n described the handling of his car as "horrible" during pre-qualifying practice, and things only got worse

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics sent minor league right-hander Ronald Herrera to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday to complete the trade for outfielder/first baseman Kyle Blanks. In the May 15 deal, the As acquired Blanks and sent minor league outfielder Jake Goebbert to San Diego. Herrera was 3-4 with a 3.38 ERA in nine starts with Class A Beloit. The 19-year-old Venezuelan pitcher was 12-12 with a 3.36 ERA in 39 games, including 33 starts, in three seasons in the As farm system. Zack Greinke Jersey . It certainly isnt a coincidence that Dwight Howard has scored at least 20 points in each game of the winning streak. Paul Goldschmidt Jersey . With their coach gone, they finally played offence the way he would have wanted. Amare Stoudemire made all seven shots in the first half, Anthony passed and shot well, and the Knicks shook off the surprising departure of their coach to rout the Portland Trail Blazers 121-79 on Wednesday night, snapping a six-game losing streak. http://www.diamondbacksteamshop.com/Diamondbacks-Curt-Schilling-Kids-Jersey/ . Subway workers in Rio de Janeiro, meanwhile, were holding an assembly to vote on whether they would strike to demand higher wages, threatening to disrupt transportation. By late Tuesday night there was no announcement of their decision. Jake Lamb Jersey . Ferrer, the two-time defending champion in Buenos Aires, is aiming to win his 21st ATP tournament. Ferrer will next face fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, the fourth seed, who defeated Jeremy Chardy of France 7-6 (7), 6-3 in another quarterfinal match. Alex Avila Jersey . Anaheim Ducks Reassign D Colby Robak to Norfolk Admirals (AHL). - Team Website D Eric Brewer (foot) removed from injured reserve.MELBOURNE, Australia - Reigning Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel says he cant understand why he struggled so much in a rain-hit qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday, pushing him down to a starting grid spot of 12th for Sundays race. Vettel, who is aiming for his fifth-straight drivers championship, was brought down to earth at a rainy Albert Park street circuit, finishing well off the pace of pole sitter Lewis Hamilton and his new Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo. The German described the handling of his car as "horrible" during pre-qualifying practice, and things only got worse in qualifying "Once it started to rain, I was struggling with drivability ... it made life pretty difficult," Vettel said. Though disappointed with his own poor grid position, Vettel was buoyeed by Ricciardos performance, which indicated Red Bull was not far off the pace of the front-running Mercedes despite a trouble-strewn preseason in which the team suffered an array of problems with the new V6 turbo hybrid engine.dddddddddddd "There is performance in the car and that is the important thing," Vettel said. "We have a quick car and we just need to make it robust and reliable, but thats better than having a robust and reliable car and trying to make that quick." Vettel was at a loss to explain why Ricciardos car was apparently so much easier to drive. "There was not supposed to be a difference between the cars so today was not too happy on my side and we need to understand that, but fortunately it worked for him, so at least we have one car where it belongs." ' ' '