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CLEVELAND -- One of Buck Showalters former top relievers strongly defended the managers bullpen management skills Wednesday, even as Showalter faced a torrent of criticism for his moves in the?Baltimore Orioles 5-2 wild-card loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. John Paxson Bulls Jersey .Clevelands?Andrew Miller, who pitched in Baltimore in 2014, said he regards Showalter as one of the best in baseball at running a bullpen. He stood up for Showalter a day after the Orioles manager was vilified for losing to Toronto without putting All-Star closer Zach Britton in the game.Hes getting buried right now, but I tell people all the time how good he was, Miller told ESPN.com. Thats his reputation. Its not just me thats out there saying it. Today might not be the day to do it, but if you polled front-office guys who are out there, I think in general he would be as well-regarded as anybody at that particular skill.Showalter used Mychal Givens, Donnie Hart, Brad Brach,?Darren ODay?and Brian Duensing in relief of starter Chris Tillman before handing the ball to Ubaldo Jimenez with one out and the bases empty in the 11th inning. Jimenez allowed singles to Devon Travis and Josh Donaldson and an upper-deck home run to Edwin Encarnacion in a five-pitch span to allow Toronto to advance to the American League Division Series and end the Orioles season.Im as surprised as anybody Britton didnt find his way into that game, Miller said. But even with the earlier moves, ODay and Brach did such a good job, it almost looked like, Buck knows what hes doing. Hes got something going on. It just backfired. If it worked out, everybody would have said he was a genius and had it all figured out. Thats just the way it goes.Britton converted all 47 save opportunities during the regular season and finished with a 0.54 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. He made the All-Star team and is expected to receive support in both the AL Cy Young and Most Valuable Player voting.Showalter appeared to violate a cardinal rule by allowing a season to end without giving his best reliever an opportunity to pitch. As a result, his moves were a hot topic around baseball.Bucks in a tough spot, New York Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters before his teams National League wild-card matchup with?San Francisco. I didnt watch that much to see the ending of the game. But hes in a situation where, Does he save his closer if he gets the lead? If he uses him in the 10th, [the closer] is liable to get out of a jam. If the game goes 13 [innings] and they finally score, who is he going to run out there? And then hes going to be criticized for using his closer in a tie game.You know, its just the nature of the game. Hes one of the best if not the best in baseball, in my opinion, of running a game. So I feel bad hes being heavily criticized because he knows what hes doing.Before Wednesdays Division Series workout,?Boston?manager John Farrell said he wont hesitate to use closer Craig Kimbrel during the postseason in non-save situations on the road. Farrell employed the tactic several times with Kimbrel during the regular season.I think its a little tough to watch a guy like that stay in the bullpen, Kimbrel told reporters when asked about Britton. A lot of guys have been saying that today and even last night. Some of the moves [Showalter] made worked out great. They got great double plays in big situations. Its just one of those things: Do you want to wait, or do you want to keep your guy in there? Im glad we didnt have to make that decision. Toni Kukoc Bulls Jersey . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Dennis Rodman Jersey .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. http://www.officialbullsfanstore.com/ .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. LINCOLN, Neb. -- Tommy Armstrong Jr. isnt pouting over not being voted a team captain, even though he is going into his fourth year as Nebraskas starting quarterback and was a captain in 2015.Captains are chosen, leaders are born, Armstrong said Monday. Day one, Ive always been a leader here.The situation is similar to what happened at Michigan State last year, when veteran QB Connor Cook wasnt voted a captain. The difference is that Cook expressed disappointment and Armstrong did not.That title doesnt mean anything to me, he said, just because at the end of the day I know Im a leader.Receiver Jordan Westerkamp, center Dylan Utter, safety Nate Gerry and linebacker Josh Banderas were voted captains. Armstrong said he voted for Westerkamp, his roommate, rather than for himself and that each of the four captains was deserving.Coach Mike Riley acknowledged he was a bit taken aback when Armstrong wasnt chosen, and he gave him a heads-up before he spoke to the team.I didnt want him to be surprised, just a blunt announcement like that, Riley said. He is absolutely still a leader on the team and hes really well respected, and we can attest to that with the votes he got.Armstrong isnt the first veteran Nebraska quarterback to come up short on a captains vote. Tommie Frazier wasnt a captain when he led the Huskers to national championships in 1994 and 95, and neither was Scott Frost when he led them to a share of the 1997 title.Armstrongs charge this season is to help the Huskers bounce back from a 6-7 record in Rileys first year. The seniorr from Cibolo, Texas, goes into Saturdays opener at home against Fresno State 22-11 as the starter. Lauri Markkanen Jersey. . He matched his career high with 22 touchdown passes last season. He also had 16 interceptions, second most of any quarterback at a Power Five conference school.I think another year under his belt is a big, big deal, Riley said. Even through last year Tommy learned, progressed and played better probably in the last month. So I think he took that as a springboard into the opportunity to grow and play better this year.Though the Huskers feature one of the best receiving corps in the Big Ten, Riley and offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf plan to make use of Armstrongs running ability. That was on display in the Foster Farms Bowl win over UCLA when Armstrong ran 10 times for 76 yards.It is a great weapon used wisely and not probably over-used, Riley said. If we can get him on the edge and its one-on-one, then thats pretty good. With this guys ability, we cant pass it up, and he doesnt want to, either. He likes it.Armstrong ran 98 times for 400 yards last season. Its possible his rushing numbers will be closer to what they were in 2014, when he had 145 carries for 705 yards in Bo Pelinis last season.If my number is called, when we need first downs and things like that, Im ready for it, he said. This is one of the things thatll help our offense improve, by having another threat in the running game. ' ' '