Die Anpflanzler [DA] » for a doubleheader

MINNEAPOLIS -- Derek Jeter was a huge hit from the very start in his final All-Star game. Batting leadoff for the American League, the 40-year-old shortstop for the New York Yankees soaked in an ovation that lasted more than a minute at Target Field, then seized the moment Tuesday night by hitting a double. Jeter soon crossed the plate for the games first run. After three innings of action, he was ceremonially removed from his familiar position in the field to one more round of revering cheers as his mom, dad, sister and nephew watched from the stands. "Its been fun family time for us," Jeter said later. The double was one of Jeters classic, opposite-field line drives to right. He singled to right field in his next at-bat, too, raising his All-Star batting average to a robust .481 -- 13 hits in 27 at-bats. Thats the second-best of all time for players with 20 or more at-bats, behind Charlie Gehringer. OK, so maybe NL starter Adam Wainwright admitted he threw something juicy for Jeter to hit. "I was going to give him a couple pipe shots," the right-hander said. "He deserved it." Wainwright later said that he didnt want to take away from Jeters first inning hit. "It was mis-said," the pitcher said in a television interview. "I hope people realize Im not intentionally giving up hits out there." Jeter showed off in the field, too. In the top of the first, he made a slick, diving stop on Andrew McCutchens sharp groundball up the middle. Jeter got to his feet and fired an on-target throw to first base, but the fleet-footed McCutchen was too fast, beating it out for a leadoff single. McCutchen smiled and pointed at Jeter, who grinned back at the reigning NL MVP. The Yankees captain also had a few words for his teammates. AL manager John Farrell of Boston asked Jeter to speak to the players in the clubhouse before the game. "Just said a couple things," Jeter said. This was the 14th time Jeter was picked as an All-Star. Hes set to retire after this season. When Jeter stepped to the plate, the crowd gave him a 63-second ovation, prompting him to wave, nod and tip his helmet several times. Wainwright, who spoke the day before about how proud he would be to pitch to Jeter on this memorable occasion, backed up toward second base and left his glove on the mound so he could clap along with everyone else at the ballpark. "For him to do that meant a lot to me," Jeter said. With a wide smile, Jeter shouted a few words toward the St. Louis ace, good-naturedly encouraging him to get the inning going. "Just saying, Dude, Im not going anywhere until this ovation is starting to die down," Wainwright said. "So he was telling me to go, and I just thought he deserved it." Fittingly, a recording of late Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppards famous monotone introduction was played as he walked up for his at-bat with thousands of smartphones snapping away in the seats: "Now batting, for the American League, from the New York Yankees, the shortstop, No. 2, Derek Jeter, No. 2." The tribute came right after a national television audience tuned to Fox saw a Nike commercial that featured the likes of Michael Jordan, Jay-Z and Rudolph Giuliani paying their respects to the captain. Right after that, he connected on the second pitch from Wainwright. "I didnt know he was going to hit a double, or I would have changed my mind on that," Wainwright said. "I thought he was going to hit something hard to the right side for a single or an out. I probably should have pitched him a little bit better." In the third, Jeter took Cincinnati ace Alfredo Simon to a full count before his single. Then, right before the fourth inning began, Jeter was taken out for Alexei Ramirez and the captain jogged off. With Frank Sinatras "New York, New York" playing on the stadium speakers, he waved to the crowd and exchanged hugs and handshakes in the AL dugout and then took a curtain call before the game resumed. Earlier in the day, Jeter was the first player to ride down the red carpet that was rolled out for downtown parade of the games greats, from their hotel to the ballpark about 10 blocks away. The hearty ovations started there, while Jeter rode with his parents and other family members, who came to Minneapolis for the event. "I think everyone WANTS it to sink in that this is my last," Jeter said in the clubhouse before batting practice, "but Im just trying to enjoy it while Im here and stop thinking about this is the last one." Commissioner Bud Selig said Major League Baseball has been discussing ways to formally honour Jeter as he enters the final few months of his career. "If you were sitting two decades ago and you said, Boy, this is a guy I want to be the face of baseball and be what this generation will remember, you couldnt have written a script like this," Selig said. "He is just remarkable." Nike Air Max 1 Discount .com) - The Calgary Flames are spoilers once again. Nike Air Max 1 Sale NZ . Billy Hamilton finished off Cincinnatis biggest comeback of the season for a doubleheader sweep. http://www.cheapairmax1nz.com/ . Granato was an assistant for the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last five seasons, and he was also part of Team USAs staff at the 2014 Olympics. Nike Air Max 1 Wholesale . -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are disappointed, though not discouraged. Nike Air Max 1 NZ . A police inspector told The Associated Press the crane operator is not yet suspected of any wrongdoing but is considered a key witness to the accident at the Arena Corinthians.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Brian Vickers is eager to get back on the racetrack and prove to everyone he still has what it takes to win Sprint Cup races following emergency open heart surgery last month.Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated, Vickers said Tuesday during NASCARs annual media week. I am still kicking.Vickers will miss the first two Cup races as part of his recovery process, but has been given a clean bill of health to begin racing March 8 at Las Vegas. He will drive the No. 55 Aarons Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing.Vickers said doctors told him that three months will be more than enough time for his chest to heal after they were forced to crack open his sternum on Dec. 15 to repair a hole in his heart for a second time.I feel great, said Vickers, a three-time Sprint Cup Series winner who had nine top-10 finishes last season and finished 22nd in the final standings.The December setback was the third major health scare for Vickers since 2010.Five years ago he underwent a pair of procedures — one to close a hole in his heart and another to insert a stent into a vein in his left leg. He missed 25 races during the 2010 season. He would miss an additional five races in 2013 after being placed on blood thinners to treat a blood clot in his right calf.Vickers said the latest procedure was the most traumatic and the toughest to recover from, calling it painful and extreme. He briefly contemplated retiring from racing.I have had to deal with a lot of these emotions and thoughts several times now, Vickers said. Could I ever race again and, if I could, would I want to? ... There was times where I was like, somebody is trying to tell me something.But Vickers said he is driven to win a Sprint Cup championship, and doesnt want tto look back later in life in regret passing up a chance to reach that goal.ddddddddddddVickers took over as a full-time driver for Michael Waltrip Racing last year after sharing a seat with Mark Martin in 2012 and most of 2013. His only win in 58 races with MWR came at New Hampshire in 2013.Vickers toughness has resonated with the man who writes his checks.Not a lot of people have gone through what that young man has gone through, Waltrip said. His determination and his desire to be a champion in the Sprint Cup series is something that motivates our whole team.Vickers latest heart issue came in December when he became ill on the way to a photo shoot. He wound up at Carolinas Medical Center where doctors rushed him into surgery to repair the hole in his heart after his body rejected his artificial patch that was initially used in 2010.At the time, the 31-year-old Vickers was told he may never race again.It was a pretty traumatic event going through that, Vickers said. It was the worst of all the medical procedures I have had to face.Through it all, Vickers hasnt lost his sense of humour.He sat on stage Tuesday joking with teammate Clint Bowyer about how doctors replaced his heart with that of a lion.Yeah, its way stronger, Bowyer cracked.Waltrip will fill in for Vickers at the Daytona 500, while Brett Moffitt will race the second week at Atlanta.After that, its all Vickers.He said he has been training feverishly to get healthy. He swam two miles in the pool over the weekend.Hes primarily focused on strengthening his chest.There was a lot of uncertainty going into the surgery, Vickers said. Unfortunately I have had to hear that youll never go racing again too many times in my life. But Ive been able to get past that. 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