place where he is throwing the baseball

LAS VEGAS - Lucas "Bebe" Nogueira, the Raptors other young Brazilian prospect, prefaces each conversation he has using the same disclaimer. Fake Bulls Jerseys . "My English is not so good," hell tell you, before speaking nearly perfect English for as long as youre willing and able to listen. All eyes have been on his intriguing countryman, Bruno Caboclo, here in Las Vegas for the NBAs Summer League but unlike his quiet 18-year-old teammate, Nogueira is not the least bit shy. The only thing bigger than his personality is his hair. The Raptors acquired the seven-foot centre from Atlanta last month, a year after he was selected with the 16th overall pick and famously attempted to balance a Celtics hat on top of his trademark afro. Hair aside, what should you know about him? Nogueira has you covered... "Im a happy guy, I like to smile," said the 21-year-old, appropriately wearing a big smirk across his face. "I think you should be happy everyday because you have just one life." It doesnt take long to pick up on Nogueiras unique spirit, its refreshing in the pressure cooker that is professional basketball. "Its contagious, infectious," coach Dwane Casey said of Nogueiras personality. "Hes sharp and witty, which is a good thing in this league because its such a frustration-filled league and it can get you down and you cant let it happen as a young kid. Youve got to learn, bounce back and get ready for the next play." Asked about his perspective and approach, things that have helped him stand out early in his Raptors tenure, Nogueira credits his upbringing. He grew up in Rio de Janeiro. He was adopted. His family has supported him and has taught him positive values. His siblings are much older, his brother is 38, his sister 40. Hes the youngest, hence the nickname, Bebe. "It started in Brazil," Nogueira said of the moniker, insisting he has no preference between that and his first name, Lucas. "My family, they called me Bebe. I grew up with Bebe all my life. I dont care [if you call me that] because everyone says it, my mom says it." Nogueira was in Atlanta when he was told he had been traded to the Raptors. Initially, he was shocked, then confused and a little upset. Why would the Hawks acquire his rights on draft night only to give up on him a year later, he wondered. Generally, it takes young players a few years to pick up on a reality Nogueira was becoming aware of before playing a single game. The NBA is a business. Seeking cap space, the Hawks were eager to shed the contract of Lou Williams and acquire John Salmons non-guaranteed deal. Nogueira, a player Masai Ujiri and the Raptors liked in the 2013 draft, was the sweetener. Although the Raptors expect to have Nogueira on the roster this coming season, theyre still working on a buyout agreement with his team in Spain, where he played last year and is still under contract. But Nogueira knows better than to get his hopes up after being welcomed to Atlanta a year ago. Hes hopeful but is wisely holding off on the celebration, despite all the messages hes received over Twitter, welcoming him to Toronto this past month. "We the north? No, you the north. Im not, yet," he joked. Eventually hell join the Raptors and, like Caboclo, the long seven-footer will become part of the contingency plan for a team with winning aspirations in the short-term and a keen eye on the future. Nogueira has been playing professionally since he was 15-years-old and has helped ease the transition for Caboclo both on and off the floor, relaying information to him in his native Portuguese. "If you could transfer some of that youthful enthusiasm to Bruno, and hell get that, [it would be great]," Casey said. "Thats one thing we love about Lucas." The Raptors are happy to have him but - again, like Caboclo - theyre tempering immediate expectations, understanding that he still has a ways to go as a player. "I need to see more to really try to project [how good he can be]," Raptors assistant and Summer League head coach Jesse Mermuys said of Nogueira, who missed most of the teams mini-camp in Las Vegas nursing a minor calf injury. "Hes done some good things and hes had some bad games." Through three games in his second stint at Summer League - he played for the Hawks last year - Nogueira is averaging 6.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 19.0 minutes per contest. His defensive instincts, while inconsistent, are promising and hes looked competent as a finisher in the pick-and-roll. "Hes going to have to come in and compete in training camp," Casey cautioned. "I dont see any reason why he couldnt [make the team]. It just depends on how much stronger he gets before October. Hes got a long period of time to do it. You cant teach his wingspan." Between he and Caboclo, the Raptors have over 15-feet of wingspan coming in, but the initial focus for both will be to put on muscle and get stronger. "Soon Ill look like Dwight Howard," Nogueira joked, speaking about the eclectic variety of eatery hell have at his disposal in Toronto. Even if he breaks camp with the Raptors, its unlikely that hell crack Caseys rotation in his rookie season but the sooner he develops, the better. Toronto could use a player with his upside as a rim protector. "I wish I could jump like that," Nogueira said while watching Clevelands No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins play on Monday. He may not have Wiggins-like hops but hes no slouch. The centre averaged 1.6 blocks in just 16.6 minutes per game in the Spanish ACB league last year. "Hes got a long way to go," new teammate Kyle Lowry said. "And hes got a big fella in [Jonas Valanciunas], who hell get better with everyday in practice and get strong and they can learn from each other." Nogueira knows Valanciunas, having played against him at the 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. The newest Raptor raved about JVs skill set but remembers trying to get under his skin. "Lucas may have gotten under his skin, but Jonas kicked his ass," a Raptors staffer joked. Nogueira was fifth in rebounds per game and second in blocks while Valanciunas was awarded MVP of that tournament. With Valanciunas gregarious personality and Nogueiras jovial nature, the Raptors locker room should be a lively one for years to come. Nogueira has spent just one day in Toronto, flying to Canada directly after learning about the trade before heading out West to work out with his new teammates. He hasnt had much time to process where his journey has taken him, and wont get ahead of himself before the next step becomes official, but the Raptors young Brazilian prospect continues to smile and look forward to what appears to be a promising future. "The NBA only has 450 jobs for seven billion [people]," he said after crunching the numbers in his head. "I have one job, so I dont have [a] reason to stay sad. I had bad moments in my life but everybody [has] bad moments so I think, okay, I can be sad sometimes but 95 percent [of the time] I want to be happy, because I feel blessed." Chicago Bulls Gear . Mika Zibanejad and Jason Spezza scored in the shootout to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 2-1 victory over Nashville on Saturday night. Chicago Bulls Store .C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats said head coach Steve Clifford underwent a successful procedure Friday to have two stents placed in his heart. https://www.cheapbulls.com/ .com) - St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk and Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury have been selected as the NHLs top players for last week.TORONTO – Before Sundays series finale against the Rays, TSN.ca sat down with Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker to discuss the state of the starting rotation, which has logged an extraordinary number of innings over the past three weeks. Walker touches on each of the five starters, focusing on adjustments and improvements each has made to his game and how the bullpen stands to benefit, long-term, from a reduced workload. Theres also discussion about Aaron Sanchez and the role hell be best suited to play in the ballclubs plans for 2015. Heres the transcript of the conversation: TSN.ca: Pete, weve talked about the quality start stat before and I know its not necessarily your favourite thing but your starting pitchers have gone at least six innings in 19-straight games, which ties a club record that dates back 16 years. Thats got to mean something, doesnt it? (NOTE: Mark Buehrle pitched six innings on Sunday afternoon, extending the rotations streak to 20-consecutive games throwing six innings or more, a new franchise record.) WALKER: Yeah, it does. Ultimately, you look at the big picture you want your starters going deep into games and giving your team a chance to win. I think theyve done that. Theyve all had their ups and downs throughout the course of the season but theyre certainly finishing the season strong and giving us an opportunity to win some ballgames here, especially over the last few weeks and looking into the next two weeks as well. But, you know, the quality start stat is one that Im not fond of. I know in the baseball world its a big stat, especially when it comes to arbitration and the monetary side for players and the front office but for me, I think I want to get it ingrained in their heads to go eight or nine. You know, finish the game. Finish what you start. I know the young guys feel that way and certainly R.A (Dickey) and Mark (Buehrle) want to get as deep as they can into these ballgames. Six innings, I think even Mark Buehrle said it, to go six innings he feels like he let the team down at times. He wants to pitch into that seventh or eighth inning. The numbers speak for themselves. I know the starters have done a real nice job as of late and obviously it takes a little bit of pressure off the bullpen, minimizing their innings and their appearances and keeping them fresh and I think weve seen what kind of impact that has as well. TSN.ca: I want to pick up on that and this is somewhat immeasurable so its more of an opinion response from you. Weve seen turnover in this bullpen this year with Steve Delabar and Esmil Rogers, and others whove had pretty good years and last year and maybe have struggled at times this year, Sergio (Santos), I dont know if thats related to workload from last year but when you look ahead to 2015, can some of what your starters are doing now benefit guys like Aaron Loup, whose walks are up this year, could those guys be feeling better heading into camp as a result of all this? WALKER: Yeah, absolutely. Its certainly indicative of the starters going deep, the way relievers respond. Last year they got a lot of work and I know being a relief pitcher, its a volatile business and you look over the course of the years and the great years some relievers have had and then theyve kind of disappeared the following year. Were aware of that. Were trying to minimize their innings as best we can to give them the best opportunity to be strong next year. That being said there are games to be won here at the end and Im sure well be seeing the Aaron Loups and the (Brett) Cecils and the (Casey) Janssens and even Sanchez there in those key moments. Certainly the starters doing what theyre doing helps the relievers maintain their strength, their velocity, their stuff and their health. Looking forward to next year, finishing up the way were finishing, starters going deep, is certainly going to help those relievers. TSN.ca: Going one by one through your starting rotation, would it be fair to say, specific to Marcus Stroman, that the development of this sinkerball may be one of the most important developments for this team all year? How has it changed him and how will it change him going forward? WALKER: Well, I think the Rogers Centre is a place where you want to keep the ball on the ground. The ball flies here so typically flyball pitchers can get into a little bit of trouble so the fact that hes putting the ball on the ground is huge for him. Throughout the course of his minor league career he was more of a strikeout, flyball pitcher. He got his groundballs occasionally but hes definitely pounding the strike zone with his two-seamer, hes using his four-seam less so hes also not getting the ball up on that flat action that sometimes can happen on his four-seam fastball. His sinkers been a big addition. I think hes using the curveball nicely right now and I think the changeup is another pitch that is slowly coming along thats going to help him as well. Hes got a number of pitches to use. Hes got a lot of weapons out there. Hitters have a tough time against him but I think the sinker puts him over the top. TSN.ca: Is that the sort of thing where he can attack the same hitter two or maybe three different ways in the same game because of the expanded repertoire? WALKER: Yeah, absolutely. (Dioner Navarro) does a great job with him. Navys creative back there. Hes got a good feel. Theyve developed a nice relationship. Obviously theres a game plan you go over but theyve carried it out tremendously. Navys done a great job making adjustment but the fact he can use so many pitches, from a hitters standpoint its not a very comfortable at-bat. TSN.ca: Drew Hutchison has had a very nice run of three or four starts, really since the second inning in Chicago about a month ago. Is it a second wind? I mean, hes finishing pretty strong here, you can probably look to next year and if he stays healthy youre looking at 180 to 200 innings out of this kid. WALKER: Sure, yeah, hes done a great job. Weve been keeping a close eye on him this year and if there were any signs that he was slowing down and struggling at this point wed be looking at some other possibilities to fill that spot. Hes been strong. Hes maintained his velocity; hes throwing as hard as he was in spring training right now. Hes showing us all signs that hes strong and hes able to finish off this season which is only going to help for next year. I think his fastball command left him for a little while there. There was a monthh and a half there where it was a little bit of a battle and it might have been that missing as much time as he has, hitting that wall a little bit, a little bit of dead arm, fighting through it and weve cut back on his workload and it seems to have helped. Bulls Jerseys China. TSN.ca: With J.A. Happ has it been getting through to him on the establishment of his fastball and getting him to trust that that really is his best pitch? WALKER: Yeah, I think hes been the most pleasant surprise to be honest with you. I know spring training was rough and coming into the season not even in the rotation and with the back issues. Hes always had the history of teasing you a little bit, the five or six innings and 115 pitches type of thing. Our goal this year was to minimize his pitch count and make sure he gets deeper into the games and weve been able to do that. We used a two-seam fastball a lot more earlier in the season but hes getting back to using that four-seam fastball up in the zone. Hes locating down in the zone much better than he has in the past and I think hes implementing his curveball and his changeup nicely. Weve adjusted his changeup grip again, going with a split grip, which he seems to like. Hes doing some nice things, a lot of confidence and pounding the zone. When J.A. Happs pitching in the seventh inning consistently you should be pretty happy. TSN.ca: R.A., I think, has had a pretty nice year. I just wonder sometimes if he will always be put up against the players that he was acquired for and people are going to say, Wheres that Cy Young guy? The home run numbers, especially since the start of July, are down. Has he figured out how to pitch in this park? WALKER: I think, you know, hes grown a lot as a pitcher. I think hes a different pitcher now than he was when he was in New York. I think he had to make some adjustments, some changes. I think hes worked his tail off. Hes a true professional. I think the fact that hes mixing his speeds a lot better now, I mean anywhere from 64 to 80 mile-per-hour knuckleballs. Hes using his fastball nicely. I think hes made some changes in his game. Hes definitely, like I said, using his slow knuckleball and keeping hitters off-balance instead of just trying to overpower them with a hard knuckleball like he did early last year and even earlier this year a little bit. I think hes really found his game here and I think hes going to be a better pitcher because of it. TSN.ca: Mark Buehrle, its just weird because hes such an easy-going guy and seems to just exude that natural confidence, zero arrogance but confidence and alluding to, maybe a month ago, beginning to have self doubt and not wanting guys like you and John Gibbons to doubt him when he was going through that down time and that hes a little older now and sometimes tires a little more easily. Have you had to play a psychologists role a little more with him than maybe you would have anticipated to help him get through some of the bumps in the late part of this season? WALKER: I dont know about that but I understand what youre saying. I mean, hes had a crazy year. All-Star season, people were talking about him in the Cy Young category around the All-Star Break. The second half hasnt gone as well but hes certainly picked it up. I know Mark. Hes been through a lot in his career. He battles through any type of issues he might be having. He always takes the ball every fifth day, whether he feels great or not. Its just him. I think hes feeling really good from a health standpoint and its showing in his velocity. I think he definitely hit a little dead period where it was tough to get out there every five days but he does it. Hes a true competitor and warrior. I think hes finishing up the season strong. Hes in a good place health-wise. His stuff, I think hes another guy thats developed as a pitcher, even in his older age, using his curveball more this year. I think its helped quite a bit, using it for strikeouts here and there. I think he and Navy have struck up a nice relationship as well. He certainly could have more wins than he has right now. I know the first half went about as good as it could go and early in the second half it went about as bad as it could go from a luck standpoint. I think hes finishing up nicely. I think, again, hes in a good place where he is throwing the baseball here and hes made some adjustments to pitching in the Rogers Centre as well. TSN.ca: Two-hundred would be nice. Not just innings but hes got a bit to go to get 200 wins here. Itd be a nice way to finish for him. WALKER: Itd be great for him to get 200 innings and to get his 200th win before the end of the season going into next year. Hes the last one to be thinking about that. Hes reiterated that with us not to do anything special for him to get to 200 innings or certainly the 200 wins. Hes a team player. If he has to come out in the fifth inning hell come out in the fifth inning if its best for the team. Thats what we need. We need guys like that. We need to understand that mentality in order to be a successful franchise. TSN.ca: Quickly on Aaron Sanchez, would you at all consider starting him in a game down the stretch? Its been a while since hes started a game, more than a couple of months by that point but would you consider it if the day came up and it was appropriate and you needed a win? WALKER: I dont see how its possible. I dont think it would be fair to him. Obviously it hasnt even been discussed. Hes been doing so great in the role hes in to expect him to go out and throw five innings and 75 pitches I think would be putting him in jeopardy, in harms way. That hasnt been discussed. Right now hes in a great role. Hes in a great place for us. Were still protecting him and watching his innings and using him, at the most, two innings. I think the bullpens settled in nicely down there. The rotations doing fine so I dont anticipate that happening. TSN.ca: Hes been dominant out of the pen but the plan still is to bring him to camp next year as a starter? WALKER: Honestly, were so focused right now. Weve kind of casually had some discussions. I think everybody sees him as a starter, sees the potential there as a starter. Obviously hes been as dominant as you can be out of the bullpen so thats intriguing as well. Were right there with everybody else trying to figure out whats best for him and whats best for this team. Right now its in the bullpen but next year it certainly could be in the rotation. TSN.ca: Thanks, Pete. WALKER: All right, you got it. ' ' '