Bayern Trupp » Stars coach Lindy Ruff said.

PITTSBURGH – Sergio Santos arrived at PNC Park on Saturday afternoon and met with manager John Gibbons, who delivered the news everyone was expecting he would. "Were moving Sergio out of that role," said Gibbons of the closers spot, less than 24 hours after Santos blew his second save of the road trip and third of the season. Until Casey Janssen returns, Gibbons will go with closer-by-committee. "It could be Loup," said Gibbons. "It could be Cecil. Over the next few days it could be any of those guys." The change is necessary and while fans arent about to take pity on a multi-million dollar athlete, Santos struggles are a reminder of the human element of sports. There he was on Friday night, having blown a two-run, ninth inning lead, hunched over at his locker, his head in his hands for what seemed like an eternity. Santos then stood up and addressed the media. Later, once the ballpark lights had dimmed and he was back in his hotel room, Santos sifted through the litany of text messages he gets after each appearance, good or bad. His wife had written him and so had his parents. One of Santos brothers, Gabe, chimed in. He got messages of support from aunts and uncles, too. Like the goal crease in hockey, the pitching mound can be a lonely island when things arent going well. Out on the road, its easy to get lost in your thoughts. "You go to the hotel and that night, the night of the game, its usually the hardest, you know what I mean, that whole night," said Santos. "I mean, you close your eyes and you cant help but think about it. You think about a million different scenarios, what you could have done different." The sun, as they say, always comes up the next day. "The second you wake up the very next day youre presented with, basically, a choice," said Santos. "You could either feel sorry for yourself and say poor me or you could use the next day as an opportunity to know that what happened last night is not who I am." Santos turned to an old teammate and friend for advice. He often plays the online game Words with Friends with Darren Oliver and on Friday night, Santos sent Oliver a message. He wanted to talk. Oliver invited Santos to call on Saturday morning. "He said, Ive been through this a million times. I was in the game for so long. You go through stretches where theyre rough and theyre ugly," said Santos. "He says, its up to you to put a stop to it. They can go on for the whole season or you can nip it in the bud, get that confidence back and go out and pitch." Santos need only look at his numbers for a stark reminder of how bad things have been. Hes taken two losses, has blown three saves and has posted an ERA of 10.61 with a WHIP of 2.250. He insists he wont dwell. "For me, my edge has always been my confidence," said Santos. "Even in the midst of the biggest adversity, confidence, I think, is the one thing thats such a useful tool. So to even lose that, and dont get me wrong doubt creeps into your mind all the time, you get there, youre going, "Crap, is it going to happen all over again today? Whats going to happen? But its so important to just push those thoughts out of your mind." Santos is powerless over his role in the bullpen. He cant disagree with Gibbons decision and he wont. All he can do is wait until Gibbons calls his name again. "My whole thing is to help this team win in any way I can," said Santos. "Whether right now thats me throwing in the seventh, eighth, okay so be it because I know when Im going good I can help this team win. More importantly, for this team to win, Ive got to get right." Air Max Outlet Australia . There was little fanfare, though, when the Yankees captain was taken out of his final regular-season Subway Series game in the eighth inning. Jeter watched the last four outs from the bench, pulled off the field during a double switch Thursday night as the Yankees held off the Mets 1-0. Air Max 270 Australia Womens . General Manager Sam Presti said the three-time All-Star had knee swelling that would not subside, and the procedure was intended to solve the problem. He said doctors determined that a loose stitch was to blame for the swelling, that Westbrooks lateral meniscus has healed properly and the procedure was successful. http://www.outletairmaxaustralia.com/air...-australia.html. Van Slyke drove in a career-high four runs with two homers off struggling left-hander Tony Cingrani, and the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled away to a 6-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night, a rare comfortable win in their pitching-dominated series. Nike Air Max Cheap Wholesale . -- The Val-dOr Foreurs made it to the Memorial Cup semifinal thanks to their workhorse goaltender and their ability to hang around like a bad cold. Nike Air Max Tailwind 4 Australia . Or, for that matter, the aged.CALGARY - The Calgary Flames will try to parlay Mike Cammalleris hot streak into some better team results tonight when they try to snap a four-game losing streak against the Dallas Stars. Cammalleri has a goal in three straight games and has tallied five times in his past five tilts, but Calgary has still lost 10 of 13 and has dropped four straight. They did manage a point though in Tuesdays 3-2 overtime setback to the San Jose Sharks thanks to a comeback. Calgary was held to just six shots through the first two periods and trailed 2-0, but got third-period goals from Kris Russell and Mike Cammalleri. Reto Berra was also key to the rally and the rookie ended with 32 saves, but was bested on a deflection at the 1:13 mark of overtime. "Were pretty lucky as a coaching staff because were coaching a great bunch of guys," said Calgary head coach Bob Hartley. "Those guys want to do well and most of the time and in many occasions we get the best out of our guys." Berra was making his home debut and fell to 1-2-1 with a 3.23 goals against average and .900 save percentage through the first four starts of his career. He is expected to start again tonight. The Flames will try to take advantage of catching a Stars club that is playing on back-to-back nights. However, Dallas is coming off Wednesdays 3-0 road victory over the Edmonton Oilers, the clubs fourth win in five games.dddddddddddd All four of those victories have come on the road. Kari Lehtonen made 22 saves in his first shutout of the season and 23rd of his career. Rich Peverley scored in the second period for the Stars before Tyler Seguin and Antoine Roussel notched empty-net goals. Dallas won despite going 0-for-6 on the power play and the club is just 2- for-35 on the man advantage over its past 10 games. However, the Stars did keep the Oilers scoreless on five power-play chances, including 1:31 of 5-on-3 hockey in the second period. "It was a little bit of a see-saw battle where special teams on both teams could have made a bit of a difference," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "It seemed like penalty killing prevailed. We could have put the game away later when we had our opportunities and we didnt." Lehtonen is 7-3-2 with a 2.69 GAA in 12 career games versus the Flames, making 28 saves in a 5-1 home victory on Oct. 24. Backup Dan Ellis is 4-5-0 with a 2.82 GAA in 10 games versus Calgary, including eight starts. Alex Chiasson and Jamie Benn both scored twice in the earlier win over the Flames, the Stars fifth in the last eight meetings overall. Dallas has lost two straight and four of its past five in Calgary. ' ' '