Scooter Tuning Pics » .You never know how the balls are going to bounce

You can debate long and hard over whether the Toronto Blue Jays top priority in the offseason should be a catcher, a second baseman, a top of the rotation pitcher or all of the above. But for now, lets just look at how difficult it is to get a top-notch pitcher. When the Blue Jays aquired the likes of Jack Morris, Dave Stewart, Roger Clemens and even Doyle Alexander, it was through free agency. In the case of Morris and Stewart - besides the lure of big money contracts - it was the ability of Paul Beeston and Pat Gillick to convince them the Jays were on the verge of winning a World Series. It was somewhat the same with Clemens when he joined the team in 1997, though at the time there were those in the game who believed he had pitched his best years in Boston and was starting to slip. Alexander was a struggling Yankees castoff who seemed to be near the end of the line. A.J Burnett was also a free agent. Last winter, Alex Anthopoulos stunned the baseball world by trading for three quality starters in 2 deals, getting Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle from the Marlins and R.A. Dickey from the Mets. Although those deals havent exactly panned out, you still cant understate how incredible a feat it was to aquire three starters with such resumes in one offseason. If you look back though over the Blue Jays history, there arent too many other top-end starters the team has been able to trade for. When they landed David Wells from the Yankees in the spring of 1999, it was Clemens himself who exercised a side deal with the Jays to force a trade. It was quality for quality. The Blue Jays picked up Juan Guzman from the Dodgers in 1987 for second baseman Mike Sharperson. At the time of that deal though, Guzman was a month from turning 22 and didnt actually crack the Blue Jays roster until 1991. David Cone is the only top notch starter the Jays traded for twice. In August of 1992, they got him from the Mets for Jeff Kent - who would later blossom into a star with the Giants - and outfielder Ryan Thompson. Cone left for Kansas City as a free agent after the Blue Jays won their first World Series, but the Jays got him back again in 1995 for David Sinnes, Tony Medrano and Chris Stynes - who never came close to what Cone was worth. The Blue Jays 1995 season crumbled despite all the springtime promise and the team shipped Cone to the Yankees in July for Jason Jarvis, Mike Gordon and Marty Janzen - three pitchers who didnt exactly have distinguished big league careers. The point is that the Blue Jays have probably traded away more quality pitching than they have aquired through deals, including Guzman, Clemens and Roy Halladay. If the Blue Jays go the free agent route in the offseason, the pickings are pretty slim. The Royals James Shields, whos only 6-8 this season but still eats a lot of innings, is out there. But the team has a contract option for next season worth $12 million. The best of the rest include the Rangers Matt Garza, the Yankees Hiroki Kuroda (whos closing in on 40), the Reds Bronson Arroyo and of course, A.J. Burnett - who opted out of his contract the first time he was with the Jays to sign with the Yankees. Id never bet against Alex Anthopoulos based on what he did last winter, but its going to be a lot more difficult to get the pitcher the Blue Jays need this time around. Elsewhere, catcher Travis DArnaud - one of the top prospects the Jays gave up to the Mets for Dickey - could play his first big league game for New York as soon as this weekend. Catcher John Buck, who also went to the Mets in that deal, and his wife are expecting a child any day now. DArnaud was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas this week in part so he would be in close proximity to Phoenix where the Mets are playing this weekend. Yankee Stadium is the place to be Friday night and the whole weekend. Alex Rodriguez is playing in his first home series since returning to the lineup, and hes doing it against the team that knocked the Yankees out of the ALCS last fall. Not only that, the Tigers have won 12 straight and are pulling away in the American League Central. The Yankees are on the verge of falling right out of the Wild Card chase, having dropped 14 of their last 20. How can you feel sorry for a team thats made it to the postseason in 17 of the last 18 seasons and had won at least 90 games in all but two of those campaigns? The Yankees fans figure to be in a foul mood, especially with New York Post headlines suggesting after just one bad season, New York is on the verge of becoming a Mets town again. Cmon. Nike Air Force 1 Tarjous . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Nike Air Force 1 07 Ale . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. http://www.airforce1suomi.com/nike-air-huarache-ale/miehet.html .25 million option on reliever Jose Veras. Nike Air Force 1 Low Suomi . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. Air Force 1 2020 . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. NEW YORK -- Stars general manager Ruth Riley was momentarily confused as to whether San Antonio actually won the WNBA draft lottery when the four picks were revealed at the same time.It took a second, but when Riley realized the Stars had the top choice, she let out a scream of joy.I thought historically they went 4-3-2-1, Riley said in a phone interview. Then I heard him say the No. 1 pick, then our name. Im really incredibly excited for our team, organization and our fans. Im looking forward to the addition of a great player.The Stars, who have the top choice for the first time, had a 44 percent chance to secure the No. 1 selection based on having the worst combined record over the past two seasons.A lot of fans supported us knowing that it wasnt about what we were doing this season but more the direction we were going, Riley said.The Washington Mystics will pick second. They had a 10 percent chance of securing the top pick.The second pick is really exciting for us, Washington coach Mike Thibault said. Where we are with our franchise, to get another good college player will help us a lot. Its a really exciting moment for our franchise.The Dallas Wings secured the third pick and the Los Angeles Sparks received the fourth. The Sparks acquired Connecticuts lottery pick through a draft-day trade in April that sent Jonquel Jones to the Sun.Connecticut and Dallaas each had a 23 percent chance of getting the No.dddddddddddd 1 pick.You never know how the balls are going to bounce, Dallas coach Fred Williams said. Were getting a nice pick there at the three position.Unlike the previous few seasons, there is no clear-cut No. 1 pick coming out of college this year.Clearly going to do some research, Riley said. Evaluating our roster and needs. Its a normal process. Theres a lot of discussion around the top draft picks and different opinions who they should be. My job as GM is to evaluate the talent.Among senior standouts that could be selected first include South Carolina center Alaina Coates and Washington guard Kelsey Plum. Tennessee guard Diamond DeShields -- a redshirt junior -- is also considered a frontrunner should she declare early for the draft.Riley also has to find a new coach after Dan Hughes retired at the end of the season. She said that hiring one is a high priority for the franchise.The rest of the first round, in order, will be Phoenix, Seattle, Atlanta, Indiana, Dallas (from New York), Dallas (from Los Angeles) and Minnesota.There are a lot of things available for us since we have three picks in the first round, Williams said.The Associated Press contributed to this report.? ' ' '