Bayern Trupp » Slam doubles results

BALTIMORE - Dan Duquettes job description includes making trades that will help improve the Baltimore Orioles.This off-season, Duquette was in the middle of a potential blockbuster deal.Duquette, the Orioles president of baseball operations, acknowledged Saturday there was substance to reports that the Toronto Blue Jays were in pursuit of him to be club president.A lot of times, players will be a trade rumour and sometimes managers get traded, Duquette said. Its even more rare that executives get traded, but occasionally it happens. Its a unique experience. I think when you have a good team and you do well, people take notice.Under Duquettes guidance, the Orioles won 96 games last season, captured the AL East for the first time since 1997 and advanced to the AL Championship Series.That piqued Torontos interest.As you get better as an organization, things that youre doing are trying to be either emulated or acquired, Orioles manager Buck Showalter noted. Its inevitable as an organization that, as you get better, people are going to be coveted more.Because Duquette is under contract with Baltimore through 2018, the Blue Jays had to offer Baltimore ample compensation to secure his services.No deal was made, so Duquette was talking about Orioles baseball on Saturday at FanFest, the teams annual winter convention.He insisted that Torontos advances did not distract him from seeking to put a better club on the field in 2015.Its important for the Orioles fans to know that my focus — and my singular focus — is on improving the team, he said. We do that day by day, trade by trade, addition by addition. We did that this year in the off-season like weve done it in the past.With the exception of Duquettes potential departure, its been a quiet off-season for Baltimore. The losses include free agent outfielders Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis, along with reliever Andrew Miller.The most notable addition is outfielder Travis Snider, obtained in a trade with Pittsburgh.But thats typical of Duquette, who followed a quiet winter in 2014 by adding Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez during spring training.While its important to improve your ballclub in off-season, were not really trying to win the off-season, Duquette said. Were trying to put together a team that can compete and get to the off-season and prevail. Thats different from making headlines in the winter time.Showalter had absolutely no complaint about the teams off-season activity.As we get into spring and there comes a need, well be able to do it, he said.The Orioles played much of the 2014 season without injured stars Manny Machado and Matt Wieters. Having them in the lineup will make more of a difference than any trade or free agent addition.The biggest and most powerful improvement we have to our ballclub this year is Machado coming back and Wieters coming back, Duquette said.In other news, suspended slugger Chris Davis said Saturday his use of Adderall last season was not as a performance enhancer but rather a way to cope with an oblique injury that landed him on the disabled list and played havoc with his swing.It was never a baseball issue, he said. Just an everyday life thing.Davis was suspended for 25 games. The punishment will expire after opening day.I was just kind of overwhelmed with everything that was going on last year with the injury, he said. There were a lot of things that were taking my focus away from baseball.Davis said he had previously been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, which got him a green light from the independent administrator of Major League Baseballs drug program to use the drug in 2008.I had an exemption in the past. It was denied in 2013 and obviously, I shouldnt have been taking it last year, Davis said. It was a moment of weakness.After batting .286 with 53 homers and 138 RBIs in 2013, Davis numbers slipped dramatically in 2014 to .196 with 26 homers and 72 RBIs.This year, he expects things to be different.Being away from it a month longer than the rest of these guys was tough at first, but I used it to my advantage to get into my workouts a little bit earlier, Davis said. I definitely think last year got off to a slow start, so this year I wanted to get off on the right foot. Im doing some different workouts this year.He jokingly said that included bunting down the third-base line, a way to cope with the shift that limited his effectiveness. Fake Jordan 1 Banned . Defenceman Tessa Bonhomme was among three players released from the team Tuesday morning along with defenceman Brigette Lacquette of Waterhen, Man. Fake Jordan 1 Black . -- The Atlanta Braves are facing the possibility of losing another pitcher for the season after general manager Frank Wren said Saturday that Cory Gearrin has a serious injury to his right elbow. http://www.bestfakejordan1.com/cheap-jor...let.html.Cullen scored the go-ahead goal at 13:47 of the third period and Nashville beat the slumping Dallas Stars 3-2 on Thursday in a game that wasnt decided until the last shot of the night. Discount Jordan 1 . -- Max Domi scored twice and set up two more as the London Knights toppled the visiting Kingston Frontenacs 6-4 on Sunday in Ontario Hockey League action. Cheap White Jordan 1 . Jimmy Howard made 44 saves and Henrik Zetterberg scored two goals, leading the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Saturday night.Canadas Vasek Pospisil has usually just played a little doubles on the side throughout his tennis career. That will change now that hes a Wimbledon champion. Pospisil teamed with American Jack Sock for the first time this month and the results were staggering. They pulled off upset after upset at the All England Club and capped their stunning run by topping the best mens doubles team of all-time in the final. "We were kind of joking around about it a little bit when we decided to sign up -- that wed go for the title," Pospisil said Tuesday on a conference call. "Joking -- but actually believing in it a little bit. I think if we didnt believe we could do it I dont think wed be standing here with the trophy ... we definitely knew it was possible but we wouldnt put money on it." Pospisil, from Vancouver, and Sock are big hitters who used their strong service games and volley skills to their advantage at the Grand Slam event. Theyre young, tall and powerful and had no pressure as an unseeded duo. The final was a five-set thriller that lasted over three hours, as Pospisil and Sock beat top seeds and defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. "We celebrated probably from the moment we got into the locker-room -- the champagne was flowing," Pospisil said. "We had a really great night with friends and family." Singles play will still be Pospisils primary focus but he plans to team with Sock for the rest of the season, including the U.S. Open and possibly the season-ending doubles championships. Pospisil lost his first-round singles match at Wimbledon before giving doubles his full attention. It didnt take long for him to develop some on-court chemistry with Sock. "It was just one of those things, we didnt even really practise or anything," Pospisil said. "The first time we hit was before our first-round match. I think we just got along really well and our personalities seemed to match really well. We had a lot of fun on the court. I think that was the main thing. "From the very first round we were just laughing and enjoying ourselves and trying not to take it too seriously but at the same time wanting to win." With Socks booming forehand and Pospisils aggressive net play, they quickly found their groove.dddddddddddd They were pushed to five sets in the second round before knocking off eighth-seeded Rohan Bopanna of India and Aisam Qureshi of Pakistan. Second-seeded Alexander Peya of Austria and Brazils Bruno Soares fell in a four-set quarter-final. In the semifinal, Pospisil and Sock surprised fifth seeds Leander Paes of India and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic in straight sets before they denied the Bryan twins their 16th Grand Slam doubles title and 99th overall. Pospisil and Sock saved four match points in the final set before the American hit a winner down the line for the victory. "Our games fit extremely well, they complemented each other really well the whole tournament," Pospisil said. "Our personalities by the end of two weeks, we pretty much went from not knowing each other too well at all to being best friends." They were the first team since 2000 (Lleyton Hewitt and Max Mirnyi) to win a Grand Slam title in their first tournament together. It was the first time a Canadian had played in the Wimbledon mens doubles final since 2009, when Torontos Daniel Nestor teamed with Nenad Zimonjic to win their second All England Club title. Pospisil and Sock first broached the subject of teaming up about six weeks ago, but Pospisil didnt know if hed be able to play due to a nagging back injury. The Canadian was pain-free in the days leading up to Wimbledon and they gave it a go. "The timing was pretty amazing," Pospisil said. "It was a pretty fortunate pairing that we got together and that he decided to take that chance. I think I told him like 50-50 at the time but it was probably more like 60-70 per cent that I wouldnt play. "It just ended up working out very well." It was the first Centre Court appearance for both the 24-year-old Pospisil and Sock, whos 21. Sock has had Grand Slam doubles success in the past, teaming with fellow American Melanie Oudin to win the mixed title at the 2011 U.S. Open. Pospisils previous best Grand Slam doubles results were round of 16 appearances last year with Ottawas Jesse Levine at Wimbledon and with Nestor at the U.S. Open. The Canadian currently holds the No. 33 position in both the singles and doubles world rankings. Sock is ranked 31st in doubles and 76th in singles. ' ' '