KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Royals shk up their coaching staff Thursday in an attempt to jumpstart their failing offence, making Dale Sveum the hitting coach and Mike Jirschele their third base coach. Pedro Grifol, who tk over as hitting coach last season, will now instruct catchers. The moves were announced after the Royals finished off a disastrous homestand that included a sweep at the hands of Houston, and before they opened a four-game series in Toronto. Sveum said the Royals havent done a gd enough job this season of hitting pitches in the upper half of the strike zone. "The bottom line is weve struggled with elevation and weve swung at pitches down in the zone probably way t much," he said. "From thigh high to the top of the strike zone, were not doing enough damage." The Royals began the day last in the majors with 21 homers, putting them on pace to match the 1976 club for the fewest in franchise history for a non-strike-shortened season. Theyre also last in the American League in runs and slugging percentage. "There is not one man in the lineup thats hitting the ball well," Royals designated hitter Billy Butler said Wednesday. "Were just cold." Yost said "a different voice can make a difference," to struggling batters, but the Royals have heard plenty of voices about hitting: Sveum is Kansas Citys fifth hitting coach in less than three seasons. The Royals let go of Kevin Seitzer two years ago in the hope that somebody else would help the club generate more power. Seitzer was eventually hired by the Blue Jays, who currently lead the majors with 76 homers -- more than Kansas City is on pace for all season. Jack Malf and Andre David were hired before last season, but they only made it a couple of months before they were reassigned within the franchise. It was at that point that the Royals hired Grifol and Hall of Famer George Brett on an interim basis. The Royals showed signs of life once that duo was in charge, slowly climbing into playoff contention. Grifol was given the job on a full-time basis after Brett stepped down in July, but lasted less than a year in the role. "Hes the one that pulled us out of our trouble last year," Yost said of Grifol Thursday. "A year later, we find ourselves in the exact same spot." Sveum, a former Brewers and Cubs manager, had been serving as the Royals third base coach. But he also has plenty of experience as a hitting coach, helping Milwaukee finish in the top three of the National League in homers in each of his three seasons. "Hes got experience, he studies hitting," Yost said. "Hes got a lot of knowledge. He helped Prince Fielder get, in my opinion, to the next level as an offensive performer." Bismack Biyombo Jersey . The Yankees made the moves before Tuesdays game against Baltimore. Robertson was listed retroactive to Monday. Robertson posted two saves in three games as the replacement for retired Yankees closer Mariano Rivera before getting hurt. Jason Williams Jersey .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders. http://www.magicbasketballprostore.com/k...a-magic-jersey/. Torres calmly stroked a 51st-minute spot kick down the middle with goalkeeper Romel Quinonez diving right to convert a penalty earned by Javi Martinez. Spain controlled play at the Sanchez Pizjuan but found it hard to convert against a well-organized Bolivian team before Iniesta charged forward to curl around Quinonez in the 84th to seal victory. Jonathon Simmons Jersey .Cameron sustained his third concussion in three seasons last week on a hit by Oakland safety Brandion Ross, who was fined $22,050 by the NFL for the helmet-to-helmet blow. Jonathan Isaac Jersey . -- EJ Manuel followed the worst game of his career with the best.TORONTO - The Toronto Maple Leafs longest losing streak since 2010 has their playoff hopes in serious doubt. The Detroit Red Wings longest winless stretch in three months has prevented the club from separating itself in the wild card race. The two clubs lk to get on track Saturday night, when the Leafs try to snap a seven-game slide against a Red Wings team lking to win for the first time in four contests. Detroit and Toronto are two of four teams tied for the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference with 80 points. The Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals all have nine games remaining on the season, while the Maple Leafs have seven left to play. That has Toronto on the outside of the playoff picture, while the Red Wings and Blue Jackets have the current tiebreaker over the Capitals with more non-shtout wins. Washington is hosting the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternn, while Columbus is set to visit the Carolina Hurricanes in the evening. The Maple Leafs seemed in prime position to make the playoffs for a second straight season just weeks ago, but have lost seven in a row in regulation. That is the longest losing streak for the club since an 0-6-2 slide from Oct. 28-Nov. 13, 2010. Toronto doesnt have much time to regroup after dropping a 4-2 road decision to the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night. That setback did see winger James van Riemsdyk set a club record by scoring just four seconds into the second period, but it wasnt enough. Dave Bolland also scored and Jonathan Bernier allowed four goals on 29 shots faced. "I think our work ethic and all that stuff has been gd. We havent quit, weve played hard to the end," noted van Riemsdyk, who bested Mats Sundins previous club record set when he scored six seconds into overtime on Dec. 30, 1995. "Like I said, sometimes we just arent getting those bounces and were just going to have to find a way to just clean things up a little bit more where were not making any mistakes because it seems like when we do were not gettingg the bounces that we need.ddddddddddddquot; That is especially true for Torontos goaltenders. Bernier has allowed four goals in both games he has played since returning from a five-game absence caused by a groin injury, while James Reimer has yielded 18 goals over a personal five-game losing streak. Bernier will get the start again for Toronto. He is 2-1-1 with a 2.85 goals against average versus the Red Wings. Toronto opens a four-game homestand tonight and will then close the season with three straight on the road. The Leafs are 22-14-1 at home on the season. The Red Wings are trying to avoid missing the postseason for the first time since 1990 and remain without a number of injured players, including Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. They come into this key meeting having gone 0-2-1 in their last three games, the longest winless stretch for the Red Wings since they went 0-4-2 from Dec. 7-17. Detroit tried to rally on Thursday night against the visiting Montreal Canadiens, but came up short in a 5-4 decision. Tomas Tatar scored twice in a span of just over three minutes in the third period to tie the game, but the Habs went back on top 78 seconds later. Montreal then restored a two-goal edge before Johan Franzen tallied to get the Red Wings within a goal, but another comeback was not in the cards. "Catch-up hockey is losing hockey," Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said. Riley Sheahan recorded a goal and an assist in the loss, but Jimmy Howard stopped just 24-of-29 shots. Babcock said Howard is his likely starter for tonight as the Red Wings also are set to host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday. Howard is 1-1-1 in his career against Toronto with a 2.61 GAA. The Red Wings have won two of three against the Maple Leafs this season, with the lone setback coming in a shtout on Jan. 1 outdrs at Michigan Stadium. Detroits 5-4 shtout victory on Dec. 21 snapped a four-game series road losing streak as the Red Wings won in Toronto for the first time since Nov. 16, 2002. diesfromchina.com/" target="_blank">Wholesale Hdies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '