work for him. Theres always trickle down. Youve got to have answers other places, too. I fall back on, whatever we think is in our best interest, well do. And I dont know if we really know that yet b

Finding the back of the net is Middlesbroughs Achilles heel.Aitor Karankas Boro (3-6-7) look organised, tactically astute and are rarely beaten with ease. Yet the reality for the Teesside club, as they head into Saturdays match with Swansea City, is a relegation scrap.Considering Boro have one of the best defensive records in the division, its remarkable that they find themselves down in 17th as the halfway point of the campaign approaches.Prior to Wednesdays 3-0 loss to free-scoring Liverpool, only the much-heralded defences of Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton had conceded fewer goals than Boro. Even after that thumping, Boro still have comfortably the best defensive record in the bottom half of the table with 19 goals allowed.The problem is at the other end of the pitch.Karankas side have mustered just 13 goals all season -- less than a goal per game and the lowest tally in the Premier League. Big-name addition Alvaro Negredo started brightly, but his tally of three goals sums up the travails of a Boro attack who have failed to click.I am not on the pitch, manager Karanka said when asked how he was going to solve his teams problem up top.My job is to try to let them know how we can score goals and create chances.One of Karankas biggest problems is that the home faithful at Riverside Stadium are beginning to show their discontent. Just six goals scored in six home games is the root of that dissatisfaction, but some of Karankas selection decisions have also raised a few eyebrows.If Negredo was Boros only attacking option, then his regular presence in the starting line-up would be understandable. But fellow forwards Jordan Rhodes and David Nugent have spent much of the season warming the bench, while the decision not to start exciting wide man Adama Traore at Southampton last weekend really riled the traveling Boro fans.I understand my job, and my job is to win games, Karanka said. My job is not to sit and watch the highlights of Adama Traore. My job is to analyse the opponents, to analyse the training sessions, analyse the things Adama can do on the pitch, the things he can do for the team. This is my job.Swansea will give Boro a chance to start mending those relationships with the fans. Bob Bradleys Swans (3-3-10) are infuriatingly inconsistent.Wednesdays 3-1 loss away to West Brom leaves the Welsh club in the relegation zone and three points behind Saturdays hosts. But there is reason for optimism, courtesy of the seven points picked up in the last month, largely thanks to the influential Gylfi Sigurdsson.Gylfi has been terrific for us, Bradley said. I am sure there are many clubs that are taking notice. But certainly from our standpoint, we consider him important as we move forward.We are confident he is going to still be a part of our team as we get into the second half of the season and beyond.Sigurdssons midfield colleague Ki Sung-Yeung is a doubt for Saturdays game with a broken toe. Boro have doubts over the fitness of Callum Chambers, Gaston Ramirez and George Friend.Christophe Jallet France Jersey .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Custom France Soccer Jerseys . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. http://www.nationalfrancesoccer.com/blaise-matuidi-france-jersey/ . The parade and rally were held to celebrate the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday in the CFLs championship game. Dimitri Payet Jersey . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Olivier Giroud France Jersey . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period.CLEVELAND -- Trevor Bauers stitched finger has improved, but the Indians wont be certain of his effectiveness until he pitches.And even that is somewhat up in the air.Bauer sliced open his right pinkie while repairing a drone Thursday night, an odd-as-it-gets October injury that has thrown Clevelands pitching plan -- already jumbled after the team lost two starters in the seasons final months -- into more confusion.Bauer, who needed 11 stitches to close the wound, had been scheduled to pitch Game 2 on Saturday, but is now slated to pitch Game 3 on Monday in Toronto. At least thats plan for now as manager Terry Francona indicated the team is literally moving forward on an inning-by-inning basis.Francona said the Indians remain confident Bauer will make his now-delayed start.You hope that it wouldnt interfere with his touch and feel, he said before Game 2. I dont think thats an issue. Hes already thrown twice. Then, we just have to make sure that that thing doesnt open up where its bleeding, because then they wont let him pitch. It needs to close. So, while hes doing his throwing and things, he needs to make sure he keeps this thing not aggravated or pulling the stitches away. So far, hes done a good job. The thing is healing nice.Francona said Bauer has played catch and reported no problems. Doctors considered putting more stitches in Bauers finger, but backed off after it appeared to be healing well.Another issue for Bauer is he wont be permitted to have any salve or gel on his hand as foreign substances are not permitted.The Indians have been scrambling with their starting rotation, but Bauers injury has provided a new layer of problems. Mike Clevinger is scheduled to start Game 4, but because the Indians didnt stretch out his innings, its unlikely they would have him pitch more than four innings.ddddddddddddThey also have no idea if Bauer will be able to pitch with his injury.Francona said its possible he could bring ace Corey Kluber back on short rest to pitch Game 4. Kluber pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings in Clevelands 2-0 win in Game 1 and the Cy Young contender has pitched 13 1/3 scoreless innings in his first postseason.I dont think well rule out anything, Francona said. If it works say for him, it cant just work for him. Theres always trickle down. Youve got to have answers other places, too. I fall back on, whatever we think is in our best interest, well do. And I dont know if we really know that yet because theres so many unknowns still. One, I think wed like to watch Trevor. Common sense says see how he does.Because, if hes struggling with it, thats part of it, too. Well see. All the pitchers kind of understand. Its not like the day before they pitch they have to know when theyre pitching the next time. This is a pretty easy group to work with anyway.Francona said he did not have much conversation with Bauer, who has built and flown drones as a hobby, following his strange mishap.The guys who were in here before me said he was extremely remorseful, like he felt really, really bad, Francona said. You know what? It was an accident. He wasnt doing something he shouldnt have been doing. He couldve been doing a model airplane. He just cut his finger. It wasnt like he fell off a motorcycle or he was drunk at 3 a.m. and got cut on a beer bottle. It happens. ' ' '