wanglei
Mater Blaster
Joined: 01 November 2017
Posts: 1102
|
| Posted: 10 November 2017 at 03:38 | IP Logged
|
|
|
ST. LOUIS - Even with an ever-shifting roster, the St. Louis Cardinals have a chance to reach the NL Championship Series for the fourth straight year.When we show up at spring training every year we set our goal to win the World Series, ace Adam Wainwright said Wednesday. Anything else is silly. What else are you playing for if thats not the goal.The Cardinals repeated as NL Central champions and made it to the post-season for the 11th time in 15 years by overcoming a sputtering offence and injuries to Yadier Molina, Michael Wacha and Jaime Garcia. The profile is one of resiliency heading into an NL Division Series against the Dodgers that starts Friday at Los Angeles, which will start two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw.Im pitching against the Dodgers. All this me vs. Kershaw stuff is blown way out of proportion, Wainwright said. I understand its good TV.Molina missed two months with a torn ligament in his right thumb, Wacha missed two months with a shoulder injury. Garcia lasted just 12 starts before surgery to relieve nerve compression.Molinas injury had the potential to be devastating but A.J. Pierzynski and Tony Cruz filled the void, and the Cardinals moved into the division lead for good two days after Molina returned in late August.I thought our guys did a nice job considering all of baseball said we couldnt win a game without him, manager Mike Matheny said. Thats a knock on the rest of the guys. They realize that this stuff happens and youve just got to figure out a way to keep going.Four straight postseasons is a franchise best for the 90-win Cardinals, who won the 2011 World Series in Tony La Russas final season.Though the team expects to be a contender, Mike Matheny said theres no arrogance in the clubhouse.The conversations we had as we were popping champagne was, Dont take this for granted because theres some guys who had incredible careers who have never done it one time, the manager said. This will be the last time for somebody in here. Thats just kind of the facts. The game will humble you if you start taking the perspective that this is just going to happen all the time.This time last fall, Pat Neshek was looking for work, Jhonny Peralta was rebuilding his reputation with the Tigers, Randal Grichuk was a future throw-in in a deal that sent former October hero David Freese packing and John Lackey was about to augment his reputation as a big-game pitcher by beating the Cardinals twice in the World Series.All four figure to play key roles against the high-spending Dodgers.We battled through the ups and downs and we got there, first baseman Matt Adams said. I think what helps us is knowing the core group of guys on this team have been in the playoffs basically every year.Peralta hit a team-high 21 homers and has been smooth at shortstop. Grichuk batted .320 the final month with two homers and four RBIs, playing his way into a platoon with top prospect Oscar Taveras. Grichuk likely will start the opener.I really just try to go up there and play with confidence, Grichuk said. I looked terrible when I first was up here. I decided, Hey, Ive got to play my game.The 35-year-old Lackey went deep his last two starts and will start Game 3 Monday in St. Louis.Neshek, 34, signed a minor league deal in February and the side-armer morphed into a first-time All-Star. Nesheks ERA was under 1.00 until late August, and he had six saves on days off for closer Trevor Rosenthal. Todd Frazier Jersey . The team sent out a press release on Friday stating Poile was resting and recovering and that he will remain in hospital for further observation. The Predators were preparing for the game against the Wild when Poile was hit by a puck that flew off the ice at him where he was standing in a tunnel behind the bench. Sonny Gray Jersey . Especially after he got ejected. "How many innings was that?" he wondered. http://www.yankeesauthorityshop.com/Michael-Pineda-Jersey/ . Burkes Flames are one of several teams involved in heavy trade speculation going into next Wednesdays 3pm et deadline, with the most prominent name in play being forward Michael Cammalleri. Chris Carter Jersey . He made that dream a reality Wednesday night. Olt, who grew up in Branford, Connecticut, attended UConn and made a nearly 2 1-2 hour trek to Boston a handful of times to watch the Red Sox, belted a two-run homer, one of four hit by Cubs in a 16-9 rout that completed a three-game interleague series sweep. Joe DiMaggio Jersey . - Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Jason Babin is now a free agent.Another young Lightning forward lights the lamp and a Nashville veteran is on a roll; lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Cedric Paquette – The Lightning centre had a hat trick in a 5-1 win over Detroit, giving him eight points (4 G, 4 A) in the past nine games. Paquette isn’t a huge scorer, but is earning a bigger role, playing 14:49 per game in January (13:26 in December, 11:35 in October/November). Mike Fisher – After scoring two goals and an assist in a 5-4 shootout loss at St. Louis, the Predators centre now has 10 points (6 G, 4 A) in the past nine games. With 21 points (11 G, 10 A) in 26 games thjis season, Fisher is scoring at a career-best rate of 0.81 points per game. While some of that is attributable to his career-high shooting percentage (19.0%) and power-play production (five PP goals), Fisher’s on-ice shooting percentage (8.8%) is pretty standard, even a little below-average for his time in Nashville. Matt Fraser, Anton Lander – Both Oilers forwards had a goal and two assists in a 3-2 win against Buffalo. In 12 games with the Oilers, Fraser has seven points (3 G, 4 A) while Lander has seven points (1 G, 6 A) in the past 10 games. ZEROES Carl Hagelin – The speedy Rangers winger was buried in the defensive zone (4 shot attempts for, 20 against, 16.7%) at even strength against the Canadiens. Brendan Smith, Xavier Ouellet – The Red Wings’ defence pairing was on for three even-strength goals against, with sub-40% puck possession in a 5-1 loss at Tampa Bay, getting beat up by the line of Paquette, Jonathan Drouin and Alex Killorn. Goalies: Ilya Bryzgalov – Surrendered six goals on 25 shots in Anaheim’s 6-2 loss at San Jose. In five games this season, Bryzgalov has stopped 89 of 107 shots (.832 SV%), which isn’t offering much relief for starter Frederik Andersen. Petr Mrazek – The Red Wings goaltender allowed five goals on 15 shots in a 5-1 loss to Tampa Bay. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Patrik Berglund, Jori Lehtera – Both Blues forwards left Thursday’s win over Nashville with injuries. While we await updates, the Blues have recalled Ty Rattie from the AHL, where he had 28 points (17 G, 11 A) and 135 shots on goal in 43 games. Joffrey Lupul – Returned to the Maple Leafs lineup for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury on December 31. He played only 10:30, his second-lowest ice time of the season (ahead of the previous game when he was injured) and failed to get a shot on goal. Chris VandeVelde – The Flyers winger played 15:02 against Winnipeg – the second time in 38 games that he surpassed 15 minutes – and scored a goal, his fourth in the past five games. Mattias Ekholm – Played a career-high 24:44 on the Predators blueline in a 5-4 shootout loss at St. Louis. David Legwand – The veteran centre has been a healthy scratch in back-to-back games for the Senators. His ice time has been falling, to 8:33 the last game he dressed, but he’s also put up five points (1 G, 4 A) in his past six games. SHORT SHIFTS Bruins C David Krejci had a pair of assists in a 5-2 win at the Islanders; he has 13 points (2 G, 11 A) in the past 13 games…Bruins LW Milan Lucic had a goal and two assists and has 10 points (5 G, 5 A) in the past nine games…Islanders C John Tavares had a goal and an assist, with nine shots on goal, in the loss, giving him nine points (4 G, 5 A) during a five-game point streak…Jets LW Mathieu Perreault scored both Winnipeg goals in a 5-2 loss at Philadelphia. In his past eight games, Perreault has 11 points (8 G, 3 A)…Stars LW Jamie Benn scored a pair of goals in a 6-3 win at Ottawa; giving him eight points (4 G, 4 A) in the past five games…Stars D John Klingberg picked up a goal and an assist, and has seven points (3 G, 4 A) in the past seven games…Senators RW Bobby Ryan had a goal and an assist in a 6-3 loss to Dallas, giving him nine points (2 G, 77 A) in the past eight games… …Sharks LW Patrick Marleau had a goal and an assist in a 6-3 win against Anaheim, giving him seven points (3 G, 4 A) in the past five games…Sharks C Joe Thornton had two assists, and has 17 points (3 G, 14 A) in the past 16 games.dddddddddddd Jets LW Evander Kane had 11 shot attempts (7 SOG) and positive possession (20 shot attempts for, 15 against, 57.1%), but was on the ice for three even-strength Flyers goals against, and none for, in a 5-2 loss…In his first game with St. Louis, C Marcel Goc had solid possession stats (10 shot attempts for, 4 against, 71.4%)…Oilers defencemen Oscar Klefbom (30 shot attempts for, 6 against, 83.3%) and Justin Schultz (27 shot attempts for, 7 against, 79.4%) had Edmonton’s best possession stats, and were on the ice for all three goals for and none against, in a 3-2 win over Buffalo. Canadiens G Carey Price had a 24-save shutout and Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist stopped 25 of 26 shots in a 1-0 Montreal win…Bruins G Tuukka Rask stopped 43 of 45 shots in a 5-2 win at the Islanders…Flyers G Steve Mason stopped 36 of 38 shots in a 5-2 win vs. Winnipeg…Lightning G Ben Bishop turned aside 27 of 28 shots in a 5-1 win vs. Detroit…Wild G Devan Dubnyk had a 30-save shutout and Flames G Jonas Hiller stopped 31 of 32 shots in a 1-0 win for Minnesota. MINOR TRADE Adam Clendening – A second-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2011, the 22-year-old right-shot blueliner made his NHL debut earlier this season and recorded two points (1 G, 1 A), with subpar possession (48.7% of even-strength shot attempts) in four games for Chicago. He also hasn’t been as productive (1 G, 12 A) in 38 AHL games this season, but has a track record that included 105 points in 147 AHL games over the past two seasons. He should get a shot to play immediately in Vancouver while Kevin Bieksa is out of the lineup. Gustav Forsling – A fifth-round pick of Vancouver last summer, Forsling was named to the All-Tournament team at the World Junior Hockey Championship, after leading all defencemen with eight points (3 G, 5 A) in seven games. He’s 18-years-old, but is playing regularly (17:51 per game), putting up five points (3 G, 2 A) in 35 games for Linkoping in the Swedish League. FIRSTS Josh Anderson – The Blue Jackets winger picked up an assist for his first NHL point, in his sixth game, a 3-2 loss at Florida. He’s played 13 minutes or more in four of the past five games, but has since been assigned to Springfield of the AHL. Petr Straka – The Flyers rookie right winger picked up his first NHL point, in his second NHL game, assisting on Nick Schultz’s game-winning goal in a 5-2 win over Winnipeg. FANTASY FOCUS With five games on the schedule tonight, here are five players to consider for your lineup: Adam Larsson – Getting a new lease on life with a new coach in New Jersey, Larsson has six points (1 G, 5 A) in the past eight games, playing more than 20 minutes in all eight of those games. Victor Rask – Skating with Nathan Gerbe and Elias Lindholm, Rask has six points (2 G, 4 A) in the past eight games, the rookie offering some secondary scoring for the improving Hurricanes. Zach Redmond – He goes from being out of the Avalanche lineup to playing 22:31 last game with Erik Johnson out. A puck-moving defenceman, Redmond has 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in 27 games. Nick Bonino – Vancouver’s supporting cast hasn’t done much lately and Bonino has all of five points (3 G, 2 A) in the past 23 games, but they’re hosting the Sabres tonight, so a good night to get on the board. Rickard Rakell – The rookie centre is starting to emerge as a solid complementary player, putting up eight points (3 G, 5 A) in the past seven games. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
|
Active Topics 
Memberlist 
Search 
Help
Register 
Login
Rockezine Forums : Zandbak
Topic: to get on the board. Rickard
