Termine » them a reasonable replacement for Kovalchu

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Tim Tebows statistics are modest. But the former NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner believes he is making progress with a week remaining in his Arizona Fall League stint.Tebow enters Wednesdays game with the Scottsdale Scorpions hitting .156 (7-for-45) with one double, two RBIs, four walks and 13 strikeouts in 13 AFL games. His batting average ranks 70th of 73 qualifiers in the league.I feel like every day I get a little more comfortable in the field, at the plate, just going through the routine of baseball, said the 29-year-old Tebow, who launched a professional baseball bid in September with the New York Mets after not playing the sport since his junior year of high school. I think my body is getting more comfortable with that -- the everyday routine of it, the little soreness of it, the recoveries. All of those little things.Tebow has been slowed by a cranky right knee, which he originally injured on Oct. 31 on an awkward slide into second base. He returned to the lineup three days later as the designated hitter, then departed for his weekend gig as a college-football commentator. Tebow resumed playing left field on Monday.Its getting better every day, Tebow said. Im feeling better, getting faster.One benefit of Tebow playing in the AFL is that Mets hitting coach Kevin Long lives in the Phoenix area and can provide regular tutelage. Tebow makes daily visits to Long in the mornings before reporting for AFL duty. The ex-quarterback confessed the extra workload has taken a toll on his hands.Lets put it this way: Theres been a lot of bandages on my hands for the last couple of months, Tebow said. Thats for sure.Tebow also has spent this week working at Scottsdale Stadium with Reggie Jackson, a Yankees instructor. They mostly have discussed hitting approach. Mets and Yankees prospects both play for the Scorpions.Hes got a month named after him, Tebow said about Jackson, also known as Mr. October. So its pretty cool.It has been an eventful AFL season for Tebow aside from his on-field play. The opening week, a man suffered a seizure in the stands after a game while seeking an autograph. Tebow stayed with the man -- a Georgia football fan -- until paramedics arrived. Tebow has stayed in touch with the man.Hes doing well, Tebow said. There might have been a little trash talk with the Florida-Georgia thing. But hes doing good.There have been light moments, too. On Halloween, Scottsdale teammate Aaron Brown -- a Phillies prospect -- dressed as Tebow, including wearing?Denver Broncos?garb.I thought it was really funny, Tebow said. Hes a trip. There were some good costumes. I liked his -- except when he came out and was throwing some different routes to [fellow Phillies prospect Mitch] Walding. There were too many incompletions out there.Mets general manager Sandy Alderson acknowledged Tebows assignment to the AFL is aggressive, given he just resumed playing the sport two months ago. But Alderson noted that the Mets wanted to have Tebow continue to develop by playing games after participating in the instructional league.Assigning Tebow to the AFL, which has a development mission, made more sense for Tebow than a Latin American winter league, where the priority is winning, according to Alderson. Tebow also needed a location that allowed for easy travel to his college-football broadcasting duties with ESPN each weekend. Having Long in the area and Mets coach Tom Goodwin managing Scottsdale made it sensible, too.Look, there was a downside in the fact that everything gets graded in the Fall League, Alderson said. The upside is he needs game competition in order to develop those kind of baseball instincts and peripheral skills that are so important. We actually thought he could hold his own in the batters box. And I think hes largely done that. His strikeout rate is not horrendous. Hes making decent contact and hes getting better.If you go to the Dominican Republic or Venezuela, those arent exactly development leagues. Those are competition leagues. So, all in all, this was the best spot for him.Goodwin said Tebows bat speed has been his biggest improvement through 13 games played in the AFL. His fielding instincts have improved, too, since he face-planted into the outfield wall during the opening week.The bat is coming through the zone, Goodwin said. I think hes recognizing pitches now better than he was then. Hes been facing some tough lefties, too. ... Hes done well. In the outfield hes moving around a lot better on his own. Hes kind of reading swings out there, which is going to have to happen. Once we get his knee right I think well see the speed out there. cheap jerseys . 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. cheap nfl jerseys china . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. http://www.nfljerseyscheapfromchina.cc/ . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. nfl jerseys china . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. Wholesale jerseys . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. The New Jersey Devils were left with a need for a scoring winger when Ilya Kovalchuk suddenly retired from the NHL and dipped into the free agent market for the most accomplished scoring winger available. Numbers Game breaks down the Devils deal with Jaromir Jagr. The Devils Get: RW Jaromir Jagr. Jagr, 41, has been a productive offensive player since returning to the NHL at the start of the 2011-2012 season, scoring 89 points in 118 games. His puck possession numbers have been strong too, ranking 41st among forwards that played at least 1500 five-on-five minutes over the last two seasons. Hes slower, as one might expect from a 41-year-old winger, but hes still a 240-pound winger who can protect the puck and control play in the offensive zone. Criticism of Jagr, at this point, is most likely going to centre around his failure to score a single goal in 22 playoff games for the Boston Bruins, setting a single-season playoff record for the most recorded shots on goal (58) without scoring. He created chances, had 10 assists and was among the Bruins possession leaders in the postseason, but that zero in the goal column is an ugly number for a player who leads all active players with 681 career regular season goals, to go along with 78 career playoff tallies. While Jagr is a far cry from the dominant offensive performer that he was from 1991 through 2007, when he scored 1471 points in 1111 games (his 1.32 points per game the best in hockey over that span), he remains an effective scoring forward and has an opportunity to play a significant role with the Devils. When Ilya Kovalchuk abruptly retired from the NHL earlier this month, that left the Devils with a big opening for a scoring winger and while Jagr isnt capable of playing 24 minutes a night, like Kovalchuk has for the past couple seasons, Jagr can play 18 minutes a night on one of the top two lines as well as the power play. For whattever it may be worth -- maybe nothing, maybe slightly better chemistry -- the Devils power play will include a couple of Jagrs Czech countrymen, Patrik Elias and Marek Zidlicky.dddddddddddd With Jagr in the fold, the Devils have a decent group of top six forwards, including Elias and free agent additions Ryane Clowe and Michael Ryder on the wings, with Travis Zajac and Adam Henrique occupying the top two centre spots, though Andrei Loktionov could warrant a look in a scoring role too. Once the Bruins had traded for Loui Eriksson and signed Jarome Iginla as a free agent, there wasnt a fit for Jagr on Bostons top two lines, so he moves on, to his fourth team since returning to the NHL in 2011. Whats more, if the Devils cant rebound from a disappointing 2013 campaign and get back into the playoff picture, then Jagr could be on the move again around the trade deadline, where he would at least bring a draft pick in return, which is significant to New Jersey since they are required to forfeit their first-round selection as a penalty for the initial contract they signed with Kovalchuk. Thats a fall-back position, because the Devils would rather have Jagr play a role in getting them back to the postseason, but that asset management cant be ignored as a factor in getting Jagr inked to a one-year deal. With Kovalchuk gone and the free agent frenzy having died down, the Devils made the best of their situation. We dont have the salary numbers on Jagr yet but, because its a one-year deal, the investment shouldnt be problematic and gives them a reasonable replacement for Kovalchuk who may be 11 years older but, because of that, doesnt require anywhere near the same kind of financial commitment. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '