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longer feel pain and resentment.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have picked a bad time to go on a four-game losing streak, but the struggling club hopes to end its slide Sunday evening in New Jersey. J. J. Stokes Jersey . Toronto has dropped four straight in regulation and has five losses in its last six games. The rough patch has the Maple Leafs barely hanging on to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 80 points. The Leafs are one point in front of Detroit for the first wild card spot. The Red Wings currently occupy the second wild card, but are tied in the standings with Washington. Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets are lurking just two points behind Toronto. The Red Wings and Blue Jackets have games on Sunday, while Washington is off. The Devils, meanwhile, are six points behind Detroit for the last playoff spot in the East. New Jersey also hasnt helped its postseason cause lately with four losses in five games. Torontos most recent setback came in Saturdays home test against the rival Montreal Canadiens. Tomas Plekanec scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and the Habs held on for the 4-3 win at Air Canada Centre. The Leafs are 0-4 with Reimer in net since starting goalie Jonathan Bernier went down with a groin injury on March 13 in Los Angeles. Bernier is nearing a return from his injury but he didnt make the trip to New Jersey on Sunday, meaning Reimer could get another start. Some good news for the Maple Leafs? Center Dave Bolland played his first game Saturday since suffering a severed tendon in his ankle on Nov. 2. "I felt great," said Bolland. "I felt good with everything that was going on out there." Bolland had one shot in nine minutes and Joffrey Lupul, Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri scored Torontos goals. Reimer stopped 32 shots in the loss. "We win and lose as a team," said Carlyle. "The work ethic of our group has been strong. Our execution is the area we need to get better at." Toronto hopes to continue its recent dominance of the Devils on Sunday. The Maple Leafs have won the last six encounters in this series overall and have claimed three straight and four of five in New Jersey. Both meetings between the clubs this season have ended in shootouts. James van Riemsdyk, a native of New Jersey, provided the decisive shootout goal for Toronto on both occasions. Sundays game will mark Toronto forward David Clarksons first game back in New Jersey. Clarkson, who played in 426 games for the Devils, had a 30-goal season for Jersey in 2011-12 but left the Garden State over the summer to sign a seven-year, $36.75 million contract with Toronto. It has been a trying first season with the Leafs for Clarkson. The 29-year-old has missed significant time due to suspensions and injuries and only has four goals and six assists in 49 games this season. Clarkson has so far failed to register a point in two games against the Devils in 2013-14. "I would be lying if I said (this game) was something that you dont think about," Clarkson told NorthJersey.com. "I dont know how the fans will act, but I am looking forward to going back." The Devils were blanked in Saturdays home battle against the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist recorded his 50th career shutout, a new franchise record, to help New York record the 2-0 win at Prudential Center. The loss dropped New Jersey nine points behind the Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Martin Brodeur was solid in defeat, stopping 25-of-26 shots for the Devils, who only have 11 games left to make a playoff push. "Weve got to regroup because we have a game tomorrow and it starts right there," said New Jersey forward Stephen Gionta. "Were going to have to claw our way back because were not going to give up until the end." New Jersey fell to 1-2-0 on a crucial five-game homestand after Saturdays setback and the club is 17-10-7 as the host this season. Cory Schneider will get the call in net for New Jersey on Sunday. He is 0-2 with a 1.40 goals against average in two career games against Toronto. Joe Perry Jersey . The game marks the rare occasion when two homegrown running backs, Jon Cornish of the Calgary Stampeders and Andrew Harris of the B.C. Lions, will start in the West Divisions battle for a Grey Cup berth. Roger Craig Jersey . They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago.TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers several questions each week. This week, topics include the "bean wars" between the Red Sox and Rays, Blue Jays draft pick Jeff Hoffman, Justin Verlanders struggles, and surprising all-star voting results. 1) In light of the “bean wars” between Tampa Bay and Boston, what should the league do to reduce the number of retaliatory on-field incidents? Are the suspensions enough of a deterrent? Major League Baseball has reduced the number of on-field violent confrontations in a pretty significant way from the 1980s and before. The issuing of warnings to teams after a potentially intentional beaning has reduced the number of retaliatory responses. As we saw in the Rays/Red Sox series, boys will still be boys but it is better now than it used to be. Baseball also has a “heads up” program where umpires are alerted prior to a series about any bad blood that exists between the teams. Umpires can issue warnings before a game if they believe the lingering animosity could surface. This pregame warning serves as a deterrent and puts players on notice that at the first sign of monkey business there will be action taken. There are two changes that I would make to further address this issue. Firstly, I would encourage umpires to eject the instigator in a bean ball situation. Too many times the pitcher who strikes first suffers no penalty. Rays pitcher Davis Price hit Res Sox slugger David Ortiz with a pitch that may have been intentional. The umpire chose to only issue a warning to both teams. That was done with the intent of heading off possible retaliation against the Rays. That warning didnt work and Brandon Workman, Red Sox pitcher, was later ejected for throwing a pitch behind Rays third baseman Evan Longoria. If Price had been ejected, then the Red Sox would not have felt as compelled to bean Longoria for payback. Price didnt get a suspension at all. Second, I would institute a “no third-man in” policy. If there is a fight on the field, no other player can leave his position on the field or in the dugouts and bullpen. If they do then they face an automatic 10-game suspension. This should serve as a team deterrent that will keep all-out brawls from occurring. Thirdly, I propose that penalties become stiffer for the initial combatants as well. If you fight, you know you will serve at least a five-game suspension for a position player and relief pitcher and a 15-game suspension for a starting pitcher. It would be great to end all on-field violence. It wont ever happen but these changes would get us a bit closer. 2) The Blue Jays used the ninth-overall draft pick on Jeff Hoffman on Thursday; a player who just underwent Tommy John surgery. What does this say about the Jays development strategy, especially in light of Alex Anthopoulos drafting habits in the past? The Blue Jays have been drawn to the high-ceiling type players in the first round under Anthopoulos. They have shot for the moon. They want impact from their first round pick. Nowadays, many teams like predictability in first round selections. They will take less impact and a lower ceiling for a greater likelihood that the player will get to the majors. Not the Jays. Jeff Hoffman was thought to be one of the top three picks in this draft prior to injuring his arm and undergoing Tommy John surgery. This selection makes a statement on so many levels. First, the Jays believe that Hoffman is an extraordinary talent. Why else would any team take a baseball player whose injury prohibits him from doing what he does best? Secondly, the Jays believe in Tommy John surgery. It isnt quite as predictable as getting ones tonsils removed but the track record of success is very good. The Jays fully expect Hoffman to be 100 %. Thirdly, the Jays are saving money. Hoffman is a value because they took him with the ninth pick when many thought he could go as high as second overall. With the injury, the Jays will likely save some money but they are also assuming some level of risk and that has dollar value. With multiple first round selections, the Jays gave themselves the financial flexibility to get their picks signed this year. The fact that Hoffman is a college pitcher means that he is a bit more advanced in his development than if he were a high school pitcher and therefore missing some playing time now should not set his development back much at all. 3) Justin Verlanders 2014 numbers have been less than inspirational. Hes 6-5 on a first-place club, has an ERA over 4.00, is presently sporting the worst WHIP of his career, and hasnt logged a complete game since 2012. Should the alarm bells be going offf for the Tigers? The Tigers should be alarmed about Justin Verlander. Deebo Samuel Jersey. He is still a good pitcher but the dominant overpowering ace from a few years back is no longer on their roster. Verlander has thrown 1,885 innings in eight and a half years, which includes seasons of 251, 240, and 238 innings pitched in individual seasons. He has thrown the most pitches in baseball this year. In fact, he has thrown the most pitches in baseball since 2009. He has led the league in pitches thrown every year but one from 2009-2014. In 2010 he finished four pitches behind Dan Haren for second most. Verlander is a workhorse. He loves to go deep in the game and he loves to strike out hitters. He has been an amazing pitcher. The fact that he has such great stuff is a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because he has won a ton of games for Detroit. It is a curse because he has been so good that he works deep counts since he strikes out so many hitters. And he has always been a better option for the manager than anyone in the bullpen, so he pitches deeper in the game. All of this has taken a toll. He is wearing down a bit. We have seen CC Sabathia fall off over the past couple of years because of the same reasons. The arm only has so many bullets and they have both used their fair share. Verlander can still be successful, but he is going to have to make adjustments. Command has to be more important than velocity for him. He used to regularly run his fastball into the high 90s. He no longer can pitch there. If he tries to generate too much velocity from delivery, his command suffers. Verlander needs to try and retire hitters on three pitches or less with well-located pitches. Velocity cant matter. This will allow him to be more efficient now and give him more years on the back end of his career. 4) The most recent All Star vote tally had some very interesting results. Torontos Melky Cabrera, is ranked third among AL outfielders in voting. Orioles designated hitter, Nelson Cruz, passed Red Sox slugger David Ortiz for the top DH. Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun is in a close race in the NL outfield as well. Why are these results so significant? All three of these players have served suspensions for performance enhancement drugs. Yet, the fans seem to be putting that aside as they consider their performances this year. The fans believe that what they are seeing on the field is legitimate and real. They dont think it is enhanced. It is just good ol fashioned baseball. The All Star balloting has long been a popularity contest. The fans votes dont always coincide with the players votes or the stats. If the fans like a certain player, he has a shot to be an all-star regardless of his numbers. What is even more amazing is that the fans arent holding grudges like they have in the past. It had seemed that fans wanted to send a message to cheaters that their actions were unacceptable. One of the few ways they could do that was with their voting. But that feeling seems to be waning. Fans are either forgiving the players for past wrongs or just accepting of what has happened to the game. Either way, we all win. I have learned that giving forgiveness is not for the other person but it is for me. When I forgive someone they may react in any number of ways. But when I give forgiveness it releases a burden on me. I no longer feel pain and resentment. Baseball fans are showing healthy growth by surrendering their anger to baseball players. It shows growth. It shows a certain trust in the drug policy. It shows compassion and understanding. My hope is that baseball writers will take the lead of the fans. Writers feel duped by players. They feel like they were made fools of for celebrating home runs and record-setting accomplishments. They resent it and dont ever want to get burned that way again. My hope is that the writers will move to a place of forgiveness of the players as well. It is time to move forward. The writers need to look at the steroid era as just that, an era. It wasnt done to them. It was just what happened and they were there to document it. So they should document it. Vote steroid users in the Hall of Fame. Lets appropriately remember what happened so we dont repeat our mistakes. The writers should make history by passing that history forward. It is time to heal. It is the right thing for all of us that made mistakes in the steroid era of baseball. So let this day start the all-out campaign for Melky Cabrera, Nelson Cruz and Ryan Braun for the All Star team! ' ' '