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BOSTON – Aaron Sanchez is the really talented kid caught in an unnecessarily strange situation. Damien Wilson Jersey . Hes in the big leagues for the first time, dominating almost every time hes used out of the bullpen and, because of that, hes consistently finding himself in high-leverage, late-game situations. Hes even saved two games, a role usually reserved for Casey Janssen. This is a story of transition. Janssen, an impending free agent, has struggled in the second half of the season and likely is on his way out of Toronto. Sanchez is the organizations priority. Hes the first-round draft pick. Hes the one who throws a fastball, free and easy, in the 97-99 miles per hour range. Hes a big part of the future. Hes a big part of the present. If all goes well, one day the outgoing 22-year-old will be a commanding presence in the clubhouse. Right now, Sanchez is a respectful, quiet rookie who will pitch when hes told and say precious little. “When that phone rings and they tell me to get hot, thats what I do,” said Sanchez. On Wednesday night, a 7-4 win in Tampa Bay, Sanchez, not Janssen, closed the game. Sanchez had thrown on Tuesday night. Hed begun warming in the seventh inning, when the score was 7-2, and so he would be used based on the strategy the club is employing to maximize his innings. Sanchez can throw in back-to-back games, but not beyond, and, if he loosens up, it counts as a work day. The save situation emerged when, with Sanchez warming for a second time in the eighth, Dustin McGowan gave up a two-run home run to Evan Longoria to cut the Toronto lead to three runs. Its the save situation that complicated matters. If Sanchez wraps up a five-run win, theres no discussion. If Sanchez, not McGowan, is used in the eighth, the issue also is avoided regardless of the eventual result. Again, Sanchez will pitch when asked. “Thats my job is to go out there; however many outs that is, if its six outs, if its nine outs,” said Sanchez. “Whatever this team needs from me, Im going to go out there and work hard to do what I need to do and get the job done.” Its no secret that while theres no strict limit on Sanchezs innings, he is being closely watched. To date, Sanchez has thrown 124 innings (23 2/3 in the big leagues, 100 1/3 at two minor league stops). This is why hes in the bullpen. Entering next year, Sanchez hopes he gets a chance at cracking the starting rotation. “Going into spring training (2015), they told me I was going to be a starter,” said Sanchez. “The only reason why I got pushed to the bullpen was for a number of things: I was on an innings limit this year and this gave me a chance to pitch throughout the year. They kind of sat me down and told me, hey, if you were to get called up it would probably be out of the ‘pen because the guys weve had in the rotation have been nothing but awesome this whole year.” VALENCIA IMPRESSING By the time this season comes to an end, Brett Lawrie will have appeared in about 62 per cent of Blue Jays games since the start of the 2012 season, his first full year in the big leagues. Danny Valencia, acquired from the Kansas City Royals in late July, has been one of the players who has stepped in for Lawrie in that other 38 per cent of games. “If he turns out to be a good player for us, which hes doing and he can help us, it might open up a spot for him,” said manager John Gibbons. “It might answer a question.” What kind of question would Valencia answer? “If hes a regular on this team or not,” said Gibbons. Where would he play? “I dont know. Maybe hes the third baseman, Bretts the second baseman. Who knows?” said Gibbons. Gibbons made it clear no decision has been made on how next years infield will be configured, but the Blue Jays must address the middle infield in the offseason. Jose Reyes is penciled in at shortstop, despite having his share of defensive difficulties this season. Second base has remained a position of need for the ball club since it entered camp with Ryan Goins as the starter and demoted him to Triple-A Buffalo just one month into the season. Its difficult to imagine Valencia being an everyday player unless he vastly improves his splits. He has a career .625 OPS against right-handed pitching while posting a .875 OPS versus lefties. CHALLENGING THE CHALLENGE Manager John Gibbons threw up a prayer challenge on a fielders choice ground out in the 10th inning of Thursdays 1-0 win in Tampa Bay. The called was confirmed, Kevin Kiermaier was safe at first base and the Blue Jays didnt get the double play. However, after the challenge was concluded, Rays manager Joe Maddon emerged and engaged in a brief, but heated, conversation with home plate umpire Lance Barksdale. Maddon, apparently, was upset that Gibbons challenged the play without going all the way out to second base umpire Gary Cedarstrom. In a situation when he knows hes going to challenge, Gibbons doesnt see the need to trek any farther than a few steps from the dugout. “Ive done that a few times this year and theyve mentioned to me, hey, go out to the base,” said Gibbons. “I got close to the line, I think. If theyre going to complain all the time about the game taking too long, thats a way to speed it up.” Maddons pleas went ignored and the game with the next hitter later when Casey Janssen got Ben Zobrist to fly out to leftfield. Stefen Wisniewski Jersey . Scheffler told The Associated Press on Wednesday he made the choice because he had three concussions over the past four years. Ed Budde Jersey . The Missouri Tigers Defensive End and SEC Defensive player of the year is eligible for the upcoming NFL draft in May. http://www.customchiefsjersey.com/custom...2186n.html . Third-place Madrid fell behind and settled for a 2-2 draw earlier at Osasuna in a match both sides finished with 10 men, and Barcelona didnt let the chance escape. Barcelona, still without the injured Lionel Messi, again turned to Neymar after his hat trick against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday to convert a penalty on the half-hour mark and restore the lead in the 68th after Villarreal levelled.Prince Fielder is expected to have neck surgery next week and miss the rest of the season. Fielder has been out with a herniated disk in his neck, and surgery was recommended after a follow-up exam and another scan Thursday with Dr. Drew Dossett. General manager Jon Daniels said the team would get second opinion about surgery, but were "expecting that to be confirmed." Daniels said Dossett was tentatively scheduled to do a cervical fusion Tuesday. That operation has a typical recovery time of three to four months, and the GM said he anticipated Fielder being able to be fully recovered before spring training next year. The Rangers already have a majors-high 13 players on the disabled list. Fielder will become the 14th when that move is made Friday. Fielder had played in 547 consecutive games, then the longest active streak in the majors, before receiving a nerve root block injection Saturday to treat his neck. He had played all 162 games four of the past five seasons, and missed only one game in 2010. Before that, the durable first baseman that turned 30 earlier this month hadnt missed a game since Sept. 14, 2010. The last time he had missed consecutive games was Aug. 24-25, 2007, while with Milwaukee. Texas acquired Fielder last winter from Detroit in a trade for second baseman Ian Kinsler. Fielder is signed through 2020, the rest of the nine-year deal he signed with the Tigers after going there as a free agent for the 2012 season. After the injjection, Fielder took a couple of days off before an exam Monday. Mecole Hardman Jersey. Daniels said the sluggers strength tested normal then and that his symptoms had largely gone away, so he was given clearance to resume baseball activity. Fielder was initially listed in the lineup Tuesday night against Seattle, but was scratched more than three hours before the game after feeling weakness in his arm while taking swings in the batting cage. And he felt no better Wednesday. "His symptoms have gotten worse," Daniels said Thursday, describing Fielder as frustrated for not feeling like himself and being able to help the team. Daniels said he wasnt surprised by the news he got from Dossett on Thursday. "Talking to (Fielder) and seeing him, you knew this was something that was bothering him," Daniels said. "We were hoping the injection could get him through the season, and sometimes you have that kind of response. The initial response was positive. But when he had the setback on Tuesday, we kind of felt this is where it was headed." Daniels said there is a very high success rate for the kind of surgery Fielder will have. "Were looking forward to seeing this guy healthy and doing what he can do," Daniels said. "Its more of a 2015 thing. Were going to miss him this year." Fielder has hit .247 with three home runs and 16 RBIs in 42 games this season. The only time he has played fewer games was 39 as a rookie in 2005. ' ' '