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CHICAGO -- Adam Dunn has driven last season behind him the best way he knows how. cheap nfl jerseys . With his bat. The 6-foot-6, 280-pound White Sox slugger is determined to make sure that his head-shaking struggles during his first season in Chicago are not affecting his approach in a new year. With a fresh coach regime in place, a hitting coach in Jeff Manto whos helped his balance with different drills -- one by having Dunn hold a medicine ball between his feet in the batting cage -- Dunn is looking more like himself. Yeah, hes still striking out at a high rate, but hes also sending pitches over the fences. His 12th homer in Chicagos 36th game on Monday night surpassed his total for all of last season. "Hes been very good at putting last year behind him and just playing baseball," first-year manager Robin Ventura said. "Hes not in the mode of worrying about last year or trying to outdo last year or anything like that, just more of playing the game and he makes it pretty simple." Ventura never had a season like Dunn did a year ago, although he did go through an 0-for-41 slump as a rookie. Looking ahead and not back is essential for escaping those kind of skids. "Its not always easy for a lot of people to do, but hes been great at just making it simple for himself," Ventura said. Dunn called last season one of the most difficult experiences of his life, batting just .159 with 177 strikeouts and a paltry 42 RBIs. At every turn, everyone wanted to know what his problem was. And he was especially bummed that he was letting his teammates down. Here was a guy who was a respected power hitter for a long time in the National League and had been rewarded with a four-year, $56 million contract to give Chicago the left-handed punch and run producer it needed. Instead, he missed by six plate appearances having the lowest batting average in modern major league history. Everything seems different now. "I feel good, its kind of normal," Dunn said. "Last year wasnt normal." Dunn got off to a good start a year ago with a home run on opening day, then underwent an emergency appendectomy on April 6. That was a setback and then he had to learn a new league of pitchers and an unfamiliar role as a designated hitter where a batter can go 45 minutes or more between plate appearances. But his biggest problem was making contact. "Ive put that out of my head so much I dont even know what I was feeling last year. I do know what Im feeling this year. This is kind of the way Im used to starting out a season," said Dunn, who homered again on opening day at Texas. Still, Dunn will never forget the feeling of frustration that was shared by many fans who booed him repeatedly at U.S. Cellular Field. His 177 strikeouts were a club record and he couldnt find a way out of it. No matter what he tried. Dunns streak of seven straight seasons with at least 38 homers ended and after the All-Star break, he homered only twice and had eight RBIs. He also struggled mightily against left-handers, batting .064 (6 for 94) with one extra-base hit. "I know I wouldnt wish that on anybody, whether they are in baseball, football, basketball, writers, anything," Dunn said. "If you want to call it motivation, you can. I dont think you need a lot of motivation to go out and play every day." Dunn is affable and well-liked in the clubhouse, where his teammates watched him handle his awful season. "They reason why he came over is because he could hit. He just had a rough year last year," said White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd. "Hes one of the best guys in this clubhouse. You knew with his personality hes going to put it behind him and start fresh. Thats what hes been doing." Ventura said he would try to get Dunn more time at first base to give Paul Konerko time off, and he could play him in left field this coming weekend when the White Sox play the Cubs at Wrigley Field where there will be no DH. Dunn appeared in 35 games at first and a couple in the outfield last season. Hes been at first 12 times already this season and his homer Monday night off Detroits Drew Smyly was his first against a southpaw since the 2010 season. Dunn said he got a needed pat on the back at the teams winter convention when the fans cheered him as he was introduced. Even though he recently ended a streak of 36 games in which he struck out at least once -- a stretch of whiffs dating to last season -- hes been mostly cheered during the first six weeks at U.S. Cellular Field. "Obviously it make it a little easier when you feel people have your back," he said. Dunn has been open to various drills from Manto to help him out. But what happened last season wasnt so much physical as it was mental. Especially after it dragged on all season. "I dont go out and think about mechanics," he said. "When you get on the field, when Im doing my best, I dont really think about anything except kind of seeing what Im hitting." And this year hes been seeing a lot better. Entering Tuesday, Dunn was 23 homers shy of 400 for his career and had already walked 28 times this season, while batting .250 with 53 strikeouts. He was only 14 RBIs away from last years total. "Its a big thing," Ventura added. "You get a three-hole hitter out of what people were seeing last year compared to what you see now. The credit goes to him, the way he came into spring training and hes continuing it into the season." cheap jerseys from china . Brad Peacock, making just his second major league start, pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings and Michael Morse hit a three-run homer to lead the Washington Nationals to a 6-1 victory over Philadelphia, completing a four-game sweep and handing the Phillies their sixth straight loss. Cheap Indianapolis Colts Jerseys . Its not so hard to believe him right now. Dunn hit a three-run homer in the first inning and the Chicago White Sox handed Jon Lester his first loss with a 6-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night. http://www.cheapchinajerseynfl.us.com/ . Afflalo, a restricted free agent, signed a five-year deal with the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday and will start practising with the club Wednesday. nfl jerseys china . Los Angeles looks to rebound this evening and avoid a season series sweep at the hands of the hosting Colorado Avalanche. Watch the game live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt. cheap jerseys from china . This is Lillys third trip this season to the DL, which is retroactive to June 5. He has made only five starts, going 0-2 with a 5.09 ERA. He missed the first 19 games while recovering from left shoulder surgery, and also was sidelined for 17 games from April 30 to May 20 with a strain in his right rib cage.Washington Capitals LW Alexander Ovechkin has been playing fewer minutes than ever before, but it wasnt until he was stuck on the bench late in the third period of a game in which his team was desperate for the tying goal that many bothered to take note. There is a different approach with the Washington Capitals superstar this season and it appears that Tuesday nights late-game benching just put it under the spotlight. With ten points in ten games, its not like Ovechkin is off to a terrible start -- point-per-game left wingers hardly grow on trees -- but his production is down from previous seasons. His average of 3.70 shots on goal per game is easily the lowest of his career (last years 4.65 shots per game was his previous low) and it takes more than a point per game if Ovechkin has ideas about notching the fourth 100-point season of his career. Ovechkin has averaged 18:37 of ice time per game this season, well down from his career average of 21:59 per game. Notorious for taking long shifts, Ovechkin remains among the forwards taking the longest shifts, a list that is naturally comprised of players who get significant power play time because it is admittedly easier to stay on for a minute or longer while controlling the puck with the man advantage. Here are the forwards with the longest average shift length so far this season (minimum six games played): RANK PLAYER TEAM POS. AVG. SHIFT (SEC.) 1. Ilya Kovalchuk New Jersey LW 61 2. Martin St. Louis Tampa Bay LW 56 3. Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh C 56 4. Brad Richards N.Y. Rangers C 55 5. John Tavares N.Y. Islanders C 55 6. Steven Stamkos Tampa Bay C 54 7. Alex Ovechkin Washington LW 54 8. Shane Doan Phoenix RW 54 9. Anze Kopitar Los Angeles C 53 10. Phil Kessel Toronto RW 53 11. Ray Whitney Phoenix LW 53 12. Matt Moulson N.Y. Islanders LW 53 13. Kyle Okposo N.Y. Islanders RW 53 14. Steve Downie Tampa Bay RW 52 15. Mike Ribeiro Dallas C 52 16. Derek Stepan N.Y. Rangers C 52 17. Chris Kunitz Pittsburgh LW 51 18. James Neal Pittsburgh L 51 19. Vincent Lecavalier Tampa Bay C 51 20. Tyler Seguin Boston C 51 21. Dany Heatley Minnesota LW 51 22. Blake Wheeler Winnipeg RW 51 23. Danny Briere Philadelphia C 51 24. Nicklas Backstrom Washington C 51 25. Brad Boyes Buffalo RW 51 Just for fun, a look at the forwards with the lowest average shift length too (also minimum six games played): RANK PLAYER TEAM POS. AVG. SHIFT (SEC.) 354. Kris Newbury N.Y. Rangers LW 37 355. Maxime Macenauer Anaheim C 36 356. Brandon McMillan Anaheim C 36 357. Manny Malhotra Vancouver C 36 358. Anthony Stewart Carolina RW 36 359. Andrew Murray San Jose C 35 360. Andreas Engqvist Montreal C 35 361. NFL Jerseys Black Friday 2014. George Parros Anaheim RW 34 362. Jesse Winchester Ottawa C 34 363. Zenon Konopka Ottawa C 33 The upshot of all this, I suppose, is that Ovechkins ice time is down and his production is down. Until either one of those situations changes, hes not going to be in the running for the most valuable/productive/best player in the league. Hes merely very good to excellent. NO JOKINENHurricanes forward Jussi Jokinen is out 3-4 weeks after suffering a leg injury against Tampa Bay Tuesday. Jokinen has been playing with Tuomo Ruutu and Jeff Skinner lately, so there will be a prime opening in Carolinas top six for the next month. If the Canes dont look for external options, they could bump Jiri Tlusty (three points in his last three games) up the depth chart or give a shot to Zach Boychuk or Zac Dalpe, once Dalpe is deemed healthy enough to return from his lower body injury. BIG, BAD BRUINSBrought in as a perceived upgrade to Tomas Kaberle, Joe Corvo hasnt exactly been an easy fit with the Boston Bruins. Corvo has three points and is minus-6 in 11 games and his ice time has dipped into the 18-minute range for the last three games (he started the season playing 22-plus in four of the first five games). If Corvo doesnt start producing, the Bruins may have to start looking at external options because the likes of Andrew Ference, Johnny Boychuk and Dennis Seidenberg arent going to provide the puck-moving element on the blueline that the Bruins seek. To be fair, its not like Corvo is alone among Bruins that are underachieving. Coming back from his playoff concussion, Nathan Horton hasnt been sharp, putting up five points in 11 games. More troubling is that Horton only has 16 shots in 11 games; its a small sample, but Horton has to be able to generate more than 1.5 shots per game, since hes averaged 2.28 per game throughout his career. Slowed by a leg injury early in the season, David Krejci has also been struggling to recapture his playoff form, with one point and a minus-6 rating in eight games. It could take some time for Horton and Krejci to work their way out of their early-season woes, but they seem like good buy-low options if you can get them before their games really get back on track. EASY EThe departure of Christian Ehrhoff in the offseason opened up more responsibility on the Canucks blueline for Alexander Edler and, while his power play ice time is up about 30 seconds per game, Edler has responded with 12 points in 12 games, including six points on the power play and ten points in his last six games. Sure, its a hot streak that cant continue, but Edler seems well on his way to surpassing his career-high of 42 points in 2009-2010. FIRST FOR CONNOLLYTampa Bay rookie RW Brett Connolly tallied his first NHL goal against Carolina and hes worth keeping an eye on, particularly as long as hes skating on a line with Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier -- thats the kind of spot that can make for a productive season just for being in the right place at the right time. COG IN THE WHEELAfter moving to left wing on the Ducks second line, skating with Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu, Andrew Cogliano was plus-2 in a season-high 18:05 of ice time. Cogliano only has two points in 12 games this year, but the opportunity to play in an offensive role with quality linemates does make him more appealing. For his part, Selanne put up four points and a plus-3 rating in Tuesdays OT loss to Washington. One of the great benefits for Selanne in Anaheim is that the number one line commands so much attention that Selanne can find some favourable matchups. Against Washington, the Caps sent Roman Hamrlik and John Carlson out against Selanne most often, electing to put Karl Alzner and Jeff Schultz up against Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Corey Perry (per www.timeonice.com). KIPPER BURNEDGetting lit up for five goals on 18 shots is a bad night for any goaltender but even after Tuesdays nights shelling, Miikka Kiprusoff has a 2.50 goals against average and .913 save percentage. If he can hold those numbers for the entire season, it would be his second-best season of the last five. UH-OH, OMARKOilers LW Linus Omark has been sent to Oklahoma City of the AHL after going scoreless with a minus-2 rating in his first five games. While he was a nasty minus-16 in 51 games last season, Omarks shot differential was actually much better, so he could have reasonably been expected to rebound in his second season, but the goals and assists havent been there immediately. Omark might not fit in the Oilers top nine (though he just might, if given the opportunity), but hes likely skilled enough to play in that role for several other NHL teams. Will he bide his time in the AHL and hope for a fresh start somewhere else, or another shot in Edmonton? No matter which way he goes, as long as he doesnt return to Europe, Omark is a name to keep in mind -- a deep sleeper with offensive potential if he ends up in the right situation. By the way, both Koivus scored last night after they were included in yesterdays piece on notable players that didnt score a goal in October. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '
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