Plauderecke » failed to do in each of the past eight 82-ga

To listen to the level of discontentment surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs this week, you would have thought the Leafs had fired Randy Carlyle after failing to win a game the entire first half of the season. In fact, the Leafs record on the day they fired Randy Carlyle was 21 wins, 16 losses and three losses in overtime ... good enough to be in position do something Toronto has failed to do in each of the past eight 82-game seasons – make the playoffs. So why was the firing of Carlyle pretty much universally approved by everyone in this city? Where are his defenders, those willing to take issue with a team that fired a coach who had his team in position to do something it hadnt done in a decade? A team that was cosidered the hottest team in hockey just before Christmas? The answer is that the Toronto Maple Leafs have become the only sports franchise in existence where wins and losses are not the most important thing. No, these days in the centre of the hockey universe, its become all about how you play the game. Think about it ... if at the start of the season you had said the Leafs would be 21-16-3 on Jan. 7, in playoff position and ahead of the Boston Bruins, would anyone have said – fire Randy Carlyle? Of course not. But the recent history here – three straight epic collapses by teams whose analytics have trended in the wrong direction -- has everyone paying more attention to the shot clock than the scoreboard. Consider the assertion by the Toronto Suns Steve Simmons in a column this week that the conversation to fire Carlyle heated up among Leaf upper management DURING THEIR WIN STREAK in December, because of the poor habits the team was displaying, which is another way of saying they were getting beat at the puck posession game. Consider also the manner in which Dave Nonis praised the Leafs 3-1 loss to Minnesota last Friday night because of the way his team played, seeming to ignore the fact they had lost the game by two goals. The Leafs have become the equivalent of the grade-school pupil in math class who is told that getting right answer is secondary to showing your work. Because right now in Toronto the results dont matter as much as the process, a belief reflected by the post-game comments of their new coach – Peter Horachek – after a 6-2 loss. Our possession numbers were better, we outshot em. Would Randy Carlyle be fired by this point in an era without analytics? Its an interesting question. It wasnt all that long ago the Leafs were accused of being a team that was blind to the numbers inside the numbers, that Toronto was seen as the home of the analytics abyss. As this weeks decision to fire a coach with a winning record proved, at least that much is not the same old, same old in Leaf Land. 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Hosmer was originally hit on the hand in the first inning of a July 20 loss to Boston. He has played most of the time since, but missed a few contests due to the injury, then departed Thursdays win over the Twins and had tests that revealed the fracture.LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers began the season Down Under in Australia. Theyve arrived at the All-Star break on top of the NL West. Hyun-Jin Ryu struck out 10 and outpitched first-time All-Star Tyson Ross, Yasiel Puig singled home the only run and Los Angeles beat the San Diego Padres 1-0 on Sunday. A day after beating the Padres 1-0, the Dodgers did it again to take a one-game lead over San Francisco in the division race. They have overcome a 9 1/2-game deficit for the second year in a row despite numerous injuries. "I think its a testament to the work that our front office has done, gathering this group of people," said A.J. Ellis, who hit a winning sacrifice fly in the ninth Saturday night. "I think everybody knows from last years experience that it takes more than 25 guys to get where you want to go. And its about having the right people in those spots." "We kind of knew that this would all turn around and that the people in this room were capable of it. So we never lost that confidence, and I think we did a good job of sticking together," he said. Puig was ejected Saturday night for arguing a called third strike. He struck out his first two times up Sunday, then hit an RBI single in the sixth inning after Dee Gordon singled and stole his major league-leading 43rd base. Ryu (10-5) gave up two hits in six innings without a walk. The left-hander retired his first 11 batters and allowed only one hit through the first five innings, a two-out single in the fourth by Carlos Quentin. The Padres only other hit against him was a leadoff single through the box by Alexi Amarista in the sixth. "He had everything working from the get-go, all four pitches," Ellis said. "He used both of his breaking balls so effectively, and this was as strong a slider as Ive seen him throw this season." J.P. Howell relieved Brandon League in the seventh with runners at first and second annd retired Brooks Conrad on a lineout.dddddddddddd Kenley Jansen struggled to get his 27th save. He struck out striking out Jake Goebbert with runners at the corners, then fanned pinch-hitter Seth Smith to end it after a visit from manager Don Mattingly. "Basically, he just told me to go with my best stuff, be aggressive and attack them. And thats what I did," Jansen said. Ross (7-10) gave up six hits in seven innings, striking out nine and walking one. The Dodgers scored when Gordon singled with one out in the sixth and stole second. After Carl Crawford walked, Puig singled to centre. "I felt a little tired in the sixth, made a couple of mistakes, and they capitalized on them," Ross said. "Im continuing to learn and develop, and next time around I wont make those mistakes. Puig hit a slider that kind of backed up on me. Hes a big, strong guy and he basically muscled it through the infield." NOTES: Puig hasnt tried to steal a base in his last 26 games, and has been thrown out on his last three attempts. He is 7 for 14 this season and only 18 for 33 in the majors -- 55 per cent. "We know Yasiel is fast, but he hasnt proven to this point that he really knows how to steal a base," Mattingly said. "Ive seen a lot of guys that are fast who really dont know how to steal bases. The goal is not to get thrown out. I mean, if the base is there to be stolen, and the situation is right, then were going to allow him to run. If not, were not going to be running with him because we dont want to give up outs." ... Puig, a first-time All-Star, goes into the break with a .309 average -- 38 points lower than it was on June 1 -- and has struck out seven times in his last 14 at-bats. ... The Padres rotation coming out of the All-Star break will be Ian Kennedy, Ross and Odrisamer Despaigne for the home series with the Mets, and Eric Stults for the opener against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. 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