Storm- News » Morgan Moses Jersey

Giants closer Hunter Strickland broke his pitching hand punching a door in frustration after blowing the save and taking the loss in a 5-4 defeat to the Miami Marlins on Monday night.

The right-hander had surgery Tuesday and expected to be out six to eight weeks Marc-Andre Fleury Jersey , manager Bruce Bochy said. An X-ray after the game revealed the break of Strickland’s pinkie, similar to what sidelined lefty ace Madison Bumgarner to begin the season after he was hurt in his final spring training start.

”I’m thoroughly disappointed, trust me. I’m crushed because this guy had just grown as a pitcher and a player and a person,” Bochy said. ”But I know Hunter, he cares. He cares deeply. He let his emotions get away … he had a temporary snap.”

Strickland blew his fourth save in 17 chances and second straight, allowing more than two runs for only the fourth time in his career.

He posted an apology on Instagram and Twitter.

”Life has an interesting and sometimes disappointing way of opening up our eyes,” Strickland wrote. ”Words cannot describe the amount of regret and sorrow I have for my actions. I have let down the ones that care and mean the most, as well as the ones that count on me day in and day out. To my family, my teammates, my coaches, this organization, and our fan base, I am truly sorry that one split second, stupid decision has caused so much harm and now set me back from being out there with my team to pursue our goal.”

Bochy said Strickland had shown maturity and made progress keeping his emotions in check since last year’s fight with Nationals star Bryce Harper.

”I think he did it when he came out of the game but we didn’t know about it,” Bochy said. ”I didn’t know about it until I got home.”

In late May last year, Strickland ignited an all-out brawl when he beaned Harper with a 98 mph fastball on his first pitch in the eighth inning with two outs Nate Schmidt Jersey , none on and Washington ahead 2-0. Harper charged the mound and both men threw punches as benches and bullpens emptied.

”As he became our closer he really grew as a pitcher handling his emotions well in tight situations, which you have to. You have to be able to control your emotions,” Bochy said. ”I’ve talked about this so much, how important it is for players but particularly the closer’s got to have emotional control. We all get frustrated and that was a tough loss, a gut-wrenching loss which I’m sure he felt full responsibility for it and he just didn’t think before he acted.”

Sam Dyson and Tony Watson will be called upon for closing duties, with one getting most of the opportunities though Bochy didn’t reveal which one that would be. The manager doesn’t consider Mark Melancon – signed to a $62 million, four-year deal before last season to work the ninth – ready for the role after a series of injuries.

”Your closer is somebody who has to be resilient and I’m not sure that Mark’s at that stage right now,” Bochy said.

Right-hander Pierce Johnson was on his way from Triple-A Sacramento to take Strickland’s roster spot.

—


Opponents tend to freak out against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick just when they’re about to conquer the New England Patriots’ dynastic duo. The Philadelphia Eagles swear they won’t fall into that trap if they have the chance in Super Bowl 52.

The pair have built such a reputation of coming through in the clutch that foes often outthink themselves with conservative, uncommon or unconventional calls against the five-time champs.

Think Seattle in Super Bowl 49 and Atlanta in Super Bowl 51.

The Patriots have built an extreme confidence through five Super Bowl-winning seasons under Brady and Belichick and are disciplined when other teams get discombobulated, like last month when they sniffed out Ben Roethlisberger’s fake spike and intercepted him in the end zone, reshaping the AFC playoff picture.

”You’re basically talking about experience and knowing that no matter what the score is, it’s not insurmountable,” said ex-NFL quarterback Joe Theismann.

He pointed to Brady’s habit of making a few plays every game that swing momentum and Belichick’s knack for coaxing his counterparts into beating themselves – like the Indianapolis Colts did with their fake punt fiasco in 2015.

”The New England Patriots find a way to make a play when no one else seems to be able to do that,” Theismann said. ”Teams that haven’t been in that situation don’t really understand the ability of New England teams to be able to overcome darn near anything.”

Like the 25-point second-half deficit Brady rallied the Patriots from in last year’s Super Bowl or the 10-point fourth-quarter hole he dug them out of against Jacksonville in the AFC championship last week.

”You’ve got to play a damn near perfect game against them,” lamented Jaguars safety Jarrod Wilson.

Therein lies the trap.

The Jaguars were on the verge of knocking off New England when a flurry of follies in Foxborough aided Brady’s two-TD rally that sent the seemingly impervious Patriots back to another Super Bowl.

”You can never have a safe lead with (No.) 12 at the helm,” Jaguars safety Tashaun Gipson said. ”… That’s Tom Brady Oscar Dansk Jersey , the greatest to ever lace up the cleats at the quarterback position.”

And Belichick, arguably the best to ever roam the sideline.

The Eagles swear they’re not going to give the Patriots any help next Sunday in Minneapolis.

”You know what? If I make this all about them, we’re in trouble,” coach Doug Pederson said. ”Honestly. We’re in trouble. Everything’s going to be written about it, has been written about it, talked about it, discussed, debated and it’s about us. And I’ll keep saying that. It’s about what we do and how well we execute and I can’t worry about that.”

The Eagles (15-3), who statistically can make the case for being the best opponent Brady and Belichick have ever faced in the Super Bowl, don’t see themselves getting out of their comfort zone against New England (15-3).

”Doug is going to do what got us to this point,” right tackle Lane Johnson said. ”Just because you’re in a big stage doesn’t mean you have to do anything out of the ordinary to make bigger plays. Don’t make the moment bigger than what it is.”

The Patriots may need no assistance but that hasn’t stopped teams from helping them out like Jacksonville did last week with a delay penalty coming out of a timeout and a rushed punt that essentially gave Brady an extra timeout before halftime.

”I think why the Patriots are so good is because they capitalize off people making those mistakes,” Johnson said. ”They don’t make mistakes, hardly. They’re well-coached. You don’t necessarily have to be the most talented team. You saw last year they weren’t the most talented team. Yet, they’re the best team because they function together well and they’re coached well.”

New England safety Duron Harmon said the Patriots never panic like so many other teams because they rehearse adversity so well and so often in practice.

”We go over every type of situation that you can think of,” Harmon said.

Theismann said Belichick is simply the best at teaching ”if somebody’s going to beat us, they’re going to have to beat us; we’re not going to beat ourselves.”

”What New England does is New England preaches discipline and understanding your job Authentic Oscar Lindberg Jersey ,” Theismann said, singling out lieutenants Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia in addition to Belichick, who, along with his personnel assistants, identifies coachable players who fit in.

”Think about it: You never see Bill Belichick run up the sideline and call a timeout because the time clock’s running out,” Theismann said. ”You don’t see Bill’s players making those kids of errors. I mean, I was very fortunate to play for Joe Gibbs and Joe was the same type of game manager, where he was aware and he made me aware of all the possible circumstances and situations that you deal with.

”For example, when you’re coming out of your own end zone, if you’re backed up inside your own 3-yard line, it’s a great time to run a hard count because you’re only going to get a yard and a-half penalty. Instead of first-and-10, it’s going to be first-and-11. But you do have the possibility of making it first-and-5.

”There is a game within the game that the Patriots play better than anybody.”

T