OWINGS MILLS http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-isaiah-johnson-jersey , Md. (AP) — , Eric DeCosta has no intention of filling the shoes of his highly successful predecessor, Ozzie Newsome.“I have size 10½ feet and I think Ozzie is a 13, so there you go,” DeCosta said Wednesday, standing alone in front of a gathering of the media and team employees at his first news conference since taking the job on Jan. 11.Newsome, who held the post since the franchise moved from Cleveland in 1996, will stay on as an adviser. The first African-American GM in NFL history, Newsome drafted wisely and shrewdly combed the free agent market to build the Ravens into a perennial contender and two-time Super Bowl champions.DeCosta was there for all of it. As an intern, DeCosta’s duties included taking then-coach Ted Marchibroda’s car for oil changes. The coach gave him $100 and told him to keep the change, so DeCosta found a place that charged $9.99.“Sometimes people would think that maybe I’d be embarrassed that I started off as an intern now that I’m a GM, that I want to forget that,” DeCosta said. “To be honest with you, I cherish the fact that I could start out as a young person and really do a lot of different things.”DeCosta moved up the corporate ladder to become assistant general manager in 2012. He began to attract the interest of other clubs, so owner Steve Bisciotti promised him a promotion after the 2018 season. Now that the job he long coveted is his, the 47-year-old DeCosta is already hard at work trying to improve a team that won the AFC North before being eliminated with a first-round playoff loss.He has overseen personnel meetings, huddled with top team officials in Florida Devin Bush Jersey , attended a couple college all-star games and given plenty of thought to the draft.“There are times I look at the challenges and they are daunting. But I’ve been blessed that I’ve had a lot of time to think and prepare for this,” he said. “Had I had gone to another team, with all new faces, new organization, new people, that would be a little more challenging.”This job has plenty of obstacles to clear, most notably a tight salary cap and some important pending personnel decisions. Pro Bowl linebacker C.J. Mosley is a pending free agent, the status of safety Eric Weddle and guard Marshal Yanda for 2019 is uncertain and quarterback Joe Flacco is almost certainly heading elsewhere.“If there’s one team interested, yeah, we’ll probably trade him,” DeCosta said of Flacco. “If there’s nobody interested, we’ll have to make another decision.”Having Newsome on his side will make those kinds of choices a whole lot easier.“I am extremely happy that Ozzie is going to play such a significant role moving forward for this organization,” DeCosta said. “It just gives me immense joy that I can still mess around with him like I do.”Having learned so much from Newsome, DeCosta has no intention of straying from the lessons provided by his mentor.“We’ve done a lot of really good things in the past, and we would be foolish to change things overnight,” he said.DeCosta revealed that Bisciotti actually broached the subject of his ascension to general manager in 2007. Eleven years later, it finally happened. Along the way http://www.steelersfootballauthentics.com/diontae-johnson-jersey-authentic , DeCosta spurned several opportunities to land a GM job in another city.“Did I have chances? Yeah. Did I have a lot? Yeah. Did I ever really consider it? Not really,” DeCosta said. “Every time I’d go to bed, thinking that maybe I would consider something, I’d wake up and say, ‘What are you crazy? You know you’re going to have the job someday that you’ve dreamed about, so just wait and make it perfect.'” Chris Sale was headed out of the game anyway, so it didn’t matter if he received an ejection on his way to the dugout.
The important thing was that Sale was dominant through six innings, and the Boston Red Sox rode his performance to a 5-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday for a three-game sweep.
After issuing two walks to open the seventh in a 5-0 game, Sale (6-4) was lifted by manager Alex Cora. As he was making his way to the dugout, the left-hander yelled at home plate umpire Brian Knight and was promptly ejected .
”There are going to be points in the season, points in the game where stuff happens,” Sale said. ”No one’s perfect. Obviously I lost my cool a little bit. That’s going to happen, too.”
It was the second career ejection for Sale, the other coming in April 2015 when he was with the White Sox.
”I like competing. When I feel like I’m getting something taken away from me, I get emotional,” Sale said. ”At the end of the day, hey Justin Layne Jersey , we’re human, stuff is going to happen.”
Sale struck out nine, allowed one run and gave up two hits in ending a run of three straight losing starts.
Baltimore has lost seven straight and 14 of 16. The last time the Orioles scored more than five runs in a game was May 24, and it sure wasn’t going to happen against Sale.
”It’s a bad combination, we’re not swinging the bat well and facing as good a pitcher as him,” manager Buck Showalter conceded.
Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez homered for the Red Sox, who are 9-1 against the Orioles this season.
Betts, the major league leader in batting average, came off the disabled list Monday after missing 14 games with an abdominal strain. He played Monday, was rested Tuesday and returned to the top of the lineup in the series finale.
Betts hit a 3-2 pitch from Yefry Ramirez over the center-field wall in the third for his 18th home run .
”The quality of his at-bats are incredible for not playing, what, two weeks?” Cora said. ”I mean, the guy’s talented.”
A three-run fifth made it 4-0, and Martinez hit his team-leading 22nd homer in the seventh.
After placing Andrew Cashner (back) on the disabled list Tuesday, the Orioles recalled Ramirez from Triple-A Norfolk to make his major league debut. The 24-year-old left with the score 1-0 in the fifth, but Mike Wright allowed both inherited runners to score.
Ramirez (0-1) gave up three runs and four hits over 4 1/3 innings, striking out six.
Baltimore got its lone run in the seventh, when Jace Peterson hit a sacrifice fly soon after Sale departed.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: Cora said LHP Drew Pomeranz’s neck is sore and that the club would not plan for his return until after a weekend series in Seattle. Pomeranz originally went on the DL on June 5 with biceps tendinitis. … 2B Dustin Pedroia (left knee) has been doing some weight lifting but is staying away from baseball activities for now, Cora said.
Orioles: Orioles reliever Richard Bleier, one of the better performers on a ragged team, clutched his shoulder after throwing a pitch in the eighth inning and was immediately removed from the game. Asked for a prognosis, Bleier said, ”I have no idea. I don’t feel great right now.” Bleier is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA over 31 appearances. … IF Tim Beckham (core muscle surgery) will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Bowie on Friday, Showalter said.
UP NEXT
Red Sox: LHP David Price (7-4, 4.00 ERA) seeks his sixth straight win when Boston faces Mariners ace Felix Hernandez in the opener of a four-game series at Seattle.
Orioles: After taking Thursday off, Baltimore opens a three-game series against the visiting Miami Marlins in a matchup of last-place clubs.