TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays have both changed somewhat since the teams last met.That was May 16-18 when the Rays swept a three-game series from the Jays at Rogers Centre.This time around, the Rays are trying Brad Miller at first base after he played 86 games this season at shortstop and the Blue Jays are using a six-man starting rotation.Shifting Miller from shortstop to first base will make room for Matt Duffy, who was acquired in a trade with the San Francisco Giants. Duffy will be the shortstop when he comes off the disabled list, possibly Friday.There was nothing wrong with Millers bat. He was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI in the 7-5 loss to the Blue Jays while making his debut at first base.He looked very comfortable over there, Rays manager Kevin Cash said. Brad is putting together a tremendous season for us.With the Rays out of playoff contention, he will be given a crash course at the position to see if it is worth pursuing next season.He will presumably be there again Tuesday when the teams meeting in the second game of the two-game series with Rays left-hander Drew Smyly (3-11, 5.14 ERA) facing Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada (7-4, 2.92 ERA)Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are pursuing the playoffs and are featuring a six-man rotation for now.The reasoning is to keep both Aaron Sanchez and Francisco Liriano starting.The thought had been to put Sanchez in the bullpen to limit his innings after the acquisition of Liriano in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates last week. Sanchez has been so successful in his first full season as a major league starter that his innings are beginning to pile up.Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker said he is no advocate of a six-man rotation, especially earlier in the season, but he feels that at this time, with this staff, it can serve a purpose. For the time being, it works right now, he said.It will give the starters a breather and adjustments can be made as the season continues.The Blue Jays starters this season so far have done better on four days rest, going 30-9 with a 2.91 earned-run average in 56 starts on regular rest.On five days of rest, they are 10-12 with a 4.64 ERA in 33 starts.Estrada has done better this season on his regular four days rest, going 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA. On five days rest, he is 2/3 with a 4.01 ERA.This is his first outing against Tampa Bay this season but he has been successful against them in the past. He is 1-1 with 0.86 ERA against the Rays in seven career outings, including three starts. He is 3-3 with a 2.68 ERA in 10 starts at Rogers Centre this season.Smyly has had success against the Blue Jays, going 2-2 with a 2.65 ERA in eight career outings against the Blue Jays, including five starts. He is 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in four appearances, including two starts, at Roger Centre. In three starts against Toronto this season, he is 1-2 with a 4.08 ERA.Being American League East rivals, there are few secrets between the teams.Weve seen each other so many times its just kind of a cat-and-mouse game for now, said Rays starter Jake Odorizzi, who allowed eight hits and four runs Monday and did not factor in the decision.Fake Jordan . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. 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Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off.RIO DE JANEIRO -- After each of the U.S. field hockey teams first four games here, all of which ended in a win and two of which resulted in upsets, striker Michelle Vittese fielded questions about what sparked her squads Olympic turnaround after finishing last overall at the 2012 London Games.I love the question, Vittese said Saturday, after scoring the lone goal for the Americans in their first loss of the tournament, 2-1 to Great Britain.Its the type of positions we put ourselves in, the uncomfortable places we go to in training, in the weight room, during conditioning and game training. We go to the ugliest places and figure out how to push through and get out of them. That shapes you as a person, makes you mentally fit and helps you get up for games like this. Were so resilient and gritty.That training will also help Vittese and her teammates pick themselves up after their first defeat and refocus for Mondays quarterfinal match against No. 9 Germany. If the Americans want to be defined by their 2016 grittiness rather than their 2012 meltdown, Monday is their moment to prove themselves.Were so process oriented, U.S. captain Lauren Crandall said. Weve been through so many scenarios in tournament play that nothing is a surprise. Theres no panic. Thats the mental preparation weve done to get out of whatever place weve gotten ourselves into.If it sounds like Crandall and Vittese are quoting the same philosopher, thats because they are. To a woman, the members of the U.S. team have bought in to a team philosophy and culture they began creating 3? years ago, after the hiring of their head coach Craig Parnham, a former assistant coach for Great Britain.When our new coaching staff came in, we recommitted to the program, defined our culture and values and started building a family, Crandall said. We pride ourselves on our hard work, persistence, perseverance and family.Three years ago, Parnham wrote a lofty goal on a board at the teams practice facility and asked the women if they were ready to buy in to the idea that they could become the best in the world. He didnt care that they hadnt won an Olympic medal since 1984. He wasnt interested in who they were before his arrival; he wanted to know how good they believed they could be now that he was there.The coaches can push it on you all they want, but unless the players buy in and want to do the work,, you wont get there, Vittese said.dddddddddddd The player buy-in is huge.It meant a complete overhaul of the way they were doing everything from lifting in the weight room to practicing technical drills on the field. It meant transforming themselves from a defensive-minded squad into the most physically fit attacking team in the world. Parnham told his players that with complete commitment, they could push the boundaries of womens field hockey, but they, not him, needed to lead the change.The players drive the culture here, Crandall said. Our coachs philosophy is [for Parnham] to be useless. He wants independent thinkers on his team.But of all the changes to their program, it is their geographical move that has received the most attention. For years, the womens team trained at the U.S. Olympic training center in Chula Vista, California, an idyllic, culturally diverse San Diego suburb located close to the beach but far from home for most of the women, the majority of whom are from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. So Parnham relocated the program from Chula Vista to the field hockey hub of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where players could train year-round in a world-class indoor facility with fewer distractions than they had in Southern California.Theres no party or night life, so its a great place to train and focus on what we need to get done, U.S. goalie Jaclyn Briggs said. It takes the stress off of feeling like Im in my 20s and should be living it up or Im missing out on things.Lancaster is also located in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, where commitment and hard work, community and family are at the center of Amish values. The move to Lancaster allowed the women to slow down, simplify their lives and evaluate what was important.The Amish are community oriented, Crandall said. Its a family-oriented culture, and we are a family. We are so supported there.Now in Rio, 5,000 miles away from home, the women say they can still feel that support, and they believe it will carry them to the gold-medal game.We know you could put your head down for 3? years and still be the first out of the Olympics, Crandall said. That knowledge is what makes us work so hard. Our goal is to stand on that podium. Our goal is to win it all. ' ' '
