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TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers several questions each week. This weeks topics include the Blue Jays handling of Adam Linds injury, the As and Cubs trade, biggest surprises and disappointments, and Brian McCann in New York. 1) Toronto Blue Jays DH Adam Lind is out for six-to-eight weeks after being diagnosed with a fracture in his right foot. He was originally hurt on June 14th and the injury was diagnosed by the club as a deep bruise following a CT scan. What, if anything, does this say about how the Blue Jays handled his injury? Things like this happen. It is embarrassing for an organization though when it does. It is particularly embarrassing to the medical department of the team. The teams head physician has some questions to answer. As a general manager, I became a doctor, lawyer, psychiatrist, accountant and motivational speaker depending upon the situation. That being said, general managers are only doctors in so far as they understand what happens with baseball injuries. Only the team physician is qualified to diagnose injuries. Only the doctor writes up the prescription for diagnostic tests. General managers can play devils advocate and challenge a doctors thinking but that is it. Clearly the doctor struck out on this one. Lind did what players do; they play with pain. Players are taught to learn the difference between pain and injury. When the pain didnt go away, Lind realized he might be dealing with an injury. Actually, it was Linds mom who finally pushed him to request an MRI. I am not sure why an MRI is not part of the immediate diagnostic protocol for contusion injuries like this. It should be and probably will be from now on. Too many mistakes like this and the Jays may have to consider a new team doctor even for someone who has been around for a long time. Remember, mother knows best! 2) Late last week, the Oakland As beat the rush and acquired Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel for their top prospect Addison Russell and two other prospects. What did you make of not only the timing of the deal, but also what each team got? I have always been a firm believer that teams in the playoff hunt should go for it when they have the chance. The Oakland As went for it in a big way with this deal. The As were the best team in the game before the trade and this further reinforced that position. One of the big knocks against Billy Beane, As General Manager, is that his teams have been good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough to win once they are there. In other words, they were built to win over 162 games but lacked the impact to win in a short series. With the acquisition of Samardzija and Hammel the As added the kind of starting pitching that gives them a much better shot of getting to the playoffs and winning games when they are there. Beane gave up an extraordinary talent in Addison Russell. It was the right thing to do. Prospects get general managers fired. When I had a chance to win I gave up whatever prospect I needed in order to land players that would help me win now. For every prospect that fulfills his ultimate potential, there are 20 who do not. Even if the prospect that is traded becomes a great player the time value of the veteran player to help a team win now is worth it. Teams that win World Series take calculated risks in order to win. They sign a big free agent. They make a trade. They give up a top prospect to get the final piece to the puzzle. When I made the tough decision to fire coaches from under my manager, Bobby Valentine, it worked. My owner said it was a $30 million decision. We ended up going to the playoffs and then to the NLCS. We didnt make $30 million but the swing was that significant. If we had fallen apart that year we would have sold fewer tickets that season and it would have negatively impacted ticket and sponsorship sales the next year too. Instead, making the playoffs allowed more ticket sales that season. It included money made while in the playoffs and it generated excitement for the sale of tickets the following season. The Cubs made a great trade. So many times when teams are sellers at the deadline they try to acquire talent to fit a particular role. Theo Epstein, Cubs GM, didnt do that. He acquired the best possible talent regardless of the role. Russell is an exciting blue chip shortstop prospect. The Cubs already have young veteran Starling Castro and top prospect, Javier Baez, in the organization. The Cubs cant win with three shortstops but Epstein understands that he can turn one of them into whatever he wants. This was a win-win deal for both sides. The As are going to win more now but the Cubs will be winners soon enough too. 3) With the All-Star Break nearly upon us, which player or teams have been the biggest surprise to you, and which have been the biggest disappointments? As we head into the All-Star break, my most pleasant surprise is the Milwaukee Brewers. I actually thought they would be in the hunt for a Wild Card spot this year but they have been even better than expected. Manager Ron Roenicke made a bold move when he replaced his closer a day before the season. Francisco Rodriguez has been nearly perfect. The Brewers are winning the games they are supposed to win. The starting rotation has been consistently effective and gives them a chance to win every night. Offensively, they have a deep and productive lineup. They are second in the NL in runs scored. The Brewers have five players with double-digit home runs and five with 40+ RBI. With the injury to Cards catcher Yadier Molina and the numerous other injuries, the Cards may be done. Plus the Cardinals have struggled offensively. In 2013 they hit .330 with runners in scoring position while this year they are only hitting .246 in similar situations. The Reds have been bitten by the injury bug as well as they lost Brandon Phillips in a similar way that the Cards lost Molina. Homer Bailey has struggled this year and he left yesterdays game with an apparent knee injury. They had significant lost time from Matt Latos and Aroldis Chapman, while Jay Bruce and others have underperformed. The Pirates look a bit like the Pirates again. Everything seems to be going in the Brewers favor. It is their division to lose. The biggest disappointment is the Boston Red Sox. It is always difficult to repeat but I did not anticipate a last place finish. This team resembles the Bobby Valentine team from 2012. The team that won the World Series a year ago led the AL in runs scored by a significant margin (+59 on next closest team). This years team has scored the fewest runs in the league. Certainly they miss Jacoby Ellsbury, but this much? The Sox last year stole 123 bases and were caught only 19 times. So far this year they have stolen only 28 bases while being caught 19 times. The 2013 World Series champs hit 178 home runs while this years version is on pace for 116 homers. So no power and no speed equals no winning. I dont anticipate this Sox team to make the kind of run necessary to get back in the playoff hunt. John Lester and Clay Buchholz arent nearly the pitchers they were a year ago. The Red Sox are going to be sellers this year, not buyers. 4) This past week, Atlanta Braves hitting coach Terry Pendelton said, “New York is not Brian (McCann). Thats my opinion. I knew if he chose New York, there would be more than he expected or knew about. Hell never be comfortable with that …” He obviously doesnt think that Brian McCann has the temperament necessary to handle New York. Pendelton may be right. Not everyone can handle the game in New York, it is a different market than any other city. There are more beat writers and columnist and bloggers in NY than anywhere else. The talk radio is vicious when things are going well. Can you imagine how bad it can be when things are going poorly? McCann is an easy-going southern boy from just outside of Atlanta. He has the kind of background that New York can chew up and spit out. One of the most significant challenges for ball players in New York is that fans boo when they are unhappy and frustrated. This can paralyze even the most talented players. Back when I was general manager I made a trade to acquire Hall of Famer Robbie Alomar. He had just come off a season with the Indians in which he hit .300 with 20 homers, 20 stolen bases, 100 RBI and 100 runs scored. We got off to a slow start the next year and Alomar and the rest of the team got booed. Alomar was paralyzed by the booing and never performed like the Hall of Famer he was. Pendeltons comments came at a perfect time. Not because of McCann but because this is the last All-Star game that we have to honor Derek Jeter. What Jeter has done in New York is absolutely amazing. He was rarely, if ever, booed in New York. He played there for 20 years and never put himself in a position to be booed. That is remarkable. Jeter is as consistent a player and person that baseball has ever seen. He got the job done in the field and at the plate. He always delivered. If the Yankees needed a leadoff hit, he got on base. If they needed a stolen base, he swiped one. If they needed a homer, he crushed one. If the Yankees needed a great defensive play, he dove in the stands and made one. His way to overcome booing is to never give them a reason to boo you. Even more remarkable to me is how Jeter lived his life off the field in the fishbowl that is New York City. He was never in the gossip columns of the tabloids. He was never at the center of a scandal. In an era where everyone has camera phones, the fact that Jeter has never been caught in a compromising position is remarkable. So in a week where we wonder whether a Yankee can handle playing in New York, we celebrate one that has done it better than anyone else. Derek Jeter is an extraordinary leader. Maybe one of his last acts of leadership will be to help Brian McCann cope with New York. I have a love/hate relationship with Jeter. I hated him because he always found a way to beat my teams. I loved him because I have such respect for the way he has carried himself on and off the field. He is as classy as any player ever. Baseball will miss Jeter. I for one will watch the All-Star Game on Tuesday to celebrate Derek Jeter. I hope you do too. Cheap Jerseys From China . Phoenix got injured centre Emeka Okafor and a top-12-protected first-round draft pick in 2014 -- giving the rebuilding Suns potentially four choices in the opening round. The Suns also sent guards Kendall Marshall, Shannon Brown and Malcolm Lee to Washington so the deal will work financially. China Jerseys Cheap . The Wizards gave up two seldom-used players — forward Jan Vesely and point guard Eric Maynor. Vesely goes to the Nuggets, while Maynor gets shipped to the 76ers. Philadelphia receives two second-round draft picks, one from the Wizards in 2015 and one from the Nuggets in 2016. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/. His absence against the Celtics comes a day after he scored 43 points in the Heats 100-96 win at Cleveland. China Jerseys Wholesale . The Raptors have to get through the pesky New York Knicks Wednesday at Madison Square Garden and can lock up the third spot in the Eastern Conference with a win or a Chicago loss in Charlotte. Fake China Jerseys . Their 9-19 record remains identical to the crosstown rivals in Brooklyn and trails both Toronto and Boston in the Atlantic Division. Raymond Felton, their declining point guard, is back on the sideline nursing his third injury of the season. MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike Zimmer is finally a head coach in the NFL. The Minnesota Vikings think now is the time for the veteran defensive co-ordinator. The Vikings announced on Twitter on Wednesday night that they had hired Zimmer for their top coaching job. "Im extremely excited to bring a championship to the state of Minnesota and to the great fan base of the Vikings," Zimmer said in a video posted on the teams Twitter account. "I cant wait to get to work." Long after reports first surfaced about the hire, the Vikings remained quiet. Their silence was strange, considering a report by ESPN that they had already requested and received permission from Cleveland to interview offensive co-ordinator Norv Turner for the same position in Minnesota. The top headline on the team website touted an area winner in the annual NFL Punt, Pass & Kick contest. That doesnt mean the Vikings werent delighted about the ninth head coach in their 54-year history. Tight end Kyle Rudolph, centre John Sullivan and defensive end Brian Robison were among the players who expressed excitement about the former Bengals assistant via their Twitter accounts. "Fired up about Coach Zimmer! As a Cincy kid hes been fun to watch there and cant wait to work with him!" Rudolph tweeted. For the Bengals, the news was bittersweet. Zimmer, who has been an NFL defensive co-ordinator for the last 14 seasons, spent six of those with Cincinnati. "Today is one of the happiest and yet saddest days for me. Happy Coach Zimm finally gets to be a head coach and spread all of his knowledge," cornerback Terence Newman tweeted. The Bengals were third in the league in yards allowed and fifth in points against this season, though they lost in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year. "Gonna miss you coach Zimmer! Wish you nothing but the best in Minnesota. You brought out the best in each of your players! So honoured to have been coached by you!" tweeted linebacker Rey Maualuga. Zimmer replaces Leslie Frazier, another former Bengals defensive co-ordinator who was fired Dec. 30 after the team finished 5-10-1 this season. General manager Rick Spielman interviewed at least seven candidates. He and Vikings owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf ssettled on the one who was widely considered around the league to be the most overdue for a head coaching job.dddddddddddd Zimmer has interviewed for several vacancies in recent years, including this month with Tennessee. The 57-year-old Zimmer played at Illinois State and spent 14 seasons coaching in the college ranks before being hired in 1994 as an assistant with Dallas. He got a Super Bowl ring the following season as defensive backs coach. Then he became defensive co-ordinator of the Cowboys in 2000 and spent seven seasons at that post, the last four under coach Bill Parcells. Zimmer led defences in Dallas that operated in both the 4-3 and 3-4 alignments, including the 2003 group that surrendered the fewest yards in the league. The Wilfs, natives of New Jersey, grew up as New York Giants fans and are admirers of Parcells from his days coaching that team. After one tumultuous year as the defensive co-ordinator for Atlanta, when Falcons coach Bobby Petrino quit midseason in 2007, Zimmer went to Cincinnati to work for coach Marvin Lewis. In 2009, when his wife, Vikki, unexpectedly died, Zimmer was named the winner of several NFL assistant coach of the year awards. Zimmer has a fiery personality, as evidenced by his profanity-laced appearances on HBOs "Hard Knocks," which featured the Bengals in 2009 and 2013. That overt intensity is a contrast to Frazier, who went 21-33-1 in three-plus seasons with one appearance in the playoffs. Frazier was a popular figure in the locker room and throughout the organization, but as a former defensive coach his area of expertise became the teams biggest downfall. Despite a carousel at quarterback, the aged, injury-depleted defence was mostly responsible for the sorry showing this season. The Vikings allowed an average of 30 points per game, the most in the league, and 397.8 yards per game, the second-most. Five of the seven reported candidates who interviewed for the vacancy had defensive backgrounds: Seattle defensive co-ordinator Dan Quinn, Cleveland defensive co-ordinator Ray Horton, Arizona defensive co-ordinator Todd Bowles, San Francisco defensive line coach Jim Tomsula and Zimmer. The other two were offensive co-ordinators: Seattles Darrell Bevell and San Franciscos Greg Roman. ' ' '