NEWS » by former Raptors general manager Bryan

PITTSBURGH -- Languishing near the bottom of the NL Central a year after making the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Pirates couldnt wait any longer for struggling left-handed starter Wandy Rodriguez to get it together. The Pirates designated the 35-year-old veteran for assignment Thursday, less than 24 hours after Rodriguez gave up six runs in 1 2-3 innings in a 9-8 victory over Baltimore. "In our mind we felt best served to cut ties because in my mind Im thinking, You know what? Ive seen guys of his ilk pitch backwards and recreate themselves. ... We didnt feel that was our best option," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Hes healthy his arm is healthy. He said it best, Sometimes you give everything you got and its not good enough." Rodriguez was 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in six starts this season. He spent time on the disabled list earlier in the year with a right knee inflammation. Though he insisted the knee was "OK" after his poor outing on Wednesday, Rodriguez allowed he was frustrated by his ineffectiveness. The Pirates plan to fill Rodriguezs spot in the rotation with either right-hander Brandon Cumpton or left-hander Jeff Locke, an unlikely All-Star a year ago. Cumpton is 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA in two starts with Pittsburgh this season and has been dominant at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he is 4-1 with a 1.35 ERA. Locke is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA at Triple-A. "Weve got a really good, real challenging decision," general manager Neal Huntington said. "Weve got the ability to make a change if it doesnt work or have another option come up if we face another injury while we probably will." Cutting Rodriguez will be costly for a team with one of baseballs lowest payrolls. Acquired in a trade with Houston in 2012, Rodriguez is scheduled to make $13 million this season, with the Pirates picking up $7 million of the tab. Rodriguez went 11-10 with a 4.16 ERA in 30 starts with the Pirates. Huntington acknowledged the move will certainly raise eyebrows in a clubhouse that began Thursday at just 19-26 and well back of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. Yet Huntington felt its one the team had to make. Pittsburghs starting rotation -- a major strength while the team pushed to its first playoff berth in more than two decades last fall -- has regressed significantly. The four starters not named Gerrit Cole are a combined 1-17 this season. Pittsburgh replaced Rodriguez on the roster Thursday by activating catcher Russell Martin from the disabled list. Martin hasnt played since straining his left hamstring against St. Louis on April 25. He will have to serve a one-game suspension for his role in a brawl against the Milwaukee Brewers last month and is expected to return to the lineup on Friday against Washington. Ronald Jones II Buccaneers Jersey .FIFA says it is relaxing the rule which forced match officials to leave its international list at the end of the year they turned 45. Custom Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys . But defending champion Elena Vesnina of Russia held off a strong challenge to beat Shuai Peng of China 6-3, 6-4, and there was another hard-fought victory for 2012 runner-up Angelique Kerber of Germany, who defeated Alison Riske of the United States 7-6 (6), 6-4. http://www.shopbuccaneersauthentic.com/Y...o-Elite-Jersey/. - Maynor Figueroa headed in a late goal to give Honduras a 1-1 draw with the United States in an international friendly Tuesday. Ryan Jensen Jersey . Jovanovski, the 2012 champ seeded fifth, will meet surprise Japanese qualifier Misa Eguchi on Friday. Eguchi, ranked 183rd, qualified for her first WTA main draw this week, then beat No. Vita Vea Buccaneers Jersey .com) - It may just be the right place and the right opponent for the Detroit Red Wings to snap their longest losing streak of the season.TORONTO - Masai Ujiri wasted little time in making his first move of the offseason. Just one day after their season came to an abrupt end, the Raptors have reached an agreement on a three-year contract extension with head coach Dwane Casey, sources confirm to TSN.ca Monday evening. In his third year with the team, Casey, 57, helped lead the Raptors to a franchise-record 48-win season en route to a division title and opening-round elimination to the Brooklyn Nets in a seven-game playoff series. Addressing the media after cleaning out their lockers Monday afternoon, Caseys players seemed to be aware of the teams plans to bring him back. "I think hell be back," said Kyle Lowry, an unrestricted free agent. "Simple as that. Matter of fact, Im sure hell be back." Casey was brought in by former Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo ahead of the 2010-11 season after he had won a championship as an assistant in Dallas the year prior. Right out of the gate, he took a team that had ranked near the bottom of the league in every defensive category, a long-time NBA doormat, and immediately changed the culture. After his third-year option was picked up, Casey had mixed results at the helm of the Raptors in his second season, getting off to a slow start and clashing with Lowry. Instead of discarding Casey for his own coach, Ujiri - the incoming GM - opted to give him a one-year trial, to which he did not disappoint. Both he and Lowry developed a mutual respect, as the point guard turned in a career year, DeMar DeRozan blossomed intto an all-star and the team went on to exceed every rationale pre-season expectation.dddddddddddd Casey became the fourth coach in franchise history to lead the Raptors to the postseason and his fingerprints can be found on the development of Torontos many young players. "Hes been a great coach," sophomore Terrence Ross said Monday. "Hes helped me with a lot. Hes taught me a lot, especially when it comes to defence. I give him a lot of credit for how I play on the court." "One thing I respect about coach Casey, man, hes been consistent," DeRozan added. "Hes been the same Dwane Casey since hes been here, preached the same thing, told us to stick with the same principles and theyll work. We did it, and everything he said came together like he said it would." "You could go in his office, knock on his door, talk to him whenever, you could text him," he continued. "Hes a players coach. Hes a great dude. Sometimes you dont even look at him like a coach because you could go up to him and talk to Dwane about any situation. I think thats what helped us a lot." Casey ranks third in team history with 105 wins, behind Sam Mitchell and Lenny Wilkens and recently became the first coach to lead the Raptors to multiple seasons holding opponents under 100 points and below 45 per cent from the field. The deal was first reported by the Toronto Star Monday evening. Casey and Ujiri will meet with the media on Tuesday. Watch it live on TSN, TSN.ca and TSN GO at 10:15am et/7:15am pt. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '