Dein erstes Forum » trading for a starting pitcher.Well take a loo

HOUSTON -- Houston Texans coach Bill OBrien was asked about Jadeveon Clowneys play this week, and for the first time in years the coach raved about the top overall pick in the 2014 draft.Hes playing well. He played really well (Sunday), OBrien said. He was one of our best players on our whole team.Clowney has shaken off two years of injuries to become one of Houstons most consistent players this season, and his transition to defensive end has helped the Texans absorb the loss of star J.J. Watt to injury.Clowney had a career-high four tackles for losses on Sunday to give him eight for the season, which ties his career-best and leads the NFL. While hes now listed as a defensive end, the Texans line him up in various spots on the line as well as at linebacker to keep blockers off-balance.Its been a difficult change for Clowney because playing end in a 4-3 scheme in college is vastly different than playing on the line in the NFL in Romeo Crennels 3-4 defense. At South Carolina, the 6-foot-5, 263-pound Clowney was bigger than almost anyone he had to block. But hes a bit undersized to play defensive end in the NFL, and when he lines up at tackle he faces offensive lineman that routinely weigh 60-70 pounds more than he does. This week he could have to block Colts right guard Denzelle Good, who at 355 pounds outweighs him by almost 100 pounds.But OBrien said Clowney makes up for his lack of weight in other ways.You can define size in a lot of different ways. Does he play big? He plays with a lot of explosiveness, OBrien said. Hes a very tough player. He plays with good leverage a lot of the time in certain situations. So look, does he weigh as much as some of the guys that he goes against in there? No. That could be said for a lot of different guys (but) I think hes playing at a high level.He has started every game this season, easily his longest streak in his NFL career. He didnt play more than four consecutive games in his first two seasons.Its a great feeling to be healthy and feeling good, Clowney said. Just getting better and better each week and hope I can sustain it for 16 games and keep going forward and keep getting better.Though hes piling up tackles for losses, sacks have evaded Clowney and he has just two this season. Hes hoping to add to that total this week when he faces an Indianapolis line that has allowed Andrew Luck to be sacked an NFL-high 20 times this season.You want to get in there and make plays on him and get to him, he said. We have to come with a good game plan this week, go out there and rush and try to get to him.Some had wondered if Clowney was ever going to make the kind of impact he did during a three-year career at South Carolina where he had he had 130 tackles, 24 sacks, 47 tackles for losses and 20 quarterback pressures after his first two years in the NFL. So far this season hes proven that hes capable of being a disruptive force when hes healthy, and people around the league are noticing.Hes a different guy, Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. The guy is playing as good as anybody in the league right now up front. Hes playing with a ton of confidence, a ton of physicality. We know the athleticism. We know the God-given dominant traits that he has as a football player, but his motor is running and its running hot. It never stops.Though he didnt like to talk about it, fighting through the injuries and hearing all the negativity weighed on Clowney. He is much happier now. In his first two years he was almost never in the locker room when reporters were present. Now he spends much of each availability sitting at his locker chatting with people and joking with players and reporters.He beamed when told about the compliments his coach gave him this week.Its special, its good, he said. My teammates noticed. He noticed. I just have to keep playing well. They come out and say: `We need you this week every week. I have to keep playing for my teammates and keep trying to make plays for the team.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Marc-Andre Fleury Jersey . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. Tomas Nosek Golden Knights Jersey . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. http://www.goldenknightssale.com/customized/ . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Jon Merrill Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Shea Theodore Jersey . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. NEW YORK -- New York Mets right-hander Matt Harvey is considering season-ending surgery after losing feeling in his pitching arm the day of his last start.Harvey was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome during an examination by Dr. Robert Thompson in St. Louis on Thursday, general manager Sandy Alderson said.The issue involves a constriction of the opening in which nerves and blood vessels pass between the neck and shoulder. It is more of a nerve issue in Harveys case, Alderson added.Thompson presented Harvey with two options that are currently being weighed. Harvey could undergo surgery now, which requires a four-month period before returning to pitching. Or Harvey could attempt to delay the procedure by receiving a nerve-blocking injection.Alderson suggested that the latter approach may not be effective and that surgery would ultimately be necessary anyway. Delaying the surgery could impact Harveys availability in 2017.Its unclear how effective that would be or for how long, Alderson said about the nerve blocker. ... I do believe that surgery is probably inevitable and more a question of timing than anything else. So, obviously, to the extent that were backed up for a period of time, it begins potentially to encroach on 2017 as well.Alderson said the Mets were unaware Harvey was dealing with any shoulder discomfort until he complained after his last start. Harvey allowed six runs (five earned) on 11 hits in 3 2/3 innings against the Miami Marlins on Independence Day.Manager Terry Collins said Harvey lost some feeling in the tips of his fingers.He came in the training room afterward and said, My shoulder is dead. My arm is dead. Theres no energy there. I couldnt feel the ball, Collins said. Obviously it was happening during the game. He didnt say anything until after the game.Chris Young, Phil Hughes and Josh Beckett are other pitchers who have dealt with thoracic outlet syndrome.Thompson likely would perform Harveys surgery, according to Alderson. Harvey will return to New York from St. Louis and should make a decision in the next couple of days.Alderson acknowledged there is no certainty Harvey will still be a frontline starter when he returns.Any time that you introduce a significant surgery of this type, I think you have to be cautious about what will happen, Alderson said. But, at the same time, I fully expect that Matt will be back and ready to go in 2017.Collins recalled managing John Hudek with the Houston Astros in the mid-1990s, when Hudek had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome.He came back and pitched with it, Collins said. I dont know if he was as effective as he was before he had it.Chris Young came back and had a good year in Seattle. So I think you can bounce back from it. But everybody is different, as we know. Anytime you have surgery, theres a level of concern.The Mets vaunted rotation is dealing with its share of injury issues. Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard arre pitching through bone spurs in their pitching elbows, while Zack Wheeler has endured a pair of setbacks in his return from Tommy John surgery and will not be back until late August at the earliest.ddddddddddddRight-hander Logan Verrett will start in place of Harvey on Saturday and should remain in the rotation after the All-Star break, Collins said. Matzs bone spur will need to be surgically removed, although the Mets are hoping anti-inflammatory medication will allow him to delay the procedure until after the season because it requires a three-month recovery time.Wheeler received a cortisone injection last month for nerve irritation in his pitching elbow and has not yet returned to a mound. Alderson said he is confident, not certain that Wheeler will pitch for the Mets this season. Wheeler is planning to return to the slope of a mound this weekend for the first time since the June setback.Hes had a couple of minor setbacks -- nothing serious, but serious enough that projecting any sort of return at this point is a little bit speculative, Alderson said.In his second season back from Tommy John surgery, Harvey is 4-10 with a 4.86 ERA in 17 starts. Alderson said it is not a relief if those numbers were at least partly caused by a shoulder issue that Harvey did not disclose until after his last start. Alderson said Harvey would need to reveal how long the issue has been present.Im not sure theres a sense of relief, Alderson said. Its like using the word closure. Its usually not really the case. In this case, given the potential implications with surgery as an option, it gives us some clarity in terms of where we go from here. Other than that, Im not sure its relief.Alderson noted the minor league system is thin with potential rotation contributors, although he cited Gabriel Ynoa and Sean Gilmartin as potential considerations. Alderson added that the Mets will at least consider trading for a starting pitcher.Well take a look at whats there, Alderson said. Were obviously always comparing whats out there with what we have. So well just have to see.Harveys potential loss for the season comes at a terrible time. Captain David Wright recently underwent season-ending surgery to address a ruptured disk in his neck. And the Mets are set to open a four-game series against the first-place Washington Nationals on Thursday night. The Mets trail by four games in the National League East.I dont want it to sound like woe is me, but woe is us, Collins said. I said something yesterday to one of the coaches. I said, Man, when do you think this is going to stop? Can things possibly get worse? And the next day they continue to get worse. Its something you have to deal with. I know you can walk over on the other side of the field right now and theyre not going to feel sorry for us. ' ' '