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Things got a little nasty this week in the Arizona Diamondbacks camp when general manager Kevin Towers fired a couple of the teams coaches, including pitching coach Charles Nagy. It didnt end there. Towers, during a radio interview, slammed his pitchers for not executing "eye for an eye" justice by not hitting opponents with the pitches after their own players had been plunked. Towers added that he wanted a pitching coach with more fire who would convey the message that the Dbacks pitchers had to have more "fire in their bellies" and do a better job of protecting their teammates. That made me wonder if there is any correlation between pitching staffs hitting batters and those teams making it into the postseason. This season, for instance, Pittsburgh lead the Majors in hit batters with 70 and made it to the Wild Card game before losing the division series to St. Louis in 5. Cincinnati was second with 66 and lost the Wild Card game to the Bucs. The Central-winning Cardinals hit 64 batters. The top American League team was Texas with 65, and the Rangers made it to the tiebreaker game where they lost to the Rays. Arizona, surprisingly, fits in right after that with 60; which is a bit surprising considering what Towers had to say. I suppose he was just more than a little upset that his team led the NL West early, only to see the Dodgers overcome a horrible start and go shooting past them to win the division. L.A only hit 43 batters while the other National League playoff team, Atlanta, nailed 51. In the American League, after Texas, Cleveland hit 58 and then the numbers drop off from Tampa Bay at 52, Boston 47, Detroit 42 and Oakland just 35. A year ago, Towers had two of the top pitchers in hitting batters - Ian Kennedy with 14 and Trevor Cahill with 11 - but this year he wound up trading Kennedy to San Diego. You dont have to hit batters to be effective but you cant be afraid to pitch inside either. Clevelands Justin Masterson certainly qualifies. He led the Majors with 17 hit batsmen this season. The Tigers feisty right hander Doug Fister was second with 16. Interestingly, the Blue Jays two winningest pitchers also plunked the most. R.A Dickey with 10 and Mark Buehrle with nine, accounting for a combined 38 per cent of the Jays hit batters. If you look at the all-time career list, Gus Wehhing - who played the bulk of his career in the 1800s -leads the way with 277. Randy Johnson tops the modern era and is fifth overall with 190. Based on my perceptions growing up, I would have pegged Don Drysdale and Bob Gibson as being near the top of the list, but Drysdale checks in at number 18 with 154, while Gibson may be the most intimidating and greatest pitcher I ever saw was only tied for 79th place with 102. The biggest surprise name on the list was 38-year -old Jamie Wright whos still pitching out of the Rays pen with 151. Hes number 19 all-time. If you dont count Roger Clemens, the highest ranking Jays pitcher is Dave Stieb who nailed 129 batters. Thats good for a tie for 37th place and 37, of course, just happens to have been his number. A certain synchronicity to that, I guess. Watching all of these brilliant young pitchers in the postseason, you wonder what might have been if one had landed with the Blue Jays. In the 2011 June draft, the Blue Jays had no chance to get Gerrit Cole, as he went number one overall to the Pirates. The one who may turn out to be the best pitcher in that draft, Jose Fernandez, went number 14 to the Marlins while Sonny Gray, who starred for the As down the stretch and into the postseason, went 18th overall. The Blue Jays chose Tyler Beede at 21, but then were unable to sign him as he chose the college route. The 2012 draft is a little more frustrating. The Blue Jays opted for outfielder D.J Davis at number 17 and while he may turn into a solid Major Leaguer, St. Louis at 19 grabbed right hander Michael Wacha out of Texas A&M. The Jays took hard throwing right hander Marcus Stroman at number 22. Though he could start next year at Triple "A" Buffalo, he could appear with the big club at some point next year. Although the draft order could change a bit after all the free agency wheeling and dealing in the off season, right now, the Blue Jays will pick ninth overall in 2014 and also at number 11 (compensation for not signing their first round pick in 2013, right hander Phil Bickford at number 10). This could be the Jays most important draft in a decade, especially when you consider the average age of their pitching staff this season was 30.9 years old second eldest in the Majors behind the Yankees at 31.8. Art Shell Jersey .Before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks won for the 29th time in 31 games to extend their Eastern-best record to 36-8.As usual, pretty much everyone chipped in.Four starters were in double figures and backup point guard Dennis Schroder led a spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Hawks pull away. Kenny Stabler Jersey . The team made the announcement after Saturdays 6-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. RHP Kenny Giles will be called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill Adams spot on the roster. http://www.shoptheraidersonline.com/Elite-Ted-Hendricks-Raiders-Jersey/ . The Bruins forward has been fined $5,000 by the National Hockey League for spearing Red Wings defenceman Danny DeKeyser in the groin. Ronnie Lott Jersey . -- Each time the Utah Jazz threatened Memphis lead, the Grizzlies responded with defensive stops. Jim Otto Jersey . Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres came to an agreement on a big trade that may only offer incremental improvement to the Blues in their quest for a Stanley Cup.Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Hamilton takes aim at a .500 record this week, as the Tiger-Cats go up against the Toronto Argonauts at the Rogers Centre. Despite being just 6-7 entering Week 16 action, the Ticats are all alone at the top of the East Division standings, two points ahead of both Montreal and Toronto. Following a very shaky start to the 2014 campaign, Hamilton has now won four in a row and five of the last six outings, thanks to a come-from- behind 19-17 victory over British Columbia last weekend. Kicker Justin Medlock played the hero for Hamilton as he booted five field goals, including an eight-yard effort in the final minutes of regulation to bring the hosts back for the thrilling win, the fourth in as many opportunities at the new Tim Hortons Field. Hamilton quarterback Zach Collaros converted 27-of-43 passes for 367 yards and was intercepted once as the team was kept out of the end zone, but still came out on top, thanks in part to a pair of two-point plays from BC kicker Ricky Schmitt who conceded in his own end zone. The Cats managed to roll up 429 yards of total offense in the meeting, but were stymied by 12 penalties that cost them 128 yards of field position. On the other side of the ball, Hamilton limited the visitors to just 239 yards. While the Tiger-Cats are in the drivers seat in the division at the moment, the Argos have a chance to cause a bit of a log jam in the standings if all goes to play this week. Despite having to deal with some crucial injuries throughout the campaign, Toronto is still within striking distance of securing a playoff berth as it attempts to put together a three-game win streak for the first time this season. Unlike the Tiger-Cats who had to fight their way back versus the Lions, Toronto was the hunted as Edmonton tried to complete a comeback bid last Saturday, but came up short in a 33-32 final. Ricky Ray converted 22-of-33 passes for 224 yards and two scores, as well as one interception, while Chad Owens continued to prove his value to the club with nine catches for 106 yards and both majors through the air. As was the case with Hamilton, the Argos also leaned heavily on their kicker as Swayze Waters knocked through all but one of his seven field goal tries, finishing with 21 points all on his own. Toronto did surrender 330 yards of offense to the Eskimos, but the visitors severely diminished their chances at a victory by being flagged a staggering 18 times for an incredible 224 yards.dddddddddddd In typical Ray fashion, he has completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 3,430 yards and is by far the most accomplished signal caller this season in terms of passing touchdowns with 24. Because of countless injuries and changes in depth charts for other teams, no other quarterback has more than 17 TDs at this juncture. However, in order to give Ray plenty of opportunities to find teammates in or around the goal line this season, the Argos have had to almost give up on their attempts to find a running back who can consistently reach the end zone. Granted, Curtis Steele has run 78 times for 493 yards and four touchdowns, but beyond him Toronto has just one other rushing TD. Over on the other side, Hamilton has been one of those teams playing musical quarterback this season, although Collaros seems to be giving the squad some measure of stability. However, while the youngster has completed 66.5 percent of his attempts, his seven majors are nearly matched by his six INTs. On a more positive note, as a group the Hamilton signal callers are tied for third in the league in passing yards to this point with 3,590, matching the effort of Toronto ironically enough. But a slight caveat to that effort shows Hamilton with just 12 aerial scores, half the number of Ray and the Argos, while being picked off 13 times. The clubs collided back in Week 10 in Hamilton where the home team squeezed out a 13-12 victory, despite being held scoreless for the second half. Medlock connected on a pair of field goals in that meeting and Collaros hooked up with Bakari Grant on a nine-yard major in the second quarter, the quarterback hitting on 27-of-38 passes for 317 yards. Ray, who was sacked four time and intercepted once, had a mere 16 completions for 142 yards and a score. The running game for the Argos was limited to 35 yards on eight attempts. With the win, Hamiltons advantage in the all-time series moved to 126-91-2, considering only regular-season matchups dating back to 1950. The Cats have won three straight over Toronto. The teams will be right back here in Toronto for their third and final regular-season meeting 15 days from now, a game that could have serious playoff implications. Authentic Steelers Jerseys Authentic Cowboys Jerseys Authentic Raiders Jerseys Authentic Chiefs Jerseys Authentic Eagles Jerseys Authentic Redskins Jerseys Authentic Falcons Jerseys Authentic Ravens Jerseys Authentic Browns Jerseys Authentic Cardinals Jerseys Authentic Bills Jerseys Authentic Panthers Jerseys Authentic Bears Jerseys Authentic Bengals Jerseys Authentic Texans Jerseys Authentic Broncos Jerseys Authentic Lions Jerseys Authentic Packers Jerseys Authentic Jets Jerseys Authentic Dolphins Jerseys Authentic Patriots Jerseys Authentic Jaguars Jerseys Authentic Titans Jerseys Authentic Chargers Jerseys Authentic Giants Jerseys Authentic Saints Jerseys Authentic Buccaneers Jerseys Authentic 49ers Jerseys Authentic Seahawks Jerseys Authentic Rams Jerseys Authentic Vikings Jerseys Authentic Colts Jerseys ' ' '