Uncle Greg's forum » f Thursdays talks. "When everything is ne

ARLINGTON, Texas - The New York Yankees have traded pitcher Gonzalez Germen to the Texas Rangers for cash, a month after acquiring him from the New York Mets. Garry Maddox Jersey .The 27-year-old right-hander had a 4.75 ERA and no record in 25 relief appearances for the Mets last year, when he was sidelined for a month because of a virus and abscess. He was 1-2 with a 4.31 ERA in 54 games with the Mets over the past two seasons.He was designated for assignment by the Mets on Dec. 15 and obtained by the Yankees four days later for cash. The Yankees designated him for assignment on Jan. 13.The trade was announced Tuesday. Tim Keefe Jersey . Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas appeared to be on track to gain election from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Wednesday, and Craig Biggio could join them. Willie Jones Jersey . Yet coming off consecutive series losses at St. Louis and Pittsburgh, Los Angeles needed some sort of spark as August approaches. The Dodgers found it in the ballpark of their biggest rival, and left the Bay Area in first place following an emphatic three-game swing. https://www.cheapphilliesjerseys.us/987n-john-vukovich-jersey-phillies.html . I kind of got a taste of being able to pick a suit with the draft lottery, I went with the bow tie.NEW YORK, N.Y. - After a year of record revenues, the NHL salary cap is going up again. The exact figure for the 2014-15 hasnt been set yet, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Thursday following a meeting of the leagues board of governors, but he hoped it would be worked out with the players association in time for the start of the two-day entry draft Friday in Philadelphia. The final number is expected to be in the high $60 millions or low $70 millions. That gives general managers a guideline as they head into the draft and the free-agent shopping season that begins on Tuesday. "We hope to have a mutual understanding as to what the cap will be within the next day, hopefully at the latest," Bettman said. "Its something that obviously we do in conjunction with the players association. "There have been ongoing meetings, but our goal would be to move this as quickly as possible. But we have a dance partner and we want to make sure the music is playing appropriately and were both hearing the same things." Many team officials rushed out of the midtown Manhattan hotel where Thursdays meeting took place and headed to Philadelphia for the draft, which will open with the first round Friday night and conclude with rounds 2-7 on Saturday. Teams that have large amounts of cap space can already make their off-season plans, whether it be trades or free-agent signings, without knowing the final cap number. "I expect to see a lot more trades than we normally see," Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "Well see a lot more trades, in my opinion, that dont even involve draft picks. Hockey trades. Theres so much parity in the league, everyone is trying to get ahead. I think some teams look at free agency as not an ideal route. I think there will be a lot of movement." Last seasons salary cap sat at $64.3 million, quite a jump from the original cap number of $39 million, established after the lockout-cancelled season of 2004-05. The only time the cap number dropped from the previous season was in 2012-13 following another lockout when the figure was set at $60 million after being $64.3 in 2011-12. Bettman said number-crunching was still being done to determine wwhat the leagues revenues were last season, but he declared they were at an all-time high. Paul Owens Jersey. "It is a record number, which is a testament to the strength of the game and our fans, and how competitive things are," he said. Also discussed Thursday were a host of potential rules changes that have already passed through the leagues competition committee and the general managers, who met earlier this month in New York during the Stanley Cup finals. There were no hurdles involved in those proposed adjustments, and the new rules are on track to be approved by the players association. "There are things that we need to consult with the players association on," Bettman said "I would prefer to do that before we make any formal announcements. I think its better for the process that way." The biggest possible changes revolve around the 5-minute overtime period in the regular season. The league would like to create more overtime goals and have fewer shootouts. The proposal includes doing a scrape of the ice before overtime instead of before the shootout to give a cleaner surface to play on, and having teams change direction after the third period to create a longer change to the benches. "In our game now, the way its played, teams play so hard," said Hockey Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille, now the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings president of business operations. "Players are so good, and when theres not a lot of room, suddenly one bad change and it ends up on a 2-on-1 or a 3-on-2. "It does make a difference. This certainly will open up a few plays here and there. That long change is always a hard thing for most teams." Also subject to change are penalties for faceoff infractions after icings, which could result in a delay-of-game penalty, the configuration of faceoff circles, increasing the size of the trapezoid behind the net, and tougher penalties for embellishment. "Very consistent with the discussions with the competition committee and with the general managers," Bettman said of Thursdays talks. "When everything is neatly bundled up, well issue a formal release giving you the details on all of that." ' ' '