Mitglieder Steckbriefe » flexibility to see how the draft is going

DENVER -- Dee Gordon got his team off to a quick start. The rest of the Los Angeles Dodgers followed his lead. Gordon tripled twice among his three hits and drove in three runs as the Dodgers beat Colorado 7-2 on Friday night, handing the Rockies their eighth straight defeat. The three RBIs were a career high for Gordon, who also stole his major league-leading 36th base while tying a career best for hits in a game. "It was just fun getting on base," Gordon said. "Thats it, getting on base, giving us a chance to win." Gordon became the fifth major leaguer to have two triples in a game this season and the first Dodgers player to accomplish the feat since Rafael Furcal did it Sept. 28, 2010, also at Coors Field. Hanley Ramirez had two hits and stole two bases, and Justin Turner also had two of Los Angeles 12 hits. "Our at-bats were good. Dee got us going early," manager Don Mattingly said. "This is a pretty good offensive field. Its good for everybody." The Dodgers had lost six of eight but got healthy against the struggling Rockies. Hyun-Jin Ryu cruised through the first five innings before Drew Stubbs hit a solo homer with one out in the sixth. Ryu (7-2) allowed two runs and eight hits over six innings in winning his fourth straight start. "I could tell right away why a lot of pitchers dont like throwing here," Ryu said. "It was a difficult outing out there. All aspects of gripping the ball was tough today. I just tried to keep the ball low the entire game." Stubbs and Troy Tulowitzki had two hits each for the slumping Rockies, who lost again in starter Eddie Butlers major league debut. Butler was impressive at times, touching 96 mph with his fastball and getting ahead of batters early by staying around the plate. "Opposing hitters were firing early because he was around the zone," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Hes got the ability to be efficient and get quick outs." Colorado had hoped Butler (0-1) could stop the slide, but he struggled right from the start. Gordon ripped Butlers second major league pitch down the right-field line for a leadoff triple and scored on a groundout by Ramirez. Drew Buteras RBI double in the second made it 2-0. Butler then settled down until the fifth, when the Dodgers stretched the lead. After Ryu led off with a double, Gordon tripled again and Ramirez singled to make it 4-0. "Its easy when you have a guy like Dee who can get into scoring position," Ramirez said. "Hes just trying to make it easy for us. I just want to win, I dont care about anything else." Gordon made it 6-0 in the sixth with a two-run single off Butler, who left after issuing a one-out walk to Ramirez. Butler, called up from Double-A Tulsa to take lefty Franklin Morales spot in the rotation, allowed six runs and 10 hits in 5 1-3 innings and learned how tough big league hitters are. "You cant pitch over the middle of the plate. Obviously, Gordon got me pretty good today," Butler said. "Ill just pull different things out of it to learn from." The Rockies didnt generate much against Ryu before the sixth. Their first two batters reached in the fourth but Ryu retired the next three to keep Colorado off the scoreboard. Stubbs fourth homer made it 6-1. Michael McKenry doubled and Charlie Culberson followed with a triple to make it 6-2. Ryu got pinch-hitter Brandon Barnes to fly out to end the inning. Yasiel Puig singled and scored in the ninth to extend his streak of reaching base to 37 consecutive games. That ties Torontos Jose Bautista for the longest in the majors this season. NOTES: Tulowitzki was ejected in the ninth by plate umpire Dan Iassogna for arguing balls and strikes. ... The Dodgers selected the contract of infielder Miguel Rojas from Triple-A Albuquerque and optioned infielder Erisbel Arruebarrena to the Isotopes. Rojas replaced Ramirez at shortstop in the eighth and made an error on his first chance. ... Rockies OF Michael Cuddyer was out of the lineup with a sore left shoulder. Vans Shoes Sale .35 million, avoiding arbitration. Davis led the majors last season with 53 home runs and 138 RBIs, both career highs. He earned $3. Cheap Vans Shoes For Sale . -- Adrian Peterson remained in a walking boot to treat a high ankle sprain on his left leg on Wednesday, and coach Leslie Frazier said he will not play on Sunday against Atlanta if he cant hit the practice field in the next two days. http://www.cheapvansdiscount.com/. On Wednesday, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas hit back. In a passionate defence of himself and the London clubs medical staff, the Portuguese coach rebuked the "incompetent people" who have attacked Tottenham for allowing Lloris to continue playing after being briefly knocked unconscious against Everton on Sunday. Wholesale Vans Authentic Shoes . - Zac Leslie scored two goals and assisted on two more, and Justin Nichols made 34 saves as the Guelph Storm blanked the Kitchener Rangers 6-0 in Ontario Hockey League action on Sunday. Cheap Vans Shoes China . Ellis had a season-high 37 points and two key assists late, Dirk Nowitzki led a fourth-quarter rally with 14 of his 35 points, and the Mavericks spoiled Howards best offensive night in Houston with a 123-120 victory over the Rockets on Wednesday night. MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman has made his philosophy well known by now: construct the foundation through the draft and use free agency to supplement the core of the roster. Coming off of a five-win season and with so many holes to fill, Spielman needed to be a little more aggressive on the open market to take some of the pressure the looming draft. Spielman capped a busy first week of free agency by signing receiver Jerome Simpson and cornerback Derek Cox to one-year deals on Friday, saying he needed to move quickly to shore up the defence and give them some freedom for the May draft. The Vikings spent big money to keep defensive end Everson Griffen and sign defensive tackle Linval Joseph to replace Jared Allen and Kevin Williams. They also worked hard to keep quarterback Matt Cassel and get cornerback Captain Munnerlyn to help beef up the struggling defensive backfield, while sprinkling in Simpson, Cox and Fred Evans on one-year deals for depth. "By doing that, it sure helps you head into the draft not to get boxed in; well, youve got to take this position," Spielman said on Friday. "Now we have that flexibility to see how the draft is going to fall -- and I do believe this is a very deep draft and the potential of moving up or down in the draft to accumulate picks -- youre still going to be able to add a lot of youth and a lot of young talent that can come in and help our ball club." The Vikings pick No. 8 overall in the draft, which starts May 8. Addressing many of their most pressing needs in free agency frees Spielman to get creative. With Cassel, he doesnt have to draft a quarterback early. With Joseph there to occupy double teams, he doesnt have to get a run stuffer to play next to last years first-round pick, Sharrif Floyd. With Munnerlyn on one corner opposite Xavier Rhodes, and Cox added to a group that also includes Marcus Sherels and Josh Robinson, he doesnt have to draft a cornerback rright away.dddddddddddd. The aggressiveness also gives a new coaching staff that includes head coach Mike Zimmer, offensive co-ordinator Norv Turner and defensive co-ordinator George Edwards, a solid veteran base with which to work. "I think by the activity that weve done so far, its by no means the end of what were going to do," Spielman said. "Well continue to monitor the market and work through the next couple weeks. But it gives us the flexibility that well need heading into the draft, where you dont have to hone and say you have to take this position. Again, with the opportunity as we develop our draft board to take the best available player." Simpson bounced back from an injury-plagued first season in Minnesota in 2012 with a solid season last year. He caught 48 passes for a career-high 726 yards in 2013 and expressed a desire to return to the Vikings when the season closed. Spielman said the Vikings like the deep threat Simpson brings to the table alongside fellow receivers Greg Jennings and Cordarrelle Patterson. But Simpson could face discipline from the league for a drunken driving arrest when next season opens. "He does have explosive speed down the field and does give us a vertical threat, but we felt confident enough and comfortable enough after the new coaching staff had met with him and understand the whole circumstance behind that last arrest that we re-signed him back to a one-year deal," Spielman said. Spielman said the Vikings were in talks to bring back left guard Charlie Johnson and were not closing the door on a possible return for Williams, the stalwart defensive tackle who has anchored Minnesotas line since 2003. The Vikings hosted defensive tackle Henry Melton for a visit, but he left on Thursday without a deal. "Theres no decision thats been made," Spielman said of Williams. "I told him wed leave it open. But we were trying to address some other needs that we definitely wanted to get done first." ' ' '