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ATLANTA - The Atlanta Braves are clearly rebuilding. James Neal Jersey .The guy responsible for their overhaul insisted Thursday they can still be a contender.Long one of baseballs most consistent franchises, the Braves have dealt away three of their top hitters — Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Evan Gattis — and received only one player assured of being in the majors next season, pitcher Shelby Miller.President of baseball operations John Hart acknowledged that the Braves made all the trades with an eye toward their long-term future. Yet, in a city that has endured only three losing seasons in the last 24 years, the deals have caused major consternation among the fan base, with many complaining that the team has given up on the next two seasons and is more concerned about being competitive when it moves into a new suburban stadium in 2017.Not so, Hart told The Associated Press.We may not be the prettiest girl at the dance, he said in a telephone interview, but were going to be a lot of fun to dance with.On Wednesday, Hart dealt the power-hitting Gattis and a minor-leaguer to the Houston Astros for three prospects. Already this winter, the Braves got four prospects from San Diego Padres in exchange for Upton, while Heyward and reliever Jordan Walden were sent to the St. Louis Cardinals for Miller and another pitching prospect.Hart, who took over the de factor general manager role after Frank Wren was fired with a week to go in a disappointing 2014 season, said it was imperative that the Braves moved boldly to get something in return for players such as Upton and Heyward, who were entering the final year of their contracts, and bolstered a depleted farm system that ranked among the worst in the game.Gattis wasnt a contract issue — hes still got four more years before hes eligible to become a free agent — but Hart said the Braves determined he wasnt a viable full-time player at either catcher or as Uptons replacement in left field because of defensive limitations.A Texas native, Gattis said he was glad to be heading to a team that seems to have higher goals than the Braves.It seems like they are going into rebuilding mode, he said Thursday. Im excited to be on a team that is looking to win — this next year, immediately. Thats a really good situation for me.Those words must be stinging to a franchise that won a record 14 straight division titles from 1991-2005, and captured the NL East title just two years ago. Under former owner Ted Turner, the team was able to spend freely to fill whatever need it had. The current owner, Liberty Media Corp., has imposed much tougher salary constraints.It was highly unlikely that either Heyward or Upton would have re-signed with the Braves after the 2015 season, especially with the team still saddled with three more years on B.J. Uptons $75.25 million contract. He has been one of the biggest free-agent busts in baseball history, and theres little hope of team dumping his contract unless he has a major turnaround this season. The team also owes another $13 million to second baseman Dan Uggla, who was released by the team last season.We realized we couldnt fix everything, Hart said. That gave us sort of a road map for what we wanted to do this winter.The team picked up two of Houstons top-ranked prospects, right-handed pitcher Mike Foltynewicz and third baseman Rio Ruiz. The trade with the Padres brought prized left-handed pitcher Max Fried, a former first-round pick coming off Tommy John surgery. The deal with the Cardinals included right-handed pitcher Tyrell Jenkins, who is now listed among the Braves top prospects in the latest rankings by Baseball America.Hart said there could be some minor tinkering before the start of spring training, but no other major deals are expected. He said its likely the Braves will do a lot more platooning this season and look to be more creative in scoring runs, rather than relying mainly on the long ball.Even with Justin Upton, Heyward and Gattis, the Braves still ranked next-to-last in runs scored in 2014. The offensive woes led to a late-season collapse that resulted in a 79-83 record, 17 games behind NL East-winning Washington.Look, we werent going to be favoured even if we kept everybody and added two pitchers, Hart said. But I think the future is significantly brighter because of what we were able to do this winter.___Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 William Karlsson Jersey ." The game can be seen live on TSN starting with Monday Night Countdown at 6:30 p.m et/3:30 p.m. pt. The Patriots, who had a bye in Week 10, will look to continue the offensive success they had a week earlier when New England scored 55 points and racked up 610 yards of total offense in a 55-31 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oscar Lindberg Jersey . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. http://www.goldenknightsnhlshop.com/jon-merrill-golden-knights-jersey-c-9/ . -- Officials have approved a deal to build a new $672 million stadium for the Atlanta Braves away from the downtown Atlanta area that has traditionally been its home.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Mike Tomlin isnt interested in progress reports. The final grade is all that matters to the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach. So forgive Tomlin if hes not ready to assess his team or the division it plays in as the season reaches its midway point.Its easy to write and tell stories at the turn, Im not going to, he said.The way Tomlin figures it, if the AFC North is the toughest division in the NFL itll play out over the next two months. By then the fact Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Baltimore and Cleveland are all over .500 heading into November may be long forgotten.I think if we are (the best) its going to be revealed in the second half of the season, he said.One thing is for certain, however. After a sluggish start the Steelers are in the mix. Pittsburgh (5-3) finally has momentum heading into Sundays rematch with the rival Ravens (5-3). The Steelers have won two straight for the first time all season and looked every bit the role of contender while dismantling Indianapolis 51-34 last weekend.Tomlin praised the offensive line, particularly right tackle Mike Adams, for giving quarterback Ben Roethlisberger all the time necessary to pass for a club record 522 yards passing and six touchdowns. Adams filled in capably with starter Marcus Gilbert out with a concussion, helping Roethlisberger get off 49 attempts without getting sacked once.Though Gilbert will be back in the lineup barring a setback this week, Tomlins assessment of Adams play against the Colts might as well double as a status report on a team that spent the first half of the year searching for consistency as it flip-flopped wins and losses regardless of who was on the other side of the field.I thought he was a finisher, Tomlin said of Adams. I just liked his performance. A big arrow pointed up relative to some of his other performances.Yet the Steelers are wary of how quickly the arrow can change direction. They felt pretty good about themselves after a road victory at Carolina in Week 3 then followed it up with a still hard to fathom home loss to Tampa Bay.Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger believes he leads one of the most talented offences in the league. The tricky part is trying to get it to perform that way on a weekly basis. After some troubling growing pains, the Steelers appear ready to hit their stride.While Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and LeVeeon Bell give Pittsburgh one of the best quarterback/wide receiver/running back combinations in the NFL, its the development of the players around them that has keyed the recent surge. Brad Hunt Jersey. Rookie receiver Martavis Bryant needed six weeks to earn a spot on the active roster. The 6-foot-4 fourth-round pick has quickly emerged as a valuable target, catching three touchdowns in his first two games. Veteran Lance Moore languished on the depth chart behind Justin Brown but has flourished since moving into the slot position he felt he deserved to hold all along. Second-year wideout Markus Wheaton emerged from a lengthy slump to catch an 18-yard scoring pass from Roethlisberger against Indianapolis that jolted the Steelers to lifeOut of the entire group, Bell might be the best pass catcher on the team not named Brown. He already has 42 receptions at the midway pointWe know what were capable of, Bell said. We showed everybody. Now we have to go out there and put performance on top of performance.Its what Tomlin calls stacking wins. How high the pile becomes will depend on if the offence can finish drives the way it did against Indianapolis — when five of six red zone possessions ended in touchdowns — and if the defence can create even a little bit of chaos.That hasnt happened with any regularity so far, though there were flashes against the Colts. The Steelers sacked Andrew Luck twice and sent him to the turf so often Colts pristine No. 12 white jersey was a decidedly darker shade by games end. Pittsburgh will need to keep the pressure on to compensate for a secondary that struggles to stay in front of anyone.Cortez Allens rise to the role of shutdown corner has come to an abrupt stop. Luck picked on Allen repeatedly, with most of the passes resulting in big plays or penalties. Its not what the Steelers had in mind when they signed Allen to a five-year extension on the eve of the season opener. While Tomlin stresses he has confidence Allen can bounce back, Allen will need a good week of practice just to start against the Ravens.Often times hes in position ... but positioning is just an element of it, Tomlin said. Youve got to finish.A message sure to resonate throughout a locker room eager for a return to the post-season after a two-year absence.___Online:http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap NFL T-shirts Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Discount NFL Jerseys ' ' '