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KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Once the new year rolled around, Ned Yost turned his attention to the upcoming season, the new pieces that the Kansas City Royals brought in and the possibilities for new lineups.He made the prospect of a contract extension seem almost like an afterthought.I think were in great shape headed into this year, Yost said Tuesday, shortly after the club announced their managers one-year boost through the 2016 season.We came as close as you can to winning a world championship last year, he said, and when you dont do it, it leaves a taste in your mouth. Its something you strive to do, and I think everyone in that locker room will tell you they want to finish this thing off.Yost became the Royals manager in May 2010 and presided over a massive rebuilding effort that culminated with the end of a 29-year playoff drought this past season. The Royals took San Francisco to the seventh game of the World Series, leaving the tying run on third base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, before their season finally ended.With most of the major pieces of that team back, combined with free-agent acquisitions such as Alex Rios, Kendrys Morales and Edinson Volquez, hopes in Kansas City are higher than ever that the long-downtrodden franchise will be able to compete for the post-season again.As we all know, baseball is a very tough business, Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. Youre always striving for organizational harmony, and we have our key leaders — in this case the manager — signed through the next two years, it helps to create that harmony.The longest-tenured manager in club history, Yost will soon become its winningest. He already has 373 victories, trailing only Dick Howser (404) and Whitey Herzog (410), and should eclipse two of the franchises iconic names by the time summer rolls around.Yosts contract was due to expire after the upcoming season, but there was little question that he would receive an extension. He has a close relationship with Moore dating to their days in the Braves organization, and Yosts ability to guide a young and unproven lineup to its first AL pennant since the Reagan administration only strengthened his organizational standing.Not everything has gone perfectly for Yost, of course.He has often been lampooned for his in-game adjustments, including a questionable decision to use starter Yordano Ventura out of the bullpen in the playoffs. And his often-surly nature, which has seemed to mellow with time, has drawn the ire of some longtime Royals fans.He came to our organization in a point in time when we needed to be re-energized, and Ned brought a lot of hope and optimism, Moore said. Those are the character traits that we believe are very important for a successful major league manager.Yost said hes been busier this off-season than ever, doing appearances and events just about every weekend since the season ended. But even as he sat in a deer stand on Tuesday, waiting for something worth shooting to amble by, his thoughts were already on the upcoming season.I go back and I look at the World Series and theres not much I would have done different, Yost said. I feel like we were in every single game. You look at the matchups we had, the situations that ended up costing us, they were all matchups we wanted. ... They just didnt work out. But you still have that taste, you know? 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Cheap Los Angeles Dodgers Jerseys Wholesale .Before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks won for the 29th time in 31 games to extend their Eastern-best record to 36-8.As usual, pretty much everyone chipped in.Four starters were in double figures and backup point guard Dennis Schroder led a spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Hawks pull away. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Eleven days after he was released by the Baltimore Orioles, Steve Pearce was a huge reason they beat Tampa Bay. Pearce hit a two-run homer and made a game-saving defensive play Thursday night in Baltimores 3-1 victory over the Rays. Pearce, who re-signed with the Orioles two days after his April 27 release, hit his second homer in three games. Ubaldo Jimenez (2-4) won his second straight start as Baltimore completed a three-game sweep. The home run by Pearce came off David Price after J.J. Hardys double in the second inning. Playing first base in place of injured slugger Chris Davis, Pearce also made an outstanding stretch to catch a throw from Hardy that completed an inning-ending double play in the fifth. "Stevie may have made the defensive play of the night," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. Rays manager Joe Maddon challenged the call, but the ruling that Pearce kept his foot on the bag was confirmed after a 2-minute review. "The bases were loaded at the time, so if that got past me it could have cleared the bases," said Pearce, who had to wait for the replay decision to be sure the call was right. "It happened so fast and when you look, youre not on the bag anymore, so it depends on what happens." Nick Markakis extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single in the Baltimore third. Evan Longoria hit a two-out RBI single in the first off Jimenez, who pitched 5 1-3 innings for his second win after going 0-4 in his first month with the Orioles. "Im really happy April is gone,," Jimenez said.dddddddddddd. "Now its May and everything is good." Singles by Adam Jones, Pearce and Jonathan Schoop produced Baltimores final run in the fourth. Darren ODay worked the ninth for his second save. The Rays have scored only eight runs in losing five straight games to Baltimore. They left 11 runners on base in this one. "Our goal right now is to figure out a way to get through it," Longoria said. "We all want to win. We all want to do our part. When it doesnt work out, its definitely frustrating." Price (3-3) gave up nine hits and three runs while striking out three in five-plus innings. It was the 16th time in their last 23 games that a Rays starting pitcher has failed to pitch into the sixth inning. Tampa Bay pitching coach Jim Hickey was ejected in the first inning for arguing a checked swing by Jones. NOTES: Baltimore C Matt Wieters was the designated hitter, one day after having his sore right elbow examined by Dr. James Andrews. No timeframe has been announced for when Wieters, who took pregame grounders at first base, will resume catching. ... Davis (strained left oblique) could be ready for a short minor league rehab assignment next week. ... Showalter will attend his sons graduation from TCU on Saturday, but expects to be back for the night game against Houston. He will miss the May 17 game at Kansas City to attend his daughters law school graduation at SMU. ... The Orioles begin a six-game homestand Friday night with LHP Wei-Yin Chen (3-2) facing Houston RHP Scott Feldman (2-1). ' ' '