half, Dickeys allowed 51 home runs. His

TORONTO – Heres what we know after watching R.A. Dickey for a season and a half in a Blue Jays uniform: we dont know. Who knows what to expect from a pitch, the knuckleball, that in one moment confounds a hitter and in the next is traveling, with plenty of spin, more than 400 feet in the opposite direction? Who knows how to manage a knuckleball pitcher? When is the right time to remove him from the game? These guys dont tire as quickly because they dont strain their arms and you cant predict when the pitch is going to flatten out just that once, which could be the difference in the game. All of the above came in to play in Friday nights 5-4 loss to the White Sox, a game in which Dickey no-hit Chicago for four innings but left without recording an out in the seventh. By then hed allowed five hits, four of which landed on the other side of the outfield fence. Actually, three of them did. One of them hit the foul pole. “One less home run, we win that game,” said Dickey. “Its just a really bizarre outing to strike out nine guys, get all those swings and misses on what I felt like was a really good knuckleball tonight.” Then, some home run talk. “Three of the four home runs were possibly mistakes, two I know,” said Dickey. “Normally, theyre a foul ball here or a miss hit here, but they just didnt miss them tonight.” Jose Abreu and Dayan Viciedo hit solo home runs in the fifth to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead. Those were Chicagos first two hits of the evening. The Blue Jays bounced back with back-to-back solo home runs in the sixth, one from Edwin Encarnacion and the other off the bat of Dioner Navarro. Dickey, sporting an 11.81 ERA in the seventh inning this season, couldnt give his team the shutdown frame it needed. Abreu clubbed his second home run of the night to lead off and, after Adam Dunn walked, Alexei Ramirez clanked a two-run shot off the left field foul pole. The knuckleballers night, so promising two innings before, was over. In six-plus innings, Dickey allowed five earned runs on five hits (four home runs) and one walk. He struck out nine. He was so good and then he wasnt. Theres no discernible pattern outside of his bloated fifth (9.39) and seventh inning ERAs and who knows what to make of those? Dickeys ERA in the sixth is 2.38. “I thought his knuckleball was as good as its been,” said manager John Gibbons. Then, some home run talk. “Its a pitch that can come and go,” said Gibbons. “I mean, one inning it can disappear, one hitter it can disappear and all of a sudden it clicks in. Its tough.” Then, he offered an admission: its hard to determine what to do with Dickey as a game wears on. “Its a totally different way to manage a game,” said Gibbons. “But hes here to win games for us and he needs to stay out there.” Dickeys loss on Friday night dropped his season record to 6-7. His ERA climbed from 4.04 to 4.24. In 51 appearances with the Blue Jays in a season and a half, Dickeys allowed 51 home runs. His win-loss record: 20-20. So there is some symmetry amid the unpredictability. Wholesale Lions Jerseys . Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years. Cheap Lions Jerseys . -- Andy Granatelli, the former CEO of STP motor oil company who made a mark on motorsports as a car owner, innovator and entrepreneur, has died. http://www.cheaplionsjerseyselite.com/ . He was with the New York Jets in 2011 when the NFL locked out their players after they failed to agree on a new contract. Willy went undrafted but was given a look by four NFL teams before heading north.NEWARK, N.J. - Patrik Elias was in a reflective mood after notching his 1,000th NHL point.Elias had a goal and two assists, and the New Jersey Devils beat the struggling Buffalo Sabres 4-1 on Tuesday night.I dont think I ever considered myself a goal scorer, coming here when I was 19 years old, said Elias, who notched No. 399 on Tuesday. I love playing hockey, being a playmaker. I never imagined Id be in this position.Now in his 17th season — all with the Devils — Elias reached the milestone in his 1,187th game.Its special to do it for one team, the 38-year-old Elias said. Sometimes its hard to score, the way weve played our systems. You have great years, you have injuries. You have to battle through it. Its not easy to get to 1,000 points.Travis Zajac and Michael Cammalleri each had a goal and an assist.When a guys played 1,000 games, thats a really great career, Cammalleri said. Now 1,000 points, thats a whole other level. Theres a lot that goes into that. Its quite an accomplishment for him.Jordin Tootoo also scored as the Devils won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 14. Cory Schneider made 20 saves.It seems as though the Devils need a milestone from a veteran to get a victory these days.The modest two-game streak began Saturday night against Philadelphia when 42-year-old Jaromir Jagr scored three times and became the oldest NHL player to have a hat trick.On Tuesday, Mikhail Grigorenko netted his first goal of the season for the Sabres, who have lost five straight and are 1-8-1 in their last 10 games.Were not playing within our system, defenceman Tyler Myers said. Were not doing things we normally do. I think it all comes down to preparation.Myers returned to the Buffalo lineup after missing seven games with a lower-body injury.The Devils dominated the first period, jumping out to a 3-0 lead and outshooting the Sabres 13-4. Elias had a goal and an assist in the frame. HHe opening the scoring at 3:44, redirecting Cammalleris pass between Jhonas Enroths pads.ddddddddddddTootoo made it 2-0 at 9:49 with a wrist shot from above the left circle that sailed over Enroths glove. Schneider earned the second assist, giving him his first point with the Devils.With New Jersey short-handed, Elias chipped the puck out the Devils end and sent Zajac on his way to a breakaway goal at 14:39.The reason we got the results early is that we played the way we like to play, Cammalleri said. We made strong decisions with the puck, and we wound up on the positive end of things.Buffalo regrouped to start the second period, and Philip Varone and Chris Stewart tested Schneider in the opening minutes.The Sabres persistence paid off when Grigorenko ripped a power-play shot from the high slot past Schneider at 6:40 to trim the Devils lead to 3-1.Buffalo again pressed the attack midway through the third period, and came close to scoring when Varone hit the post.We only played 40 minutes tonight and you need to play 60, Sabres forward Nicolas Deslauriers said. We had some opportunities, some good chances. We just came out too soft, and they took it to us.The Sabres couldnt break through again, and Cammalleri iced the game for New Jersey with an empty-net goal. That gave Elias the milestone assist as he became the 82nd player to reach 1,000 points.NOTES: The Sabres recalled Varone and C Brian Flynn from Rochester (AHL) on Monday. ... Buffalo scratched RW Brian Gionta (upper body), RW Drew Stafford, D Andrej Meszaros and D Andre Benoit. ... New Jersey scratched LW Martin Havlat (illness), D Peter Harrold (facial injury), and D Eric Gelinas (illness). ... Devils D Mark Fraser and Stewart fought right after the faceoff following Elias goal. ... Schneider has seven career assists. Martin Brodeur, the longtime goalie he replaced, had 45 assists and two goals with the Devils. ' ' '