Das Feller-Forum » in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

TORONTO – Brett Lawrie is off to a slow start at the plate, just 3-for-29 (.103) entering Wednesday nights tilt with the Astros. Approached to discuss his early season slump, Lawrie obliged but it wasnt long before he got a little help from a friend. "Hell be fine," Jose Reyes shouted as he walked by the discussion. The 24-year-old had a solid Grapefruit League, hitting .339/.373/.484 with two home runs. But thats spring training, the quality of pitching varies (Baseball Reference ranked Lawries mound opponents an 8.6/10) and the types of pitches that get thrown in certain counts are different; often times a pitcher goes into an appearance looking to work on specific parts of his repertoire. Eight games in, Lawrie insists hes not pressing. "Its a long season, man," said Lawrie. "I mean, weve still got 140-plus games so for me to push the panic button right now is no point because its a long year so stay healthy, just keep going and grinding and getting after it. The main thing is that were winning so obviously find positivity there and obviously look to do the job again today and find some way to contribute to the team." The thing is, Lawrie likely is pressing. The fact he doesnt want to talk about it, or admit to it, is fine. "Hes a little mental right now," said hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. "Hes sitting on pitches and hes guessing wrong is whats happening. When that happens you start to lose your approach; you want to get in just to try to hit the ball hard and that ends up being a recipe for disaster. Hes just pressing right now." Lawrie and Seitzer convened for an early Wednesday afternoon hitting session in the batting cage. The aim wasnt to go over significant mechanical tweaks but rather pitch recognition, which is sometimes compromised when a hitter struggles and begins to think too much in the batters box. It appears to the layman observer that the hitch Lawrie had last year has returned to his swing, which occurs just as hes cocking his bat to bring it through the strike zone. "He had some of that in spring training too," said Seitzer. "The late is from tension of reacting to fastballs instead of being ready to hit them and then when you do get one, when youre looking for one and you get it, then you try and do too much and that causes more tension." Manager John Gibbons goes out of his way to praise Lawries maturity, noting his third basemans ability to maintain his composure throughout the early season slump. "Hes come a long way," said Gibbons. Lawrie knows he can contribute in other areas. "Youve got both sides of the coin youve got to worry about," said Lawrie. "Ultimately, if I cant get it done on offence one day than hopefully I can help the team out on defence. Thats kind of how it goes, just try to find a way to contribute." CECIL TAKING CARE Brett Cecil was available for the Blue Jays on Wednesday night against the Astros. He had a 16-pitch, one inning appearance versus Houston on Tuesday and Cecils been careful since spring training not to overextend his arm. "Really what it comes down to is how I feel the day after and how much I can go, whether its just a hitter or a full inning," said Cecil. Cecil made a career-high 60 appearances in 2013, his first full season as a reliever. He was shut down in mid-September, however, suffering from elbow pain. "When I throw one day usually there are no problems, no stiffness," said Cecil. "When I throw two days in a row, the next day it will be a little bit sore. Unless its towards the end of the season, a playoff race or something, that would probably be the only time Id go three days in a row." WAGNER RECALLED Reliever Neil Wagner is back with the Blue Jays, recalled prior to Wednesdays game against the Astros. Right-hander Marcus Walden, who didnt get into a game since joining the Jays on Saturday, was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo. The Blue Jays made no secret that Wagners springtime demotion was strictly a business move – Wagner had an option left and others didnt. "Wagner came into his own last year," said manager John Gibbons. "Hes a guy that can get some big outs late in the game for you." With Casey Janssen still on the disabled list with an abdominal strain and Sergio Santos in the closers role in Janssens stead, the Jays need another late-inning right-hander to work alongside Steve Delabar. Wagner fits the mold. With his mid-to-high 90s fastball, the 30-year-old stuck out 33 hitters in 38 innings over 36 appearances for the Blue Jays last season. BASEBALL PODCAST Each week, Ill sit down with Toronto Star baseball columnist Richard Griffin and MLB.coms Blue Jays beat reporter Gregor Chisholm for the Baseball Podcast. Well discuss the latest news surrounding the ballclub. The aim will be record the podcast each Wednesday but will depend on our respective schedules. Well keep you posted on Twitter. Click here for the first edition, recorded the afternoon of Wednesday, April 9. We talk about the early season performance of the starting rotation, hitters running hot and cold through the first week of the season and last weeks salary deferral revelations. Gary Sheffield Dodgers Jersey . Louis Cardinals continued their offensive tear with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series. Kyle Garlick Jersey . What they did need, the Devils got from Patrik Elias. Elias scored a power-play goal 40 seconds into overtime to give the New Jersey Devils a 3-2 victory over the Dallas Stars. https://www.cheapdodgersonline.com/455h-david-freese-jersey-dodgers.html . - UFC 178, previously announced for Sept. A. J. Pollock Dodgers Jersey . Now comes an off-season of questions about manager Matt Williams decisions and a handful of key roster choices, including what to do about Ryan Zimmerman, whether to sign Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond to long-term deals, and how to upgrade an offence that fell flat in October. Manny Mota Jersey . The Cavaliers first-year forward will miss at least three weeks with a strained left knee, the latest setback for the No.CHICAGO -- Josh Donaldson checked out the video and figured out the problem. The quick fix led to a big night. Donaldson had a career-high five hits while driving in four runs, helping Jon Lester and the Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox 11-2 on Tuesday. Donaldson also scored two runs as Oakland got just its third win in 12 games. It was quite a turnaround for Donaldson after striking out four times the previous night. Watching video at the hotel after Mondays game, the All-Star third baseman noticed the position of his hands was throwing off his timing. "I think baseball is just a stupid game," he said. "Its just one of those things where last night, I didnt even come close to touching anything -- four punches. Tonight, I was able to get the most hits in my career in one game. You just try to turn the page, try to forget it." Lester (14-10) gave up two runs over eight innings, and the Athletics took advantage of a season-high five errors by Chicago. One negative for Oakland was Craig Gentry suffering a concussion in a collision at first base while beating out a bunt single in the fifth. He was replaced by Josh Reddick. The Athletics are trying to hang on to a wild card after plummeting out of the AL West race, and they came away with a much needed win. Lester gave up seven hits, struck out eight and walked two after going 0-3 in his previous four starts. He was sailing along with a 5-0 lead when Dayan Viciedo homered leading off the seventh. Carlos Sanchez got thrown out trying to stretch an RBI double to a triple, ending the inning, and Oakland pulled away. Chicagos John Danks (9-11) lasted six innings, allowing four runs -- two earned -- and seven hits. He is 0-5 in his past eight starts. Third baseman Marcus Semien had a rough night with three errors, and the White Sox lost for the fifth time in six games. "I can look at the plays all I want," Semien said. "I can practice them. I just want to come back tomorrow, have a good day of work, and if Im in there, forget about today and move on." Donaldson singled and scored in a two-run fourth, and then added a two-run double in the fifth to make it 4-0. That hit camee right after Gentry left the game.dddddddddddd Coco Crisp had just reached on an error leading off the inning when Gentry got down a bunt toward the right side. He beat Danks throw, but his head collided with Sanchezs shoulder while the second baseman was covering the bag. Gentry stayed down for several minutes, holding his head while being tended to, before walking gingerly off the field. "Thats tough to see," Lester said. "Thats kind of the whole personality behind this team. You go hard until you get knocked down. We try to use it as a figure of speech, not actually literally go out there and get knocked out. Hopefully its not that bad." TRAINERS ROOM Athletics: Closer Sean Doolittle (strained muscle in the rib area) will throw a side session on Wednesday and, barring a setback, could rejoin the bullpen on Thursday, manager Bob Melvin said. ... Melvin hopes C John Jaso will be cleared to play after he consults with concussion expert Dr. Micky Collins in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. ... Melvin said C/OF Stephen Vogt (sprained left ankle) is improving but not ready to resume baseball activities. White Sox: Manager Robin Ventura isnt sure when retiring 1B Paul Konerko (fractured left hand) will be ready to swing again. He is expected to return before the season -- and his career -- ends. UP NEXT Jeff Samardzija (4-5, 3.70 ERA) makes his first start in Chicago since the Cubs traded him to Oakland on July 5, while Chris Bassitt (0-1, 7.36 ERA) pitches for the White Sox. MISSING CESPEDES? Tuesdays game aside, its no secret Oakland has struggled on offence since sending Yoenis Cespedes to Boston in the Lester trade. But when asked if the Athletics are missing the slugger, Melvin sidestepped the question. "The balance was, do we have enough offence or do we need more pitching?" Melvin said. "And thats what we came to terms with, is when you get a Jon Lester, you get a Jon Lester, and we try to mix and match and pick up the pieces where Ces was." STREAKS END Chicagos Tyler Flowers saw his career-high eight-game hitting streak end, and Adam Eaton snapped an 0-for-14 slide with a single in the sixth. ' ' '