NEW YORK – As the Blue Jays venture into Yankee Stadium for an important three-game series with their foes in pinstripes, there

NEW YORK – As the Blue Jays venture into Yankee Stadium for an important three-game series with their foes in pinstripes, there are a number of storylines to latch on to before considering who will take the mound for Toronto on Tuesday night. Dwyane Wade Jersey . Its the first-place Blue Jays against the team closest to them in the American League East. Toronto enters the series with a four-and-a-half game lead on the Yankees. Its another chance, the second of what will be as many as six, to wave goodbye to New Yorks future Hall of Fame shortstop, Derek Jeter. Here in New York, the dulcet voice of the late, great public address announcer, Bob Sheppard, brings No. 2 to the plate. Jose Reyes is back in New York, too. He made his name over in Queens playing for the Mets. R.A. Dickey is here but wont pitch. He won the Cy Young award two seasons ago on the other side of the city. Oh, and dont forget about the Blue Jays rookies mound opponent on this Tuesday: a rookie himself, technically, the Japanese phenom Masahiro Tanaka, whos dominated the early days of his major league career like he dominated for years back home. Then there is Marcus Stroman. Its strange that this, essentially a homecoming for a young man raised in the Long Island town of Medford, is somewhat lost in the shuffle. Hes the 23-year-old who stunned general manager Alex Anthopoulos, blowing his bubble gum in the middle of his windup. The kid seems born for the spotlight, even if it will shine more brightly on others. "Im usually pretty good with dealing with things like that," Stroman said on Sunday. "I dont let anything get to me or get me overly excited or kind of get me out of my game. Im fine. Im in a good place mentally. I feel good going into it. I have kind of an off-day just to hang out with friends in the city and then it will be Game on Tuesday." Medford is a sleepy town, according to Stroman, more than an hour from New York City. Its closer to the upscale Hamptons, a drive of about 45 minutes. Medford has one high school, Patchogue-Medford High School, which Stroman attended before moving on to college at Duke University. The town will awaken this evening. Many of its inhabitants, in fact, will venture to Yankee Stadium to watch the hometown boy pitch. Stroman has purchased up to 70 tickets for close family and friends. He said hes been told by another 50 or 60 people theyve bought ducats. Hell have a throng of about 130 people here rooting him on. "Anytime you have an opportunity to pitch in front of a bunch of family and friends, its exciting," said Stroman. "I should have a lot of – a bunch of people texting me, bunch of friends from high school, college, a lot of people reaching out to me saying theyre going to be at the game so thats always exciting to pitch in front of people whove been there along the way." Stroman is 3-1 in his first year in the big leagues, 2-1 as a starter. Hes gone six innings in each of his first three starts, losing his last outing against the Twins. In two of those appearances, including the Minnesota defeat, he didnt walk a batter. He has impressed with his fastball. His breaking stuff, particularly his curveball, has baffled opposing hitters. Hes developing his changeup. Hes not developing confidence. He already has it. His coaches brag about it. "I certainly dont see him as a guy whos going to nibble and pitch around guys," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "Hes definitely on the attack. His walks have been down and I would like to think that thats going to continue with him. He certainly trusts his stuff. Theres no doubt about that." Growing up, Stroman went to Yankees games at the old stadium and saw the Mets at Shea. He didnt cheer for either team. He admired players. Like most native New Yorkers, he watched Jeter in awe. On Tuesday night, hell pitch to Jeter. He doesnt know what to expect. "I cant even tell you," said Stroman. "Im sure itll settle in once Im kind of on the mound but Im pretty sure it will be surreal." Alonzo Mourning Jersey . Lynchs attorney, Ivan Golde, told The Associated Press on Thursday of the plea deal that was reached with the Alameda County District Attorney Office. The plea will be formally entered in court in Oakland, Calif. Goran Dragic Jersey . However, Therrien added that Galchenyuks status for next Wednesdays game against the Detroit Red Wings is questionable. Galchenyuk has been out since Jan. 6 with a broken right hand. http://www.authenticbasketballshopheat.com/customized/ . The two teams will play through the completion of the game starting at 5pm ct on Wednesday. The regularly scheduled Wednesday night matchup will follow that and will now be seven innings.LOS ANGELES -- A little bit of tweaking to the starting lineup by coach Mike DAntoni worked wonders for the Los Angeles Lakers, resulting in a dominant first half against the Atlanta Hawks. Then came the second half, and they ended up fighting for their lives to escape with a victory. Xavier Henry scored 18 points, Pau Gasol hit two tiebreaking free throws with 6 seconds remaining, and the Lakers beat the Hawks 105-103 on Sunday night after blowing a 21-point lead. "There was a little bit of an energy drop in the second half and a lot of missed assignments, but we picked it up and a lot of guys made some good plays," Henry said. "I dont want to say it was because we wanted it more, but you could tell. When the game was on the line, guys were like: We were already up 20. We were not going to let this one slip by." Henry started at forward for the first time as a Laker and the 19th time in 137 NBA games, while Nick Young came off the bench. DAntonis intention with the lineup change was to perk up the team at the outset, and also inject some energy into the Lakers second unit while doing likewise for the cold-shooting Young. "Were still trying to find the right combinations and rack up the wins while we do it," Henry said of the growing pains the club is going through without Kobe Bryant. "We have a lot of new guys, and a lot of guys still need to learn how to play with each other. Were trying new lineups and stuff, so were still going to be working and trying to compete." Henry, who received nine stitches in his forehead during Fridays loss to San Antonio after colliding with teammate Wesley Johnsons knee on a drive to the basket and missed all six of his shots that night, was 5 for 11 from the field against the Hawks. "Ive been playing those guys for a while, so I really didnt have to change anything," Henry said. "Basically I just had to go out there and still be aggressive and still be consistent." Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Steve Nash had 13 points and six assists and Young finished with 13 points. Kyle Korver led Atlanta with 22 points, converting all six 3-point attempts, but his attempt at a tying 21-footer from the right baseline was blocked by Gasol as time ran out. Hawks point guard Jeff Teague had 14 points and six assists after missing his first five shots. "We cant put ourselves in that situation, to always climb uphill," Hawks forward Paul Millsap said. "We have to do a better job of starting the game off." Two nights after shooting only 37 per cent from the field and blowing a 15-point lead against the Spurs despite the absence of injured centre Tim Duncan in the paint, Los Angeles shot 42. Edrice Adebayo Jersey. 7 per cent against the Hawks. And for the first time this season, all five Lakers starters connected from 3-point range while the team went 9 for 25 from behind the arc. Trailing by 12 points after three quarters, the Hawks narrowed the gap to 90-83 on a jumper by Dennis Schroder with 10:25 remaining. Chris Kaman then lost the ball out of bounds on the Lakers next possession and committed his fifth foul on an offensive charge 34 seconds later. Millsap got the last of his 14 points on an 11-footer that tied it at 103-all with 35.3 seconds left, after Korvers sixth 3-pointer made it a two-point spread. "Theres a few things they can do to get a guy like that open," Henry said of Korver. "If they want to get someone open, they can set enough screens to do that. He was running around them and finding his way." Eleven Lakers got into the scoring column as they built a 62-49 halftime lead, without anyone on the team reaching double digits. Young, who shot 6 for 22 over his first three games, made four of his first five field goal attempts -- including a 17-footer that capped a 15-2 run and gave the Lakers a 44-23 lead with 9:19 left in the second quarter. "I think we came out with the right mindset, but they just came out and hit us first," Hawks centre Al Horford said. "Coach (Mike Budenholzer) definitely challenged us in the second half, and we were much better. I think our second unit changed it early in the fourth, making plays and getting the momentum going our way." The Lakers have beaten the Hawks eight straight times at home and have won 21 of the last 24 meetings at Los Angeles dating to Feb. 2, 1990 at the Forum. Last season at Staples Center, the Lakers won 99-98 on a layup by Bryant with 9 seconds remaining after they blew a 16-point second-half lead. NOTES: Sunday was the 38th anniversary of the day the Lakers traded Pat Riley to Phoenix for two draft picks. One of the mainstays of the Lakers first NBA championship team in Los Angeles (1971-72) he went on to win four more rings as Lakers coach, another as coach of Miami, and two more as the Heats team president. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. ... Shawne Williams, the Lakers other starting forward, had seven points before fouling out with 5:40 remaining. ... Eight Lakers hit a 3-pointer, the third time in franchise history thats happened and second time this season -- including the season opener against the Clippers. They also did it on Feb. 2, 2013 at Minnesota. Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Orioles Jerseys Cheap Mets Jerseys Cheap Phillies Jerseys Cheap Nationals Jerseys Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Brewers Jerseys Cheap Pirates Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Rockies Jerseys Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Padres Jerseys Cheap Giants Jerseys ' ' '