Hilfestellungen » Tortorella wears blinders. Professionally, h

CLEVELAND -- With seven games still left this month, Jason Kipnis has already surpassed his statistics from last April. That wasnt hard to do. "I set the bar so low," he said. Kipnis drove in Nick Swisher from first base with a two-out double in the seventh inning, sending the Cleveland Indians to a 5-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night. Kipnis, who batted just .200 with one homer and four RBIs in the seasons first month in 2013, ripped his double off Kelvin Herrera (0-1) into the gap in right-centre, deep enough to easily score Swisher, who reached on a two-out single. "That was a real big hit," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "Sometimes you need a big hit at a big time and we got it tonight." Kipnis has become big time. After shaking off his horribly slow start last season, he made his first All-Star team, batted .284 and developed into one of the ALs top all-around players. So, when he came up in another clutch situation, it wasnt surprising to any of the Indians that Kipnis came through. Kipnis signed a six-year, $52.5 million contract on opening day and hes wasted no time in living up to the deal. "I think he has less far to climb this year," Francona said. "He really dug himself a hole last year. Hes always a threat, whether its against a left-hander or right-hander. He can hit the ball all over the field or out of the ballpark. He can beat you with his legs. "I dont really look up and see what Kips batting average is, we want him hitting all the time." The Indians tacked on an important insurance run in the eighth on pinch-hitter Lonnie Chisenhalls bloop RBI single. Bryan Shaw (1-0) finished the seventh and got one out in the eighth. Cody Allen retired two, and John Axford worked the ninth for his AL-leading eighth save. Michael Bourn had three hits and two RBIs for the Indians. Bourn, Nick Swisher and Kipnis, Clevelands 1-2-3 hitters, combined for six hits and three RBIs. Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas hit back-to-back homers in the second for Kansas City. Indians starter Justin Masterson remained winless through five starts. The staffs ace, who turned down a contract extension during spring training, allowed two earned runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings. "Ill take as many no-decisions as come as long as were winning," he said. Down 3-2, the Indians tied it in the sixth off lefty starter Jason Vargas when Michael Brantley scored from first on two Kansas City errors. Brantley singled with one out, and broke for second with two down and Yan Gomes batting. As Brantley slid safely into second, the throw from catcher Perez skipped into centre field. Brantley hustled toward third and centre fielder Jarrod Dyson took his eye off the ball, overrunning it and letting the tying run score. "I came in too hard," Dyson said. "I should have come in and played it off the hop because I probably didnt have a shot at him anyway. I have to remind myself to slow the body down. I came in crashing like that. When you have two outs and your pitcher up there doing his thing you kind of have to settle down and not make that mistake." Moustakas gave the Royals a 3-2 lead in the sixth, when an error by second baseman Kipnis helped set up Kansas Citys unearned go-ahead run. Eric Hosmer singled and was safe at second after Kipnis dropped shortstop Asdrubal Cabreras low throw. Hosmer moved to third on a fielders choice and Moustakas delivered his two-out RBI single. Bourn atoned for a baserunning blunder with a two-run triple in the second to tie it 2-2. Perez and Moustakas connected in the second off Masterson. With one out, Perez snapped an 0-for-22 slump with a drive over the centre-field wall for his first homer. Four pitches later, Moustakas made it 2-0 with a liner into the Royals bullpen, the same place he hit a three-run shot on Tuesday in Kansas Citys 8-2 win. NOTES: Sloppy play has been one of Clevelands main problems. The Indians came in tied for the AL lead with 20 errors. "As a team, we have not played very good defence yet," Francona said. "I think we will be better. We need to be better. Were that type of team where when we play clean baseball, we generally give ourselves a chance to win. When you give a team extra outs or extra opportunities, it certainly makes it tougher." ... Indians 3B/DH Carlos Santana is in a 2-for-46 (.043) slide. ... Cleveland relievers have stranded a major league-best 91 per cent (32 of 35) of runners inherited. Orel Hershiser Jersey .C. Lions. The clubs former starting quarterback, assistant and head coach returned Thursday as its receivers coach. Rick Manning Indians Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Wild team that has a nice mix of proven veterans along with young, inexpensive talent on the rise. When the Wild signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, making a big splash in the summer of 2012, it set the franchise on a path to being more competitive, but a big reason that they have been so competitive is the contributions of young players who still have more to give. https://www.cheapindiansonline.com/2928u-sandy-alomar-jr-jersey-indians.html . According to a report from ESPN, Lynch wants a new contract from the Seahawks, and will likely skip all off-season workouts until he can renegotiate his deal with the Seahawks. Terry Francona Indians Jersey . They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66. Carlos Baerga Indians Jersey . They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week they discuss Russias mens hockey team, the ineptitude of the IOC handling the Nicklas Backstrom situation, John Tortorellas many apologies, and Canadas strong showing in curling. Bruce Arthur, National Post My thumb is down to Russias national mens hockey program, which is still making reverberations a week after Sochi. After falling in the quarter-finals for the second straight Olympics, Russias NHL stars came back angry. As Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote, Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin were unhappy for many reasons, but most of all resented the programs bias towards KHL players, which greatly distorted playing time, pairings, strategy, and felt like a punishment to Russian stars who dont play at home. Russia was one of the worlds great hockey powers, and a worthy rival to Canada; now its a mess, riven by petty rivalries. Its a shame, really. The Russians havent won a best-on-best tournament since the 1981 Canada Cup, and somehow they feel further away than ever. Steve Simmons, SUN Media My thumb is down to the International Olympic Committee for the mess it made of the Nicklas Backstrom gold medal game allergy pill fiasco. As a member of Swedens hockey delegation said, the IOC destroyed one of the greatest days in Olympic hockey history for the country. Backstrom, who did test positive for pseudo-ephedrine, didnt disagree with that assessment. The IOC first tested Backstrom last Wednesday. In the three days that followed, they never did do a second test. The Swedish team was not informed of Backstroms status until two hours before game time. Now dont get me wrong, the Swedes could have had Nicklas Baackstrom, Ralph Backstrom, and all the Backstroms you can name available for the gold medal game and the result wouldnt have been different.dddddddddddd What they didnt need was an unnecessary disruption, born of IOC ineptitude. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is down to John Tortorella, not for his most recent apology but for the continual need to apologize. This time, the Canucks coach launched into a mea culpa after saying he favored Sweden in the Sochi final because he wanted his Swedish Olympians - Daniel Sedin and Alex Edler - to return with smiles on their faces. Tortorella wears blinders. Professionally, he sees the small picture, nothing beyond his team. Belatedly, of course, he grasped context - Vancouver … Canada. So four weeks after apologizing for losing his mind between periods against Calgary, he again was at a microphone wearing a hair shirt and a tight expression. Thats Tortorella, the never-ending sorry. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up to the excellence shown by Canadas Gold-medalists in curling - Jennifer Jones and her rink from Winnipeg and Brad Jacobs and his rink from Sault Ste. Marie. We used to take for granted Canadas worldwide dominance in curling, and then we didnt, because as good as the Canadians continued to be, several other countries showed they were capable of winning world titles. Not that Jones and Jacobs allow Canada to rest on its laurels, but the Sochi results were very impressive, and hows this for proof of Canadas wealth of curling talent - the Brier is underway in Kamloops and the field is strong with Jeff Stoughton, Kevin Koe, John Morris, and Brad Gushue. And imagine talking about a strong field that doesnt include Jacobs, Glenn Howard and Kevin Martin. ' ' '