re that part out." Lindholms go-ahead goal came on a deflection on Andrej Sekeras wris

LAKELAND, Florida – That Ricky Romeros name was even being mentioned as a possibility for the last remaining spot in the Blue Jays rotation is an indication of the uncertainty surrounding the clubs starting corps less than two weeks before opening day. The above paragraph could be rewritten, verbatim, with Marcus Stromans name in place of Romeros. After both men had disastrous outings in Tuesdays 18-4 mauling at the hands of the Tigers, its clear that neither is the best option to begin the season in Toronto. Whats also clear is that it isnt clear who the best option is to join R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle, Brandon Morrow and, presumably, Drew Hutchison in a rotation that last season posted baseballs second-worst starting staff ERA (4.81.) Romero and Stroman were outsiders at best to break camp with the big league club and for different reasons. There had been cautious optimism surrounding Romero, the reclamation project, who had been showing some signs of emerging from his two-year funk. Stroman, meanwhile, is a projected future star and rotation cornerstone who, along with Drew Hutchison and Aaron Sanchez, has the coaching staff salivating. Given the mediocre-to-subpar performances of J.A. Happ, Esmil Rogers and Todd Redmond this spring, theres been some consideration, however small, given to handing Stroman a rotation spot. After all, how much lesser of an option is he than any of the others? Romero, scheduled to go four or five innings on Tuesday depending on pitch count, instead went two-and-two-thirds, allowing three runs on three hits, a home run, five walks, a hit batter and two wild pitches. It could have been worse. Romero picked off two of his walks and another was caught stealing. Only 23 of Romeros 57 pitches were strikes. He acknowledged falling behind in counts and not following through in his delivery but also took a shot at Mother Nature. "It was a weird weather day, too," said Romero. "The balls were a little slick and it just kept coming out of my hand and whatnot, but I tried to battle." The game time temperature was 20-celcius. It was a sunny day. There was a breeze, but nothing out of the ordinary. Romero also admitted to being too amped up. "I was a little excited," he said. "I think just getting a start and whatnot, that was the first start Ive had since the Triple-A season ended last year. It was a little different, just trying to get used to it again." "Not enough strikes," said manager John Gibbons. "Today, all the way around, it was just a bad day in every phase of the game. Let that one go. Ive got nothing to say. Its tough for me to analyze that. You were watching what I was watching. You analyze it." While theres no doubt the Blue Jays would enjoy getting some kind of return on the $15.6-million still owed Romero through the end of next season, his name started coming up as a rotation option only after general manager Alex Anthopoulos failed to sign Ervin Santana, a non-move which seems to become more glaring by the day. Gibbons wouldnt commit to whether Romero would get another start. "This ones over," said Gibbons. "It was a bad day all the way around." Stroman was supposed to follow Romero and pitch four or five innings. He recorded only one out before being pulled in the fifth, giving up seven runs on five hits with a walk and a strikeout. "Not enough strikes," said Gibbons. Its pretty simple." Toronto pitchers combined to walk 11 on the afternoon. The Blue Jays need someone to step up, pitch well and take the final rotation spot. Time is running out before the job is awarded to someone by default. Its J.A. Happs turn next. He starts on Wednesday, in Dunedin, against the Phillies. MORROW vs. BUEHRLE IN INTRASQUAD GAME Brandon Morrow, whos being strongly considered to pitch the home opener on April 4 against the Yankees, making him the "fifth" starter, squared off against Mark Buehrle in an intrasquad game in Dunedin on Tuesday. Morrow, who missed the final four months of last season with an entrapped radial nerve in his right forearm, has struggled with fastball command this spring. In three-and-two-thirds innings, he allowed two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out two. Morrow threw 63 pitches; his fastball ranged in the low-to-mid 90s. "I was getting ahead, throwing it where I wanted to," said Morrow. "I think I had a couple looking strikeouts on it. All in all, it was a good day. I felt really good with my curveball. Slider and split couldve been better, but I made some good pitches with those too." Buehrle threw four-and-third innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits (including home runs by Erik Kratz and Kenny Wilson) and two walks. He struck out three and threw 81 pitches. JANSSEN THROWS LIVE BATTING PRACTICE Casey Janssen faced live hitters for the first time since late February. He threw live batting practice on Tuesday morning in Dunedin. "Another step in the right direction," said Janssen. "Got the heart pumping a little bit, which was nice. Im sure Fridays going to be more of the same, hopefully a little bit more in the velocity department, just because therell be defenders behind me." Barring the unforeseen, Janssen is scheduled to appear in his first Grapefruit League game on Friday when the Blue Jays visit the Rays in Port Charlotte. On Tuesday, Janssen threw his fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. He didnt throw his cut fastball. Janssen has been kept out of spring games due to soreness in the back of his right shoulder. The pain is unrelated to his offseason shoulder surgery of a year ago and the discomfort it caused last year. DETERMINING LINDS ROLE Adam Lind got the start against Tigers left-hander Drew Smyly on Tuesday as the club works toward determining whether hell be a strict platoon player this season. "I always can hit lefties; I just cant hit the Cy Young lefties," said Lind. "I cant tell you how many people probably hit David Price well or Jon Lester well or CC (Sabathia) well but unfortunately all those guys are in the same division. Its the beauty of playing in this division. You know where youre at as a baseball player." Linds career splits dont lie. Hes hit right-handers at a .286 BA/.850 OPS clip and hits a home run about once in every 20 at-bats. Against left-handers, the number dwindles to .219BA/.603 OPS with a home run in 2.6-percent of his at-bats. Right-handed hitting Moises Sierra, whos out of options, is the top candidate at the moment to take those at-bats against lefties. The Jays are still trying to figure out the plan. "Hes been swinging it pretty good against some pretty good lefties this spring," said manager John Gibbons. "Well just see where it goes from there. It all stacks up right now, and Sierras that guy, he would face some of the lefties. But, I think, Lindy and (hitting coach Kevin) Seitzer have been working on an approach to face those lefties and lets see where that takes us." Lind succeeded in his goal of staying off the disabled list last season. Hed missed time with a bad back in each of the previous two years. Last offseason, Lind turned to yoga. He enjoyed it and felt that it helped so he took it up a notch this past winter. "I went personal yoga instructor this year," said Lind. "It was nice. She got to know my body and we got a little more specific instead of just having a class with 20 people in it. She would correct me if I was in the wrong positions and things like that. It was nice to have someone to be there just for me." The Blue Jays will employ a yoga instructor to conduct a session on a weekly basis in an effort to curb the number of muscle-related injuries. Lind likes the benefits. "I loved it," he said. "Ill continue to do it even when Im done playing. The way it makes you feel when you walk out of that classroom, you really get away. Theres so much more into it, Im just doing the physical part of it. Im not lost in the yoga world just yet." Atlanta Falcons John Cominsky Jersey . Six years of waiting are finally over for the Dallas defenceman. Daley had a goal and an assist, Kari Lehtonen recorded his fifth shutout of the season, and the Stars clinched their first playoff berth since 2008 with a 3-0 victory against the St. Atlanta Falcons Chris Lindstrom Jersey . Sociedad remained in sixth place with Villarreal a point behind in seventh, both in Europa League spots and in striking distance of fourth place and the final Champions League berth. Sociedad forward Carlos Vela chipped goalkeeper Jaime Jimenez after receiving an equally exquisite lobbed pass from Ruben Pardo to set him up in the 23rd minute at Anoeta Stadium. http://www.cheapfalcons.com/ . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal. Discount Atlanta Falcons Jerseys . 1. Lions WR Calvin Johnson (6 REC, 101 YDS, 1 TD, 10 targets) leads receivers with 1,299 yards and 12 touchdowns, though his 118.1 receiving yards per game ranks second behind Clevelands Josh Gordon. Gordon (10 REC, 261 YDS, 2 TD, 15 targets) is emerging as a superstar, putting up huge numbers even with Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden at quarterback. Atlanta Falcons Kendall Sheffield Jersey . The Durban-based Sharks withstood a furious second-half fightback to beat the Queensland Reds 35-20 for a fourth straight win which gave them a five-point lead atop the championship table. The Hamilton-based Chiefs scored two late tries to beat the Cape Town-based Stormers 36-20 for their third win, after the Stormers rallied from 24-6 down to 24-20 with six minutes remaining.RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes used a strong third period to extend their winning streak to three games. The Hurricanes scored four goals in the third period to rally past the San Jose Sharks 5-3 on Friday night. "That was our best game of the year," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. Elias Lindholm had a goal and two assists to lead the Hurricanes, including the game-winner with six minutes remaining. Jordan Staal, Eric Staal, Riley Nash and Jay Harrison had Carolinas other goals. Cam Ward made 22 saves for the Hurricanes in his return to the lineup after sitting out Carolinas previous two games. Justin Braun, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Tommy Wingels scored for the Sharks. Joe Thornton extended his point streak to eight games with an assist in the first period. Backup goalie Alex Stalock made 30 saves, and San Jose lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time this season. Before the loss to the Hurricanes and Thursdays 5-1 defeat against Pittsburgh, San Jose had won six in a row. "I dont see an energized team right now," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. "I see us chasing and the other team dictating the pace of the game. I see us making sloppy plays, sloppy passes -- even missing assignments that are defensive assignments that we should be able to do in our sleep right now. "That could be lazy or that could be fatigue. We have to figure that part out." Lindholms go-ahead goal came on a deflection on Andrej Sekeras wrist shot. Lindholm knocked it through Stalocks legs after Sekera skated around the perimeter. It was the first career multi-point game for Lindholm, who was Carolinas first-round pick and fifth overall in the 2013 draft. "That was the player we drafted," Muller said. Eric Staal then added an empty-net goal with 30.2 seconds remaining. "That has got to be a big confidence builder for our guys tonight -- to beat a team like that who we havee a lot of respect for tonight," Muller said.dddddddddddd San Jose had tied the score at 3 with 10:25 remaining in the third period on Brauns slap shot from the point. The Hurricanes scored twice earlier in the third period, controlling much of the action to erase a 2-1 deficit. Nash first deflected a Harrison shot above Stalocks left shoulder to tie the score at 2 at 4:54. Jordan Staal then gave Carolina a 3-2 advantage 6:42 into the period when Nathan Gerbe centred the puck into the crease from the corner. Staal jammed at the puck a couple of times, and Stalock couldnt freeze the puck before Staal knocked it into the net. San Jose quickly tried to move past Thursdays loss to the Penguins, scoring twice in the first period to build a 2-0 lead. Wingels opened the scoring after Harrison couldnt connect with Jordan Staal on a pass up the middle of the ice from behind the Hurricanes net. Wingels took advantage of the miscue, batting Jason Demers one-timer from the point by Ward. The Sharks then took a 2-0 lead with 3:29 left in the period when Vlasics wrist shot from the blue line deflected off the skate of Nash and beat Ward. Carolina rebounded with a strong second period, trimming the deficit to 2-1 on Harrisons goal. Harrisons wrist shot from the point hit the boards behind Stalock and bounced into the crease. Stalock couldnt corral the puck, which ricocheted off Stalocks pad and skate before sliding into the net. "We need to regroup, to get some rest," McLellan said. "I hope that is the case." NOTES: With forwards Drayson Bowman and Patrick Dwyer missing the game with injuries, Carolina recalled Zack Boychuk from Charlotte of the AHL before the game. Boychuk played at left wing. ... The Hurricanes also agreed to terms with Carter Sandlak of the Plymouth Whalers on Friday. Sandlak will finish the season in the Ontario Hockey League before the Hurricanes decide where to assign him. 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