Bowl, figures to command around $60 million over five ye

DENVER -- Early on, Stephen Strasburg didnt have his best stuff and yet the powerful right-hander tried to bear down to keep his team close. Almost paid off, too. The Washington Nationals loaded the bases in the ninth before falling 6-4 to Jorge De La Rosa and the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday. Strasburg (7-8) settled in after a shaky start, giving up four runs -- three of which were in the first -- and nine hits over 5 1-3 innings. "Giving up three runs early, I couldve easily shut it down," Strasburg said. "I didnt want to do that. I wanted to keep it as close as possible. Give the guys a chance to come back -- anything can happen here." And almost did. Closer LaTroy Hawkins got the first two outs in the ninth, before allowing RBI singles to Jayson Werth and Anthony Rendon to make it a 6-4 game. With the bases loaded, Hawkins struck out Ian Desmond to end the rally. "You have to tip your cap sometimes. He did a good job," Desmond said. "He made some pitches on me. "We did a good job battling back right there. We kept on grinding away. Ill take us in that situation a lot of times." Denard Span had four hits for the Nationals, who finished the season series 5-1 against Colorado. He was one of the few to have success against De La Rosa, who gave the Rockies a badly needed boost as they snapped a seven-game skid. "Jorge, another great outing. He did it again," manager Walt Weiss said. "Were scuffling like crazy and he takes the ball and gives us a great performance and wins the game." The Rockies tried a little bit of everything to break out of their funk. They wore their socks high and even engaged in a pregame staring contest. Turns out, the best cure for their slump was simply the left arm of De La Rosa. De La Rosa (11-6) struck out a season-high 11 as he pitched efficiently into the eighth inning. He kept the Nationals guessing by effectively mixing in a changeup with his 89-mph cutter. "All my pitches were working really good today," said De La Rosa, who allowed two runs -- one earned -- before being lifted for a reliever with one out in the eighth. "My command of all my pitches was really good today." The Rockies decided as a team to wear their socks high, just to try something new. Even Weiss followed the trend. This helped ease the tension, too: Prior to the first pitch, Rockies outfielder Brandon Barnes and Nationals reliever Aaron Barrett engaged in quite a stare-down, with both players standing near the dugout holding their hats over their chest to see who would blink first. After several minutes, Barnes finally gestured toward Barrett that they settle it with a game of rock-paper-scissor. Right after De La Rosas warmup pitches, home plate umpire Paul Emmel told Barnes go into the dugout, with Barrett throwing his hands up in triumph. "Well do any stare-down to win games, for sure," joked Nolan Arenado. Once again, De La Rosa mastered a park that typically isnt friendly to pitchers. Hes 42-14 lifetime at Coors Field. "This is the perfect park for me," he said. Usually, its the hitters saying that. De La Rosa had his pitches dancing all day. He struck out Bryce Harper three times. The Nationals were just 1 of 14 with runners in scoring position off De La Rosa. "He knows how to pitch here," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "Hes got a surprising fast ball when he needs it, but he relies on his changeup a lot. Thats a great strategy here. "Hes a good pitcher. He pitches well." The Nationals were without infielder Ryan Zimmerman, who went on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a strained right hamstring. "Its a pretty substantial strain of the hamstring," Williams said. "You never know how its going to react, so well just take it day by day. Its going to be a couple of weeks at least. Well see where he is at the end of that and go from there. He pulled it good." NOTES: Werth wasnt in the starting lineup because of a tender right knee. ... The Nationals are off Thursday before opening a three-game series in Cincinnati. Kendall Sheffield Jersey .S. international midfielder Michael Bradley is complete. Tony Gonzalez Jersey . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN. http://www.falconsrookiestore.com/Falcons-Kaleb-Mcgary-Jersey/ . He had spent 16 days on the disabled list before being activated Thursday. He was batting just .203 when he came to bat in the 11th inning on Sunday. Julio Jones Womens Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Chris Lindstrom Falcons Jersey . - Bryan Price sat down in the cushy chair. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Its the $5 million question thats rumbling through NFL front offices and locker rooms alike: Is All-Pro Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints a tight end or a really big wide receiver? It matters to men like Pro Bowl tight end Julius Thomas of the Denver Broncos, whos up for a big pay raise and could be facing a franchise tag himself after the upcoming season. The Saints gave Graham the franchise tag for about $7 million as a tight end, the position hes been listed at for his entire four-year career -- and which he himself lists on his Twitter account. Graham contends that because he more often is split out away from the tackle, he is really a wide receiver. And, after all, he did lead the league with 16 touchdown catches last season. That franchise tag is worth about $12.3 million. The sides stated their cases in an arbitration hearing earlier this week in Louisiana and are awaiting a ruling from arbitrator Stephen Burbank. Thomas is understandably interested in the outcome. "Ive kind of been keeping ... an eye on that situation, obviously, because it could probably come back to affect a lot of us tight ends," said Thomas, who is scheduled to make $645,000 this year. "But the way I feel about it is, Does two letters next to your name on the depth chart really determine your value to a team?" When it comes to franchise tags in the NFL, it certainly does. The Saints note that Graham made the All-Pro team and the Pro Bowl as a tight end and was drafted as a tight end. Graham points to the 86 passes he caught for 1,215 yards last season -- numbers any wide receiver would envy. "Does it matter if hes a tight end, or if he calls himself a slot receiver or a running back?" Thomas said. "I mean, if youre going to have double-digit touchdowns and contribute a bunch of yards in the receiving game, I just say that youre a guy that makes great plays and are a value to your team. So I dont know why the argument necessarily comes down to either youre a tight end or a receiver. I think that if yooure a guy that makes plays, thats how you should be valued.dddddddddddd" Its because top-tier wide receivers make much more money than the games best tight ends. "Thats true. So I guess thats why its a topic," Thomas said. "But Ill say again: I think if youre a basketball player, they wouldnt say, Ah, youre a power forward. Really look out for those point guards. So I dont think that the position matters. I think if youre a guy making plays for your team, then that should be your value." Denver general manager John Elway has opened talks with representatives of both Thomas and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who are entering the final year of their respective rookie deals and would like any deal to get done by the start of training camp next month. Demaryius Thomas, who has two dozen TD catches since Peyton Mannings arrival and was the lone bright spot for Denver in the Super Bowl, figures to command around $60 million over five years after putting up back-to-back stellar seasons that vaulted him to elite wide receiver status. Yet, it was Julius Thomas who was the key to Denvers record-breaking offence last season. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound late-bloomer was a matchup nightmare for defences and the bulls-eye for many of Mannings biggest moments last season when he earned his first Pro Bowl honour. He caught the quarterbacks 51st TD throw that broke Tom Bradys single-season record, one of his dozen TD receptions that broke Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpes team record for tight ends. And he came up huge in the Broncos two wins that got them to their first Super Bowl in 15 years. Broncos coach John Fox said the tight end position has evolved over the years to the point that "its like another receiver" rather than "an offensive tackle lined up to block." Thats not to say Fox is going to dive into the debate over whether a tight end actually is a wide receiver. "Im not getting into that," Fox said with a chuckle. "Ill leave that for other people." ' ' '