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Marcus Stroman is having the worst statistical season of his brief career. Coming off an injury-abbreviated 2015 in which he went 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA and helped the Toronto Blue Jays into the playoffs, Stroman was pegged as one of this years most exciting, young starting pitchers. Instead, the 25-year-old Duke graduate has one of the highest ERAs and WHIPs among major league starters. He knows its impossible to hide from his failures -- and the whispers that his work is deserving of a trip to the minors. I will never second-guess myself, he says. I always trust Ill be able to endure tough times because I never get lazy. Im relentless. While Stromans struggles have created much doubt among online commenters, the New York native has heard it before. Here, he opens up about his haters, his teammates, his comeback from a devastating knee injury last season and his father, Earl -- the man who prepared him for moments like this.I read it all.I see everything anyone says about me. I read the blogs. I read the tweets. Thats fuel. Thats motivation. I see people say I should be sent to [Triple-A] Buffalo, that I should be in the bullpen, that I shouldnt be in the majors. Those are the same people who said I shouldnt have played college baseball at Duke. Theyre the ones who said Im 5-foot-8 and that I was too short to be a starting pitcher. Now Im struggling, and Im hearing it all again.Fine. I like to have those doubters in my life.I went through it last year when I tore my ACL. I was in the doctors office. The trainer was with me. The doctor felt around my knee. He just shook his head and said, Its torn. I was crushed. I sat there for a couple of minutes and collected myself. I knew my mindset. I was coming back. I called my mom. I called my dad. I called my best friend. They were devastated. I hung up, collected myself again. I called my mom again. I said: Call Duke, Im going back to school.When I got there, I told the doctors in North Carolina that I wanted to be back by playoff time. There were no promises, but we were going to attack. It was relentless: Wake up at 8 a.m., foam-roll, stretch, breakfast. Id go to my first workout. Hour-and-a-half to two hours. Pool work. Ball stuff. Strengthening the knee. Everything was intense. Id go back to the apartment, go to class for two hours. Id do another two-hour workout with my other trainer. Crush it. After that, it was back to the house, eat dinner and go to night class. Six days a week. And then Id get up and do it again.That attitude comes from my dad. Hes a police detective. Hes about my height, real stocky. My parents divorced when I was in the fifth grade, but he moved just a mile away. My dad knew I was going to be undersized. He preached to me that I had to play with a chip on my shoulder. I had to have confidence in myself when other people might not. That became my way of thinking: always to turn a negative into a positive. Work as hard as possible. Most importantly, enjoy it all. Like Drake said: If Im not having fun with it, Im done with it. Its true.My dad saw the talent in me, but he knew if I was going to make it, I needed to have the drive. I wasnt going to get by on physical stature. We didnt get along well in the early years because he was so hard on me. He wanted me to be great. I wasnt the kid outside playing with friends. I was working out. I was in the gym. I was practicing. I was 6 years old, 7, 8, 9, 10. I was at the track, running with parachutes, running hills. Id be out there when high school varsity teams were practicing. If I wasnt doing that, then I was on the field throwing, taking ground balls, taking swings, shooting baskets, throwing the football. Then I was at home doing work. When I was done, Id do more work. My dad wanted me to be ahead. Hed give me the newspaper and make me read articles and help me with reading comprehension. Id read the articles, and hed question me. My dad was preparing me mentally, in every way. Ive got a tattoo on my wrist now. It says, Daddys Gift.That work helped when Ive faced adversity. Ill never have to go through anything harder than when I was rehabbing that knee. I came back in five-and-a-half months from a completely torn ACL on my landing leg. Think about that. We werent going at it at a normal nine- to 12-month pace. In five-and-a-half months, I made it back to a big league game. Sept. 12. Its not like I was just rehabbing, either. I was overloading on classes. I got my degree from Duke. All the pieces fell perfectly. Now that I look back, it couldnt have gone better. Nothing went wrong for me that entire summer.Now Im struggling.This game can consume you. It can eat at you. Ive learned that. Im going through it. Coming off a bad game, Im frustrated because of the work I put in. But the wheels are already turning as to what I can do better in my next outing. Im at the field from 2 to 11 every single day. Im training. Im working on my delivery, working on my mechanics, on my pitches. I get in the video room and see where my delivery was. I make small adjustments to get back on top of my sinkerball. Im always thinking, always trying to better my game. Dawg, theres no one thats going to work harder than me.Its impossible to escape the criticism. I go through those tweets. I have to deal with it. When youre struggling, everythings under a magnifying glass. Im not going to overthink and make the rest of my life unhappy. People doubt me and say I shouldnt be in the position where I am. I hear the noise.What drives me is seeing what Clayton Kershaw is doing, what Jake Arrieta is doing. I want to be there. I want to be the best in the game. I want to be a perennial All-Star. I want to take my team to the World Series. I want to be the staple, the ace you can count on every fifth game to get a win. The guy who you can count on to take you to the playoffs every year. I dont play this game to be mediocre. I dont coast. Im not average. Average isnt gratifying. I never want to get comfortable. Mediocrity scares me. You dont train as hard as you can to be fine with OK results. I dont play this game just to play.Baseball excites me. I want to fully reach my potential, and I dont think Im close to that yet. Im a starter. Ive shown I can be a dominant starter. My value is as a starter. I believe in that. I want to go six, seven, eight, nine innings. I was in the pen in 2014, struggled, and was sent down. People said the same things theyre saying now: He cant pitch. Hes too short. His fastballs too flat. I went down two weeks and came up, found a sinker somewhere in there. Im still learning. Im still growing in this process. Im aware of that. Im going to struggle at times, but those struggles wont last.Yes, I could end up in Buffalo. Do I think I belong in Buffalo? Not at all. If the Blue Jays think I need to be there, thats their decision. Im in a good place mentally and physically. Things are going to turn around. Im not the only believer. Everyone in my clubhouse believes that. Coaches believe that. Teammates believe that.There are these little key notes I get from the guys, little points. Im on the perfect team. I have unbelievable talks with Buehrle, LaTroy Hawkins, Estrada, Bautista, Donaldson, Tulo, Martin. I have the best group of guys to learn from. Im thankful for that. Jose Bautista took me under his wing from the second I got to the majors. Hes my mentor. Ive learned so much from him. Hes a guy whos been there for me. He saw when I was going through this rough patch. People in the clubhouse have faith in me every time Im on the mound. These are All-Stars telling me this. Theyve been there for me through the good and even more through the bad. They know how driven I am. They say, Stro, this is temporary. I have to be able to deal with this if I want to be elite. Theres been a low point for every player. Theres been a challenge theyve had to get through. My teammates are throwing confidence on me and letting me know Im still the guy. Im faltering a little bit, but theyre still going to rock with me.At the end of the day, Im lucky. My life is amazing. Thats why I can deal with this. Ive had success in the majors. Ive gone nine innings. Ive gone eight. Ive pitched in the playoffs. I know its there. Its just disconnected for a bit. But this little disconnection is going to create a stronger individual. Im a confident, hard-working visionary with big dreams for my friends, family and myself. Baseball is my passion. I know mentally, physically, emotionally, Im stronger than most. I can get through anything. Jesus Manuel Corona Jersey . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Giovani dos Santos Jersey . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. http://www.soccermexicojerseysteamstore.com/marco-fabian-mexico-jersey/ . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Rafael Marquez Jersey . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. Hector Moreno Jersey . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. After eight months of trading forehands and backhands, the final Grand Slam event of the season is here. The US Open is loaded with top stars and compelling matchups from the start. How can you keep up with all the action and results? Heres everything you need to know on Day 1.Watch every matchAt 11 a.m. ET, the first wave of matches will begin on ESPN3 for the entire day. Click to watch.?At 1 p.m. ET, ESPN2 & WatchESPN begin coverage. Click to watch.?To view starting times of upcoming days at the US Open, click here.?Live scoringOur real-time scoreboard, updated stats and social handles can be found on one spot, US Open CourtCast.?BracketsFind out whos moving on (and whos not) with our US Open mens and womens brackets. ?Mondays key matchesTaylor Townsend versus Caroline Wozniacki, 11 a.m. ET on the Grandstand (Watch)For a matchup of unseeded players, this one has plenty of storylines. Wozniacki spent a total of 67 weeks as the word No. 1 but never was able to capture a Grand Slam title. Still one of the most popular players on tour, the Dane has fallen to No. 51 in the world and hasnt won consecutive matches since June. Wozniacki has reached two US Open semifinals and two finals in her career; two years ago, she lost to Serena Williams in the championship match. Townsend, one of the brightest American juniors in recent years, has yet to make a mark on the WTA Tour. Two years ago, she made the third round of the French Open, but in five other Grand Slam appearances, has won only a single match.No. 5 Rafael Nadal versus Denis Istomin, third match on Arthur Ashe Stadium (Watch)What to make of Nadal? He looked incredible in his first two matches at Roland Garros before abruptly pulling out with a wrist injury. After missing two months (including Wimbledon), Nadal returned to action in Rio and reached the semifinals -- admittedly surprising even himself. Only an unforgettable three-set loss to Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals kept Nadal from a shot at his second gold medal. The Spaniard, though, won the doubles title with partner Marc Lopez. Nadal says hes in good spirits and healthy entering New York. Hes never lost a match to Istomin in four previous encounters.No. 26 Jack Sock versus Taylor Friitz, 5:30 p.ddddddddddddm. ET on Louis Armstrong Stadium (Watch)Certainly, one of the main attractions on opening day, this battle will feature two of the most talented Americans in the field. Sock, the newly minted mix-doubles Olympic champ, hopes his home Slam will snap him out of a singles funk. The 26th seed hasnt won more than two consecutive matches since the Clay-Court Championships back in early April. Fritz, 18 and perhaps the most talented of the new wave of U.S. mens players, reached the Memphis Open final six months ago, but since then has struggled, notably going only 3-7 in his past 10 matches.No. 1 Novak Djokovic versus Jerzy Janowicz, 7 p.m. ET on Arthur Ashe Stadium (Watch)Fittingly, the world No. 1 will begin his quest to defend his US Open crown under the lights in Arthur Ashe Stadium. With a title, Djokovic would join Roger Federer as the only players to win three majors in the same year on three occasions. The Serb, however, enters New York with a cloud of uncertainty. He fell early at Wimbledon, and after winning the Rogers Cup Masters, lost to del Potro in the opening round of Rio. Djokovic is also dealing with a wrist issue that he said still isnt 100 percent. Like del Potro, Janowicz possesses a thunderous game. A 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist, Janowicz (once ranked No. 14) has fallen to No. 228 in the world and has played only two matches this season.No. 8 Madison Keys versus Alison Riske, second night match on Arthur Ashe Stadium (Watch)In another all-American battle on opening day, the biggest question mark will be the health of Keys, who just last week withdrew from the Connecticut Open after injuring her neck during a practice session. But Keys has played well lately, winning 25 of her past 31 matches. This includes a trip to the Montreal final and the Rio semis. Shes also made the fourth round or better in every major dating back to last years US Open. Keys won a title on the grass of Birmingham right before Wimbledon. As for Riske, she is sporting a healthy 29-19 record this season, and just a few weeks ago reached the semifinals in Stanford. ' ' '