ed a potential signing with Rizin, as well as a fight against Russian icon Fedor E

Marcus Stroman is having the worst statistical season of his brief career. Coming off an injury-abbreviated 2015 in which he went 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA and helped the Toronto Blue Jays into the playoffs, Stroman was pegged as one of this years most exciting, young starting pitchers. Instead, the 25-year-old Duke graduate has one of the highest ERAs and WHIPs among major league starters. He knows its impossible to hide from his failures -- and the whispers that his work is deserving of a trip to the minors. I will never second-guess myself, he says. I always trust Ill be able to endure tough times because I never get lazy. Im relentless. While Stromans struggles have created much doubt among online commenters, the New York native has heard it before. Here, he opens up about his haters, his teammates, his comeback from a devastating knee injury last season and his father, Earl -- the man who prepared him for moments like this.I read it all.I see everything anyone says about me. I read the blogs. I read the tweets. Thats fuel. Thats motivation. I see people say I should be sent to [Triple-A] Buffalo, that I should be in the bullpen, that I shouldnt be in the majors. Those are the same people who said I shouldnt have played college baseball at Duke. Theyre the ones who said Im 5-foot-8 and that I was too short to be a starting pitcher. Now Im struggling, and Im hearing it all again.Fine. I like to have those doubters in my life.I went through it last year when I tore my ACL. I was in the doctors office. The trainer was with me. The doctor felt around my knee. He just shook his head and said, Its torn. I was crushed. I sat there for a couple of minutes and collected myself. I knew my mindset. I was coming back. I called my mom. I called my dad. I called my best friend. They were devastated. I hung up, collected myself again. I called my mom again. I said: Call Duke, Im going back to school.When I got there, I told the doctors in North Carolina that I wanted to be back by playoff time. There were no promises, but we were going to attack. It was relentless: Wake up at 8 a.m., foam-roll, stretch, breakfast. Id go to my first workout. Hour-and-a-half to two hours. Pool work. Ball stuff. Strengthening the knee. Everything was intense. Id go back to the apartment, go to class for two hours. Id do another two-hour workout with my other trainer. Crush it. After that, it was back to the house, eat dinner and go to night class. Six days a week. And then Id get up and do it again.That attitude comes from my dad. Hes a police detective. Hes about my height, real stocky. My parents divorced when I was in the fifth grade, but he moved just a mile away. My dad knew I was going to be undersized. He preached to me that I had to play with a chip on my shoulder. I had to have confidence in myself when other people might not. That became my way of thinking: always to turn a negative into a positive. Work as hard as possible. Most importantly, enjoy it all. Like Drake said: If Im not having fun with it, Im done with it. Its true.My dad saw the talent in me, but he knew if I was going to make it, I needed to have the drive. I wasnt going to get by on physical stature. We didnt get along well in the early years because he was so hard on me. He wanted me to be great. I wasnt the kid outside playing with friends. I was working out. I was in the gym. I was practicing. I was 6 years old, 7, 8, 9, 10. I was at the track, running with parachutes, running hills. Id be out there when high school varsity teams were practicing. If I wasnt doing that, then I was on the field throwing, taking ground balls, taking swings, shooting baskets, throwing the football. Then I was at home doing work. When I was done, Id do more work. My dad wanted me to be ahead. Hed give me the newspaper and make me read articles and help me with reading comprehension. Id read the articles, and hed question me. My dad was preparing me mentally, in every way. Ive got a tattoo on my wrist now. It says, Daddys Gift.That work helped when Ive faced adversity. Ill never have to go through anything harder than when I was rehabbing that knee. I came back in five-and-a-half months from a completely torn ACL on my landing leg. Think about that. We werent going at it at a normal nine- to 12-month pace. In five-and-a-half months, I made it back to a big league game. Sept. 12. Its not like I was just rehabbing, either. I was overloading on classes. I got my degree from Duke. All the pieces fell perfectly. Now that I look back, it couldnt have gone better. Nothing went wrong for me that entire summer.Now Im struggling.This game can consume you. It can eat at you. Ive learned that. Im going through it. Coming off a bad game, Im frustrated because of the work I put in. But the wheels are already turning as to what I can do better in my next outing. Im at the field from 2 to 11 every single day. Im training. Im working on my delivery, working on my mechanics, on my pitches. I get in the video room and see where my delivery was. I make small adjustments to get back on top of my sinkerball. Im always thinking, always trying to better my game. Dawg, theres no one thats going to work harder than me.Its impossible to escape the criticism. I go through those tweets. I have to deal with it. When youre struggling, everythings under a magnifying glass. Im not going to overthink and make the rest of my life unhappy. People doubt me and say I shouldnt be in the position where I am. I hear the noise.What drives me is seeing what Clayton Kershaw is doing, what Jake Arrieta is doing. I want to be there. I want to be the best in the game. I want to be a perennial All-Star. I want to take my team to the World Series. I want to be the staple, the ace you can count on every fifth game to get a win. The guy who you can count on to take you to the playoffs every year. I dont play this game to be mediocre. I dont coast. Im not average. Average isnt gratifying. I never want to get comfortable. Mediocrity scares me. You dont train as hard as you can to be fine with OK results. I dont play this game just to play.Baseball excites me. I want to fully reach my potential, and I dont think Im close to that yet. Im a starter. Ive shown I can be a dominant starter. My value is as a starter. I believe in that. I want to go six, seven, eight, nine innings. I was in the pen in 2014, struggled, and was sent down. People said the same things theyre saying now: He cant pitch. Hes too short. His fastballs too flat. I went down two weeks and came up, found a sinker somewhere in there. Im still learning. Im still growing in this process. Im aware of that. Im going to struggle at times, but those struggles wont last.Yes, I could end up in Buffalo. Do I think I belong in Buffalo? Not at all. If the Blue Jays think I need to be there, thats their decision. Im in a good place mentally and physically. Things are going to turn around. Im not the only believer. Everyone in my clubhouse believes that. Coaches believe that. Teammates believe that.There are these little key notes I get from the guys, little points. Im on the perfect team. I have unbelievable talks with Buehrle, LaTroy Hawkins, Estrada, Bautista, Donaldson, Tulo, Martin. I have the best group of guys to learn from. Im thankful for that. Jose Bautista took me under his wing from the second I got to the majors. Hes my mentor. Ive learned so much from him. Hes a guy whos been there for me. He saw when I was going through this rough patch. People in the clubhouse have faith in me every time Im on the mound. These are All-Stars telling me this. Theyve been there for me through the good and even more through the bad. They know how driven I am. They say, Stro, this is temporary. I have to be able to deal with this if I want to be elite. Theres been a low point for every player. Theres been a challenge theyve had to get through. My teammates are throwing confidence on me and letting me know Im still the guy. Im faltering a little bit, but theyre still going to rock with me.At the end of the day, Im lucky. My life is amazing. Thats why I can deal with this. Ive had success in the majors. Ive gone nine innings. Ive gone eight. Ive pitched in the playoffs. I know its there. Its just disconnected for a bit. But this little disconnection is going to create a stronger individual. Im a confident, hard-working visionary with big dreams for my friends, family and myself. Baseball is my passion. I know mentally, physically, emotionally, Im stronger than most. I can get through anything.Custom Astros T-shirts . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. Custom Astros Jerseys . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. http://www.customastrosjersey.com/custom-jeff-bagwell-jersey-large-76y.html . "It was nerve-wracking, but we pulled through," said Collaros, who threw four touchdown passes to lead the Toronto Argonauts (8-4) to a 33-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders (9-3) in front of 28,781 fans at McMahon Stadium. Jeff Bagwell Jersey Large . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Cheap Astros Jerseys . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2.Shane Carwin will officially return to competition as part of the Rizin FF Grand Prix on Dec. 29 in Saitama, Japan.The Japanese promotion announced a deal with Carwin on Wednesday. The 41-year-old is the final entrant into a previously announced Grand Prix tournament at Saitama Super Arena. His opponent has not yet been announced.Japan is one of the most prestigious countries for not just the sport of MMA but martial arts, in general, said Carwin, in a statement released by Rizin.The legends of the sport have fought in Japan and for [Rizin CEO and former Pride Fighting Championships head Nobuyuki] Sakakibara, and it is an absolute honor to be chosen for this event and to fight in an arena with so much history.Carwin (12-2) has not fought since June 2011, but he announced his intention to return to the sport earlier this year. He ultimately severed ties with the UFC, for whom he fought six times from 2008 and 2011.Last weekennd, Carwin, who fights out of Denver, teased a potential signing with Rizin, as well as a fight against Russian icon Fedor Emelianenko.ddddddddddddThat matchup, however, did not materialize.The Rizin FF Grand Prix actually started on Sept. 25, but it culminates in a series of bouts from Dec. 29 to 31. In addition to Carwin, former Pride stars?Mirko Cro Crop Filipovic?(31-11-2) and Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1) are scheduled to compete.I am excited to return to the sport of MMA, and I am also excited to be signing with Rizin, Carwin stated. Im ready to help take the company to the next level. I want people to remember me for my fights in Rizin, and for Rizin to be remembered as the promotion that overtook the UFC. After I win this Grand Prix, fans can be excited about the great future that is to come. ' ' '