TORONTO -- A reflective J. Serge Ibaka Jersey .P. Arencibia says he has been his own worst enemy in the past. "A lot of my struggles were from doubts and trying to do too many things," the former Blue Jay told reporters Friday upon his return to Rogers Centre with the Texas Rangers. The 28-year-old Arencibia also admitted he had heaped pressure on himself by worrying about all the permutations of what might happen when he stepped into the batting box. Now he has come to the realization that simple is best, it seems. "God gave me abilities to do something special on the field. What are those?" he said. "So I can say All right, I need to work on those things. And not worry about everything else. And when I get into the plate, think of one pitch at the time. Not hey, if I take this pitch, is it going to affect this pitch?" Arencibia endured a horror show of a 2013 season with Toronto, hitting .194 with 148 strikeouts in 474 at-bats. He did hit 21 homers and 54 RBIs. He said it was a year of pressure, his mind going a mile a minute. "Fortunately I was able to put the ball in play at times but I wasnt good," he said. "I was fighting myself," he added. "I was in my own way. That was the biggest thing. I had to go down (to the minors) and kind of get out of my own way." It seems to be working. He slammed a three-run homer off R.A. Dickey in the seventh inning Friday. Arencibia signed with Texas as a free agent, hitting .133 with a .182 on-base percentage in 20 games before being sent to the triple-A Round Rock Express in mid-May. He was recalled Thursday. With three other catchers (Robinson Chirinos, Chris Giminez and Geovany Soto) on the Rangers active roster, Arencibia has been getting a crash course in playing first base. He hit .279 with 14 home runs and 41 RBIs in triple-A. He got the start Friday at first base, becoming the eighth Ranger this season to start there. Asked if he was a first baseman or catcher now, he said that wasnt his decision. "Obviously they know I can catch and they have a lot of catchers on the roster. So right now if playing first is best for the team, thats what Im doing. Ill work hard to be the best first baseman I can be." The stint in the minors helped slow the game down, he said. "I 100 per cent needed it," Arencibia said. "It was something that was necessary. I went back and had to iron something out and be who I can be. "That was really the main thing -- changing my mentality and really understanding myself ... Obviously you dont want to be down there, and at the beginning it was tougher but more and more as I was down there, I realized there was good purpose behind it. And I was proud of myself to get past that and bounce back." Arencibia said his struggle was to be himself. "A lot of times I tried to be somebody I wasnt. I tried to be maybe what baseball or whatever I thought needed to do statistically to be a better player. And by doing that, by not being myself, I went backwards. "Im the player I can be (now). I went back to triple-A and really tried to be that." That mindset included being aggressive at the plate "and looking to do damage as opposed to worrying about swinging at a pitch in the first or making this mistake or that mistake." Arencibia was warmly received by some of the Rogers Centre staff before the game, with hugs and handshakes. He said he was not worried about how the crowd might react. "I know the people that cared about me and the people I impacted," he said. "Whatever may be the reaction, good or bad, I wish everybody well. Obviously I cant control that stuff." He received a smattering of boos when the Rangers starting lineup was announced. The fans were far more vocal at his first at-bat -- a strikeout that turned the boos to cheers. Arencibia was far more cutting in Texas in May when quizzed by the Toronto Star about his time in Toronto. "I learned the media controls a lot of things and the only question that you guys were writing in the off-season was what they were going to do behind the plate, when obviously the pitching was something that needed to be addressed," he told the newspaper. "But I was the only question because I was the villain of the team." Asked Friday whether he regretted such comments, he said: "Im not really here to talk about any of that stuff. We all said what we needed to say. Im excited to be back in the major leagues." Arencibias life has also changed off the baseball field. In June, he married Band Perry singer Kimberly Perry in Greeneville, Tenn. Vince Carter Jersey . At this point, even he isnt sure when it is going to stop. The right-hander dropped his fourth straight decision in Los Angeles 6-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night, leaving his status very much in doubt as the Dodgers prepare for the stretch drive. Toronto Raptors Jerseys . The three Calgary natives will compete after the sport was skipped by the Vancouver Games in 2010 but later included on the program for Sochi, Russia. The fight to include womens ski jumping prior to Vancouver went to the courts only to have the Supreme Court of Canada rule against the athletes appeal in 2009. http://www.nbaraptorsonline.com/Authentic-Bruno-Caboclo-Raptors-Jersey/ . After Mariota was pushed around by Stanford on Thursday, finishing 20/34 with 250 yards and two touchdowns in Oregons Title hope-crushing defeat, hes going to need a poor performance or two from the remaining frontrunners to have a shot at the most coveted individual trophy in college sports. CLEVELAND -- David Blatt went overseas to chase his basketball dreams. Hes coming back to fulfil them. One of Europes top coaches, Blatt was hired Friday by the Cavaliers, who ended a sweeping, 39-day search with an out-of-the-box selection they hope changes their fortunes. American-born, Princeton-schooled and considered one of the games brightest offensive minds, the 55-year-old Blatt has long been interested in coaching in the NBA and the Cavs will give him his first shot. The club signed him to a reported three-year deal that includes a team option for a fourth year. Cleveland contacted high-profile college coaches and interviewed both retreaded head coaches and on-the-rise assistants before zeroing in and landing Blatt, who won several European titles while coaching in Israel and guided Russia to a bronze medal at the London Olympics two years ago. "David Blatt is going to bring some of the most innovative approaches found in professional basketball anywhere on the globe," Cavs owner Dan Gilbert said. "Time and time again, from Russia to Israel and several other prominent head coaching jobs in between, David has done one thing: win. He is not only an innovator, well-trained and focused on both sides of the court, but he is always learning and always teaching. "Whether you are a top draft pick just entering the league, or a seasoned NBA veteran, Coach Blatt is going to take your gamme and the game of the team you are playing for to a new and higher level. C.J. Miles Jersey. Thats just who the man is and we are proud to call him our new head coach." Blatt will be introduced by the team Wednesday, one day before the club picks first in this years NBA draft. Clevelands third coach in three years, Blatt replaces Mike Brown, who was fired -- for the second time -- on May 12, a few weeks after the Cavs finished 33-49 and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season. Blatt was not believed to be on Clevelands radar early in its search, but that changed when he resigned at Maccabi Tel Aviv to pursue an NBA gig. Blatt also was coveted as an assistant by Golden State and Minnesota, but the Cavs made him the first European coach to make the jump to the NBA. "David is a great basketball coach and a special person," said Cavs general manager David Griffin. "His abilities to communicate, to build relationships with his players and to foster winning environments at several stops throughout Europe and across the highest levels of International competition speak for itself. He brings unbridled passion, energy and creativity to his craft. "I have watched Davids work for many years. He has an uncanny ability to adapt his system to maximize the talents of his teams year after year. That is why I am very confident he will make a smooth transition to the NBA." Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '