BEREA, Ohio - On one knee and far from the action, quarterback Johnny Manziel leaned on his orange helmet and watched.
Gareth
Bale Jersey . This is his new position. As Browns starter Brian Hoyer
worked with Clevelands first-team offence during 11-on-11 drills Thursday,
Manziel, for now relegated to the second string, observed from the side. He took
mental notes as he waited for his turn. This rookie has been no sensation. Hes
not ready to start. Meet Johnny Backup. Failing to make any magic happen in his
first two NFL preseason games and unable to close the gap enough to beat out
Hoyer, Manziel will begin the season as Clevelands No. 2 quarterback, matching
his uniform number. Its not a major surprise given hes had to learn a complex
offence and he entered training camp behind Hoyer. But Manziels inability to
leap-frog Hoyer, a journeyman who has made four career starts and is coming off
knee surgery, shows the jump from college to pros is gargantuan — even for
Johnny Football. "Obviously I didnt want this to be the outcome," Manziel said.
"But at the same time, I didnt necessarily feel I was ready, I felt like there
were steps that I needed to take, and I need to take, to get better." Manziel
has shown flashes, just not enough. Still, the Browns have seen promise in him,
and Manziels immense fan base now has members inside Clevelands locker room. "We
got arguably the best No. 2 in the NFL," said wide receiver Nate Burleson. "Im a
Johnny Football fan. Not only was I a fan before he got here, but now hes family
because we play for the same team. Ill always be in his corner." Manziel has
improved in recent weeks. Hes got a much better grasp on offensive co-ordinator
Kyle Shanahans playbook and its tongue-twisting verbiage; some plays contain 17
words. Hes made better decisions with the ball, and hes won over some skeptical
teammates with a solid work ethic and humble attitude. Trouble is, Manziel may
have damaged his chances to win the starting job before camp with his
well-documented partying. The photos of Manziel chugging champagne while
floating on an inflatable swan, talking into a phone made of money, and rolling
a dollar bill in a bathroom brought him unwanted attention. The Browns were
privately concerned about Manziels behaviour and warned him about it. He
obliged, but had two recent missteps: being late for a team meeting and flipping
his middle finger at the Redskins sideline Monday night on national TV. The
gesture, relatively harmless compared to other things than go on during a game,
may have reinforced the belief of coach Mike Pettine and his staff that Manziel
wasnt prepared mentally or physically to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept.
7. Sitting and waiting is nothing new for Manziel. He was so far behind when he
got to Texas A&M that the Aggies redshirted him as a freshman. It wasnt
long, though, before he was the big man on campus and quickly the biggest name
in college football, a one-man scrambling highlights machine. Manziel, who has
completed 14 of 27 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown, said nothing has
surprised him so far. "Its exactly what I thought it would be," he said. "I knew
it would be a big step, a big learning process. If people would have seen me my
first year at A&M they wouldve said no way this kid could get to where Im at
today. People dont understand that my first year-and-a-half at A&M I was
terrible. "I just continued to try and get better, learn the playbook, got more
comfortable around everybody, around the coaches with the system, and then good
things happened for me." Pettine said there wont be a "leash" on Hoyer, who will
get an opportunity to take the job and run with it. But the Browns difficult
early schedule — theyll host New Orleans and Baltimore after facing the Steelers
— could make things interesting if theyre 0-3 or 1-2 at the bye week. Manziel
isnt the first prominent rookie to take a back seat in Year 1. Hell find his
path, and knowing Manziel, it wont be a straight one. "You dont have to come in
from your first day of your rookie season and play right away," he said. "Theres
no exact guideline to how this process works with young quarterbacks. For me, I
need to continue to do what I need to do to get better as a football player, get
smarter and learn more, control what I can control and everything will work out
fine for me." NOTES: Pettine plans to play his starters most of the first half
against St. Louis on Saturday. Pettine is also leaning toward his starters
playing in the exhibition finale against Chicago. ... Pettine said WR
Josh Gordons pending NFL suspension has weighed on the Pro Bowler. "He wants to
get on with it and move forward," Pettine said. "Just being in limbo for so
long, it can be draining." ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and
www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
Ashley
Williams Wales Jersey . Pinch-hitter Tommy Medica singled in the go-ahead
run in the eighth inning and the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in their
first home game since Gwynn died of cancer Monday.
Aaron
Ramsey Wales Jersey . Left back Layvin Kurzawa put Monaco ahead in the
36th minute with a low shot after being set up by midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia,
sweeping the ball in after running onto Kondogbias cross from the left.
http://www.soccerwalesshop.com/joe-allen-wales-UEFA-EURO-jersey/ . Assistant coach Glen Gulutzan said Thursday that Edler, who played Tuesday in
Nashville, is out indefinitely.PORT CHARLOTTE, Florida – Aaron Sanchez was so
impressive on Friday afternoon against the Rays big league line-up, he had Tampa
Bays hitters giving him props to catcher Dioner Navarro. "Theyve never seen
him," said Navarro. "Theyve never faced him and they get this young, lanky, tall
guy whos throwing cheese and hes got pretty good movement. I think his composure
on the mound was pretty good, his demeanour was pretty good, his body language,
everything around him was pretty good today." Sanchez played the role of top
prospect, shutting out the Rays over five-and-a-third innings in Torontos 5-0
win. He allowed three hits, all singles, and walked three, but helped his cause
be forcing three double-play balls. One each came off the bats of Evan Longoria
and Wil Myers. Sanchez struck out two, his fastball was clocked consistently in
the mid-90s and his patented curveball was sharp. "It was extremely impressive,
theres no doubt about it," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "He came out
throwing strikes. He was composed. Faced their line-up, Im sure close to their
opening day line-up, faced all their big hitters and certainly handled them
pretty well. Pounded the zone, got ahead of the hitters, didnt work from behind
in the count, showed an explosive fastball and, like I said, a lot of poise and
a lot of ground-ball outs." Watching Sanchez pitch on Saturday, its easy to fall
in love with his stuff, his composure, and easy to forget about where he is in
his career. The Blue Jays have taken great care, some would say too much care,
since drafting him 34th-overall in 2010. Hes only 21, turns 22 on Canada Day,
and hasnt thrown a pitch in pro ball above High-A Dunedin. Sanchez hasnt
exceeded 100 innings in three pro seasons, although factoring in Arizona Fall
League appearances, combined with his time in Dunedin, he tossed 109 2/3 last
year. If the Blue Jays increase his innings load by 20 per cent this year, hed
throw approximately 130. A 30 per cent increase and Sanchez would throw about
140 innings. He authored a 3.34 ERA in 22 appearances, 20 starts, for Dunedin in
2013. His strikeouts per nine innings dropped to 7.8, but that was by design.
Hes worked to become a better ground ball pitcher, which was evidenced by the
double play turns in Fridays game. Its tempting for a coaching staff that can
see the future but knows another failed season likely means it wont be a part of
it; a coaching staff which knows theres at least one glaring hole in the current
composition of its starting rotation. "I guess it would be hard not to just from
watching and laying eyes on him," said Walker of whether he thinks about Sanchez
breaking camp. "But obviously we want to make sure hes ready when the time
comes." Hes an affable young man, but also smart. Sanchez doesnt make much noise
around the clubhouse; he knows his role as a young player. Hes the Blue Jays top
pitching prospect but restricts the projection of swagger and confidence to his
mound appearances. "Its good to get my feet wet," said Sanchez of his first big
league camp. "Coming into camp, for me, it was to soak everything all in, learn
from the veteran guys, just go out and have fun." "I think some of the
intangible things that you try to look for in young players in an atmosphere
that can be uncomfortable at times, you know, is he so reserved? Is he getting
involved in the drills and some of the meetings? Hes handled himself very well
and that says a lot about his character and who he is," said bench coach DeMarlo
Hale, who served as manager on Friday. It rremains to be seen whether Sanchez
will throw again for the Blue Jays in spring training.
Ashley
Williams Jersey. . Walker will sit down with manager John Gibbons and draw
up a schedule. Sanchez likely starts his season at Double-A New Hampshire. A
good showing there and its next stop, Buffalo. Or, maybe, Toronto. THE PIGGYBACK
Theres been open musing in the press box about the idea of Dustin McGowan
joining R.A. Dickey, Brandon Morrow, Mark Buehrle and Drew Hutchison in the
starting rotation. Why not cap McGowan at four or five innings as he builds up
arm strength and piggyback him with one of two long relievers, either
Esmil Rogers or Todd Redmond? "Still trying to sort through it," said pitching
coach Pete Walker when presented with the idea. "Obviously, theres still some
time left in spring training. Guys are going to get the ball; get their
opportunities to stand out right now. Obviously, Dustin looked great yesterday
and Sanchez looked great today and the other guys, Redmond and Rogers, have
thrown the ball well. Obviously, wed like to see [J.A.] Happ pitch well on the
25th and well continue to take a look at how it works out." Walker didnt have
the opportunity to speak to McGowan before leaving for Port Charlotte, but said
reports are the 31-year-old "felt fine" after throwing three scoreless innings
against the Phillies on Thursday. TUIASOSOPOS NUMBERS General manager Alex
Anthopoulos ist shy about scouring the waiver wire for players. On Thursday, he
picked up Matt Tuiasosopo from the Diamondbacks. "Played well for the Tigers
last year and we had good reports on him," said Anthopoulos in a statement. "He
gives us a right-handed bat that gives us positional versatility. Obviously,
there isnt a lot of time left but hell come in and compete for a spot." Time is
of the essence and Tuiasosopo is going to need more of it than usual to join the
ballclub. He was in Australia, where the Diamondbacks are opening their regular
season with two games against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Its difficult to see, on
the surface, where Tuiasosopo fits in. Hes a right-handed bat who got off to a
strong start with the Tigers last season, hitting six of his seven home runs
before the All-Star break, including four in a personal five-game span between
June 18 and July 11. He can play the corner outfield positions, first base and
third base in a pinch. "Youre talking about, maybe, from the right side where
there could be an option there," said bench coach DeMarlo Hale. Tuiasosopo hasnt
proven he can hit left-handers at the big league level. In 194 at-bats against
lefties, Tuiasosopo has hit .196/.287/.345 with eight home runs. Against
right-handers, his slash line is .221/.287/.368. Over his major league career,
Tuiasosopo has struck out in 31.7 per cent of his big league at-bats. By
comparison, while acknowledging the sample size is small, Moises Sierra hits
left-handers at a .267/.327/.478 clip with four home runs. "Decisions havent
been made, Im sure of that," said Hale. "I cant speak for Alex and Gibby, but it
becomes added depth and well see what hes got over these next four or five days
left of spring training.” Like Sierra, Tuiasosopo is out of options, meaning he
would first have to pass through waivers before being assigned to the minor
leagues. If the Blue Jays go with an eight-man bullpen to start the season,
carrying both is out of the question. The back-up catcher, likely Erik Kratz,
and Maicer Izturis must be accounted for, which leaves only one additional
roster spot.
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