Some contenders have the latitude to pursue an ace or use their resources to fill other needs

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Competing against the United States womens basketball team at the Olympics is like trying to outswim Michael Phelps while wearing work boots and a tool belt and towing a keg of beer.At the beginning, its scary, Spains Laia Palau said. You know you will have to have a really good game to stay with them. They do everything pretty well. Its hard to scout them. But I think we were really motivated to play this game. Its a chance to improve and get better. I take it as a positive.Mind you, Palau said that after Spain lost 103-63 to the U.S. on Monday. That she took a 40-point loss as a positive just goes to show you how challenging it is to take the basketball court against the American women. Hey, Senegal lost to the U.S. by 65 points in the Olympic opener Saturday.Mondays victory was the 43rd consecutive for the U.S. women at the Olympics, where they havent lost since 1992 in Barcelona. That was so long ago that 35-year-old team captain and four-time Olympian Sue Bird says she doesnt even remember it.During that 43-win span, the U.S. has defeated 22 nations, ranging from A (Australia) to Z (Zaire), outscoring them by 1,277 combined points for an average victory margin of 30 points. China probably has suffered the most at the hands of America -- losing three times by an average deficit of 45 points.What must it be like to face such a dominating opponent?We dont talk about that as coaches because were always fixated on what theyre going to do, U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said. How are we going to stop them? How are we going to guard them? Were obsessed with that. And then when somebody brings up [how the other team feels], you kind of step back and say, Yeah, well, how are they going to guard us? They have to handle us.Were not easy to deal with, obviously.Can anyone ever beat the American women? Maybe. After all, the U.S. men lost three times at the 2004 Olympics, even with LeBron James and Tim Duncan on the roster. The beauty of sport is you never know what will happen.I think its possible, Spains Laura Nicholls said. OK, its really, really difficult, but in one game you can do it. Maybe our team could have more options because physically we are not on that level. One day our shooting percentage would have to be 75 percent on 3-pointers and everything else. Because they score a lot. Every second is difficult to get to them. But its not impossible.Right. It could happen. After all, the Cubs could win the World Series.You go to the games thinking, Maybe today could be the day you can beat them, because its not impossible, Nicholls said. You just have to have a wonderful game on your side and they have to be, I dont know, maybe a little sick. One day it could happen. Maybe one day they will be in trouble. Im not saying Spain. Maybe France.While the American women havent lost in the Olympics in 24 years, they lost the FIBA world championship to Russia in 2006.That memory motivates us, propels us. We never want to relive [that] again, Bird said. Its probably the best thing that could happen to us, to be honest. Look at how we played in 2008. We were all business in that tournament. And we are here, too.In other words, that loss just made it more difficult to beat the U.S.Having played at UConn and having won three gold medals in the Olympics and two WNBA championships with the Seattle Storm, Bird hasnt played on a lot of underdog teams in her career apart from some recent WNBA seasons when her team has struggled.So I do have an awareness of what its like to feel that no matter what you do, you dont have a chance. Its not a good feeling, Bird said. But on the other hand, there is that opportunity to upset, that opportunity to make history that Im sure is in the back of all their minds. 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Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Andrew Luck Youth Jersey . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The celebrity pecking order was clear when Major League Baseballs general managers gathered in a large conference room at the Omni Scottsdale Resort this week for two days of media availability. The New York Yankees Brian Cashman, Bostons Dave Dombrowski and Cubs World Series championship architects Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer attracted waves of cameras and reporters looking for updates on their offseason agendas.In a distant corner of the room, Erik Neander of the Tampa Bay Rays and David Forst of the Oakland Athletics could have died of loneliness. Thats an occupational hazard -- or a blessing, some might say -- that comes with working for small-market clubs that rarely make big offseason splashes.But the isolation was only temporary. Once the 30 teams disperse and take stock of their needs, the Rays and As are sure to receive plenty of attention.Neanders Rays employ Chris Archer, a charismatic young ace who has averaged 242 strikeouts over the past two seasons. Forst and the As have an appealing trade chip of their own in Sonny Gray, a 2015 All-Star who is still three years away from free agency. Both pitchers are coming off disappointing seasons, given their talent and pedigrees, but theyre about to become hot commodities as the hot-stove dialogue commences.Sonny has been a popular trade conversation for the last couple of years, so it wont be new, Forst said. Certainly its expected, and we have to be open to anything at this point considering where we are and how much work we have to do to catch up with the teams at the top of our division. I cant speak to how aggressive teams will be or when the calls will come in, but we have to be open to that conversation.With only a little prodding, Forst conceded its not a bad thing to be on the right end of the supply-and-demand spectrum.Its nice to have assets people want, he said.While the closer trio of Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen and Mark Melancon and power bats such as Edwin Encarnacion and Yoenis Cespedes will generate free-agent interest, MLBs hot-stove market will be driven by the desire for and relative scarcity of elite starting pitching. The Rangers, Astros, Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers and Red Sox are among the teams with the talent and motivation to pursue front-of-the-rotation arms. But theyre sure not going to find that commodity on the free-agent market.Rich Hill, generally regarded as the best free-agent pitcher available, crafted one of MLBs best feel-good stories this year when he emerged as Clayton Kershaws main wingman in Los Angeles. But Hill turns 37 in March, hes barely a year removed from pitching for the Long Island Ducks in the independent Atlantic League, and hes surpassed 100 innings only twice in 12 major league seasons.The other free-agent options come with similar reservations. Jeremy Hellickson had a nice year in Philadelphia, but signing him will require surrendering draft-pick compensation because he received a qualifying offer from the Phillies. Ivan Nova had a wonderful second half with Pittsburgh, but his career portfolio is underwhelming. And Andrew Cashner throws a fastball in the mid-90s, but his strikeout rate is mediocre and a lot of scouts think hes best suited to be a reliever.The rest of the field consists of Jason Hammel, Charlie Morton, Edinson Volquez, Brett Anderson, Doug Fister, Jorge De La Rosa and Bartolo Colon, who just keeps rolling along at age 43. There are some capable back-end guys in that group, but nothing more.Amid the talent vacuum, names that wouldnt typically be bandied around in conversation are suddenly being floated because of the talent haul they could fetch in trades. The trade rumor mill is replete with references to Archer, Gray, Detroits Justin Verlander, Chris Sale and Jose Quintana of the Chicago White Sox and even Arizonas Zack Greinke, who has five years left on a six-year, $206.5 million contract.The starting pitching landscape this offseason has been a story for what, 18 months noow? Neander said.dddddddddddd Theres been as much of an advance-notice publicly as theres been in a while with respect to a free-agent class. We have to respond to the market and the interest and keep an open mind. Its certainly one area where the dynamics could be different this winter than theyve been in the past.The Rays ranked 14th in the American League in runs this season (ahead of only Oakland), but theyre flush in arms. Even after sending Matt Moore to the Giants in a deadline deal, Tampa Bay has a starting rotation of Archer, Alex Cobb, Jake Odorizzi, Drew Smyly and Blake Snell, with Matt Andriese as the sixth option.Coming off the last few seasons weve had, we have to be open and creative, Neander said. Its hard to close the door on anything after winning 68 games.Gray, 26, maintains his appeal to other clubs even though he went 5-11 with a 5.69 ERA and appeared in only 22 games this season because of a forearm injury. The As are breaking in a whole new wave of starters (Kendall Graveman, Daniel Mengden, Sean Manaea, Jharel Cotton and Andrew Triggs), and they could address several voids on the roster by dealing Gray.The Tigers are willing to dangle Verlander for different reasons. They have an aging roster and theyve determined its time to exercise some financial restraint after fielding a $173 million payroll, the fourth highest in the majors in 2016. As a professional courtesy, general manager Al Avila has spoken with Verlander and fellow organizational mainstays Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Ian Kinsler and told them to be prepared to hear their names in trade rumors this winter.Our organization has been working well over its means for several years, for our market size, if you compare our payroll with the rest of baseball, Avila said. Its gotten to the point, quite frankly, where it cant continue to go up and up and up. At what point do you say, Enough? We have to start making some adjustments. Whether theyre subtle or bigger depends on what teams out there are looking for and how some of our guys may fit them.Some contenders have the latitude to pursue an ace or use their resources to fill other needs. The Red Sox have David Price and Cy Young finalist Rick Porcello in the rotation, so they might or might not feel a sense of urgency to raid the farm system to pursue a front-line starter such as Sale. The Cubs rotation is good enough that they had the latitude to decline Hammels $12 million option after he won 15 games for them this season, but Jake Arrieta is eligible for free agency after the 2017 season and Epstein and Hoyer need to be mindful of the long-term picture.The Dodgers have some question marks after Kershaw, the best pitcher on the planet. Kenta Maeda and Julio Urias (who logged a 1.99 ERA in 40 2/3 innings after the All-Star break) will slot into the Nos. 2 and 3 spots in the rotation. After that the Dodgers are looking at Scott Kazmir, who underperformed in 2016, and Brandon McCarthy, who has pitched a total of 63 innings in the first two years of a $48 million deal. Hyun-Jin Ryu has been a medical wreck, and Jose De Leon and Brock Stewart are just a step away in Triple-A Oklahoma City.Were hoping some of the rotation improvement will come from within, but theres a reason we went out and traded for Rich Hill at the deadline last year, Dodgers GM Farhan Zaidi said. Its something were going to continue to monitor. Were actually pretty deep in starting pitching options. We have enough to get through the 162-game season, so we can afford to be fairly targeted in looking for guys who come with maximum upside to pitch at the front of the rotation.If the Dodgers ultimately decide its worth digging into the farm system and aiming high for an impact acquisition, they know where to find it. The action is all about trades this winter, and the intrigue has just begun. ' ' '