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Anyone who becomes general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs should be forced to take the following pledge before their first day on the job. With their right hand raised, they must repeat: I promise not to trade away young players and draft picks for players whose best years are behind them, I promise not to trade away young players and draft picks for players whose best years are behind them. I do solemnly swear I will not trade away young players and draft picks for players whose best years are behind them. Dave Nonis, of course, took no such pledge when he took the job almost three years ago. But heres hoping he made at least a private vow to himself not to repeat the mistakes of those who came before him. Weve all seen the pattern. A Maple Leaf general manager starts out on a blueprint to build the team through patience and smarts, developing from within and keeping a core of young players that can mature and come of age together. But it never turns out that way because somewhere along the way he hits the fast-forward button and the plan goes out the window. The panic sets in when the draft picks that were supposed to fuel the Leafs improvement dont pan-out, forcing him to mortgage the future just to keep the teams head above water. Which is why news that the Leafs have interest in the potential availability of Carolina centre Eric Staal is so worrisome because it would take the Leafs down a similar path as that where their previous plans have gone astray. Only theres no reason it should. Early in their third season under Dave Nonis, the Leafs remain a work in progress just in terms of reaching the post-season. Theyve got a fair amount of talent but dont play the game in a way thats conducive to consistently winning. They arent talent poor. Theyre young, frustrating at times, and still a long way from reaching their collective potential. But this is a team, unlike some past Leaf teams, which has at least chance to mature into something decent. In Gardiner, Rielly, Kadri, van Riemsdyk and Kessel the Leafs have four players all age 27 or younger who either are, or have the potential to become front line NHLers. They have a goaltender in Jonathan Bernier who looks a lot like a rising star and a rookie in Stuart Percy who is fitting in well so far during just his second season as a pro. And last seasons top pick, William Nylander, appears to possess the skills that could make him able to play as a rookie 19-year-old next season. So theres lots of young trees in the forest, so to speak. To sell off a combination of those assets and or draft picks for a player in Eric Staal who turns 30 this month is asking for a repeat of history. Staal has already played a ton of hockey in his career – 771 games, suffered some significant injuries and his best season in terms of goals and points is now eight years ago. Would he immediately become the Leafs best player? Probably. But for how long? Theres absolutely no way to know that but there are so many great hockey players whose abilities decline significantly past their early 30s. Which means that if the Leafs were to acquire Staal, hes likely to become a fading star on an expensive ticket by the time the core of their team matures. Acquiring Staal would make sense if the Leafs were in the midst of a Stanley Cup window with maybe two years remaining in it. But theyre nowhere near being able to compete for the Cup. They need a lot of things before that happens. But nothing more than patience. Jamal Davis Jersey . His apology came before a pregame ceremony in which the team honoured its 2004 team that won Bostons first World Series championship since 1918. "I realize that I behaved bad in Boston," Ramirez said. Trevor Daniel Jersey . JOHNS, N. http://www.cheaptexansjerseysauthentic.c...-landrum-jersey. At 11:06 of the first period, Neal struck Marchand with his knee when Marchand was down on the ice. Marchand remained in the game. Neal was assessed a kneeing penalty for his hit on Marchand. AJ McCarron Jersey . On the eve of the 2013-14 NBA season, he can finally take a step back and allow his team to do the talking. Will Fuller V Jersey . According to a report from ESPN, sources said Manuels college coach Jimbo Fisher told teams he didnt think Manuel had the tools to be an NFL starter.OAKLAND, Calif. -- When the Seattle Mariners were in the midst of a recent eight-game losing streak, manager Lloyd McClendon reminded his players such stretches happen, and they will happen again. Then he challenged them to respond in a positive way. The club is now doing a little bit of everything right to get back on track. Rookie Roenis Elias struck out six while pitching into the seventh to win consecutive starts for the first time, Justin Smoak drove in three runs and the Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 8-3 on Tuesday night for their season-best fourth straight victory. "Its been something incredible," Elias said. "Everybodys together doing their job. I like my team how theyre playing baseball." Smoak hit an RBI double and Dustin Ackley a run-scoring single in the first to back Elias (3-2), who followed up a 10-strikeout gem at Yankee Stadium his last time out with another impressive start once he settled down. The Mariners jumped on Jesse Chavez (2-1) to take a quick first-inning lead for the second straight game against the As -- and Seattle scored all three of its first-inning runs with two outs on the way to its ninth win in 11 games overall. "We know that were not going to win a playoff spot in April," Michael Saunders said. "However, that being said, losing eight straight was a definite learning experience for us. Its not going to be the last time." Chavez got a scare and escaped injury in the fourth when he saved himself from a hard-hit liner by Saunders by catching the screamer that was going right for his face. "It was all reflexes, I just put my glove up," Chavez said. "As soon as I let go of the pitch I saw him make contact. Ive jumped out of the way at balls at my lower body, but Ive never had one like that at my face before." Making the play knocked him off his feet to end the fourth, and the small Coliseum crowd of 12,106 briefly fell silent. "Luckily no one got hurt. I havent seen the replay but guys said it had a chance to hit him square in the face," Saunders said. Chavez got a double play to face the minimum in the fifth, but his night ended after allowing Mike Zuninos sixth-inning sacrifice fly following a hit battsman and a walk.dddddddddddd Oakland No. 9 hitter Nick Punto pulled Oakland back in it with a two-run, two-out single in the second. Yoenis Cespedes, back in the starting lineup after nursing a left hamstring injury, hit a leadoff home run in the sixth. The As squandered a scoring chance in the seventh against Dominic Leone, leaving the tying run on third as they again struggled with runners in scoring position. Elias allowed three runs and five hits with three walks in 6 1-3 innings in his seventh career start. Sean Doolittle struck out all four batters he faced in relief of Chavez. But Seattle added on four unearned runs in the top of the ninth against 2013 AL saves leader Jim Johnson, who was booed off the mound when pulled by manager Bob Melvin as fans headed for the exits. Smoak added a two-run single. For Wednesdays doubleheader, Felix Hernandez will pitch Game 1 for Seattle and Erasmo Ramirez the second. As manager Bob Melvin didnt announce his choice for the nightcap, though Dan Straily pitches the opener. Oakland will make right-hander Arnold Leon its 26th player for the second game but is likely to start Drew Pomeranz since he didnt pitch in relief Tuesday. The 25-year-old Leons family was scheduled to fly in from Mexico for his likely major league debut after nine seasons in the minors. The teams are playing two after an April 4 game was called because of a soggy field that had mistakenly gone without its tarp during a heavy rainstorm. NOTES: Saunders, who came in batting .393 with a homer and five RBIs in seven games batting leadoff, went 0 for 4 atop the order. "I dont like messing with success," McClendon said. "Hes been doing great, weve been doing great. Its kind of hard to change that."... As reliever Eric OFlaherty, on the disabled list since undergoing Tommy John surgery in the off-season, threw a 30-pitch bullpen session and could begin throwing to hitters soon, and Melvin said an announcement on the pitchers next step would come Wednesday. ... Melvin said Triple-A catcher Stephen Vogt, an As playoff star last October currently on Sacramentos disabled list, i