Off Topic » Minnesota because of neck stiffness

MINNEAPOLIS -- Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish was scratched from his scheduled start at Minnesota because of neck stiffness he woke up with, and right-hander Scott Baker was summoned back from the bullpen to face his former team Tuesday night. It was yet another injury to a star player for the ailing Rangers, who entered the day with wins in five of their previous six games despite the persistence of health problems. "Just go play. Everyone still has a job to do. Weve lost a lot of good ballplayers, but weve also got a lot of good ballplayers out there," said manager Ron Washington, who learned of the latest setback around noon, seven hours before first pitch. The Rangers were hoping Darvish would be able to avoid the disabled list, but they were waiting for results of a precautionary MRI test on his neck, which was stiff enough in spring training to keep him from pitching for nearly three weeks and delay his season debut by one start until April 6. General manager Jon Daniels told reporters that Darvish said this injury didnt feel as bad as the last one, but given all the time the Rangers have spent in the training room this year they were proceeding cautiously. Baker, who was a second-round draft pick by the Twins out of Oklahoma State in 2003, spent five seasons at the front of their rotation until an elbow injury forced Tommy John ligament replacement surgery in 2012. Baker gave up six runs in six innings Friday at Detroit in his first start of the year but was intended to be moved back to long relief afterward. Against the Twins, he took the mound with three days of rest. Whether he stays in the rotation this time will depend, of course, on Darvishs status. The 27-year-old Japanese sensation is 4-2 in nine starts with a 2.35 ERA, the fourth-best in the league. He has 71 strikeouts in 61 1-3 innings. "If he can pitch Sunday, I want him to pitch," Washington said, acknowledging hed prefer Darvish not have to swing the bat or run the bases with the Rangers playing an interleague series at Washington. The Rangers will have to make a roster move Wednesday regardless, with left-hander Joe Saunders due to come off the disabled list and pitch against the Twins. Saunders has been out since April 4, when he was hit by a line drive on his left ankle in the fourth inning at Tampa Bay. Saunders suffered a stress fracture and made four rehabilitation starts in the minors this month. "Theres no limit on Joe. The Minnesota Twins are going to tell us how limited hes going to be," Washington said. Nike Vapormax Rebajas . A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. Another confirms hes been told to expect his shortly. "The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position. Nike Vapormax España .C. -- Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has been ruled out for Sundays game against the Atlanta Falcons. http://www.baratasvapormax.es/.com) - The Toronto Blue Jays will look to snap a three-game skid Friday night when they continue their road trip in the opener of a three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Nike Vapormax Comprar Online . “The fact that he was willing to do the deal the way we wanted it to be done showed that he wanted me to be a part of something great," Lowry said, noting that Ujiri willingness to sign off on the proposal that both Lowry and his agent presented to the GM was the final straw that convinced him to return. Vapormax Baratas España . TSNs Farhan Lalji reports the Edmonton Eskimos non-import DT has a workout scheduled with an NFL team next week and isnt expected to sign a deal with any team until then.Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - The Calgary Flames have signed head coach Bob Hartley to a multi-year contract extension. The deal was announced Wednesday, 33 games into Hartleys third season as the teams bench boss. He was hired in May 2012 and has gone 71-79-13 with the Flames, who havent made the playoffs siince 2009.dddddddddddd The team has lost its last six games after starting this season 17-8-2. Hartley, 54, has also coached the Colorado Avalanche and Atlanta Thrashers -- now the Winnipeg Jets -- winning 400 of his 813 career games as a coach. He guided the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup title in 2001. ' ' '