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As much as we love baseballs post-season, thoughts are already starting to drift to the off-season, the trades and the free agent signings and seing how teams will revamp or reload or rebuilt for a run next season. Cheap Avalanche Jerseys . With rightfielder Hunter Pence resigning with the Giants for five years and $90 million, one can only imagine what someone like Yankees star second baseman Robby Cano could get on the free agent market. It was floated by someone in Canos camp that he wants $305 million over 10 years. It seems like an outrageous amount for a soon-to-be 31-year-old middle infielder. Still, Canos timing couldnt be better with Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte retiring, Derek Jeter in injury limbo, and Alex Rodriguez possibly to be suspended for all of next season. Personally, I believe the Yankees will find a way to sign Cano and keep him a career Yankee but its not hard to see a few other well-heeled teams getting in on the bidding. The Dodgers, whove been spending money hand over fist, could sign Cano and give themselves the best offensive double play combination in the Majors along with their shortstop Hanley Ramirez. It would also solidify their hold on the L.A.-Anaheim market. The Giants have already shown they will spend money with the Pence contract. On top of that, they could use some more star power in their line-up after dropping from 94 wins a year ago and their second World Series title in three years to just 76 wins this year and a fourth place finish in the NL West. In the American League, another potential suitor is the Rangers. Theyre still looking for that elusive first World Series title after losing in agonizing style in 2010 and 2011. Signing Cano would keep their "window of opportunity" which appeared to be closing, open for a few more seasons. The most intriguing possibility would be if Cano simply moved from the Bronx to Queens and signed with the Mets. That move could turn New York into a Mets town for at least a couple of seasons until the Yankees retool. That last option isnt likely to happen, even though Mets GM Sandy Alderson has said his club is hoping to make a big splash on the free agent market in the off-season. Its almost as though there is a gentlemans agreement between the two franchises not to steal each others players, especially the stars. The most famous Yankee to leave the pinstripes to play for the Mets is a bit of a trick question. Yogi Berra did indeed play four games with the Mets at the tail end of his career, but then became their manager. Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden and David Cone all started with the Mets and went on to play with the Yankees. However, all three took circuitous routes and played with other organizations first. If Cano somehow choses to leave the Yankees, my bet is he lands with Texas. He would stay in a familiar league and would be in a weaker division with a greater chance of adding to his World Series victory total. One caution flag for would-be Cano suitors. In 11 career post-season series, hes just a .222 hitter with eight homers and 33 runs batted in. Crunching The Numbers The Blue Jays finished this season with just 74 victories, albeit one more than a year ago. To just reach the level of Tampa Bay and Texas, the two teams involved in the play-in game, the Blue Jays would have needed 17 more victories to reach the total of 91. Then consider this, from last season to this, only two teams in the Majors upped their victory total by that amount or more. Boston rose from 69 wins a year ago to 97 this year, a gain of 28 wins while Cleveland climbed from 68 to 92, or plus 24. In the National League, Pittsburgh was the only team with a double digit increase in victories from 2012 to 2013 at 15. Im not saying the Blue Jays cant turn it around next season, only that it will not be easy. The Dodgers National League pennant hopes have taken a bit of a hit at the worst possible time. Matt Kemp is done for the year with a swollen ankle and their other top option in centre field, Andre Ethier is out indefinitely as well with an ankle injury of his own. Ethier likely wont know until next week if there is any hope of him playing in the playoffs at all. It looks as though utilityman Skip Schumaker will be force-fed into centre for Don Mattinglys crew. My picks are Texas and Pittsburgh to emerge from the play-in and Wild Cards frays over the next couple of days. Avalanche Jerseys 2020 . 25 against Miami. Hillis left Browns Stadium about two hours before kickoff, a decision that has led to speculation he was upset over ongoing negotiations with the club on a contract extension. Custom Colorado Avalanche Jerseys . He liked what he saw on Tuesday night. Not only did his team post a comeback 3-2 victory in a shootout over the Montreal Canadiens, but the rival Washington Capitals were beaten 5-1 in Buffalo.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Patrick Roys fiery personality was on full display in the opening game when the Colorado coach got into a heated exchange with Anaheim, banging his hands again and again on the glass partition until it tilted. That eruption set a tone for the season: The Avalanche werent going to be pushovers. Not with the combustible Hall of Fame goaltender taking over behind the bench. Roy guided this franchise -- the one he led to two Stanley Cup titles as a player -- back into the playoffs by tying a team record with 52 wins. They play Minnesota in a first-round series that begins Thursday. "Patrick is the ultimate winner. He doesnt accept anything less than winning," backup goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. "He did that as a player and hes doing that as a coach. "He does that when he plays golf, he does that when he plays cards, he does everything to win. And that has really translated to our team. He changed the whole mentality in this room, and it shows every time we go out on the ice. We play to win, so its fun to see that." As for that volatile temper, the players insist they rarely see it inside the locker room -- not after a bad period or a tough loss. This is their team, Roy said from the day he was brought on board, and he was there more for support than to scold. He was partnering with them, not ruling them with an iron fist. The breathing room allowed the youthful Avalanche to make some mistakes and learn from them. "They need to have someone who they can come up to and talk," said Roy, whos the fifth coach in NHL history to win 50 or more games in his first season. "Its their system." Roys only previous experience on the bench was serving as coach and general manager of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. So he leaned on his assistants, as well as former teammate turned executive Joe Sakic. Roy has been a little unorthodox in running the team: From pulling his goalie with two, three, sometimes four minutes remaining if theyre down a goal to assembling them at centre ice after a practice and having them all yell "team" at the same time. "If we want to be different than weve been in past years, then we have to do things differently," captain Gabriel Landeskkog said. Stitched Avalanche Jerseys. "Its been great to see his point of view on things. You see the team that we are. You see the team that weve become. "At first, you might wonder, Whats going on here? But its certainly working for us." No arguing that. They were 35-0-3 this season when taking a lead into the third period and had the best winning percentage in one-goal games simply because they played loose and with confidence. "Patrick empowers us," Matt Duchene said two weeks ago, before suffering a knee injury that will keep him out for the start of the playoffs. "Sure, he gives us a kick when we need it. But when he knows we need to be treated with a little bit softer (touch) and brought up instead of put down, thats what he does. "Hes very good at sensing the feeling in the room. Hes helped us all achieve what were capable of achieving." Perhaps no one more than Semyon Varlamov, who turned in a career season under the watchful eyes of Roy and goalie coach Francois Allaire, the man responsible for helping turn Roy into one of the best goalies in hockey history. Varlamov won a league-high 41 games this season, breaking the team record held by Roy. "Of course its a big deal to beat Patricks records," Varlamov said. "Hes one of the best goalies in the world." All this from a team that won just 16 games in a lockout-shortened season. "What a season theyve had," Wild forward Jason Pominville said. "Theyve completely turned it around." Really, the only big additions are rookie Nathan MacKinnon and the presence of Roy. "They must have done something right and Patrick must do something right to make that happen," said Pominville, the teams leading scorer. Indeed. The foundation for that transformation was built in Roys very first game in charge when he lost his cool and yelled at Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, pounding on the glass. That was after a 6-1 win, too. Roy was fined $10,000 and reprimanded by the league. Wild coach Mike Yeo jokingly said he plans to "check the partition" between the benches before the playoff series. "This is a team that we have to have a lot of respect for," Yeo said. "Theyre an in-your-face team." Just like their coach. ' ' '
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