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WASHINGTON -- When Dusty Baker first played in the minor leagues at age 18, he had only seen curveballs and never a slider.When I went to swing at it, it would like move right at the right time and I thought it was like an anti-bat repellant-type pitch, Baker said.Almost 40 years later, thats what the Washington Nationals manager sees in new closer Mark Melancons cutter. Melancon has continued to use that Mariano Rivera-inspired cutter, his curveball and fastball to near perfection since the Nationals acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline.In his first five appearances for Washington, Melancon retired 15 of the 16 batters he faced, striking out seven and walking none. He has come precisely as advertised and looks to be the consistent solution to the Nationals closer problem.Hes not doing anything different than he was before we got him, Baker said. He doesnt give up a lot of hits. He gives up very few walks.Melancon is Mr. Steady and Dependable, having converted 30 of 33 save opportunities for the Pirates this season and now 2 of 2 for the Nationals. Thats a stark contrast to usurped Washington closer and 2015 trade deadline pickup Jonathan Papelbon, who allowed eight runs on seven hits in his final three outings before the trade and has three blown saves and a 4.37 ERA.In 50 games, Melancon has a 1.35 ERA, and hes spotless so far with the Nationals. He credits the seamless transition to catchers Wilson Ramos and Pedro Severino being on the same page with him.Im just attacking guys and trying to get ahead, Melancon said Wednesday. Its been smooth and great attitudes back there and willingness to learn on both ends of that. I think when you have those things, things usually click pretty well.Melancon knows a thing or two about adjusting to new catchers and new teams. The trade from Pittsburgh to Washington for left-handed reliever Felipe Rivero and pitching prospect Taylor Hearn was the fourth of his career.He was traded from the New York Yankees to Houston at the 2010 deadline, from the Astros to the Red Sox in the winter of 2011 and from Boston to Pittsburgh in the winter of 2012. As a pending free agent, the 31-year-old righty wasnt shocked he got traded.Pirates general manager Neal Huntington knew he was giving up a stable back-of-the-bullpen piece, saying, While we anticipate he will be very productive for the Nationals over the next two months, the reality is hes staring free agency in the face. Melancon is making $9.65 million and will almost certainly get a substantial raise this offseason.With Papelbons contract up after the season, the Nationals could be among the top suitors for Melancon. But for now, theyre in first place in the NL East and trail only the Chicago Cubs for the best record in baseball, so the 2016 World Series is their focus.Melancons stability is a big piece of the road there for a team with a history of playoff failures, but hes still in the process of tinkering and trying to improve his arsenal. He has a strong rapport with Washington pitching coach Mike Maddux stemming from a 2014 trip to Japan that featured a series of exhibition games, and the two are working on adding a change-up and discussing mental aspects of closing.Hes extremely knowledgeable and fun to listen to, Melancon said. Everybody has a different twist on things, but he brings things to light that you never even knew were out there. Its really cool to learn from him. His experience is as good as anybodys.Melancon, who led the majors with 51 saves last season, has plenty of experience himself and is arguably at his peak as a professional pitcher. Baker has seen plenty of closers in his decades in baseball and comes away impressed.He mixes it up: fastball, cutter, curveball, Baker said. Before he had a super curveball, which was his main pitch, but now you cant sit on any one of those pitches. And hes pretty smart about what hes doing.Melancon learned the smarts from Rivera during his time with the Yankees. Melancon has carried on the tradition of the dominant cutter that Rivera made nearly unhittable. Fake Air Max Trainers . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Air Max Wholesale Uk . LOUIS -- St. http://www.fakeairmaxukoutlet.com/best-max-270-trainers-cheap-uk.html . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Cheap Air Max 97 Uk . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Cheap Air Max 90 Uk . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed.TORONTO -- Alex Ovechkin made NHL history, but not because of his accomplishments in his MVP season. The Washington Capitals star was voted an NHL all-star first-team right wing, and because of a voting error also was named to the second team at left wing. Ovechkins position-switch was one of the top stories of the lockout-shortened season, as he played 44 of 48 games as a right-winger. Ovechkin played four games at left wing early in the season alongside linemates Jay Beagle and Joey Crabb. He scored two goals in those four games, both on the power play. Once Ovechkin adjusted to right wing, he finished the season with 23 goals in 23 games and won the Hart Trophy. General manager George McPhee said Ovechkins third MVP was more special because of the work it took to achieve it. Members of The Professional Hockey Writers Association cast votes on the NHL all-star teams. Ovechkin was the runaway winner at right wing, finishing ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightnings Marty St. Louis. But Ovechkin still received 45 votes at left wing, including 41 first-place votes. PHWA members received an email April 22 informing them of Ovechkins position switch before ballots were due. The NHL officially had him listed as a left-winger as of Wednesday. "We are troubled by the all-sstar voting results, and plan to take a closer look at the events that led to Ovechkin winning all-star acclaim at two positions," PHWA president and USA Today hockey reporter Kevin Allen said in a statement.dddddddddddd"We know we got this wrong, and our objective is to make sure it never happens again." Ovechkin was joined as a first-team all-star by Pittsburgh Penguins left-winger Chris Kunitz and centre Sidney Crosby, defencemen P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens and Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Ovechkin was joined as a second-team all-star by St. Louis, Chicago Blackhawks centre Jonathan Toews, defencemen Kris Letang of the Penguins and Francois Beauchemin of the Anaheim Ducks and New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Taylor Hall of the Edmonton Oilers was third in the voting among left-wingers, while Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings was fourth. Mark Messier was also an all-star at two positions -- left wing and centre -- in his career, but those honours did not happen in the same season. During its annual meeting Sunday, the PHWA formed a committee to study the voting process, including eligibility and transparency. ' ' '