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KISSIMMEE, Fla. Kellen Winslow Elite Jersey . -- Roger Clemens tried to get across a sense of urgency to Houston Astros pitchers Wednesday. "If its working for you, stay with it. If its not, you need to change something. Thats something I said," Clemens said. "Obviously its not working for some of you so you need to re-evaluate what youre doing." In his capacity as special assistant to the general manager, Clemens addressed a group of young pitchers who were often overmatched last season. With a staff significantly different from the one assembled this spring, the Astros posted a 4.79 ERA while losing 111 games. "If you need to stay and do some extra work, conditioning, whatever it might be, that will make you mentally tougher than the next guy," Clemens said. "I think with all the conditioning I did throughout my career, that made me feel like I had an edge." On the eve of the teams first full-squad workout, the Astros brought in the 51-year-old, seven-time Cy Young Award winner for a morning pep talk. "I think these guys have got to realize that its not only just about them, that everybodys rooting hard and they want em to do well," Clemens said. "Obviously when they do that, a lot of people are going to start coming through the turnstiles again to watch em." Clemens pitched three of his 24 major league seasons in Houston, winning the National League ERA title in 2005 when the Astros won the pennant. The years since have been lean, especially the past three in which the Astros lost 106, 107 and 111 games. Thats one of the reasons Clemens was brought back last year, according to general manager Jeff Luhnow. "He really understands our philosophy as an organization," Luhnow said. "Hes been a part of this organization for a long time and he sees eye-to-eye with everything that were doing and is able to communicate the messages." One of the messages is to no longer accept defeat. "Theres more than a handful of guys that have an opportunity and they need to take a big step forward," Clemens said. "In spring training everybodys all giddy right now, and then you start the season and everybody gets punched in the face. Its not a lot of fun. I think theyre kind of taking the kid gloves off em a little bit and asking a lot of em to step up." The catchers, too. "I asked those guys today to step up a little bit when the pitchers not doing very well, and to get after him a little bit, see if you can stroke his emotions, get his attention so hes not lethargic out there," Clemens said. "Theres a fine line there, but its time for some of these guys to really take a giant step forward." Veteran Chad Qualls, brought in to compete for the closer job, said Clemens got his points across. "Anytime somebody with his presence steps into a room, he just kind of demands your attention," Qualls said. "You always open up and listen to what he has to say because hes been through everything, the ups and the downs. He knows exactly what hes talking about." And at some point in the spring, it will go behind talking. "At my advanced stage, I still enjoy putting the cleats on and demonstrating when I can. I like the teaching aspect, and then to turn em loose and for them to get after it," he said. "I enjoy rooting for the underdog and trying to motivate guys and answer their questions when they have them." Notes: Relief pitcher Jesse Crain strained his right calf while exercising in a gym Tuesday. The Astros are awaiting the result of an MRI. "That will be some sort of setback; I dont know how many days," Luhnow said. ... First baseman Japhet Amador, who hit .368 with 36 home runs in the Mexican League, will not report to spring training until further notice because of a family emergency. Junior Seau Womens Jersey . They won gold today in the womens bobsled competition at the Sochi Games. The Canadian duo finished with a four-run time of three minutes 50. Dwight Freeney Womens Jersey .ca NBA Power Rankings, but there are changes among those teams in pursuit.Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, the Chicago Blackhawks Duncan Keith and Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber have been named finalists for the 2013-14 James Norris Memorial Trophy. The award is handed out annually to the NHLs top defenceman. Chara averaged a team-high 24:39 of ice time per game for the Bruins who allowed the second-fewest goals against in the NHL (177). He was top 10 among NHL blueliners in goals (17), plus-minus (+25), power-play goals (10) and game-winning goals (3). Chara is a Norris Trophy finalist for the third time in the past four seasons, and sixth time overall. He wonn the Norris in 2008-09. Shareece Wright Elite Jersey. Keith led all defencemen with 55 assists and ranked second with 61 points. He led the Hawks with an average of 24:38 per game. This is his second time as a Norris Trophy finalist, capturing the award in 2009-10. Weber topped all NHL rearguards with 23 goals, leading the Predators in scoring for the second consecutive season. He also topped all defencemen in power-play goals (12), and ranked fourth in the League in average ice-time (26:54). He is a Norris finalist for the third time after finishing as runner-up for the award in both 2010-11 and 2011-12. cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '
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