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MIAMI -- Slugger Giancarlo Stanton hasnt changed his opinion about spacious Marlins Park. He still considers it a pitchers park and dislikes the dimensions. His Miami Marlins teammates are trying mightily to change his mind. The Marlins begin a six-game homestand Tuesday against Philadelphia with a 17-5 home record, best in the majors. In a ballpark considered unfriendly to hitters, Miami is averaging 5.7 runs per game, second-best in the majors at home. Stantons leading the way. He has found the distant fences annoying since the park opened in 2012, but he nonetheless has 31 RBIs at home, the most in the majors. In Miami he has seven homers, a .354 batting average and a 1.166 OPS. However, Stanton still insists the Marlins home is a pitchers park. "It is in terms of power, but this conversation is not relevant," he said with a frown. "I dont want to talk about complaining about the ballpark." That would be unseemly when the Marlins have outscored opponents 125-70 at home. The differential is especially eye-popping because theyve been outscored 114-79 on the road, where their record is 6-17, worst in the majors. They concluded another dismal trip Sunday, going 4-7 and losing ace Jose Fernandez to a season-ending elbow injury. But theyve been the mighty Marlins at home, which is a big change. In their first two seasons at Marlins Park, the home team averaged 3.6 runs per game, third-worst in the majors. But theyve altered their lineup and their approach at the plate. As a result, the Marlins home batting average is .296, second-best in the majors. "Its really extraordinary what theyre doing this year -- a perfect example of how youve got to attack your home field," New York Mets manager Terry Collins said. With the distances to the wall 386 feet in left centre, 398 in right centre and 418 in centre, Marlins hitters have stopped grousing and started driving the ball into the roomy power alleys. They rank among the major-league leaders with 47 doubles and six triples at home. "We knew it was going to be tough to hit home runs," manager Mike Redmond said. "But we talked during spring training about leading the league in doubles and putting balls in the gaps. The field is so big you dont have to hit home runs to do damage. You can hit triples and doubles, and you can go first to third on a single up the middle. You dont have to swing for the fences. You can stay within yourself and still be rewarded." Even Stanton agrees. He has seen a lot of 400-foot flyouts since Marlins Park opened, but he has also watched his team score runs in bunches this year. "Youre not going to win by hitting homers here," Stanton said. "But if you understand that the guy on first is in scoring position, thats going to work to our advantage. On a normal double, here you can score from first standing up a lot of the time. We understand that and are taking advantage of it." The Marlins tailored their lineup to the ballpark last off-season by acquiring left-handed hitter Garrett Jones and switch-hitter Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Both have homered into the upper deck in right field, where the stands are most reachable. "The easier way to hit home runs in this ballpark is for a left-handed hitter, so we did try to bring in some left-handed power," Redmond said. Miami also signed Casey McGehee, a right-handed hitter who bats mostly cleanup. He has only one homer but is hitting .422 with runners in scoring position. "Theyve done here of using the field to hit all sorts of different ways -- a drag bunt, balls hit up the middle," Collins said. "Youve got to tip your hat that theyve made those adjustments. This is a tough park to hit in. What theyve done is found guys who put the ball in play and are difficult to defence." Other opponents agree, but some also speculate about hidden reasons for the way the Marlins hit in their home park. When Miami scored 23 runs to sweep a three-game series at home against Atlanta last month, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez jokingly wondered if the Marlins had a spy in the outfield tipping their hitters on pitches. "We got in their heads a little bit," Redmond said. Its good to have visiting teams scratching their heads. And for the Marlins, who are above .500 despite their woeful road record, its good to be home. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar College Jersey .com) - Longtime Senators star Daniel Alfredsson returned to Ottawa on Thursday to officially announce his retirement. Brett Hundley College Jersey . The No. 23 seed at the first Grand Slam event of the tennis season has worked out all the details, from his training regime right down to where hes going to eat dinner. http://www.cheapuclajerseys.com/ . Wayne and Cindy Tuck of Ilderton, Ont., closed out round-robin play earlier in the day with a 7-3 win over Finland but needed a win over Austria to reach the final eight. Lonzo Ball College Jersey . Pospisil, from Vancouver, and Sock will compete for the title against defending champions and top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States, who defeated the 12th-seeded French duo of Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2. Russell Westbrook College Jersey .com) - The Grand Slam season will get underway Monday at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where a new champion will be crowned this year.Just under a month ago, 32 teams started out on a path to join the elite club of World Cup Champions. Two teams remain in pursuit of that goal, but both nations – Germany and Argentina – have multiple titles to their credit. Germany reached the Final with the most unpredictable of performances, piling goal after goal on a stunned Brazilian team en route to a 7-1 thrashing. The Argentinian team, meanwhile, snuck by a powerful Dutch side by the slimmest of margins: waiting out 120 minutes of cautious, scoreless play and settling things in penalty kicks. So, with the Final looming on the horizon, which nation do you like to capture its first title in over two decades? Germany started their campaign in Brazil with authority, drubbing Portugal 4-0 in their group stage opening and providing the margin of victory that would inevitably send Cristiano Ronaldo and his compatriots home before the knockout stage. A 2-2 draw to Ghana would provide the only blemish on Germanys record thus far but the team would clinch the top of Group G by edging out former coach and World Cup hero Jurgen Klinsmann and his American side 1-0 in their opening round finale. The Algerians would give Germany a scare in the round of 16, forcing extra time before Andre Schurrle and Mesut Ozil put away what would stand as a 2-1 victory. They would then ride an early header from defender Mats Hummels past a high-scoring French side in the quarters to set up their drubbing of the host Brazilians in the semis. Along the way the Germans have seen one man write his name in the annals of World Cup history and another serve notice that he may be next in line. Miroslav Kloses mark in the semifinal thrashing put him in sole possession of the all-time World Cup goal scoring record, one ahead of Brazilian great Ronaldo with 16. Not to be outdone, however, is 24-year-old Bayern Munich striker Thomas Müller. After earning a share of the Golden Boot in South Africa with five goals, Müller has piled on another five and enters the Fiinal one shy of an unprecedented second straight.dddddddddddd Argentinas performance has been a study in doing just enough to win. Though they have won all six of their contests in Brazil, they have done so by just a single goal in each match. The team emerged from a group devoid of titanic opposition, edging out Bosnia and Herzegovina in part thanks to a third-minute own-goal and Iran thanks to an unforgettable Lionel Messi free kick in second half stoppage-time. With the group hanging in the balance, the Argentines went back and forth with Nigeria in the opening round finale, eventually outlasting their African opposition in a 3-2 victory. In the knockout round, however, the Argentinians have used lone goals to get past highly-ranked European opposition. Switzerland – the top seed in Group E entering the tournament – held them scoreless through nearly two hours before Angel di Maria broke through in the 188th minute. Against Belgium it was the opposite, with Gonzalo Higuain finding the back of the net eight minutes in to provide the matchs lone goal. The question begs whether the team can find the firepower to match the German machine. Messi enters the Final tied for third in the competition with four goals and all eyes will be on the Little Magician to see if he can step up and add to his “Best Player in the World” argument when it matters most for his country. A double-sided historical note to help you make up your mind: Germany has lost just once to Argentina at the World Cup and has ended Argentinas tournament at each of the last two. However, Germanys one loss came in the 1986 Final, the last time the nation was crowned World Champions. So, who do you like? Will the balanced German attack find its way through the Argentine defence to earn a first World title as a unified nation? Or, will Messi heed Diego Maradonas claims as the future of Argentinian football and continue the trend of European World Cup futility in the Americas? As always, its Your! Call. 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