Overton knew Bumgarner had the ability to hurt him at the plate

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Seth Jones?has no snacks at his?new place to offer a visitor. How about some water?The Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman throws open the refrigerator and searches in vain before acknowledging that water, the bottled kind, is among the many things he has failed to stock up on at the grocery store.Everything about Jones otherwise well-appointed condo in downtown Columbus -- including its expansive view of the local Triple-A baseball stadium, an urban park, and the arts and entertainment area near Nationwide Arena -- suggests hes a young man in transition.The condo, which came furnished, is owned by teammate Cam Atkinson.?The previous tenant?A big grin spreads across Jones face before he answers.Ryan Johansen, Jones said as he settled in for a chat at the kitchen island.?Kind of funny, right?The irony of renting the apartment that used to belong to the player for whom he was traded last season in one of the leagues blockbuster deals is not lost on Jones. Its simply another reminder of how much more complicated and interconnected life has become for the young star.Earlier in the afternoon, Jones and teammate Boone Jenner?delivered meals to less fortunate Columbus residents.They are the two leaders of a Blue Jackets team that is enjoying an unexpected revival this season. But they appear perfectly at ease with the elderly people to whom they are delivering hot meals, posing happily for pictures with folks who might not otherwise have any other human contact that day.At one stop, a woman who has just lost her brother sits on the couch with the two players, one hand holding firmly onto Jenners arm and the other just as firmly clenched on Jones shoulder as though she has known them forever and doesnt want them to leave.When they finally do depart, and head back to report for hockey duty, Jenner is asked about the Blue Jackets recent surge to the top of the Metropolitan Division standings. He suggested with a smile that its because Jones has been around for an entire season.Jenner is partly trying to crack wise about Jones, who is standing within earshot -- but hes also saying it because its true.As young stars assert themselves throughout the league this season, Jones finds himself -- at the tender age of 22 -- straddling the line between looking up to his Blue Jackets teammates and leading them.Hes a special kid, Columbus goalie?Sergei Bobrovsky said of Jones. Hes everywhere. Hes a great skater. Hes got good vision of the rink. Hes a good passer. When hes playing, everything is quiet. In your end youre calm, youre confident.Three years ago, I visited with Jones and his mother, Amy, at the home they were renting outside Nashville, Tennessee. Seth, whom the?Nashville Predators?had selected with the fourth overall pick in 2013 a few months earlier, had just turned 19 and was a couple of months into his first NHL season.The pair joked easily about how Seth needed to take out the trash, how Amy had rushed down to ice level to videotape her middle son during his first NHL warm-up, much to his eternal dismay, and the pinky promise Seth made that they would live together for the first three years of his NHL career.Jones negotiated an out clause from the promise last season and moved into a downtown Nashville condo while his mother stayed in the area but moved into a house closer to the city.?A few weeks later, as Jones sat at the bar of a Nashville steak house awaiting his appetizers, he got a call from Predators GM David Poile.Your GM doesnt call you for fun at night, Jones said.Dinner went by the boards, as Poile told Jones that he had been traded for Johansen, the fourth overall pick in 2010 and his old junior hockey teammate, in a blockbuster swap of franchise youngsters.Two hours later, Jones was in Columbus getting ready to play back-to-back games for his new team.I wasnt pissed off, he insists. But there were a lot of emotions flying, because thats your first team. You develop relationships. It kind of feels like your home.While the Predators and Johansen advanced to the second round of the playoffs that spring, the Blue Jackets limped through another difficult season and finished 20 points out of a playoff spot.It was tough, for sure, Jones said. Halfway through the season, everyone kind of knew it was over. You just had that feeling. So it was different.He initially moved into a place set up by the team and then into a temporary apartment as he tried to get his bearings in his new environment.I think he spent probably the most of last season trying to figure out where he fits in, said longtime NHL player Jody Shelley, who provides analysis for the Blue Jackets. And you could kind of see in his game that he had the skill. But it was almost like he was following a little bit, he was just falling in line. And thats understandable.Jones returned to Columbus in September after the World Cup of Hockey, where he played well for Team North America. In his own space, his own city, for the first time in his life, he?emerged as something else, someone else altogether. A leader, perhaps.Im 22 years old and am by no means a veteran, Jones said. But we have a lot of young guys on the team this year.His regular defensive partner is 19-year-old Zach Werenski, a leading candidate for rookie of the year.I do feel like Im the veteran on the D pair, Jones said. I try to lead by example for Zach. Obviously I dont need to say much to him right now. He makes my life easier too already.Its not just Werenski or Josh Anderson or any of the other young Blue Jackets -- who, along with the equally callow?Toronto Maple Leafs,?iced the youngest roster in the NHL at the start of the season -- who see in Jones journey the kind of path that is possible for a young player. His younger brother, Caleb, is also watching.The 19-year-old was drafted 117th overall in 2015 by the?Edmonton Oilers.?Hes playing junior hockey for the WHLs Portland Silverhawks, with whom Seth starred, lives with the same family Seth did and even stays in the same bedroom his brother did.While the brothers are intensely competitive, and spend summers working out together, there is an obvious understanding on Calebs part that he has a unique window into the path to success.I realize how hard hes worked to get to where he is, Caleb said.Once Caleb wrote a paper for a class talking about his respect for Seths dedication. It brought their mother to tears. That respect has only deepened since.Its definitely the same, the younger Jones said. Its a constant thing.Being that kind of person, the one to whom others look up, who they want to emulate, can be a kind of burden. Some shrink from it. Jones has embraced it.It changes you, Shelley said. He wants to be the guy. Thats the sense I think I get from watching him.He has made his apartment his own as well. The place has a comfy, lived-in feel. There are hoodies and jackets strewn on chairs. A computer sits on the couch where Jones spends a fair amount of his down time.I think its been good for both of us, Jones said of his move to Columbus and Amys subsequent return to Dallas.?He noted that his mother might disapprove of the clutter in his new place. The two are still close and keep in regular contact. Really regular contact, Jones joked, pointing out that hell finish a game and have 10 texts from Amy, his phone almost buzzing out of his pocket.Im like, Mom, 10 texts right after the game? Jones said with a smile. Its like she expects me to answer them during intermission. Shes funny. She gets fired up.He still speaks regularly with his father, former NBA player Popeye Jones, who is now an assistant coach with the Indianapolis Pacers. Although their conflicting schedules make getting together in person a challenge, Jones is expecting a visit from his dad later in December.Do the two talk about their shared lives as pro athletes? Not as much as they perhaps did when Jones first entered the NHL. I think he understands that Ive kind of gotten the hang of it a little bit, Jones said, that I understand whats expected out of me for the most part.He has become comfortable in his own skin here in Columbus, enjoying the moments of quiet.?I like being alone, to be honest, Jones said. That sounds terrible, but I dont mind being alone in my own space. Ive had roommates, and you end up just not wanting to be around them because youre around them so much at the rink.He doesnt do much entertaining here. Doesnt regularly whip up dinner for the boys.I like to cook, he insisted. I just havent done it. I cooked one time in training camp after I got back from the World Cup, and that was it.Most nights, he and his teammates go out to eat at one of Columbus restaurants.Boones cooked a couple of times, he offered. Thats it. We dont mind cooking. Its hard to cook for one, but to get everyone over and then clean it all up, thats a real hassle, to be honest.Is it the cooking or the cleaning?Its the cleaning, he said with a laugh.Hey, when youre busy doing other things, like becoming a leader, chores go by the boards. Yeezy Kopen .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Yeezy Schoenen Sale . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. 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The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. OAKLAND, Calif. -- Madison Bumgarner is all for his bat starting rallies that help the San Francisco Giants win.Especially in this case, when they were staring at the possibility of a sweep in the Bay Bridge Series.Bumgarner pitched into the seventh to snap a two-start skid and also batted in an AL ballpark, and the Giants avoided a four-game sweep by beating the Oakland Athletics 12-6 on Thursday night.Im not trying to prove anything to anybody. Were trying to win ballgames, Bumgarner said. Thats all I care about. I dont care what anybody says or thinks about it. I care about these guys, I care about our fans. ... I want to be as good a baseball player as I can be, not just a pitcher. In this league youve got to hit. You can change the outcome of the game sometimes.Buster Posey hit a towering three-run homer to center in the third and Brandon Crawford followed with a solo shot before adding an RBI single two innings later.Brandon Belt had four RBI and hit a go-ahead two-run double in the third ahead of Poseys ninth home run. Bumgarner helped start the rally with a leadoff double.He got us started. He smoked that ball, manager Bruce Bochy said. We needed something to ignite this offense. He did it.Bumgarner (9-4) was given the option by Bochy to bat himself rather than the Giants using a designated hitter, and of course the big lefty chose to swing the bat. He had lost two straight starts following seven consecutive winning decisions.Marcus Semien hit his career-best 16th home run in the first as the As took a quick lead against Bumgarner, then Yonder Alonso added a two-run drive in the seventh to chase Bumgarner. Hunter Strickland relieved. Oakland has homered in a season-best nine games in a row.Bumgarner allowed four runs and seven hits, struck out four and didnt walk a batter in 6 1/3 innings. The two home runs allowed matched his most for the season, also done opening day at Milwaukee on April 4. He hasnt lost three straight starts since June 27-July 8, 2014, during his spectacular World Series MVP season.While San Francisco had given up seven or more runs in four straight games, the Giants helped Oakland score at least six runs in a seventh straight contest when Coco Crisp hit a two-out, two-run double in the ninth.San Francisco added on late, getting Belts two-run single. Fernando Rodriguez also walked in a pair of runs among his five free passses in the inning, and the As had their three-game winning streak snapped with only a second defeat in the last eight games.ddddddddddddAs lefty Dillon Overton (1-1) was done after three innings in his second major league start after he won his debut last Saturday at Los Angeles. This time, he surrendered eight runs and eight hits with a strikeout and three walks. He said he wasnt able to make the adjustments he usually does -- and Overton knew Bumgarner had the ability to hurt him at the plate.Ive watched him on TV for years now. I knew he could hit, Overton said. I left that one up and Bum made me pay for it.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: With 2B Joe Panik on the concussion list and 2B Ramiro Pena sidelined with a sprained ankle after colliding with RF Mac Williamson on Wednesday, San Francisco purchased the contract of 2B Grant Green and inserted him into the starting lineup immediately. He hadnt played in nine days since Williamson -- then with Triple-A Sacramento -- inadvertently let go of his bat and it hit Green in the right knee. He required four stitches, which were removed Wednesday. ... RHP Sergio Romo, out since April 15 with a flexor strain in his pitching elbow, was set to throw consecutive days and then be ready to come off the 60-day disabled list.Athletics: LHP reliever Sean Doolittle had an MRI exam that showed some labrum inflammation in his strained throwing shoulder, which landed him on the 15-day DL retroactive to Sunday. He had tried to play catch Wednesday but struggled. The hope is he will be ready to return after the All-Star break. ... OF Khris Davis was out of the lineup a day after being scratched with a bruised left shoulder injured running into the wall Tuesday. He batted in the cage and felt better than a day earlier. ... The As agreed to terms with No. 6 overall draft pick LHP A.J. Puk out of Florida. He threw a bullpen session for the Oakland brass.UP NEXTGiants: RHP Johnny Cueto (11-1) takes the ball on the road looking to improve on his 7-2 record and 2.69 ERA in 10 career starts against Arizona.Athletics: RHP Sonny Gray (3-6) tries to snap a career-high five-game skid. He is 0-1 with a 3.23 ERA in five starts since coming off the DL on June 5 and he is 0-5 with a 6.19 ERA over his last 10 outings. ' ' '