st game this season, I was so nervous, Gesicki said. I was sitting at my locker just thinking about everything. I was talking to (teammate) Saeed (Blacknall) about it and he

BOSTON -- Clay Buchholz, the longest-tenured member of the Boston Red Sox pitching staff, has been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor league second baseman Josh Tobias, the teams announced Tuesday.The Red Sox picked up their $13.5 million option on Buchholzs contract at the end of last season, but there was always a possibility he could be traded in the offseason. It became almost inevitable two weeks ago after the Red Sox completed a blockbuster trade for ace left-hander Chris Sale, giving Boston seven major league starting pitchers.Although the Red Sox could have opted to trade lefty Drew Pomeranz -- and would have obtained a greater return for him by virtue of his lower salary and a contract that is controllable through 2018 -- multiple teams that spoke with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski during and after the winter meetings suggested he strongly preferred to move Buchholz, who is eligible for free agency after this season. The Phillies agreed to pay his 2017 salary, which also decreased the prospect value the Red Sox received.When it came down to it, as we looked under all scenarios, the deal that made the most sense was dealing Clay, Dombrowski said. The others have some longer time with us as far as being with the organization. We have longer control over them. Hes in his last year, the dollar perspective. It was really our choice to pursue this one rather than some of the other guys.Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said on a conference call that the team had asked the Red Sox about Buchholz as far back as last July, before the trading deadline, because they viewed him as a potential bounce-back candidate even before his second-half resurgence.Theres no such thing as too much starting pitching, Klentak said. Ive been saying all offseason that if an opportunity makes sense, we would explore that. And the Buchholz acquisition reflects that. This wasnt necessarily a position we were trying to fill, but we felt the opportunity was right.Klentak also mentioned Buchholzs history with Phillies pitching coach Bob McClure, who once held the same position with the Red Sox until he was fired in 2012.Clay is very excited to be reunited with Bob, Klentak said.Buchholz spent 10 seasons with the Red Sox, and expectations for him were impossibly high from almost the day he was drafted with the compensatory first-round pick obtained when Pedro Martinez signed with the New York Mets. The bar was raised even higher on Sept. 1, 2007, when Buchholz no-hit the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park in only his second career start.Dogged by injuries, Buchholz made frequent trips to the disabled list. He never pitched more than 189? innings in a season and averaged only 140 innings per season from 2010 to 16.He thought maybe it also was a spot where he gets a change of scenery, fresh opportunity, Dombrowski said of Buchholz. Not always a bad thing, as he mentioned.Buchholz also outlasted high-profile starters Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester and John Lackey in Boston. He wound up going 81-61 with a 3.96 ERA in 206 appearances (188 starts). In six career postseason starts, Buchholz was 0-1 with a 4.25 ERA. Save for the no-hitter, Buchholzs crowning moment with the Red Sox was arguably grinding through a shoulder injury to pitch four innings in Game 4 of the 2013 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, a series the Red Sox won in six games.Without Buchholz, Bostons rotation consists of Sale and David Price, reigning Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello, Pomeranz, lefty Eduardo Rodriguez and knuckleballer Steven Wright. By subtracting Buchholz, the Red Sox also nearly offset the combined 2017 commitments for luxury tax purposes to newly acquired Sale, reliever Tyler Thornburg and first baseman Mitch Moreland, leaving them more likely to avoid going over the tax threshold for a third consecutive season.Tobias, 24, hit .291 with 9 home runs and 69 RBIs last season in two stops in the Phillies minor league system. He finished the season at Clearwater, Philadelphias affiliate in the Class A Florida State League.Buchholz joins a Phillies rotation led by 2011 American League Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson, who was 12-10 with a 3.71 ERA last season. The right-hander accepted the teams qualifying offer of $17.2 million earlier this offseason.The rotation is also expected to include right-handers Jerad Eickhoff (11-14, 3.65 ERA in 2016), Vince Velasquez (8-6, 4.12 ERA) and Aaron Nola (6-9, 4.78 ERA).The Phillies already had seven pitchers on their roster who made at least 10 starts in the major leagues last season, so the trade for Buchholz will bump one of their young starters -- likely Jake Thompson, Zach Eflin or Alec Asher -- out of the rotation.The Phillies now have signed five players this offseason -- Buchholz, Howie Kendrick, Pat Neshek, Joaquin Benoit and Hellickson -- who are on the last year of their contract, which could put them in position to be one of baseballs most active sellers before the trading deadline.ESPNs Jayson Stark contributed to this report.Buy Nike Tn Trainers Uk . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. 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Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Air Max 90 Wholesale Uk . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances.STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State tight end Mike Gesicki gets a quick pep talk from a teammate or two before every game.Be Mike, they say.Its taken him some time to figure out exactly what that meant, but hes on the right track. Gesickis found his way in Penn States emerging offense with 14 catches over the past three games and has become Trace McSorleys most reliable receiver.Hes a different Mike that the one who played the last two years. That one was enamored with thoughts of stardom and his overconfidence never let nerves seep in before games. That Mike led the team in drops and played less and less as the year wore on.I wanted people to know who I was, Gesicki said. I wanted to go out there and make big plays. I wanted to be the guy. When that kind of stuff didnt happen for me, I wasnt doing the things that I wanted to do, I just changed my whole mindset. I dont care if I walk down the street and nobody knows me. As long as Penn State wins, thats all I care about.With his fresh outlook, the 6-foot-6, 252-pound Gesicki appears primed to play a big role against No. 2 Ohio State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.Wisconsin used tight end Troy Fumagalli to move the ball against the Buckeyes last week. Fumagalli caught 7 of 9 targets for 84 yards with three third-down conversions. Like Fumagalli whos also 6-foot-6, Gesicki creates mismatches against most players in coverage.He can go up and get the ball, Penn State linebacker Brandon Smith said. And when you cover a guy like that, youve got to respect his speed and try to get hands on him.Gesicki has learned to take advantage of them in coordinator Joe Moorheads offense. The former Fordham head coach always had big plans for Gesicki and hed developed tight ends in the past. Three of them combined for 203 catches for 2,025 yards and 16 touchdowns in Moorheads last four years at Fordham.With Gesicki running routes deep annd across the field where hes done most of his damage, Penn States passing game has developed as McSorleys kept plays alive with his feet.dddddddddddd McSorleys completed 17 passes of 25 or more yards and his willingness to throw deep has provided Gesicki with more running room after catches with safeties are backed up, Gesicki said.Its much different from the last two years when he struggled to pick up blocking assignments and dropped balls when they came his way. It was on the plane ride home from the teams bowl game that Gesicki mulled over his first two seasons -- humbling 11- and 13-catch campaigns.Eric Fierro, who coached Gesicki in football and basketball at New Jerseys Southern Regional High School, points to a YouTube video of basketball highlights where Gesicki is draining 3s, sawing through the paint for finishes, slamming home alley-oops and blocking opponents seemingly at will to illustrate how used to dominating he was.A lot came for Michael really quickly in a lot of sports in high school, Fierro told the AP. A lot of attention from a lot of colleges came really quickly and as you can imagine for a 15-year-old kid whose dream is coming to fruition right before him, he had some growing pains going through high school and going to Penn State.A standout in the weight room, Gesicki spent most of the latter months last season staying after practice to pop the tackling sled or catch extra passes. Hes still doing that this season and feeling something different as a result.Before the first game this season, I was so nervous, Gesicki said. I was sitting at my locker just thinking about everything. I was talking to (teammate) Saeed (Blacknall) about it and he was like, `Its because you put in so much work. Nothing has ever been this important to you. ' ' '