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Опубликовано 17 Декабря 2016, 12:12:20
Thursday night, the Blue Jays not only dropped out of first place in the American League East, they also fell below the threshold of qualifying for either of the two Wild Card spots in the American League. Their 4-1 loss at Oakland to kick off the 10-game road trip coupled with Baltimores 5-2 win at home over Texas put the Jays in secondnd place place in the East, one percentage point back of the Orioles. It also dropped them behind the second and third place teams in the West, the Angels and the Mariners, who now hold those Wild Card slots. With 75 games still to play, its really too early to stress over that, but it did get me thinking about the West. Major League Baseball didnt come to the left coast until 1958 when the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers moved there in tandem to cash in on a new and expanding market. The American League didnt get a west coast club until the league expanded in 1961 adding the Los Angeles Angels and the new Washington Senators, essentially replacing the team that moved to Minnesota. There have been 53 seasons where it was possible for two west coast teams to have met in the World Series, from 1961 through 2013. Over that span there have only been four true western World Series. In 1974, the Oakland As won their third Fall Classic in a row, beating the Dodgers 4 games to 1. In 1988, 14 years later, Orel Hershizer, Kirk Gibson and the rest of the Dodgers upset Oakland 4 games to 1. The following year, 1989 in the infamous "Earthquake" series, the As swept the Giants in four-straight. Finally in 2002, the Angels beat Barry Bonds and the Giants in seven games for their one and only World Series title in their 42nd year of existence. Two teams that have never met in the World Series are the Dodgers and the Angels. Could it possibly happen this year? Well, its not so far-fetched. The Dodgers have won seven of their last 10 and have climbed over the Giants into first in the NL West by a half-game. They also have the second-best record in the National League to Milwaukee. The Dodgers hitting stats are pretty impressive. Theyve scored 367 runs, fourth in the Senior Circuit, but second to Milwaukee in terms of teams holding playoff positions, They are third in team batting average in the National at .257 and third in OPS at .729. But its in the pitching department where they really impress. They are second in pitching ERA to Washington at 3.23. Theyve made 57 quality starts and four of their five starters have won at least eight games. The other, Josh Beckett has five wins and a no-hitter to his credit. The leader of the staff, and the best pitcher in the Majors right now, Clayton Kershaw, has nine victories and a no-hitter, in a near perfect game of his own. They have some flaws and a worrisome shoulder issue with shortstop Hanley Ramirez, but right now, the Dodgers look like the best all-around team in the National League with apologies to the Brewers. Over in the American League, the Angels have won eight of their last 11 and have closed to within three-and-a-half games back of Oakland in the West. They have latched on to that first Wild Card slot. The Halos are second in hitting in the American League behind the As. They have scored 408 runs, four more than the Blue Jays with three games in hand. Theyre also tied with Oakland in home runs with 91. They also have a .749 OPS behind only the Tigers and Blue Jays. The Angels pitching staff isnt as deep as the Dodgers, but their top three starters Jared Weaver, C.J Wilson and Garrett Richards have combined for 26 wins. They are fourth in team ERA in the AL at 3.86 and have made 47 quality starts. Their bullpen has been up and down, but skipper Mike Scioscia is hoping Joe Smith and Jason Grilli, who was just picked up from Pittsburgh, can do the job at closing time. The big plus-factor with both the Angels and Dodgers is hungry ownership. Arte Moreno bought the Angels from Disney in 2003, the year after they won that World Series over the Giants, They havent been back to the Fall Classic under his stewardship. The Dodgers ownership group, which includes Magic Johnson, bought the club in 2012 for a record $2 billion. They are determined to win a championship, something the Dodgers havent done since 1988. The Angels, who have played out of Orange County for the bulk of their existence have nearly always played second fiddle to the Dodgers in the L.A. market. The Dodgers hold the single game attendance record of 115,300, when they played their season opener at the old Memorial Coliseum as part of a charity fund-raising event. But the Angels are no slouches in the attendance department either. Last year marked their 11th-straight season of drawing at least 3 million fans. They have also had 30 seasons of drawing 2 million, which is second in Major League history to only the mighty Yankees. We havent had a so-called "Cross-town" World Series since 2000, when the Yankees beat the Mets in the battle of New York. The White Sox and Cubs havent done it since 1906, when the " no-hit wonder " White Sox defeated the Cubs. These kinds of match-ups are few and far between.They used to be commonplace in the early 20s and late 40s and throughout the 50s, when the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants all held sway in New York. Im not saying the Angels and Dodgers are definately going to meet in the World Series, but there is a decent shot, and it would provide some great storylines and some compelling viewing and listening. - The Yankees are a hard team to get a handle on. Theyre sitting at .500 at 42-42 in the A.L. East and theyve lost five more than theyve won at home.Yet for all of that, in Derek Jeters final season, they are still only three-and-a-half games back of the Orioles and Jays in the division. Still, what appears to be the weakest Yankees team in four decades will have to decide soon whether to become a buyer or seller at the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. The new that C.C Sabathia has been shut down indefinately with a flair up of his swollen knee again, has got to have them thinking about next year and beyond. Still, they are the Yankees and this is Jeters final season. Stay tuned. Joel Bitonio Browns Jersey .Y. -- Kristen Gillman rallied to win the U. Dwayne Bowe Browns Jersey . The top-ranked Djokovic also beat Gael Monfils and then routed Roger Federer en route to his first Abu Dhabi title. "Its always great to win a title. This is the best way to start the 2012 season," Djokovic said. http://www.brownsauthenticproshop.com/Youth-Josh-Gordon-Browns-Jersey/ .com) - The top spot in the AFC South will be on the line when Houston native Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts shoot for their fourth straight win when they take on the Texans at NRG Stadium. Carl Nassib Browns Jersey . In sunny and almost windless conditions, the Swede shot four consecutive birdies on the front nine on his way to a 68 and went 9 under for a one-shot lead over Englands Lee Slattery and two over Paraguays Farbrizio Zanotti (68). Custom Browns Jersey . -- The Orlando Magic finally are showing the patience in critical moments that coach Jacque Vaughn has been waiting for all season.Green Bay, WI - Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will again watch from the sideline on Sunday when his teammates take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Rodgers was limited in practice Friday and has not yet been medically cleared to play as the former MVP continues his recovery from a fractured collarbone. Matt Flynn will again get the start Sunday with Rodgers set to miss a seventh straight game. "I thought Aaron Rodgers did everything he possibly could, but this is an organizational decision," said McCarthy on Friday. "As an organization we are not ready for him to play. Im not going to get into ifs and buts and who made what decision. Matt Flynn is the starter and were excited to play the Pittsburgh Steelers." Rodgers has been practicing in earnest each of the last two weeks. He had hoped to play last Sunday against Dallas, but remained sidelined and watched as Flynn rallied the Packers to a 37-36 victory that kept Green Bayss playoff hopes very much alive.dddddddddddd The Packers now control their own postseason destiny, as wins over the Steelers and Chicago Bears over the final two weeks would give Green Bay the NFC North title. Flynn has led Green Bay to back-to-back victories, both one-point decisions. The Packers held on for a 22-21 win over Atlanta in Week 14 before last weeks 23-point rally against the Cowboys. Over those two starts, he has completed 50-of-71 passes for 557 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions. Rodgers has not played since sustaining his injury on the opening drive of Green Bays eventual 27-20 loss to rival Chicago on Nov. 4. The Packers proceeded to go 0-3-1 over the next four weeks with their star signal-caller on the shelf, before to turning things around the past two games. Packers running back Eddie Lacy was also limited in practice and listed as probable as he battles an ankle issue. Defensive tackle Johnny Jolly wont play because of a shoulder/neck injury. Wholesale NFL Jerseyscheap nfl jerseys ' ' '
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