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TORONTO - No single loss, no matter how embarrassing, tipped the scales. Some of the worst hockey actually came in victories, and the ugly trend was impossible to ignore.Midway through a season of inconsistent play, the Toronto Maple Leafs fired Randy Carlyle, the old-school coach whose attempts to change his own style, and his teams, came to an abrupt end. Losers of seven of nine, the Leafs still found themselves in a playoff spot, something that underscores just how uneven theyve been through 40 games.Its been too much of a roller coaster, general manager Dave Nonis said Tuesday. Its not about one game or one stretch. We felt that we had to make that change today because of the direction this team is trending, that we need to move forward and try to get our team back to where it was when we were winning those games and do it on a consistent basis.Ultimately, inconsistency doomed Carlyle, a Stanley Cup-winning coach for the Anaheim Ducks in 2007 who led the Leafs to the playoffs in the lockout-shortened 2013 season, their only trip to the post-season in the past 10 years.This year, Toronto endured back-to-back blowout losses to the Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators and flipped the switch to go 9-1-1 in its next 11 games.Even in some of the wins, Carlyle knew the way his team was performing wouldnt hold up. The Leafs are 21-16-3 with 45 points but havent looked like anything more than borderline playoff contenders.Because of that, Nonis said management, which includes president Brendan Shanahan and assistant GM Kyle Dubas, had been discussing the possibility of firing Carlyle for a while. A 2-5-0 road trip was the final straw.I think wed all agree weve had some good periods, good stretches, but I dont think I can stand here front of you and say that weve been consistent, Nonis said. We just felt at this point this was the right time to make the change and move ahead and try to get this team back playing like we have played for periods this season.That responsibility now falls to Peter Horachek and Steve Spott, Torontos first-year assistant coaches who will be behind the bench for Wednesday nights game against the Washington Capitals. Horachek ran the first practice of the post-Carlyle era, but the team has not given him or Spott an official title.Theres also no clarity on how long Horachek and Spott will be in charge or if the Leafs intend to hire a full-time coach at some point this season. Several experienced ones are available, including Pete DeBoer, who was recently fired by the New Jersey Devils and has connections to Spott and winger David Clarkson.Nonis said his focus was telling Carlyle of the decision Monday night, not on his long-term replacement.Theres a right way and a wrong way of doing it, Nonis said. We havent gotten that far yet. Well spend the next couple of days looking at our options.The Leafs returned home from their road trip over the weekend and practised outdoors Monday. Players came to the rink Tuesday morning and found out Carlyle was gone.Understandably, players were surprised by at least the timing of the move. Winger Phil Kessel said he did not see this coming.Ive been here a while now and we go through these ups and downs, Kessel said. We havent been playing well; its not his fault. Hes a great coach, hes won a Cup and we didnt get it done for him.Captain Dion Phaneuf said players are always surprised at a big shake-up like this. But he also gets why it happened.In our business when you have the swings that weve had — we havent been able to find consistency as a team — and when you have a stretch of games that we just went through, when you have lost seven of nine, theres lots of questions being asked, Phaneuf said. As a team not being able to play well enough ... Randy has lost his job because of that.It seemed that little had changed over the past 18 months. Cracks formed in the Leafs even during their run to the playoffs in 2013, and they contributed to a disastrous run last spring.When the Leafs lost eight in a row in regulation and then 12 of the final 14 games to fall out of playoff contention, Carlyles job was in jeopardy. But Shanahan and Nonis opted to fire assistants Scott Gordon, Dave Farrish and Greg Cronin and even give Carlyle a contract extension.Even with the benefit of hindsight, Nonis said keeping Carlyle was the correct decision.Randy deserved to come back, Nonis said. He had done enough to come back. Weve seen him do good things. We saw him do some good things this season. Its not that hes not capable.The question now becomes what this group is capable of. The Leafs are in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, and its late enough in the season to say theyre squarely in the playoff race even with their inconsistencies and flaws.We all have respect for Randy, but at the same time its time for us to turn things around, goaltender Jonathan Bernier said. Its all about us right now.Bernier has proven capable covering up a lot of those flaws. And the ones he cant are masked by the offensive firepower led by Kessel, Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, Joffrey Lupul, Nazem Kadri and Cody Franson.Because of that talent, Nonis believes the Leafs are still in a decent position.This isnt throwing in the towel, Nonis said. We feel that this team has a chance to do some good things, and today was the first step in trying to push our team back in that direction.Carlyle, a native of Sudbury, Ont., went 91-78-19 in 188 games as Leafs coach over parts of four seasons. Hes the fourth coach to be fired this season, following Paul MacLean of the Ottawa Senators, Dallas Eakins of the Edmonton Oilers and DeBoer.Even in announcing Carlyles firing, Nonis called him an excellent coach whos capable of winning.Good coaches get let go, Nonis said. Hes a good man, a good coach and hell be back in this game quickly.Notes — The Leafs on Tuesday put forward Carter Ashton on waivers. Ashton was suspended earlier in the season for violating the league and NHLPAs performance-enhancing drug policy that he said came about after he used someone elses inhaler. Ashton has zero points in seven games this season ... Toronto Marlies forward Connor Brown was named to the AHL all-star roster. 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INJURIES - Cardinals 1B Matt Adams has been put on the DL with calf tightness, resulting in some lineup shifting, with Allen Craig moving from right field to first base, so that the Cardinals could bring up top prospect Oscar Taveras, who was the No. 3 prospect coming into the season, according to Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus. In 49 games at Triple-A, Taveras had 7 HR, 40 RBI, was hitting .325 with an .897 OPS. Hes already homered in his second major-league at-bat and if Taveras keeps hitting, the Cardinals will surely find a way to keep that bat in the lineup. - Bostons rotation is getting some new faces with LHP Felix Doubront and RHP Clay Buchholz on the DL. RHP Brandon Workman has taken one spot, but the more intriguing arm belongs to RHP Rubby De La Rosa, a power pitcher who struck out eight in seven shutout innings in his first major league start since 2011, when he underwent Tommy John surgery. De La Rosas average fastball was 95.0 MPH, a threshold surpassed by only a handful of starters this season. - Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira, who has been surprisingly productive with 9 HR, 25 RBI and a .242 AVG (.847 OPS) in 37 games, has suffered a setback with his ongoing wrist issues and will be evaluated Tuesday. If Tex has to go on the DL, that likely means more playing time for Kelly Johnson at first, though the Pinstripers could also shuffle Brian McCann there on occasion to get C J.R. Murphys bat into the lineup. Murphy has hit .348 with a .796 OPS in 18 games with the Yankees and had a .773 OPS in the minors last season (before hitting .192 with a .500 OPS in seven games at Triple-A this year). - With Mets CF Juan Lagares joining Eric Young Jr. on the DL, there is now an opportunity for 40-year-old Bobby Abreu, who is hitting .314 with an .880 OPS this season. - Rays RF Wil Myers is out with a sprained wrist. Hes struggled, hitting .227 with a .666 OPS in 53 games. Kevin Kiermaier get a crack at regular playing time and the 24-year-old already has a couple of home runs, thoguh hes been more about speed in the minors, hitting .305 with an .823 OPS and 11 stolen bases in 34 games at Triple-A. - Diamondbacks CF A.J. Pollock hitss the DL with a broken hand, and will miss six-to-eight weeks.dddddddddddd This creates an opportunity for 23-year-old Ender Inciarte, though he has a .380 OPS in 53 plate appearances thus far. He did hit .312 with an .807 OPS and seven steals in 26 games at Triple-A. - With 1B Nick Swisher and DH/3B/C Carlos Santana on the DL, keep an eye on 23-year-old 1B Jesus Aguilar, who had an .889 OPS at Triple-A before getting the call to the majors, where hes managed to hit .188 with a .488 OPS in his first 20 plate appearances. - Jeff Mathis will get some reps behind the plate for the Marlins while Jarrod Saltalamacchia recovers from a concussion. Mathis is hitting .300 with an .867 OPS this year, but hes a career .198 hitter (.573 OPS), so dont bank on that level of production continuing. - Royals 3B Danny Valencia went on the DL with a sprained left hand, giving Mike Moustakas a quick reprieve from his demotion to Triple-A. Moustakas mashed at Triple-A, hitting .355 with a .960 OPS in eight games, but hes been brutal with the Royals, hitting .148 with a .531 OPS. - Dodgers LF Carl Crawford has a sprained ankle, opening the door for Andre Ethier to get regular at-bats, playing centre field while Matt Kemp handles left. Ethier has hit a career-low .256 with a .708 OPS this season, but had an .826 OPS in May following a tough start (.618 OPS in March/April). GOOD ADDS (Available in at least 40% of TSN leagues) Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B/1B, Cleveland - 3 HR, 16 RBI, .361 AVG, 22 R, 133 AB (Available: 41.6%) Brock Holt, 3B, Boston - 1 HR, 11 RBI, .337 AVG, 12 R, 86 AB (Available: 96.4%) Lorenzo Cain, CF, Kansas City - 2 HR, 19 RBI, .328 AVG, 12 R, 122 AB (Available: 71.4%) Michael Saunders, RF, Seattle - 3 HR, 22 RBI, ..275 AVG, 24 R, 131 AB (Available: 86.8%) Kolten Wong, 2B, St. Louis - 0 HR, 11 RBI, .268 AVG, 12 R, 8 SB, 123 AB (Available: 72.5%) Collin McHugh, RHP, Houston - 3-3, 2.80 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 50 K, 45 IP (Available: 80.9%) Jaime Garcia, LHP, St. Louis - 1-0, 4.12 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 19 K, 19 2/3 IP (Available: 72.5%) Cody Allen, RHP, Cleveland - 2-1, 3.24 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 29 K, 23 1/3 IP (Available: 65.0%) Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '