PHOENIX -- Theyre former Yankees, clubhouse neighbours and, potentially, new platoon partners with the Milwaukee Brewers. wholesale nfl jerseys. That gaping hole at first base might be filled in 2014 by lefty Lyle Overbay and righty Mark Reynolds. Each player signed a minor league deal with an invite to spring training, meaning theyll have to prove themselves -- again -- to stick around. "Its really an uncomfortable feeling," said manager Ron Roenicke, drawing on his own experiences in the majors. "I like that theres competition but I tell you what its a nervous time. I dont have fond memories of spring training." This spring, its Overbay and Reynolds who will be trying to impress Roenicke. Reynolds, 30, has a feast-or-famine reputation with 202 homers in his seven seasons in the majors with a career .233 average. He has struck out at least 154 times in each season since 2008, including 223 strikeouts in 2009. But Roenicke sees some hope in the stats. Last year between the Indians and Yankees, Reynolds had 154 strikeouts with 51 walks, about a 3-to-1 ratio. "He sees pitches. He waits for the pitch he wants to hit," Roenicke said. "Hes not up there hacking at everything, and I think thats the difference." Its a little tough on Reynolds having to win a job going into his eight season in the majors. He is back in the National League though, where he came up with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007. "Honestly, I was just looking for the best place to get at bats. Come in and have a good spring and kind of prove myself all over again," Reynolds said. Reynolds isnt usually that far from Overbay. Theyve got lockers right next to each other in the clubhouse. On Wednesday, there they were sitting next to each other taking a brief break during a sunny afternoon in the dugout during batting practice. And there was Overbay yelling out to Reynolds across the usual morning clubhouse din to pass on a reminder that it was time for a meeting. Overbay, 37, is back in Milwaukee for the first time since the 2005 season. It was after that season that Overbay was traded to Toronto in a deal that opened up first base for Prince Fielder. Since then, there have been stops in Pittsburgh and Arizona before spending 2013 with the Yankees. Overbay hit .240, though he did have a renaissance of sorts with 14 homers and 59 RBIs, both highs for him since 2010. It was with the Yankees, with the aid of hitting coach Kevin Long, that Overbay said he got the lower half of his body on track with his swing for the first two-thirds of the season. Overbay said he got untracked again the last two months, so he wanted to focus this off-season on regaining what he lost. "Sometimes when results arent happening, you resort back to your other path," Overbay said Wednesday. "So those are the kinds of things I wanted to get in muscle memory, so that when I came here and I could it through this whole year." He might potentially be the best defensive first baseman on the Brewers roster. Overbay is also a solid clubhouse presence who appears comfortable with what he needs to do in the latter part of his career. No guarantees yet with the Brewers. Besides Reynolds, returning veteran Juan Francisco, along with younger or less heralded players like Hunter Morris and Sean Halton are also in the mix at first. But without taking a swing in a game, Overbay has made an impression Roenicke. "I like what he has to say out there. I like what some of the younger guys have already come to me and said about him, that doesnt happen that often," Roenicke said. "So hes a guy that were really happy to have in camp." cheap jerseys from china . -- Kevin Pangos had 27 points and Drew Barham added 17 to lead No. cheap nfl jerseys . 8 exhibition game marking the leaders birthday. Rodman said the game is on track despite the recent execution of Kims uncle in a dramatic political purge. Rodmans visit comes less than a week after North Korea announced the execution of Jang Song Thaek, an unprecedented fall from grace for one of the most powerful figures in the country.LOS ANGELES -- Consistent and timely perimeter shooting by Blake Griffin and Jared Dudley, along with a season-high 36 assists, helped the Los Angeles Clippers to a satisfying start to 2014 following their most lopsided defeat of the season. Griffin scored 13 of his 31 points in the final 7:05 and Dudley got 11 of his 20 points in the third quarter, leading the defending Pacific Division champions to a 112-85 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. "Dud is a shooter. Every time I see him shoot it, I think its going in, so were going to keep feeding him like that," Clippers point guard Chris Paul said. "Its all about confidence. We also have the utmost confidence in Blake. He works so hard, and it was great to see it all come together for him tonight. That was unreal. They didnt know what to do." Dudley faced his second former team in two games, making seven of 10 shots against the club that selected him with their first pick in 2007 and traded him to Phoenix after one season. He had nine points against the Suns on Monday in the Clippers 107-88 loss. "For me, to see the ball go in once or twice, it breeds confidence," said Dudley, who came in shooting a career-worst 44 per cent from the field. "Ive just got to be aggressive, and obviously make shots. I know when I play well, our team usually plays well. When you move the ball from side to side, it opens things up more. Sometimes when I do score, it just gives the other guys the confidence to do other things. But when Im not shooting the ball well, I have to do all the little things." Paul had 17 points and 14 assists, helping the Clippers beat the Bobcats for the sixth straight time and send them to their 17th straight road loss against Western Conference opponents. "We had 36 assists tonight, and you could see what we worked on yesterday at practice with ball movement," coach Doc Rivers said. "It was quick. The ball was flying around the floor, and that makes us really good. It makes it harder to guard Chris and Blake because you cant key on those guys. I think we got away from that a little bit, so its good that that came back tonight." Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker each scored 14 points for the Bobcats, whose previous six losses all were decided by five points or fewer. "Those guys played really well," Walker said. "They picked up their defence, made us take tough shots, and we werent able to make them. On the offensive end, they moved the ball really well, shared the ball and made shots. We just couldnt get over the hump in the second half." Dudley jump-started the Clippers in the third quarter with a 3-pointer and a 22-footer, and they pulled away to a 75-62 lead on DeAndre Jordans tip-in with 6:19 left in the third quarter. Dudley opened the fourth with another 3 to give Los Angeles an 84-69 cushion. But as hhot as he was at the time, Dudley passed up a 3-point shot and drove the lane before dishing off to Ryan Hollins for a layup that resulted in a three-point play and an 87-71 advantage with 10:05 left. nfl jerseys china. Griffin, who began the final quarter on the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 5.2 seconds left in the third, reported back in with 7:56 remaining and made four perimeter jumpers during a 1:33 span -- the first two from 21 feet and the next two from 18 feet -- to give the Clippers a 97-78 cushion with 5:32 left. "You never want to give anybody anything, especially a very good player like him. But thats the toughest shot in the NBA -- the long 2," Bobcats forward Josh McRoberts said. "Defensively, maybe we could have done a bit better job." For good measure, Griffin added his seventh 3-pointer of the season with 1:50 on the clock for a 102-83 lead. The Bobcats didnt make a field goal after Jeffersons 16-footer with 4:04 remaining. Charlotte shot 38.2 per cent from the field, making the Clippers 40-1 since the start of last season when holding an opponent under 42 per cent. "It was all about our defence and energy, and moving the ball," Paul said. "We had a great practice yesterday where we competed and just talked about moving the ball. We did tonight, and things came a little bit easier." Paul had 17 points and seven assists during a seesaw first half that included 18 lead changes, and both teams shot over 50 per cent before leaving the court at intermission tied at 56. Neither club led by more than four points until Chris Douglas-Roberts converted an offensive rebound into a layup to give the Bobcats a 43-37 margin with 6:41 left in the second quarter. The Bobcats came in having allowed the second-fewest points in the paint (35.8) and second-fewest fast-break points (9.9). The Clippers ended up with 38 and 15, respectively, after averaging 40.2 and 16.3 in both categories. NOTES: The Clippers are 4-2 on New Years Day since the franchise relocated to Los Angeles in 1984-85, and 6-5 including the years in Buffalo and San Diego. ... Charlottes Steve Clifford is one of nine rookie coaches in the NBA this season. The only ones with a winning record are Phoenixs Jeff Hornacek and Atlantas Mike Budenholzer. ... Griffin has committed 43 turnovers in his last 12 games, including a career-worst eight last Saturday against Utah. ... Walker has scored in double figures in 22 straight games, the longest such streak of his career. ... Charlotte came in having allowed an average of 93.8 points, third-lowest in the league. Last season the Bobcats had the second-most porous defence, giving up 102.7 per game. ... The Bobcats have gotten double-digit scoring from both Walker and Jefferson in each of the last 20 games. The club record for a tandem is 28 games, by Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace in 2007-08. cheap jerseyscheap jerseys from china ' ' '
