PHOENIX (AP)—Tracking the ball against the tough-to-pick-up backdrop of spacious Chase Field, Brandon Allen(notes) sprinted to the corner and leaped in the air, snaring Chase Headley’s(notes) slicing fly ball just before careening off the chain-link fence. The first ball hit nfl throwback jerseys
to him in his first big-league game as a left fielder, Allen made it look like he’d been there all along.
Oh, yeah, he hit a grand slam, too, but the Arizona Diamondbacks kind of expected that.
Making an impressive 2010 debut with Arizona, Allen hit his first career grand slam and made several rangy catches in left field to help the Diamondbacks send the reeling San Diego Padres to their seventh straight loss, 5-2 on Wednesday.
“Unbelievable,” said Diamondbacks starter Barry Enright(notes) (6-2), who fought through seven not-quite-sharp innings. “I cannot say enough.”
Allen made his way through Arizona’s minor-league system with his bat, slugging 25 homers with 86 RBIs in 107 games at Triple-A Reno this season. He’s been shaky at times with the glove at first base, though, his progress to the majors slowed even more by the signing of Adam LaRoche(notes) in the offseason.
Looking to find a way to get his bat to the majors, Arizona started occasionally sending Allen out to left field this season in Reno, an experiment that had gone relatively well because his athleticism.
Allen earned a September call-up on Wednesday and found himself in the starting lineup, batting eighth and playing left field.
Without catching any fly balls during the warmups, the rookie brought the crowd and his teammates to their feet with his against-the-fence catch of Headley’s slicer on the first ball hit to him in the fourth inning. He added an in-the-gap snag in the fifth inning and another ho-hum catch out in left later in the inning.
Then in the seventh inning, Allen did what he does best, punctuating his return to the majors with his slam off Luke Gregerson(notes) (3-7) that earned a curtain call from the fans.
“He was very comfortable out there,” Diamondbacks interim manager Kirk Gibson said. “That one play, I’m not sure you understand what it’s like to run into that fence like that, but he knew exactly where he was and had it perfectly timed. He’s an athletic kid.”
Allen’s big day ruined San Diego’s.
The Padres entered the day still four games ahead of Philadelphia Eagles jersey
San Francisco in the NL West, but another loss at last-place Arizona wasn’t what they wanted heading into a 10-game homestand against three division opponents.
Ace-in-the-making starter Mat Latos(notes) did his part to keep San Diego in it, holding Arizona to one run and four hits over six innings while matching a career high with 10 strikeouts.
The rest of it didn’t go so well.
Miguel Tejada(notes) broke a 4-for-26 slump with a solo homer in the fourth inning, but had an error on a potential double-play ball to set up Allen’s grand slam. Gregerson didn’t help himself in the inning, either, issuing a leadoff walk and giving up Gerardo Parra’s(notes) third single after Tejada’s error.
The Padres went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position, leaving Arizona with a three-game sweep by a team that’s 22 games behind them in the division.
“Things aren’t going our way,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “We will spin out of it.”
Arizona, after a tough start to the season, finally has some momentum.
Coming off their first winning month in a year (16-13 in August), the Diamondbacks followed a road series win over San Francisco with an impressive three-game sweep over the NL West leaders.
Chris Young hit his 23rd homer, Enright allowed two runs and nine hits and Juan Gutierrez(notes) pitched the ninth for his sixth save to help Arizona win for the sixth time in seven games.
“The guys have been playing good baseball and hopefully we can keep it going,” Young said. “It’s nice to know we can make a difference.”
Latos made it tough on them.
The right-hander struck out the side twice in the first four innings and made one just mistake: a 3-1 down-the-pipe fastball that Young turned on and turned into a curling solo homer off the foul pole in left that tied it 1-all.
That was it, though, making Latos the first pitcher to allow two earned runs or less in 14 straight starts since Greg Maddux(notes) did it with Atlanta from 1993-94.
“I did what I wanted to do,” Latos said. “I tried to come out and put zeros on the board, try to keep the game close and try to win a ball game.”
With the game tight, though, Black decided to go for offense in the seventh inning, replacing Latos with a pinch-hitter.
The hitting part worked: Will Venable(notes) hit a run-scoring single to put San Diego up 2-1. The plan backfired, though, when Tejada couldn’t hold onto the ball and Oakland Raiders jersey
Gregerson the lead, setting up Allen’s storybook-finishing slam.
“Nobody imagines that,” said Allen, who hit .202 and had 40 strikeouts in 32 games as a first baseman with Arizona last season. “Everything just falls into place.”
Notes: Arizona failed to score six runs for the first time in seven games. … The last pitcher to allow two earned runs or less in 14 straight starts in one season was Houston ace Mike Scott in 1986.
2010年9月4日星期六
Phillies in a familiar place, just different
LOS ANGELES – You wonder where the Philadelphia Phillies are going with this.
When their game went from Ryan and Chase to Punch and Judy.
When they started leaning on football jerseys
all this pitching and when the bats were due to arrive from Clearwater.
Nine months since they carted themselves off the field at Yankee Stadium, their manager vowing to be back and everyone inclined to believe him, the Phillies have altered their M.O., along with their ID and, well, their OPS.
The makeover was not entirely intentional, of course, and neither has it been entirely detrimental.
They’ve had their injuries, many of them gut-shots to the lineup. They’ve had their slumps, having been one-hit three times, having scored seven runs during a four-game sweep by the Houston Astros in Philly last week, having hit about three home runs a week fewer than they did all last season.
But Roy Halladay(notes) came along and so eventually did Roy Oswalt(notes), softening the short-sighted decision to trade Cliff Lee(notes), and Cole Hamels(notes) got some of his game back, and the bullpen is maybe less flammable at times.
And now, on Sept. 1, the Phillies have 75 wins, or one fewer (in four fewer games) than they did last Sept. 1.
Push through the various numbers and trends and slumps and bad thumbs and consternation, and still the biggest difference in the Philadelphia Phillies this season is the Atlanta Braves.
“We’re a good team,” Rollins insisted. “We can play good baseball. We’ve been booby-trapped by that this year, but we’re moving in the right direction.”
The Phillies are three games back (and leading the wild card race). A year ago, they were 7½ games up. There’s a perspective adjustment for you. They ultimately won 93 games. They’ll probably have to win more than that if they’re to be NL East champions for another year, which, if not impossible, will be a big lift. (They have won at least 17 games in each of the past three Septembers.)
They’re still waiting on the usual savvy and violent at-bats from their core – Ryan Howard(notes), Chase Utley(notes) and Jimmy Rollins(notes) – and weather and circumstance means they’re in a 23-day slog in which they’ll play 24 games, and the Braves do seem to have a very healthy view of themselves.
The wild card is fine and would have to do. But, in reaching the World Series in back-to-back seasons, the Phillies were 12-3 at Citizens Bank Park in the postseason. They’d hate to have to lean on the National League’s once-in-a-generation All-Star win for their only San Diego Chargers jersey
shot at home-field advantage this October (and November), though by Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium these weren’t the sort of thoughts that had come across Charlie Manuel’s desk.
Mostly, he’d be pleased to have come out West and hit at all, given the ballparks and pitching staffs that awaited, and given the condition of his offense when he left Philadelphia six days before. His fellas hit SoCal and scored a good-enough 24 runs in six games and won five of them, because the other fellas scored just 11 times, the San Diego-L.A. portion of the trip beginning and ending with a dominant Oswalt.
His face and forearms reddened by an afternoon in the sun, Manuel was happy as a pig in slop about his starting pitching, or certainly as it might set up come October. He shrugged his shoulders, a gesture meant to convey, “Assuming we get there.”
“I think our starting pitching is the best it’s been since I’ve been here,” said Manuel, who’s now 10 years on the job and has had his hands full for plenty of them.
The chore now is to put a cattle prod to the offense, which for a couple days was utterly competent again. Howard homered Tuesday night, and Rollins homered and Utley had three doubles Wednesday. They packed up and headed for a makeup game in Colorado on Thursday. They get the Milwaukee Brewers for three over the weekend in Philadelphia, with a doubleheader against the Florida Marlins waiting on Monday.
“It’s going to take our offense to be more consistent,” Manuel said, “and our pitching has to stay exactly where it is. We know we can hit. It’s just a matter of us doing it. That will make for a big September.”
Meantime, they play away from the perception they’ve changed for the worse, and irrevocably. And if they harbored any such fears, the Phillies were in a good place for perspective this week. The Dodgers – the franchise they’d eliminated in consecutive championship series – have burst into flames. The stadium might have been half-full Wednesday. The owner and his former CEO (and estranged wife) were in a downtown courtroom. The manager is considering calling it a career. The team’s official charity is being investigated by the California attorney general’s office.
And the ballclub is all but done, a full two months ahead of schedule.
That’s change. That’s irrevocable change. That’s a mess.
The Phillies? They’re a little different. They’re not what we’re used to. They’re probably going to the playoffs. They’re still the Phillies.
“People look at us as different because they’ve seen our offense sputter,” Manuel said. “But every team’s offense is down. There’s Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
some good teams struggling like we’ve been.”
Manuel shrugged, the gesture meant to convey, “It could be worse. A lot worse.”
“You gotta let it play out,” he said.
He, too, is wondering where they’re going with this. He’ll find out when they get there.
When their game went from Ryan and Chase to Punch and Judy.
When they started leaning on football jerseys
all this pitching and when the bats were due to arrive from Clearwater.
Nine months since they carted themselves off the field at Yankee Stadium, their manager vowing to be back and everyone inclined to believe him, the Phillies have altered their M.O., along with their ID and, well, their OPS.
The makeover was not entirely intentional, of course, and neither has it been entirely detrimental.
They’ve had their injuries, many of them gut-shots to the lineup. They’ve had their slumps, having been one-hit three times, having scored seven runs during a four-game sweep by the Houston Astros in Philly last week, having hit about three home runs a week fewer than they did all last season.
But Roy Halladay(notes) came along and so eventually did Roy Oswalt(notes), softening the short-sighted decision to trade Cliff Lee(notes), and Cole Hamels(notes) got some of his game back, and the bullpen is maybe less flammable at times.
And now, on Sept. 1, the Phillies have 75 wins, or one fewer (in four fewer games) than they did last Sept. 1.
Push through the various numbers and trends and slumps and bad thumbs and consternation, and still the biggest difference in the Philadelphia Phillies this season is the Atlanta Braves.
“We’re a good team,” Rollins insisted. “We can play good baseball. We’ve been booby-trapped by that this year, but we’re moving in the right direction.”
The Phillies are three games back (and leading the wild card race). A year ago, they were 7½ games up. There’s a perspective adjustment for you. They ultimately won 93 games. They’ll probably have to win more than that if they’re to be NL East champions for another year, which, if not impossible, will be a big lift. (They have won at least 17 games in each of the past three Septembers.)
They’re still waiting on the usual savvy and violent at-bats from their core – Ryan Howard(notes), Chase Utley(notes) and Jimmy Rollins(notes) – and weather and circumstance means they’re in a 23-day slog in which they’ll play 24 games, and the Braves do seem to have a very healthy view of themselves.
The wild card is fine and would have to do. But, in reaching the World Series in back-to-back seasons, the Phillies were 12-3 at Citizens Bank Park in the postseason. They’d hate to have to lean on the National League’s once-in-a-generation All-Star win for their only San Diego Chargers jersey
shot at home-field advantage this October (and November), though by Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium these weren’t the sort of thoughts that had come across Charlie Manuel’s desk.
Mostly, he’d be pleased to have come out West and hit at all, given the ballparks and pitching staffs that awaited, and given the condition of his offense when he left Philadelphia six days before. His fellas hit SoCal and scored a good-enough 24 runs in six games and won five of them, because the other fellas scored just 11 times, the San Diego-L.A. portion of the trip beginning and ending with a dominant Oswalt.
His face and forearms reddened by an afternoon in the sun, Manuel was happy as a pig in slop about his starting pitching, or certainly as it might set up come October. He shrugged his shoulders, a gesture meant to convey, “Assuming we get there.”
“I think our starting pitching is the best it’s been since I’ve been here,” said Manuel, who’s now 10 years on the job and has had his hands full for plenty of them.
The chore now is to put a cattle prod to the offense, which for a couple days was utterly competent again. Howard homered Tuesday night, and Rollins homered and Utley had three doubles Wednesday. They packed up and headed for a makeup game in Colorado on Thursday. They get the Milwaukee Brewers for three over the weekend in Philadelphia, with a doubleheader against the Florida Marlins waiting on Monday.
“It’s going to take our offense to be more consistent,” Manuel said, “and our pitching has to stay exactly where it is. We know we can hit. It’s just a matter of us doing it. That will make for a big September.”
Meantime, they play away from the perception they’ve changed for the worse, and irrevocably. And if they harbored any such fears, the Phillies were in a good place for perspective this week. The Dodgers – the franchise they’d eliminated in consecutive championship series – have burst into flames. The stadium might have been half-full Wednesday. The owner and his former CEO (and estranged wife) were in a downtown courtroom. The manager is considering calling it a career. The team’s official charity is being investigated by the California attorney general’s office.
And the ballclub is all but done, a full two months ahead of schedule.
That’s change. That’s irrevocable change. That’s a mess.
The Phillies? They’re a little different. They’re not what we’re used to. They’re probably going to the playoffs. They’re still the Phillies.
“People look at us as different because they’ve seen our offense sputter,” Manuel said. “But every team’s offense is down. There’s Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
some good teams struggling like we’ve been.”
Manuel shrugged, the gesture meant to convey, “It could be worse. A lot worse.”
“You gotta let it play out,” he said.
He, too, is wondering where they’re going with this. He’ll find out when they get there.
2010年9月3日星期五
SEO Services India: For the best results for your company
If the turn from the West to India as a power in the field of SEO services, it must be a compelling reason behind it. India certainly can not hide behind a facade and that it is indeed a very productive player in the field of web services. Ask critics of this claim is articulated needs a point that India has already a good PR team of the Federal Government, the superiority are always in international forums or nfl jersey companies that the approach of the Indian vendor services to a group of business sense forced validated perverted by these idiots to delay decisions. The fact is that this is not the case, and India Inc. In fact, this has superiority over its competitors, the selection of the holdings, Indian service providers such as trading partners. SEO in India has increased since the ballistic design over the years and some terrible wow moments made. SEO Services in India have said about the global cycles. The wonder of the world in the service provider in the Indian caste and deletions with solutions the optimization of websites, a driver at the top of nfl jerseysthe list, search and create an impact so strong that the aftershocks will continue for a long time. SEO services in India are well-founded business. No one has to relax or to show how fertile and well-equipped service provider in India. Companies and Web developers design service company and get the service that we hope to receive. The service is strategically located, all aspects, ranging from small to large, they are set up to achieve the desired results. The services cover the entire Web space and distribute everywhere. They are posted in the forums, get on social networks to pay and actively promote at other locations in the process of building mutual relations. The shelter is built roll for the site in a giant snowball and around the world is justified by the fact that up to a high recognition value and something that people find it easy to identify. SEO Services in India are also very concerned concerned about the fact. This quality is represented by its service. It is this feature that your body shall submit with the quality of work and ensure that work does not suffer and therefore a solid customer base remains solid. Service providers want to ensure the best results at any cost. Service providers have a global delivery model, with the benefits of nfl jerseys the project and does not occur and pragmatic created. The quality of the service is to take care of one or more important things that no standard is informed and that things go well, they should go.
It is this virtue, giving it a beautiful name in India in the field of SEO services and has ensured that the company very well in the vertical sector.
It is this virtue, giving it a beautiful name in India in the field of SEO services and has ensured that the company very well in the vertical sector.
Choosing SEO Hosting Packages
When it comes to looking for any type of SEO hosting business, you need to remember that it is very important to your website, may well in search engines. For this reason it is nfl jerseyvery important that your site may well get into a search engine. Signals when choosing any kind of SEO hosting is one of the most important things you do not forget that it is always better than you can afford plans as possible is obtained. Another very important thing to remember is that it is important that the package before the election, a package that is designed for you. Too often it has been the case that users see as a rule a certain package, they like and then decide to go ahead and do not choose the plan to realize what they have done. So the best thing you can do is just go cheap nfl jerseysahead and look at the different packages that are available for use. Make sure the SEO hosting company that you may make good on your site qualified rank high in search engines, while at the same time, he was able to ensure that your site is in a position to the best of all services is received. It is also important to remember that you retain a copy of the terms and conditions in your inbox, because it was to help your site if the hosting provider is to select about SEO decides to forward and instead of nfl jerseys continuing with a modification of the plans. Because you know for a plan to pay make sure to pay what's going on.
2010年9月1日星期三
Baldelli set to return to the majors
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)—Rocco Baldelli(notes) is about to get another chance to play in the majors.
The Tampa Bay Rays are planning to purchase the contract of nfl jerseys
the outfielder-designated hitter from Triple-A Durham when rosters can be expanded on Wednesday.
Baldelli rejoined the Rays as a special instructor during spring training and was also rehabbing an injured shoulder this year. He missed the 2005 season and most of 2007 and ’08 because of injuries and a medical condition that sapped his energy.
The 28-year-old Baldelli was part of the Rays’ AL championship team in 2008. He played for Boston last season, hitting .253 with seven homers and 23 RBIs in 62 games.
Catcher Dioner Navarro(notes) and pitcher Jeremy Hellickson(notes) are among the other minor leaguers expected to join the Rays on Wednesday.
After the Rays were beaten 13-5 by the Blue Jays on Seattle Seahawks jersey
Tuesday, the team optioned pitcher Andy Sonnanstine(notes) to Class-A Hudson Valley, purchased the contract of outfielder Brad Hawpe(notes) from Class-A Charlotte and moved left-hander J.P. Howell(notes) (left shoulder) from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list.
The Tampa Bay Rays are planning to purchase the contract of nfl jerseys
the outfielder-designated hitter from Triple-A Durham when rosters can be expanded on Wednesday.
Baldelli rejoined the Rays as a special instructor during spring training and was also rehabbing an injured shoulder this year. He missed the 2005 season and most of 2007 and ’08 because of injuries and a medical condition that sapped his energy.
The 28-year-old Baldelli was part of the Rays’ AL championship team in 2008. He played for Boston last season, hitting .253 with seven homers and 23 RBIs in 62 games.
Catcher Dioner Navarro(notes) and pitcher Jeremy Hellickson(notes) are among the other minor leaguers expected to join the Rays on Wednesday.
After the Rays were beaten 13-5 by the Blue Jays on Seattle Seahawks jersey
Tuesday, the team optioned pitcher Andy Sonnanstine(notes) to Class-A Hudson Valley, purchased the contract of outfielder Brad Hawpe(notes) from Class-A Charlotte and moved left-hander J.P. Howell(notes) (left shoulder) from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list.
Pierzynski’s homer sends White Sox past Indians
CLEVELAND (AP)—Manny Ramirez(notes) grabbed one of his bats, waved it only the way he can, and simply stood in the on-deck circle.
That was all the White Sox needed from him.
With Ramirez waiting to make his debut for Chicago a few feet away, A.J. Pierzynski(notes) connected for a tiebreaking, three-run homer off Frank Herrmann(notes) in the ninth inning to lift the White Sox to a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians on nfl throwback jerseys
Tuesday night.
Ramirez, who arrived earlier in the day to help Chicago’s playoff push, was poised to bat for Brent Lillibridge(notes) before Pierzynski came through with his first homer since July 9.
“I finally got some protection,” Pierzynski joked. “The guy (Ramirez) got a standing ovation just for coming out in the on-deck circle.”
Pierzynski drove an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right field, and as he rounded the bases, Ramirez retreated to Chicago’s dugout, where the fun-loving slugger celebrated his new teammate’s heroics by high-fiving the rest of the White Sox as if he was the one who had homered.
This is what the White Sox imagined when they claimed Ramirez on waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers—big hits and big wins.
“I’m not going to say A.J. hit a home run because of Manny,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “But when you see Manny’s presence, you have to be careful with the guy in front of him because you don’t want to face him. We didn’t have to use him.”
While it was Pierzynski who hit the decisive homer, Edwin Jackson(notes) (3-0) also was a star for Chicago.
The right-hander struck out 10 and allowed seven hits in 8 2-3 innings to help the White Sox keep pressure on first-place Minnesota in the AL Central.
Jackson gave up Shelley Duncan’s(notes) leadoff homer in the seventh, and appeared on his way to a complete game before the Indians rallied for two runs in the ninth.
He gave up a pair of one-out singles, but Guillen stuck with him—one batter too long. Jason Donald(notes) hit a two-run single and Guillen lifted Jackson to bring in closer Bobby Jenks(notes), who had blown three saves in his last seven tries.
Jenks gave up a single to pinch-hitter Matt LaPorta(notes) before retiring Michael Brantley(notes) on a comebacker for his 25th save.
Beyond getting a big win on the final day of August, Jackson saved Chicago’s overworked bullpen by going deep in the game. He threw 129 pitches.
“He was amazing,” said Pierzynski, who was glad he could reward Jackson’s hard work. “It’s been so long since I hit a home run I almost forgot what to do.”
Jackson is making the most of Super Bowl XLIII jersey
being in a playoff chase after coming over from Arizona in a trade last month. He has been everything the White Sox could have hoped for.
“It’s like a new season for me, a fresh start, a fresh team,” he said. “I want to go as long as I can every game, whether the bullpen is fresh or beat up. I felt fine out there, didn’t worry about how many pitches. I’ll be fine. It had no effect on me.”
Jackson knows firsthand what it’s like to be on the mound and peer in at Ramirez.
“He makes you focus and make your pitches,” he said. “He’s one of the best hitters in the game. He has proven that and done if for years and years. He’s a great hitter. He got me earlier this year. He hit a double off me and cleared the bases.
“It’s good to have him on your team and not have to pitch against him, that’s for sure.”
Indians reliever Joe Smith(notes) (1-2) walked two batters in the ninth before he was replaced by Herrmann. As Pierzynski was headed to the plate, Guillen told Ramirez to grab a bat, but the 12-time All-Star never got a chance to do anything but warm up with it. After Pierzynski’s homer, Ramirez was called back.
Herrmann wished he could have recalled his pitch to Pierzynski.
“I made a bad pitch,” said Herrmann, who threw a slider that caught too much of the plate. “I left it up and he made me pay for it. If I make a good pitch, there’s nothing to talk about. It’s on me.”
Jackson and Cleveland starter Justin Masteron locked up in a scoreless duel for 6 1/2 innings before Duncan’s eighth homer put the Indians up 1-0.
Masterson, wildly inconsistent in his first full season with Cleveland, blanked the White Sox for the first 7 1-3 innings before Mark Teahen’s(notes) RBI single tied it 1-all.
Ramirez got to wear his black No. 99 White Sox jersey for the first time, but he didn’t get to cross the white foul lines with it on.
After getting up early for a cross country flight, he didn’t arrive in Cleveland until mid-afternoon and Guillen decided to hold off one more day before penciling him into the heart of Chicago’s lineup. Ramirez is expected to start Wednesday’s day game, batting fifth as the DH.
NOTES: Jackson is the first White Sox starter with 10-plus strikeouts in three straight starts since LHP Floyd Bannister in 1985. … Pierzynski has hit .386 (17 for 43) with nine RBIs during a St. Louis Rams jersey
10-game hitting streak. … Chicago 1B Paul Konerko(notes) has hit in 12 straight, going 24 for 50 (.480) with 14 RBIs. … Omar Vizquel(notes) started at second base for Chicago, filling in for Gordon Beckham(notes), who bruised his right hand when he was hit by a pitch Monday. Guillen expects Beckham to be back as early as Friday’s series opener in Boston.
That was all the White Sox needed from him.
With Ramirez waiting to make his debut for Chicago a few feet away, A.J. Pierzynski(notes) connected for a tiebreaking, three-run homer off Frank Herrmann(notes) in the ninth inning to lift the White Sox to a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians on nfl throwback jerseys
Tuesday night.
Ramirez, who arrived earlier in the day to help Chicago’s playoff push, was poised to bat for Brent Lillibridge(notes) before Pierzynski came through with his first homer since July 9.
“I finally got some protection,” Pierzynski joked. “The guy (Ramirez) got a standing ovation just for coming out in the on-deck circle.”
Pierzynski drove an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right field, and as he rounded the bases, Ramirez retreated to Chicago’s dugout, where the fun-loving slugger celebrated his new teammate’s heroics by high-fiving the rest of the White Sox as if he was the one who had homered.
This is what the White Sox imagined when they claimed Ramirez on waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers—big hits and big wins.
“I’m not going to say A.J. hit a home run because of Manny,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “But when you see Manny’s presence, you have to be careful with the guy in front of him because you don’t want to face him. We didn’t have to use him.”
While it was Pierzynski who hit the decisive homer, Edwin Jackson(notes) (3-0) also was a star for Chicago.
The right-hander struck out 10 and allowed seven hits in 8 2-3 innings to help the White Sox keep pressure on first-place Minnesota in the AL Central.
Jackson gave up Shelley Duncan’s(notes) leadoff homer in the seventh, and appeared on his way to a complete game before the Indians rallied for two runs in the ninth.
He gave up a pair of one-out singles, but Guillen stuck with him—one batter too long. Jason Donald(notes) hit a two-run single and Guillen lifted Jackson to bring in closer Bobby Jenks(notes), who had blown three saves in his last seven tries.
Jenks gave up a single to pinch-hitter Matt LaPorta(notes) before retiring Michael Brantley(notes) on a comebacker for his 25th save.
Beyond getting a big win on the final day of August, Jackson saved Chicago’s overworked bullpen by going deep in the game. He threw 129 pitches.
“He was amazing,” said Pierzynski, who was glad he could reward Jackson’s hard work. “It’s been so long since I hit a home run I almost forgot what to do.”
Jackson is making the most of Super Bowl XLIII jersey
being in a playoff chase after coming over from Arizona in a trade last month. He has been everything the White Sox could have hoped for.
“It’s like a new season for me, a fresh start, a fresh team,” he said. “I want to go as long as I can every game, whether the bullpen is fresh or beat up. I felt fine out there, didn’t worry about how many pitches. I’ll be fine. It had no effect on me.”
Jackson knows firsthand what it’s like to be on the mound and peer in at Ramirez.
“He makes you focus and make your pitches,” he said. “He’s one of the best hitters in the game. He has proven that and done if for years and years. He’s a great hitter. He got me earlier this year. He hit a double off me and cleared the bases.
“It’s good to have him on your team and not have to pitch against him, that’s for sure.”
Indians reliever Joe Smith(notes) (1-2) walked two batters in the ninth before he was replaced by Herrmann. As Pierzynski was headed to the plate, Guillen told Ramirez to grab a bat, but the 12-time All-Star never got a chance to do anything but warm up with it. After Pierzynski’s homer, Ramirez was called back.
Herrmann wished he could have recalled his pitch to Pierzynski.
“I made a bad pitch,” said Herrmann, who threw a slider that caught too much of the plate. “I left it up and he made me pay for it. If I make a good pitch, there’s nothing to talk about. It’s on me.”
Jackson and Cleveland starter Justin Masteron locked up in a scoreless duel for 6 1/2 innings before Duncan’s eighth homer put the Indians up 1-0.
Masterson, wildly inconsistent in his first full season with Cleveland, blanked the White Sox for the first 7 1-3 innings before Mark Teahen’s(notes) RBI single tied it 1-all.
Ramirez got to wear his black No. 99 White Sox jersey for the first time, but he didn’t get to cross the white foul lines with it on.
After getting up early for a cross country flight, he didn’t arrive in Cleveland until mid-afternoon and Guillen decided to hold off one more day before penciling him into the heart of Chicago’s lineup. Ramirez is expected to start Wednesday’s day game, batting fifth as the DH.
NOTES: Jackson is the first White Sox starter with 10-plus strikeouts in three straight starts since LHP Floyd Bannister in 1985. … Pierzynski has hit .386 (17 for 43) with nine RBIs during a St. Louis Rams jersey
10-game hitting streak. … Chicago 1B Paul Konerko(notes) has hit in 12 straight, going 24 for 50 (.480) with 14 RBIs. … Omar Vizquel(notes) started at second base for Chicago, filling in for Gordon Beckham(notes), who bruised his right hand when he was hit by a pitch Monday. Guillen expects Beckham to be back as early as Friday’s series opener in Boston.
2010年8月31日星期二
Spanish Inquisition: Brilliant Barcelona, Bland Los Blancos, And Business As Usual In La Liga
The transfer window has not yet closed, so we may have a few surprises left for us in the final days/hours. But pragmatically speaking, the time for talking the talk has ended, as Spain’s teams walked the walk at the weekend in the first fixture of La Liga’s 2010/11 season.
Once again, of course, the spotlight shines on the Real football jersey
Madrid-Barcelona duality, as Barca’s Spanish national team plus Lionel Messi prepare for the challenge of a re-tooled Real Madrid under new coach Jose Mourinho, whose signing for Los Blancos this summer has come to shape the narrative of the rivalry. After Matchday 1, however, not much seems to have changed.
Catalan Carnival
Displaying what was more along the lines of mid-season form, Barca gutted Racing Santander in their visit to Cantabria. Criticised for not having scored in the World Cup, Messi picked up where he left off from his Spanish Supercup hat-trick, scoring in just the third minute of play with a (insert superlative here) chip over the keeper.
What’s more, Messi scored the goal with his weaker right foot, just one more weapon the reigning Ballon D’Or winner has begun to develop on his way to becoming, quite literally, unstoppable.
Conceding a goal to Barcelona is disheartening enough for an opposing side, but conceding a goal in the fourth minute is tantamount to hitting the showers early. If the Blaugrana were doubted at all in the wake of failing to sign Cesc Fabregas, losing Yaya Toure, feuding publicly with the now-departed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, or after Mourinho’s arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu, they certainly put those notions to bed with a bedtime story to boot.
World Cup hero Andres Iniesta’s one-touch volley was a goal of stunning quality and any sputtering gasps of hope that Racing had of making a match of it were unceremoniously snuffed out as Victor Valdes coolly swatted away Meme Tchite’s penalty with an outstretched hand.
The match was, in effect, over by halftime and David Villa’s goal Kansas City Chiefs jersey
was just icing on the cake of Ibrahimovic’s farewell. The champions have their trophy firmly in grasp and, quite frankly, hold it head and shoulders above the rest of Spain. Ever more daunting, Javier Mascherano has yet to take the pitch. Island Fever
On the largest of the Balearic Islands, another regular scene unfolded as Real Madrid had a typically torrid time at Mallorca, now under the direction of former Madrid and Barca star, Michael Laudrup. As is wont, Los Blancos showed their remarkable quality and it can be said that many of the players played an exceptional match. In fact, it would be difficult to single out any particular Madrid player who had a poor outing (although a fair argument can be made for Angel Di Maria, who probably should have ceded to Pedro Leon).
But Madrid’s problem was, as it has been for much of recent memory, that the exceptional individual performances failed to work in concert to produce a recital of attractive football. The result was a frustrating match to watch, as a series of skilful moves failed to come off, passes came slightly too soon or too late, and small unfocused mistakes began to culminate in more frequent and careless losses of possession.
Defensively, Los Blancos worked well, as nearly every player from the forwards back pressured the opposition to recover the ball. But in taking into account the myriad of wasted opportunities and the far too frequent runs into a sea of Mallorca players only to Jacksonville Jaguars jersey
lose possession, it must be said that there was little perceptible difference between Mourinho’s Madrid and the Manuel Pellegrini-led team of yesteryear.
The Special One’s perfunctory shake of Laudrup’s hand at the end of the match said it all: there is still much left upon which to improve. As it stands, Madrid sit in the all-too-familiar position of trailing Barcelona in the table and if last year is any evidence, every point conceded to the Catalan giants comes at a very high premium.
Once again, of course, the spotlight shines on the Real football jersey
Madrid-Barcelona duality, as Barca’s Spanish national team plus Lionel Messi prepare for the challenge of a re-tooled Real Madrid under new coach Jose Mourinho, whose signing for Los Blancos this summer has come to shape the narrative of the rivalry. After Matchday 1, however, not much seems to have changed.
Catalan Carnival
Displaying what was more along the lines of mid-season form, Barca gutted Racing Santander in their visit to Cantabria. Criticised for not having scored in the World Cup, Messi picked up where he left off from his Spanish Supercup hat-trick, scoring in just the third minute of play with a (insert superlative here) chip over the keeper.
What’s more, Messi scored the goal with his weaker right foot, just one more weapon the reigning Ballon D’Or winner has begun to develop on his way to becoming, quite literally, unstoppable.
Conceding a goal to Barcelona is disheartening enough for an opposing side, but conceding a goal in the fourth minute is tantamount to hitting the showers early. If the Blaugrana were doubted at all in the wake of failing to sign Cesc Fabregas, losing Yaya Toure, feuding publicly with the now-departed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, or after Mourinho’s arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu, they certainly put those notions to bed with a bedtime story to boot.
World Cup hero Andres Iniesta’s one-touch volley was a goal of stunning quality and any sputtering gasps of hope that Racing had of making a match of it were unceremoniously snuffed out as Victor Valdes coolly swatted away Meme Tchite’s penalty with an outstretched hand.
The match was, in effect, over by halftime and David Villa’s goal Kansas City Chiefs jersey
was just icing on the cake of Ibrahimovic’s farewell. The champions have their trophy firmly in grasp and, quite frankly, hold it head and shoulders above the rest of Spain. Ever more daunting, Javier Mascherano has yet to take the pitch. Island Fever
On the largest of the Balearic Islands, another regular scene unfolded as Real Madrid had a typically torrid time at Mallorca, now under the direction of former Madrid and Barca star, Michael Laudrup. As is wont, Los Blancos showed their remarkable quality and it can be said that many of the players played an exceptional match. In fact, it would be difficult to single out any particular Madrid player who had a poor outing (although a fair argument can be made for Angel Di Maria, who probably should have ceded to Pedro Leon).
But Madrid’s problem was, as it has been for much of recent memory, that the exceptional individual performances failed to work in concert to produce a recital of attractive football. The result was a frustrating match to watch, as a series of skilful moves failed to come off, passes came slightly too soon or too late, and small unfocused mistakes began to culminate in more frequent and careless losses of possession.
Defensively, Los Blancos worked well, as nearly every player from the forwards back pressured the opposition to recover the ball. But in taking into account the myriad of wasted opportunities and the far too frequent runs into a sea of Mallorca players only to Jacksonville Jaguars jersey
lose possession, it must be said that there was little perceptible difference between Mourinho’s Madrid and the Manuel Pellegrini-led team of yesteryear.
The Special One’s perfunctory shake of Laudrup’s hand at the end of the match said it all: there is still much left upon which to improve. As it stands, Madrid sit in the all-too-familiar position of trailing Barcelona in the table and if last year is any evidence, every point conceded to the Catalan giants comes at a very high premium.
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