Cubs second baseman Ben Zobrist leading off from corse178's blog
Five of ESPN. Custom Sacramento Kings Jerseys .coms MLB beat writers who cover teams battling for wild-card berths were asked to make a case for why their team will be playing a do-or-die playoff game in October. Below, Mark Saxon argues for the St. Louis Cardinals against fellow writers Eddie Matz (Baltimore Orioles), Andrew Marchand (New York Yankees), Katie Strang (Detroit Tigers) and Adam Rubin (New York Mets).For more on the other contenders, check out?Wild-card Wednesday.Saxon: If you believe the moral of the old fable The Tortoise and the Hare, then you buy that the Cardinals will reach the NL wild-card game. While the other two contenders, the Mets and Giants, have had wild swings of fortune, the Cardinals have just kept plodding along. Their longest losing streak is five games. Their longest winning streak is five games. They came one right after the other in mid-June. So all they have to do is continue their steady-as-it-goes approach and one of the other two contenders figures to beat itself. The other thing they have going for them: Starting Thursday, the best road team in baseball has 10 of its final 17 games away from Busch Stadium. If they get into the postseason, who knows? Maybe theyll finally get hot.Marchand: This does not feel like a classic Cardinals team. They have been great on the road, but that could be reaching its expiration point.Matz: As my mother will tell you, Im a good boy who follows directions, and my marching orders here were to shoot a hole in every one of these theories (except mine, of course). To do that, Im calling on my experience with logic puzzles back in Mrs. Harris fifth-grade math class. If the Mets and Cardinals arent wild cards (which, per my instructions, they cant be), then the wild cards must be the second-place NL West team (Giants or Dodgers) and the ... Marlins?Strang: The Cards had dropped four of their past six games heading into Tuesdays action, including Mondays loss, in which they mustered just one hit off Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks (who, granted, has been lights-out against pretty much everyone in recent months) and saw Matt Carpenter exit the game with back tightness. More concerning is that St. Louis still has another set against the Cubs before closing out the season with a seven-game homestand. That stretch at home should be a good thing, especially considering their caliber of competition -- except for the fact, as Saxon astutely pointed out, that the Cards have been awful at Busch Stadium this year.Rubin: We already covered the disparity in schedule strength the remainder of the season to justify why the Mets will reach the postseason over St. Louis. Now lets zero in on the Cardinals swoon, which is being fueled by inconsistent starting pitching, erratic defense and a glaring lack of setup men. Jaime Garcia produced an 8.06 ERA in a five-start stretch through last Thursday. Meanwhile, Aledmys Diaz has only a .957 fielding percentage, with 16 errors through 93 games at shortstop. Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Ben McLemore Jersey . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. http://www.kingsbasketballpro.com/Malachi-Richardson-Kings-Jersey/ . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. SAN DIEGO -- Chris Sale can admit it now: He was a little too in love with the strikeout.He led the American League last year with 274. But all those long counts cost him.I wanted to pitch more innings, get deeper into the games, the Chicago White Sox ace said Monday after he was announced to open the All-Star Game for the American League.As a starting pitcher, thats really the name of the game, is getting as deep into the game while giving your team a chance to win at the same time, he said.San Franciscos Johnny Cueto will start for the National League on Tuesday as the All-Stars return to San Diego for the first time since 1992.A 27-year-old left-hander, Sale is 14-3 with a 3.38 ERA and leads the major leagues in wins. He has 123 strikeouts -- third in the AL -- and just 26 walks in 125 innings. Batters are hitting .225 against him.In the past, he was a little bit more of a power pitcher, the Chicago Cubs Ben Zobrist said. If hes hitting spots a little bit more, that might change our ability to drive the ball.Cueto, a 30-year-old right-hander who left Kansas City to sign with the Giants last offseason, tops NL pitchers in victories. He is 13-1 with a 2.47 ERA, striking out 115 in 131 1/3 innings. He has won 10 consecutive decisions since an April 21 loss to Arizona.His path to the starting nod became clearer when Clayton Kershaw and Noah Syndergaard got hurt, Stephen Strasburg pulled out of the game because of a recent disabled list stint and Madison Bumgarner was ruled out because he started Sunday.I was just happy to be participating in the game, Cueto said through a translator. But Im very happy.Cueto impressed New York Mets manager Terry Collins with a two-hitter for Kansas City in Game 2 of last years World Series, the first complete game by an AL pitcher in the Series since Jack Morris in 1991.That was the best outing Ive ever seen him have, Collins said.Jake Arrieta of the Cubs was on track to get the honor, going 11-1 with a 1. Mitch Richmond Kings Jersey. 4 ERA through mid-June. But he lost three of his last four starts heading into the break.The last three outings, I havent pitched very well, he said. If I had took care of business, I probably would have been the starter or considered a little more highly.AL manager Ned Yosts batting order has Houston second baseman Jose Altuve leading off, followed by Angels center fielder Mike Trout, Baltimore third baseman Manny Machado, Boston designated hitter David Ortiz, Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts, Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez and Boston left fielder Jackie Bradley Jr.Collins has Cubs second baseman Ben Zobrist leading off, followed by Washington right fielder Bryce Harper, Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, San Diegos Wil Myers at designated hitter, San Francisco catcher Buster Posey, Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, Miami center fielder Marcell Ozuna, Colorado left fielder Carlos Gonzalez and Cubs shortstop Addison Russell.Ozuna and Gonzalez are replacements for the Cubs Dexter Fowler and the Mets Yoenis Cespedes, who are hurt.Yost said Corey Kluber, Cole Hamels, Aaron Sanchez and Jose Quintana will follow Sale to the mound.The AL will be the home team for the game at Petco Park because this is the second straight year of at least four in which the NL will host the All-Stars. The AL has a 10-3 advantage since the All-Star Game has determined home-field advantage in the World Series.Its vitally important, said Yost, whose Royals swept the first two games at Kauffman Stadium last year. Weve got a room full of tremendously talented players and if we win this game its going to affect somebody or somebodies in that room. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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