ARLINGTON, Texas – As the Blue Jays trek to Boston after taking two out of three from the Rangers, Marcus Stroman will be catching a different flight. Fran Tarkenton Elite Jersey . For the 23-year-old its destination, Buffalo. Stroman was optioned back to the Bisons and will pick up there where he left off at the time of his recall on May 4, in the starting rotation. Hes got a 1.69 ERA and a miniscule 1.088 WHIP in five starts for Buffalo this season and while hes disappointed to be leaving behind charter flights and five star hotels for the rigours of a bus, hes glad to return to the routine he knows best. "I want to be a starter 100-percent," said Stroman. "Thats the role I thought I was going to be in when I came up here. I think in the long run hopefully I can be a starter and show that I can start at this level. Thats the plan." Stroman made five relief appearances for the Blue Jays, two of which were in high-leverage situations. He thrived in an inning and a third of work on May 6 in Philadelphia, preserving a 5-5 tie to the 10th and picking up his first career major league victory. In the other, he struggled, relieving Drew Hutchison in the fifth inning of a May 11 loss to the Angels, in which he entered trailing 3-1 but left down 7-1. "First go around, there were a couple of outings where he was really good and a couple of outings where he struggled and gave up some hits," said manager John Gibbons. "But hes like anybody else, you feel your way around, get your feet wet, and when it comes down to it you have to make pitches, quality pitches. When you make mistakes, you leave balls up in the zone, hang breaking balls, at this level they dont miss them." With Dustin McGowan returned to the bullpen, where he thrived last season, the Blue Jays will next need a body for McGowans turn in the rotation on Saturday, at home against Oakland. Stroman is ineligible because, as a player on option to the minor leagues, hes required to spend 10 days there before a recall. Thats the paperwork end of it. The real life part of the equation is that he needs to get his arm stretched back out. Its a lot to ask of a guy to make his first major league start against one of baseballs best teams having not worked deep into a game for the better part of a month. Its clear what Stroman wants to be doing when his eventual return to the Blue Jays becomes reality. He hedged when asked if he would have preferred to remain in Buffalo until such time Toronto was ready to put him in the rotation. "Its hard to say. Its hard to say," said Stroman. "Obviously whatever opportunity you get to contribute at the big-league level you want to jump on it and go. But Ive been groomed as a starter for the past year and a half so its hard saying otherwise. Its tough but you take it in stride and see what happens." As for who will make Saturdays start against the Athletics, the Jays options off the current roster are thin. Todd Redmond would be the guy. More likely is either Sean Nolin, a lefthander who made his major league debut and was hit hard in a game last May against Baltimore, or Liam Hendriks, a spring-time waiver claim pickup from the Orioles whos a noted strike thrower but has had little success at the big league level spread over parts of three seasons with the Twins. Hendriks is 5-0 with a 1.48 ERA for the Bisons in seven starts. General manager Alex Anthopoulos was in attendance for his most recent start, a seven inning performance in which he allowed one run but got a no-decision. For his big league career, Hendriks, 25, is 2-13 with a 6.06 ERA and a 5.31 FIP. A control pitcher, Hendriks doesnt walk many hitters but his 1.590 WHIP reflects the 202 hits hes allowed in 156 innings. Fran Tarkenton Grey Mens Jersey . A CFL source told TSNs Matthew Scianitti that Smith will re-sign with the Toronto Argonauts. Sharrif Floyd Elite Jersey . At the moment, neither do the decision-makers. Dustin McGowan is front-and-centre in this ongoing saga, having thrust himself into the conversation with a dominating three-inning performance against the Phillies on Thursday, just hours after manager John Gibbons appeared to pour cold water on the notion. The task of creating more financial flexibility for the Calgary Flames continues to be hard on general manager Jay Feaster. On Monday, he dealt centre Daymond Langkow to the Phoenix Coyotes for winger Lee Stempniak -- marking the second time this off-season hes asked a veteran to waive a no-movement clause for a deal that frees up salary cap space. "It is never easy moving a player who battles and competes such as Daymond," Feaster said in a statement. "However, because of our depth and options at centre ice, this trade presents us with an opportunity to positively impact the organization in a number of ways." The deal is contingent on Langkow passing a physical. The veteran authored one of the NHLs feel-good stories last season, returning for the final four games after missing more than a year with a broken bone in his neck and earning a nomination for the Masterton Trophy. With another year remaining on his contract, he had expected to remain in Calgary. The 34 year old took about an hour to weigh his options after Feaster phoned him Monday morning with the proposed trade to Phoenix. "It didnt take too long," said Langkow. The move gives the Flames some much-needed breathing room under the salary cap -- something Feaster has been striving for since replacing Darryl Sutter midway through the season. Calgary now has a little over US$60 million committed for the upcoming season, including Stempniaks $1.9-million hit. Langkow is scheduled to earn $4.5 million. Feaster traded veteran defenceman Robyn Regehr to Buffalo earlier this summer and believes the organizations current salary structure gives him the ability to make other moves during the regular season. "If you dont have the (cap) space, youre not even a participant, youre not a player," he told Flames TV. "For us now to have the space we have more options and more flexibility." Langkow returns to an organization where he spent three seasons prior to a 2004 deal to Calgary. He remains close friends with Coyotes captain Shane Doan and is optimistic about resuming his career in the desert. Fran Tarkenton Jersey For Sale. Ultimately, the seven-time 20-goal scorer is just happy to be playing after getting hit with a slapshot at the base of his neck in March 2010. There were points during his recovery where he wondered if he might have to retire. "As the year went on last year and the longer I was out of the lineup, you definitely start asking yourself that question," said Langkow. "But fortunately things worked out and I was able to get back." Coyotes GM Don Maloney believes the move frees up a little more room for competition among his young wingers while helping solidify the teams depth at forward. He spent a lot of time doing his homework on Langkows health and harbours no concerns. "I ended up watching all of his shifts from the last four games he played at the end of last season," said Maloney. "If you remember that St. Louis game, where he got cross-checked in the middle of the second period -- that was probably a pretty good indication when he got back up that he would be fine. "I look at Daymond and it sort of symbolizes what were all about here in Phoenix. Theres not a lot of flash and dash." Langkow has 259 goals and 383 assists in 1,017 career NHL games with Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Calgary. The 28-year-old Stempniak joins his fourth team. He has 115 goals and 132 assists in 456 career games with St. Louis, Toronto and Phoenix. The Coyotes acquired Stempniak from Toronto in March 2010 and re-signed him to a two-year deal last summer. "(The trade) makes us younger and provides an opportunity to evaluate a player who may factor into our plans for the future," said Feaster. "It provides (Flames coach Brent Sutter) with options as Stempniak can play either wing and can be used on both the power play and the penalty kill and it creates healthy competition among the forward group for ice time." Stempniak had 19 goals and 19 assists in 82 games with the Coyotes in 2010-11. He has two assists in 11 career playoff games. ' ' '
