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SAN FRANCISCO -- An attorney for Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez said a sharp grounder that struck the right-hander in the thigh before his final start caused him to change his throwing motion and may have contributed to him needing season-ending elbow surgery. Tampa-based attorney Ralph Fernandez explained the timeline for the pitchers injury in a lengthy statement to Miami media on Friday. He said the reigning NL Rookie of the Year had to alter his delivery after getting hit on the back of the left leg by a sharp grounder off the bat of Dee Gordon in the Marlins 5-4 win over Los Angeles on May 4 in Miami. Fernandez pitched five innings at San Diego on May 9 in his last start before the Marlins announced he would need Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery, which he had Friday in Los Angeles. "Jose did not have a pre-existing condition," Ralph Fernandez wrote in a statement. "While pitching during the recent Dodgers game in Miami he was struck by a ball on his rear thigh. This prompted a completely unanticipated change in delivery which neither the staff nor his coaches could discern. "After the game we spoke as we always do. Jose was concerned about his arm. Despite many exchanges on the subject in the days that followed he felt that with the Marlins regaining first place in the division he could not let his team down. Apparently the injury was worse than he believed. In San Diego in the third ending he suffered a traumatic event, tossed a couple of more innings and the rest is history." Marlins manager Mike Redmond said before the Marlins played the San Francisco Giants on Friday night that nobody on the team knew of Fernandezs injury until his start in San Diego. "I just think if it was bothering him, then he should have said something and we wouldve obviously shut him down and taken those precautions," Redmond said. "As soon as we found out that he had a sore arm, we shut him down and got an MRI and got everything looked at and got the information that we needed." Redmond also refuted that Fernandez changed his delivery after getting hit in the thigh against the Dodgers. "He looked the same to me in that game after that," Redmond said. Marlins president Michael Hill said in a statement that Fernandezs surgery went well. He said Fernandez would return to Miami and immediately begin his rehabilitation program. Attorney Ralph Fernandez said in his statement that he, the Marlins, the pitcher and his agent, Scott Boras, all agree that surgery was the proper course of action. Typical recovery time is 12 to 18 months. The 21-year-old Fernandez was put on the disabled list earlier this week, becoming the latest in a string of major league pitchers this year who have needed Tommy John surgery. Fernandez finished 4-2 with a 2.44 ERA in eight starts this season. Fernandez made 28 starts last year, going 12-6 with a major league-best .182 opponents batting average. His 2.19 ERA was second in the majors behind three-time defending ERA champ Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. Fernandez struck out 187 in 172 2-3 innings. Cheap Sabres Jerseys Authentic . Meeks has agreed to a $19.5 million, three-year deal with Detroit, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday night. The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because free agents cant sign contracts until the leagues moratorium ends July 10, also said Cartier Martin had agreed to a one-year contract with the rebuilding franchise. Wholesale Sabres Jerseys . Stepanek gave the Czech Republic its second straight Davis Cup title Sunday, sweeping past Dusan Lajovic in straight sets in the fifth and decisive match to secure a 3-2 win over Serbia in the final. http://www.cheapsabresjerseys.com/.S. womens soccer team to a 2-0 win over China in Colorado in the afternoon. Cheap Sabres Jerseys China .com) - Manu Ginobili capped off a 26-point night with a go-ahead layup with 24 seconds left in overtime, with the basket giving the San Antonio Spurs a much-needed 95-93 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Cheap Adidas Sabres Jerseys .Mack, a reserve guard who came in averaging 3.8 points, made all six of his 3-pointers as the Hawks went 16 for 28 from behind the arc.Trailing 50-38 midway through the second quarter, Atlanta outscored Cleveland 89-48 the rest of the way and sent the Cavaliers to their largest loss of the season.The Vancouver Whitecaps got back to winning ways last weekend, defeating the league-leading Seattle Sounders 1-0 on Saturday at BC Place. While the Sounders fielded a depleted lineup - they were missing five players who would otherwise be named in their starting lineup - Vancouver did what was needed to win the game. Defensively, the partnership of Johnny Leveron and Carlyle Mitchell comfortably dealt with everything the Sounders threw their way, while David Ousted turned in another strong performance in goal. The central midfield duo of Matias Laba and Gershon Koffie controlled the area in front of the back four, while attacking midfielder Pedro Morales returned to his customary role as the Whitecaps maestro. Had Erik Hurtado managed to convert a second-half breakaway, Vancouvers victory would have been more emphatic. With Vancouvers victory, many will believe that normal service has been restored. Led by players like Morales, Laba and Koffie, the Whitecaps have played entertaining football at BC Place this season. A 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids – where Laba was sent off for two yellow cards with the Caps leading 1-0 – is the only home defeat of the season for Vancouver. However, it can also be argued that Vancouver has perhaps punched above their weight this season. Just look at the Sounders. If the roles had been reversed and Vancouver – minus its top five players – played a full-strength Sounders lineup in Seattle, it is reasonable to expect the margin of victory for Seattle to be much more comfortable than 1-0. The Sounders have a much deeper squad than Vancouver – deeper than virtually every other team in MLS, in fact. Vancouvers reality is this: they do not yet have the depth to challenge the top sides in MLS over the course of an entire season. ‘Yet being the key word. Vancouvers head coach, Carl Robinson, knows that he needs to address this shortcoming. However, his hands are tied – or at least his salary cap space is - to three players. Injured skipper Jay Demerit, central defender Andy OBrien and midfielder Niggel Reo-Coker have all played a role in Vancouvers solid start to the season.dddddddddddd But it is difficult to see a future in Vancouver for any of the three beyond this season. In the case of Demerit and OBrien, age is simply not on their sides. 34 and 35 respectively, they are coming to the end of their outstanding careers. Reo-Coker, on the other hand, has seen his playing time decrease considerably this season, due in large part to the impressive form of both Laba and Koffie. Collectively, the salaries of Demerit, OBrien and Reo-Coker tally over $1 million – a third of Vancouvers salary cap space. The club simply cannot afford to have so much cap space tied up in three players whose roles are diminishing with time. This is the harsh reality of professional soccer; players are commodities to be bought, sold, bartered for and traded. Teams that are successful know that they have to constantly be searching for additions and upgrades to make their squad stronger. It is what Seattle did in the offseason, and they are reaping the rewards this year; the Sounders sit atop the MLS standings with 35 points from 17 games. If the Whitecaps are going to continue to move forward and build on their impressive start to their campaign, they need to add quality signings to their squad of promising young players. A central defender, a wide midfielder and a proven goal scorer are all on the shopping list, but unless Vancouver can create cap space, those signings might have to wait until the offseason. For now, Vancouver goes into Saturdays home game against Chivas USA (TSN2, 10pm ET, 7pm PT) in buoyant mood. With just one loss in their last 10 games, the Whitecaps have every right to be confident taking on the visitors. However, Erick ‘Cubo Torres is one of the hottest strikers in MLS right now – his fantastic stoppage-time goal sealed a 1-0 win for Chivas over the Montreal Impact last weekend – so Carlyle Mitchell and Johnny Leveron will need to keep a watchful eye on the Mexican front man if the Whitecaps are to keep another clean sheet. ' ' '