Wichtig » are scheduled to start RHP Chris Archer, who

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Tim Tebow crossed an item off his instructional league bucket list Tuesday when he hit his first batting practice home run. He also received a batch of helpful tips from New York Mets coaches. The atmosphere was more reminiscent of a baseball practice than a college football pep rally.Judging from the more relaxed vibe in Mets camp, Tebow has a reasonable chance of assimilating in peace over the next three weeks. About 30 media members showed up for his second workout, down from the 70 or so who attended his debut. The crowd shrunk from 500 to 250 or thereabouts, and the local news helicopter that hovered above Mondays proceedings went back to covering some real news.Life is evolving off the field as well. Tebow has already ventured out on a shopping trip and mingled with some locals, who enthusiastically welcomed him to his temporary home in Port St. Lucie.Im sure people will see me out and about, Tebow said. Some people saw me in Target last night getting some supplies. LaCroix water. Almonds. Stuff like that.As the interviews and autograph requests recede, Tebow will work on forming relationships with his coaches and teammates and traveling the hard, improbable road to extended baseball employment. His ability to acclimate to his new environment, absorb instruction and deal with the drudgery will help determine how far he goes.But even the scouts who admire Tebow for his effort and work ethic remain skeptical that he has the skills to navigate the massive task that awaits him. A veteran personnel man who watched Tebow during his recent two-hour audition in Los Angeles saw what he expects to be significant obstacles for Tebow.To me, he looks like a football player trying to play baseball, the scout said. He has that big upper body, and he muscles everything. His swing is pretty good. Its pretty efficient. But I dont see the kind of bat speed you need to have to play in the big leagues.You look for guys who do things easy. The bat whistles through the zone. They dont look like theyre straining to hit a fastball, and they can make an adjustment easy. He put in a lot of effort for that workout, but nothing he did was easy.At first glance, its stunning how Tebow dwarfs the younger players in Mets camp. Hes listed at 6-foot-3, 255 pounds, and he looks every bit the full-grown football star next to wiry prospects in their late teens and early 20s. Infielders Pete Alonso and Dash Winningham are both listed at 230 pounds, but they look pocket-sized in the company of Tebow.If that muscular frame restricts Tebows mobility or affects his ability to turn on inside fastballs, he hasnt noticed.Thats not a lot of weight for me to carry, Tebow said. It wouldnt be that hard for me to even be heavier. Ill obviously listen to advice and what people think, but I feel pretty good at this weight.From all accounts, Tebow made significant strides as a hitter in three months at the Chad Moeller Baseball school in Arizona leading into his showcase in Los Angeles in last August. He talks routinely about his fondness for the craft of hitting and the sense of exhilaration he gets from swinging a bat. But hes missed out on 11 years of swings since dropping baseball after his junior year of high school, so hes very much a work in progress.Growing up in suburban Jacksonville, Florida, Tebow was a fan of Gary Sheffield, Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas, Chipper Jones and Jeff Bagwell. He took a little something from each of them, but hes ultimately going to have to settle on an approach and a philosophy that suits him. Thats a major undertaking at age 29.You look at things they do well, whether its super-fast hands, or getting their foot down, or their rotation, or hands through the zone, Tebow said. You look at each of these guys, and they do something amazing, and you can learn from that one thing.Im still listening to coaches and trying to develop. Hopefully, I have a goal where Im not just a pull hitter. My goal is to be someone who hits the ball where its pitched.Tebows ultimate goal is to be perceived as a baseball player, rather than a celebrity dabbling in baseball, and that means immersing himself in the clubhouse culture and having the patience to deal with the daily grind. For what its worth, he seems to be making a positive early impression on his fellow Instructional Leaguers.Nice guy, said Mets pitcher Steven Matz, who spent the past week in Port St. Lucie on a rehab assignment before leaving for New York on Tuesday. Hes a hard worker, and hes just another player. You can tell thats all he wants to be.Wholesale Ua Shoes . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Under Armour Wholesale China . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. http://www.uaoutlet.us/ . They were putting most of their energy into a record-setting offensive display. Cheap Ua Shoes . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. Under Armour Outlet . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- To suggest that LHP Danny Duffy has been the only thing positive about Kansas City Royals pitching in the past month is nearly correct.As the Royals visit the Tampa Bay Rays to open a four-game series, they do so in the midst of a four-game skid that began after Duffys last start, which came after another four-game losing streak.In Kansas Citys last 25 games, the Royals are 5-0 when Duffy starts and 2-18 when he doesnt.He simplified his mechanics, so hes able to repeat them consistently, Royals manager Ned Yost explained Sunday. Hes throwing strikes with all three of his pitches, managing his pitch count very, very effectively. And hes really just turned the corner.And a 27-year-old who has only once had a winning record in five previous seasons -- and that was going 2-0 in five starts in 2013 -- is now 6-1, and again the Royals best chance to pull out of a slide that has seen them drop eight of nine games.The Rays, somehow, are on the opposite tear. After a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees, theyve matched a season high with four straight wins. Theyve done it with the opposite of the Royals problem: reliable, consistent quality starts from their pitching staff.Sundays starter, LHP Blake Snell, gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings for the win but fell two outs shy of the minimum for a quality start, thus ending a streak of 10 straight quality starts by Rays piitchers.ddddddddddddWere starting to see a trend: When you pitch well and play good defense, you give yourself a chance to win consecutive ballgames, said Rays manager Kevin Cash, not far removed from a stretch where the Rays won three of 27 games.The Rays are scheduled to start RHP Chris Archer, who has a major-league-high 14 losses, against the Royals, but theres the possibility he could be dealt in a blockbuster move before Mondays 4 p.m. trading deadline. Archer has been mentioned as a possibility for the Los Angeles Dodgers, though the price would be expensive to pry an All-Star leader from Tampa Bay.The Rays could be very busy -- fellow starters Matt Moore and Jake Odorizzi have both been mentioned as trade targets, as has versatile infielder Steve Pearce, who is a free agent this winter.The three-game sweep this weekend was enough to make the Yankees sellers, trading away prized reliver Andrew Miller, but will it be enough to keep the Rays from moving major pieces of their franchise?As it stands, the Rays being active at the trade deadline would be one thing to help change the momentum of two teams -- the Rays, getting back to their winning ways but far out of contention, and the Royals, hoping to get another win from Duffy, their proven streak-buster. ' ' '