was that Messi is not for sale

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MINNEAPOLIS -- If anyone needed a game-winning hit in extra innings, it was Aaron Hicks. Ron Darling Jersey . The once-prized Minnesota Twins prospect was hitting just .161 and was challenged by manager Ron Gardenhire and acting general manager Rob Antony the day before to take a more professional approach to the game. Hicks responded with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th and Phil Hughes struck out eight in six innings to help the Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 in the series finale on Thursday. Many think the only reason Hicks was not sent down already was because of the injuries that have decimated an already thin outfield group. Gardenhire and Antony both said they didnt feel Hicks was doing the necessary homework behind the scenes to be ready every day. "Maybe preparing is something I need to try to do more," Hicks said. "Try things to be able to make my game better and have an edge on the game." All-Star closer Glen Perkins blew his second save of the season, giving up a two-run single to Will Middlebrooks with the bases loaded that tied the game in the ninth. But Kurt Suzuki doubled down the left-field line and Hicks lined a 3-2 pitch to left field off of Andrew Miller (1-2) to win it. "Its such a big hit in a big situation," Hicks said. "It just comes down to how much heart you have in the game. Thats the kind of player I am. I like to play with passion and I dont like the way Ive been playing so far. But its something that sometimes youve got to go through in order to be able to make that next step into becoming a better player." Mike Carp had two hits and an RBI for the Red Sox, but David Ortiz was a quiet 1 for 4 with a single after going deep twice in each of the first two games of the series. Hughes gave up five hits and no walks and Chris Parmelee hit a two-run homer for the Twins, who took two of three from the defending champions. Suzuki and Eduardo Escobar each had three hits and Brian Duensing (1-1) picked up the win. Clay Buchholz gave up three runs on 10 hits and struck out six in six innings for the Red Sox. The Red Sox hitters had been doing well recently, with Ortizs personal home run derby contributing to 28 runs over their previous four games. But Hughes put those hot bats on ice on a day when the temperature was 46 degrees at first pitch. Hughes knows Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and the Red Sox lineup well from years of facing them while he was in the Yankees rotation. "He pitches more comfortable here, it seems," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "They threw a lot of strikes, didnt issue many bases on balls. Didnt have a whole lot going for the first eight." Hughes retired nine of the first 10 hitters he faced, won a 14-pitch battle with Xander Bogaerts to end the fifth inning and finished with more strikeouts against the Red Sox than he had in his previous 22 appearances against them. "Im going after them," Hughes said. "Thats been my game plan and has continued to be. Just attack with my fastball and get some flyouts, some strikeouts, swings and misses. I just tried to stay aggressive the entire time." Gardenhire said he hopes Hicks big hit will be the jumpstart his young centre fielder needs. "Hes working at it. Thats all weve asked him to do, study and work and hes doing that," Gardenhire said. "Thats a big hit for him. Nice to see him smile in a big situation like that." NOTES: Farrell gave OFs Grady Sizemore and Shane Victorino the day off. Farrell said the oft-injured Sizemore is doing fine and would play a lot this weekend while Victorino is resting a sore left knee. ... The Twins gave SS Danny Santana the day off to rest some sore legs, Gardenhire said. ... University of Minnesota football coach Jerry Kill threw out the first pitch shortly after announcing a $100,000 donation to start the Chasing Dreams foundation for epilepsy research. ... The Red Sox head home to open a series against Detroit on Friday. LHP Jon Lester (4-4, 2.75) will start for Boston against Max Scherzer (5-1, 2.04). ... The Twins start a series against Seattle on Friday. RHP Kyle Gibson (3-3, 4.74) will start against Mariners RHP Chris Young (3-0, 2.63). Jeff McKnight Jersey . Mladenovics quick hands at the net made the difference while Bencics inexperience in doubles showed. "We took a lot of pleasure," Mladenovic told Sport Plus television. "Its extremely difficult to play in such conditions, but our doubles team showed a lot of quality. Jose Reyes Jersey . They were right in that they responded to coach Randy Carlyles goaltending switch to erase a two-goal deficit. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/1070l-sid-fernandez-jersey-mets.html . -- Isaiah Pead took a stutter step forward, then raced to the left sideline and travelled 60 yards up the field before finally getting tripped up by a leg tackle.LONDON - Lionel Messi left FIFAs awards ceremony without a personal accolade again. Collecting a copy of FIFAs weekly magazine on the way out might have been worthwhile if he really needs to convince Barcelona of his ongoing value.Flick through to Sepp Blatters musing, and the FIFA president declares: Barcelona would scarcely have become the gold standard in European football without Lionel Messis 400 goals.Such an ego-boost will hardly make up for seeing Cristiano Ronaldo collect the Ballon DOr for the second successive year. With commercial strategies now as scrutinized as the coachs tactics in football, the perception is that Real Madrid was more active lobbying for Ronaldo than Barcelona was for its four-time Ballon DOr winner.Messi hardly gave the perception of being a loyal Barcelona employee when he faced the cameras in Zurich. Rather than just responding to the inevitable question about his future with the usual declaration of loyalty to the club that turned him into one of the best players of all time, the Argentina captain seemed intentionally ambiguous.I am not sure where I will be next year, said the academy graduate under contract at the Camp Nou until 2019.Nobody knows what the future holds. Much less in the case of the football world, where so many things can change overnight.Thats particularly true when Messis relationship with the Barcelona board and coach Luis Enrique is reputed to be far from harmonious. Occasionally even a player as gifted as Messi needs to be indulged, not just in his pay packet.Hes not as straightforward as he used to be, Esteve Calzada, former Barcelona chief marketing and commercial officer, told The Associated Press. He would say, Barcelona is my own team. I will retire here. Something went wrong ... hes older, maybe prepared to listen to other things. I find it difficult to believe he will spend his whole career at Barcelona.The all-time top scorer in the Champions League is undoubtedly coveted, but when you are the most talented player alongside Ronaldo your freedom of movement becomes limited.There are the four years remaining on his contract and a 250 million-euro ($295-million) buyout clause. Then factor in Messis ability to command an annual gross salary of 50 million euros ($59 million). A club could need the ability to cover 500 million euros ($590 million) over five years to fund the signing of the 27-year-olld forward — a potential cost on the balance sheets of 100 million euros ($118 million) a season. Mookie Wilson Jersey. In European football, that is far tougher with clubs losses restricted under UEFAs Financial Fair Play regulations. English clubs have the edge potentially over Barcas other European rivals because of the wealth generated from Premier League and Champions League television revenue.For any club thinking of buying Messi, there would be some eye-watering numbers to consider, said sports lawyer Daniel Geey of London-based Fieldfisher. There are only a few clubs that have such deep pockets.Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain with their UEFA imposed FFP spending restrictions would be hard placed to finance such a transfer, yet it may not be beyond the realms of possibility for Chelsea, Manchester United or Bayern Munich to finance such a deal through profits made, selling existing players or finding additional revenue streams to cover such expenditure.Why, though, would Barcelona contemplate selling Messi? Particularly when the end of the season sees early presidential elections at the fan-owned team. Also factor in that any fee received in the summer transfer window could not be reinvested until 2016 due to a ban on any transfers imposed by FIFA for breaching rules on signing minors.For the current board it would not be good for them to go to the election with the fact they would be selling the best player in the club history, Calzada said. And what would they do with the money?In the absence of the usual campaign pledges to sign players, extending the Argentines contract could become an election tool.The official word from Barcelona on Wednesday was that Messi is not for sale.We all think that Messi will be at Barcelona for years to come, that is what all (Barcelona fans) want, Enrique said. We dont contemplate a squad without Messi.One day, of course, that will come. Whether that is at the end of his career or when Barcelona finds an opportune moment to cash in on his brilliance might not become clear for a few more years.Barcelona is a very demanding environment, said Calzada, chief executive of London-based Prime Time Sport, which represents players and advises clubs. His type of play is based on speed. As he will get older, he will not always be the best player in the world.___Rob Harris can be followed at www.twitter.com/RobHarris ' ' '