KANSAS CITY – For the fourth time in seven games, the Blue Jays blew a lead of at least three runs. Martin Jones Sharks Jersey . While it would be easy to lay this one on the bullpen - Steve Delabar, Brett Cecil, Sergio Santos and Esmil Rogers got tagged for eight runs in the final two innings - this loss, by a final score of 10-7 to the Royals, was a total team effort. So much so, in fact, that manager John Gibbons, Kansas Citys bench coach as recently as 2011, took a veiled shot at his club while praising his old team. “I will say one thing about that team over there, because I was there when they were young,” said Gibbons. “They play nine innings. I dont care, up or down, they compete and they get after your ass and thats why theyre going to end up winning it one day.” Perhaps Gibbons was upset with catcher Dioner Navarro, who put on a clinic of how not to play defence in the second inning. First, with Royals at the corners and one out, Navarro attempted to back hand a Dustin McGowan slider in the dirt. The ball skipped off Navarros shin guard and towards the Royals first base dugout. Billy Butler, the runner on third, scored. Later in the second, again with runners at the corners, Navarro inexplicably attempted to throw out Alcides Escobar trying to steal second. The throw was offline and bounced into centrefield, allowing Alex Gordon, who was on third, to score. Perhaps Gibbons was upset with Edwin Encarnacion who, with two runners on and one out in the seventh, didnt hustle down the first baseline on a ground ball back to pitcher Kelvin Herrera. Usually a routine play, Herreras throw brought first baseman Eric Hosmer off the bas,e but because Encarnacion was only halfway down the line, Hosmer had plenty of time to collect himself and step on the bag for the out. Perhaps Gibbons was frustrated with Colby Rasmus and Jose Bautista, who converged on Gordons lead-off fly ball to right centrefield in the seventh. Neither took charge - its Rasmus job to do so - and the ball bounced on the warning track for a lead-off double. The Jays had a 5-2 lead at the time. Gordon would score one hitter later when Salvador Perez hit a two-run home run off of Delabar, marking the start of the Kansas City comeback. Perhaps Gibbons was frustrated with Melky Cabrera, who did tack on two more hits for a league-leading 41, but who also had a poor night in left field. Twice Royals runners took an extra base on Cabreras arm. Once because he displayed no urgency in getting the ball back to the infield and Cabrera also missed a cut-off man in the Royals six-run eighth, allowing a second run to score on a single by Omar Infante. The Blue Jays fell to 12-14. Gibbons called it a “crappy game.” Under the cirumstances, he was being polite. McGOWANS STRONG OUTING; STROMAN MAKES STATEMENT As Dustin McGowan took the mound in Tuesday nights series opener against the Royals, Marcus Stroman was wrapping up, perhaps, his most impressive appearance in his brief professional career. The two are linked. The belief is that the Blue Jays are growing weary of McGowans inability to work deep into ballgames; manager John Gibbons has repeatedly offered that he liked McGowans work out of the bullpen last season, thinking hes better suited to a one or two-inning role. McGowan is a type-1 diabetic and, as first reported by TSN.ca, he wore his insulin pump in an attempt to regulate his blood sugar level - it tends to skyrocket during games - and alleviate the fatigue that overtakes him in the middle innings. He pitched into the seventh inning for the first time this season, granted it was just one batter and Alex Gordon doubled, but it was a step forward. McGowan allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits, three walks and two strikeouts. He left with a lead, which was coughed up by the bullpen. “Real encouraged,” said McGowan. “I got deep in the game and thats all Ive been wanting to do. Sometimes the results are overshadowed by the innings you pitch, but as long as you get deep in games, good things happen once you get deep in games.” Stroman is among the clubs top pitching prospects and of those prospects, is considered to be the most major league ready. He showed it in Buffalo on Tuesday, hurling six hitless innings, striking out 10 and walking only one in what could be his final Bisons appearance before hes added to the 40-man roster and brought up to pitch in Pittsburgh this weekend. Gibbons has talked about using a six-man rotation through the next turn. The Blue Jays dont have another off day until May 19, which prevents Gibbons from rearranging the order of the rotation to facilitate additional days off for certain pitchers. If the Jays were weighing whether to go with McGowan or J.A. Happ on Monday in Philadelphia, after Stroman starts on Sunday in Pittsburgh, McGowans performance may have bought him at least one more start. GETZ ARRIVES; GOINS TO BUFFALO Chris Getz was shagging fly balls during Triple-A Buffalos batting practice on Monday afternoon when minor league field coordinator Doug Davis waved him in to give him the news he was on his way back to the big leagues. A former Royal who played in Kansas City for four seasons and not immediately aware of the Blue Jays next opponent, Getz was surprised to hear of his first stop destination. “It was pretty funny because I knew they had the off day and then Doug mentioned that, Hey, youve got a flight at 6:30 and youre heading to Kansas City,” said Getz. “Heading to Kansas City? I already played with them. Of course, Im playing against them, but it was cool to come back here and see a lot of familiar faces, teammates, but even the people working at the park. You get to know them over the years and theyre such good people here. I just kind of feel at home.” Getzs contract was selected from the Bisons in time for Tuesday nights opener with the Royals. He replaces Ryan Goins, who was optioned to Buffalo after a slow start at the plate. In 24 games and 66 plate appearances, Goins posted a slash line of .150/.203/.217 (.420 OPS), with one home run. “He was having good at-bats,” said hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. “I think if we were, as a group, doing better top-to-bottom, he would probably still be here. I dont know, thats not my decision, but I felt like his at-bats were getting better and better the last week, week-and-a-half.” This isnt it for Goins. The Blue Jays value his glove. Expect him to be back. “I told him, You go down there, be a good teammate, work hard, keep a good attitude which I know you will and apply the stuff that we worked on,” said Seitzer. “I said, I want you building confidence in everything youve done to this point to where you come back and dont go back.” Getz is a solid defensive second baseman who will bring a little more offence than Goins. For his six-year career with the White Sox and Royals, Getz, 30, is a .251/.310/.309 hitter. Melker Karlsson Sharks Jersey . Williams withdrawal came less than 24 hours after losing in the final Auckland WTA tournament final. "I dont believe she has an injury," Hobart tournament director Mark Handley said. Timo Meier Sharks Jersey . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players Association adviser Kevin Johnson. http://www.officialsharksnhlshop.com/antti-suomela-jersey/ . Johan Franzen had two goals and two assists, Gustav Nyquist a goal and three assists and David Legwand a goal and two assists in the Red Wings 7-4 win over the New Jersey Devils.Its been 11 years since Mike Weir raised his arms in celebration after tapping in a short putt to win the Masters. For sure, April 2003 was a magical time for the lefthander. But it was April 2010 that may end up being just as significant. It was that month in that year that he conked a root with his swing and injured his elbow during play at the Heritage. That started the long spiral down from which he is still fighting to recover. Since that fateful day in Hilton Head, Weir has played 73 tournaments and missed the cut 53 times with four withdrawals. Hes had surgery and taken time away to recover from various ailments. Hes switched coaches and hes tried different swings. But through it all, one thing Weir has never done is lose hope. As good as his game has been over the years, as talented as he was with the putter and as precise as he was with the wedges, its his dog-on-a-bone determination, his will and self-belief that have been his biggest assets. And that only increases when it gets close to Masters time. "I really think I can contend there," Weir said of the years first major. "I still believe in myself, more than anything. When I step on the grounds there, I have confidence. I know how to play that golf course. I have a great strategy for that golf course that doesnt really change." Weir is playing the PGA Tour on the second of two lifetime money list exemptions but he has a lifetime pass to Augusta, so no matter what happens down the road, he can keep coming back. But he doesnt want to be there in a ceremonial way; he wants to see his name on the leaderboard again and he believes that can happen even if he admits that might surprise a few people. "Im definitely under the radar," statted Weir, who hasnt been under par at Augusta since his opening round of 2010. Tomas Hertl Jersey. "I hope to build on the next couple weeks. Its obviously a course I love. Good vibes and memories there — and I definitely know how to play that golf course." During much of his period of struggle, its been the driver thats been the weak link in his bag but lately the troubles have come at the other end. "Ive been really struggling on the greens, which is unlike me. My last start in Tampa, I made only two birdies, from four and five feet. I think Ive just spent so much time on the golf swing — 80/20, probably — I just needed to put more attention on the short game, which Ive done." Even with renewed confidence in his big stick, Weir knows that to conquer Augusta National, hell need to have all parts of his game going. As a medium to short hitter, tackling a 7,700-yard layout is going to put pressure on his wedges and putter. The course is so different than the one he played on in his first Masters in 2000 and the one he won on in 2003. Its longer, has a first cut (aka rough) and trees have been planted that remove some the possible angles that can be used to get at pins. But mostly, its just so much longer. "It takes a special kind of week to win there," he stated, "for someone outside the bombers. But it can still be done." It would certainly be special to see Canadas most successful golfer in the hunt again at the Masters, or anywhere for that matter. If he doesnt, it certainly wont be from lack of effort. Weir has spent long hours on the range and the putting green, trying to find the magic once again. Perhaps it will finally come together for him at Augusta National. ' ' '