ve well over the left-field fence for his first career h

TORONTO – While assessing Brett Lawries season up to this point, its important to consider that the 24-year-old is doing something for his team that few other players, if any, could. One day, hes providing the Blue Jays with Gold Glove-calibre defence at third base. The next, hes more than holding his own at second base. All the while, Lawries posting respectable offensive numbers overall and is providing an elite bat in clutch situations. It would be ignorant to look at Lawries slash line of .224/.275/.412 entering Sundays action and conclude hes having a down year. Consider that Lawrie already has eight home runs, going deep in 4.8 per cent of his at-bats. Thats a marked uptick from last year (2.7 per cent) and 2012 (2.2 per cent). Lawrie also has 26 RBI, which ranks him third on the club behind Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. His best work has been done with runners in scoring position (RISP). With runners on second, third or both, Lawrie is hitting .366/.400/.732 (1.132 OPS) with four home runs and 21 RBI. All of it, as a reminder, while playing a third base/second base hybrid. Not even Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays does that anymore. When Zobrist hasnt been hurt this season, hes predominantly been a second baseman. “I dont see any player in the league doing it, unless youre a utility player, which hes not,” infield coach Luis Rivera told TSN.ca. “Its tough because hes very good at third base. Hes one of the best third baseman and then you have to move to second base. He was at second base before, hes learning the position again and there are a few things he needs to continue to work on and he can be better than what he is right now.” Lawrie goes about his business, taking ground balls during batting practice at the position hes scheduled to play that day. That, in and of itself, would be overwhelming for some players. Yet it isnt for a player, still young, who earned himself a reputation for being hot-headed and immature, two labels which should be dissipating by the day. “Its tough knowing one day youre here, the next day youre there,” said Rivera. “Mentally, you have to prepare. You have to be mentally strong.” The terms “Lawrie” and “mentally strong” didnt used to be used in the same sentence, thanks in large part to incidents like the infamous helmet-throwing incident in May, 2012 and his stare down of Rivera and Adam Lind when Lind didnt score on a Lawrie fly ball 52 Sundays ago. Considering what hes being asked to do and considering the success with which hes accomplishing the request, maybe its time to give Lawrie some credit. “Theres a lot going on, man,” said Lawrie. “Theres always a lot going on, especially now just from having to play all over the park and just Ive got a lot of stuff going on, but for the most part Im just trying not to think about it too much even though there is a lot going on.” Hes a third baseman, hell tell you that repeatedly and Lawries proud hes made himself an elite third bagger at the big league level, which is a testament to his athleticism. Hes all-in on the move because it makes the platoon splits work for manager John Gibbons. Lawrie is at third and Steve Tolleson at second when Toronto faces a left-handed pitcher; Lawries at second and Juan Francisco at third base when the Blue Jays take on a right-hander. “Its just something that I have to do for the team and its what makes the team a little bit better, so for myself, its just what I have to do in order to make this ball club better and to, obviously, win ballgames,” said Lawrie. “The most important thing is that he wanted to do it,” said Rivera. “So if hes willing to do it, hes going to be fine, but when you fight yourself not to go one place and then play another position, play third base, ‘I dont want to play second base, thats going to make it real hard on him, on the coaches and on the team. Right now, hes willing to do both, so thats the easy part.” After Sundays series-sweeping 3-1 win over Oakland, the Jays sixth in a row, 11th in 13 games and 16th out of 21, getting a buy-in from Lawrie is a much easier task. “Its just fun,” said Lawrie. “Its just good to be competing. Thats the biggest thing is just being able to go out everyday and compete and, obviously, have a chance to win a ballgame every single day. Thats the biggest thing, but just competing on an everyday basis as a group is obviously a lot of fun.” John Kelly Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Brian Allen Jersey . Villar connected off Joe Saunders (11-14), sending a drive well over the left-field fence for his first career homer. The Astros scored six times in the first three innings to chase Saunders. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-Sam-Shields-Jersey/. He also had some help Monday night.Hibbert scored a season-high 29 points to help Indiana beat the Utah Jazz 97-86 Monday night, ending the Pacers six-game losing streak. Brandon Allen Rams Jersey . - Leon Draisaitl scored a hat trick as the Prince Albert Raiders stormed past the Swift Current Broncos 5-2 in Western Hockey League action Tuesday. Los Angeles Rams Jerseys .com) - The Golden State Warriors have started another winning streak and theyll try to pad it Tuesday night when they head to Staples Center to face the Los Angeles Lakers. ENDICOTT, N.Y. -- Bernhard Langer rallied to win the Dicks Sporting Goods Open on Sunday for his fifth Champions Tour victory of the year, while Kevin Sutherland followed his tour-record 59 with a 74 to drop into a tie for seventh. The 56-year-old Langer played all 54 holes without a bogey, closing with a 6-under 66 for a one-stroke victory over Woody Austin and Mark OMeara. Langer finished at 16-under 200 at En-Joie for his 23rd career victory on the 50-and-over tour. "It doesnt happen very often you go through a tournament without a bogey," Langer said. Sutherland, the second-round leader, had five bogeys -- four on the first 10 holes -- and three birdies in the final round. Playing his third Champions Tour event since turning 50 in June, he finished at 12 under. Sutherland said he was pressing too much early. "So, I made some dumb bogeys," Sutherland said. "Just got myself behind early. I was surprised I didnt play better today. A lot of energy was expended (Saturday) and I think I had a hard time just getting into the round." Langer said he really wasnt watching the leaderboard. "I knew I was close," Langger said.dddddddddddd "I just tried to keep my head down and make quality shots. When I looked at 16, I saw I was one up on someone who had already finished the round and figured I would be OK if I just parred out." That he did, and won for the first time with his daughter, Christina, serving as his caddie. "I was more nervous for her than for me," Langer said. "We hadnt won a tournament with her caddying, though Ive won a couple with my son. Its always special when your kids are caddying." Christina is a junior at Florida Atlantic University. Austin had a 65, and OMeara shot 66. Langer, tied for fifth with Bob Charles on the tour victory list, earned $277,500 to increase his tour-leading total to $2,652,520. The German has three victories in his last five starts. Steve Lowery had a 72 to tie for fourth at 13 under. After challenging Langer for most of the round he hit into the pond on the par-3 14th en route to a double bogey and dropped another stroke on the par-4 15th. Lowery birdied Nos. 7, 8, 9 and 11 to take a one-stroke lead at 15 under. On the 14th, Langer made a 20-foot birdie putt for a three-stroke swing. 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