he bar high after winning a Cup in his rookie

SAN FRANCISCO -- The San Francisco Giants expect to have new infielder Eduardo Nunez in uniform and ready for action when they host the Washington Nationals in the second game of a four-game series Friday night.The Giants acquired the American League All-Star from the Minnesota Twins on Thursday during their 4-2 loss to the Nationals.San Francisco sent minor league pitcher Adalberto Mejia to the Twins in order to acquire the versatile infielder who was hitting .296 with 12 home runs for Minnesota this season.Nunez likely will start at third base Friday as the Giants continue to await the return of Matt Duffy from the disabled list. Duffy, who has missed 32 games with an Achilles strain, is tentatively scheduled to begin a rehab assignment in the minor leagues this weekend.Nunez, 29, went 0-for-4 in Minnesotas 6-2 win over Baltimore on Thursday night. He made his 49th start of the season at shortstop, but he also has received the call at third base 28 times and at second base on four occasions.Hell be used as we would use any utility infielder, Giants general manager Bobby Evans said of Nunez, who leads the AL with 27 stolen bases. Hell help with his speed and experience and bat, and it gives us some versatility and flexibility.Coincidentally, fill-in third baseman Conor Gillaspie was the Giants most productive offensive player Thursday. He went 2-for-3 on a night when the Giants got only five hits, and he drove in San Franciscos first run with an infield out.One day after they were held to four hits and one run over seven innings by Tanner Roark, the Giants will see Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer (10-6, 2.92 ERA).Scherzer has had more than his fair share of problems against the Giants in general and at AT&T Park in particular. He gotten bombed to the tune of an 0-2 record and 7.88 ERA during his career in San Francisco.He is 1-4 with a 6.85 ERA in five all-time starts against the Giants. That mark does not count Game 4 of the 2012 World Series in Detroit, when he pitched well for the Tigers (three runs in 6 1/3 innings), only to see San Francisco finish off its 4-0 sweep with a run in the ninth off the bullpen.The Giants will counter Scherzer with Jeff Samardzija (9-6, 4.22 ERA).Chances are the first batter Samardzija will see Friday night will be Trea Turner, who continued his recent hot run with two hits, a walk, a run, an RBI and a stolen base in Thursdays win.Nationals manager Dusty Baker indicated before the game that he would flip-flop Turner and Ben Revere in center field.Its not to say much, but youll take any edge that you can get, Baker said, according to the Washington Post. And tomorrow will be something different. Im hoping that I dont have to talk about my lineup every day and we can just go with it and see how it works. I mean, everything is about the odds and whos going good, who hits whom, whether the pitcher matches up better against right-handers or left-handers, if you need more speed. All that goes into my decision.Few Nationals are hotter right now than Turner, who has hits in nine of his 10 game appearances since the All-Star break and has reached base in all 10. Where can one buy good quality but cheap jerseys . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. How to Buy Cheap Jerseys . How great will be revealed in the next couple of days at the board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. https://www.wheretobuycheapjerseys.com/ . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Where to Buy Cheap Jerseys . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. What is the best site to buy team jerseys from China . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night.Every day, Dan Hawkins encounters something new in the Canadian Football League. The 52-year-old former U.S. college coach took over the Montreal Alouettes this season with plenty of enthusiasm but little knowledge of the 12-man game. "Its a very fun game," said Hawkins. "Its because of the pace, and all the situations. "Its a long way from your sideline to the other, especially when your bench is at one end and youve got to run guys to the other side. But thats the joy of it." Hawkins is the only truly new head coach in the eight-team league this season. There is a new man with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Kent Austin, but he knows the CFL inside out as a former quarterback and coach. Austin was last seen in the CFL in 2007, leading the Sakatchewan Roughriders to a Grey Cup. And while Tim Burke replaced the fired Paul LaPolice as interim head coach in Winnipeg last Aug. 25, it will be his first start to a campaign with the Blue Bombers in that role. Back for their second seasons are Scott Milanovich of the Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts, Mike Benevides of the British Columbia Lions and Corey Chamblin of the Edmonton Eskimos. Kavis Reed is entering his third campaign with Saskatchewan, while John Hufnagel is now the longest-serving coach with one team in his sixth season with the Calgary Stampeders. Hawkins replaced Marc Trestman, who left the Alouettes to become head coach of the NFLs Chicago Bears after five years and two Grey Cups with Montreal. Trestman also entered the league with no CFL experience, but at least he had many years working with pros as an offensive co-ordintaor and quarterbacks coach in the NFL. Hawkins made his name as head coach at Boise State University, but then posted a 19-39 record over five difficult years at Colorado. He spent the last two years as a football analyst on television. It seems a sketchy background for a new leader of a perennial Cup contender, but general manager Jim Popp saw potential in a coach known as more of an overseer than a hands-on boss. Hawkins calls his style "situational leadership." "I can micro-manage if I need to, and I will, but to me, its fine-tweaking everything and co-ordinating everything, and knowing its not just offence or defence or special teams," he said. "Its how do you win as a football team." To ease the transition, Popp has expanded the coaching staff to 12, and brought in veteran Doug Berry as senior adviser to the head coach. Berry was an assistant in Montreal from 1999 to 2005 and was head coach in Winnipeg for three years. "I think we learned our lesson with coach Trestman," said Popp. "It helps to have some experienced CFL people. "To have Dougs voice in that room, having been a co-ordinator, offensive-line coach, quarterbacks coach and head coach, he has a wealth of experience that he can bounce off people. And hes been in different cities. He can explain about going out west, how the wind is and how the stadiums are. You cant replace that." Already, Berrys been helpful. Hawkins recalled how before a pre-season ggame, he was overseeing warm-up and wondering when the officials would come over for the pre-game meeting, as they do in the U.ddddddddddddS. Berry told him that in the CFL, it is the coaches who go to the referees at midfield for the meeting. "So everything is an adjustment," Hawkins said with a laugh. "We call ourselves the adjustment bureau." Hawkins has large boots to fill after Trestman, while Austin has the weighty task of turning Hamilton into a winner. The talented Ticats have threatened to become an East Division power in recent years, but now they need to win games on the field. They were 6-12 under George Cortez last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008. They were first in the league in both points scored and points allowed. The 49-year-old Austin, who is also vice-president of football operations, has the credentials for the job. His 10 seasons as a player included leading the Roughriders to a Grey Cup victory over Hamilton in 1989. He was offensive co-ordinator on a Grey Cup winner in Toronto. After coaching Saskatchewan to a Cup he left to become offensive co-ordinator at the University of Mississippi, his alma mater, before becoming head coach at Cornell. Not long ago, there was a coaching carousel in the CFL, with mentors like Dave Ritchie and Don Matthews moving from team to team. Now Austin is the only one who has ever been head coach of another team in the league. Milanovich was Trestmans right hand man in Montreal before he jumped at his shot for a first head coaching role with Toronto last season. The 40-year-old whose specialty is quarterbacks has set the bar high after winning a Cup in his rookie campaign, but will have a chance to repeat with star pivot Ricky Ray behind centre. Burke fulfilled a long-standing dream to be a head coach when he took over the Bombers last season and was confirmed as head coach on Nov. 1. There will be pressure from the outset for the former Alouettes defensive co-ordinator with the team moving into the new Investors Group Field. The Bombers were 6-12 last year and were crushed in both of their pre-season games this year. Hufnagel, another former CFL quarterback, is 59-30-1 in his five seasons in Calgary, including a Grey Cup in his first year in 2008. The 61-year-old was offensive co-ordinator for the Stampeders in the 1990s, then went to the NFL before moving back up north as a head coach. Benevedes had the thankless task of replacing the respected Wally Buono, who remains general manager. All went well in a 13-5 regular season, but the former Lions defensive co-ordinator is 0-1 in the playoffs after losing to Calgary in the West final. The 40-year-old Reed is another who is under the gun in Edmonton. All went OK in his first year as they lost the West final after an 11-7 season, but last year, the Eskimos dropped to 7-11 and were bounced in the first round. Chamblin is charged with bringing the Roughriders back to respectability after an 8-10 campaign as a rookie head coach on a team with a lot of rookie players. Hell have Cortez as his offensive co-ordinator. ' ' '