Dein erstes Forum » referring to Donaldsons Twitter account

TORONTO - The Toronto Blue Jays had to send Canadian third baseman Brett Lawrie south of the border to move their team forward. Norman Powell Jersey .Lawrie, from Langley, B.C., was traded from Toronto to the Oakland Athletics on Friday for all-star third baseman Josh Donaldson. Shortstop Franklin Barreto as well as pitchers Sean Nolin and Kendall Graveman were also sent to Oakland as part of the deal.Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said it was very difficult to trade the 24-year-old Lawrie, who hit .247 with nine doubles, 12 home runs and 38 runs batted in through 70 games last season. He hit .265 with 61 doubles, 43 home runs and 157 RBIs over four years with Toronto.You get attached to these guys, said Anthopoulos. Obviously, Bretts been here a while and hes still so young and you love the way he plays, the energy he brings. I talked to him on the phone and it was a hard conversation. Rightfully so, he was a Toronto Blue Jay through and through. Tough to see him go.We would have loved to have kept him. We tried. But I dont think this deal was getting done without Brett.Athletics GM Billy Beane confirmed in a separate conference call that the deal would not have proceeded without the inclusion of Lawrie and all three prospects.We wouldnt have done the deal unless it addressed now and the future and they were able to do that. This deal in our minds addresses a little bit of everything, said Beane. It got pretty serious the last 48 hours. They were reluctant to give up all four players and we werent going to do it without those four players in the deal.The 28-year-old Donaldson finished eighth in AL MVP voting this year after hitting .255 for Oakland with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs. A right-handed hitter, Donaldson had a .342 on-base percentage while finishing sixth in the American League with 76 walks. He has a career batting average of .268 with 63 home runs and 228 RBIs and a .347 on-base percentage in 405 games.Anthopoulos also pointed to Donaldsons intangibles and how he would mesh with the rest of the Blue Jays batting order as factors in the deal.Hes a very good defensive player. Gamer, hard-nosed, durable, if you look at his games played the last two years. An intense guy, wants to win, said Anthopoulos. A guy that can hit in the middle of our order. Hes going to fit well with (Edwin) Encarnacion and (Jose) Bautista.I dont know how (manager) John Gibbons will set the lineup up, but I expect those guys to be somewhere in the middle. Hell just kind of solidify things in the middle of our order.Lawrie struggled with injuries throughout his time in Toronto, including breaking his hand this past season when he was hit by a pitch. He also ended the 2014 season on the Blue Jays 60-day disabled list with an oblique strain. Anthopoulos was quick to point out that many of Lawries injuries were accidental and that they played no role in Torontos decision to trade him.Put the obliques aside, but some of the injuries have been freak. Getting hit in the hand, those are some freak injuries. Guys throw and you break your hand, said Anthopoulos. No, (the injuries) didnt come into play. We really liked Donaldson. We wanted to get him. Those were the players that they needed, those were the players that they wanted.Ultimately, as much as you dont want to part with those guys, youre going to have to give up some pretty good players to get a guy like Donaldson.Nolin, 24, spent most of the 2014 season with triple-A Buffalo where he posted a 4-6 record with a 3.50 earned-run average in 17 starts. The left-hander appeared in one game for Toronto in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons, posting a 0-1 record and a 27.00 ERA.Graveman had a 14-6 record and a 1.83 ERA in 27 starts with four of the Blue Jays minor league affiliates, working his way up from single-A to Buffalo. The 23-year-old right-handed pitcher was 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA in five relief appearances for Toronto last season.The 18-year-old Barreto hit .311 last season for the single-A Vancouver Canadians with 23 doubles, six home runs and 61 RBIs in 73 games. In his two minor league seasons Barreto has hit .296 with 10 home runs and 61 RBIs.One of the hardest things about our game, saying goodbye to a great person, amazing teammate and friend! You will be missed! @blawrie13, said Bautisa from his verified Twitter account in a message that was retweeted by Lawrie.In contrast, we also get to welcome a new member to our squad!! Come on @BringerOfRain20 lets get those leg kicks going!! added Bautista in a second tweet, referring to Donaldsons Twitter account.Anthopoulos applauded Lawries professionalism in taking the news of being traded.He was surprised, but he was outstanding and he understood. Sad to see him go, said Anthopoulos. I told him that the organization, everyone really appreciated the way he plays, everything he did while he was here. I think he really wanted to be part of this.Brett was all about the Toronto Blue Jays and doing whatever he could to help us.___With files from The Associated PressFollow @jchidleyhill on Twitter Luis Scola Jersey . The redshirt freshman finished the regular season with nearly 3,500 passing yards, and 35 touchdowns with another three on the ground while leading the Seminoles to the top of the BCS Rankings. Stitched Raptors Jerseys . The Big Man finished 3-1 in Week 19, and sits at 53-24 on the season. Now Schultz is ready for more action. https://www.cheapraptors.com/383a-jose-calderon-jersey-raptors.html . Abduraimova had not won a tour-level match since 2009 but was a wild-card entry in Tashkent and broke her opponent twice in each set to reach the second round. Second-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania advanced easily by beating Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine 6-3, 6-1, while No.Nico Rosberg edged ahead of Mercedes team-mate and title rival Lewis Hamilton in final practice for the Brazilian GP. Rosberg, who beat Hamilton to win at Interlagos in 2014 and 2015, will be crowned champion on Sunday if he completes a hat-trick of Brazil victories.Rosbergs lap of 1:11.740, set on a damp circuit after persistent overnight rain, was 0.093 faster than Hamiltons best effort. Hamilton was fastest in both of Fridays practice sessions. The two Mercs only showed their hand in the final ten minutes of the session after devoting the majority of this mornings running to heavy-fuel running.The changeable conditions for Practice Three are expected to be more representative for race day than the dry running the field enjoyed on Friday while more rain is forecast for qualifying, which begins at 4pm UK time. Bernie Ecclestone gives his views on the new president of the USA Donald Trump. Watch the full interview this weekend on Sky F1 After flying under the radaar on Friday, Ferrari made a significant leap forward in performance as Sebastian Vettel moved third, just two tenths adrift of the two Silver Arrows. Andrea Bargnani Jersey. Vettels Scuderia team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was third quickest, a place ahead of Red Bulls Max Verstappen. It emerged during the session that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff rang Jos Verstappen after the Mexican GP to complain about the driving of his son, Max. After finishing Practice Two as a trackside spectator, Fernando Alonso rounded off the top for McLaren while, in the week it was announced he would be staying for 2017, Jolyon Palmer showed up well by claiming eighth for Renault.Whens the Brazilian GP on Sky Sports?Brazilian GP Practice Three timesheet1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:11.7402. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, + 0.0933. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, + 0.2194. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, + 0.2875. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, + 0.3376. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, + 0.5477. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, + 0.8748. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, + 1.2289. Felipe Massa, Williams, + 1.25010. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, + 1.26211. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, + 1.46312. Sergio Perez, Force India, + 1.49113. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, + 1.51514. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, + 1.55315. Romain Grosjean, Haas, + 1.60416. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, + 1.85617. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, + 1.86918. Jenson Button, McLaren, + 2.01019. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, + 2.23220. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, + 2.25221. Esteban Ocon, Manor, + 2.48222. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, No time setCan Nico Rosberg clinch the title at Interlagos? Watch the Brazilian GP live on Sky Sports F1 on Sunday, the race begins at 4pm; Watch the whole race weekend with a NOW TV week pass - £10.99, no contract Also See: McLaren power struggle continues Whens the Brazilian GP on Sky F1? Get a Sky Sports weekend pass The Formula 1 Gossip column ' ' '