Allgemeines » my first real opportunity, and I would love to stay

ATLANTA -- Manager Fredi Gonzalez says Tommy La Stella is playing as if he is looking for another promotion. Thats how comfortable the rookie second baseman has looked in his first three weeks in the major leagues. La Stella had three hits, including a two-run double in Atlantas four-run sixth, and the Braves beat Hector Santiago and the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 on Sunday night. La Stella is hitting .411 with at least two hits in nine of his 16 games. "I think La Stella thinks theres another league, the way he carries himself," Gonzalez said. "So it doesnt surprise me that he feels this comfortable right away." La Stella has put a lock on the second base job with strong defence and his impressive start at the plate. "I wouldnt say surprised," La Stella said when asked about his continued strong hitting. "Anytime you have a shot, especially in the big leagues, you want to start off on the right foot. Ive been able to do that and hopefully I can keep going." Evan Gattis and Justin Upton also had run-scoring singles in the sixth as the Braves rallied against Santiago (0-7). Jason Heyward homered in the seventh and made two strong defensive plays in right field to take hits away from Mike Trout. Trout had three hits, including a homer. Erick Aybar also homered for the Angels before leaving the game with a sore left hip. Manager Mike Scioscia said he hopes Aybar can play Monday. He said Aybar first hurt his hip in Saturday nights game. Anthony Vavaro (2-1) had three strikeouts in two perfect innings for the win. The Braves moved back into first place in the NL East by winning two of three from the Angels, who remain in second in the AL West. David Carpenter gave up a single to Trout before hitting Albert Pujols with a pitch with one out in the ninth. Craig Kimbrel struck out Josh Hamilton and Howie Kendrick for his 20th save. Santiago, trying for his first win of 2014, allowed only two hits through five innings before fading in the sixth. He was charged with four runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings. "Hector, really, for five innings was really on top of things," Scioscia said. "Things unraveled a bit but I still think Hector pitched a really strong ballgame." Atlantas Mike Minor matched his career high by allowing 11 hits for the second straight game. He gave up three runs in five innings. With one out in the sixth, B.J. Upton walked and moved to third on Freddie Freemans single to centre. Gattis extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a run-scoring single to right field. Freeman scored on Justin Uptons infield hit that David Freese couldnt handle at third base. Chris Johnsons single off Kevin Jepsen loaded the bases to set up La Stellas double to right-centre. Johnson was thrown out at the plate. Aybar hit his fifth homer leading off the second. He reached on a fielders choice grounder in the third before being removed from the game in the bottom of the inning. John McDonald took over at shortstop. Trout raced in to make a tumbling catch of B.J. Uptons sinking liner to end the third inning. Heyward took a hit away from Trout with a similar catch in the fourth. Heyward again denied Trout of a hit in the sixth. Sprinting toward the wall, Heyward jumped and reached up at the warning track to catch a long fly ball before running into the wall. "If Jason doesnt make those plays, we might lose the game," Gonzalez said. Heyward hit his eighth homer off Cam Bedrosian. B.J. Upton singled, stole second and scored from third on Bedrosians wild pitch. NOTES: The Angels placed RHP Fernando Salas on the 15-day DL with shoulder inflammation. Salas pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win in Saturday nights 11-6 victory over the Braves in 13 innings. RHP Dane De La Rosa was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake and pitched the eighth. ... Trout had seven hits, including two homers, and drove in five runs in the three-game series. ... The Braves signed OF Braxton Davidson, the teams first-round pick from Arden, North Carolina. ... The Braves open a three-game home series against Philadelphia on Monday night when RHP Julio Teheran faces Phillies LHP Cole Hamels. The Angels open a four-game series at Cleveland with RHP Jered Weaver matched against Indians RHP Trevor Bauer. Cheap Old Skool China . But the young forward is more than willing to shed a little blood if thats what it takes to make the team this season. "It caught me pretty good, dazed me for that shift, but I didnt want to be off the ice for too long," he said after practice, his lip still bleeding a little despite the plastic stitches holding it together. Cheap Old Skool .J. Ellis have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year contract. http://www.cheapoldskoolchina.com/ . Sopoaga hit the upright with his first shot at goal from 15 metres. He then kicked nine goals in succession -- two conversions and seven penalties -- before being replaced in the 62nd minute, three points short of the Highlanders record for most points in a match. Old Skool Clearance . The D-Backs came into being in 1998 and appear destined to finish second in the AL West after the Tsunami that is the Los Angeles Dodgers swept over them. I thought it might be interesting to see what the D-backs have done over their 16 years compared to what the Blue Jays have done over their past 16 campaigns. Wholesale Old Skool . Whenever United loses, its crisis. When other top teams slip up, its the quirky nature of the Premier League. The predictable reaction speaks to the sky-high expectations for a team proven perennial contender and 13 times Premier League champion.OWINGS MILLS, Md. - The Baltimore Ravens finally ran into an obstacle they couldnt overcome: a fourth-quarter deficit on the road against the top-seeded New England Patriots.Until Joe Flaccos desperation heave fell incomplete on the final play of a 35-31 defeat Saturday night, Baltimore did a marvelous job of casting aside every hardship in its path during the 2014 season.The suspension and subsequent release of running back Ray Rice, a myriad of injuries to their defensive backfield, the loss of tight end Dennis Pitta and Haloti Ngatas four-game suspension in December werent enough to keep the Ravens from reaching the post-season for the sixth time in seven years.The success we had as a team speaks to our resiliency, our ability to overcome adverse situations, kicker Justin Tucker said Sunday as he and his teammates cleared out their lockers. This is a team that was able to block out distractions and focus on winning games and executing.The secret?Not looking to the left or to the right, looking straight ahead at the next task at hand, coach John Harbaugh said.Alas, there is no next task for the Ravens, who now have plenty of time to look back on a season that never really went according to plan.We had a lot of adversity, a lot off the field, and a lot of things we couldnt control as a team, rookie linebacker C.J. Mosley said.Baltimore (11-7) stumbled into the post-season on the final day of the regular season, but a 30-17 victory over Pittsburgh in the wild-card round provided hope of a lengthy playoff run.The Ravens gave the Patriots all they could handle until the potential winning drive ended with Flacco throwing an interception in the end zone.Thats the tough part about it, defensive end Chris Canty said. Even on that last drive, we felt Joe was going to make the plays that needed to be made and we were going to walk off the field and look forward to going to the AFC championship.Unfortunately, it wasnt the case. We came up short, and thats the end of the narrative for the 2014 Ravens.Here are some significant facets of Baltimores season that should influence the fashion in which the franchise enters the 2015 run:Savour THE MOMENT: The Ravens have several unrestricted free agents, including Tucker, receiver Torrey Smith and running back Justin Forsett.Thats why the team meeting Sunday had a sense of finality.Some will return. Others will not. Newcomers will arrive.That collection of individuals will never be the same, Canty said. We understand the nature of the business, and thats why we try to make the most of it.dddddddddddd. Unfortunately, we came up a little short of our goal. But I couldnt be more proud of a group of men, the character of the guys in this locker room.BACKFIELD IN MOTION: Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome will put a priority on looking for defensive backs during the off-season.Baltimore entered the playoffs with five cornerbacks and safety Terrence Brooks on injured reserve, which explains why Tom Brady threw for 367 yards and why the Patriots were able to win despite finishing with 14 yards rushing.The Ravens, who listed 12 different cornerbacks during the season, finished 24th against the pass.FLACCO SHINES: Perhaps the main reason for Baltimores run of success over the past seven years is Flacco, who again shined in the playoffs despite throwing two interceptions against the Patriots.Flacco started all 16 games for the seventh year in a row. In the post-season, he cut up the Steelers before throwing four touchdown passes in a valiant effort against New England.The only decision Newsome needs to make at quarterback concerns backup Tyrod Taylor, who becomes an unrestricted free agent. Baltimore might not want to give him a raise to stay.FORSETT FUTURE: Forsett ran for 1,266 yards in his first season with the Ravens. Will there be a second season in Baltimore for the journeyman?This is the organization that gave me my first real opportunity, and I would love to stay, Forsett said. Theres a business side to it. Unfortunately, Ive been in the friend zone most of my career; hopefully we can get into a deeper commitment somewhere down the road.Forsett provided stability to a running attack that flourished without Rice, who was suspended for the first two games and then released on Sept. 8 after a video surfaced showing him assaulting his then-fiancee.CANTY SAY GOODBYE?: Injuries limited Canty to only 10 games, including two starts in his 10th NFL season. He will think long and hard about returning for season No. 11.Obviously, the passion for playing on Sundays will never go away, he said. But you have to think about your future, whether you want to take the pounding of another regular season and being able to stay healthy. Ill spend some time with my family, and then well make a decision when we have to make a decision.Canty had 22 tackles and a half-sack in 2014.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '