dominating almost every time hes used out of

BOSTON – Aaron Sanchez is the really talented kid caught in an unnecessarily strange situation. Hes in the big leagues for the first time, dominating almost every time hes used out of the bullpen and, because of that, hes consistently finding himself in high-leverage, late-game situations. Hes even saved two games, a role usually reserved for Casey Janssen. This is a story of transition. Janssen, an impending free agent, has struggled in the second half of the season and likely is on his way out of Toronto. Sanchez is the organizations priority. Hes the first-round draft pick. Hes the one who throws a fastball, free and easy, in the 97-99 miles per hour range. Hes a big part of the future. Hes a big part of the present. If all goes well, one day the outgoing 22-year-old will be a commanding presence in the clubhouse. Right now, Sanchez is a respectful, quiet rookie who will pitch when hes told and say precious little. “When that phone rings and they tell me to get hot, thats what I do,” said Sanchez. On Wednesday night, a 7-4 win in Tampa Bay, Sanchez, not Janssen, closed the game. Sanchez had thrown on Tuesday night. Hed begun warming in the seventh inning, when the score was 7-2, and so he would be used based on the strategy the club is employing to maximize his innings. Sanchez can throw in back-to-back games, but not beyond, and, if he loosens up, it counts as a work day. The save situation emerged when, with Sanchez warming for a second time in the eighth, Dustin McGowan gave up a two-run home run to Evan Longoria to cut the Toronto lead to three runs. Its the save situation that complicated matters. If Sanchez wraps up a five-run win, theres no discussion. If Sanchez, not McGowan, is used in the eighth, the issue also is avoided regardless of the eventual result. Again, Sanchez will pitch when asked. “Thats my job is to go out there; however many outs that is, if its six outs, if its nine outs,” said Sanchez. “Whatever this team needs from me, Im going to go out there and work hard to do what I need to do and get the job done.” Its no secret that while theres no strict limit on Sanchezs innings, he is being closely watched. To date, Sanchez has thrown 124 innings (23 2/3 in the big leagues, 100 1/3 at two minor league stops). This is why hes in the bullpen. Entering next year, Sanchez hopes he gets a chance at cracking the starting rotation. “Going into spring training (2015), they told me I was going to be a starter,” said Sanchez. “The only reason why I got pushed to the bullpen was for a number of things: I was on an innings limit this year and this gave me a chance to pitch throughout the year. They kind of sat me down and told me, hey, if you were to get called up it would probably be out of the ‘pen because the guys weve had in the rotation have been nothing but awesome this whole year.” VALENCIA IMPRESSING By the time this season comes to an end, Brett Lawrie will have appeared in about 62 per cent of Blue Jays games since the start of the 2012 season, his first full year in the big leagues. Danny Valencia, acquired from the Kansas City Royals in late July, has been one of the players who has stepped in for Lawrie in that other 38 per cent of games. “If he turns out to be a good player for us, which hes doing and he can help us, it might open up a spot for him,” said manager John Gibbons. “It might answer a question.” What kind of question would Valencia answer? “If hes a regular on this team or not,” said Gibbons. Where would he play? “I dont know. Maybe hes the third baseman, Bretts the second baseman. Who knows?” said Gibbons. Gibbons made it clear no decision has been made on how next years infield will be configured, but the Blue Jays must address the middle infield in the offseason. Jose Reyes is penciled in at shortstop, despite having his share of defensive difficulties this season. Second base has remained a position of need for the ball club since it entered camp with Ryan Goins as the starter and demoted him to Triple-A Buffalo just one month into the season. Its difficult to imagine Valencia being an everyday player unless he vastly improves his splits. He has a career .625 OPS against right-handed pitching while posting a .875 OPS versus lefties. CHALLENGING THE CHALLENGE Manager John Gibbons threw up a prayer challenge on a fielders choice ground out in the 10th inning of Thursdays 1-0 win in Tampa Bay. The called was confirmed, Kevin Kiermaier was safe at first base and the Blue Jays didnt get the double play. However, after the challenge was concluded, Rays manager Joe Maddon emerged and engaged in a brief, but heated, conversation with home plate umpire Lance Barksdale. Maddon, apparently, was upset that Gibbons challenged the play without going all the way out to second base umpire Gary Cedarstrom. In a situation when he knows hes going to challenge, Gibbons doesnt see the need to trek any farther than a few steps from the dugout. “Ive done that a few times this year and theyve mentioned to me, hey, go out to the base,” said Gibbons. “I got close to the line, I think. If theyre going to complain all the time about the game taking too long, thats a way to speed it up.” Maddons pleas went ignored and the game with the next hitter later when Casey Janssen got Ben Zobrist to fly out to leftfield. Drew Lock Jersey .ca NBA Power Rankings. Winners of 15 straight, with a healthy roster, the Spurs have overtaken the Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder for the number one ranking. 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Still the defending AFC champions persevered, riding their top-ranked defence and key contributions from younger players to a 12-4 record and their eighth playoff appearance since 2000, remarkable consistency in a league where change is the only constant.(SportsNetwork.com) - The simple fact is that regardless of record, one team from the NFC South is going to get into the playoffs. Both the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers still have a chance at grabbing that spot by way of a division title and the two rivals meet this Sunday at the Superdome with a lot on the line. No team in the division has a winning record, with New Orleans being tied with the Atlanta Falcons for first place with matching 5-7 records. Carolina is an unimpressive 3-8-1 on the campaign, but there are still four games to be played and a victory over the Saints would keep the Panthers in the running for first place. Only Tampa Bay at 2-10 figures to have no shot at winning the NFC South crown. Whichever team gets into the playoffs there is going to be no apologies for it, said Panthers head coach Ron Rivera. Thats part of the game. You play the game that you play, they fall the way they may. Believe me, I think New Orleans is a good football team, as I do Atlanta, and I think were still a good football team. The Panthers didnt look like a very good football team when they lost their sixth game in a row last Sunday with a 31-13 setback to the Minnesota Vikings, who blocked a pair of punts they returned for touchdowns. Cam Newton completed 18-of-35 passes for 194 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Carolina, which is 1-8-1 since beginning the season with consecutive wins. Carolina tallied 348 yards, outgaining Minnesota by 138, but its first six points of the game came on Graham Gano field goals before Newton completed a 32-yard touchdown pass to Philly Brown in the third quarter. We need to do a better job of scoring touchdowns when we get into position, said Rivera. We had two chances early in the game, but had to settle for field goals. Touchdowns in those situations could have changed the complexion of the game. The Saints had little trouble scoring touchdowns this past Sunday in Pittsburgh as Drew Brees threw five scoring passes to five different receivers in a 35-32 win over the Steelers. Brees finished with 257 yards for the Saints (5-7), who put a three-game losing streak to rest. He recorded the seventh five-touchdown, zero- interception game of his career, an NFL record. My process doesnt change regardless of whether people are singing my praises or telling me I cant play anymore. I really dont care, said a defiant Brees, addressing rumors from earlier in the week that the Saints are looking to draft his replacement. Mark Ingram racked up 122 yards on 23 carries, while Kenny Stills posted 162 yards and a score on five receptions. Marques Colston, Benjamin Watson, Nick Toon and Erik Lorig added a TD catch apiece. The Saints trail 20-19 in their all-time series with the Panthers despite a 28-10 victory in Carolina on Oct. 30. New Orleans hasnt swept its season series with Carolina since 2011. Ingram keyed the Week 9 win with 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Brees once again has the Saints offense in top form, with the club ranking second in the NFL with 430.3 yards per game. New Orleans also is third with 303.9 passing yards per game, but the emergence of Ingram, who leads the NFL with 608 rushing yards since Week 8, has balanced out the attack. Brees has thrown for over 300 yards with at least four touchdown passes in three straight home games versus the Panthers, posting a 129.8 passer rating. One key to slowing down the Saints offense is the play of Panthers middle linnebacker Luke Kuechly, who leads his team with 125 tackles and posted two sacks against the Vikings.dddddddddddd. Brees said it is rare that a middle linebacker like Kuechly can impact a quarterback, but the young playmaker does it well. And for being such a young player too, you can see just how knowledgeable he is about the game and about his opponent, added Brees. On each and every snap he is getting guys lined up. He is making adjustments. He is anticipating where the ball is going, run pass hes as good as he is in the run game. Really he is a total player. Carolinas 21st-ranked offense has not been as effective, with Newton posting a 78.9 passer rating on the season while getting picked off 11 times to 13 touchdown passes. He also ranks second on the team in rushing with 342 yards behind only Jonathan Stewart (408 yards). Stewart had 85 yards on 12 carries versus the Vikings, good for a 7.1 average per carry and Newton added 49 yards on nine carries, but DeAngelo Williams suffered a fractured right hand in the game after logging 21 yards on seven carries. Williams can play through the injury as long as the swelling isnt too bad, but its another blow to an inconsistent ground game. Fozzy Whittaker would see more carries behind Stewart if Williams cant perform. Not only that, but the Panthers started a different offensive line for a sixth week in a row versus the Vikings, with Mike Remmers making his first start at right tackle with Nate Chandler lost to a knee injury. Carolina, though, was able to post 178 yards rushing against Minnesota and New Orleans ranks 23rd against the run. He played to his strengths, Rivera told his teams website of Remmers. Hes got good footwork, good hand placement and he moves well. Hes a smart, crafty guy. He understands what were doing. He did some good things. We did some things to help him as well, and as a whole I thought the unit did a nice job. Two of the leagues top tight ends will be on the field in New Orleans. The Saints Jimmy Graham is tied for the NFL lead among tight ends with 65 catches, is second with nine touchdowns and fourth in yards with 670. Graham has a touchdown in six straight versus Carolina. Greg Olsen of Carolina, meanwhile, is second in his position with 778 yards and fourth in receptions with 61 to go along with five TDs. He is on the verge of a third straight 800-yard season. The Panthers held the Vikings to 210 yards last weekend, but will be better tested by Brees this weekend. Playing in the (Superdome) is a challenge and we will have to be at our best, noted Rivera. We have shown the ability to play well, but have not been able to do it consistently enough and will need to do that against a very good football team. OVERALL ANALYSIS Its a miracle that both of these clubs still have a shot at the playoffs, but that is how the cards have fallen. Though a Dec. 21 home test with Atlanta figures to be the key game down the stretch, New Orleans cant look past Carolina. It starts with this game. You want to build on the way we played this week, said Saints coach Sean Payton. I think that as we hit this final four game stretch, paying attention to details, correcting mistakes, film study, its all the little things I think that go into the overall success. Success hasnt followed the Panthers, who havent won since Oct. 5, and asking their struggling offense to keep pace with the Saints may be too much to ask. 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