While we’ve already established this week that the Kansas City Chiefs defense is more toothless than the Abominable Snowman in that Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer Christmas movie from back in the day...(get it? Cause Hermie the elf steals all his teeth? Get it? Get it?? No wonder half of us are terrified of the dentist)....it sure is nice to know the Patriots offensive line is flexing on everyone a little bit going into the game all of America’s talking about this weekend.(Note: ‘game all of America’s talking about’ isn’t just homer hyperbole; they had a question on the Dan Patrick Show yesterday on whether you’d rather watch Pats-Chiefs this Sunday or every other game this weekend (meaning if you watch Sunday Night Football Mike Gillislee Color Rush Jersey , you can’t watch any of the other games)...guess what everybody chose)Fair is fair, since your faithful keyboard quarterback over here spent most of last season praying that Tom Brady’s recovery PJ’s were legit given the pounding he was taking, we’ve got to give them the props they deserve when they’re playing like a top-10-level brick wall in front of the GOAT.Which they are.Last week, we pointed out that Tom Brady hasn’t been sacked since that part in Week 3 where they jumped into the pool with their cell phone in their pocket, and Pro Football Focus’s offensive line grades are here to confirm that it’s not just you, this O-line might actually be good.How good? Trent, Joe, David, Shaq, and Marcus grade out well enough to be ranked 9th overall in PFF’s offensive line rankings this week. These are assessments for every team’s offensive line through the season so far, keep in mind, so New England faceplanting through weeks 2 and 3 is all in there too. Meanwhile, as I write this, and I take absolutely no pleasure in having to break the news here, Nate Solder is doing...not great things:Back to our boys up front: PFF has New England’s offensive line graded as the 9th-best unit in football right now. Shot/chaser - they’re also graded as better than the Dallas Cowboys, who, correctly or not, are usually referred to as the manliest of the manly when it comes to O-line wrecking crews.Here’s PFF’s grades for the guys individually:Left Tackle: Trent Brown, 61.0Left Guard: Joe Thuney, 70.0Center: David Andrews, 71.8Right Guard: Shaq Mason, 72.8Right Tackle: Marcus Cannon https://www.patriotsfanstore.com/Malcolm-Mitchell-Jersey , 61.7And here’s their notes on the guy who’s probably picking up the dinner check for everyone for a while, the newly extended Shaq Mason:Four pressures allowed by Shaq in five games. From a fourth-round pick that ran a triple-option offense in college. Drink it in, it always goes down smooth.Without knowing too much about the Ancient Aliens technology that PFF uses to grade offensive line play, it’s also encouraging that the interior of the line appears to all be on the same page and playing at a high level. Sure, there’s been mistakes, and there’s been plenty of times they’ve been beaten and Sony Michel or James White’s been stacked up for no gain, but at the same time, you get three guys like Thuney, Andrews, and Mason playing together for the third straight season now, and that’s what that whole “trust” thing is all about.Enjoy your weekend, everyone, and maybe just go ahead and call out of work on Monday now. Pats-Chiefs AND Red Sox-Astros Game 2, and...yeah, they’re both at home.Never take these runs from these teams for granted. Welp...Game time at kickoff: 82 degrees. So we’re that much closer to pinpointing the exact temperature at which Tom Brady starts to melt.Not that Brady played poorly at all; in fact, quite the opposite. But that doesn’t change the fact that Tommy B is now 7-10 in Miami, 1-6 at Miami in December. The NFL has to be very well aware of this fact when putting together the schedule, and we’re all but guaranteed for New England at Miami to be a December staple until Brady retires.It’s annoying, too, because offensively, they had a very good day. Gronkowski had his best game of the season, Brady was spreading the ball around Vincent Valentine Color Rush Jersey , the playaction was working. If not for two missed kicks and a freak play, I think we’d all be pleased with the offense overall. New England’s opening drive was more or less exactly what I was hoping they would do: running Michel up the gut, establishing the run, and picking on rookie CB Fitzpatrick. Mismi seemed hell-bent on stopping the run no matter what, and New England played to that by running out of a lot of bigger sets. Six point took up almost half the quarter.As for the defense...Always nice to finally get in the end zone on an opening drive only to surrender a TD to the opponent in which Miami only needed a single 2nd down to get into the end zone. Plays of four, 15, 13, 36, and seven yards lost the Patriots their lead before the offense even finished going over the in-game screenshots.There seems to be a direct correlation between giving up opening drive TDs and losses. The Patriots gave up an embarrassingly easy opening drive TD to the Dolphins. They did the same against the Titans and Jaguars.When the Patriots lost to Miami last year, I made a comment how when Jay Cutler runs a naked bootleg, smokes your entire defense, and picks up a huge first down with his legs, you just kinda realize it isn’t your night. The 2018 version of that is when Brandon Bolden takes a break from special teams to take a long run to the house, you should also realize that it isn’t your day.Seriously...what is it about that stadium? It’s like some weird vortex when nothing goes right. Poor execution. Horrible coaching decisions. Odd bounces. At Miami is to the Patriots what Hooters is to a group of high school freshmen; the second they walk in the door, they’re reduced to a gaggle of bumbling, incoherent buffoons. On the plus side, the Patriots 3rd down defense was excellent yesterday. On the negative side, the Dolphins needed so few 3rd downs to score that I’m not sure how much weight that stat carries. Perhaps what’s moat frustrating is that, given New England’s last possession of the second quarter and first possession of the third, the Patriots could have put this game away. Instead they had two drives that ended in no points. Missing a wide open Chris Hogan on 2nd down and taking a sack on third to leave points on the board is the worst back-to-back Tom Brady play that I maybe have ever seen. But again, let’s keep some perspective here. If the Patriots had won that game, they’d be...right in line for the 2 seed. But since they lost Brandon Bolden Jersey , they’re...right in line for the 2 seed. And as I mentioned, the offense looked good. It’s just one of those things. The Patriots haven’t swept the AFC East since 2012, and have only done it twice in the Belichick era. It’s far from the end of the world.Ever notice that Cordarrelle Patterson almost always stumbles over his own feet every time he catches a pass?Or maybe it’s just his patented juke. Make ‘em think you’re about to trip all over yourself, then make a cut and go.New England’s first punt of the day was preceded by a 2nd down reception to a wide open Gronk in which he very, very easily should have been able to shed the tackle and pick up the 1st, but he couldn’t do it. That may have been the most telling Gronk play of the entire season.But again, Gronk was solid yesterday, and remains a top 5 tight end in the league. He’s just not unstoppable anymore, and that’s fine. And a safety/defensive back, Gronk is most certainly not. WHY THE HELL WAS HE OUT THERE ON A NON-HAIL MARY PLAY!!!In 2009, the Patriots ran a Sammy Morris dive on 3rd and short that never, ever worked. Their 2018 version of the Sammy Morris 2009 3rd down fullback dive is the stretch run for a loss.If I ever find myself in the Patriots locker room asking questions at a press conference, I think the question I’d ask is, “coach, you seem to run a lot of stretch runs for a negative yards on crucial third and short situations. Would it be fair to say that you call the plays that you think give you the best chance to win the game?” The answer I’d get: yes. Just one word. I’d likely then promptly be thrown out.Ironically, the FB dive works incredibly well this year, as James Develin has suddenly become a touchdown machine.If a butt can cause a fumble, a but should be able to recover one. Just saying.Danny Shelton has been a healthy scratch the past two weeks. For the past two weeks, the Patriots have gotten gashed up the middle by running backs. Coincidence?This game should have been over multiple times. There were just too many self-inflicted wounds that Miami took advantage of, so credit to the Dophins. It also has to be a great feeling for Dolphins fans, knowing that no matter how crappy your season is going, no matter how irrelevant to the big picture you are Sony Michel Color Rush Jersey , and no matter what your record is, the Patriots are almost guaranteed to come to Miami in December, drop a game, hurt their playoff seeding, and force Pats fans to sweat for another few weeks. It’s games like that that you really enjoy as a fan, so I hope Fins fans are milking the hell out of it this morning.Also...what a WILD week in the NFL. The Rams were held to six points. The Steelers had the game won, then gave up the lead, then pulled some classic Steelers stuff to get into FG range only to blow it. The Chiefs went to OT against the Ravens. Cowboys/Eagles ended on some madness. Sometimes you’re on the right end of these weeks, and sometimes you aren’t. What can you do.I’m already over this game, because it ultimately had very little impact on the overall playoff picture, but if you are still feeling down this morning, consider this: there were a large number of Jets and Bills fans at Paddy’s of Park Slope yesterday. The Jets/Bills game was playing on the main TV with the sound on, and there was a lot of passion in the room. Except, the Jets fans were rooting for the Bills to win, and the Bills fans were rooting for the Jets to win, as both teams are rooting for draft pick at this point. So think how much worse we could have it.What happens next week against the Steelers is going to define the 2018 season for the Patriots. How they bounce back from that kind of loss, on the road against a desperate team, will say everything we need to know about this team’s mental toughness. Everyone in the NFL seems pretty vulnerable right now, so it should be a pretty crazy final few weeks.

Following initial leaks that surfaced in January Cheap Adidas Ultraboost , Supreme has officially confirmed that its upcoming Nike collaboration — two colorways of the under-the-radar Air Tailwind IV model — is releasing this week.As part of the New York-based skate brand's spring '19 collection, the '90s-era running shoe will be available in two iterations featuring premium leather uppers with bouclé fabric and suede panels as its base. The black makeup boasts royal blue accents, while the white colorway features eye-catching red panels throughout. Additional details include dual branding embroidered on the tongue, insole and heel. Sitting underneath the upper is an Air Max-cushioned outsole, providing the wearer with all-day comfort.Supreme is also releasing two versions of the Nike Running Hat inspired by the Air Tailwind IV that's created with the same bouclé fabric and reflective piping on the sides./p/BvJXfHDHeOp//p/BvJXgqdnSAQ//p/BvJXiBLHsom/Retailing at $190, both colorways of the Supreme x Nike Air Tailwind 4 will launch exclusively at Supreme stores in New York Cheap Adidas Ultraboost From China , Brooklyn, Los Angeles, London and Paris, and online at Supremenewyork.com this Thursday at 11 a.m. EST. They will also be available in Tokyo on Saturday.Want more?Supreme and Timberland Keep It Classy With These 3-Eye Classic Lug ShoesA Brand-New Supreme x Nike Air Max Collaboration Has SurfacedHow a ‘Counterfeit’ Supreme Brand Is Causing Collaboration Chaos Modell’s Sporting Goods is the latest athletic-based retailer with a future in limbo.According to a report today from The Wall Street Journal, the New York-based sporting goods chain has hired a restructuring adviser with intentions of fixing the company that has suffered from poor sales and is losing business to big-box and online stores.The report states Modell's, which has been in business for 130 years and has more than 150 stores Cheap Adidas Continental 80 , has retained Berkeley Research Group to explore its next steps, which may include a filing for bankruptcy.Modell's is just one of several sporting goods stores — and retailers in general — to feel the pressure of a changing high-stakes athletic landscape.In recent years, several big names in the sporting goods channel fell. Grand Rapids, Mich.-based MC Sports filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2017; Sports Chalet said it would close its doors in April 2016; The Sports Authority filed for bankruptcy in March 2016; and City Sports filed in October 2015.Meanwhile, shares of industry bellwether Dick's Sporting Goods took a hit on Tuesday, dropping roughly 11 percent to $34.61 at market close. The hit came after the retailer announced it missed expectations for 2018.For its fiscal fourth quarter ended Feb. 2 Cheap Adidas NMD , DSG reported a revenues decrease of 6.5 percent to $2.49 billion and same-store sales dropping 2.2 percent, with executives suggesting to analysts on a call today that poor sales in the hunt and electronics categories are mostly responsible for the declines.Want more?Dick’s Sporting Goods Stock Takes a Hit Despite Better-Than-Expected Q4 FinishOne Year After Its Gun Ban, Here's What Dick's Sporting Goods Is Focused OnIt's An Uphill Climb for Dick’s Sporting Goods Despite Taking Advantage of Sports Authority Bankruptcy

Hailey Baldwin had no intention of going unnoticed when she stepped out to brave the NYC cold Friday. The 22-year-old supermodel was captured leaving her apartment sporting a bold winter look complete with classic white kicks.Baldwin styled a head-turning white coat from designer Virgil Abloh's Off-White pre-fall '19 collection featuring a multilogo design inspired by race cars. Underneath Cheap Nike Air , the Adidas collaborator donned a cozy-looking black turtleneck sweater paired with gray jeans cuffed at the ankles.For shoes, the newly married model — who posed for the March cover of Vogue with husband Justin Bieber — reached for a pair of simple white leather low-top sneakers with a lace-up vamp. Baldwin further accessorized her eye-catching ensemble with chic black frames, understated gold earrings and a bright red scrunchie.Baldwin took to Instagram today to honor International Women's Day. "Women need to encourage other women — not pit us against each other," she wrote on her Story. "As a woman, you KNOW the difficulties of being a woman... let's lift each other up!"Flip through the gallery for more of Hailey Baldwin's head-turning street style.Watch FN's cover shoot video with Hailey Baldwin below.Want more?Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin Twin in Brightly Colored Oversize Coats, Sweats and TrendySneakersHailey Baldwin Hits the Streets in an Over-the-Top Green Furry Coat and $1,000 Sneakers With JustinBieberOnly Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin Can Pull Off These Super-Casual Looks inPublic “It’s been a period of great learning. It’s a little simplistic and easy to say Cheap Men FlyEase , ‘How could you not know?’ — but it’s not as evident as it could have seemed,” Marco Bizzarri observed on Monday.Gucci’s president and CEO spoke with WWD about his company’s new global program called Changemakers that is part of its ongoing effort to foster unity through community action. He opened up about the backlash the Italian luxury group experienced following accusations in February that a balaclava-style sweater evoked blackface.Gucci Changemakers follows the company’s announcement last month of the first of four long-term initiatives to achieve cultural diversity and awareness throughout its organization and activities globally, and includes a fund of $5 million over five years and a $1.5 million four-year scholarship program in North America. In addition, Gucci is fostering a global employee volunteer framework that will fuel the company’s commitment to creating lasting social impact in communities and within the fashion industry.This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com. To read the full story, please go to WWD.com.

ABU DHABI Cheap Mexico Soccer Team Uniform , United Arab Emirates (AP) — South Korea, Japan and defending champion Australia all made it through to the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup knowing there is plenty of room for improvement.Even with the arrival of Tottenham forward Son Heung-min, South Korea struggled to beat Bahrain 2-1 in the last 16. The 2015 finalists needed an extra-time goal from Kim Jin-su to advance and set up a quarterfinal match against Qatar.“It was a tough game,” Son said. “It’s all about attitude as well, and I’m a bit unhappy with our performance. I think we’re better than that.”Australia needed a penalty shootout to get past Uzbekistan after 120 goalless minutes www.thetopsoccer.com/national-team-kit/portugal , and Japan was below its best in a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia.The quarterfinals take place on Thursday and Friday. The final will be on Feb. 1 in Abu Dhabi.IRAN VS. CHINAWhen China plays Iran on Thursday, many observers will looking at the benches.China is coached by Marcello Lippi, who led Italy to the 2006 World Cup title, while Iran is led by former Real Madrid coach Carlos Queiroz.Victory would give Lippi his best result in two years with China. He will leave the job after the Asian Cup.Queiroz has been in charge of Iran since 2011. The 65-year-old Portuguese coach’s contract ends after the tournament and he has been widely linked with the vacant Colombia job.Iran has been the most consistent team at the tournament so far and is chasing a fifth straight victory.JAPAN VS. VIETNAMFour-time champion Japan has won all four of its games so far.The second-round win over Saudi Arabia came as a result of a strong defensive performance from a team which no longer has Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki to provide goals.Japan Cheap Russia Soccer Team Uniform , which reached the second round at last year’s World Cup, has yet to find its fluency in attack under coach Hajime Moriyasu but will still be expected to beat Vietnam in Dubai.Vietnam is riding high. The penalty shootout win over Jordan in the previous round provoked street parties across the southeast Asian country to rival those that greeted the win in a regional championship in December.AUSTRALIA VS. UNITED ARAB EMIRATESAustralia will be without suspended influential playmaker Tom Rogic against tournament host United Arab Emirates in Al Ain on Friday.The Socceroos have bounced back after an opening loss to Jordan but have yet to show their best form and have struggled against teams that have sat back on defense.A lack of goals was a concern for UAE coach Alberto Zaccheroni before the competition started. Those worries have eased somewhat after the 3-2 win over Kyrgyzstan in the second round, but the backline appeared vulnerable.SOUTH KOREA VS. QATARSouth Korea, another team that has yet to show its best despite four straight wins, had to work hard to get past Bahrain.Without injured captain Ki Sung-yueng www.thetopsoccer.com/national-team-kit/spain , who has returned to Premier League club Newcastle, the South Koreans have struggled to either create or convert chances.Son was peripheral in the last 16 and has yet to score in the tournament. He should find more space against Qatar in Abu Dhabi on Friday.Along with Iran, 2022 World Cup host Qatar has been the most impressive team in the tournament so far, winning all four games without conceding a goal.Almoez Ali is the tournament’s leading scorer with seven goals. Borja Valero spoke to Inter TV ahead of the Nerazzurri’s vitally important Serie A match against Torino on Sunday evening. Here is what he had to say: “We’ve been putting a lot into training this week to get back on track following our draw against Sassuolo. It’s always tough to play Torino – they are a side that have played very well over the past few years. It’ll be a difficult match in Turin.”Following the 0-0 stalemate against the Neroverdi, the 34-year-old Spaniard commented on Inter’s profound lack of creativity in recent league fixtures: “We still have to improve when going forward – we need to create more. Nevertheless Cheap USA Soccer Team Uniform , I believe that we are more mature as a squad – we are defending better as a unit and also attack as a team.”The former Villarreal and Fiorentina regista also spoke about the team’s objectives for the second half of the season, as well as his own individual performances. There is no doubt that he has lots of desire to continue improving: “We still have many matches left to play until the end of the season. Then, there will also be the Europa League. This will make things a bit more difficult for us due to playing games in close proximity.“So, there is still a long way to go, we must remain focused and try to finish in the top four. On an individual basis Cheap Bayern Munich Soccer Shirts , I’m pleased with how I’m helping the team, whether that be from the bench or as a starter. I’m always positive and I always try to give my all when out on the pitch.”To conclude, the midfielder was full of praise for the club’s Brothers Universally United (BUU) campaign: “It’s an important message, and not only due to what happened against Napoli. It’s something that we must work on and that children must learn from an early age.”

MOSCOW (AP) — Pavel Mamaev probably never expected his highest-scoring game this season to be behind bars.The Russia national soccer team player Cheap Chelsea Soccer Jerseys , in custody awaiting trial over alleged assaults, scored seven goals in a six-a-side game Thursday to mark Valentine’s Day at a pre-trial detention facility in Moscow.Playing on a snowy, fenced-off exercise yard against fellow detainees, Mamaev wore No. 17 Cheap Inter Milan Soccer Shirts , the same number he usually wears for Russian league club Krasnodar. To even the odds for the other players, Mamaev played one half for each team.Mamaev and Russia teammate Alexander Kokorin were detained in October after being involved in brawls in Moscow and are awaiting trial on assault-related charges.“Unforgettable feelings. After these months I’m happy that a match like this took place,” Mamaev told Russian newspaper Sport Express. “I dedicate it to my wife.”Kokorin didn’t play in Thursday’s game following reports he has a knee injury.Even before the trial of the players begins, the case has gripped Russia across several contentious hearings.Mamaev and Kokorin Cheap Juventus Soccer Jerseys , who plays for Zenit St. Petersburg, are two of Russia’s most recognized players, though neither played at last year’s World Cup. Mamaev made 15 appearances for the national team from 2010-16, when he was dropped amid public anger at video footage showing him and Kokorin partying at a Monaco nightclub shortly after their team was eliminated from the European Championship.Mamaev also thanked the Russian prison service Cheap Soccer Uniforms , for whom the game was a chance to show off a lighter side of one of the country’s most feared jails. The Butyrka jail was built in the 18th century under the Russian czars, who used it to detain Cossack rebels and would-be socialist revolutionaries. In the Soviet era it held some renowned dissidents and victims of the 1930s purges. LONDON (AP) — Liverpool required an 81st-minute penalty from James Milner to secure a 2-1 win at relegation-threatened Fulham and return to the top of the Premier League on Sunday.It looked like Liverpool might miss the chance to climb back above Manchester City when its former forward, Ryan Babel, capitalized on a defensive mix-up involving Virgil van Dijk and goalkeeper Alisson to equalize for Fulham in the 74th minute.But in another goalkeeping error Cheap Liverpool Soccer Jerseys , Fulham’s Sergio Rico only parried Mohamed Salah’s weak shot then dragged down Sadio Mane — the scorer of Liverpool’s opening goal — to the ground. Milner, only recently on as a substitute, floated the resulting penalty down the middle.Liverpool is two points clear of City, which has a game in hand in what looks to be a two-team race for the title.Mane is proving to Liverpool’s most important attacker in the run-in. The Senegal forward made it 11 goals in his last 11 games by converting a cut-back from Roberto Firmino in the 26th minute at Craven Cottage.It was his 17th Premier League goal Cheap Manchester City Soccer Shirts , putting Mane level with Salah and only one behind Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero.Fulham is in next-to-last place, 13 points from safety with just seven games remaining.

OAKLAND Andrew Chafin Jersey , Calif. (AP) — Athletics slugger Khris Davis is getting a $6 million raise after leading the majors in home runs last season.Davis reached agreement Friday with Oakland on a $16.5 million, one-year contract to avoid salary arbitration.The A’s also agreed Friday to one-year deals with left-hander Sean Manaea for $3.15 million, second baseman Jurickson Profar for $3.6 million and shortstop Marcus Semien for $5.9 million and outfielder Mark Canha for $2.05 million.Davis received a hefty raise from the A’s last winter, then went out and hit a majors-best 48 home runs while setting a career high with 123 RBIs — not to mention leading the low-budget club back to the playoffs for the first time since 2014 before a wild-card loss to the Yankees.While Oakland general manager David Forst has said signing Davis to a multiyear contract is a high priority, it wasn’t at the top of the team’s offseason to-do list and Forst said Davis understands that as the A’s try to build another winning roster.The 31-year-old Davis received the $10.5 million, one-year contract last January to more than double his salary after he beat the team in arbitration the previous winter.He hit 43 home runs in 2017, connecting on the season’s final day to surpass the season high he set the previous year for Oakland.Davis and Jimmie Foxx from 1932-34 are the only players in Athletics history with three straight 40-homer seasons. Davis’ 85 homers in 2017-18 were second during that two-year span in the majors only to Giancarlo Stanton’s 86.Before the 2017 season, Davis defeated the A’s in an arbitration hearing — awarded a $5 million salary over the $4.65 million offered by Oakland. He had earned $524,500 in 2016 and that was his first time being eligible for arbitration.Manaea pitched a no-hitter against Boston on April 21 in a bright start to a season that ended with the ace undergoing shoulder surgery in September. He is expected to be out until around the All-Star break.Still Darryl Strawberry Jersey , he went 12-9 with a 3.59 ERA in 27 starts and 160 2/3 innings. His no-hitter was the 12th in A’s history and seventh of the Oakland era.The A’s acquired Profar from Texas in a trade last month and he will become the regular second baseman to replace Jed Lowrie, who landed with the Yankees on Thursday for $20 million over two years.Profar, who in 2012 homered in his first big league at-bat before shoulder issues forced him to miss two full seasons, hit .254 with 20 homers and 77 RBIs in 146 games while playing all four infield positions for the Rangers in 2018.Semien matched his career high playing 159 games — with 158 starts just like 2016 — for the second time in three seasons. He batted .255 with 15 home runs and 70 RBIs while committing 20 errors. Semien worked with former infield coach Ron Washington to improve his defense after making a majors-high 35 errors in 2015, his first year with the A’s.Canha batted .249 with a career-high 17 home runs and 52 RBIs in 122 games. The 29-year-old provides versatility to the lineup: In 2018, he played 62 games in center field, 51 in left, 10 in right, 15 at first base and was designated hitter in another three.On Thursday http://www.metsfanproshop.com/authentic-jacob-degrom-jersey , left-handed reliever Ryan Buchter agreed to a $1.4 million, one-year contract to avoid salary arbitration. Buchter more than doubled his 2018 salary of $555,000. SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — With six-time Gold Glove winner Alex Gordon in left and speedy Lorenzo Cain in center, the Kansas City Royals‘ outfield defense ranked among the best in the majors for the six years they were together.That changed last season when Cain joined the Milwaukee Brewers.Royals manager Ned Yost started nine different players in center last year. Brian Goodwin made the most with 32 games.Gordon started in center field 11 times. Can he name the other guys who played there?“I don’t know,” he said. “Put me on a spot like that I can’t do that.”The Royals believed they solved their center field issue for this season by signing free agent speedster Billy Hamilton, who was considered one of the best defensive outfielders in the National League while with the Cincinnati Reds.“We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do in that big outfield in Kauffman,” Gordon said. “I haven’t played with him yet. Hopefully we can develop a history like me and Lo-Cain. I know the balls I need to get. He knows the balls he needs to get.”“That’s kind of what me and Lorenzo Cain had. We knew each other that well. Hopefully me and Billy can establish that chemistry, too. Through spring training we’ll talk Nolan Ryan Jersey , we’ll figure it out,” he said.Yost is looking forward to seeing the tandem rob opposing batters of hits.“That’s what spring training is for, getting comfortable with the communication, comfortable with what each other can do,” Yost said. “It’s just like a sixth sense. They don’t have to see him to know where he is. The more they play out there, the more comfortable they’re going to be. They’re going to cover a lot of ground.”The 35-year-old Gordon, who is in the final year of a four-year $72 million contract, remains a fitness fanatic, but has altered his workouts.“I used to work out in the mornings in spring training http://www.metsfanproshop.com/authentic-tom-seaver-jersey ,” Gordon said. “I can’t do that anymore because I’m older and my body can’t handle it. It’s just an adjustment to how your body feels.”“The main purpose is to be healthy and out there contributing. Everybody has a different routine, different setup. As you get older you definitely have to adjust. I’d just get sore and worn down. I’m just trying to be smarter about it. I don’t lift weights during the season. I just said heck with the weights. I think it was putting too much stress on my body,” he said.Gordon played seven games last year before going on the disabled list in April with a left hip injury.“Probably the best thing that happened to me last year was going on the DL even though it stunk, but coming back I felt rejuvenated and felt like I found my swing,” Gordon said.“During the season you’re playing every day. It’s hard to make adjustments and that’s what I needed to do. It was like 13 days, I went into the cage and did small things off the tee and got back to where I felt like worked for me.” He said.After hitting .208 in 2017, Gordon hiked his average to .245 last season.He hit .302 with a .491 slugging percentage in his final 13 games.After he was moved to the third spot on Sept. 7, Gordon drove in 17 runs in 21 games.Whit Merrifield, who led the American League in hits and stolen bases Asdrubal Cabrera Jersey , and Adalberto Mondesi were batting in front of Gordon.“It was fun to come up to bat and have someone on base every time,” Gordon said.“Just the pressure they put on the opposing pitcher, they weren’t even worried about me. It was fun to hit in front of those two and watch them run wild.”

LOS ANGELES鈥?The scene was familiar. The Los Angeles Dodgers hung their heads over the dugout railing as they watched the other team celebrate a World Seriestitle on their home turf. This http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-russell-martin-jersey , after dropping the 2018 Fall Classic in five games to the Boston Red Sox.They knew what to do. Slink down to the dugout steps. Pack up their stuff. Hug their teammates. Wish them a good offseason. Next year, some of them will be gone. There will be new faces mixing in, and this would be the last night the 2018 Dodgers gathered in their locker room. Together, in defeat."There's only one team that can win, and we know that, but it just hurts when you make it all the way and get second place,"Clayton Kershaw said. "So having done that two years in a row now, it doesn't make it any easier."The Dodgers head home for a second straight November, their hands empty once again. The last time they had an opportunity to raise a World Series title, they pushed the Houston Astrosto a Game 7 on Nov. 1. They spent the summer ruminating on everything they could've done better to flip the script this year, to ensure they wouldn't let the opportunity slip away if they made it back.The Red Sox plotted a different course and ripped any chance of a happy ending in Los Angeles away from the Dodgers, who were bullied throughout the five-game series by Boston's offense. The Dodgers looked overmatched."You have to give credit to the Red Sox," Kershaw said. "They're a great team. They won 108 games in the regular season. They beat two teams that also won a hundred games in the postseason and then beat us four games to one. 鈥?They're a great team. Not a lot of margin for error."Jae C. Hong/Associated PressChanges loom in Los Angeles. Clayton Kershaw, who would look like Spock on Tatooine in any other uniform, can opt out this offseason. Either way,as his velocity drops, so does his ability to match his reputation as the best pitcher of his generation.Manny Machado, like Yu Darvish before him, came into Dodger Stadium like a Kardashian, causing controversy and drama for his team at nearly every turn before leaving behind a potential mess. And Dodgers fans booed manager Dave Roberts during the pregame introductions of Game 5 Josh Donaldson Jersey , when his team still had a chance to earn its first World Series title since 1988."We've just got to go back out there, and I expect us to be back here next year, but celebrating on the field," Roberts said. "I think the culture, the players, as far as the large majority are in place."For the L.A. manager, the "us" may turn into "them." The Dodgers now face the dilemma of whether they should renew Roberts, whose contract expired after Sunday night's season finale, with a team option for 2019 looming.Decision after decision, night after night, Roberts made moves that swung momentum in favor of the city where he's a postseason hero. His performance in this World Series may have cost him any opportunity to do the same in Los Angeles.He overmanaged his bullpen, relying on Ryan Madson鈥攚ho let every inherited runner score in the World Series鈥攊nstead of Pedro Baez, who often made appearances after things had already gotten out of hand. After the game, Roberts danced around a question regarding his future.Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images"[Picking up the option] hasn't happened yet, and I'm just kind of feeling for the guys in the clubhouse right now and feeling their pain, the coaches, and all of that stuff," Roberts said. "There's time for all of that stuff."When the calendar flips to March 2019 and the Dodgers report to spring training, the clubhouse in Arizona may look drastically different. They could be without their ace, arguably their best position player and their manager.The Dodgers halfway stumbled into this window鈥攁nd into the World Series this year. They developed franchise cornerstones in Kershaw Joe Carter Jersey , Yasiel Puig and Walker Buehler, among many others, but in Justin Turner, Chris Taylor and Max Muncy, they found stars and contributors where nobody else could.Throughout the season, the Dodgers treaded water, sitting in second and third place in the NL West before a late-season push netted themtheir sixth straight division title. These weren't the 104-win Dodgers from 2017, who won the most games since the franchise moved from Brooklyn after the 1957 season. The 2018 Dodgers didn't have enough.Given the depleted bullpen鈥攁 product of the seven-hour, 20-minuteGame 3 and the meltdown in Game 4鈥擪ershaw did all he could to try to bring this series back to Boston. This wasn't the choking Kershaw we've seen in postseasons past, but it also wasn't the ace who never posted an ERA above 2.31 from 2013 through 2017. His future in Los Angeles is now in question."I know the future questions are obviously coming for myself," Kershaw said. "I don't want to take away from tonight and what everybody is feeling. I never want to put the focus on just me or anything like that. 鈥?It will be an eventful three days for me, and I'll try to figure it out."Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressIn a series where Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez looked to be shades of their MVP-candidate selves, Kershaw allowed two home runs to Boston's star sluggers to sap Los Angeles of any hope it could push this series to seven games.And as their homers flew over the baby blue padded walls of Dodger Stadium, potentially, so too did Los Angeles' window at winning its first World Series in decades. Kershaw put his hands on his knees and looked up. Another year, another World Series strangled out of the Dodgers' grasp.Again, they'd come so far, only to watch others dance and celebrate on their field. NEW YORK (AP) — Noah Syndergaard and the New York Mets ended this disappointing season the same way they want to start the next one.Powered by dominant pitching.Syndergaard threw his first major league shutout and the Mets wrapped up a frustrating 2018 campaign Sunday with their second consecutive 1-0 victory over the Miami Marlins.“I told the bullpen before the game that they could take the day off. True story,” Syndergaard said. “It’s a great feeling.”Todd Frazier hit an RBI double for the Mets, who finished fourth in the NL East at 77-85 under rookie manager Mickey Callaway — a seven-win improvement over last year. After beginning the season with playoff aspirations http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-j.a.-happ-jersey , they jumped out to an 11-1 start before going 5-21 in June as injuries once again took a heavy toll.New York rebounded a bit to win 33 of its last 55 games, but by then it was way too late.“I feel like we played some really good baseball,” Syndergaard said.Promising rookie Sandy Alcantara (2-3) struck out a career-high 10 over seven innings in his sixth major league start for the Marlins — three against the Mets.“I thought he was more aggressive,” manager Don Mattingly said. “There’s nothing monumental that happened today other than this guy has a chance to be a really good pitcher, and consistency is going to be the key.”After trading Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon during an offseason payroll purge, the Marlins ended up with the worst record in the National League at 63-98 in Derek Jeter’s first year as chief executive officer. Miami went scoreless over the final 24 innings.“Last two days, kind of indicative. We go (22) innings and only give up two runs and we don’t win either game,” Mattingly said.Jeter signaled this month that Mattingly is expected back next year. Looking to have some fun at the finish line, he appointed All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to pilot the team Sunday.“It was fun. I enjoyed it, for sure,” Realmuto said. “It was actually a fairly easy game to manage because Sandy did a great job, obviously, so there weren’t many moves on our part.”Syndergaard (13-4) allowed five hits and fanned six in a fast finale that took just 2 hours, 10 minutes. He walked none and threw 101 pitches for his second career complete game. The other one came on Sept. 2 in San Francisco, and the big right-hander completed the season by tossing a career-best 15 straight scoreless innings while pitching with a sinus infection.“He kind of pitched at 90 percent, 95 percent. It’s pretty good when you throw 95 (mph) at 95 percent,” Callaway said. “But I think he learned a little bit of a lesson that sometimes a tad less is more.”Alcantara struck out five straight before Jeff McNeil opened the fourth with a single for New York’s first hit. McNeil scored from first when left fielder Isaac Galloway misplayed Frazier’s hard-hit double.LAST HURRAHA day after David Wright’s emotional goodbye at Citi Field, the Mets gave Jose Reyes another ceremonial start at shortstop. The 35-year-old Reyes Kendrys Morales Jersey , who batted .189 in a bench role this season, was lifted after grounding out leading off the bottom of the first. He hugged teammates in the dugout and received a warm ovation while coming out for a curtain call for the crowd of 28,346.“I just thought he deserved to be on the field one more time,” Callaway said.Reyes, a four-time All-Star, doesn’t expect to be back with the Mets next season and isn’t sure about his major league future.Wright didn’t play but was given a few more ovations.HOW’D THAT HAPPEN? Syndergaard’s bat broke off just above his hands as he started to swing — and obviously miss — at a third-inning pitch.“Maybe termites or something,” the pitcher said with a smile.Teammates cracked up in the dugout as Syndergaard stood dumbfounded in the batter’s box.“It was like the most Thor thing I can think of,” outfielder Michael Conforto said.After getting some new lumber, Syndergaard struck out but then lashed a sharp single in the fifth.NEW KID IN TOWNMcNeil had two hits to give him 36 in September, breaking the club record for rookies set by Gregg Jefferies in 1989.LOST ARTSyndergaard’s complete-game shutout was only the 19th in the majors this year, fewest in a season since 1874, when there were just eight teams. There were 27 such outings last season.The previous Mets pitcher with a complete-game shutout was Jacob deGrom on July 17, 2016.Syndergaard won his seventh straight decision at home and improved to 6-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 60 strikeouts against six walks in eight career starts against the Marlins.TRAINER’S ROOMMets: LF Yoenis Cespedes is scheduled for his second heel surgery Oct. 23 — this time on his left foot — but said he can’t yet predict how much he’ll be able to play next season. The oft-injured slugger had surgery Aug. 2 to remove bone calcification in his right heel, the first of two operations expected to sideline him for eight to 10 months.UP NEXTMarlins: Pitchers and catchers report to spring training Feb. 13, and Miami opens the 2019 season March 28 against Colorado.Mets: Begin next season at NL East rival Washington.

The 2018 MLB playoffs roll on into Friday http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-jake-marisnick-jersey , with four games on the slate to keep baseball fanatics glued to their screens throughout the day.The National League Division Series opened Thursday, with the Milwaukee Brewers toppling the Colorado Rockies 3-2 on Mike Moustakas' walk-off single in the 10th. The Los Angeles Dodgers, meanwhile, slugged their way to a6-0win over the Atlanta Braves.The American League Division Series gets going Friday, when the Cleveland Indians host the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox welcome their longtime rival New York Yankees.Friday Playoff ScheduleIndians (+130) at Astros (-140), 2:05 p.m. ET on TBSRockies (+141) at Brewers (-151), 4:15 p.m. ET on FS1Yankees (+165) at Red Sox (-180), 7:32 p.m. ET on TBSBraves (+195) at Dodgers (-238), 9:37 p.m. ET on FS1Odds according toOddsShark.Cleveland Indians at Houston AstrosPatrick McDermott/Getty ImagesYes, the Houston Astros are defending champions. And yes, they paced the entire league with a plus-263 run differential. But don't let that fool you into thinking Houston will automatically steamroll the Cleveland Indians.The Indians aren't perfect, but they are trending the right direction. The midseason move to acquire Brad Hand and Adam Cimber shored up a bullpen that encountered some uncharacteristic rough patches, and the lineup has a former MVP as a wild card in August acquisition Josh Donaldson.None of this will scare the Astros, who are both seasoned and statistically dominant. They finished fifth in the AL in runs scored and OPS, first in ERA (by a mile) and first in OBP against (.282, the AL'sonly sub-.300 mark).Game 1 starters Corey Kluber and Justin Verlander might both rank among the five best pitchers in baseball, so there's not much of an advantage either way. Most hitting categories favor Cleveland, but the difference is minimal鈥?1 more runs, 11 more home runs and four extra batting average points.When it's this close to call, it might be safest to lean toward the home team, especially when said ballclub was the last to claim the crown.Prediction:Astros 3, Indians 2Colorado Rockies at Milwaukee BrewersDylan Buell/Getty ImagesWhile the Brewers and Rockies combined for five runs in 10 innings to start the series, a repeat performance feels unlikely. Given the collective firepower between them Michael Saunders Jersey , there is plenty of potential for a noisier Game 2.Colorado starter Tyler Anderson had a losing record (7-9) and a forgettable ERA (4.55) in the regular season. That said, he had some of his best starts down the stretch. In five September outings, he pitched to a strong 3.25 ERA with more than three times as many strikeouts (24 in 27.2 innings) as walks (seven).Milwaukee counters with Jhoulys Chacin, who steered them through Monday's NL Central tiebreaker with 5.2 innings of one-hit, one-run ball. On the season, he sported a strong 15-8 record with a solid 3.50 ERA, the second-lowest in the rotation and his best mark since 2013 (minimum five starts).The pitchers seem unlikely to be the focal point of this contest, though. The Brewers and Rockies respectively finished second and third in home runs in the NL, and each roster includes a legitimate MVP candidate鈥擟hristian Yelich and Nolan Arenado, who both drove in 110 runs, scored 100-plus runs and clubbed at least 36 homers.The Brewers should be riding high after Thursday's thrilling victory, and when that energy is combined with a raucous home crowd, that sounds like the formula for a 2-0 series lead.Prediction:Brewers 8, Rockies 5 New York Yankees at Boston Red SoxFrank Franklin II/Associated PressConsidering the rich history of this rivalry, this matchup feels like a gift from the baseball gods. The stat sheet, though, tells a different story.The New York Yankees are really good鈥攖hey were one of only three teams to crack triple digits in wins. But the Boston Red Sox might be historically great.Boston's 108 wins were the most recorded since 2001. Its hitters were the AL's best in runs, hits, doubles, RBI, batting average and slugging percentage. Its pitching staff ranked third in ERA and strikeouts. Its defense tied for fourth in fielding percentage. Its baserunners were third in steals.The Red Sox have the AL MVP favorite鈥攁nd it's not J.D. Martinez, who blasted 43 homers and drove in 130 runs. Rather, it's batting champ Mookie Betts http://www.royalsfanproshop.com/authentic-ryan-goins-jersey , who hit .346, homered 32 times, scored 129 runs and stole 30 bases.The Game 1 matchup of Chris Sale and J.A. Happ feels like another lopsided advantage for the home team, provided the former can overcome a troubling bout of shoulder inflammation. Sale made just five starts after July and didn't go longer than five innings in any of them. His typically electric stuff has also suffered from a steepdrop in velocity.If Sale isn't all the way right, the Yankees have the power to jump all over him. They not only led the majors with 267 home runs, but they also paced the category by 32 dingers (a bigger gap than the one between Nos. 2 and 11).But it's hard to bet against this Boston team.Prediction:Red Sox 6, Yankees 3 Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles DodgersLachlan Cunningham/Getty ImagesHaving Clayton Kershaw pitch Game 2 speaks to the Dodgers' absurd depth in the rotation. L.A. had six different starters win at least seven games and post winning records, four of whom had ERAs of 3.02 or lower.Kershaw might not have beenKERSHAW!this season, but the three-time Cy Young winner and former MVP remains plenty filthy. This was his 10th straight campaign with a sub-3.00 ERA, and he tallied 155 strikeouts against only 29 walks.Atlanta has handed the starting duties to Anibal Sanchez, who was among this season's most pleasant surprises. Unceremoniously dumped by the Minnesota Twins in March, he went on to give the Braves a 2.83 ERA over 136.2 innings.Sanchez will need to be razor-sharp, though, as the Dodgers were the NL leaders in runs and home runs. They canmash, as they did with three long balls Thursday.The Braves' rise feels a tad ahead of schedule, though that's what can happen when sub-25-year-olds like Ronald Acuna Jr. (26 homers, 16 steals), Ozzie Albies (24 homers, 14 steals) and Johan Camargo (19 homers, 76 RBI) simultaneously enjoy a rapid rise. Tack on the likes of Freddie Freeman (23 homers, 98 RBI), Nick Markakis (93 RBI) and Ender Inciarte (28 steals), and Atlanta isn't short on offensive weaponry.The question is whether that will matter with Kershaw on the mound. He was relatively hittable late in the season (3.89 ERA in September) Wily Peralta Jersey , although his track record suggests he can catch fire at any minute.If you were asked for a preseason prediction about a Kershaw-Sanchez playoff matchup, you would have dismissed the question with uproarious laughter. The gap between them might not be comical anymore, but it's wide enough for us to predict a Friday sweep for the home teams.Prediction:Dodgers 5, Braves 1Statistics used courtesy ofMLB.comandESPN.com.鈥 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Right-hander Kyle Gibson and left fielder Eddie Rosario were among eight Minnesota Twins players who avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to one-year contracts Friday.Gibson and Rosario received hefty raises: Gibson will earn $8,125,000, an increase from his 2018 salary of $4.2 million, while Rosario got $4.19 million for an increase from $602,500 last year.Also agreeing on contracts were right-hander Jake Odorizzi for $9.5 million up, from $6.3 million; center fielder Byron Buxton for $1.75 million; third baseman Miguel Sano for $2,650,000, up from $602,500; right fielder Max Kepler for $3,125,000, up from $587,500; left-hander Taylor Rogers for $1,525,000; and right-hander Trevor May for $900,000.Gibson finally had the breakout year in 2018 the Twins had been looking for since they drafted him in the first round in 2009. The lanky pitcher posted a 3.62 ERA with 179 strikeouts in 196 2/3 innings over 32 starts — all career bests — and his 3.9 wins above replacement was the highest mark on the team. Gibson lost his arbitration hearing before last season, when the Twins offered $4.2 million and he asked for $350,000 more.Rosario was the team’s best everyday player for most of last season http://www.royalsfanproshop.com/authentic-lucas-duda-jersey , until a strained quadriceps ruined his final month. He led the team with 24 homers, 87 runs and 77 RBIs in 136 games. This marked Rosario’s first time being eligible for arbitration.Odorizzi, who made $6.3 million last year after arriving in a trade with Tampa Bay, was one of three pitchers for the Twins to make 32 starts in 2018. His 4.49 ERA, though, was the highest for a full season in his major league career.Kepler, eligible for arbitration for the first time, won the team’s defensive player of the year award after his third straight season as the regular right fielder. He never found a rhythm at the plate, batting a career-low .224, but he did set his big league high with 20 home runs.Sano’s 2018 season went so far off track that the slugging third baseman was sent to the minors for reconditioning. He appeared in only 71 games for the Twins and batted just .199 with 115 strikeouts. He would earn a $50,000 performance bonus this year for making 502 plate appearances.Rogers, a first-time arbitration candidate, had a breakout year in the bullpen in 2018 with a team-low 2.63 ERA. He finished the season on a consecutive scoreless streak of 26 innings from July 30 on, with 29 strikeouts and just 10 hits and three walks allowed during that span.May made an encouraging return to the bullpen last year from Tommy John surgery that kept him out the entire 2017 season, with a 3.20 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings.Buxton, the second pick in the 2012 draft, has yet to make it through any of his four major league seasons without going on the disabled list or being sent to the minors. Last year was the speedy center fielder’s worst yet, when he broke a toe fouling a ball off his foot during a rehab assignment in April. Buxton appeared in only 28 games for the Twins and batted just .156 with 28 strikeouts and three walks. Though he finally got healthy over the summer, he was angered when he wasn’t included among the September call-ups.

Two Cy Young Award frontrunners will meet for the second time in less than a week Tuesday night in Philadelphia.Aaron Nola will square off against Max Scherzer as the Philadelphia Phillies host the Washington Nationals in the second contest of a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park. Washington was a 5-3 winner Monday night in the series opener Matt Duffy Jersey , which pushed Philadelphia (70-61) 3 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. Article continues below ...Nola (15-3, 2.13 ERA) and Scherzer (16-6, 2.13) did not disappoint in their meeting last week. But Nola got the best of the two-time defending NL Cy Young winner, improving to 3-0 versus Washington this season.Nola threw eight scoreless innings and had nine strikeouts in the Phillies’ 2-0 win. Nola allowed five hits and one walk in the outing, which marked the 15th time in 26 starts that he gave up one earned run or fewer.The start was accentuated by an eighth-inning strikeout of Bryce Harper, the last batter Nola faced. His manager made a case for Nola as the league’s top pitcher after the game.“It’s tough to account for three pitches, and I think part of that is why Aaron Nola in my opinion is the Cy Young this year,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told MLB.com “Of course, Nola is our guy. I watch him every time out there and just the dependability, the consistency, the creativity http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-steven-souza-jersey , the numbers. The numbers speak for themselves.”Nola and Scherzer are tied for the second-best ERA in the NL. New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom, the other pitcher in the Cy Young conversation, has the only better ERA at 1.71. Nola is tied for second in the National League in WHIP (0.97), third in innings pitched (169) and tied for fifth in strikeouts (169). Scherzer leads the league in all three of those categories.Going for his third straight NL Cy Young win and fourth trophy overall, Scherzer has posted dominant numbers in 2018. He has 244 strikeouts, 181 2/3 innings pitched and a 0.89 WHIP through 27 starts.He had 10 strikeouts against the Phillies on Thursday, marking the 14th time he has hit double digits this season. The only damage against the 34-year-old in his last start was a two-run homer from Odubel Herrera.“That was the one pitch that beat me,” Scherzer told MLB.com after the loss.Scherzer’s best strikeout game of the year came May 6 against the Phillies when he struck out 15 batters in 6 1/3 innings. Scherzer is 9-2 with a 2.51 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 16 career starts against Philadelphia.Nola, meanwhile, has a 3.57 career ERA against the Nationals, and he has limited them to three earned runs in three starts (21 2/3 innings) this season. The 25-year-old also has a perfect record at home this season. Nola is 9-0 with a 2.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts per nine innings at Citizens Bank Park.The Phillies Chris Archer Jersey , who are 41-23 at home this season, have lost 12 of their last 18 games and are 3 1/2 games back in the division for the first time since June 26.The Nationals (66-66) are 13-13 in August and eight games behind Atlanta. DENTON, Texas (AP) — John Wetteland, a former All-Star and World Series MVP, has been charged in Texas with continuous sex abuse of a child under age 14.Wetteland, 52, was arrested Monday and freed on $25,000 bond, according to Denton County jail records. Wetteland lives in the Dallas-area suburb of Trophy Club.Bartonville Police Chief Bobby Dowell said the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services contacted his office last week. After an investigation, an arrest warrant was issued for Wetteland, who was taken into custody by Denton County sheriff’s deputies.Dowell said that because of the nature of the offense and the stage of the investigation Kevin Kiermaier Jersey , he had no further details to release. DFPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said details of the agency’s cases are confidential.According to a consolidated complaint and probable cause affidavit, Wetteland is accused of having a child perform a sex act on him, beginning in 2004 when the child was 4. The accuser said it happened twice more during a two-year period.The Associated Press was not able to contact Wetteland or his attorney for comment.Wetteland was the Most Valuable Player of the 1996 World Series when he helped the New York Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves. He posted four saves in that Series, which remains a major league record.He’s also been inducted into the Texas Rangers‘ Hall of Fame.Wetteland, a three-time All-Star, ranks 15th on the all-time list with 330 saves. He had a 48-45 record with a 2.93 ERA in a 12-season career also included stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Montreal Expos.In 2006, he was hired as the Washington Nationals‘ bullpen coach but was fired halfway through the season after then-manager Frank Robinson said he’d asked Wetteland several times to get the team’s relievers to focus more and reduce their practical jokes.In 2009, while Wetteland was on the Seattle Mariners‘ coaching staff, authorities responded to a 911 call from his home in Texas. Media outlets reported that Denton County authorities described the call as a mental health issue, saying Wetteland was contemplating suicide. Wetteland said in a statement at the time that “the circumstances leading to my elevated blood pressure and heart rate have been addressed.”The Texas Rangers said in a statement that they “have been made aware of this situation and have no further comment.” Wetteland has no current role with the organization.

Adrian Beltre has played some of the best baseball of his 21-year career against the Los Angeles Angels Matt Adams Jersey , and the Texas Rangers third baseman seems to enjoy hitting off left-hander Andrew Heaney just as much.The future Hall of Famer should get to experience both Wednesday night when the Rangers play the Angels in the final contest of their three-game series at Angel Stadium.Beltre has clubbed more home runs against the Angels than any other major league team, and 25 of those 47 long balls have gone over the wall at Angel Stadium.Article continues below ...He’s 7-for-14 in his career off Heaney with three home runs, including a two-run homer in a 4-2 victory in Texas on Sept. 4.“Beltre’s given me trouble for a long time,” Heaney told MLB.com after that game. “Every time I face him, he knows what I like to do. I try mixing it up on him sometimes, and that time he got me, he ambushed the fastball in and he got every bit of it.”Beltre is still looking for his first hit of the series.He sat out a 5-4 win by the Angels (77-81) in 11 innings on Monday and went 0-for-4 in a 4-1 loss on Tuesday.The Rangers (66-91) have lost seven of their past nine games.In his final start of the season, Heaney will be looking to secure a 10th win for the first time in his five-year career. He’s had two chances since throwing seven shutout innings in a 1-0 win against the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 9.Heaney (9-10, 4.21) pitched well enough to win against the visiting Seattle Mariners on Sept. 15, departing with a 4-2 lead after five innings, but the bullpen crumbled in the 6-5 loss.Heaney then matched his shortest outing of the season on Friday, allowing six runs, five hits and three walks in three innings of an 11-3 loss at the Houston Astros.He has been much better at home this season, posting a 7-3 record and 3.28 ERA http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-kevin-long-jersey , compared to 2-7 and 5.06 on the road.Heaney has not only had trouble getting Beltre out, but several other Rangers as well. Elvis Andrus is 7-for-15 with two home runs, Rougned Odor is 5-for-15, Nomar Mazara is 4-for-11, Joey Gallo is 3-for-7, and Robinson Chirinos is 4-for-6 with two home runs.Heaney is 1-3 in six career starts against Texas with a 7.50 ERA, the highest of any team he has faced more than twice. He’s 0-1 against the Rangers this season with a 7.94 mark.Heaney will be opposed by Texas left-hander Yohander Mendez (2-2, 6.04), who is scheduled to make his fifth career start and first against the Angels.His only appearances against Los Angeles came last September in two relief appearances two days apart in Anaheim.Mendez had a rough time in his last outing, allowing eight runs (seven earned) and nine hits in 3 2/3 innings of a 9-3 loss against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays last Wednesday.That was a major setback from his previous three appearances, when he combined to allow two runs and seven hits in 15 innings.“Not as good of command with the breaking ball,” former Rangers manager Jeff Banister told MLB.com after Mendez’s last outing, which came two days before Banister was fired. SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants hope to continue an increasingly improbable run to a playoff berth in the National League when they host the New York Mets on Saturday afternoon on the second day of a three-game series.On the same day that they appeared to raise the white flag when they dealt Andrew McCutchen to the New York Yankees for two prospects, the Giants (68-68) used Aramis Garcia’s first major-league home run and Chris Shaw’s first major-league RBI to help beat the Mets 7-0 on Friday night and inch within 6 1/2 games of first-place Arizona (74-61) in the NL West.The win was the Giants’ fifth on a homestand that also has seen them lose Buster Posey and Steven Duggar to season-ending injuries.Article continues below ...The Giants http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-joaquin-benoit-jersey , who remained eight games back in the race for the second NL wild-card berth, haven’t given up hope, as was evidenced by the sight of Posey and Pablo Sandoval, also out for the season following hamstring surgery, rooting on the club on Friday.“He’s doing fine,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Posey, who underwent hip surgery Monday. “He’ll be rehabbing for a while. I know he’s glad to get this part of it over, especially that first day or two, when you’re in a lot of pain.”Shaw, promoted earlier in the day to fill McCutchen’s vacated roster spot, eased a lot of the pain when he produced the Giants’ first run in the seventh inning Friday.Then Garcia, a catcher who had watched Nick Hundley do all the catching in the Arizona series that ended Wednesday, came through with a memorable first major-league hit — a homer off Mets reliever Robert Gsellman that triggered a six-run eighth inning.The Giants are hoping for more of the same Saturday with left-hander Derek Holland (7-8, 3.65 ERA) on the mound.The veteran is unbeaten in his last seven starts Ryan Zimmerman Jersey , including a five-inning outing on Aug. 20 in New York in which he limited the Mets to one run and four hits in a 2-1 win.Holland did not get a decision in the victory, and has never beaten the Mets in his career, going 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA in two starts.He is scheduled to be opposed by fellow left-hander Steven Matz (5-11, 4.36), who is winless in his last four starts, having allowed 14 earned runs in 14 2/3 innings.Like Holland, Matz didn’t get credit for a win when he pitched the Mets to a 6-3 home victory over the Giants on Aug. 21. He gave up just two runs and two hits in five innings.Matz is 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA in two career starts against the Giants.After the Giants roughed up the New York bullpen for six runs in the eighth inning Friday, the Mets called for reinforcements that are expected to join the team in time for Saturday’s game.Highly regarded reliever Eric Hanhold and minor-league mate Tim Peterson were reported to be headed west Friday night and should be ready to go when major-league rosters expand to 40 on Saturday.Hanhold, a hard-throwing right-hander, was acquired from Milwaukee as a player to be named later after the Mets dealt Neil Walker to the Brewers last September.

Andrew Heaney is the last man standing from a starting rotation the Los Angeles Angels hoped to rely on throughout 2018.Heaney will make his team-high 28th start of the season on Saturday night against the visiting Seattle Mariners in the third game of their four-game series at Angel Stadium.He’ll try to get the first win of the series for Los Angeles.Article continues below ...The Angels (73-75) fell 8-2 in the opener on Thursday night Josh Donaldson Jersey , preventing them from climbing over .500 for the first time in four weeks. Seattle (81-46) then shut them out 5-0 on Friday night.The Angels have scored two runs or fewer in five of their past six games.While injuries have decimated the Angels’ starting pitching staff this season, Heaney seems to be getting strongerHeaney (9-9, 3.98 ERA) struck out a career-high 12 batters in his last outing, throwing seven scoreless innings in a 1-0 win against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.“I think as we continue to see him get his stamina as this year’s progressed, he finished strong,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told MLB.com after that game. “He might have had some more left in him.”Heaney’s only absence from the rotation was at the beginning of the season, when he missed two starts while recovering from left elbow inflammation.“He got a little setback at the end of spring training Joe Carter Jersey , but right now he’s the lone survivor of what we had thought our rotation was going to be,” Scioscia said. “He’s been very strong.”Heaney faced the Mariners twice in July and once in June.In the June outing, the left-hander followed the first complete game of his career with a 5-3 loss to the Mariners in which he retired only nine batters and none of the five he faced in the fourth inning. Heaney gave up five runs and seven hits, and that three-inning start was his shortest since September.He was much better in his next start against the Mariners on July 3, holding them to two earned runs over seven innings but again taking the loss in a 4-1 defeat.Later that month, he faced Seattle for the first time this season at Angel Stadium and allowed three runs over eight innings before the Angels won 4-3 on a walk-off home run by Kole Calhoun in the 10th inning.For his career, Heaney is 1-3 with a 3.78 ERA in six starts against Seattle.The Mariners will send right-hander Erasmo Ramirez to the mound Saturday.In his latest outing http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-j.a.-happ-jersey , Ramirez (2-3, 5.31) tossed five innings before getting a no-decision Sunday. He allowed two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four in the 3-2 win over the New York Yankees.“He kept grinding through it,” Mariners manager Scott Servais told MLB.com after the win. “It wasn’t his sharpest outing, but he made pitches when he needed to to keep them off the board the best he could.”Ramirez has been terrific in his past two starts, giving up three runs in 10 1/3 innings while lowering his ERA from 6.28 to 5.31.He is 4-2 with a 2.25 ERA in six career starts against the Angels, but has not faced them this season. One might think that the St. Louis Cardinals are due for a fall after nine consecutive series wins.Don’t run that theory by first baseman and MVP candidate Matt Carpenter.“I don’t know why it shouldn’t last the rest of the year,” he said Sunday after a 12-3 win at Colorado capped a 5-1 road trip and made them 22-7 since July 27. “I don’t see why it couldn’t.”Article continues below ...Carpenter and St. Louis will get a chance to test that theory Tuesday night when they welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates for the opener of a three-game series in Busch Stadium.The Cardinals (72-58) own the National League’s first wild-card spot and sit four games behind the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central. They also have a home-heavy schedule in the season’s last five weeks Kendrys Morales Jersey , playing 19 of their final 31 games in front of friendly fans. They have just one road trip longer than three games for the year’s remainder.For a team that is 11-4 at home under interim manager Mike Shildt, the chance to spend most of the year’s remainder in familiar surroundings has to be an advantage. Then again, St. Louis fans were last heard turning Coors Field into Busch Stadium West in the last few innings on Sunday, even chanting “MVP” as Carpenter did a postgame interview on FS Midwest.“That was cool to hear the fans, especially as many as we had here today,” Carpenter said. “It was a neat experience.”Watching Jack Flaherty (7-6, 2.97 ERA) pitch has been a neat experience at times. The rookie right-hander Jesse Barfield Jersey , who takes the mound for the series opener, has received the endorsement of none other than Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, who probably likes how Flaherty works inside with purpose.Flaherty had everything going for him in his last start Wednesday night at the Los Angeles Dodgers, although he settled for a no-decision in a 3-1 Cardinals win. Flaherty took a no-hitter into the sixth inning for the third time this year before a Joc Pederson homer knee-capped that bid.In Flaherty’s last four starts, including a 2-1 win on Aug. 5 at Pittsburgh, he was allowed just 10 hits and two runs in 25 innings, walking nine and whiffing 33. He has faced the Pirates four times this year Brett Anderson Jersey , going 2-1 with a no-decision.Opposing him will be veteran right-hander Ivan Nova (7-8, 4.20), who has pitched well in his last three starts but is just 1-2 despite giving up no more than two runs in each game. Nova permitted only four hits and two runs in six innings Wednesday night against Atlanta at PNC Park but suffered a 6-1 defeat.The former New York Yankees pitcher’s last appearance against St. Louis resulted in an 8-4 loss on Aug. 4, when he gave up eight hits and four runs in four innings, walking three and fanning three.Pittsburgh (64-67) has lost seven of 10 to fall out of contention in the division and wild-card races.

HOUSTON — The standard of expectation is so high for the Houston Astros http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-andrew-triggs-jersey , reigning World Series champions and possessors of the second-best record in baseball, that any unusually poor performance subsequently demands a lengthy explanation from all the involved parties.On Wednesday, the Astros (95-67) closed their season series against the Seattle Mariners with a thud, suffering a 9-0 loss that matched their largest defeat by margin on the season. Houston suffered a pair of nine-run setbacks in the span of six days in late July and are a robust 35-8 in blowouts (games decided by five or more runs) this season. Yet, with a postseason berth nearly clinched and the hard-charging Oakland Athletics in dogged pursuit for the American League West title and the No. 2 seed in the playoff picture, the timing of the performance troubled.“September baseball,” said Astros manager A.J. Hinch, whose club is 13-4 this month. “I know that’s kind of a thing this year where everybody is using a lot of pitchers. It’s a lot easier to do it in September. It’s a challenge. It’s no different than when you run into a spot starter, you run into a game where they can utilize their whole bullpen depending on their schedule.”Article continues below ...Right-hander Gerrit Cole (14-5, 2.88 ERA) will start on eight days of rest on Friday when the Astros host the Los Angeles Angels for their final series of the regular season at Minute Maid Park. Cole was slated to start on Tuesday against the Mariners but was pushed back in deference to additional rest for the stretch run. He has allowed two runs in each of his last three starts and is 2-0 with a 3.24 ERA this month. Cole has faced the Angels three times in 2018 Jake Smolinski Jersey , going 1-1 with a 3.57 ERA. He is 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA over five career starts against the Angels.Left-hander Andrew Heaney (9-9, 3.97 ERA) gets the starting nod for the Angels. He faced the Astros in consecutive starts to close August, twirling six shutout innings with six strikeouts in a 5-2 victory at Minute Maid Park on Aug. 30 after surrendering five runs on eight hits and one walk over six innings in a 9-3 loss six days earlier at Angel Stadium. Heaney is 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA over four starts against the Astros this season and 3-1 with a 1.95 ERA against Houston over six career starts.The Angels (75-78) suffered the worst loss in franchise history on Thursday, falling to the Athletics 21-3 and enabling Oakland to close to within 3 1/2 games of the Astros in the division. They have dropped five of seven games after winning seven of nine to climb back to .500.The lone interesting footnote for the Angels from their blowout loss to Oakland: Francisco Arcia became the first player in league history to catch, pitch, and homer in the same game. Arcia, who started the afternoon behind the plate, allowed three runs on four hits while pitching the seventh and eighth innings. He then slugged a solo home run, his sixth home run on the season, with two outs in the ninth inning off Athletics right-hander Chris Hatcher. CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians Bruce Maxwell Jersey , who are in full-blown postseason preparation mode, will host the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Progressive Field, the first game of Cleveland’s final homestand of the regular season.The Indians’ magic number for clinching their third consecutive American League Central title is three. With that in mind, Indians manager Terry Francona and his staff are implementing some lineup adjustments in preparation for the postseason.The most obvious is the addition of third baseman Josh Donaldson, who was acquired in a trade with Toronto. He made his debut with the Indians on Tuesday in Tampa Bay, batting fifth and going 0-for-4.Article continues below ...Donaldson is expected to be in the lineup Friday at third base. His addition has moved third baseman Jose Ramirez to second base, bumping second baseman Jason Kipnis to center field.For Ramirez, the position switch comes at a time when he’s trying to hit his way out of his first slump of the season. After a spectacular first half of the season that landed him a start at third base for the American League all-star team, Ramirez has been in an extended slump.From opening day through the end of July, Ramirez was hitting .298 http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-pinder-jersey , with a 1.038 OPS. Since Aug. 1, he is hitting .228 with a .763 OPS.In Cleveland’s 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday, Ramirez, who is third in the American League with 38 home runs, snapped an 86-at bat homerless streak with a homer off Rays ace Nate Snell.Francona says he isn’t worried about his MVP candidate’s slump.“We’ve all seen what he can do. We know it’s in there, and we know he’s going to get hot,” Francona said. “He’s an extremely intelligent hitter when it comes to knowing how teams are pitching him, and what they’re trying to do. He’s had a little lull here, but he can hit any pitch. He’s going to be fine.”Cleveland’s starting pitcher Friday night also reflects the team’s priority of getting the rotation lined up for the start of the postseason. Because of that, Josh Tomlin (1-5 Brett Anderson Jersey , 6.63 ERA) will get a spot start.Tomlin, who won 23 games as a member of the rotation the last two years, made six disastrous starts to begin the 2018 season and was quickly moved to the bullpen. In three starts, Tomlin was 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA. In 22 relief appearances, he is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA.Friday will be Tomlin’s first start since May 15, when he took the loss as Cleveland fell 9-8 to Detroit. In that game, Tomlin gave up four runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings, with four strikeouts and no walks.In four appearances (two starts) against Detroit this year, Tomlin has no record and a 2.92 ERA. In 20 career appearances (14 starts) against the Tigers, he is 7-6 with a 4.87 ERA.Left-hander Matt Boyd will start for Detroit. Boyd (9-12 Blake Treinen Jersey , 4.11) made his last start on Sept. 8, when he got no decision in a 4-3 Detroit loss to St. Louis. In that start Boyd was outstanding, working seven innings and allowing one run and two hits, with 11 strikeouts and one walk.In two starts against Cleveland this year, Boyd is 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA. In his career, he has made seven appearances (six starts) against the Indians and is 1-3 with a 3.05 ERA.The Tigers, who come into Friday’s game on a four-game losing streak, are 4-12 vs. the Indians this year.

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Giants lost another player and the New York Mets took a step toward getting one back as the clubs prepared for a three-game series that begins Friday night with one still clinging to a sliver of playoff hope.The Giants (67-68) began Thursday — an off day for both teams — seven games back in the National League West and 7 1/2 behind Milwaukee for the second NL wild-card spot http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-kerry-wood-jersey , then fell another half-game back of the Brewers (75-60) after Milwaukee beat the Cincinnati Reds in an afternoon affair.Meanwhile, the Giants learned they’d also lost center fielder Steven Duggar, their hottest hitter of late, for the rest of the season with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.Article continues below ...“The timing is awful,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Duggar, who provided difference-making hits in wins over Texas on Sunday and Arizona on Monday. “He was really in a good place.”The three games against the Mets, the fourth-place team in the NL East, provide a short break from a heavyweight-laden September schedule in which the Giants will go up against teams ahead of them in the standings — Colorado, Milwaukee, Atlanta and Colorado again — for 12 straight games starting Monday.The Mets have done a good job playing spoiler while encountering a rough patch of their own schedule. They split four games against the Giants last week in New York as part of an 8-7 run against Philadelphia (3-2), San Francisco (2-2), Washington (2-1) and the Chicago Cubs (1-2).In the meantime, the Mets have been trying to get their own house in order, sending former All-Star third baseman David Wright to the minors in his bid to play this season despite recent neck Kris Bryant Jersey , back and shoulder surgeries.Wright, who went 1-for-9 in two games for Triple-A Las Vegas this week, has rejoined the parent club in San Francisco, but solely to continue rehab for the time being.“We just haven’t seen that level of consistency of playing on a quantity or quality at this point,” Mets interim general manager John Ricco said this week, indicating that reinstating Wright to the major-league roster — even as they expand Saturday — was no sure thing.“Quite frankly as this point,” Ricco continued, “he hasn’t been able to make some of the benchmarks that were laid out for him (as he began his rehab stint).”Wright hasn’t played in a major-league game since May 2016.Zack Wheeler (9-6, 3.46 ERA), dealt from the Giants to the Mets for Carlos Beltran in 2011, will make his third career start in San Francisco since the trade. He’s 1-1 with a 4.22 ERA in the first two.The former No. 6 overall pick of the 2009 draft by the Giants has lived up to the early projections since the All-Star break, a stretch during which he has the second-best ERA in the NL (1.17) in seven starts.He’s 2-1 with a 3.45 ERA in five lifetime starts against the Giants.Rookie left-hander Andrew Suarez (5-9, 4.42), coming off seven shutout innings in a 5-3 win over Texas last Saturday http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-addison-russell-jersey , is scheduled to open the series for the Giants. He has never faced the Mets. DETROIT (AP) — For Kevan Smith and the Chicago White Sox, this home run was particularly special.Smith used his custom uniform Saturday night to honor Daniel Webb, the former Chicago reliever who died in an ATV accident last October . In the second inning, Smith connected for his first homer of the season, and the White Sox went on to win 6-1 over the Detroit Tigers.“There’s just been a lot of things that’s happened in my life, since the accident. It was almost like in the back of my head — like, wow, what if like I hit a home run here?” Smith said. “And oh my gosh, it happens. Just felt like I was going to start crying, running around the bases.”Major leaguers have been wearing nicknames on the backs of their jerseys for Players’ Weekend, and “WEBBY” was Smith’s choice. His two-run shot in the second gave Chicago a 3-0 lead.“It only hit a few guys I think when I hit it, at first,” Smith said. “When guys started realizing the significance of it, it was pretty overwhelming.”Lucas Giolito (10-9) pitched seven sharp innings in his third straight quality start. He allowed a run and three hits with a walk and six strikeouts.Mikie Mahtook homered for the Tigers. Ryan Carpenter (1-2) gave up six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.“I started getting behind hitters right from the start and that got me into big trouble http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-sammy-sosa-jersey ,” Carpenter said. “I didn’t have command of my fastball — everything was up — and when I was finally able to find an adjustment in the fourth inning, it was already too little, too late.”Detroit optioned Carpenter to Triple-A Toledo after the game.The White Sox took an immediate 1-0 lead in the first when Tim Anderson drew a leadoff walk and scored on Jose Rondon’s double. Smith’s drive made it 3-0. After Mahtook homered in the bottom of the second, Chicago responded with two runs in the third on an RBI single by Yoan Moncada and a sacrifice fly by Ryan LaMarre.Matt Davidson brought home another run with a double in the fifth.“Early on, the game really dragged. I don’t like games that don’t have any pace to them,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Carp had a really slow pace and didn’t have his best stuff, and we all fell into it. Their guy pitched well, and we hit a few balls on the screws but right at people, but we really didn’t do much.”The White Sox have won eight of 11.LOOKING BETTERGiolito lowered his ERA to 5.85. It’s still the worst mark in the major leagues of anyone who qualifies for the ERA title, but the 23-year-old right-hander has been a bit better since the All-Star break.“It was definitely the best fastball command I’ve had all season,” Giolito said. “Warming up in the bullpen, I was hitting both sides of the plate super consistently.”This was the second time this month that Giolito has gone seven innings with only one run allowed. He also did it in a no-decision Aug. 3 at Tampa Bay.TRAINER’S ROOMTigers: OF JaCoby Jones (right hamstring strain) continued his rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo.UP NEXTChicago rookie Michael Kopech (0-0) takes the mound in his second career start for the series finale against Detroit’s Jordan Zimmermann (6-5) on Sunday. The Tigers are retiring Hall of Famer Alan Trammell’s No. 3 and will have a ceremony before the game.

The Los Angeles Chargers are sitting comfortably with a 6-2 record heading into their Week 10 matchup against the Oakland Raiders. Clicking on all cylinders Denzel Perryman Color Rush Jersey , the Bolts have been one of the more consistent teams on the offensive side of the ball thanks to the dynamic passing of Philip Rivers and the successful ground and pound running game of Melvin Gordon. The Chargers defense might not be perfect following a 25-19 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, but several positions have been thriving in recent weeks. Gus Bradley’s secondary took a hit early on this season with the season-ending loss of cornerback Jason Verrett to a torn Achilles, but thanks to the likes of Casey Heyward, Desmond King and potential Rookie of the Year Derwin James, they’ve managed to stay active in coverage. Denzel Perryman might be in a contract year, but the 25-year-old linebacker is doing everything in his power to earn his next payday in the coming months. The former Hurricane has collected 51 total tackles along two pass deflections and an interception. The defensive line might now wow you with their overall stats, but have improved in recent weeks. Issac Rochell and Melvin Ingram have been consistent pass rushers, collecting seven total sacks between them this season.Brandon Mebane currently is doing his part stuffing the run with four tackles per loss while Corey Luiget is making up for lost time with his 17 tackles in just four games. But pass rush still is a glaring issue that needs to be addressed quite soon if Pro Bowl defensive end Joey Bosa is expected to miss more time. Once considered the front-runner for Defensive Player of the Year, the former first-round standout has yet to make an appearance this season for the Bolts defense. ”I know he’s getting better,” Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. “He’s doing more football functional things. We’ll just take it day-by-day and see where he ends up at the end of the week.”Getting better and being active are two very different things. The Chargers are looking to make a run at the AFC West title against the Kansas City Chiefs and won’t be able to sniff Patrick Mahomes without their double-digit sack artist. Which bring the question to mind; should Chargers general manager Tom Telesco consider signing former Raiders defensive end Bruce Irvin? Irvin was released from Oakland thanks to yet another move made by coach Jon Gruden earlier this weekend. Following Monday’s 24 hour waiver period, Irvin is now a free agent and will have the ability to sign with any team without them paying the rest of his $3.8-million contract. There are reasons on both sides of the argument on why Irvin could be a natural fit or nightmare for Bradley’s defense. Neither side is entirely wrong, but both sides also bring a fair share of doubts to the table. Looking at the positives, Irvin would address a glaring area of need; pass rush. Irvin Antonio Gates Color Rush Jersey , 31, was known for his ability both in Seattle and Oakland to wreak havoc and disrupt a quarterback in the backfield. While he may have never reached a double-digit sack season, the former West Virginia star was consistent at making his presence known on the offensive line and against pass protection. The Chargers currently are tied for 14th in the league for total sacks with 22 total on the year. No player has more 4 1/2 sacks as Ingram finally has come into his own after a slow start. Irvin had three sacks with the Raiders before his release. With games against weak offensive lines such as Denver, Arizona, and Cincinnati, Irvin could add some pressure to the Bolts front seven. There’s also his versatility. While playing defensive end this year for the Raiders front seven, Irvin thrived in Seattle as the team’s SAM backer, another area of need for the Chargers defense. As an off-ball linebacker, Irvin collected a career-high eight sacks when his hand wasn’t in the dirt. This season along with three sacks, the hybrid defender has collected six tackles and four quarterback hits. Should Bosa return, Irvin could return to his former position and perhaps give the Chargers a strong three-man pass rush with the third-year defensive end and Ingram on the corners. The final thing is the timing. With Los Angeles set to play his former squad this weekend, Irvin could have some fun a revenge style game, taking a shot at not just Derek Carr Derwin James Color Rush Jersey , but also the organization that thought he was no longer able to be a solid contributor to a terrible team. There are several negatives though when looking at Irvin for the future. For starters, his production has rapidly declined this season. Following a 58-tackles, eight-sack season last year, Irvin has seen his sack numbers splice in half along with his total number of tackles fall below the single digit line. Granted, while perhaps to the full-time move to defensive end has something to do with it, that would lead to questions about his long-term durability on the field. Much like Los Angeles Rams outside linebacker Dante Fowler, Irvin could be the clone for Bradley just in a different position. Fowler was never able to thrive as a stand-up pass rusher while Bradley was calling the shots for the Jacksonville Jaguars back in 2016. Similar to Fowler with his attack and set off the edge, should Irvin have to play as a defensive end, there’s no guarantee he will find success for Bradley as either a nine or five technique. Finally, location plays a role as well. The 31-year-old Atlanta native might be ready to call it a career sooner rather than later. The Falcons have dealt with plenty of significant defensive injuries and still are in contention to perhaps pull out a wild-card spot with their current 4-4 record. With the knowledge of his former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s scheme along with perhaps taking a hometown discount, Atlanta could persuade Irvin to come home and finish his career inside the dome as a Dirty Bird. In the end, the Chargers must consider all their options for a pass rush moving forward. If Bosa is expected to miss more than one more week, Irvin could be a great addition for the Chargers defensive front. With his knowledge and experience with Bradley’s defense Jahleel Addae Color Rush Jersey , so long he plays the SAM role, Irvin could help the Chargers win the AFC West. For the right price, Telesco would be foolish not to offer him a contract. But pricing is essential no matter what the team elects to do. Similar to how the Chargers signed free safety Tre Boston to a “prove it” contract, that should be the game plan when addressing Irvin. Irvin could scoff at the offer and find himself a new home, but hey, at least Telesco was willing to a take a risk. Sometimes even those risks show confidence a GM has in building their roster to jump into “win-now” mode. For Telesco’s sake, just making the phone call should keep Chargers fans off his back for a week. Irvin might no longer be an elite pass rusher, but he still can contribute to playoff caliber defense for the rest of the season. For Bolts fan sake, hopefully, the defender is looking to sign with a team that plays his former franchise.He’s coming for blood out, and the silver and black uniforms should be his primary target to take down. This is a great time of year to be thankful for what we have, where we have been, and what the future holds. Although the Chargers have lost their way a bit in recent years Uchenna Nwosu Color Rush Jersey , the month of December still holds such incredible promise! This advent calendar is an attempt to hearken back to these days of December joy. Each day will bring a new advent from the Bolts’ history that makes it wonderful to be a Chargers fan.Dec. 23: The Chargers Have Failed to Kickoff...Twice!Kickoffs in football are a pretty common part of the game. I know, there’s been rumbles here and there about getting rid of them or making them safer, but until that day—they are just an ever-present part of the game. Well...almost.Kickoffs are indeed part of the game, but they aren’t necessarily a guaranteed part. We have already delved into the weird truth of the NFL free kick earlier in this Advent Calendar series, but the Chargers have also made their mark with two very rare marks in the record book: failing to kickoff—twice!OK. Sounds silly. How can this be true?Kickoff, noun:A kick that puts a ball in to play in American football and other sports.OK, now that we have re-learned what we likely all already know, we see that kickoffs are an integral part of the game. They MUST kickoff if they score a TD or field goal, and they have a choice if they score a safety. Beyond that, they are offered a choice to kickoff to start one of two halves each game. Thus, each team in each game has at least ONE guaranteed option to have a kickoff.Thanks to Quirky Research.com, we can see exactly how rare this is.The only way a team can be on this list and not be shut out is to score a safety, to score at the end of the first or second half or Russell Okung Color Rush Jersey , in a nearly impossible scenario, to score the game-winning points in overtime. Highlighted below, the Bengals are the only known team to never kick off in a non-shutout when the Patriots took an intentional safety in the fourth quarter.So, in a very strange set of events, the Chargers are on this very exclusive list twice. Once, in their inaugural season (in the AFL) against the Dallas Texans (Kansas City Chiefs), and again in 1987 against the Denver Broncos.Both times, the Chargers of course lost the game with a grant total of zero points. The wind is almost definitely the reason why the Chargers would take this course of action, but it is still an option that would have watercoolers buzzing the next day.What’s even stranger is that the Chargers did this once representing LA and once representing San Diego. Both were away games, which also factored into the decision making.-Jason “Whew knew!” Michaels

According to the latest reports Cheap Brazil Soccer Team Uniform , Barcelona has reignited their interest in Willian. The Spanish giant has been interested in the Chelsea attacker for a while and thus tempted the Blues with a player-plus-cash bid on Thursday.The man the Catalan giant is ready to move on is Malcom. The Blaugrana only signed the Brazilian in the summer but they are ready to cash in on him after his failure to break into the starting lineup.However, as written by the Telegraph, Barcelona's offer of the $49M flop plus cash was rejected by the Blues. The 30-year-old Selecao ace may be in the final 18 months of his Stamford Bridge contract, but the club believes that Barcelona's offer valued at $64M doesn't match their valuation.Furthermore www.thetopsoccer.com/national-team-kit/colombia , Sarri's side is eager to bolster their squad, not lose a crucial player in their lineup. Despite running into a few roadblocks, the London giant is still keen on adding Gonzalo Higuain to their team and having to replace Willian in January would be another headache.As for Malcom, Barcelona is tipped to sell the former Bordeaux man regardless of whether they can tempt Chelsea to accept the player-plus-cash offer. A January exit is on the cards Cheap England Soccer Team Uniform , but it remains to be seen if a club will lodge in a fair bid for the Barcelona flop. American defender Matt Miazga made his debut for Reading of England’s second-tier League Championship, playing the entire match in a 1-1 draw at Bolton on Tuesday night.The 23-year-old center back from Clifton, New Jersey, was among three players who made debuts for relegation-threatened Reading www.thetopsoccer.com/national-team-kit/france , which is one point behind 21st-place Rotherham. Emi Martinez and Nelson Oliveira also debuted, and Oliveira converted a penalty kick in the 75th minute. But Jack Hobbs tied the score with a header in stoppage time.Miazga was sent from Chelsea to Nantes last summer on what was supposed to be a season-long loan but was recalled Friday and lent to Reading.Chelsea acquired Miazga from Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls in January 2016. But he made just two appearances during the remainder of that season and was lent to Vitesse in the Netherlands for 2016-17 and 2017-18.Miazga has 11 international appearances.