The day after Brandon Morrow walked eight batters in just two and 2/3rds innings and got the hook, Ricky Romero had a two-inning control meltdown of his own Sunday at Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo. Drew Bledsoe Jersey . Facing the Reds Triple A affiliate Louisville, Romero walked the bases loaded in the first inning and again in the second, but he escaped unscathed both times and actually lasted five innings. Romero didnt give up any more walks and didnt surrender a run during the stint. Earlier in the week, an upbeat Romero was on TSN Drive with Dave Naylor and co-host Dave Hodge and said he felt he was pitching better than he had been in a year and a half. He also said he would welcome a call-up right now if the Blue Jays needed or wanted him. As shaky as the Jays starting pitching has been this season, especially over this just completed homestand, Romero doesnt figure to get called up anytime soon. He simply has to be more consistent with his control. The largest pitcher I have ever seen in the Majors is C.C Sabathia. Though he has trimmed down now a bit, there were times over the past two or three years where he weighed between 285 and 300 pounds. Well in that same Buffalo-Louisville game on Sunday, the Bats used a closer by the name of Jose Diaz. A year ago, the 64 native of the Dominican Republic pitched at 347 pounds and of course was known by the nickname of Jumbo. This year having just turned 30, he realized it might be time to shave off a few pounds to try and prolong his career. He got down to 278, but the stat sheets now are listing him at 315. Jumbo racked up his sixth save Sunday against the Bisons. He throws with pretty good velocity, too. Cincinnati already has Aroldis Chapman as their closer, but who knows at some point, he may surface in the Majors. Historic Lineup Since the Blue Jays in the Pat Gillick era were one of the very first teams to extensively scout and sign talent out of the Dominican Republic, it only seems fitting that on Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, they became the first team in Major League history to field a starting lineup that included six players born in the Dominican. The starting 9 included Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Juan Francisco and Moises Sierra. An equally, if not more, historic moment occurred back on Sept 1 of 1971 when the Pittsburgh Pirates fielded an entire starting lineup of African American and Latin American players including Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. The rest of the starting 9 included Al Oliver, who later played with the Expos and the Blue Jays, Rennie Stennett, Jackie Hernandez, Dave Cash, Manny Sanguillen, Gene Clines and starting pitcher Dock Ellis. Better April The Blue Jays started last season at 10-17 in April and they are already guaranteed a better first month this time around. John Gibbons and company are 12-13 with two games at Kansas City left in this month. But something to remember, there were only two playoff teams with losing Aprils in the American League a year ago. Tampa Bay went 12-14 but rebounded to finish 91-71 to earn a play in the knockout game with Texas to decide the second Wild Card spot. Cleveland earned the first Wild Card at 92-70 after opening April at 11-13. Conversely Texas had the best record in April at 17-8, but finished the season in that knock-out game at 91-71. All of that means if the Blue Jays are going to need 91 victories to have a shot at the playoffs this year, they will have to go 79-58 the rest of the year or 21 games over .500. Thats not impossible, but the starting rotation will have to be far better the rest of the way. Right now, the Blue Jays staff era is 4.45, 25th in the Majors, just slightly ahead of Baltimore at 4.49. I dont know if this is a plus but the only team in the AL East with a sub -4.00 era is Boston at 3.90 and the BoSox are fourth in the division just behind the Blue Jays. This and That Its really interesting to look at the early season gap in some pitching categories between the National League and the American. The Senior Circuit has eight of the top 10 staff ERAs. Only Oakland and K.C. break into that group. The National League has had 10 complete games to just four for the American, including two by Texas. There have been 34 shutouts in the National League to 23 in the American. St. Louis has six and Texas leads the American with six. I guess it just helps to illustrate why Ervin Santana chose Atlanta over the Blue Jays. After going 7-9 in their 1st 16 game segment against the East, the Jays have a 20-game stretch where they dont play their own division at all. Their next game against the East is May 20 at Fenway Park in Boston. In fact, they only have six games against the East for the entire month of May, getting Tampa Bay at home the week after that Boston series. The All-Star voting has begun for the Mid-summer Classic Tuesday July 15th at Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins. If voting closed today, the only Blue Jays on my ballot would be lefty Mark Buehrle and Melky Cabrera. Jose Bautista could make it as well, but more on his name and All-Star reputation at this point. I also did a rough count and if Buehrle keeps it up, his natural turn to pitch would fall on All-Star Tuesday so their might even be a chance he could start. But thats still a lot of innings pitched and a long way off. Mike Gillislee Jersey . -- DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points, nine rebounds and six steals to lead the Sacramento Kings to their third straight preseason win, a 107-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night. Jason McCourty Jersey . JOHNS, N. http://www.patriotsauthenticshop.com/Patriots-Shaq-Mason-Draft-Jersey/ .com) - Markus Granlund scored the game-winning goal as the Calgary Flames used an early offensive flurry to defeat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1, on Monday.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hey Kerry, I enjoyed your opinion on the Burrows hit. Please give us a breakdown of what happened between Andrew Ference and Zack Kassian on Saturday night. It seems to me that the Oilers players have been trying to get revenge on Kassian for some time now and maybe its enough already. Ference jumped off the ice and in my view the principal point of contact was the shoulder to the head. At high speed. I look forward to your unbiased breakdown. Wayne Buhler --- Kerry, why isnt anyone talking about Andrew Ferences hit on Zack Kassian in the Edmonton-Vancouver game on Saturday? Do you think its different/should be looked at differently than the Alex Burrows hit? Mark Westgate Wayne and Mark: The illegal check delivered by Andrew Ference to the head of Zack Kassian was not of the two minute variety but deserving of a match penalty under rule 48.5. As a repeat offender, Ference was suspended three games. Ference was last suspended for one game on May 2, 2013 following an illegal check to the head of Mikhail Grablovski in game one of the Bruins-Maple Leafs playoff series. In the explanatory video Brendan Shanahan said, “Ference makes the decision to check Grabovski after playing the puck, however in doing so, he lunges toward Grabovski, extending his left arm and shoulder, picking Grabovsski’s head and making it the principal point of contact. Adrian Clayborn Jersey. ” On January 22, 2012 Ference was imposed a three-game suspension for charging Rangers defenceman, Ryan McDonagh. The referee assessed a 5 minute major and game misconduct on the play. McDonagh was shaken up as a result of the hit but was not injured. On this most recent play, Ference was set in a coiled posture as he cut across to make a hit on Kassian when the Canuck forward carried the puck wide near the top of the left end zone face-off circle. Once Kassian dished the puck into the middle slot Ference elevated his posture and with skates off the ice, delivered a shoulder cap check making Kassian’s head the main point of contact. Ference also elevated his right arm/elbow through the illegal check. Kassian’s posture was upright and therefore did not contribute in any way to being contacted in the head by his smaller opponent. The main difference between this illegal hit and the one that Alex Burrows was suspended three games for is in the timing. Burrows picked off Alexei Emelin’s head through excessively late contact. I thought the Ference hit on Kassian was more in line with the four-game suspension just levied to the Predators’ Anton Volchenko following his illegal check to the head of Michael Ferland of the Calgary Flames. Even though Ferland was injured and Kassian was not, Volchenko (like Ference) has been suspended two previous times during his NHL career. Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Ducks Jerseys Cheap Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Bruins Jerseys Cheap Sabres Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Hurricanes Jerseys Cheap Blue Jackets Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Flyers Jerseys ' ' '