KANSAS CITY – For the fourth time in seven games, the Blue Jays blew a lead of at least three runs. Mike White Jersey . While it would be easy to lay this one on the bullpen - Steve Delabar, Brett Cecil, Sergio Santos and Esmil Rogers got tagged for eight runs in the final two innings - this loss, by a final score of 10-7 to the Royals, was a total team effort. So much so, in fact, that manager John Gibbons, Kansas Citys bench coach as recently as 2011, took a veiled shot at his club while praising his old team. “I will say one thing about that team over there, because I was there when they were young,” said Gibbons. “They play nine innings. I dont care, up or down, they compete and they get after your ass and thats why theyre going to end up winning it one day.” Perhaps Gibbons was upset with catcher Dioner Navarro, who put on a clinic of how not to play defence in the second inning. First, with Royals at the corners and one out, Navarro attempted to back hand a Dustin McGowan slider in the dirt. The ball skipped off Navarros shin guard and towards the Royals first base dugout. Billy Butler, the runner on third, scored. Later in the second, again with runners at the corners, Navarro inexplicably attempted to throw out Alcides Escobar trying to steal second. The throw was offline and bounced into centrefield, allowing Alex Gordon, who was on third, to score. Perhaps Gibbons was upset with Edwin Encarnacion who, with two runners on and one out in the seventh, didnt hustle down the first baseline on a ground ball back to pitcher Kelvin Herrera. Usually a routine play, Herreras throw brought first baseman Eric Hosmer off the bas,e but because Encarnacion was only halfway down the line, Hosmer had plenty of time to collect himself and step on the bag for the out. Perhaps Gibbons was frustrated with Colby Rasmus and Jose Bautista, who converged on Gordons lead-off fly ball to right centrefield in the seventh. Neither took charge - its Rasmus job to do so - and the ball bounced on the warning track for a lead-off double. The Jays had a 5-2 lead at the time. Gordon would score one hitter later when Salvador Perez hit a two-run home run off of Delabar, marking the start of the Kansas City comeback. Perhaps Gibbons was frustrated with Melky Cabrera, who did tack on two more hits for a league-leading 41, but who also had a poor night in left field. Twice Royals runners took an extra base on Cabreras arm. Once because he displayed no urgency in getting the ball back to the infield and Cabrera also missed a cut-off man in the Royals six-run eighth, allowing a second run to score on a single by Omar Infante. The Blue Jays fell to 12-14. Gibbons called it a “crappy game.” Under the cirumstances, he was being polite. McGOWANS STRONG OUTING; STROMAN MAKES STATEMENT As Dustin McGowan took the mound in Tuesday nights series opener against the Royals, Marcus Stroman was wrapping up, perhaps, his most impressive appearance in his brief professional career. The two are linked. The belief is that the Blue Jays are growing weary of McGowans inability to work deep into ballgames; manager John Gibbons has repeatedly offered that he liked McGowans work out of the bullpen last season, thinking hes better suited to a one or two-inning role. McGowan is a type-1 diabetic and, as first reported by TSN.ca, he wore his insulin pump in an attempt to regulate his blood sugar level - it tends to skyrocket during games - and alleviate the fatigue that overtakes him in the middle innings. He pitched into the seventh inning for the first time this season, granted it was just one batter and Alex Gordon doubled, but it was a step forward. McGowan allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits, three walks and two strikeouts. He left with a lead, which was coughed up by the bullpen. “Real encouraged,” said McGowan. “I got deep in the game and thats all Ive been wanting to do. Sometimes the results are overshadowed by the innings you pitch, but as long as you get deep in games, good things happen once you get deep in games.” Stroman is among the clubs top pitching prospects and of those prospects, is considered to be the most major league ready. He showed it in Buffalo on Tuesday, hurling six hitless innings, striking out 10 and walking only one in what could be his final Bisons appearance before hes added to the 40-man roster and brought up to pitch in Pittsburgh this weekend. Gibbons has talked about using a six-man rotation through the next turn. The Blue Jays dont have another off day until May 19, which prevents Gibbons from rearranging the order of the rotation to facilitate additional days off for certain pitchers. If the Jays were weighing whether to go with McGowan or J.A. Happ on Monday in Philadelphia, after Stroman starts on Sunday in Pittsburgh, McGowans performance may have bought him at least one more start. GETZ ARRIVES; GOINS TO BUFFALO Chris Getz was shagging fly balls during Triple-A Buffalos batting practice on Monday afternoon when minor league field coordinator Doug Davis waved him in to give him the news he was on his way back to the big leagues. A former Royal who played in Kansas City for four seasons and not immediately aware of the Blue Jays next opponent, Getz was surprised to hear of his first stop destination. “It was pretty funny because I knew they had the off day and then Doug mentioned that, Hey, youve got a flight at 6:30 and youre heading to Kansas City,” said Getz. “Heading to Kansas City? I already played with them. Of course, Im playing against them, but it was cool to come back here and see a lot of familiar faces, teammates, but even the people working at the park. You get to know them over the years and theyre such good people here. I just kind of feel at home.” Getzs contract was selected from the Bisons in time for Tuesday nights opener with the Royals. He replaces Ryan Goins, who was optioned to Buffalo after a slow start at the plate. In 24 games and 66 plate appearances, Goins posted a slash line of .150/.203/.217 (.420 OPS), with one home run. “He was having good at-bats,” said hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. “I think if we were, as a group, doing better top-to-bottom, he would probably still be here. I dont know, thats not my decision, but I felt like his at-bats were getting better and better the last week, week-and-a-half.” This isnt it for Goins. The Blue Jays value his glove. Expect him to be back. “I told him, You go down there, be a good teammate, work hard, keep a good attitude which I know you will and apply the stuff that we worked on,” said Seitzer. “I said, I want you building confidence in everything youve done to this point to where you come back and dont go back.” Getz is a solid defensive second baseman who will bring a little more offence than Goins. For his six-year career with the White Sox and Royals, Getz, 30, is a .251/.310/.309 hitter. Terrell Owens Jersey . Luke Wileman and I stood in the corridor outside of the Vancouver Whitecaps dressing room at BC Place in Vancouver. Deonte Thompson Cowboys Jersey .com) - Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 51 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder took down the struggling Bucks 114-101 on Tuesday. http://www.cowboysrookieproshop.com/Cowboys-Marcus-Martin-Jersey/ . Hamilton signed offensive linemen Mike Filer, Joel Reinders, Landon Rice and Carson Rockhill.Now that was ugly.No, not the performance of the Bengals in the second half at Indianapolis in our Upset Special.And not the controversy over the officiating in Dallas victory against Detroit.The way Pro Picks faltered out of the post-season gate, going 0-4 against the spread: THAT was ugly.So its time to rectify. Here we go — but with no upset special this week. Still trying to shake off the effects of the previous one.No. 8 Indianapolis (plus 7) at No. 5 Denver, SundayThe focus, deservedly, will be on Peyton Manning and the quarterback who replaced him in Indianapolis, Andrew Luck. How juicy would a shootout between those two be?This one very well might be decided by the defences, however, which means advantage Denver, despite what Indy did against playoff flop Cincinnati.Denver was undefeated at home this season, including an opening 31-24 victory over the Colts. The Broncos have displayed more balance on defence than Indy, which can be run on. With the way Denver has redesigned its offence recently, that could be a decided edge.As can being off last week. Boy, did Denver need the bye.Luckily, weve played well enough in the season to get a bye week, which helped us, because if we played last week, (linebacker) Brandon Marshall probably doesnt play and (safety) T.J. (Ward) is probably a little rusty, tackle Terrance Knighton said. Those three days off allowed people to refocus and its almost like a new season now.Which will begin with another win.BEST BET: BRONCOS, 33-20No. 10 (tie) Baltimore (plus 7) at No. 2 New England, SaturdayIf theres one team that doesnt fear a journey to Foxborough, its the Ravens. Theyve won there twice in the post-season, including the 2012 AFC title game that preceded their victory over San Francisco in the Super Bowl. The year before, they lost by three points when Billy Cundiff missed a chip-shot field goal to force overtime.New England always is formidable at home, winning all sevenn of the games that meant anything this season. Dalton Schultz Jersey. Having gone a decade since their last Super Bowl crown, the Patriots, most notably Tom Brady, are on a mission.Yes, Baltimore was impressive in winning at Pittsburgh last Saturday night, and Joe Flacco has become just as clutch at quarterback as anyone. But the Ravens secondary remains questionable despite shutting down the Steelers.PATRIOTS, 28-24No. 13 Carolina (plus 10 1/2) at No. 1 Seattle, SaturdayGive credit to the Panthers for winning four straight to take the NFC South, then handling Arizona in the wild-card round. Then consider that the victories were over New Orleans, Tampa, Cleveland and Atlanta — all losing clubs — and the injury-weakened Cardinals.Seattle appears to be peaking, especially on defence, where it has that nasty and stingy edge again. It doesnt usually blow out opponents and probably wont do so against Carolina. But the Seahawks are on a mission, too, trying to become the first repeat Super Bowl champs since the Patriots of 2003-04.SEAHAWKS: 23-13No. 4 Dallas (plus 6) at No. 3 Green Bay, SundayHard to believe the Cowboys have not been back to Lambeau Field in the post-season since the 1967 Ice Bowl. Equally hard to believe this is a matchup (for the first time) of an 8-0 road team against an 8-0 host.Having already won in Seattle, the Cowboys know all about handling the toughest environment in pro football. Except Green Bay in January, with all the weather considerations — not to mention Aaron Rodgers chucking the ball, Eddie Lacy carrying it, and an improving defence led by Clay Matthews — is another animal. A grizzly, perhaps.PACKERS, 27-24___2014 RECORD: Against spread: This week (0-4); Season (128-120-5). Straight up: This week (2-2); Season (171-87-1)Best Bet: 7-11 against spread, 11-7 straight up.Upset special: 9-9 against spread, 7-11 straight up.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Devils Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Flyers Jerseys Cheap Penguins Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Blues Jerseys Cheap Lightning Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Capitals Jerseys Cheap Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '