Crazyrebel(l)s ist umgezogen! » Stan Kasten said Greinkes comments

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- It wouldnt bother Zack Greinke if he didnt have to travel for the Los Angeles Dodgers opener against Arizona in Australia. "I would say there is absolutely zero excitement about it," Greinke was quoted as saying in a story by ESPNLosAngeles.com last weekend. "There just isnt any excitement to it. I cant think of one reason to be excited for it." The Sydney Morning Herald reported that organizers of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground on March 22-23 demanded an explanation from the Dodgers and Major League Baseball. Officials from the club and MLB assured them Monday that Greinke was speaking for only himself and not the entire team, according to the newspaper. Greinke hasnt talked to other media about the comments. He told ESPNLosAngeles he understood the reason for the trip. "Its a baseball thing," he was quoted as saying. "Its an ownership thing, spreading stuff around. Thats what its for, and its for the greater good of baseball." Dodgers President Stan Kasten said Greinkes comments were rooted in his detailed approach to spring training and his meticulous adherence to routine. Both habits, Kasten said, make him a good pitcher and great teammate. Greinkes teammates say they are looking forward to the trip. "Itll be fun to see what Sydney has to offer," first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said. The trip is scheduled to start with a flight of about 16 hours from Phoenix after an exhibition against Colorado on March 16. The Dodgers are scheduled to return to Los Angeles on March 23 and play three exhibition games against the Los Angeles Angels before playing in MLBs North American opener at San Diego on March 30. "Its a long trip for us," said projected starter Dan Haren, who has a dressing stall next to Greinkes in the Dodgers spring training clubhouse. "But we have to think of the game. The actual trip will be a lot to handle, especially for the starting pitchers." Arizona and the Dodgers opened their training camps about a week before the other 28 big league clubs. "This is not a normal spring for us," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said Tuesday. Because of the trip, the Dodgers are scheduled for about half of their usual total of spring training games. And they may alter their rotation. While two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw and Greinke are their top two starters, Mattingly might not want them to get that many innings early with starts in both Australia and San Diego. Kershaw in theory could line up to start the season opener, the North American opener and the Dodgers home opener against San Francisco on April 4. Mattingly said he wont start Kershaw in all three. "Ill pitch when they tell me to," said Kershaw, who is scheduled to start Wednesdays exhibition opener against Arizona in Scottsdale. Mattingly said 10 days ago he will monitor the workload of Kershaw, who agreed last month to a $215 million, seven-year contract, the largest deal for a pitcher. Kershaw pitched a career-high 259 1-3 innings last season, including the playoffs Mattingly does say Josh Beckett wont make the trip. Beckett is fighting to re-claim his spot in the starting rotation after surgery in July to alleviate a nerve problem that affected his right hand. He had a rib and muscle tissue removed. "Im hoping were going to feel a sense of urgency, make sure our minds are right," Mattingly said. "Its not like were starting tomorrow and we have 37 spring games to play. "Weve got 19 games and then a game that counts." Air Max 95 China Wholesale . The American secured his first back-to-back ATP match wins since June to leave Tsonga relying on his performance at next weeks Paris Masters to clinch one of the final three places for the season-ending event in London. Tsonga would have moved up one spot to No. 6 with a win over Querrey at the City of Arts and Sciences, but his serve deserted him in the second set as the 116th-ranked American broke twice to reach the quarter-finals. Cheap Air Max 95 Free Shipping . -- Manager Bob Melvin shuffled the Athletics batting order and got the type of production he was looking for from the top of the lineup. http://www.cheapairmax95china.com/ . There is no argument that the line of Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Thomas Vanek was one of the hottest in the NHL leading into the post-season, and they did combine for three goals and seven points, but it was the depth of all four lines that helped propel Montreal. Buy Air Max 95 China . Then Klay Thompson put his foot on the gas. Thompson scored 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Harrison Barnes scored 14 points in his season debut to help the Golden State Warriors to a 106-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. Cheap Air Max 95 China . Saskatchewans Darian Durant is expected to miss the rest of the Roughriders season with a torn tendon in his right elbow. The 32-year-old, who will undergo surgery in the next couple days to repair the injury, was added to the teams six-game injury list Tuesday.ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Surging into and out of the Olympic break, the Minnesota Wild have created a significant cushion between them and their competitors for the two Western Conference wild-card playoff spots. Thats not enough. With five days before they play next, this was still a game they were worried about -- and had to win. Jared Spurgeon and Zach Parise scored in the third period, and the Wild notched their season-high fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Monday night. "You dont want to go a week without getting any points the way things are, even if you have a cushion," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "The cushion to me is nothing ... because its not about where the people are behind you. To me its much more of a race of what you need to get to." The Wild have 75 points, nine ahead of the cut, but they are off until Saturday. Then they will launch their final stretch of 20 games in 37 days. "I dont think we were at our best. I dont think we played at a level we need to play. But it doesnt matter when you look back at the score," Parise said. Kyle Brodziak also scored, rookie Darcy Kuemper stopped 21 shots during his 15th start in a row, and the Wild raised their record at home to 22-7-2 while playing in front of their fans for the first time in 25 days. Captain Mikko Koivu, back from a 17-game absence due to a broken ankle, skated on the second line with Dany Heatley and Charlie Coyle, apart from Parise for the first time. Parise gave the Wild some insurance by camping in the crease and deflecting a shot past Reto Berra with 5:16 remaining for his 21st goal. Just 77 seconds later, Mark Giordano scored to bring the Flames back within a goal. But Kuemper hung on to raise his record to 11-3-2. Kuemper has played so well in place of Josh Harding and Niklas Backstrom that the Wild might not need to trade for a goalie before the deadline. "The confidence he has now, you can see that, and its just kind of the edge hes playing with thats good to see," Koivu said. "Hes playing winning hockey right now, so obviously thats a huge part of the team." Mikael Granlund had two assists while pllaying in the NHL for the first time against his brother Markus Granlund, who was called up from the AHL last week by the Flames.dddddddddddd After a scoreless, sluggish and penalty-free first period, the pace picked up in the middle frame. Matt Cooke swooped in behind the net to poke the puck away from Berra. Brodziak crept toward the crease to corral the puck and knocked it in for the games first goal. "If you make a mistake the puck ends up in the net. I feel bad for the team because they played really hard tonight and we had a great chance to win," Berra said. Mike Cammalleri, playing perhaps his last game for the Flames with the NHL trade deadline looming on Wednesday, tied it 1-1 in the second period when Koivus pass ricocheted across the slot to him for an easy tap-in that Kuemper had no chance to stop. "No moral victories. We know theyre playing well, but wed like to win," Cammalleri said. With Coyle screening Berra on a power play, Spurgeon sent a slap shot through traffic for the lead. "We had to kind of grind that one out. I had a feeling this was going to be a difficult game for us right from the start," Yeo said. The Flames, buried in the Western Conference playoff race, could make some moves this week. Cammalleri scored for the first time since Jan. 6. He missed nine games during that stretch because of a concussion. "Cammi, you always know that hes going to show up to work," coach Bob Hartley said. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, as a guest of Wild owner Craig Leipold, watched from a suite. Leipold took him earlier in the day to Target Field, where baseballs Twins play, and TCF Bank Stadium, the football home of the University of Minnesota, for tours of possible outdoor game venues. The NHL put on six this season. Bettman has assured the Wild they will be awarded an outdoor game but hasnt committed to a timeframe. NOTES: Flames RW David Jones hurt his upper body in a collision against the boards. "It doesnt look very good," Hartley said. ... Koivu missed 17 games, plus the Olympics for his native Finland, because of a broken ankle. ... Markus Granlund posted his first NHL assist, on Giordanos goal. ' ' '