Lustiges und Witziges! » an said. "The next race

PITTSBURGH – Sergio Santos arrived at PNC Park on Saturday afternoon and met with manager John Gibbons, who delivered the news everyone was expecting he would. "Were moving Sergio out of that role," said Gibbons of the closers spot, less than 24 hours after Santos blew his second save of the road trip and third of the season. Until Casey Janssen returns, Gibbons will go with closer-by-committee. "It could be Loup," said Gibbons. "It could be Cecil. Over the next few days it could be any of those guys." The change is necessary and while fans arent about to take pity on a multi-million dollar athlete, Santos struggles are a reminder of the human element of sports. There he was on Friday night, having blown a two-run, ninth inning lead, hunched over at his locker, his head in his hands for what seemed like an eternity. Santos then stood up and addressed the media. Later, once the ballpark lights had dimmed and he was back in his hotel room, Santos sifted through the litany of text messages he gets after each appearance, good or bad. His wife had written him and so had his parents. One of Santos brothers, Gabe, chimed in. He got messages of support from aunts and uncles, too. Like the goal crease in hockey, the pitching mound can be a lonely island when things arent going well. Out on the road, its easy to get lost in your thoughts. "You go to the hotel and that night, the night of the game, its usually the hardest, you know what I mean, that whole night," said Santos. "I mean, you close your eyes and you cant help but think about it. You think about a million different scenarios, what you could have done different." The sun, as they say, always comes up the next day. "The second you wake up the very next day youre presented with, basically, a choice," said Santos. "You could either feel sorry for yourself and say poor me or you could use the next day as an opportunity to know that what happened last night is not who I am." Santos turned to an old teammate and friend for advice. He often plays the online game Words with Friends with Darren Oliver and on Friday night, Santos sent Oliver a message. He wanted to talk. Oliver invited Santos to call on Saturday morning. "He said, Ive been through this a million times. I was in the game for so long. You go through stretches where theyre rough and theyre ugly," said Santos. "He says, its up to you to put a stop to it. They can go on for the whole season or you can nip it in the bud, get that confidence back and go out and pitch." Santos need only look at his numbers for a stark reminder of how bad things have been. Hes taken two losses, has blown three saves and has posted an ERA of 10.61 with a WHIP of 2.250. He insists he wont dwell. "For me, my edge has always been my confidence," said Santos. "Even in the midst of the biggest adversity, confidence, I think, is the one thing thats such a useful tool. So to even lose that, and dont get me wrong doubt creeps into your mind all the time, you get there, youre going, "Crap, is it going to happen all over again today? Whats going to happen? But its so important to just push those thoughts out of your mind." Santos is powerless over his role in the bullpen. He cant disagree with Gibbons decision and he wont. All he can do is wait until Gibbons calls his name again. "My whole thing is to help this team win in any way I can," said Santos. "Whether right now thats me throwing in the seventh, eighth, okay so be it because I know when Im going good I can help this team win. More importantly, for this team to win, Ive got to get right." Cheap Arizona Cardinals Gear . UCI President Brian Cookson said Wednesday the commission will investigate allegations "that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past -- allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport. Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Outlet . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.cardinalscheap.com/. The NFL announced Friday that the Texans sixth-year veteran offensive lineman will replace Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jason Peters in the Jan. Authentic Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . The freestyle skier from Calgary finished sixth in the qualification round with a total of 82.00 points. Groenewoud won a silver medal at the X Games last month, just over five weeks after undergoing double knee surgery. Discount Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . Join World Soccer Pickem 2014 for your chance to win $5,500 in cash prizes by picking the winner of each game all the way through to the tournament final. Will you ride a favourite such as Spain or Germany, or cast your lot with an underdog like Ivory Coast or Mexico? Perhaps key victories from Netherlands or the United States will be your key to victory.KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia -- Frida Hansdotters wait for her first World Cup victory after eight second places finally ended Sunday, in good time for the Sochi Olympics. The 28-year-old Hansdotter won on a soft course in heavy snow after American teen Mikaela Shiffrin failed to hold on to her opening-run lead. Hansdotter, who trailed Shiffrin by 0.31 seconds going into the final run, finished in an overall time of 1 minute, 50.17 seconds. Shiffrin dropped to seventh after getting stuck in a rut early in her final run. "Most of the time Ive finished just behind Mikaela Shiffrin, she is just so good. But I knew that some day, it would be my day," Hansdotter said. "Now I am looking forward to the Olympics. I want to leave Sochi with a medal around my neck." Austrian sisters Marlies and Bernadette Schild were second and third, coming 0.05 and 0.15 behind respectively. The last racer on the visibly deteriorating course, Shiffrin caught a hole in the snow early in the run and was thrown forward. She recovered but, having lost her pace, ended up 0.72 behind Hansdotter. Shiffrins chance to retain her World Cup season title even before the Olympics was already gone before her final run as both Hansdotter and Marlies Schild had secured podium spots by then. Shiffrin saw her 144-point lead over Hansdotter in the slalom standings reduced to 80 points, 438 to 358. Marlies Schild is third with 325 points. The event was moved from Maribor because of a lack of snow there, but the Podkoren course in Kranjska Gora had been softened by days of rain and snowfall. The unfavourable weather conditions forced organizers to cancel a GS on the same course Saturday. "To ski that good when conditions are so hard is great," Hansdotter said. "Normally I am not at my best on soft snow. On a course like this, you can only just go for it.&quoot; Marlies Schild, a four-time World Cup slalom champion, called it a "run in hell.dddddddddddd" "It made me nervous," the Austrian said. "The next race is at the Olympics, I am now really fired up for that." Shiffrin overcame the tough conditions earlier to post the fastest first-run time. The 18-year-old slalom world champion was chasing her third straight win and fourth of the season. "It was not great conditions but it was better conditions for me than for the girls coming down later," Shiffrin said, who was the third starter in the opening run. The American had one mistake in the steep middle section but quickly recovered. Olympic slalom champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch, who leads the overall standings, came 2.25 back in 23rd and criticized the conditions. "I saw already at inspection this morning that the course is very bad," the German skier said between runs. "We knew they would push through this race today at all costs, which is questionable for me so shortly before the Olympics ... The snow broke and with my start No. 7 there were already some big holes." Austrian Kathrin Zettel, who was seventh after the opening run but failed to finish her second, said "Nobody is feeling well here ... Its a very tough race." Hoefl-Riesch still extended her lead as her closest competitors dont compete in slalom. After 24 races, Hoefl-Riesch has 1,079 points, 136 clear of Liechtensteins Tina Weirather. Anna Fenninger of Austria is third with 871 points. Defending overall champion Tina Maze failed to finish her second run after already having struggled for most of her first run and coming in 19th in front of her home crowd. After the Sochi Olympics, the womens World Cup continues with a downhill and a super-combined event in Crans Montana, Switzerland, on March 1-2. 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