R.I.P » manage how much rope he gives those guys

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jeff Samardzija hopes to relive his glory days against the Pittsburgh Pirates when he faces his old National League Central rival for the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night.The former Chicago Cubs ace was once known as a Pirate killer, having won his first four career decisions against them in dominating fashion.Samardzija allowed only five runs in his first 41 1/3 innings (1.09 ERA) against the Pirates.But the right-handers most recent 45 2/3 innings against Pittsburgh have been a different story, one hed like to rewrite. The Pirates have scorched him for 22 runs over that stretch (4.34 ERA), evening their career record against Samardzija at 4-4.These days, the 31-year-old is seen as a guy who hasnt beaten the Pirates since 2013.Thats the same year Tuesdays starter for the Pirates, right-hander Jameson Taillon, was pitching for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic at age 21 with no major league experience.Now two years removed from Tommy John surgery, the rookie has been unleashed by the Pirates, and the results have been impressive.After two months in which he was allowed to pitch into the seventh inning just once, Taillon has gone over 100 pitches for the first two times in his career in 3-2 and 4-0 wins over the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres in his last two starts.The former No. 2 overall pick of the 2010 draft has limited the Reds and Padres to a total of one run and nine hits over 14 innings.Incrementally, hes just working to get a little bit better, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle assessed after the San Diego game last week. Hes a good student of the game.Taillon has never faced the Giants.The club hell see Tuesday has been hitting well the last two days, but with no win to show for it.After the Giants blew a 7-1 lead in an 8-7 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, they pounded out 12 hits on Monday night, only to lose 8-5 to old pal Ryan Vogelsong and the Pirates.The Giants have had backup Trevor Brown behind the plate in both those games, with Buster Posey nursing a sore lower back.Giants manager Bruce Bochy hopes to have his All-Star back for Tuesdays contest.Its better, Bochy reported of Poseys back before Mondays game. But we think were better off giving him another day and getting this cleared up so it doesnt linger.Left fielder Angel Pagan has been the Giants offensive leader of late. He extended his hitting streak to 13 games in Mondays loss, using a double to keep the streak alive for the third consecutive day.He went 2-for-5 in the game, raising his average at home this season to .327 (52-for-159).The Pirates got left fielder Starling Marte back from a back ailment similar to Poseys on Monday night and he contributed both offensively and defensively to the win.Marte had a single and an RBI double in Pittsburghs 12-hit attack, and denied the Giants a second-inning run with a strike to home plate that nailed a sliding Brown by an eyelash.The outfield assist was a National League-leading 14th for Marte. Nike Air Max 97 Plus Sale . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. Wholesale Air Max 97 .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. http://www.outletairmax97.com/nike-air-max-97-off-white-wolf-grey-menta-aj4585-101.html . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Air Max 97 Neon Seoul For Sale . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. Air Max 97 Vapormax Cheap . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. WASHINGTON -- John Tortorella stood in the middle of the ice and bellowed at the top of his lungs: Too slow! Were too slow. Move the puck and skate.Tortorella was imploring Team USA to practice the way he wants them to play at the World Cup of Hockey. The U.S. was built to be big, strong and physical in hopes of beating up a favorite like, say Canada. But to win the tournament, the Americans will need to mix speed, skill and scoring with the old-school Tortorella hockey principles of grinding it out and blocking shots.The teams identity is in-your-face aggressive, while NHL MVP Patrick Kane and talented winger Zach Parise and others will bring the flash and flair as the Americans attempt to avenge a disappointing finish at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.I think a big part of our team and our makeup is our willingness and our physicality, but we also have some skill, Tortorella said. Theres going to be some fast teams here and we do have speed. I think people have kind of got locked in because the way weve gone with our team, yeah, we have some grind to it, but we still have a very quick hockey club here and that has to play into it.Tortorella earned acclaim in 2004 when he coached the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup with the mantra of safe is death. In subsequent stops with the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks and now the Columbus Blue Jackets, the firebrand coach has tried to win by clogging up the middle and demanding players sacrifice their bodies to get in front of pucks.In a best-on-best tournament with star players, Tortorella still wants a buy-in, a commitment to team hockey. The U.S. goal is to be difficult to play against by dictating tempo up the ice and cashing in on the scoring ability of Kane, Pavelski, Max Pacioretty and captain Joe Pavelski.Pavelski believes playing on NHL-size ice in Toronto benefits the U.S., which could get lost on the outside of a wider international rink. It also makes speed imperative.You cant just play a gritty game, said Kane, the Hart Trophy winner with a league-best 1066 points last season.ddddddddddddWith the team in here, the players we have, we want to play a little bit more a physical brand and make it harder on teams to have the puck and when they dont have it, keep it from them and make it harder to get it back. We feel we have all those ingredients in here.U.S. general manager Dean Lombardi didnt want to make an all-star team, either. He wanted to recapture the magic of the 1996 World Cup champions, who beat Canada to win that tournament 20 years ago. He chose gritty players like Detroit Red Wings winger Justin Abdelkader at the expense of better scorers.Like legendary coach Herb Brooks said at the 1980 Olympics, the U.S. doesnt have enough talent to win on talent alone. But it has more than most NHL teams, which presents a challenge on how to handle a group of stars.Tortorella has to manage how much rope he gives those guys, said forward Brandon Dubinsky, who has played for him in New York and Columbus. Kaners not going to play (Tortorellas) type of crash-and-bang game, and he goes out and plays 100 points a year. Youve just got to let that guy play. ... Its just finding a balance but at the same time trying to have an identity as a whole of guys that are just going to go out there and grind away.Even if Jonathan Quick, who will start in goal in the opening game Saturday against Team Europe, is at his best, the Americans need to produce goals. Theyll look to Kane, Parise, Pavelski and Sochi shootout hero T.J Oshie for that but also muck and grind and try to dredge up offense.Theres a time and a place for all of that and establishing ourselves early in games of our physical presence and getting in on the forecheck and our territorial game, center David Backes said. Once we do that, you can let the skill take place when were in the zone and occupying for extended periods of time.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno ' ' '