When Brett Lawrie arrived with the Blue Jays in 2011, he looked even at age 21 to have the raw potential to become one of the franchises greats. In a 43-game stint, he batted .293 with nine homers and 25 runs batted in with a .953 OPS. He played spectacular defence and seemed to have a skill for pumping up his teammates and electrifying the crowd. You had to ask yourself how Milwaukee let him get away in that trade for right hander Shaun Marcum? But in the last two seasons, Lawrie has gone through some growing pains. Hes had injury problems, some awkward in-game moments, such as throwing a batting helmat in the direction of an ump, and the berating of a teammate for a perceived miscue on the bases. (Lawrie was wrong). On top of that his production has dropped off, to the point where some have wondered if that blaze of glory in his first stint with the club was a fluke or a flash in the pan. The thing to remember is, Brett Lawrie is only 24. Skipper John Gibbons suggested this week that Bretts peak performance years could still be a couple of seasons away. If you go by a couple of third basemen from the Blue Jays past, Gibbons may well be right. Kelly Gruber spent nine years with the Jays, hitting .259 with 114 homers, 439 runs batted in and 80 stolen bases. He was stolen away from Cleveland in the Rule 5 draft and spent his first couple of years as a Jack-of-all-trades utility man before becoming the primary third baseman in 1987. At age 24 for the Jays he hit just .196 with five homers and 15 runs batted in. It took until 1990 for him to have a star impact season. At 28 years old, he hit .274 with 31 homers and 118 RBIs. Gruber was still the starting third sacker for a division title run in 1991 and for the Jays first World Series victory over Atlanta in 1992. Ed Sprague offers up another example of a player who peaked in his late 20s. Sprague was the Jays regular third baseman for six seasons. After Gruber was moved to the Angels, Sprague took over at third in 1993 at 26. He hit .260 with 12 homers and 73 runs batted in and was a key member of the Jays second straight World Series victory over the Phillies in 1993. Still he didnt have his first really big year until he was 29, when he broke through with 36 homers and drove in 101 runs. Yes there are exceptions to the rule...guys who hit the ground running and continue to thrive practically from the moment they arrive in the Majors. Two of those kind of guys enjoyed brief stints with the Blue Jays in the last decade. Troy Glaus came over from the Diamondbacks along with Sergio Santos in a deal for right hander Miguel Batista and infielder Orlando Hudson. Glaus played third for the Jays for two seasons in 2006 and 2007. As a 22-year-old with his original club the Angels, he hit .240 with 29 homers and 79 runs batted in. At 24 with the Halos, he upped his power numbers to 41 homers and 108 runs batted in. Glaus had a good year with the Jays in 06, but his numbers fell off a bit in 2007, and he ultimately asked for a trade since the artificial turf at Rogers Centre was playing havoc with his back. The Jays dealt Glaus to St. Louis for another standout third baseman in Scott Rolen, who had had a falling out with Cards manager Tony LaRussa. As a 22-year-old with his original club the Phillies, Rolen - arguably the best defensive third baseman the Jays have ever had - hit .283 with 21 homers and 92 runs batted in. Rolen only spent one season with the Jays, at age 33 before asking for a trade to the U.S. midwest to be closer to his family. He wound up going to Cincinnati in a deal that saw the Jays land two pitchers, Zach Stewart and Josh Roenicke and a guy named Edwin Encarnacion. The point of all this is, Lawrie is still young enough to take off the way Rolen and Glaus did, or he may take a little longer like Gruber or Sprague. If you want to pipe dream a bit, consider Royals legendary Hall of Famer George Brett. At 24 he batted .312 with 22 homers and 88 runs batted in. The bottom line on Lawrie is, with the defence he plays, and the infectious hustle he plays with, the Blue Jays will be very patient with him indeed. The real Brett Lawrie could even emerge this season, if only he can stay healthy. Spring Roots The Blue Jays may not be leaving their spring training home in Dunedin after all. About a year ago a story first surfaced that the Houston Astros were talking with the Jays about teaming up with them on a new two-team state of the art facility in Palm Beach County on Floridas east coast. The Astros lease with Kissimmee, Florida runs through 2016, so the target date for moving obviously would have been 2017. However a local group of citizens didnt want any part of having this type of complex in their area and threatened a lawsuit. So now the Astros are looking elsewhere in Palm Beach County and are now talking with the Washington Nationals about being their potential partners. Custom Nike Houston Astros Jerseys . That assertion is getting harder and harder to make, especially given the way 23-year-old Danilo Gallinari has been playing this season. Custom Nike Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. https://www.customnikebaseballjerseys.com/. The England international raised his middle finger toward Manchester City supporters during Saturdays game at Etihad Stadium, which Arsenal lost 6-3. The incident was not seen by match officials at the time but the FA charged Wilshere retrospectively after a study of video footage. Custom Nike New York Yankees Jerseys . Footballs governing body said Tuesday that of the 2,577,662 tickets allocated for this years tournament, 1,041,418 have gone to people in Brazil. The U. Cheap Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . -- The top-seeded Alberta Pandas set up of an all-Canada West final against arch rival UBC at the CIS womens volleyball championship after a 3-0 win over the No.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Its all in the mindset.Scratch, claw, bite, kick, whatever you have to do make a play and win, Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake explained after Monday nights dull but effective slugfest with the New York Jets ended in a 16-13 Miami victory.Its December, added rookie receiver Jarvis Landry. The only thing that matters is winning, no matter how you get it done.The Dolphins found the right formula to stay in the AFC playoff race: Simply let the Jets run the ball all night, and wait for New York to make mistakes — something the Jets have done quite well all season.Caleb Sturgis third field goal, from 26 yards with 1:57 remaining, gave Miami (7-5) the comeback victory over its archrival.New York (2-10) rushed for 277 yards on 49 carries, but made enough key errors in the second half to lose.Cant believe were 2-10, Jets coach Rex Ryan said, shaking his head and pausing. Its a joke.The Dolphins remained a factor in the wild-card race thanks to special teams; Landrys eight receptions; Lamar Millers 4-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter; and plenty of defence when the Jets needed to pass.New Yorks Geno Smith threw only 13 times, fewest in the NFL this season, and gained 49 yards. The usually reliable Nick Folk missed two field goals.All of that offset a season high on the ground as Chris Johnson had his best performance for the Jets with 105 yards.We had to draw a line in the dirt. No more, Wake said of his teams stinginess after halftime. We came out in the second half scheme-wise the same, but guys played the way theyre supposed to play.Sturgis also made field goals of 43 and 44 yards.After trailing most of the way, Miami tied it on Millers run with 10:24 remaining. That brought the loudest cheers of the night; thousands of Dolphins fans at MetLife Stadium braved the wet, windy conditions.Jets problems with penalties on special teams hurt them all night, and a holding call against Saalim Hakim set up the Dolphins at New Yorks 39 on the tying drive. On the winning possession, backup tight end Dion Sims had catches of 18 and 17 yards.The Jets kept pounding the ball effectively. They even got into field goal position after Miami made it 13-13. But Koa Misis sack pushed New York back to the Miammi 27 and Folk missed wide left for the second time.dddddddddddd Folk had made 18 of 20 entering the game.Thats the way the Jets season has gone, of course.I feel sick, Ryan said. We cant buy a win.Early on, Greg Salas, with his fourth team in four pro seasons, scored his first career touchdown. But the receiver didnt get it through the air, instead scoring on a well-conceived reverse on which the Dolphins had no one close to him until he reached the 2. He dived into the end zone to cap an 85-yard drive, but that ended his night; Salas hurt a hamstring.Sturgis missed a 43-yard field goal on the next possession for Miami, further boosting New Yorks confidence. The Jets took the ball into Dolphins territory for the third successive series, and got more points on Folks 40-yard field goal.As New York kept grinding away on the ground — it had 210 yards rushing in the opening half — it also ate up the clock. But Folk missed from 48 yards and Miami took advantage on Sturgis 43-yard field goal to end the half.Sturgis added his 44-yarder to start the second half, and Folk followed with a 45-yarder that bounced off the crossbar and through, making it 13-6.Then came two huge plays that led to, well, nothing.Dion Jordan partially blocked Ryan Quigleys punt, resulting in a 6-yard kick to the New York 41. It was the second straight week an opponent got a piece of a Quigley punt.On the next play, though, Miller bobbled Ryan Tannehills short pass and the ball squirted into cornerback Darrin Walls hands. Walls slipped, got up and returned the interception 25 yards to the Dolphins 30. But Wake got a sack — he leads Miami with 9 1-2 — and that forced a punt.NOTES: Tannehill was 25 of 35 for 235 yards. Smith threw for 65 yards on his seven completions, but also was sacked twice for minus-16 yards ... New Yorks previous rushing high this season was 218 vs. New England. ... Dozens of Jets alums were on hand, including three living Hall of Famers: Joe Namath, Curtis Martin and Don Maynard. They celebrated former owner Leon Hess and former receiver Wayne Chrebets induction into the teams ring of honour. ... Dolphins WR Brian Hartline left with a knee injury.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '