PITTSBURGH – Sergio Santos arrived at PNC Park on Saturday afternoon and met with manager John Gibbons, who delivered the news e

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. Authentic Dan Majerle Jersey . "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." Wholesale Suns Jerseys . The win puts the final playoff berth in Group A in question. If the Czechs beat Slovakia on Tuesday, they will go through. If they lose, Germany will get the last quarter-final berth. Cheap Nike Suns Jerseys . "[People] keep asking that question and its not a legit question because we dont have that right, we havent arrived yet," Casey responded. "Weve got to take each game at a time, each possession at a time and look at it that way. http://www.cheapsunsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-steve-nash-jersey . The Senators return from a lengthy layoff caused by Wednesdays attack on Parliament Hill to host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Phoenix Coyotes have won three in a row for the first time in 4 1/2 months, and theyve done it just in time for the stretch run to the playoffs. Radim Vrbata and Antoine Vermette scored first-period goals and the Phoenix Coyotes held on for a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. Coyotes goalie Mike Smith had a shutout until Chris Gomez scored with 4:08 to play. Smith had 22 saves. The game was no thing of beauty. "They all cant all be masterpieces," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "We got up two goals and we won. Well leave it at that." The victory, coupled with Dallas loss to Philadelphia, put the Coyotes four points ahead of the Stars for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West. Phoenix has won five of six and seven of nine. "Maybe desperation," Vrbata said when asked what was driving the recent success. "We know where we are in the standings and that we need every point we can get. We lost too many games before, games we should have won. " Smiths play has been central to the recent wins and he was strong again Thursday. "Before they got that goal, he was outstanding," Tippett said, "and then he got some after that." There werent many shots, Tippett said, but several were difficult saves. Robert Luongo had 20 saves for the Panthers. The Coyotes scored their first goal on a power play after Floridas Jimmy Hayes was sent to the penalty box for holding. Oliver Ekman-Larssons shot from directly in front of the net glanced off Martin Hanzals skate and was knocked into the net by Vrbata for his 20th goal of the season. Phoenix killed two penalties the rest of the period, then made it 2-0 when Vermette hit the puck innto a virtually empty net off a deflected shot by Mike Stone. Authentic Dragan Bender Jersey. Stones shot bounced off Luongos midsection and right to Vermette. Luongo complained that the goal should have been disallowed because Mikkel Boedker had knocked the goalie to the ice, creating an opening for the goal, but the score stood and it was 2-0 after two. "I think they missed it," Florida coach Peter Horachek said. ".. It should have been an interference call. A lot of those things are going to happen and youre going to have to deal with them, everybody else does, but when you look back at it, it makes it 1-1." Luongo said hed have to look at the tape, but added "its tough to do my job when I end up in the corner." Tippett said Boedker was shoved in to the goalie. "Theyre guy pushed," Tippett said. "I thought it was the right call. Boedker wouldnt have been in there if he hadnt got pushed." "If he hadnt been shoved, he wouldnt have been in there," Tippett said. It was Vermettes team-leading 22nd goal. Hanzal and Ekman-Larsson got assists on Vrbatas goal, Stone and Boedker on the second. Gomezs goal, his first in 36 games, came on a wrist shot that fluttered past Smith. The three-game winning streak is Phoenixs longest since it won five in a row from Oct. 26 to Nov. 5. NOTES: Florida ranks last in the NHL in power-play goals and last in penalty kills. ... Entering the night, Smith had a 1.92 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in his previous 14 games. ... Phoenix swept the season series 2-0, winning at Florida 3-1 on March 11. ... Phoenix is home against Boston Saturday night. ... The Panthers were on the second stop of a four-game road trip. They are at Los Angeles on Saturday. 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