed in-house for their next manager, giving Price a three-year deal Tuesday that came with expectations that hell take them deep into the playoffs right away. "Bryan is exceptional," owner Bob Castellini said. "Weve been fortunate to be with him long enough to know how exceptional he is. "I cant tell you how well this has fit in for us. We did not have to go out and do a search," he said. "We had the person we felt could take this team deep into the post-season and then some." Dusty Baker led the Reds to three 90-win seasons and three playoff appearances in the last four years, their best stretch of success since Sparky Anderson managed the Big Red Machine in the 1970s. But Cincinnati got knocked out in the first round of the post-season each time. The Reds fired Baker with a year left on his two-year deal after a final-week fade that included an implosion by the pitching staff. Cincinnati lost its last six games, including a 6-2 defeat at PNC Park in the wild-card playoff against the Pirates. General manager Walt Jocketty said the closing slump was a major factor in the decision to make a change. Jocketty considered two in-house candidates: Price and Triple-A manager Jim Riggleman. Price got the first interview and impressed everyone so much that Jocketty didnt interview anyone else. "I was convinced that Bryan was our guy just because of the past association weve had with him," Jocketty said. "I think that to bring other people in just for the process of going through an interview -- to me, I wouldnt want that." The job carries enormous expectations for the 51-year-old Price, who has been one of the most successful pitching coaches in the majors but has never managed at any level. He interviewed for the Marlins job last year, which got him thinking that hed like to be a manager some day. Given his four successful seasons in Cincinnati, he wanted to stay if possible. "Its a team thats capable of doing even more," Price said. "I think we certainly should talk very optimistically about the three playoff appearances in the last four yeaars, which were maybe somewhat discredited because we hadnt gotten past the first round.dddddddddddd "Considering the 15 years prior, it was definitely a huge step in the right direction," Price added. "But we all have expectations of getting beyond that." Price was a left-handed pitcher for six years in the minors, his career scuttled by elbow surgery. He started his coaching career in Seattles farm system and was the Mariners pitching coach from 2000-05. He moved to Arizona as pitching coach from 2006-09, resigning there after Bob Melvin was replaced. Jocketty hired him to replace Dick Pole in Cincinnati, where he helped the Reds staff develop into one of the NLs best during his four seasons working with Baker. Now, Jocketty has several important lineup decisions to make to try to keep the Reds competitive in the NL Central, which sent three teams to the playoffs. Division champion St. Louis opens the World Series against Boston on Wednesday. The Pirates passed the Reds for second place and home-field advantage for the wild-card playoff during the final week of the season. The pitching staff will have some changes, with starter Bronson Arroyo eligible for free agency. Left-hander Tony Cingrani made his debut last season and showed he could win in the majors, but was sidelined by back problems in September. Ace Johnny Cueto missed most of the season with shoulder problems. The Reds have to decide whether to keep left-hander Aroldis Chapman as their closer or move him into a starting role. Price would have preferred making him a starter. If he gets moved into the rotation, the Reds dont have anyone with appreciable experience at closing games. He and Jocketty said they hadnt made any decisions on the pitching staff or the everyday lineup. The offence struggled last season with no consistent right-handed hitter. Cleanup hitter Ryan Ludwick tore cartilage in his right shoulder on a slide on opening day and missed most of the season. He returned in mid-August and hit only two homers with the shoulder still bothering him. Joey Votto and leadoff hitter Shin-Soo Choo led the NL in on-base percentage, but Choo is a free agent. Billy Hamilton created a sensation with his speed when he was called up in September, but struggled to get on base consistently in Triple-A before his first promotion to the majors. 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