ve Chappelle and Im going to give him a chance -- from corse178's blog
Jonathan Lucroy is one of baseballs best catchers. Zach Collins Womens Jersey . Still, this hasnt been the easiest of weeks for the 2016 All-Star. On Saturday, the 30-year-old was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Cleveland Indians -- a deal Lucroy rejected (the Indians were on his no-trade list) amid concerns he wouldnt get enough time behind the plate in 2017. I have to look out for me and my family, he says. I know Cleveland fans are mad at me right now, but my decision had zero to do with the quality of their team. On Monday, Lucroy was moved to the Texas Rangers with reliever Jeremy Jeffress as part of a deadline trade that included several minor league prospects. Here, Lucroy discusses the failed Cleveland deal and the moments before and after his trade to the Rangers -- a move he hopes will deliver him to his first playoff appearance in five years.When youre traded, youre never sure what to expect. Id never been dealt before, so this was a new experience for me. After our game on Saturday, against the Pirates, I was called into an office. Something was going down. The general manager, David Stearns, told me Id been traded. David said he couldnt say who got me because medical stuff needed to be cleared before it could be announced. I figured it must be a team that wasnt on my no-trade list, just because of everything that goes into that. Based on what Id seen online and what I heard from my agent, I knew the Mets, Indians, Dodgers and Rangers had shown interest. Cleveland was the only one of those teams on my no-trade list, so I ruled that out.It was already pretty clear there wasnt going to be much of a future for me in Milwaukee. Theyre in rebuilding mode, and they wouldnt want to pay to keep me there. I had a team option for 2017, and then that was it. Its the reality of the situation. I grew up in the organization, spent nearly 10 years with it. I love the fans, but this is all part of the game. You hear -- baseballs a business -- but it really is. They were figuring out their roster for the future, and I wanted to win now. Thats the landscape, and its something you have to deal with. So I got the news I was traded, and I was excited to know where I would play next. I knew itd be a competitive situation. I like being part of something bigger, like a cog in an engine. In Milwaukee, I didnt feel part of that because we werent winning. With a trade, Id be on a team that was working toward the playoffs.My agent, Doug Rogalski, found out it was the Indians that traded for me. I was surprised, but I wanted to keep an open mind. Great team. Competitive team. Theres a real chance to win. Doug called Chris Antonetti, the Indians president. There was one thing we wanted to know: What was my future with the Indians? We knew Cleveland already had a good catcher, Yan Gomes, whos injured right now. Hes getting paid more than me, and hes younger than me. We knew theyd probably want him catching almost every day next year. Heck, if I were the general manager in Cleveland, Id want Gomes catching every day.We were right. Antonetti told Doug that the Indians couldnt make any promises on me catching next season. There was no way theyd drop the team option, either, because Im pretty inexpensive in 2017. I dont blame them. I would have been mostly at first base and designated hitter. In the end, that was the deal killer. Doug called me. He said, Youre not going there.Cleveland fans dont like that part, but its nothing against them. It wasnt personal. If anything, I have even more respect for the Indians because of Antonettis honesty. He could have lied to my agent and said Id play catcher every day next season. But he didnt. He told the truth. Im thankful for that. My decision not to go to Cleveland had nothing to do with the team, but it had everything to do with my future in this game. It was an economic decision. Period. I have to look out for my familys best interests and my interests as a catcher whod be going into 2018 not having played my position the previous year. I am a catcher. Ive been catching since I was 12 years old. I love being behind the plate, being involved in the game from that perspective. I love every part of that. Im not changing positions for anybody. I dont care who it is. My value is as a catcher, and I know it.So we blocked the trade. And then we waited.Things werent dead. I knew I could still be moved. I was in a good position. If I were traded, it would be to a team that was in the playoff race. That was obvious. Doug knew there would be teams that would try to re-engage with the Brewers. I was hoping the Rangers were still interested. Dallas was our No. 1 target. My wife is from Louisiana, I went to college in Louisiana, and we still live in that state, so this was really close to home for us. If we could pick a perfect spot to go as a family, and for competitive baseball, the Dallas area was the place. They know their sports in Texas. Great fans. Great facilities. Great team. We have a lot of friends there. We were hoping the Rangers were still interested.My manager, Craig Counsell, put me in as a pinch hitter on Sunday. It was a day before the trade deadline, and no one knew if I was wearing a Brewers uniform for the last time. I got a standing ovation, and it meant a lot to me. I dug into the batters box, and I was in limbo. I figured if this is my last at-bat here, its my last at-bat. If not, well see what happens. I flied out. It wasnt much of a storybook ending.Afterward I felt a little sad, a little excited. Honestly, I was scared because I didnt know what was going to happen next. I was thinking about my wife, Sarah, and our young daughter, Ellia. If I got traded, how would it impact them? How would we get our stuff to our new city? Theyd be by themselves, sorting things out, and I wouldnt be there to help. But I had to keep going like nothing was going to change in our lives. My general manager had told me I wasnt going to be dealt unless the team liked what it was getting in return. They werent just going to give me away.I decided to take a flight out of Chicago for San Diego, because thats where the Brewers were playing next. It was Monday, just before the trade deadline. If I wasnt traded, Id have to be in San Diego, ready to go. I was in a parking lot at OHare International Airport when Doug called. It was 2:50 p.m. Central time. Ten minutes before the deadline. Doug said Ken Rosenthal tweeted that Id been traded to the Rangers. I was totally calm about it. I said, Ill stay here and wait for confirmation from David. Five minutes later, I got the call. It was really straightforward: Hey, we just traded you to the Rangers. Its official. I left Chicago and headed for Miller Park.I called my wife and told her what was happening. Shed been a nervous wreck leading up to this point, and now I heard the excitement in her voice. I called my parents. I called my agent. Jon Daniels, the Rangers general manager, called me and said he was glad I was joining the team. Less than an hour earlier, I didnt know what was happening, and now I wound up getting traded to the team with the best record in the American League. You can say anything you want about what Ive said in the past about wanting to get traded to a winner and then blocking the trade to Cleveland. Well, guess what? I did get traded to a winner.Finally, I got back to Milwaukee and went into the Brewers clubhouse. I grabbed some catchers equipment. It was royal colored. I grabbed some spikes that matched, and I got some clothes. The Brewers would have to box up the rest of my locker and ship it to me. David knew I was at the park, so he came down and met me at one of the stadiums entrances. We shook hands. Then I was gone. I went home, kissed my wife, grabbed some more clothes. My daughter was off playing with friends, but I had to leave. Texas was playing in Baltimore on Tuesday, and I had to get to the airport. I kissed my wife again and said, Ill see you in a couple weeks. Thats the life of a baseball player.The last time I was in a playoff race was 2014, but we fell apart in mid-August and blew it. The last time I was in the playoffs was 2011, my first full season as a major leaguer. I still remember Mark Kotsay, one of our veterans, standing up and telling us we didnt understand how hard it was to make it to the playoffs. He told us that guys played their entire careers without making it to the postseason. He said it might not happen for any of us again. I heard that, and I was like, Cmon. No way thats happening. I thought we could go every year. I was spoiled. I was also dead wrong. I learned a lesson from that. Dont take things for granted.Texas made a sacrifice to bring me in. They gave up some good prospects. By making that sacrifice, theyre telling me they need me here to win. When a players on a team, wherever it is, you want to have that wanted and needed feeling. It makes you feel like youre part of something. We arent in the playoffs yet, but we have all the pieces. Im already falling in love with this roster. We have two players in our lineup who are Hall of Fame guys: Adrian Beltre and Carlos Beltran. Those two dudes are unbelievable. Im honored to play with them, and I know Im going to be a better baseball player being around them. Ive only played on the road for Texas, but I cant wait to play a home game.When I step to the plate there, Im going to take it all in. Im going to take all of this in. I know I had nothing to do with the Rangers getting to where they are now, but I want to have a lot to do with finishing the job. Zach Collins Swingman Jersey . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Zach Collins Jersey . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions.http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/Zach-Collins-Blazers-Jersey/ . Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd. Its the first time that WWEs annual Survivor Series pay-per-view, now in its 30th year, returns to Canada since 1997. In that event, now dubbed the Montreal Screw Job, Vince McMahon conspired with Shawn Michaels and referee Earl Hebner to orchestrate a different ending to the match than the one outlined with the then-champion Bret Hart -- one of the most infamous moments in wrestling history.Hart refused to lose to Michaels in Canada, and he had planned on relinquishing the WWE title the next night on Raw before joining rival promotion WCW. The incident upset many wrestlers backstage, who then planned on boycotting Raw the following night. In the end, only one wrestler ended up not showing up for work.That man was?Mick Foley.Just before leaving his home in Long Island for this Sundays Survivor Series event in Toronto, Foley took a few moments to speak to ESPN about his experience that day and touch on a few other topics prior to this historic event.I was just upset because I was a friend of Bret Harts, and more importantly, hes a guy that I respect as a champion and a person, Foley said. So I walked out and didnt show up the next night for Raw. If I had a car I would have driven home, but I didnt, so I sat in the hotel room in Montreal.I found out that night that one really is the loneliest number when only one guy sits out, Foley continued. There was a bunch of guys talking about it, but looking around the hotel I was the only one that ended up sitting out, so I said, Ah, I guess it didnt happen.After taking a moment to consider his long-term prospects, some insight from his wife allowed Foley to justify walking back through those doors and continuing on with the WWE.My wife pointed out that there was something in my contract that said I would be breaching my contract and couldnt work anywhere in the world for the next five years if I just sat home, Foley recalled. I came back and I was embraced, and it was never held against me -- as a matter of fact, I think Mr. McMahon respected it.Foley didnt love how things had played out in Montreal, but by continuing to pursue his lifelong passion, he achieved some of his greatest personal successes. The following year at Survivor Series, Foleys career would get the push he had always dreamed of when he was put in the main event against?The Rock?for the WWE championship.My greatest personal Survivor Series moment was facing The Rock in 1998 and having Mr. McMahon turn on me, Foley said. That set into motion one of the best series of matches Ive ever had and some of the most important with The Rock. Not only did we have great matches, but then we became teamed up following the rivalry, so that was big.By the time all was said and done, Foley was a three-time champion and earned induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013. He returned to the WWE earlier this year when the company implemented a brand split, separating talent onto either Raw or Smackdown. As general manager, Foley has been one of the most vocal advocates for the womens revolution, and Raw has seen some history made by?Sasha Banks?and?CCharlotte Flair?in the last several months. Zach Collins Womens Jersey. Not only did Raw see its first womens main event in 12 years, one of Raws?brand-exclusive pay-per-views featured the first-ever womens Hell in a Cell match, the first womens match to main event a pay-per-view event.Triple H?was one of the main proponents of womens wrestling, Foley said, acknowledging how much of a companywide initiative it has been. As soon as they hired Sara Amato, or Sara Del Rey as shes [been] known [on the independents] as a coach, it showed how serious the WWE was in developing this next generation of women talent. Ive just been a guy pointing, going, Look over there, theres something special happening. I hadnt seen Charlotte in years, and I hadnt even met the other women when I started watching them, but I knew there was something special there, and that people should take note of it -- and its only going to get better.Foley has been vocal on many topics of late, both within the WWE and outside of its scope on social media. No matter where you turn in the world, the fallout from the election of Donald Trump is being felt everywhere, by everyone, including Foley.While Foley has no personal interest in running for political office or cashing in on his celebrity to wield any kind of political power, he felt the need to make his opinion known prior to last weeks presidential election. The WWE Hall of Famer implored his millions of followers on Twitter and Facebook not to vote for Trump, who was standing about 15 feet away from me on stage, when both joined the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013.I know our fan base is all over the political map, and you dont want to offend half your fan base, but I said [to myself] I have to be able to look into the mirror and know I tried to do something, Foley told ESPN. I think its a scary time.President-elect Trump wasnt my choice, but Im going to be like Dave Chappelle and Im going to give him a chance -- but I think there are people out there with legitimate worries.Earlier this week, Bovada, an online betting company, set odds for the 2020 presidential election, including Dwayne The Rock Johnson at 100-1 and Vince McMahon, WWEs chairman and CEO, at 500-1. Foley said he could see his old tag-team partner and rival in the oval office in four years, even if it wont be a reunion of the Rock n Sock Connection.He also added a few other WWE names to that list, and while he initially feigned some apprehension, Foley included his current partner in crime, Raws commissioner Stephanie McMahon, in that group.I see The Rock running in 2020 and being a two-term president, Foley said. I think he would be great, and Im joking when I say I think?Stephanie McMahon?wouldnt be a fine president of the United?States. I think shes got the leadership qualities. I see those two as potential candidates, and I see Kane as a congressional leader.?Kane?could win, and hes maybe?the most knowledgeable man Ive met in any field of business.Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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