HOUSTON – The hitting coach and the player sat at the players locker stall for more than 20 minutes before Saturdays game against the Astros. They were hashing some things out. What those things are will remain between the coach and the player. Whats clear was that the discussion Kevin Seitzer was having with Colby Rasmus was animated. Seitzer, leaving not much room between him and his protégé, was moving his hands theatrically, speaking intently. To the casual observer, looking over every now and then, it appeared that Seitzer was doing a lot more of the talking than Rasmus. This has been a difficult year for Rasmus and it couldnt have come at a worse time. Hes assuredly headed to free agency for the first time in his career, the Blue Jays uninterested in bringing him back – certainly uninterested in issuing Rasmus a qualifying offer worth more than $14-million – and the feeling, its believed, is mutual. Making $7-million this season, 28-year-old Rasmus has put himself in a difficult spot as he seeks a long-term, big money contract to take him through his prime years. He was hitting .218/.281/.444 heading into Sundays action, a season interrupted for five weeks in May and June due to a hamstring injury. A high strikeout player throughout his career, Rasmus is whiffing in 32.8-percent of his plate appearances, the highest rate of any of his six big league seasons. Theres the issue of Rasmuss tardiness. He missed a hitters meeting, during which Seitzer takes players through the scouting report on the opponents pitching staff, on Thursday. Manager John Gibbons scratched Rasmus from the starting lineup although Rasmus did enter that nights game as a defensive replacement in the seventh. Where Rasmus and Seitzer disagree most is on Rasmuss stance. Rasmus, youll notice, holds his hands and bat out over the plate as he settles into the box to await the pitch. Seitzer had earlier convinced Rasmus to pull his hands in toward his body in order to get the bat through the strike zone quicker. Rasmus, who spent the All-Star Break at home, doesnt see it that way. When he pulls his hands in, he subconsciously wants to move them back out. “I feel like that Im able to close my body off that way and it keeps my hands more freed up,” said Rasmus. “Since Ive done that off the break, Ive hit quite a few balls the other way. Ive hit some balls through the shift and the idea was to just keep my body good and closed and my hands further away from me.” It would be unfair to describe the Rasmus/Seitzer relationship as contentious. Earlier this season, Seitzer told TSN.ca he believes Rasmus has a “beautiful heart,” something of which he reminds Rasmus. He knows his pupil is sensitive. Seitzer knows Rasmus has a complicated background which has left him tormented by his chosen profession. Seitzer is willing to hear Rasmus out. Its the part of Seitzers job youd title “psychologist.” When it comes to hitting, however, the two are not on the same page. “I feel more comfortable with them out away from me because I can kind of get a feel of letting my hands be free and loose,” said Rasmus. “I feel like its been working for me. Its pretty good. The last game in Boston, I hit three balls the other way that got caught. [Xander] Bogaerts dives and catches one; Jonny Gomes barely catches one and does his little tumble roll and then I hit another one to the gap and Jackie Bradley tracked it down.” Theres no question Rasmus has been robbed of a number of hits this season due to the exaggerated defensive shifts he faces. Teams routinely put three infielders on the right side of the diamond when hes at the plate, including placing the second baseman in a roving position in shallow right field. “I needed to make a change because what I was doing wasnt working,” said Rasmus. “I was just pulling balls straight into the shift. My hands were getting out away from me. I wasnt able to stay inside of any balls. I wasnt letting anything get deep and I was just crushing balls or trying to swing too hard to hit it through the shift because I was uncomfortable with what I was doing.” So it is in this strange time in the Blue Jays/Rasmus partnership. The playoff-contending team looking for contributions, Rasmus, facing an uncertain future, is playing it like Frank Sinatra: “My Way.” “I feel fine with what Im trying to do. I feel good with my approach,” said Rasmus. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Hes recovered from a scary injury and cleared to play. Mingo, who was hospitalized with a bruised lung he sustained in an Aug. Cheap New Jersey Devils Jerseys . Forsman closed with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions Sunday for his third Champions Tour title. He beat Jay Don Blake by two shots. http://www.cheapdevilsjerseys.com/. The Incheon-based tea, of the Korea Baseball Organization said the deal for the 35-year-old Scott included a $50,000 signing bonus. Scott reached the major leagues with Houston in 2005 and hit 23 homers or more for Baltimore each year from 2008-10. Cheap Devils Jerseys Authentic . In sunny and almost windless conditions, the Swede shot four consecutive birdies on the front nine on his way to a 68 and went 9 under for a one-shot lead over Englands Lee Slattery and two over Paraguays Farbrizio Zanotti (68). Cheap Devils Jerseys . - The Baltimore Ravens and tight end Dennis Pitta reached agreement on a five-year contract Friday.MIAMI -- Strange as it sounds, missing shots worked wonders for the Miami Heat. And after the Brooklyn Nets went nearly 2 minutes -- a basketball eternity -- without the ball down the stretch, the two-time defending NBA champions would soon find themselves two wins from another trip to the Eastern Conference finals. LeBron James scored 22 points, Chris Bosh added 18 and the Heat pulled away late to beat the Nets 94-82 on Thursday night, taking a 2-0 lead in the East semifinals. "To be able to get some stops like that at the end, and then execute, its something thats critical in this series," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Dwyane Wade had 14 and Ray Allen scored 13 for the Heat, who tied a franchise record with their eighth straight playoff victory. Theyll go for No. 9 on Saturday night, when the best-of-seven series shifts to Brooklyn for Game 3. For the second straight game, Miami had five players in double figures. "Thats what our team is all about," James said. "We dont really care who scores." Mirza Teletovic set a Nets playoff record with six 3-pointers, on his way to a 20-point night off the bench. Shaun Livingston scored 15, and Paul Pierce and Joe Johnson each added 13 more for the Nets. Deron Williams was 0 for 9 from the field, the worst shooting night of his career. "That one hurt," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "We were right there. We gave ourselves, on the road, an opportunity against the world champs. We let the game slip away. That one possession when they got four offensive rebounds, it didnt lose the game for us." It was three rebounds, but no matter. It was still a backbreaker for the Nets. Teletovic scored inside with 3:39 left to get Brooklyn within eight. For the next 100 seconds, Miami kept possession. James missed a 3-pointer, and Allen -- who led Miami with eight rebounds -- manoeuvred his way around four Nets to grab the rebound. James missed again, and Wade grabbed that board. James missed a layup, but Bosh controlled that board. And finally, almost mercifully, Wade found James for a layup with 1:59 remaining. The lead was 10, the outcome decided. "That was a killer," Johnson said. Wade had just six points in the games first 37 minutes, then eight more in the next thhree, setting the tone for a grind-it-out fourth quarter from Miami.dddddddddddd "Youve got to do the little things until you get your opportunity," said Wade, who finished with seven rebounds and seven assists. "Thats what I was able to do." The Heat led 79-77 when Brooklyns Marcus Thornton missed a 3-pointer with 6:21 left -- which, had it gone down, would have had the Heat facing a fourth-quarter deficit for the first time in these playoffs. But it missed. And thats when the Heat found separation for the first time all night, at the most critical point. James was in trouble with less than 4 seconds on the shot clock and still found a way to get a bounce pass out to Mario Chalmers in the left corner for a 3-pointer. James passed on the fadeaway, deciding it would be a bad shot, and made the decision to send the ball to Chalmers. "Just get it there," James said he was thinking. He got the pass there, Chalmers made the shot, and after a stop on the ensuing Brooklyn trip, Allen hit from the same spot as Chalmers for an 85-77 lead. "As the game wore on we started picking up the pace," Allen said. "We started to getting how we play basketball." Teletovic kept the Nets afloat. He made his first four 3-pointers, needing less than six minutes to do so after checking in for the first time late in the opening quarter. He had 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc by halftime alone, a boost that Brooklyn definitely needed. And his shots came at big times. Of Teletovics five 3s in the first half, three broke ties. His sixth 3 of the game, late in the third, tied the game at 61. But in the end, Miami was too much. "This series is far from over," Johnson said. NOTES: Trying to save a loose ball in the third quarter, James leaped over a row of people sitting along one sideline, then ran about 10 more rows deep into the stands. ... Mason Plumlee had three first-half fouls for the Nets, matching the entire Heat total. Brooklyn didnt take any free throws until the third quarter. ... Miami went scoreless for the games first 3:32, its longest drought to open a home game since Feb. 26, 2005 -- 443 contests ago. ... Nets F Kevin Garnett, who went scoreless in Game 1, had four points but led everyone with 12 rebounds. 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