After a strained start, relations between the Administration and Beijing appear to have improved in recent weeks.
Couric got off to a strained start, proving to be a halting reader of the teleprompter and a tense clutcher of the ceremonial pen and shuffler of the ceremonial papers.
Aides to Mr. Roh have expressed concern recently over the potential for a badly strained start to relations with the Bush administration and were eager to send a friendly and businesslike message to Washington even before the new government here takes office in February.
Olave, who missed Wednesday night's conference semifinal against Seattle with a strained right quadriceps, started and played 82 minutes.
The strained '40s-speak starts to recede in the third episode (four were sent to critics), and, not coincidentally, the performances begin to improve — what looked like community theater acting in the pilot suddenly seems more natural.
BLUE JAYS 5, RED SOX 0 Boston's John Lackey left with a strained biceps in his first start since September 2011, grabbing his right arm in pain and coming out in the fifth inning of Boston's loss to host Toronto.
Greinke, whose spring was hampered by a strained calf, made his first start of the season Tuesday for the Dodgers, and if the complete package wasn't exactly ace material, at least it was in the neighborhood.
Andy Pettitte, who has recovered from a strained left elbow, will start the home opener that Friday against Tampa Bay.
Bell, who has a bruised left knee and a strained groin, did not start last night's game against the Houston Astros and he conceded that he could miss several games.
He signed an executive order that banned excessive interrogation techniques; ordered the closing of the controversial military detention facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, within a year (a deadline that was not met); proposed a "fresh start" to strained relations with Russia; and traveled to Cairo in June 2009 to deliver a historic speech in which he reached out to the Muslim world.
After the game, Girardi confirmed that the 38-year-old right-hander Bartolo Colon, who has been on the disabled list since June 12 with a strained left hamstring, would start Saturday against the Mets at Citi Field instead of Brian Gordon, the well-traveled fill-in.
