Dein erstes Forum » Lawrie was called out on strikes for the second

MINNEAPOLIS - As Joe Mauer walked back to the dugout, the bat in his hand and a sour look on his face, there were boos from the Minnesota crowd. Mauer struck out to end the inning, with a runner on third base in the seventh on Wednesday and the Twins trailing 1-0. Everybody does this, of course, in a sport with a 30 per cent success rate at the plate long proven to be a benchmark of excellence. Failures this year have piled up for Mauer faster than usual for the six-time All-Star, three-time American League batting champion and one-time AL MVP. "Im a heck of a lot more frustrated than they are," Mauer said that night, when asked about those jeering fans. The sound of those boos has been jarring, considering hes the hometown guy from St. Paul with the handsome looks and the hitting skills to build a .321 career batting average, the best among all active players in baseball with at least 3,000 plate appearances. Minnesotans are fiercely proud of and protective of their natives, so Mauer figured to have a lifetime pass in the popularity department here. After signing that $184 million, eight-year contract extension in 2010, though, he has become a more-frequent target of criticism from fans frustrated by the teams struggles the past several years. The 28 home runs he hit in 138 games in 2009 were a one-year wonder. Lingering lower-body injuries limited him to 82 games in 2011. This season, his on-base-plus-slugging percentage was at a career-low .704 entering the weekend series in New York. Mauer is also on pace to blow by his career-high strikeout total of 89 set last year. "I feel pretty good actually, which is even more frustrating," he said. "Im hitting a lot of balls hard and just not having much to show for it. So hopefully that turns here soon." Mauer isnt the only one sputtering with the Twins. The teams batting average with runners in scoring position fell to .214, the second-worst in the league, after losing three of four games to Texas this week. "Were putting together a lot of good at-bats but still not driving people in with runners in scoring position. Thats the main focus, getting guys on, but we cant get them in," second baseman Brian Dozier said. Mauer reluctantly gave up his job as the catcher to better protect himself from another concussion, after missing the final six weeks of last season following a foul tip that hit him in the head. The loss to the Twins of Mauers intelligence and defence behind the plate was supposed to be trumped by an increase in his availability and production at a less-taxing position. He missed five games with back spasms earlier this month, but since then he said he feels fine. The problem has been these paltry totals: nine extra-base hits and 15 RBIs through Thursday. "The expectations are very high for him. People get frustrated. I just dont want Joe to get frustrated. I know he is a little bit right now, because he doesnt have the results he wants. But I dont want to put any more pressure on the guy," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I just want him to just keep being himself, keep swinging, and hell be fine." ___ Dave Campbell on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DaveCampbellAP Authentic NCAA Jerseys . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Steve Mason, Philadelphia (4) - Mason was brilliant all night long with save after big save on Benoit Pouliot, Carl Hagelin and Derick Brassard. College Jerseys . Orlando is to begin play in the MLS for the 2015 season. Kaka, who currently plays with AC Milan, is expected to be loaned out to his home club Sao Paulo for the upcoming season before joining Orlando for next season. https://www.cheapncaajerseysjustwholesale.com/ . Lawries batting helmet hit an umpire during his ninth-inning outburst in the Jays 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday. The 22-year-old threw his helmet to the ground and it bounced up and hit home plate umpire Bill Miller on the right hip after Lawrie was called out on strikes for the second out. Wholesale College Jerseys .com) - The Miami Heat stopped a four-game losing streak last time out and thats the same length slide their opponents Wednesday night, the Denver Nuggets, will try to halt when the two teams meet at the Pepsi Center. NCAA Jerseys For Sale .com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action.LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland - Maria Hoefl-Riesch was taken to a hospital with a shoulder injury after crashing in a downhill race on Wednesday, allowing Anna Fenninger of Austria to move atop the overall World Cup standings. The final downhill of the season was won by Lara Gut of Switzerland, the Olympic bronze medallist , but the drama centred on 2011 champion Hoefl-Riesch. The 29-year-old German was taken by helicopter off the slope and then brought to a nearby hospital for treatment. "She has pain in the shoulder and back on the right side. We dont know yet but we dont expect any fracture or (dislocation)," Germany team spokesman Ralph Eder told The Associated Press by telephone. Fenninger was sixth-fastest before Hoefl-Riesch started last in what has shaped up as a back-and-forth duel for the overall title. Hoefl-Riesch crashed midway down when her skis slipped away beneath her at a sharp right-hand turn. She slid off course and became tangled in the safety nets. With Fenninger failing to win the race, Hoefl-Riesch had clinched the season-long downhill title minutes before entering the start gate. But she missed valuable points toward the bigger prize. The downhill trophy ceremony went ahead after the race with an empty top step on the poddium and the German anthem playing as the helicopter landed nearby.dddddddddddd Fenninger earned 40 points to take an 11-point lead overall. That could be enough for her first title if Hoefl-Riesch is unable to compete in the three remaining races this week. "I hope Maria can race again. I dont know how she is," Fenninger said. "My focus is on the next two races. What she is doing, I cant change." The 24-year-old Austrian will start in super-G on Thursday and the season-ending giant slalom on Sunday. Hoefl-Riesch was scheduled to start all four races at the World Cup Finals. She is chasing a second overall title after getting her third Olympic gold medal in Sochi last month. Still, no woman has won more World Cup races this season than Gut, who got her sixth victory and second in downhill. Gut won in 1 minute, 32.31 seconds, beating Elisabeth Goergl of Austria by 0.05 seconds. Fraenzi Aufdenblatten of Switzerland was third, 0.57 behind, in her final World Cup race before retiring. The womens race started two hours after the men went down the same 2.3-kilometre (1.43-mile) Silvano Beltrametti course. Gut was 2.32 seconds slower than mens winner Matthias Mayer of Austria, giving her the 18th fastest time of the day. ' ' '