SEATTLE -- Brandon Morrow is a different pitcher than he was two years ago when the Seattle Mariners gave up on him and shipped him to the Toronto Blue Jays in a trade. DeAndre Yedlin USA Jersey . He proved that Wednesday night, holding his former team to three hits and one run over six innings in the Blue Jays 5-1 victory. Morrow was supported by three home runs. Edwin Encarnacion homered to open the second, Adam Lind had a three-run shot in the third and Colby Rasmus led off the fourth with his second. The Jays went deep eight times in the three-game series. Morrow (9-7), who didnt allow a hit until there were two outs in the fourth, struck out a season-high 12. Its the fourth time this season he has struck out 10 or more. "Ive changed a lot in two years, not my pitching style necessarily," Morrow said, "but my ability to do what I want with the ball has improved. And my ability to stay in the zone and my ability to stay in the game." This marked the first time Morrow had faced his former team in Seattle, which selected him in the first round of the 2006 draft. He was traded before the 2010 season for current Mariners closer Brandon League. He did not pitch in the Jays visit last season. "I dont think I necessarily pitched up to my ability when I was here," he said. "Ive improved. I enjoyed my time here. It was sad to leave but it ended up to be a good move for both sides." One pitch Morrow regrets throwing was a 97 mph fastball that hit Casper Wells in the face in the sixth inning. Wells, who had his streak of four home runs in four straight games ended, turned his head as the ball approached and was fortunate that it tagged the tip of his nose. Blood poured out as the trainer escorted him off the field. X-rays were negative. "I couldnt tell live where it hit him and the way he reacted I was worried about him," Morrow said. "Im glad hes all right." Wells, with cotton balls stuffed up his nostrils after the game, said, "I have a headache. My nose feels humungous but I think Ill be all right." Mariners manager Eric Wedge said Wells and the club "dodged a bullet." "He should be OK. It hit him in the nose, so it was fortunate it wasnt broken," he said. "Anytime you get up there, its scary." Jesse Litsch, Casey Janssen and Frank Francisco each worked a hitless inning of relief. Encarnacion hit a 1-2 pitch from Blake Beavan (3-4) for his 12th home run. Over his last 19 games, hes hitting .386. Lind, also down in the count at 0-2, connected on his 22nd for a 4-0 lead after three. He has three home runs and 10 RBIs over his last eight games. Beavan went just five innings, throwing 98 pitches. He allowed five runs on six hits. In his last two starts, he has allowed 11 runs and 17 hits in 11 1-3 innings. "The way Brandon came through from the first pitch, he was extremely powerful," Jays manager John Farrell said. "He had his full assortment of pitches. Just an explosive fastball. To think where hes come from in two years time. He has settled into a role here. He was overpowering for his six innings tonight." Morrow acknowledged that there was "some extra incentive, some extra little adrenaline" pitching against his old team. He also was helped by the early lead, allowing him to be more aggressive. "He had four pitches working," Wedge said. "He had a live fastball. It was jumping on us a bit. They made him work a little bit. Thats probably why the ball got away from him late. He was wearing down a little bit." Morrow held the Mariners hitless until two outs in the fourth when Mike Carp roped a clean single to right. Carp has been a tough out since he arrived from triple-A July 19. The single extended his hitting streak to 17 games. He is hitting .379 with four home runs and 18 RBIs during the streak. Carp also has reached base safely in 26 straight games. The Mariners finally reached Morrow in the sixth. With one out, Ichiro Suzuki beat out an infield single. He moved to second on a wild pitch and came home on Franklin Gutierrezs double off the left-centre wall. The threat continued as Ackley walked. With two outs, Wells was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Adam Kennedy replaced him. Morrow then struck out Trayvon Robinson, looking, for his 12th. NOTES: The Mariners finished off their July 30 trade with Detroit with the acquisition of RHP Chance Ruffin. He was the player to be named in the deal that sent RHP Doug Fister and RH David Pauley to the Tigers for Wells, LHP Charlie Furbush and INF Francisco Martinez. To make room on the roster, LHP Aaron Laffey was designated for assignment. Ruffin, 22, a supplement draft pick last June (48th overall), is the son of former big league pitcher Bruce Ruffin. ... C Miguel Olivo, hit on the chin by a foul ball Tuesday, did not start but was available to play for the Mariners ... Jays RHP Dustin McGowan, on a rehab assignment (shoulder surgery) with Double-A New Hampshire, threw four scoreless innings Tuesday, allowing just four hits with 57 pitches. "Next time out well look to increase by an inning or an additional 10 pitches," Farrell said. "The velocity is still there, up to 97. Another very encouraging and positive outing." ... The Jays play at Oakland Thursday and LHP Ricky Romero (11-9, 2.87 ERA) takes the mound. He has won four straight starts. ... the Mariners will travel to Tampa on their off day Thursday and will play the Rays in a three-game series beginning Friday. RHP Felix Hernandez (11-10, 3.38) leads it off. Geoff Cameron Jersey . They are the two best not because of any perimeter player but due to the offensive line of scrimmage players, the lineman. Julian Green USA Jersey .L. - Kael Mouillierat and Jason Jaffray both scored in the shootout as the St.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - This week, in almost every facet imaginable, has been a disaster for the New York Knickerbockers. On the court, the team is mired in a 10-game losing streak, which is two off the longest rut in team history. Their 4-20 start is the worst in team history and their 20 losses are the most in the NBA this season. Thank God for math, (which is a contradictory statement, I get it,) because math is the only thing saving the Knicks from the worst record in the league. The Philadelphia 76ers still own that dubious honor fractionally. The NBA tried to change the rules of drafting to combat the Sixers awfulness. What will the association do if the Knicks earn that distinction? Ban Michael Rapaport? On Monday, team president Phil Jackson said the Knicks possess a losers mentality. He said the team has combated the change in culture. Basically, Phil is disappointed, but those are harsh words from the president, who put together part of this roster embedded with a losers mentality. When it comes to having a losers mentality, what I can take from that, I think when you lose games consistently the same way that were losing games I think its easy to get accustomed to kind of trying not to lose rather than trying to win games, explained superstar Carmelo Anthony. On Tuesday, the Knicks lost to the New Orleans Pelicans. On Wednesday, several reports came out that Anthony and second-year man Tim Hardaway, Jr. butted heads about Anthonys shot selection, his defense, his leadership, his rebounding, you name it. We also learned the Knicks employed the tried-and-true players-only meeting earlier in the week. It was a very productive meeting, Anthony said on Thursday. Everybody had the platform to kind of speak their peace on what they felt about whats going on and how they can better the situation. Then, overnight Thursday into Friday, the New York Post reported that Anthony would be willing to waive his no-trade clause for a better situation. Oof. What a week. If you look at each individual instance, its bad. But Ill tell you all of this is much ado about nothing. Its never a good thing for the team president to introduce the L-word into the equation when speaking about his team. Anthony could be correct in his assessment of the situation, but it could mean a few different things. One, maybe Jackson is trying to motivate his troops in a way head coach Derek Fisher cant. Ive been around flagpoles more animated than Fisher, so perhaps Jackson is stoking the flames for his coach. No matter what, you cant call Jackson wrong in what he said. Brutal honesty is his game. It can sometimes be confused with arrogance, but hes consistent. He and Fisher also both spoke of this resistance to change within the Knicks. Thats 100 percent their problem to fix with these players, or, to find players who can adapt. The philosophical dilemma facing the Knicks is: should we try to mold the players to fit what we want to do, or should we play more to the strength of our roster, but at the expense of what we want to do? Its a toughie. And youve heard by now how awful the triangle offense is in New York, how ineffective the Knicks are at running it and how the players have been wedged into running it like square pegs in round holes. This personnel may not be the best equipped for running this offense, fine. However, its still just an offensive system. Its not radical. Its passing and cutting. Melo is an elite scorer who should thrive in any offensive structure so long as a hoop and a ball are involved. Offense is clearly an issue considering the Knicks rank 27th in scoring, but its hardly the only problem. The Knicks are in middle of the pack defensively in terms of scoring and field-goal percentage. They are 27th in defensive efficiency, which is number of points allowed per possession. New York gets outrebounded by almost three boards per game, which is tied for 26th. They are 29th in rebounding on their own. Basically, there are issues running deeper than the triangle and who Jackson and Fisher are trying to shoe-horn into it. The fighting between players doesnt bother me in the least. It shows some passion, which, frankly, seems to lack on the court. If a team loses 10 in a row, it should be mad. Every member of that squad should be chapped and so be it if its at one of your own. Anytime a superstar gets called out for things, is also a positive in my mind. It means they arent bigger than the establishment. Where I do have a problem is the fact that a second-year, backup shooting guard is the one calling out Anthony. My issue isnt his stature on the team, but this group is so devoid of leadership that Hardaway is the one having to call out Melo? Oh yeah, their leader is a Dallas Maverick, or the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. Theres no one in the locker room who can defuse this siituation. Juan Agudelo Jersey. Fisher appears incapable of controlling the team and calling people out for their problems. Thats a concern, especially on Fishers end. Its probably time for a few non-church words from Fisher. Thankfully, but for the grace of God, theres no lingering issue between Melo and Tim. Me and Tim have no problems. Hell tell you the same thing. Thats pretty much all I can say, Anthony said. Tim is a guy who I always wrapped my arm around and put under my wing from day one, helped him through times when hes been down, and I will continue doing that. This really could be a heat of the moment situation. Neither denied the altercation took place. And, even if they believe their own opinions, and disagree with the others, its time to show some pride. Fights happen when situations stink and emotions are in play. This whole thing shows me at least a few guys care enough to have to be separated. While not believing anothers sources is generally a frowned upon concept, I have serious doubt about Anthony being traded, certainly anytime soon. First, hes 24 games into a five-year, $124 million contract and it seems a tad early for either side to push the panic button. Within the story, writer Marc Berman says Anthony isnt quite there yet on asking for the trade, but might consider. Secondly, how tradable is Anthony at the moment? Hes owed all that money on the current deal and Berman reported he has a trade kicker which is worth 15 percent of the current contract. So, as the Post states, if Anthony was traded on Monday, the Mavs, or Houston Rockets, or Los Angeles Lakers would owe him a lump-sum of $17 million, plus the remainder of the five-year deal. Thats mighty prohibitive. And, finally, who wants Melo at the moment? He missed Wednesdays game with the San Antonio Spurs because of a knee injury, which he said, wont get any worse, but it wont get any better, so its just a matter of how much pain I can take. General managers must be lining up for that kind of financially-crippling, damaged-goods swap. Bad things happen to bad teams throughout the course of the season. The Knicks were bad last season, but not like this. Theyre new to handling embarrassment. Thats what leads to fights and public bickering. It appears to be nothing more than that. Guys are spouting off. The Knicks need to improve in a lot of areas, including making decisions on the triangle. But Fisher needs to be more assertive, even if it contradicts his personality to an extent. Melo isnt going anywhere. Neither are the Knicks this season. What were the expectations? Among pundits I thought I was pretty generous thinking they could contend with the Brooklyn Nets for the eighth seed. No one believed this team was a contender. They are going through the growing pains, or shrinking pains, of a team new to being really bad. Call it the infancy of the rebuild. Maybe this week of nonsense creates a spark. It all looks bad, but these things happen to teams without hope. Just wait until next summer when those Andrea Bargnani and Amare Stoudemire contracts come off the books. There wont be fights then. RANDOM THOUGHTS - The Oklahoma City Thunder are already just 2 1/2 games out of the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Kevin Durant has been in uniform a little over a week and they made up half their deficit already. There are four teams between them for that final spot, but Denver, Sacramento, New Orleans and Phoenix are no match for OKC. In fact, Durant hasnt really played well yet, so this group might end up cruising into the playoffs. - The MVP at the quarter pole, to a lot of people, will be Anthony Davis. Hes a freak. However, my vote would go to James Harden of the Houston Rockets. Dwight Howard was playing well and the two led them to wins. Howard has been down for weeks, and the Rockets keep winning. Houston is a top-three team now in opponents scoring, and while Harden isnt All-Defensive material, hes improved. Plus, the Rockets missed point guard Patrick Beverley for a stretch so all play-making fell on Hardens beard. - Three teams have winning streaks of eight games or longer. - Kobe Bryant profanity-laced tirades make me smile. - Movie moment - Christmas Vacation time of year and Im not one to give financial advice, but Clark may want to cancel the pool. Theres an obscene amount of property damage after that holiday, plus, who knows if he gets hit for the storm sewer explosion, which didnt kill a frail 80-year-old man who flew 20 feet in the air. The police wont cover the expenses when SWAT came in through every window in the building. Insurance, probably not either. Clark just needs to be a little safer with that bonus. - TV moment - Im going to miss the Stephen Colbert character if he doesnt bring that with him to CBS. I understand why he wouldnt, but I dont think hell abandon it totally. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '