DETROIT - Justin Verlander is doing his best to take Max Scherzers departure in stride.Yes, the Detroit Tigers will miss Scherzer, one of the games top right-handers. But his exit via free agency was by no means a shock.Obviously you dont want to see a teammate go, but you can kind of see it coming too, Verlander said Thursday. I think once that deal was turned down last year, I think the probability of him coming back went way down. Thats the nature of the sport.Scherzer signed with the Washington Nationals this week after a five-year run in Detroit that included four division titles, a Cy Young Award in 2013 and strikeout totals that even Verlander had a hard time keeping up with. Now the Tigers will try for a fifth straight AL Central championship with a retooled rotation that also lost Rick Porcello. This may be the first time in a while that Detroit isnt a solid favourite to win the division.Scherzer turned down a lucrative deal with the Tigers before last season, and he ended up signing a $210 million, seven-year contract with the Nationals.Obviously, you lose a player of that calibre, its always tough. I think this organizations been preparing for that since last year, and I think if anybody, this staff has the capability to lose a guy of that calibre and still not miss a beat, Verlander said at the start of the Tigers winter caravan. I think were still going to be one of the best staffs in baseball, if not the best. Youve just got to perform. I know Ive got to pitch better and I will.Verlander was the American League MVP in 2011 and remained dominant the following year as well, but his performance dipped a bit in 2013, and last year he went 15-12 with a 4.54 ERA. At this time last year, Verlander was recovering from core muscle repair surgery, so hes hoping a more normal off-season will help.The rotation has been the backbone of the Tigers success over the last few seasons, but it looks a lot different than it did at the beginning of 2014. Detroit acquired star left-hander David Price at last years trade deadline, sending starter Drew Smyly to Tampa Bay in that deal. The Tigers then traded Porcello in the off-season for Boston outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.Detroit also traded for right-handers Shane Greene and Alfredo Simon this off-season, and its those two newcomers who now face the daunting task of replacing Scherzer and Porcello.I have a lot of expectations for myself, and theyre probably higher than most peoples expectations for me, said Greene, who went 5-4 with a 3.78 ERA as a rookie for the New York Yankees last year.Price may be the key to Detroits division title defence. The Tigers can look forward to having him for a full season, although he can become a free agent at the end of it.Price went 4-4 in 11 starts with the Tigers, but he ended last season on a good note, shutting down Minnesota in a division-clinching victory in Game 162. He also pitched well in his lone playoff start, although the Tigers were swept by Baltimore in the AL Division Series.We want to pick up, not where we left off last year, but we want to continue the success that the Tigers have had in recent years, Price said. We want to build on that as well and be the last team playing in October.Losing Scherzer was certainly a setback, but it doesnt have to be a crippling one.I talked to Max the day it kind of broke. Max is a good guy. Hes got a great sense of humour, Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. I was happy for him. I kind of knew, it kind of seemed all along that he wasnt going to be coming back here as a Tiger, so Im just glad he went to the National League.NOTES: Ausmus said hes been in touch with slugger Miguel Cabrera, who had off-season surgery on his right ankle. Hes out of the boot, as of a week ago maybe. Hes in shoes, Ausmus said. Hes got another appointment mid-February, just before spring training, and were hoping that all goes well, and the doctor says he can really start doing some stuff on it. Fake Yeezys . Inter moved five points behind fourth-place Fiorentina and eight points behind third-place Napoli, which visits relegation-threatened Sassuolo on Sunday. Fake Yeezys Outlet . The 31-year-old Russian dominated the No. 3-ranked Ferrer throughout, breaking the defending champion and local favourite four times on the indoor hard court. http://www.fakeyeezysforsale.com/fake-yeezy-boost-350-v3/.Y. - Lou Williams scored 21 points and the Toronto Raptors beat New York 81-76 on Monday night in the Knicks preseason home opener. Wholesale Fake Yeezys .The law passed on Friday, in a 128-62 vote in the lower chamber of parliament, was prompted by FIFA bribery scandals in recent years.Switzerland-based sports leaders such as FIFA President Sepp Blatter and IOC President Thomas Bach are now classed as politically exposed persons in wider legislation covering money-laundering. Fake Yeezys 2019 .Heres Ralph the Dog with the crew here at TSN jumping into the James Duthie TradeCentre selfie: Happy to drop by! RT @TSN_Sports: @tsnjamesduthie: Take this Ellen.CHICAGO -- The Washington Nationals hit the halfway point of the season tied with Atlanta for the NL East lead. Adam LaRoche will take that. "I like our position in the standings and I like how our team is playing," LaRoche said after Washington swept a day-night doubleheader from the Cubs on Saturday. LaRoche and Wilson Ramos homered, Blake Treinen earned his first major league win and the Nationals beat Chicago 7-2 in a rainy nightcap. Gio Gonzalez pitched two-hit ball over seven innings in the opener for a 3-0 victory. In the second game, Washington tagged Jeff Samardzija (2-7) for six runs over five innings to salvage a four-game series split. LaRoche led off the second with a long drive to right for his 11th homer, and Ramos connected to start the fifth, sparking a four-run rally that made it 6-2. Making his fifth major league start, Treinen (1-3) allowed two runs and four hits in five innings. The right-hander was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse as the 26th man on the roster for the doubleheader. "It means a lot," he said about the win. "Im definitely excited, thats for sure." Ross Detwiler pitched three perfect innings for his first career save. The only runs for the Cubs came on a two-run homer by Luis Valbuena that tied it at 2 in the fourth, right about when the rain started falling. With two outs in the inning and Nate Schierholtz batting, play was stopped for 55 minutes. Once the game resumed, it didnt take long for the Nationals to regain the lead. Ramos connected on the first pitch of the fifth for his second homer, and Washington sent up nine batters in the inning. With two outs and a man on first, three straight singles by Anthony Rendon, Kevin Frandsen and Jayson Werth resulted in two more runs. First baseman Anthony Rizzo then let LaRoches hard smash get by him for an error, bringing in Frandsen to make it 6-2. "Coming out of the rain delay they jumped on me right off the bat, and then they hit some fastballs over the plate and hit them up the middle," Samardzija said. "Made me keep throwing pitches. Like I said, they did a good job. They were ready out of the break." In the first game, Gonzalez dominated in his third start back from the disabled list, outperforming Dalllas Beeler in the rightys major league debut.dddddddddddd Rendon had three hits, including a two-out double against Beeler in the sixth before scoring the games first run on a wild pitch. Rendon added an RBI triple off Justin Grimm and came home on a sacrifice fly by LaRoche against Wesley Wright in a two-run eighth. Denard Span chipped in with two hits and scored a run, and the Nationals snapped a three-game losing streak. Gonzalez (5-4) struck out seven and walked two while improving to 2-0 in three starts after missing a month because of inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Tyler Clippard worked the eighth and Rafael Soriano finished for his 19th save in 21 chances. "Obviously, coming (off) the DL and trying to work your way back is going to be a process," Gonzalez said. "Its not going to happen overnight. Its good to see, little by little, using fastball and changeup at the same time. Its good to know when you need them theyll be there." Beeler was about as good as Gonzalez. Called up from Triple-A Iowa as the 26th man, he pitched four-hit ball while allowing an unearned run in six innings. Beeler also singled in his first at-bat when he lined the first pitch he saw up the middle in the third, drawing big cheers from the crowd. "I was a lot calmer than what I thought Id be," he said. "I walked out there, took a deep breath, threw my warmup pitches, kind of looked around again, exhaled and I was like, All right, same game Ive been playing for the last 20 years." NOTES: Nationals OF Bryce Harper hit three homers and drove in five runs in a rehab game for Double-A Harrisburg. The 2012 NL Rookie of the Year is working his way back from a torn ligament in his left thumb. He went 4 for 5 as the DH against the Cleveland Indians Akron affiliate. Washington manager Matt Williams said hes not sure if Harper will play another game for Harrisburg on Sunday. The Nationals are optimistic he will return early in the week, if not Monday, when they open a three-game series against Colorado. ... The Cubs have their first scheduled Sunday off in 82 years because of the annual Pride Parade in Chicago. The last one was on June 19, 1932. Chicago played the Giants in New York on a Saturday and then went to Philadelphia on a Monday. ' ' '