CLEVELAND -- On his way out to the field for pregame batting practice, Jason Kipnis hung a hard right in the Indians clubhouse to give Jason Giambi a big hug. Cheap Authentic Jordan Shoes . "Great to see you," Kipnis told Clevelands respected designated hitter. "You, too, little brother," Giambi said. Big G is back with the Indians. Almost. Sidelined since spring training by a fractured rib, Giambi has been cleared to play and is scheduled to be activated from the disabled list Monday, when the Indians open a four-game series with the Kansas City Royals. The 43-year-old recently played in several games in a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment at Double-A Akron, a stop that helped his swing and also brought back memories of his path to the big leagues. "Sometimes you forget the grind," Giambi said. "Its been 20 years since I was a minor leaguer." While he was with the Aeros, Giambi and teammate Michael Bourn, who was with him to rehab a strained hamstring, treated the minor leaguers to several meals and found themselves serving up advice to some of the youngsters in Clevelands system. It comes naturally to Giambi, who is still playing but may one day try his hand at managing. He was a finalist for Colorados opening before signing with the Indians before last season. "Id like to, but the universe will determine that, not me," Giambi said with a laugh at his locker. "I love the nuances of the game and being a part of that. Ive played for some of the greatest managers in the game, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre and Tito (Terry Francona) and Jim Tracy." Giambi said hes ready to play, but the Indians will wait until after the weekend. Giambi took batting practice before Fridays series opener against Toronto and looked to be himself while launching several home runs into the right-field seats. The Indians have opened 7-8 without Giambi, and Francona said his presence has been missed inside the clubhouse, dugout and on the field. "Guys know hes there," Francona said. "Shoot, I know hes there. Because G is never going to back down from anybody and that doesnt mean you have to fight or anything. But its a nice teammates to have around. He can be a settling influence. He can kick somebody in the pants. Hes a great guy to have around. "Believe me, I wouldnt say all these things if they werent true. This is how I feel." Giambi injured his rib during spring training and was placed on the DL on March 30. While he batted just .183 last season, he hit nine homers and drove in 31 runs in 186 at-bats. Giambi also provided perhaps the seasons signature moment, when he belted a pinch-hit homer in the 10th inning to beat Chicago on Sept. 24. The homer helped propel the Indians to their first playoff appearance since 2007. While some fans look only at Giambis statistics and wonder why the Indians would dedicate a roster spot to an aging, situational hitter, Francona says Giambis impact goes way beyond numbers. "G can change the game in the batters box," Francona said. "Hes not here to hit .300, that would be great. But hes here to change the game with one of his swings and he has the ability to do that." Cheap Jordans Free Shipping . Playing in his fourth major league game, Polanco broke a tie in the 13th inning with his first homer, helping Pittsburgh to an 8-6 victory over the Miami Marlins after the Pirates had a ninth-inning meltdown. Cheap Jordan Shoes From China . The third-ranked Buckeyes were down eight points to Notre Dame with less than 2 minutes to play and their offence was nowhere to be found. http://www.cheapjordanfreeshipping.com/ .com) - After Tom Brady added to an already illustrious legacy, Malcolm Butler established his by leaving the Seattle Seahawks, well, deflated.Part of handling fantasy advice, when it comes to the NHL, is answering inevitable questions about whether a certain player will bounce back or keep up his current pace. One of the first things I want to do is find out whether or not a player is getting chances and one of the first places Ill look is to shots on goal per game. For some players, this can be revealing of a change in role -- more ice time, better linemates, power play time, whatever -- and an indication that, indeed, that offensive breakout is supported by underlying stats or, on the other hand, that there is jusfication for lowering expectations. Comparing last season to the current season, I picked out 114 players that have played at least 10 games in each season and had more than a half-shot-per-game difference, either positively or negatively. Some of these players played little bits in either season, which present sample size issues (for example, Erik Karlssons 4.65 shots on goal per game in 17 games last year was going to be crazy difficult to maintain over a larger sample of games), but the indicator is the objective here -- finding out whether the change in production might be supported by taking a step further back to gauge shots generated. Among those recording the largest per-game increases, David Perron, Chris Kreider and Ryan Kesler have been tremendous contributors to their teams, but scanning through the list, players like Mike Santorelli, Jaden Schwartz, Andrej Sekera, Jason Garrison and Alex Ovechkin are among those whose improved production is supported by their increased shot output. Perron has been even better than expected for the Oilers, and has been one of their leaders lately, but hes generating far more than he ever did in St. Louis. Santorelli and Schwartz are playing more significant roles this season (Schwartz in part because of Perrons departure), while Sekera has been asked to handle more puckhandling responsibility on Carolinas shallow blueline. Ovechkin is back to launching shots at the rate that made him the games premier goal-scorer. On the other hand, there are players that have struggled to this point in the year and their shot numbers suggest thats to be expected. David Clarkson, Matt Moulson, Alexander Semin and Jiri Tlusty are among those forwards to see the biggest declines in their shots per game compared to last season. No surprise, then, that their goal and point production is down too. The move to Buffalo has not been kind to Matt Moulson and David Clarksons decision to sign in Toronto has come with some pains as he has been suspended for a dozen games and, due to injuries, hasnt established a steady combination of linemates. Semin and Tlusty were part of one of the leagues best lines last season, with Eric Staal, but Staals production has improved this year only once they were no longer playing together. There are some surprises on these respective ends of the shooting spectrum, because their production hasnt been dramatically affected. Matt DAgostini has been getting an opportunity to play in a scoring role since he was picked up by the Buffalo Sabres, but is sitting on one point in 15 games this season, despite a respectable shot total. Anaheims Matt Beleskey is generating more shots than ever before, but has just one goal thanks to scoring on just 2.9% of his shots thus far. The Blues T.J. Oshie has been rolling along for much of the season, racking up points alongside Alexander Steen and David Backes, but Oshie also has just four goals in 31 games, thanks to both a career-low shooting percentage (7.8%) and career-low in shots per game (1.65). I cite these examples to show that changes in shot production dont automatically mean a players point production is automatically destined to follow. Nevertheless, I like shots on goal as an indicator, a first place to look before digging deeper, if necessary. The players with the widest shot-per-game differences from last season (minimum 10 games played in both seasons): Player Pos. Team 12-13 Sh/GP 13-14 Sh/GP Differential David Perron Edmonton LW 1.75 3.45 1.70 Chris Kreider N.Y. Rangers LW 0.83 2.44 1.61 Ryan Kesler Vancouver C 2.12 3.66 1.54 Nathan Gerbe Carolina LW 1.52 3.03 1.51 Tyler Johnson Tampa Bay C 0.79 2.18 1.39 Chris Higgins Vancouver LW 1.88 3.17 1.29 Jeff Carter Los Angeles RW 2.77 3.83 1.06 Mike Santorelli Vancouver C 1.03 1.97 0.94 Matt DAgostini Buffalo RW 1.14 2.07 0.93 Jamie Benn Dallas LW 2.68 3.61 0.93 Andrej Sekera Carolina D 0.89 1.81 0.92 Jaden Schwartz St. Louis LW 1.11 2.03 0.92 Lee Stempniak Calgary RW 2.40 3.31 0.91 Matt Beleskey Anaheim LW 1.45 2.33 0.88 Brad Richards N.Y. Rangers C 2.39 3.26 0.87 Philip Larsen Edmonton D 0.94 1.79 0.85 Mark Giordano Calgary D 1.23 2.07 0.84 Mathieu Perreault Anaheim C 1.21 2.03 0.82 Ryan Smyth Edmonton LW 1.47 2.28 0.81 Ryan Garbutt Dallas LW 1.64 2.44 0.80 Eric Nystrom Nashville LW 1.00 1.80 0.80 Jason Garrison Vancouver D 2.00 2.80 0.80 John Carlson Washington D 2.02 2.82 0.80 Matt Gilroy Florida D 0.93 1.69 0.76 Phil Kessel Toronto RW 3.35 4.09 0.74 Matt Read Philadelphia RW 1.72 2.44 0.72 Brandon Dubinsky Columbus C 1.72 2.44 0.72 Corey Perry Anaheim RW 2.91 3.63 0.72 Alex Ovechkin Washington RW 4.58 5.29 0.71 Patrick Sharp Chicago LW 3.14 3.83 0.69 Logan Couture San Jose C 3.15 3.82 0.67 Dan Hamhuis Vancouver D 1.30 1.97 0.67 James Neal Pittsburgh RW 3.40 4.06 0.66 Adam Pardy Winnipeg D 0.35 1.00 0.65 Marian Hossa Chicago RW 2.90 3.55 0.65 Chris Kunitz Pittsburgh LW 2.35 3.00 0.65 Kris Russell Calgary D 1.24 1.88 0.64 Reilly Smith Boston RW 0.92 1.55 0.63 Ryan Johansen Columbus C 2.10 2.73 0.63 Patrick Marleau San Jose LW 3.13 3.76 0.63 Martin Hanzal Phoenix C 2.38 3.00 0.62 Pavel Datsyuk Detroit C 2.28 2.89 0.61 Craig Smith Nashville RW 1. Cheap Jordan Wholesale Shoes. 89 2.50 0.61 Mike Cammalleri Calgary LW 2.32 2.92 0.60 John Moore N.Y. Rangers D 0.97 1.56 0.59 Dan Boyle San Jose D 2.11 2.69 0.58 David Schlemko Phoenix D 1.17 1.75 0.58 Clarke MacArthur Ottawa LW 1.55 2.12 0.57 Mason Raymond Toronto LW 1.72 2.29 0.57 Jonathan Ericsson Detroit D 0.76 1.32 0.56 Andrew Shaw Chicago RW 1.33 1.88 0.55 Matt Irwin San Jose D 2.08 2.62 0.54 Duncan Keith Chicago D 1.94 2.47 0.53 Ryan OReilly Colorado LW 2.28 2.81 0.53 Anze Kopitar Los Angeles C 2.09 2.62 0.53 Kyle Turris Ottawa C 2.46 2.97 0.51 Tom Gilbert Florida D 0.84 1.35 0.51 Alex Tanguay Colorado RW 1.11 1.62 0.51 Brent Seabrook Chicago D 1.38 1.89 0.51 Ryan Malone Tampa Bay LW 1.54 2.04 0.50 Stephane Robidas Dallas D 0.96 1.46 0.50 Nazem Kadri Toronto C 2.23 1.73 -0.50 Tim Kennedy Phoenix LW 1.85 1.35 -0.50 Brad Marchand Boston LW 2.02 1.52 -0.50 T.J. Oshie St. Louis RW 2.17 1.65 -0.52 Luke Schenn Philadelphia D 1.72 1.20 -0.52 Peter Harrold New Jersey D 1.57 1.05 -0.52 Damien Brunner New Jersey RW 2.80 2.27 -0.53 Erik Johnson Colorado D 2.06 1.52 -0.54 Paul Gaustad Nashville C 1.52 0.97 -0.55 David Booth Vanouver LW 2.25 1.70 -0.55 Shawn Matthias Florida C 2.21 1.65 -0.56 Kyle Brodziak Minnesota C 1.84 1.26 -0.58 Troy Brouwer Washington RW 2.36 1.76 -0.60 Jack Johnson Columbus D 2.18 1.58 -0.60 Dany Heatley Minnesota RW 2.31 1.71 -0.60 Patrik Elias New Jersey LW 2.46 1.85 -0.61 Daniel Girardi N.Y. Rangers D 1.76 1.15 -0.61 Jannik Hansen Vancouver RW 2.11 1.48 -0.63 Patric Hornqvist Nashville RW 3.63 3.00 -0.63 Richard Clune Nashville RW 0.98 0.35 -0.63 Andrei Loktionov New Jersey C 1.68 1.03 -0.65 Dan Cleary Detroit LW 1.94 1.29 -0.65 Brian Flynn Buffalo RW 1.88 1.23 -0.65 Jonathan Huberdeau Florida LW 2.33 1.67 -0.66 Drayson Bowman Carolina LW 1.84 1.16 -0.68 Shane OBrien Calgary D 1.00 0.31 -0.69 Pierre-Cedric Labrie Tampa Bay LW 0.84 0.15 -0.69 Lauri Korpikoski Phoenix LW 2.31 1.61 -0.70 Scott Gomez Florida C 1.49 0.79 -0.70 Francois Beauchemin Anaheim D 1.54 0.84 -0.70 Ryan Callahan N.Y. Rangers RW 3.20 2.50 -0.70 Josh Bailey N.Y. Islanders LW 2.00 1.27 -0.73 Marian Gaborik Columbus RW 3.21 2.47 -0.74 Brad Richardson Vancouver C 1.68 0.94 -0.74 Trevor Lewis Los Angeles RW 1.92 1.16 -0.76 Cody McLeod Colorado LW 1.65 0.88 -0.77 Jiri Tlusty Carolina LW 2.44 1.65 -0.79 Martin Erat Washington LW 1.53 0.73 -0.80 Martin Havlat San Jose RW 2.23 1.42 -0.81 Alexander Semin Carolina RW 3.41 2.59 -0.82 Daniel Paille Boston LW 1.52 0.67 -0.85 Magnus Paajarvi Edmonton LW 1.79 0.92 -0.87 Daniel Briere Montreal RW 2.56 1.68 -0.88 Mark Letestu Columbus C 2.00 1.06 -0.94 Jamie McGinn Colorado LW 2.72 1.75 -0.97 Matt Moulson Buffalo LW 3.28 2.29 -0.99 Ryan Wilson Colorado D 1.92 0.80 -1.12 Mikael Backlund Calgary C 2.75 1.63 -1.12 Carl Hagelin N.Y. Rangers LW 2.75 1.63 -1.12 Zac Dalpe Vancouver C 1.80 0.63 -1.17 Erik Karlsson Ottawa D 4.65 3.12 -1.53 David Clarkson Toronto RW 3.75 2.17 -1.58 Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. 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