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TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers several questions each week. This weeks topics include the Blue Jays handling of Adam Linds injury, the As and Cubs trade, biggest surprises and disappointments, and Brian McCann in New York. 1) Toronto Blue Jays DH Adam Lind is out for six-to-eight weeks after being diagnosed with a fracture in his right foot. He was originally hurt on June 14th and the injury was diagnosed by the club as a deep bruise following a CT scan. What, if anything, does this say about how the Blue Jays handled his injury? Things like this happen. It is embarrassing for an organization though when it does. It is particularly embarrassing to the medical department of the team. The teams head physician has some questions to answer. As a general manager, I became a doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, accountant and motivational speaker depending upon the situation. That being said, general managers are only doctors in so far as they understand what happens with baseball injuries. Only the team physician is qualified to diagnose injuries. Only the doctor writes up the prescription for diagnostic tests. General managers can play devils advocate and challenge a doctors thinking but that is it. Clearly the doctor struck out on this one. Lind did what players do; they play with pain. Players are taught to learn the difference between pain and injury. When the pain didnt go away, Lind realized he might be dealing with an injury. Actually, it was Linds mom who finally pushed him to request an MRI. I am not sure why an MRI is not part of the immediate diagnostic protocol for contusion injuries like this. It should be and probably will be from now on. Too many mistakes like this and the Jays may have to consider a new team doctor even for someone who has been around for a long time. Remember, mother knows best! 2) Late last week, the Oakland As beat the rush and acquired Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel for their top prospect Addison Russell and two other prospects. What did you make of not only the timing of the deal, but also what each team got? I have always been a firm believer that teams in the playoff hunt should go for it when they have the chance. The Oakland As went for it in a big way with this deal. The As were the best team in the game before the trade and this further reinforced that position. One of the big knocks against Billy Beane, As General Manager, is that his teams have been good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough to win once they are there. In other words, they were built to win over 162 games but lacked the impact to win in a short series. With the acquisition of Samardzija and Hammel the As added the kind of starting pitching that gives them a much better shot of getting to the playoffs and winning games when they are there. Beane gave up an extraordinary talent in Addison Russell. It was the right thing to do. Prospects get general managers fired. When I had a chance to win I gave up whatever prospect I needed in order to land players that would help me win now. For every prospect that fulfills his ultimate potential, there are 20 who do not. Even if the prospect that is traded becomes a great player the time value of the veteran player to help a team win now is worth it. Teams that win World Series take calculated risks in order to win. They sign a big free agent. They make a trade. They give up a top prospect to get the final piece to the puzzle. When I made the tough decision to fire coaches from under my manager, Bobby Valentine, it worked. My owner said it was a $30 million decision. We ended up going to the playoffs and then to the NLCS. We didnt make $30 million but the swing was that significant. If we had fallen apart that year we would have sold fewer tickets that season and it would have negatively impacted ticket and sponsorship sales the next year too. Instead, making the playoffs allowed more ticket sales that season. It included money made while in the playoffs and it generated excitement for the sale of tickets the following season. The Cubs made a great trade. So many times when teams are sellers at the deadline they try to acquire talent to fit a particular role. Theo Epstein, Cubs GM, didnt do that. He acquired the best possible talent regardless of the role. Russell is an exciting blue chip shortstop prospect. The Cubs already have young veteran Starling Castro and top prospect, Javier Baez, in the organization. The Cubs cant win with three shortstops but Epstein understands that he can turn one of them into whatever he wants. This was a win-win deal for both sides. The As are going to win more now but the Cubs will be winners soon enough too. 3) With the All-Star Break nearly upon us, which player or teams have been the biggest surprise to you, and which have been the biggest disappointments? As we head into the All-Star break, my most pleasant surprise is the Milwaukee Brewers. I actually thought they would be in the hunt for a Wild Card spot this year but they have been even better than expected. Manager Ron Roenicke made a bold move when he replaced his closer a day before the season. Francisco Rodriguez has been nearly perfect. The Brewers are winning the games they are supposed to win. The starting rotation has been consistently effective and gives them a chance to win every night. Offensively, they have a deep and productive lineup. They are second in the NL in runs scored. The Brewers have five players with double-digit home runs and five with 40+ RBI. With the injury to Cards catcher Yadier Molina and the numerous other injuries, the Cards may be done. Plus the Cardinals have struggled offensively. In 2013 they hit .330 with runners in scoring position while this year they are only hitting .246 in similar situations. The Reds have been bitten by the injury bug as well as they lost Brandon Phillips in a similar way that the Cards lost Molina. Homer Bailey has struggled this year and he left yesterdays game with an apparent knee injury. They had significant lost time from Matt Latos and Aroldis Chapman, while Jay Bruce and others have underperformed. The Pirates look a bit like the Pirates again. Everything seems to be going in the Brewers favor. It is their division to lose. The biggest disappointment is the Boston Red Sox. It is always difficult to repeat but I did not anticipate a last place finish. This team resembles the Bobby Valentine team from 2012. The team that won the World Series a year ago led the AL in runs scored by a significant margin (+59 on next closest team). This years team has scored the fewest runs in the league. Certainly they miss Jacoby Ellsbury, but this much? The Sox last year stole 123 bases and were caught only 19 times. So far this year they have stolen only 28 bases while being caught 19 times. The 2013 World Series champs hit 178 home runs while this years version is on pace for 116 homers. So no power and no speed equals no winning. I dont anticipate this Sox team to make the kind of run necessary to get back in the playoff hunt. John Lester and Clay Buchholz arent nearly the pitchers they were a year ago. The Red Sox are going to be sellers this year, not buyers. 4) This past week, Atlanta Braves hitting coach Terry Pendelton said, “New York is not Brian (McCann). Thats my opinion. I knew if he chose New York, there would be more than he expected or knew about. Hell never be comfortable with that …” He obviously doesnt think that Brian McCann has the temperament necessary to handle New York. Pendelton may be right. Not everyone can handle the game in New York, it is a different market than any other city. There are more beat writers and columnist and bloggers in NY than anywhere else. The talk radio is vicious when things are going well. Can you imagine how bad it can be when things are going poorly? McCann is an easy-going southern boy from just outside of Atlanta. He has the kind of background that New York can chew up and spit out. One of the most significant challenges for ball players in New York is that fans boo when they are unhappy and frustrated. This can paralyze even the most talented players. Back when I was general manager I made a trade to acquire Hall of Famer Robbie Alomar. He had just come off a season with the Indians in which he hit .300 with 20 homers, 20 stolen bases, 100 RBI and 100 runs scored. We got off to a slow start the next year and Alomar and the rest of the team got booed. Alomar was paralyzed by the booing and never performed like the Hall of Famer he was. Pendeltons comments came at a perfect time. Not because of McCann but because this is the last All-Star game that we have to honor Derek Jeter. What Jeter has done in New York is absolutely amazing. He was rarely, if ever, booed in New York. He played there for 20 years and never put himself in a position to be booed. That is remarkable. Jeter is as consistent a player and person that baseball has ever seen. He got the job done in the field and at the plate. He always delivered. If the Yankees needed a leadoff hit, he got on base. If they needed a stolen base, he swiped one. If they needed a homer, he crushed one. If the Yankees needed a great defensive play, he dove in the stands and made one. His way to overcome booing is to never give them a reason to boo you. Even more remarkable to me is how Jeter lived his life off the field in the fishbowl that is New York City. He was never in the gossip columns of the tabloids. He was never at the center of a scandal. In an era where everyone has camera phones, the fact that Jeter has never been caught in a compromising position is remarkable. So in a week where we wonder whether a Yankee can handle playing in New York, we celebrate one that has done it better than anyone else. Derek Jeter is an extraordinary leader. Maybe one of his last acts of leadership will be to help Brian McCann cope with New York. I have a love/hate relationship with Jeter. I hated him because he always found a way to beat my teams. I loved him because I have such respect for the way he has carried himself on and off the field. He is as classy as any player ever. Baseball will miss Jeter. I for one will watch the All-Star Game on Tuesday to celebrate Derek Jeter. I hope you do too. Harry Carson Youth Jersey . Thaddeus Young scored seven of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Evan Turner added 22 points, and the 76ers hung on for their first road win since Nov. 1, beating the depleted Los Angeles Lakers 111-104 on Sunday night. Lawrence Taylor Youth Jersey . Finlands Kari Lehtonen made 26 saves to lead Dallas over the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 Saturday night. He received plenty of help from the Stars defence and got goals from Ray Whitney and Russias Valeri Nichushkin. http://www.nygiantsfanaticshop.com/Black-Dexter-Lawrence-Giants-Jersey.html?cat=966 . Last July, F1 teams held in-season testing sessions at Silverstone to assess new tires provided by Pirelli after several blowouts on the same circuit at the British Grand Prix in June prompted a furious response from drivers and even a boycott threat the following week. Darius Slayton Youth Jersey . The alley-oop looked easy -- just like everything else after halftime for the Miami Heat. James scored 32 points, Wade added 22 points and eight assists, and the Heat trailed by 11 early in the second half before running away to a 107-88 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Eli Manning Giants Jersey .com) - Even on the day his New Hampshire football team became the nations top-ranked team two weeks ago, coach Sean McDonnell conceded something about the team they replaced at No.SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The San Jose Sharks spent seven games struggling to get the puck past Jonathan Quick in a playoff loss a year ago. Quick struggled to stop anything in the opener of the rematch. Tomas Hertl and Raffi Torres both scored in their first game together as teammates and the Sharks jumped on top of Quick and the rival Los Angeles Kings with a 6-3 victory in their playoff opener Thursday night. "We got fortunate with a couple of those goals," captain Joe Thornton said. "Just a weird night." Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also scored for the Sharks, who were stymied by Quick in losing a seven-game series to Los Angeles in the second round last year. Antti Niemi made 31 saves. Quick allowed three goals in the first period for the first time in his playoff career, including two in the final minute as the Kings fell behind 5-0 after two periods. Quick was replaced by Martin Jones in the third period and only watched as the Kings showed life with goals from Jake Muzzin, Slava Voynov and Trevor Lewis. But Brent Burns sealed it with an empty-net goal as the home team won for the 17th time in the past 18 meetings between these teams. "We just werent ready to play from the get-go," Kings captain Dustin Brown said. "We played into their hands and thats what the score should be." Game 2 is Sunday in San Jose. The Sharks were the healthiest they have been all season with Torres back after missing all but five games in the regular season and Hertl playing for just the third time since Brown injured him with an illegal knee-on-knee hit on Dec. 19 in a play that still riles the Sharks. They got payback in the best way possible with a dominating opening two periods that showed off their much-improved depth when they are healthy. They got goals from all four lines and their defence to beat the Kings by more than one goal for the first time since Nov. 7, 2011. "We didnt give up very much, we got on the attack and had everybody involved," coach Todd McLellan said. "I thought our goaltender made some real good saves in those two periods to keep us ahead." The game had even added meaning for Hertl and Torres. Heertl talked before the series of his dislike for the Kings and said this series would be personal because of the injury.dddddddddddd Torres was suspended for the final six games of last years series for a hit to the head of Jarret Stoll in a punishment the Sharks and Torres felt was unjust. "Im not really worried about who I play, I just want to be able to play and contribute and all that stuff," Torres said. The Sharks had nothing to complain about after this game as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held on for the victory. The third playoff series in four years between these heated California rivals got off to an odd start as there was a power outage at SAP Center just minutes before the start of pregame warmups. The lights came back on about five minutes later and the players warmed up without the usual blaring music. But by the time the puck dropped, the towel-waving crowd was at its usual fever pitch chanting "Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.!" right from the start. The cheers only got louder during a dominant first period that featured a combined 55 hits from the two teams, three goals from the Sharks and a scrum after Mike Brown pushed Voynov into Quick after the whistle. "Thats playoff hockey," Brown said. "We have to get to the net and get pucks to the net. Thats what I did." Thorntons deflection of Joe Pavelskis shot from the slot on a chance created by Burns hustle to negate an icing gave San Jose the early lead. San Jose broke things open with two goals in the final minute off broken plays. James Sheppard miss-hit a one-timer that slid right to Hertl, who tapped it in to make it 2-0 with 51.7 seconds to play. Marleau then made it 3-0 with 3.2 seconds to play to cap a 2-on-1 with Matt Nieto, who failed to get off a one-timer but instead slid the puck back to Marleau for his 58th career playoff goal. "When you come into a building like this you have to be prepared to face an onslaught at the beginning of the game," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "We didnt do a good job of preparing for that." NOTES: Brown played a night after his wife, Kati, gave birth to their second son, Zane Michael. ... Jones made four saves in his first career playoff game. ' ' '