DeMerit, was fortuitous after he did not get much behind the shot. "

BOSTON - Pitching. Defence. Culture. Those are the three words which continue to be brought up in various conversations with players, both in formal and informal settings, around this American League Championship Series. Jonny Gomes, a member of the 2008 Rays club that emerged from the abyss to gain a spot in that seasons World Series and whos since played on contending teams in Cincinnati and Oakland before landing in Boston, has seen similar acts play out in different cities. “This is my fourth division title and my fourth team,” said Gomes. “Theyre all very similar. We pitch. We play defence. We play together. We situational hit. We create an identity and win and lose with that identity. “Youve got to have some guys on your team that will nip in the bud in April, in June, in July, when things roll, stop it now. Youve got to get out of the valley, get back up versus letting it play, riding it out.” Spending much of the last 48 hours around Fenway Park, in this atmosphere, around two successful organizations with, for the most part, annual expectations of excellence, its become clearer just how far away the 2013 Blue Jays were from being a playoff-calibre ballclub. It wasnt too long ago, prior to the end of the regular season, that veteran Mark DeRosa shared similar thoughts to Gomes. He would know, having come up in the winning Braves organization, followed by success with the Rangers, Cubs, Cardinals, Giants and Nationals. “I always go back to the first two weeks of the season,” DeRosa told TSN.ca from the visitors dugout, fittingly at Fenway Park, on September 20. “We got off so slow; just put ourselves in such a pessimistic-type attitude where we were expecting things to go wrong. Its just been the tale of many weeks for this team. Its had its moments of playing really great baseball and taking it to some of the best teams and best pitchers in the game and then weve had moments where weve rolled out there and done a lot of things fundamentally wrong and made mental errors that have cost us.” General manager Alex Anthopoulos has identified the need for starting pitching, constantly reminding that no team stands a chance to contend when its rotations ERA ranks second-worst in baseball (4.81,) better only than the dreadful Minnesota Twins and worse than the Houston Astros, essentially a Triple-A-calibre baseball team. Hes right. Nobody could have, or would have, predicted the respective demises of Brandon Morrow and Josh Johnson to injury. But those two were pitching in April. So were R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and J.A. Happ and, as DeRosa alluded to, the Jays got off to a terrible start that set the tone for a terrible season. Nobody cried in Boston when Clay Buchholz missed three months with a neck injury before returning in early September. Remember, too, that John Lackeys bicep locked on him in Toronto in early April. At the time of the injury, the way he clenched his arm, onlookers were speculating hed torn his Tommy John-repaired ulnar elbow ligament. The Yankees finished above .500 with a plethora of injuries, seemingly turning to any available former Blue Jay in the process. This statistics-obsessed culture places zero value on cohesion, preferring to individualize each player and position as if he and it work mutually exclusive to all else. Its strange because when you talk to players whove won, in some cases won often, they preach about the importance of accountability and sacrifice for one another. No, there werent deep divisions in the clubhouse, but neither was there cohesion on the field on a consistent basis. Back in April, it was popular to slough off the mounting losses with the tired “Its early” mantra. There were musings about how the standings didnt matter until the seasons final day, when you hoped to be at least one game ahead of the team in second place. True, if not simplistic, but the public lack of concern over the slow start shouldnt be tolerated to the same degree if it repeats in 2014. Some teams dont recover from a bad first two or three weeks. Theres no place for Twitter drama and unnecessary sparring with the media. The pressure of playoff action, witnessed first hand in this ALCS, is no match for the psychologically fragile. The expectation, of course, should be to contend. Nothing less, although its difficult for fans to want to go there in their heads after the season they just witnessed. “They pitch. They play defense. Team chemistry. Situational hit,” repeated Gomes of championship-calibre teams. The strange firing of hitting coach Chad Mottola wont be the only move this winter and its a good thing because, hanging around Fenway Park in October for a couple of days, seeing the anticipation and the expectation and the camaraderie, the Blue Jays have a way to go to get here. San Diego Padres Jerseys .Boston beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Tuesday night and celebrated consecutive wins for the first time in more than a month. Tony Gwynn Padres Jersey .com) - Jahlil Okafor had 21 points, Tyus Jones scored 16 with 10 assists and No. http://www.padressale.com/padres-dave-winfield-jersey/ . Paire broke Giraldo twice and lost his serve once in both sets to wrap up the win in 1 hour, 10 minutes. He will next face Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, who advanced when Jurgen Zopp of Estonia retired with an injury at 5-5 in the first set. Johnny Manziel Padres Jersey .com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to play spoiler as the Los Angeles Kings will try to match their longest winning streak in over four years in Thursdays battle at Staples Center. Franchy Cordero Jersey .A. Happ. The Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to improve the starting rotation ahead of next season and pitchers like Happ have a chance to show they belong as the disastrous 2013 campaign draws to a close.VANCOUVER -- Carl Robinson got the start he wanted Saturday, but he was still left almost speechless. The delighted Vancouver Whitecaps coach was "lost for words" after his club scored three goals in the first 20 minutes en route to a 3-2 win over the San Jose Earthquakes. The Whitecaps (3-2-4) earned their first win in five games while the Earthquakes fell to 1-3-3. The game commemorated the first ever contest between Vancouver and San Jose, which was played May 5, 1974 when both teams were part of the original North American Soccer League. "I challenged them at the start of the game because it was a fantastic occasion today for the club and the tradition of the club," said Robinson. "I didnt want them to start slow where we have been in a few recent games." Despite the close score, the Whitecaps prevailed relatively easily after being forced to stage late comebacks in dramatic draws with Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles in their previous two games. Pedro Morales scored two goals a minute apart, with the first coming on a penalty-kick in the 19th minute and the second resulting from a shot from about 20 yards out in the 20th minute. "We got off to a great start, the team played very well, it was very exciting for the fan and we created a lot of (scoring) opportunities," said Morales. Kekuta Manneh also scored a goal and furnished an assist for Vancouver. "It was a big occasion for the club," said Manneh. "We all talked about it before the game and we had to come out and win the game. We were not that worried about the occasion, but weve got to do our job, and we did that, so it was great "We learned from our previous games." Chris Wondolowski, on a penalty-kick in the 45th minute and a lucky bounce in second-half stoppage time, scored both San Jose goals. "We did not come out with a good mindset," said Wondolowski. "Going down 3-0 against a very quality team, its way too big a hole to climb out of. We didnt do things right." Many fans wore 1970s-era clothing, including colourful bell-bottom pants that would make Norwegian curler Thomas Ulsruds crew envious, and donned long-haired wigs, fake handlebar moustaches and sunglasses. The attire was part of the Whitecaps tribute to the days of disco music. Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit started after being kept home from the previous weekends road game against San Jose for rest purposes. Meanwhile, Vancouver striker Kenny Miller began the game on the bench before coming on in the second half, as Robinson used a 4-2-3-1 alignment with Darren Mattocks deployed as the lone forward. As a result, Manneh, who has been used mostly as a substitute, started in midfield in a move that paid early dividends. Manneh gave the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute as he fired a first shot off the near post and then put his own rebound in off the far post. Crediting Morales passing prowess, Robinson said he did not have to say too much to his players about starting well after he had chewed them out at half-timme in the previous game.dddddddddddd "Obviously, after the reaction at Salt Lake at half-time, they got back in character," he said. Mannehs goal came after DeMerit checked the ball away from charging San Jose forward Yannick Djalo and sent the ball up the left flank. With Djalo injured in the process and kneeling on the turf, the Whitecaps were able to capitalize on an odd-man situation. "As soon a Yannick went down they scored the first goal. It was just 10 minutes where we couldnt cope with them," said Earthquakes coach Mark Watson. Morales put the Whitecaps ahead 2-0 on a penalty-kick after Mattocks was deemed to have been taken down while deking with the ball in the San Jose box. With the sellout crowd of 21,000 standing in anticipation, Morales rolled a shot into the left corner after San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch elected to go to his right. A minute later, Morales notched his second goal as he put a shot into the same corner from just outside the top of the San Jose box. After scoring the goal, Morales unwittingly doffed his jersey, waved it over his head, and excitedly ran bare-chested to the bench -- only to get an automatic yellow card for excessive celebration. Vancouver lost a shining Mattocks in the 30th minute after he pulled up with what Robinson described as a hamstring injury. Mattocks was replaced by second-year pro Erik Hurtado, but the change had little effect as Vancouver finished with 17 shots, including 13 in the first half, including nine on target. San Jose put just four of seven total shots on Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted, who was still sharp when necessary as the Caps continued mastery over a traditional powerhouse. The Earthquakes have yet to win in Vancouver in nine all-time MLS meetings with the Whitecaps. Overall, Vancouver holds a 4-1-4 edge in the series. Wondolowski, who now has nine career goals against Vancouver, was less than satisfied with the comeback attempt. He admitted his second goal, which redirected off DeMerit, was fortuitous after he did not get much behind the shot. "(The late rally) was too little, too late," said Wondolowski. "We cant be doing that. a This loss is unacceptable." Notes: San Joses Djalo was replaced by Alan Gordon in the 14th minute. a The Whitecaps had a goal disallowed in the 81st minute as Gershon Koffie was found guilty of a hand-ball just before he scored. a Whitecaps president Bobby Lenarduzzi became the first inductee into the clubs new ring of honour. During a pre-game ceremony, Los Angeles Lakers star Steve Nash, a Whitecaps minority owner, presented Lenarduzzi with a ring in conjunction with the honour. Nash jokingly dropped to one knee, like a hopeful groom proposing. a Lenarduzzi played on the original Whitecaps team, which was also honoured in the pre-game festivities, with many members taking part. a Gordon was cautioned in the 70th minute after he knocked Matias Laba in the back while the Cap played a header. a Former Whitecap Atiba Harris subbed in for San Jose during the second half. ' ' '