When Brett Lawrie arrived with the Blue Jays in 2011, he looked even at age 21 to have the raw potential to become one of the franchises greats. In a 43-game stint, he batted .293 with nine homers and 25 runs batted in with a .953 OPS. He played spectacular defence and seemed to have a skill for pumping up his teammates and electrifying the crowd. You had to ask yourself how Milwaukee let him get away in that trade for right hander Shaun Marcum? But in the last two seasons, Lawrie has gone through some growing pains. Hes had injury problems, some awkward in-game moments, such as throwing a batting helmat in the direction of an ump, and the berating of a teammate for a perceived miscue on the bases. (Lawrie was wrong). On top of that his production has dropped off, to the point where some have wondered if that blaze of glory in his first stint with the club was a fluke or a flash in the pan. The thing to remember is, Brett Lawrie is only 24. Skipper John Gibbons suggested this week that Bretts peak performance years could still be a couple of seasons away. If you go by a couple of third basemen from the Blue Jays past, Gibbons may well be right. Kelly Gruber spent nine years with the Jays, hitting .259 with 114 homers, 439 runs batted in and 80 stolen bases. He was stolen away from Cleveland in the Rule 5 draft and spent his first couple of years as a Jack-of-all-trades utility man before becoming the primary third baseman in 1987. At age 24 for the Jays he hit just .196 with five homers and 15 runs batted in. It took until 1990 for him to have a star impact season. At 28 years old, he hit .274 with 31 homers and 118 RBIs. Gruber was still the starting third sacker for a division title run in 1991 and for the Jays first World Series victory over Atlanta in 1992. Ed Sprague offers up another example of a player who peaked in his late 20s. Sprague was the Jays regular third baseman for six seasons. After Gruber was moved to the Angels, Sprague took over at third in 1993 at 26. He hit .260 with 12 homers and 73 runs batted in and was a key member of the Jays second straight World Series victory over the Phillies in 1993. Still he didnt have his first really big year until he was 29, when he broke through with 36 homers and drove in 101 runs. Yes there are exceptions to the rule...guys who hit the ground running and continue to thrive practically from the moment they arrive in the Majors. Two of those kind of guys enjoyed brief stints with the Blue Jays in the last decade. Troy Glaus came over from the Diamondbacks along with Sergio Santos in a deal for right hander Miguel Batista and infielder Orlando Hudson. Glaus played third for the Jays for two seasons in 2006 and 2007. As a 22-year-old with his original club the Angels, he hit .240 with 29 homers and 79 runs batted in. At 24 with the Halos, he upped his power numbers to 41 homers and 108 runs batted in. Glaus had a good year with the Jays in 06, but his numbers fell off a bit in 2007, and he ultimately asked for a trade since the artificial turf at Rogers Centre was playing havoc with his back. The Jays dealt Glaus to St. Louis for another standout third baseman in Scott Rolen, who had had a falling out with Cards manager Tony LaRussa. As a 22-year-old with his original club the Phillies, Rolen - arguably the best defensive third baseman the Jays have ever had - hit .283 with 21 homers and 92 runs batted in. Rolen only spent one season with the Jays, at age 33 before asking for a trade to the U.S. midwest to be closer to his family. He wound up going to Cincinnati in a deal that saw the Jays land two pitchers, Zach Stewart and Josh Roenicke and a guy named Edwin Encarnacion. The point of all this is, Lawrie is still young enough to take off the way Rolen and Glaus did, or he may take a little longer like Gruber or Sprague. If you want to pipe dream a bit, consider Royals legendary Hall of Famer George Brett. At 24 he batted .312 with 22 homers and 88 runs batted in. The bottom line on Lawrie is, with the defence he plays, and the infectious hustle he plays with, the Blue Jays will be very patient with him indeed. The real Brett Lawrie could even emerge this season, if only he can stay healthy. Spring Roots The Blue Jays may not be leaving their spring training home in Dunedin after all. About a year ago a story first surfaced that the Houston Astros were talking with the Jays about teaming up with them on a new two-team state of the art facility in Palm Beach County on Floridas east coast. The Astros lease with Kissimmee, Florida runs through 2016, so the target date for moving obviously would have been 2017. However a local group of citizens didnt want any part of having this type of complex in their area and threatened a lawsuit. So now the Astros are looking elsewhere in Palm Beach County and are now talking with the Washington Nationals about being their potential partners. Jon Ryan Jersey . -- Detroit shortstop Jose Iglesias says he has stress fractures in both legs and isnt sure when hell be able to play again, leaving the Tigers two weeks to fill his spot for opening day and perhaps a lot longer. Cliff Avril Jersey . Omar Rahou made the discriminatory gesture several times while celebrating scoring a goal against Romania at Antwerp in January, UEFA said. The sanction was double the five-match ban Nicolas Anelka received from an English Football Association independent tribunal last week for the same act. http://www.footballseahawksfanatics.com ... ks-jersey/. They signed their first kicker. Ottawa inked Nick Setta, a 32-year-old native of Lockport, Illinois, to a contract. Luke Joeckel Jersey . Switzerland faces Belgium or Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals in April. Serbia dropped into the World Group playoffs in September. A confident Chiudinelli and Lammer defeated veteran doubles player Zimonjic and young Krajinovic 7-6 (3), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2. C. J. Prosise Jersey . Notes on Bergeron, Marchand, Gorges, Vanek, Gaborik, Doughty, Hiller and more. BRUINS STORM BACK TO TAKE GAME TWO The Boston Bruins rallied from a 3-1 deficit, scoring four unanswered goals, to win Game Two, 5-3 over the Montreal Canadiens.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Hornets keep on rolling, while the hapless New York Knicks continue to lose. Walkers 28 points propelled the Hornets to their season-high fifth straight win, a 110-82 dismantling of the Knicks that extended New Yorks franchise-record skid to 15 games. Walker needed just 28 minutes to record his game-best total, and the New York City native has helped offset an injury to Al Jefferson by averaging 30.2 points during the win streak. Bismack Biyombo delivered season highs of 14 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte, which received 15 points from P.J. Hairston and 14 from Brian Roberts in the rout. Final Score: LA Clippers 120, Dallas 100 Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Blake Griffin had 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the Los Angeles Clippers 120-100 rout of the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. Jamal Crawford added 19 points off the bench for the Clippers, who improved to 6-2 on a nine-game homestand. Matt Barnes scored 18 points, Chris Paul tallied 17 points and 13 assists and J.J. Redick contributed 16 points. Dirk Nowitzki ended with 25 points and six rebounds for the Mavericks, who have dropped two straight since a six-game winning streak. Monta Ellis added 23 points and six assists. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle was ejected after getting two technical fouls in the third quarter. The game was officiated by two referees after 63-year-old Joe Crawford left in the second quarter with a right knee injury. Final Score: Detroit 98, Brooklyn 93 Auburn Hills, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Brandon Jennings and Greg Monroe posted double-doubles and the Detroit Pistons got back in the win column with a 98-93 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Jennings scored all 20 of his points in the second half and handed out 11 assists while Monroe finished with 16 points and a season-high 17 rebounds for Detroit, winners in eight of nine since waiving Josh Smith. The Pistons won seven straight before falling to the Eastern Conference-leading Hawks 106-103 on Friday. Joe Johnson led six Nets in double figures with 17 points, while Brook Lopez contributed 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench. Brooklyn has lost five in a row. Final Score: Philadelphia 93, Indiana 92 Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Michael Carter-Williams drove for the go-ahead basket with 9.9 seconds left in regulation and the Philadelphia 76ers won for the second time in as many nights with a 93-92 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Carter-Williams finished with 15 points, the biggest two coming in crunch time when the reigning Rookie of the Year drove past three defenders and scooped in the deciding layup over the imposing Roy Hibbert. David West missed a contested fadeaway jumper from the top of the key just before the buzzer to seal the Sixers fifth win in their last 11 games. They had won two of their first 25. Tony Wroten added 20 points off the bench, and he and Carter-Williams both totaled nine assists. Robert Covington chipped in 16 points. West netted a season-high 28 points with nine rebounds for the Pacers, who have alternated wins and losses over their last six. Final Score: Toronto 109, Boston 96 Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - James Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas each scored eight of their 15 points during the pivotal third quarter, and Toronto snapped its four-game skid by pulling away for a 109-96 victory over the Boston Celtics at Air Canada Centre. Kyle Lowry and Lou Williams had 19 points apiece, and Joohnson pulled down 10 rebounds.dddddddddddd Amir Johnson scored 15, and Patrick Patterson totaled 10 points and nine boards for the Atlantic Division leaders, who beat the Celtics for the fourth straight time. Kelly Olynyk, a Toronto native, had 23 points for Boston, which has dropped nine of its last 11 games. Final Score: Chicago 95, Milwaukee 87 Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - On a night the Bulls played without Derrick Rose, it was time for Pau Gasol to take charge. The veteran scored nearly half of Chicagos points in a 95-87 victory over the Boston Celtics at United Center. Gasol dropped a career-high 46 points and pulled down 18 rebounds. He was truly the go-to player for the Bulls, who were without Rose due to left knee soreness. Kirk Hinrich had 16 points and Jimmy Butler contributed nine points, eight rebounds and a career-high 10 assists for the Bulls, who snapped a two-game skid. Brandon Knight scored 20 for Milwaukee, which had won its previous two games. Gasols previous career- best was 44 points on March 28, 2006 when he played for Memphis. He went 17-of-30 from the field and missed only one of his 13 free throws. Gasol had 40 points through three quarters, and the Bulls pulled away in the fourth. Final Score: Houston 97, Utah 82 Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - James Harden scored 30 points and the Houston Rockets forced 31 turnovers in a lopsided 97-82 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday. Donatas Motiejunas chipped in with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who cashed in with 38 points off turnovers and 28 fastbreak points. Trey Burke and Enes Kanter each scored 16 points to lead the Jazz, who were coming off a loss in Oklahoma City on Friday. Final Score: San Antonio 108, Minnesota 93 Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Austin Daye posted 22 points in a rare spot start, helping the San Antonio Spurs take down the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-93 on Saturday. Daye shot 8-for-13 and pulled down a team- high 10 rebounds in his second start of the season to lead six Spurs in double figures. Patty Mills gave 19 points off the bench and Tim Duncan shot 5-for-6 for 13 points in limited minutes. Tony Parker and Cory Joseph netted 12 points apiece and Boris Diaw had 11 for San Antonio, which was without Kawhi Leonard (hand) for the 13th straight game. Manu Ginobili also sat out with a back injury after playing just 10 minutes in Fridays win over Phoenix. The Spurs have won four of their last five games, but are just 8-8 without Leonard this season. Zach LaVine paced Minnesota with 19 points off the bench, while Andrew Wiggins and Gorgui Dieng finished with 18 apiece. The Wolves made all 26 of their free throws to set a franchise record for most makes without a miss from the line. Wiggins has scored in double figures in 10 straight, though the Timberwolves have lost 15 in a row since beating Portland on Dec. 10. Final Score: Portland 103, Orlando 92 Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and six rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Orlando Magic 103-92 on Saturday night. Wesley Matthews posted 18 points and eight rebounds and Damian Lillard added 16 points, five boards and five assists for the Blazers, who have won seven of their last eight games. Nik Vucevic tallied a career- high 34 points and 16 boards, while Victor Oladipo provided 18 points, eight rebounds and four helpers for Orlando, which has dropped six straight contests. 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