Musterung » Lionel Hollins and George Karl.

TORONTO – While assessing Brett Lawries season up to this point, its important to consider that the 24-year-old is doing something for his team that few other players, if any, could. One day, hes providing the Blue Jays with Gold Glove-calibre defence at third base. The next, hes more than holding his own at second base. All the while, Lawries posting respectable offensive numbers overall and is providing an elite bat in clutch situations. It would be ignorant to look at Lawries slash line of .224/.275/.412 entering Sundays action and conclude hes having a down year. Consider that Lawrie already has eight home runs, going deep in 4.8 per cent of his at-bats. Thats a marked uptick from last year (2.7 per cent) and 2012 (2.2 per cent). Lawrie also has 26 RBI, which ranks him third on the club behind Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. His best work has been done with runners in scoring position (RISP). With runners on second, third or both, Lawrie is hitting .366/.400/.732 (1.132 OPS) with four home runs and 21 RBI. All of it, as a reminder, while playing a third base/second base hybrid. Not even Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays does that anymore. When Zobrist hasnt been hurt this season, hes predominantly been a second baseman. “I dont see any player in the league doing it, unless youre a utility player, which hes not,” infield coach Luis Rivera told TSN.ca. “Its tough because hes very good at third base. Hes one of the best third baseman and then you have to move to second base. He was at second base before, hes learning the position again and there are a few things he needs to continue to work on and he can be better than what he is right now.” Lawrie goes about his business, taking ground balls during batting practice at the position hes scheduled to play that day. That, in and of itself, would be overwhelming for some players. Yet it isnt for a player, still young, who earned himself a reputation for being hot-headed and immature, two labels which should be dissipating by the day. “Its tough knowing one day youre here, the next day youre there,” said Rivera. “Mentally, you have to prepare. You have to be mentally strong.” The terms “Lawrie” and “mentally strong” didnt used to be used in the same sentence, thanks in large part to incidents like the infamous helmet-throwing incident in May, 2012 and his stare down of Rivera and Adam Lind when Lind didnt score on a Lawrie fly ball 52 Sundays ago. Considering what hes being asked to do and considering the success with which hes accomplishing the request, maybe its time to give Lawrie some credit. “Theres a lot going on, man,” said Lawrie. “Theres always a lot going on, especially now just from having to play all over the park and just Ive got a lot of stuff going on, but for the most part Im just trying not to think about it too much even though there is a lot going on.” Hes a third baseman, hell tell you that repeatedly and Lawries proud hes made himself an elite third bagger at the big league level, which is a testament to his athleticism. Hes all-in on the move because it makes the platoon splits work for manager John Gibbons. Lawrie is at third and Steve Tolleson at second when Toronto faces a left-handed pitcher; Lawries at second and Juan Francisco at third base when the Blue Jays take on a right-hander. “Its just something that I have to do for the team and its what makes the team a little bit better, so for myself, its just what I have to do in order to make this ball club better and to, obviously, win ballgames,” said Lawrie. “The most important thing is that he wanted to do it,” said Rivera. “So if hes willing to do it, hes going to be fine, but when you fight yourself not to go one place and then play another position, play third base, ‘I dont want to play second base, thats going to make it real hard on him, on the coaches and on the team. Right now, hes willing to do both, so thats the easy part.” After Sundays series-sweeping 3-1 win over Oakland, the Jays sixth in a row, 11th in 13 games and 16th out of 21, getting a buy-in from Lawrie is a much easier task. “Its just fun,” said Lawrie. “Its just good to be competing. Thats the biggest thing is just being able to go out everyday and compete and, obviously, have a chance to win a ballgame every single day. Thats the biggest thing, but just competing on an everyday basis as a group is obviously a lot of fun.” Cheap Air Max 97 . Every once in awhile, it seems like life lets dreams become real - and that is a gift. 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The Lakers finally made the long-anticipated announcement in a news release. Scott will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday at the Lakers training complex. Scott told reporters last weekend he had been hired by the Lakers, who have been without a coach since Mike DAntoni resigned April 30. Scott is the 25th head coach in the 16-time NBA champions franchise history. General manager Mitch Kupchak said he conducted "an extensive and thorough search" with owner Jim Buss. "Were proud to welcome Byron back to the Lakers family as our next head coach," Kupchak said. "Byron has proven himself at the highest levels of the game as both a player and a coach in his almost 30 years of NBA experience. His leadership skills and track record for success make him the ideal person to lead this franchise forward." Scott is 416-521 as a head coach for New Jersey, New Orleans and Cleveland, reaching two NBA Finals with the Nets. He has won three division titles, and he was the NBAs coach of the year in 2008. Scott also was a shooting guard for the Lakers for 11 seasons, playing allongside Magic Johnson during the Showtime era.dddddddddddd He was a teammate of Lakers star Kobe Bryant during his final NBA season, and Bryant has endorsed Scott for his new job. "I am ecstatic to once again be a Laker and to have the opportunity to work alongside Mitch and the Buss family," Scott said. "I know firsthand what it takes to bring a championship to this city, and as someone who both grew up in L.A. and played the majority of my career here, I know how passionate and dedicated our fans are. I will give everything I have to fulfil the championship expectations that our supporters have for us, and that we have for ourselves." Scott spent last season as an analyst on the Lakers television network, watching their disintegration during a 55-loss season, the most in franchise history. Bryant played just six games last season. 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