price for Samardzija in the offseason involved both top pitching pr

TORONTO - Several of the Phoenix Suns were sitting courtside after shootaround Monday morning at the Air Canada Centre. They leaned back in their chairs, and lazily kicked off their shoes. Tyler Ennis walked by and scooped up each one, depositing the giant-sized sneakers in a nearby equipment bag.He picks up shoes, he wears a pink Disney Princess backpack, he brings the team soap — its all part of the life as an NBA rookie.Unfortunately for Ennis, being a rookie has also meant going from averaging 35 minutes a night in college to zero minutes most nights with the point-guard-heavy Suns.The 19-year-old from Brampton, Ont., who was back in Toronto for the Suns game Monday night against the Raptors, remains patient and optimistic. If hes not sweating on the court during games, hes doing it in the gym.I work out a lot as far as game days. I always try to stay in shape, Ennis said. You never know what happens, one day you could not be playing, the next day you could be in the rotation. So as far as staying in shape, I always want to be ready, regardless of how much I played the day before.Ennis is part of a bumper crop of talented young Canadian players, and one of three Canadians drafted in the first round last summer. He went 18th overall to Phoenix, while fellow Canadians Andrew Wiggins and Nik Stauskas went first and eighth, respectively.There were rumblings Ennis would end up in Toronto, with reports the Raptors were keen on the Syracuse point guard. But the Suns picked two spots before Toronto, and with Ennis off the board, the Raptors took Bruno Caboclo.The Suns already had starters Goran Dragic and then signed Isaiah Thomas from Sacramento in the off-season. Ennis has been the odd man out, playing a total of 18 minutes in two games so far.I think Tyler is doing great, said Suns coach Jeff Hornacek. Unfortunately for us, weve got those three point guards on the team. But hes going to be a great player in the league, he really sees the floor well. Of all the guys on our team, hes probably the one guy who can go out there, and hell call a play, he sees whats going on out there and hell get guys into a certain play that he thinks might work.For a young guy coming out of college. . . its big. Hes making great strides and hes going to do fine in this league.Ennis did see significant playing time when the Suns sent him down to the Bakersfield Jam — their D-League franchise — for two games. He totalled 44 points, and 15 assists. The Suns recalled him for this six-game road trip, which brought the Canadian back to the Air Canada Centre, where he grew up watching the Raptors. You dont get to see this side of it being a fan, Ennis said. So its good to just get back into the city, see my friends, family, and being able to be on the other side, (not) with the fans, but being in the (players) seats this time.Ennis estimated he went to probably 10 to 15 Raptors games as a kid, during stretches when either Vince Carter or Chris Bosh were with Toronto.When asked if Toronto was his team growing up, Ennis came clean. Um. . . you know what? They werent that good growing up, he said, laughing. Theyve had their good years and bad years, and Ive been watching since.He watches the Raptors — who boasted the best record in the Eastern Conference (11-2) going into Mondays game — from afar now.Theyve been playing well, as far as their record and everything theyre doing, he said. I know the city is behind them especially after last years playoff run. I watch a lot of basketball so I watch their games, especially games with other Canadians too, so Ive been able to catch a few of the Raptors games.Ennis said the biggest adjustment to life as an NBA player is the travel schedule. The Suns arrived in Toronto to play the finale of their six-game road trip.You know theres 82 games, but just how much you travel, and how often the games are. . . ., Ennis said. College, you got a little taste of it, but as far as practices, you dont really practise that long, or that much. So a lot of it is staying in shape when youre not playing as much, or making sure you get in the weight room is kind of on yourself. Thats being a professional.So thats different coming from college, when you have set times, be in the weight room at this time. . . you have to take it upon yourself to do that.As for his added rookie duties, Ennis said he doesnt mind. Yeah, every shootaround weve got to go get the shoes. We have a few rookie duties. . . Carry the Princess bag. Carry soap. Little things like that, he said. Theyre nice guys, and they look out for us all the time, so its not a big deal when they ask us to do little things. Steph Curry Shoes For Sale . Manager Alex Ferguson says the injury was sustained while the player tried to hit a volley toward the end of training on Tuesday. Wholesale Steph Curry Shoes . Donald Young lost in straight sets to Israels Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-0. Querrey, ranked No. 61, is the second-highest ranked American, ahead of Johnson (64). https://www.stephencurryshoescheap.com/ . Wheeler said Kane was just making a joke that was misunderstood and misinterpreted by "Winnipeg folks" and the media once again. Wheeler repeated that he believes Kane is a player who has the ability to help the Jets get to the next level as they try once again to reach the playoffs in 2014. He made the comments initially in an interview, when asked how the Jets could compete in the Central Division with teams that have made some high-profile off-season signings. Steph Curry Shoes Deals . According to a report from the Hamilton Spectator, Infrastructure Ontario has informed the City of Hamilton and the Tiger-Cats the stadium may not be ready by the June 30 deadline. Steph Curry Shoes Outlet . The Raptors had an early deadline Sunday, a dreaded afternoon game, and they left the bulk of their work until the last minute, as theyve done so many times before.BOSTON – Its not yet June and thanks to the advent of the two wild card spots in each league, only two of 30 teams can make the argument to their fans that theyre out of the playoff hunt. With apologies to the Arizona Diamondbacks, a club that made offseason moves with the intention of contending and will now give new hire Tony La Russa time to assess the damage of a disastrous start, the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs have dropped far enough in the standings to consider the postseason unachievable. The Cubs have a prized piece at the front of their starting rotation. He is 29-year-old Jeff Samardzija, the ace of a bad baseball team whos expected to top the wish list of teams looking to bolster their pitching staffs ahead of the important games of August and September. Dont let the numbers fool you. Samardzija is good. The Cubs are not good. He is winless in nine starts this season despite posting a big league-best 1.62 ERA. In fact, Samardzijas winless skid stretches to 16 if you go back to last year. Chicago, with its impotent offence, doesnt score him any runs. An even crueler fate: Samardzija pitched seven scoreless innings against the Yankees on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, departing with a 2-0 lead, only to watch his closer and defence implode in the ninth. The Cubs lost in extra innings. Word around the Blue Jays is if the club is in contention approaching the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, ownership would be willing to loosen the purse strings to acquire additional help. Toronto needs help in its starting rotation with two spots in perpetual question. J.A. Happ is filling one at the moment. Somebody will fill the other come Saturday. Its expected to be Liam Hendriks, a former Minnesota Twin whos off to a strong start at Triple-A Buffalo. Blue Jays catcher Dioner Navarro was a Cub last year and caught Samardzija 10 times. "Hes really good," said Navarro. "I think hes one of those guys the numbers last year didnt show what hes capable of. Hes a horse. He wants the ball. He wants to win. Hes still got that football mentality. Hes that type of player." Samardzija features a sinking fastball, which he pumps up at 91 miles per hour at the low end, 97 at the high end.dddddddddddd Hell spike a splitter; he throws a backdoor slider and a cut fastball. "Hes got everything, man," said Navarro. "Hes got it." Should Samardzija land in the American League East, a real possibility considering the interest hell likely draw not just from the Blue Jays but also the injury-riddled Yankees and maybe others, hell quickly find himself in a home run-friendly division with home run-friendly parks and lineups that stretch deep. Its not the National League Central. Navarro doesnt think he would have a problem adjusting. "I believe so," said Navarro. "I think hes a strikeout pitcher. Hes a swing and miss type of guy. I believe that hes got what it takes. I think the most important thing that hes got is hes a really competitive guy and he wants to win. Obviously hes going to have to make some adjustments coming from the NL Central to the American League East but I think hes going to be a huge asset if we get the opportunity to get him." The Cubs reported asking price for Samardzija in the offseason involved both top pitching prospects Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman. Needless to say that would be a steep price to pay. It may, however, be the going rate. With so many teams jumbled around the .500 mark and no sign of that changing in the foreseeable future, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer should have a number of intriguing offers to peruse. If Cliff Lees elbow problem is anything serious for the Phillies, another potential chip comes off the market and Samardzijas price goes up further. How about that? The perpetually weak Cubs will be dealing from a position of strength. CHECK OUT THE PODCAST Episode 5 of The Baseball Podcast, #TBP, is available online. TSN 1050 contributors Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star and Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com and I discuss Fenway Park, the Blue Jays red hot offence, the persistent issues with the back end of the starting rotation, Jose Reyes defence and whether the media is too easy on general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Click here to listen. ' ' '