OAKLAND, Calif. - Ben Zobrist needs few reminders of the quirks that come with playing in the Oakland Coliseum, his new home.In the 10th inning of a loss last August playing for the Rays, a small opossum scurried alongside the Tampa Bay left fielder and he caught glimpse of the critter out of the corner of his eye.Apparently that was a good omen for the As, and not so much for us, he said with a chuckle Monday.Zobrist might be in for far more sightings of his new furry friend after the As acquired the two-time All-Star infielder along with shortstop Yunel Escobar on Saturday to fill out the middle of their infield. The As sent catcher John Jaso and two minor leaguers to the Rays in the trade.Zobrist combines with Fernando Abad to complete general manager Billy Beanes A-to-Z makeover of the As spanning the past 14 months.The 33-year-old Zobrist helped the Rays make the playoffs four of the past seven seasons, including an improbable run to the World Series in 2008. He hit .272 with 10 home runs and 52 RBIs last season, and made starts at second base, shortstop, all three outfield spots and designated hitter.He will never forget the shock of those opossum eyes staring right at him last summer.Zobrist noticed the creature on a foul ball by Alberto Callaspo earlier in the 10th inning of the 3-2 defeat on Aug. 4.That was a strange moment, Zobrist said Monday. I was playing a little bit in the gap so I wasnt paying a lot of attention to the corner over there. I ran a long way for a foul ball and I was over near the bullpen and I saw the ball go into the stands and just kind of out of the corner in my eye there was something in the corner of my eye. Im like, What in the world? I thought it was maybe a piece of paper. I looked over and there it was, a baby possum just staring right up at me. I stood there just frozen for a second, looking at this thing like, Where did you come from?Zobrist, ready to step in at second base, looks forward to maintaining his double-play rhythm with Escobar at shortstop and said that could make for a more seamless transition to his new team.Every year theres a little bit of a culture change in every clubhouse. There is a new dynamic and a new culture and chemistry that has to be cultivated from the start of the season every year, Zobrist said. Its interesting, it definitely was a little bittersweet. You think a lot about the time weve spent in Tampa Bay. Its been eight years. Its hard to leave behind a lot of friends and relationships there, but at the same time were thinking ahead and were looking forward to the new baseball chapter and the new challenge ahead.Also Monday, right-hander Jesse Chavez agreed to a $2.15 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration.Chavez stepped in as a key member of the rotation in 2014 when projected starters Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin were each lost for the year to elbow injuries that required surgery.Chavez, 31, went 8-8 with a 3.45 ERA with 21 starts and 32 appearances for a career-high 146 innings last year, when he made $775,000.The teams remaining arbitration-eligible players are Abad, Ryan Cook, Sam Fuld, Craig Gentry, Brett Lawrie, Jarrod Parker, Josh Reddick and Eric Sogard. Air Jordans Canada Online .com) - Maria Sharapova rallied for a three- set win over Ana Ivanovic on Saturday to capture the season-opening Brisbane International tennis tournament. Jordan Shoes Outlet Canada . Forsman closed with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions Sunday for his third Champions Tour title. He beat Jay Don Blake by two shots. http://www.wholesaleairjordancanada.com/ .500 were once common achievements for the Dallas Mavericks. Now, both are season highs as Dallas slowly works its way back into playoff contention in the Western Conference. Jordan Shoes Wholesale Canada .C. -- When Michael Jordan speaks, people still listen. Wholesale Air Jordan Canada . According to the Red Wings Twitter feed, Zetterberg plans to practice with the team on Thursday and is aiming for a second round comeback.CHICAGO - Whether hes out on the town or simply checking messages, general manager Rick Hahn can sense the excitement and optimism surrounding the Chicago White Sox.The voice mails in the middle of the night have changed in tenor, which is nice, he joked Saturday at the teams fan convention. Thank you.Its been a big off-season on both sides of the town with the Cubs and White Sox making a series of moves that have their fans believing years of losing are just about over.The White Sox think theyre in position to compete for the AL Central championship after a dizzying off-season in which they made key additions to their lineup, rotation and bullpen.Now, there is a decidedly different vibe. While Hahn insisted the work is not finished, what was done is extensive.Chicago added some left-handed pop by signing Adam LaRoche and bolstered its rotation by trading for right-hander Jeff Samardzija with one year left on his contract.The White Sox also signed closer David Robertson and outfielder Melky Cabrera, along with reliever Zach Duke. With ace Chris Sale and AL Rookie of the Year Jose Abreu back, hopes suddenly are soaring around a team that finished fourth in the division at 73-89 last season after winning just 63 games in 2013.Everybody cant have a $200 million payroll, manager Robin Ventura said. You have to be able to be in that transition. You know youre going to take your lumps. We also knew there would be a point in time where were going to be aggressive and go out and fill some needs. The last couple years were tough. However, that has gotten us to this point.Where they go from here still remains to be seen. But the White Sox at least made their intentions clear this off-season. And the questions from fans were nowhere near as testy as they were during last years session with Hahn and Ventura.They were lighter. They were specific about the roster.One fan asked if the White Sox were maxed out payroll-wise and if they might try to sign James Shields, a 14-game winnner for World Series runner-up Kansas City last season.dddddddddddd.Vince Coleman is your only news right now, Hahn said, referring to his announcement moments earlier that the White Sox hired the six-time NL stolen base champ as baserunning instructor. Are we maxed out? Lets put it this way: Ive gone back to that well a few times and Ive gotten yeses each time.This is my 15th season with the club. Every time weve been in position to contend and missing a piece come June or July and weve gone with a sensible acquisition, the expenditures been improved. Ive been told a target. I know where we are vis-a-vis that target. I (should say its) the third target since Ive moved past the first two.Hahn recalled chairman Jerry Reinsdorf giving the green light to kick the reconstruction into a higher gear during three days of meetings with team executives, the manager and pitching coach Don Cooper. Shortly after that, Hahn said he contacted Oakland about Samardzija — a White Sox fan growing up near Chicago in Indiana who later played football at Notre Dame and pitched for the Cubs.He thought that trade would be completed during the general managers meetings. It wasnt finalized until the winter meetings. Hahn said he hated to give up infielder Marcus Semien in that deal, but it was a price he had to play to add an All-Star between Sale and Jose Quintana in the rotation.About the same time that trade went down, the White Sox agreed to a $46 million, four-year contract with Robertson. Hahn said they were not the highest bidder for him.He also said Abreu was onboard with the LaRoche signing right from the start even though it meant bringing in another first baseman, a Gold Glove winner with Washington in 2012. Hahn said he discussed the possibility with Abreu before that deal was finalized.Within 45 seconds of me laying it out, hes like I got it, I got it. Yeah, absolutely. Makes us better, do it, makes us better. What are we gonna do about the pitching? Hahn said. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '