DETROIT – Alex Anthopoulos likes to say the perception of a player is directly tied to his production. If a team is winning and a player is excelling, the guy becomes known as a "leader" or a "positive clubhouse influence." When a team is losing and a player is struggling, his character is questioned. Its easy to be enamoured with Mark Buehrle because of the year hes having. By now you know the statistics: 10-1, a 2.10 ERA and in his only no-decision of the season, Buehrle left with the lead. Even last season, when Buehrle struggled through the first half of the Blue Jays haltingly poor year, he drew no negative attention. He went about his between-starts routine despite his weight-related self-deprecation. He was always approachable despite his claims that he detests speaking into a microphone. What became clear, quickly, was Buehrles devotion to his family. Married with two kids, he looks in advance at the schedule and plots out homestands that will facilitate relatively lengthy visits. His father, John and mother, Pat, seem to be constants around the ballclub, even though John estimates they attend about 30 games per season. When this reporter renewed acquaintances with Buehrle on the first day of spring training and casually asked how his offseason had gone, it took the pitcher less than five seconds to begin to explain the difficulty he had saying goodbye to his children, who are now old enough to understand their dad has to leave home to go to work but wish that he wouldnt. John is in Detroit for the brief road trip, having scheduled a personal matter in the Motor City to coincide with the Jays lone visit to the Tigers. Hed have it no other way. "Our whole family was brought up as a family," said John Buehrle. "Everything we failed in or excelled in we shared as a family, our trials and tribulations if you will. When Mark did well in school, high school, college, everybody shared. When my other sons did well, everybody shared. They were brought up as a family, just as I was. They were brought up with respect." Mark Buehrle is making $18 million this season and is due $19 million in 2015, the final year of the four-year pact he inked with the Miami Marlins in the 2011-2012 offseason. When it comes to respect, money isnt an object in the Buehrle household. Johns three sons, Mike, 40, Jason, 37, and Mark, 35, and his one daughter Amy, 32, are expected to adhere to a set of rules when they visit. "Even today, they come to my house, they sit down at my table, their hat comes off," said John Buehrle. "Ill sit there and Ill stare them down. They wont even look at me, they can feel it. They can feel me looking at them because its manners. Theyll say Yes sir, no sir and Yes maam, no maam and open the door for the wives and their wives because thats the way they were raised." Mark is four wins shy of 200 for his career. Not many pitchers make it to the big leagues, let alone last long enough to win that many games. Johns son has never been placed on the disabled list. Hes pitching in his 15th big league season. John is pleased for Marks success but shows his youngest son no favoritism. "Any parent is proud anytime their child excels or succeeds at anything, regardless of what it is," said Buehrle. "Im just as proud of Mark for being where he is today as I am of my one son whos driving a concrete truck whos never had an accident. And thats a lot to say for concrete truck drivers, believe me, because I used to be one." Asked about Toronto, John returns to what matters most. "Toronto is as much of a family-oriented town as what we had found Chicago to be," said Buehrle. "We were there 12-and-a-half years in Chicago. Everybody in Chicago was like family. Every place we went, they were so nice." He admitted to uncertainty about Toronto after the trade with the Marlins and no, the fact Johns sons pitbull dog wasnt allowed to move to Ontario wasnt his top concern. "We didnt know, coming to Toronto, big city, we didnt know what it was going to be like," said Buehrle. "From day one, the people, everyone, not just the team, the staff, the people we ran into in the restaurants, it was genuine, you can tell when someones putting it on, but you could really tell there was a genuine Were glad youre here." The Blue Jays are glad to have Buehrle. Since last years All-Star Break, Mark is 17-5 with a 2.66 ERA. With an impending second knee replacement surgery scheduled soon, John hopes to be able to travel to Minneapolis for this years All-Star Game. He expects Mark will be a participant. "Hes having a real good year and I couldnt want or wish any better for him or the team," said Buehrle. "Im really happy for the fans, too, because the fans, I guess in a certain way through Mark see a little hope and glimmer and think, Oh, we may just pull it off this year. Its not just Mark. You look at Joey Bats, Edwin, Melky. Everyones having an awesome year." Raymond Felton Jersey . Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse will reunite at this weekends season-opening World Cup at Canada Olympic Park as they begin their buildup to the Winter Games in Sochi. Doug McDermott Jersey . Heck, we might just miss the BCS. Maybe? It sort of worked out this season. Top-ranked Florida State (13-0) was the only team to get through the regular season unbeaten, and the Seminoles did it in dominating fashion. http://www.authenticthunderauthority.com...der-jersey-c-6/. "Hes over there," the first baseman said. "You dont need to talk to anybody else." Indeed, Peralta did it all as the majors top team won again. Steven Adams Jersey . -- Manchester United thrilled a record crowd with a brilliant opening goal -- and even Cristiano Ronaldos unexpected entrance proved futile for Real Madrid. Enes Kanter Jersey . And thats about it. After the Salukis 73-65 loss at Murray State on Tuesday night, Hinson called his players "uncoachable," "a bunch of mamas boys" and compared the disciplining of his young team to housebreaking a puppy.MINNEAPOLIS -- With their rotation depleted and the new slugger sidelined by a rash of injuries, the Texas Rangers have been forced to find alternate methods for winning. Its working quite well in late May. Leonys Martin doubled twice and scored three times, including the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and the Rangers beat Minnesota Twins 5-4 on Thursday to win their second straight four-game series on the road. "Those guys have had to grind, and everybody has had to have been used," said manager Ron Washington, who has seen starting pitchers Matt Harrison, Derek Holland and Martin Perez and first baseman Prince Fielder hit the disabled list as well as key hitters Jurickson Profar, Geovany Soto and others. "So thats the way you play team baseball, and thats exactly what were doing." Shin-Soo Choo hit a three-run double in the second for the Rangers, but the Twins took a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning on Josh Willinghams first home run of the season, a no-doubt drive to the second deck above left-centre field. Then the role players took over for the Rangers. Alexi Ogando (2-2) got four outs for the victory, and Joakim Soria retired the last two batters for his 10th save. Soria saved the last two games of the series after he had his first blown chance of the season in Tuesdays 4-3 loss. Martin hit a leadoff double in the eighth against Casey Fien (3-2), moved up on a sacrifice bunt and sprinted home on a sacrifice fly by Rougned Odour, beating a sweep tag by catcher Josmil Pinto. The throw by centre fielder Danny Santana, a rookie shortstop playing out of position, was off the plate and up the line. "He has to make a perfect throw to throw me out in that situation," Martin said. The Rangers tied it at 4 when Martin doubled and scored on Robinson Chirinos single in the sixth. Samuel Deduno gave up nine hits while striking out two and was removed with one out in that inning. With eight wins in their last 11 games, including three of four at Detroit last week, the Rangers have begun to find theeir stride.dddddddddddd That was evident in the second inning, when bases-loaded, nobody-out situations for both teams went opposite ways. Deduno moved within one strike of escaping without any damage after an infield popup and a strikeout. But Choo, who served as the designated hitter to give his sore left ankle a break from left field with the short turnaround from the night before, drove a 2-2 curveball down the left-field line. "I have to be better," Deduno said. Alex Rios, who stretched his hitting streak to 12 games, started that rally with a sharp single. Martin scored easily from first base to put the Rangers ahead 3-0. "I was thinking home plate all the way," Martin said. Nick Martinez dodged trouble in the bottom of the frame when Pinto sent a soft roller back to the mound. After a short throw home for a forceout, Martinez got Eduardo Escobar to line hard into a double play. The rookie was charged with more than three earned runs for the first time in five starts. He allowed nine hits and walked two in 5 2-3 innings. "It was a learning experience for him today, to go out there and keep his team in the ballgame when he didnt have his best stuff. That was awesome right there," Washington said. Trevor Plouffe and Willingham hit RBI singles in the third, but the Twins have only 14 runs in their last seven games, going 6 for 52 with runners in scoring position. "Thats the main focus, getting guys on, but we cant get them in," second baseman Brian Dozier said. NOTES: Washington held SS Elvis Andrus out of the lineup to rest for the first time this season. ... Deduno walked Martin, ending a streak by Twins pitchers of 131 straight batters without an unintentional walk. ... The Rangers start a three-game series Friday at Washington, with RHP Colby Lewis (4-3, 5.10 ERA) pitching opposite Nationals RHP Stephen Strasburg (3-4, 3.42 ERA). ... The Twins will be in New York for three games, with RHP Ricky Nolasco (2-5, 6.12 ERA) taking the mound Friday against Yankees LHP Vidal Nuno (1-1, 5.49 ERA). Stitched College JerseysCheap UCLA JerseysNCAA Louisville Cardinals JerseysNorth Carolina Jerseys Stitched Kentucky Wildcats JerseysStitched Alabama Crimson Tide JerseysCheap Basketball Wisconsin Badgers JerseysAuthentic NCAA Jerseys StoreWholesale Basketball NCAA JerseysCheap Duke GearStitched Alabama JerseysStitched Georgia JerseysCheap Clemson Jerseys AuthenticAuthentic Texas JerseysWholesale USC JerseysStitched Oklahoma JerseysStitched Ohio State JerseysCheap Notre Dame GearUCLA Jerseys From ChinaCheap Louisville Jerseys Free ShippingCheap North Carolina Jerseys AuthenticCheap Kentucky Jerseys AuthenticWisconsin Jerseys From ChinaCheap Michigan GearCheap Florida GearWholesale Arizona State JerseysCheap LSU GearCheap Auburn GearCheap California Jerseys Free ShippingCheap Miami Jerseys AuthenticCheap Michigan State GearCheap Tennessee Jerseys AuthenticTexas A&M Jerseys From ChinaAuthentic Wake Forest JerseysWest Virginia Jerseys From China ' ' '