To think, a year ago, the Miami Marlins had their own version of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez at shortstop. Ray Lewis Ravens Jersey . Then, within a space of about four months, they traded them both. Hanley Ramirez was the incumbent star shortstop with the Marlins, who was forced to move to third base when the Marlins, in an all-out bid to win a third World Series and justify public spending on their new stadium, signed New York Mets free agent shortstop Jose Reyes to a handsome, long-term deal. The dream team never jelled. Manager Ozzie Guillen was fired and the team was effectively blown up from July until November with a pair of huge trades. On July 25th, the Marlins shipped Ramirez and lefty reliever Randy Choate to the Los Angeles Dodgers for prospect Scott McGough and starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. Any way you slice it, this trade was a steal for the Dodgers and little more than a salary dump for the Marlins. Then nearly four months later, came the colossal 12-player swap between the Toronto Blue Jays and Marlins. Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos acquired Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio and John Buck for seven players. Including Henderson Alvarez (he of the no-hitter on the final day of the season against the Detroit Tigers,) Adeiny Hechavarria, Jake Marisnick, Jeff Mathis, Yunel Escobar and a couple of pitching prospects. Its still early, but the Dodgers clearly feel they made a better deal than the Jays. Ramirez is 28 years old and playing like a superstar. In his first postseason, he is hitting .538 against the Atlanta Braves with six RBI and is both leading and carrying this Dodgers team, which is leading the Braves 2-1 in the NLDS. Ramirez is heading into the final year of his contract before heading into potential free agency. He will be making $16 million next season. The Dodgers are clearly intent on re-signing him. Part-owner Magic Johnson saying last week that the club has no interest in New York Yankees soon-to-be free agent second baseman Robinson Cano was because they are more intent on spending their money on Ramirez and ace lefty Clayton Kershaw. Make no mistake, the Blue Jays got a quality talent in Jose Reyes, but hes only played over 135 games once in the last five seasons due to a variety of injuries. Considering those injuries, the Jays are dealing with a very significant and potentially hand-tying contract. Reyes is owed a guaranteed $86 million over the next five years and up to $102 million if the club picks up the option on a sixth year. Reyes is also nearly two years older than Ramirez at 30. Having natural grass at Rogers Centre would certain help Reyes and lessen the strain on his legs, but it would appear that the Jays arent going to get rid of the artificial surface until 2018 at the earliest. Notes from Japan: November 1 is the date Japanese clubs can begin posting players who want to play in the MLB next season. The man at the head of that list is 24-year-old pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, who went 23-0 over 27 appearances with the Pacific League-leading Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. While opinions vary as to whether he will be as good as Yu Darvish, Tanaka does have an upper-90s fastball, an effective splitter and a curve in his repertoire. The Blue Jays have reportedly scouted him, but the Chicago Cubs, heading into their 100th anniversary season of Wrigley Field, are apparently going to go all out to land Tanaka. Former MLB prospect Wladimir Balentien shattered the Japanese leagues home run record this year with 59, but he failed in his bid for the Triple Crown and his team, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, finished in last place in the six-team Central League. No word yet on whether Balentien is going to try to play again Stateside. Jaylon Ferguson Ravens Jersey . – Team Canadas Brooke Henderson carded a 4-under 67 at Craigowan Golf and Country Club to jump into the lead at the Canadian Womens Amateur Championship on Wednesday. Ben Powers Youth Jersey . Power had a two-lap average of 218.896 mph in qualifying Friday at the high-banked, high-speed 1 1/2-mile track for his 34th career pole. http://www.cheapravensshoponline.com/Youth-marquise-brown-ravens-jersey/ . As if he had been rehearsing it, Vasquez looked around with a grimacing stare as he clinched two fists and flexed his muscles. What do you think of DeMar DeRozans face after he hits a big shot, he was asked moments earlier.Just about everyone I know works. Not all, but the vast majority. And everybody that I know who works has a place to go to work that makes a difference. A difference in that they have the resources to assist them to perform at their jobs, day after day. One of the competitive disparities in the CFL right now is that some teams, like the Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Redblacks, have an inviting feel of professionalism when you visit their home environments and youre impressed. Its all there - the stadium itself, meeting rooms, weight rooms, the equipment, advanced technology and I could go on. Athletic facilities are a marvelous collection of useful implements to improve. The spaces for the Calgary Stampeders, B.C. Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders seem to be good, but not great. For the Montreal Alouettes, the space is perhaps not great, yet its still functional. But for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts, this has been a nightmare. The Argos have to get their own home and the Tiger-Cats - come Labour Day - must make Tim Hortons Field their own. Understand that I am completely spoiled and tainted when it comes to football atmospheres and their physical needs. At 18, I went from a modest high school to NCAA Division I football - and that first year was the most difficult year of my athletic life. But what kept me there was the environment. It was big time. Every aspect, every detail and every nuance at the University of Arizona was magnificent. As much as I was in over my head on the football field, I would never consider quitting. My desire to be a part of the university was greater than any anxiety I felt being a freshman at a Division I school...and that first year was nothing but anxiety. From there,, after being drafted, making and playing for the Dallas Cowboys what I though was great at Arizona was good, but not as good as I experienced in Dallas. Ben Powers Jersey. Being cut by the Cowboys and coming to Exhibition Stadium in Toronto...well, that was different. What interesting about football is that the best facilities do not transfer into wins. Whether it is the CFL, NFL, NHL, NBA or MLB, there are many teams that just dont have quality to win anyway. Still, for Toronto and Hamilton (and I will include Montreal here), it needs to change. I have no idea whats going to happen to the Toronto Argonauts in the future. Where they are going to play? What stadium they will play in next year? And their practice facilities are going to be where? I have no idea if Hamilton will play its Labour Day game in their new stadium or at a university stadium? Are the powers that be in the CFL - are they on top of this? To that, I say yes with confidence. Do the teams have a plan if stadiums and other facilities arent ready? That I dont know. In some ways, the stability of the league has never been better. But in other ways, theres a long way to go. Each team needs a home that impresses, that creates revenue and that becomes part of the community. The home needs to be multi-purpose without one function taking away from any of its others. And it needs to be a place for its employees to go to work with anticipation and pride. Some in the league have it, some do not. Here is hoping that the Argos find a home soon and create a new, empowering practice complex soon. Here is hoping the Ticats play in Week 10 on Sept. 1 and stay for a long, long time in their new shiny stadium. Going into the second half of the year, a new home could be just the shot of adrenaline that the team needs. ' ' '