director of operations for the college prospect website DraftExpress.

LOS ANGELES -- A. Wholesale Giants Jerseys Free Shipping .J. Burnett made a couple of mistakes with his pitches and gave up the lead in the seventh inning. That was nothing compared to the huge error Carl Crawford committed for the Dodgers in the 10th. Domonic Brown doubled home the go-ahead run after Crawfords miscue in left field, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat Los Angeles 3-2 Tuesday night. One night after Philadelphias Cliff Lee held the defending NL West champions to four hits through eight scoreless innings, Burnett took a four-hitter and a 2-1 lead into the seventh. But birthday boy Dee Gordon legged out a double to short right-centre with one out, stole third and scored when pinch-hitter Justin Turner singled to left on Burnetts 105th and final pitch. "I gave Gordon a little bit too much of the plate on that pitch and he put a good swing on it and hit it up the middle," Burnett said. "When he gets on base, he makes things happen. Hes an exciting player to watch, and I think him getting to third right there helped them was a big for them to tie it up." The right-hander allowed six hits, struck out four of his first eight batters and finished with five Ks in 6 2-3 innings. He also had a career-high three hits in three at-bats -- all singles against lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu, who allowed two runs and nine hits in six innings. "Im not here for my individual numbers. Im here to keep my team in it until skip takes me out," Burnett said. "If I win, thats fine. If I dont, thats fine. I just go about my job." Carlos Ruiz reached second base when his flyball to short left field glanced off Crawfords glove as shortstop Hanley Ramirez nearly collided with him. Brown followed with a drive to the fence in left-centre on a 1-1 pitch from J.P. Howell (1-2). "We both were coming hard and came up short," Crawford said. "Neither of us called for it. I didnt think it was clearly my ball. I was in no-doubles (mode), so thats a long run for me. But I still got to it. I just didnt catch it. It was one of those things where it didnt do our way that time." The error was the Dodgers 22nd in their first 21 games. "Its tough because were not hitting the way we want to right now, so defence is one of the things you have to do every day to help the pitchers out," said Crawford, who drove in the Dodgers first run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. "Things like that definitely make the errors more obvious, and you could see that it looks worse when it happens -- like tonight. Were not doing it right now in defence, so its something we definitely need to address." Antonio Bastardo (3-1) pitched a scoreless inning for the victory and Jonathan Papelbon got three outs for his sixth save, putting him within eight of 300. Burnett lined a single to right field leading off the third, and Yasiel Puig tried to throw the pitcher out without success. After Adrian Gonzalez took the throw, the 37-year-old pitcher stood on the bag and looked out at Puig with the palms of both hands facing downward as if to say: "Whoa, take it easy." "I knew he was going to do it," Burnett said. "I know how he plays the game. He plays the game hard and he looks for outs in the outfield when he can get them." Burnett didnt take it easy on Ryu, hitting another leadoff single in the fifth. He scored the games first run on a double by Marlon Byrd, and Ryan Howard followed with a sacrifice fly that drove in Ben Revere. Burnett got his third single of the game with two out in the sixth. Ramirez got some good news Tuesday, when Major League Baseball rescinded an error he was charged with April 13 on a grounder to shortstop by Arizonas Chris Owings and credited Owings with a hit. But Ramirez gave it right back in the Phillies second inning when he misplayed Browns grounder after a single by Howard. NOTES: Burnetts multihit game was his fifth in the majors -- all on the road. The other four came with the Marlins, most recently on Sept. 25, 2005, against Atlantas Jorge Sosa. ... Revere tied a career high with four hits, three of them against Ryu. ... Gonzalez was 0 for 3 with a walk, ending his 16-game hitting streak. ... Burnett was 0-4 with a 4.87 ERA in his previous four starts at Dodger Stadium. Cheap Stitched Giants Jerseys . 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. Youth B. J. Hill Jersey .Y. - Geno Smith shouted a couple of mighty expensive expletives. http://www.wholesalenewyorkgiantsjerseys.com/ . "That was a great lift for the staff," Padres manager Bud Black said. Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal homered, and Chase Headley drove in three runs, as the Padres beat the Chicago Cubs 11-1 on Friday night.CHICAGO - The young man with broad shoulders and a bright smile leans back, relaxed in his chair, and crosses his muscular arms, because young men like him, with broad shoulders and bright smiles dont have much to worry about. Theyre big enough for every moment. The world and its opportunities should belong to him: Hes 23, 6-foot-6, and a recent graduate of Iowa State — and oh, this Brampton boy is headline news in Des Moines, Iowa. And if this was Des Moines, and the young man was sitting inside the Hilton Coliseum - where the Iowa State Cyclones play - hed be affectionately crushed by so many wearing so much cardinal and yellow, because they know him. Hes Melvin Ejim: No one has played more basketball games for Iowa State (135). Few Cyclones have ever been as successful on a basketball court (12th in scoring with 1,643 points). But this isnt Des Moines, this is a big gymnasium on Chicagos west side. Its the second day of the NBA combine and in this large gym are plenty other large, young men with huge reputations from other corners of America. And they want to steal Melvins dream. Because in front of NBA general managers and scouts there are no pep bands to proclaim Ejims college achievements; all he has are his broad shoulders and a basketball - his tools to answer the crucial question: Who is Melvin Ejim? But dont they not know him already? "I dont think they knew as much about me," Ejim says, and his smile turns into a sneer. "If anything, people knew about me more in the Big 12 (NCAA conference), and everybody appreciated what I did, but it was still kind of downplayed. "But I think once I got the Big 12 Player of the Year, and I beat out Andrew Wiggins - who is a phenomenal player - people started to realize: Wait, Wiggins was in that league? Marcus Smart was in that league? Joel Embiid was in that league? And THIS guy got the Big 12 Player of the Year? It solidified for people: Well he might actually be pretty good, but it still left some doubt in people." Doubt? What kind of doubt? There was Ejim on Day 1, fluttering along the true NBA 3-point line, hitting more shots from distance than any other prospect. Then on Day 2 hes screaming on the court, communicating, waving his arms, exploding from one end to the other, making himself too loud and too energetic to be forgotten. Meanwhile, his fellow high-ranked Canadians, Tyler Ennis and Nik Stauskas, decided to participate in only selective drills. And Wiggins, Embiid, and Jabari Parker, the provisional Top three prospects ahead of June 26s NBA draft, decided to skip the event entirely. Doubt? There cant be any doubt of Melvin Ejims passion and potential. Does he really have to sell himself so hard to get drafted? "I think he does," says Matt Kamalsky, director of operations for the college prospect website DraftExpress. "When you look at guys getting drafted who are significantly older than their class, its very rare for guys over 23/24-years old to get picked at all, let a lone make a team, and then be successful at all in the NBA. "But just because it hasnt happened doesnt me it wont work for him." Its not a unique perspective: Too old and too small are ubiquitous descriptions of Ejims flaws in most scouting reports. He spent four years at Iowa State, while Wiggins, Ennis and Stauskass immediate talent created immediate hype. The highest Ejim is projected to be selected is somewhere in the mid-to-late second round. After the Top 30 draft picks, however, there are little-to-no guaranteed contracts. But criticism and long odds wont blunt Ejims smile. Defiance somehow makes it brighter. "People say Im too old, because on the paper it says Im 23 and the other guy is 22 and were born in the same year— its silly," Ejim says. "They say stay in college for four years, and I wasnt going to get any younger by staying. Its part of the process. "The undersized thing, Ive been hearing that from Day 1. That has kind of been overplayed now. Theyre saying Im undersized because they have to, because there is nothing else to say. Cheap Giants Jerseys For Sale. . Can you say I cant shoot well enough because I think I proved that [on Day 1 of the combine]. What are they going to say? That I didnt do well enough on the perimeter? Thats what they do here, they criticize—they want to evaluate." And Ejim wants to be evaluated. He wants to be poked and prodded and tested, again and again. He graduated with a history major and business minor, and in the future he wants to go to law school. But thats tomorrow. Today, he measures his growth with every shot he attempts, and every defensive challenge. He can feel himself growing into an NBA player. "A lot of people dont think I can shoot from the perimeter, and a lot of people dont think I can defend the perimeter," he says. "Im just trying to prove them wrong, and I think that is just the first step. Letting them know I can be a knockdown shooter. I can space the floor. I did it in college and being able to translate that to the (NBA) 3-point line — just showing people that I have the capability to do that, the capability to play on the perimeter as a [small forward] and it was gratifying." "Just listening to him talk its very obvious - and its not with all these guys - he knows what he needs to do in order to put himself in the best position to get drafted," Kamalsky says. "Guys dont have that kind of degree of self-awareness and maybe that maturity is a positive." And maturity, and perspective are Ejims greatest strengths. He came to the combine not just to show, but to tell. He wonders: Why would a general manager just obsess over a freakish, young talent that needs constant work? When here he is, learning, adapting, and thriving. Ejim remembers those early, early mornings - sometimes 6 am - walking or biking or busing to the Brampton or Mississauga YMCA. Sometimes hed have to bring his brothers health card and pretend to be someone else, because money was too tight for a membership, and one person can only have so many guest passes. And most of the time young Melvin wouldnt even get on the court; hed be off to side with a ball, watching his uncle and his uncles friend play, listening whenever he was told to: "Melvin, work on your handles." And he grew bigger and stronger and better, but he was still often an inch or inch and a half shorter than many others. So he worked and worked, from Amateur Athletic Union basketball to the NCAA. He counts his uncle, David, AAU coach Mike George (now his agent) and Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg, as part of his inner circle because they ingrained in him the everlasting directive; and if you listen to older, wiser Melvin long enough the mantra hits you like his smile: "I still think I can do a better job of being a better player. Solidify in peoples mind that Im a player, that Im good, that Im good enough." Those ranked higher than Ejim completely agree. "Ive worked out with him," says Ennis, projected to be selected in the Top 20. "I think he really shoots the ball better than people expect. At Iowa State he was playing more (small forward), going forward I think he has the ability to dribble the ball well enough to move to the wing." "We (Michigan) played Iowa State this year - Melvins a beast," says Stauskas, also potentially a Top-20 pick. "Hes a little bit undersized. Hes a guy I feel is going to go to workouts and really impress some people." Only when asked about workouts and meetings with NBA teams does Ejim become skittish. Dig deep enough and he reveals a meeting with the Utah Jazz next week, and then maybe three or four other teams after that. But each session is like a little secret, meant only for him. "My dream is to play in the NBA, to be a contributing part of a NBA team and continue to work, and be a solid player - the best player I can be. However I get there, time will tell." Maybe its why hes smiling: This is Melvin Ejims moment, after all. His big shoulders can bear it. Cheap Hawks Jerseys Cheap Celtics Jerseys Cheap Nets Jerseys Cheap Hornets Jerseys Cheap Bulls Jerseys Cheap Cavaliers Jerseys Cheap Mavericks Jerseys Cheap Nuggets Jerseys Cheap Pistons Jerseys Cheap Warriors Jerseys Cheap Rockets Jerseys Cheap Pacers Jerseys Cheap Clippers Jerseys Cheap Lakers Jerseys Cheap Grizzlies Jerseys ' ' '