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officialsbaseball  
#1 Posted : Saturday, November 17, 2018 12:58:55 PM(UTC)
officialsbaseball

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SAN JOSE Semyon Varlamov Jersey , Calif. (AP) Having missed out on the biggest prize on the free-agent market, the San Jose Sharks are now content to wait and use their ample salary cap space to acquire a difference maker in a trade if one becomes available.The free agency period opened Sunday with star center John Tavares turning down an offer from San Jose to sign a $77 million, seven-year deal with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.The Sharks also finalized a $64 million, eight-year extension with Logan Couture but saw their hopes of teaming him and Tavares as a formidable pair of top two centers thwarted.Wilson said he viewed Tavares as the only difference maker on the open market in free agency and didn’t feel like he missed out on getting another player while negotiating with Tavares.”It didn’t really get in the way of anything else we were looking at because our commitment was to take this swing at him, and we knew that if we didn’t get him and we couldn’t match up to his childhood dream of him going home, we understand that,” Wilson said. ”But we’re still positioned, just like we’ve always been historically to add players through trade.”The Sharks still have approximately $20 million in salary cap space, some of which will be used to re-sign Joe Thornton in a deal that should be completed quickly, according to Wilson. San Jose also needs to sign restricted free agent forwards Tomas Hertl and Chris Tierney but will have money to acquire other players if they become available on the trade market.Wilson sees no reason to rush into any moves with a core in place that also includes high-scoring forwards Evander Kane and Joe Pavelski, defensemen Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brent Burns, as well as goaltender Martin Jones.”As far as exploring other players, we looked at it. John was the one that we wanted to swing at,” Wilson said. ”We feel that we have a very good hockey team. I mean we had 100 points last year without Jumbo and actually without Kaner most of the year. We scored 252 goals. We’ve got a good hockey team, but I’ve always explored every opportunity to add players of this ilk to our team Sergei Boikov Jersey , and that’s what we did. But do we feel like we lost out on anything? No, not really.”Keeping Couture was much easier than luring away Tavares since he never had any desire to leave the franchise he initially joined as a first-round pick in 2007.Couture was San Jose’s most dependable center last season, often matching up against the opponent’s top line and providing plenty of offense of his own from the second line. Couture had a career-high 34 goals last year and was a major part of the power play and penalty killing units.”Everyone loves playing in San Jose,” Couture said. ”I don’t just say that because I play there. You ask around the league and a lot of guys have heard all the great things about playing in San Jose and playing for the Sharks. I think that speaks volumes of why these big-name free agents have the Sharks on their list, because of the great things they hear about the organization, and there’s much about the Sharks that makes it very difficult to want to leave. So I’ve wanted to stay and I’m very happy.”The 29-year-old has 213 goals and 224 assists in 582 career games. He also has been a postseason standout, leading the NHL with 30 points in 2016 when he helped San Jose reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history before losing to Pittsburgh in six games.Couture has 34 goals and 47 assists in 96 career playoff games, ranking in the top 10 in the NHL in playoff goals and points since making his postseason debut in 2010.He feels the pieces are in place for more postseason runs, even without Tavares on board.”Our team’s goal is to win right now,” he said. ”It’s not to wait a few years. We want to go out. We want to win. Obviously the goal going into next year is to win the Stanley Cup. That’s many teams goal. I’m sure Doug has many things he has going on but obviously that’s not my job.— CINCINNATI (AP) — Joey Votto ended the second-longest homer drought of his career with yet another Reds grand slam.Votto homered for the first time in two months on Saturday, connecting for Cincinnati’s 11th slam — one shy of the NL record — and the Reds beat the San Diego Padres 7-2 in a game called because of rain in the top of the seventh inning.The game started an hour early because of a foreboding forecast and was played in a steady rain that intensified with one out in the top of the seventh. Votto connected off Robbie Erlin (3-6) during a seven-run second inning for his first homer since July 9. Votto had gone 36 games without a homer, not counting his long ball in the All-Star Game. He spent time on the disabled list with a sore knee during the span.After hitting 36 homers last season, Votto has only 10.“I didn’t know it was two months,” interim manager Jim Riggleman said. “I knew he’d been stuck on nine for a while.”It was Votto’s second grand slam this season and the fourth of his career. Scott Schebler’s slam during a 12-6 win on Friday night set a franchise record of 10 in a season. The NL mark is 12 and the major league record is 14.Erlin went three innings and gave up eight hits and seven runs, all in the second inning. He struggled to control his pitches in the rain.“It wasn’t just one pitch in particular Youth Jake McCabe Jersey , it was all of them,” Erlin said.Matt Harvey (7-8) allowed Eric Hosmer’s two-run homer and escaped a bases-loaded threat in the fourth. He fanned 10 in six innings, his highest strikeout total since he fanned 10 at San Diego on May 8, 2016, and his ERA rose to 4.87.“You’re working on your routine and then your coach calls and says the game’s an hour and a half earlier,” Harvey said. “It was shocking, but you have to go out and deal with it.”The teams were willing to move up the start time to squeeze in a game with unrelenting rain in the forecast through Sunday. A rainout would force the Padres to fly back from San Francisco on Sept. 27 for a makeup game between last-place teams, and then fly home to finish the season.Sunday’s game was pushed back three hours to 4:10 p.m., when rain is forecast to ease.“We would love, love, love to get these games in here the next couple days,” manager Andy Green said. “I think we’re all in the same boat here. I think everybody was willing to jump to give us that chance.”The teams were coming off little rest. The Reds’ 12-6 win ended at 12:09 a.m. on Saturday because of a 2-hour, 37-minute rain delay.SLAM STUFFThe 1997 Braves and 2000 Cardinals hit 12 grand slams in a season, sharing the NL record. The 2000 Athletics and 2006 Indians hit 14 for the major league record. … The Reds’ 11 grand slams have been hit by Votto (two), Adam Duvall (two) Jason Pominville Jersey Kids , Scooter Gennett, Eugenio Suárez, Jesse Winker, starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani, reliever Todd Lorenzen, Jose Peraza and Schebler.NO IFS, ANDS OR BUNTS ABOUT ITFor the second game in a row, the Padres’ inability to field a bunt cost them. Harvey bunted on a sacrifice attempt in the second inning, but third baseman Wil Myers didn’t charge the ball, turning it into a single that set up Votto’s grand slam. The Padres misplayed two bunts on Friday night during the 12-6 loss.“Wil’s learning a brand new position,” Green said. “This guy’s never played third base. There has to be some measure of patience and understanding.”WALK THIS WAYVotto drew his 100th walk of the season. It’s his sixth season with at least 100 walks, tying Joe Morgan’s club record.TRAINER’S ROOMReds: Scooter Gennett was out of the lineup with a sore right thigh. He missed Thursday’s game and went 0 for 5 on Friday.UP NEXTPadres: Jacob Nix (2-3) is to make his sixth career start. He gave up five runs — matching his career high — during a 7-3 loss to Colorado last Sunday.Reds: Tyler Mahle (7-9) is slated for his first start since being called up from Triple-A. Mahle gave up six runs and lasted only 1 2/3 innings of a 10-4 loss to Washington on Aug. 2, prompting the demotion.
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