Rob Waddell said he was disappointed the village wasnt quite re

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. Swell Waterfles . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Swell Waterfles Nederland .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. http://www.swellnederlandkopen.com/ . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Swell Waterfles Kopen . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Swell Nederland . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Australias Olympic team leader is keeping the delegations 700 athletes or staff out of the Athletes Village for at least two days, citing electrical and plumbing problems in the sprawling complex less than two weeks before the start of the games in Rio de Janeiro.Electricity and water is not a good combination, Kitty Chiller told reporters Sunday, when the village was set to be officially opened for athletes.Chiller said this was her fifth Olympics, and she came down hard on village preparations.I have never experienced a village in this state -- or lack of state -- of readiness at this point in time, she said.The 31-building village is expected to house 18,000 athletes and officials at the height of the games. It was not clear how many athletes were housed in the village on Sunday.This is the latest problem for the games, which have been hit by concern about the Zika virus, security threats, water pollution and severe budget cuts.Chiller and Australian team spokesman Mike Tancred described a wide array of plumbing, electrical and cleaning issues at the Village. Tancred said 10 of the 31 buildings were determined to be inhabitable.Were having plumbing problems, weve got leaking pipes, Tancred told AP. Weve got electrical problems. Weve got cleaning problems. Weve got lighting problems in some of the stairwells. We did a stress test on Saturday, turned on the taps and flushed the toilets, and water came flooding down the walls.Chiller listed the same problems, and added more.There was a strong smell of gas in some apartments and there was `shorting in the electrical wiring, she said. We have been living in nearby hotels because the village is simply not safe or ready.Chiller said six Australian athletes due to arrive Monday and 50 on Tuesday would temporarily stay in hotels or other accommodation. She said she hopes they can move into the village quickly, and sounded encouraged.I am reasonably confident that we will be able enter the village on Wednesday, she said.She described other amenities in the village as among the best.This is one of the most beautiful villages Ive ever been in, she said. It looks spectacular. There are just teething issues in some of the service inside the building.Several teams are hiring tradesmen to fix the problems, and some may look for compensation from organizers.Italian team leader Carlo Mornati said his national Olympic committee, CONI, had been hiring workmen to carry out repairs for days.Among these unfinished areas are also a few apartments in block 20, the one to be used by Italy, and where manual workers, electricians, plumbers and bricklayers -- hired by CONI officials there as a matter of urgency -- have been working over the past few days so that the athletes accommodation can be brought up to normal conditions as soon as possible, he said in a statement.ddddddddddddThe U.S. Olympic Committee acknowledged there were small problems.As is the case with every games, were working with the local organizers to address minor issues and make sure the village is ready for Team USA athletes, spokesman Patrick Sandusky told the AP.The International Olympic Committee and local organizers held emergency talks Sunday and said athletes with unfinished rooms would be placed in the best available accommodation in other buildings, estimating that fixing the problems will take another few days.Local reports said about 5 percent of the 3,600 apartments had gas, water and electrical faults, and some were without toilet fixtures.Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes took a shot at the Australians at the opening on Sunday.This is an incredible village, more beautiful and better than Sydney, he said, referring to the 2000 Olympics in Australia. He said he was tempted to put a kangaroo jumping outside to make them happy.The village contains tennis courts, soccer fields, seven swimming pools with mountains and the sea as a backdrop.The apartments are to be sold after the Olympics with some prices reaching $700,000. The development cost about $1.5 billion, built by Brazilian billionaire Carlos Carvalho.New Zealand team leader Rob Waddell said he was disappointed the village wasnt quite ready and it hasnt been easy.Our team has had to get stuck in to get the job done, Waddell said. Its been fair to say there has been more work than we anticipated with the building ... but weve got it to a space now that it will be just fine for athletes when they turn up.New Zealands Olympic rowing champion Mahe Drysdale, who said he was the first athlete from any country to enter the village, added facilities were in need of a few finishing touches.Already taken ownership of the Village being the very first athlete from any country to arrive and get through the gates, Drysdale said on Instagram. All is good.Few finishing touches still to be made but when you arrive at 5am on opening day, you cant expect it to be perfect.---AP Sports Writer Steve McMorran contributed from Wellington, New Zealand.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP .His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade ' ' '