three-game homestand tonight before beginning a five-game road trip tomorrow

DETROIT - Max Scherzer was ready for all the questions — and he doesnt seem to mind that his contract status is such a big topic as spring training approaches. Abraham Toro Astros Jersey . "I figured you guys wanted to talk about it, but this is the perfect time, during the off-season, when were not playing baseball," Scherzer said. Scherzer was at Comerica Park on Thursday for the start of the Detroit Tigers winter caravan. He recently agreed to a one-year, $15,525,000 deal with the Tigers, avoiding arbitration but leaving plenty of questions still unanswered about his future. Scherzer, last years AL Cy Young Award winner, can become a free agent after this season. He says he has no problem fielding questions about his future now, before spring training starts. By the time opening day rolls around, though, hell be focused on pitching. So theres a sense the clock is ticking if the Tigers want to lock up their star right-hander before he reaches free agency. Detroit signed ace Justin Verlander to a $180 million, seven-year deal shortly before last season, avoiding the prospect of Verlander testing the open market. But Verlander was two seasons away from free agency. Scherzer has only one more to go. "Every player wants to be a free agent," Scherzer said. "At the same time, you realize weve got a good thing here in Detroit." The Tigers have won three straight AL Central titles, and Scherzer went 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA last season, winning the Cy Young two years after Verlander did. General manager Dave Dombrowski didnt offer many specifics about the status of negotiations with Scherzer, but he left no doubt about how the organization feels about the 29-year-old pitcher. "I would not characterize our discussion as strong, weak, anything other than we are hopeful that wed like to have him in the organization for an extended time," Dombrowski said. "I know he has expressed a desire that hed like to stay here. Hopefully that leads to a position where something can happen." A couple recent deals have given Scherzer a sense of the type of contract that could await him. Clayton Kershaw, a two-time Cy Young winner who is four years younger than Scherzer, reached a $215 million, seven-year agreement to stay with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Japanese star Masahiro Tanaka came to terms with the New York Yankees for $155 million over seven years. "Owners are making more money, and therefore players are going to make more money," Scherzer said. "You have new TV money coming in. Thats good for everybody involved. Its win-win for the owners and for the players." Scherzer says his arm feels good, and that hell keep working to improve. He said his curveball can still progress, for example. "Theres always things you can tinker with in spring training. Its a great time to practice and try new things," he said. The question is whether this might be his final season in Detroit, but thats not a prospect Scherzer is too worked up about right now. "I love it here in Detroit. This is a great team, weve got so much talent, weve been together for so long, and Im comfortable," Scherzer said. "Obviously this is a place I want to play, and thats why I said hopefully we can get something done before spring training." Ryan Pressly Astros Jersey . Fielder has been out with a herniated disk in his neck, and surgery was recommended after a follow-up exam and another scan Thursday with Dr. Jose Urquidy Astros Jersey . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees. https://www.cheapastros.com/2393o-jim-bouton-jersey-astros.html . The Canadian skicross racer appeared to have the bronze medal locked up in the mens final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, only to wipe out while trying to make a pass in the biggest moment of his career.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Philadelphia Flyers are hoping to end a scoring drought and return to the win column when they visit the struggling Buffalo Sabres for Saturdays battle at First Niagara Center. The Flyers tied a season high for goals in Mondays surprising 7-3 rout of the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning, but Philadelphia was shut out in its next two outings. Craig Berubes club dropped a 1-0 road decision in Washington on Wednesday before returning home to lose 4-0 to Vancouver on the following night. Philadelphia enters Saturday with a scoring drought of 144 minutes, 59 seconds after the consecutive shutout defeats. The Flyers were blanked in two straight games last April against St. Louis and Columbus, but this marks the first time the club was shut out in back-to-back games in regulation since Nov. 28-Dec. 3, 2009 (1-0 at ATL and 3-0 vs. VAN). Ryan Miller stopped all 30 shots sent his way on Thursday, while Vancouver rode an early burst of offense to the easy win in the City of Brotherly Love. Starter Ray Emery was pulled early in the second period after giving up three goals on 12 shots. Rob Zepp finished the contest by allowing one goal on 10 shots. Zepp was beaten on a breakaway just 22 seconds after entering the game before stopping nine straight shots. Berube felt his team quit after allowing Vancouver to grab the lead on Nick Boninos goal just 6:35 into the game. You know the thing that bothers me about it all is that it is only 1-0. There is a lot of hockey left, you know play and compete and work, Berube said. That is the one thing that you can control, how hard you compete and you know we stopped doing that. The Flyers played without Scottt Laughton on Friday, as the rookie centerman sat out with an upper-body injury. Astros Jerseys 2019. . Laughton is questionable for tonight. Philadelphia, which is 13 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, only has three wins in its last 11 trips to the ice, going 3-7-1 during that stretch. The Flyers are just 6-14-4 on the road this season and hope to halt a six-game slide as the guest. Philadelphia hasnt earned a road victory since Dec. 23 in Minnesota, but the Orange and Black have claimed eight wins over their last 12 trips to Buffalo. Philly also has taken three in a row and eight of the last 10 games in this series and tonight the Flyers face a Sabres team on a nine-game losing streak. Buffalo has failed to pick up a single point in three weeks, going 0-9-0 since earning a shootout win over the visiting New York Islanders on Dec. 27. The Sabres, who are last in the East standings, are just 1-12-1 over their last 14 games. On Thursday, the Sabres faced a Minnesota team which had lost six in a row but the Wild were able to get off the schneid with a resounding 7-0 win in Buffalo. The Sabres sent just 18 shots at Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk, who notched a shutout in his Minnesota debut after coming over from Arizona in a trade on Wednesday. Jhonas Enroth was responsible for all seven goals on 37 shots for Buffalo. Theres no excuse for it, said Sabres defenseman Josh Gorges. Theres no way that this should happen. It was the fourth straight home loss for Buffalo, which fell to 10-12-2 this season in Western New York. The Sabres complete a three-game homestand tonight before beginning a five-game road trip tomorrow in Detroit. ' ' '