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That is more of your standard player response, which is why Walker, who is in a perfect position to provide a rare fan perspective coming from an actual player, is adored in his home town. Most of the organization declined to treat a non-losing season as anything of any consequence, cheap flyers jerseys which is completely logical if not just a touch soulless. After all, wouldn't fans prefer to look back at 2013 as the year they won a World Series title for the first time since 1979? Or their first winning season since 1992? The answer is obvious, hence the champagne being kept in check until a playoff berth is wrapped up, which is only a matter of time.
Whatever happens with the rest of this season, no one will accuse GM Neal Huntington of not going for it all. After bringing in outfielder Marlon Byrd and catcher John Buck from the Mets, Huntington acquired Justin Morneau, who won the 2006 MVP Award,buffalo bills jerseys cheap from the Twins, and so the Buccos are well stocked to take on a very competitive National League playoff group in a bid to make their season about much more than achieving mediocrity.
With at least two would-be closers ahead of him when the season began in April, Koji Uehara couldn't have possibly imagined himself being in the position he's in today - finishing off opponents in save situations for the Boston Red Sox. What's even more surprising than his actually being the closer for a team on the verge of going worst to first in the American League East is the way he's going about his business. cheap nba jerseys china Uehara, who signed with Boston as a free agent in the offseason, is completely dominating opponents, and that's a grave understatement. He has thrown 29.1 consecutive scoreless innings over the course of 27 games and allowed, wait for it, 10 base runners during that streak. That is a silly number, but not as silly as this one - over his previous 10 appearances, opponents are hitting .088 against him, and that's not their batting average, it's their OPS. Over his previous 7.1 innings, he's allowed no hits or walks or hit batsman. Pick your jaw up yet?
Uehara, a hurler who has enjoyed an excellent professional career on two continents, is no stranger to the closing games. A successful starter for the Yomiuri Giants, he transitioned to being a reliever in 2007 and tallied 33 saves. In 2009 he left Japan for Baltimore - a season later he saved 12 games for the Orioles. Despite Uehara being a well above average reliever since arriving in MLB, one that was traded by the O's to Texas for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter in 2011, few could have foreseen the Japanese righty playing on such an elite level, and doing so at the tender age of 38. cheap dallas cowboy jerseys Then again, few could have envisioned the Red Sox heading back to the playoffs after a three year hiatus, a goal well within reach, 6.5 games ahead of the Rays in the AL East. A season after everything that could have possibly gone wrong, Boston is doing everything right, with Uehara right in the middle of that success.
The National League may boast several compelling teams, but its stretch run is anything but, with five ballclubs comfortably set in the five available playoff spots with little competition coming from elsewhere. The Atlanta Braves and their bullet-proof bullpen have the best record in all of baseball, the St Louis Cardinals are a juggernaut, the Los Angeles Dodgers are probably the most watchable franchise in baseball this season, the trend bucking Pirates have made new fans, and the Cincinnati Reds are something of an underdog despite their well rounded club. new jersey cheap hotels So, I ask, where is the drama? Where is the phrenetic race to the end? For that, you have no choice but to look to the American League. Baseball neutrals have loved watching the Pirates this season, but their battle for top seed in the central division with the Reds and Cards is anything but must see TV. Meanwhile, the Braves have had the East in their grasp for what seems like forever, and the Dodgers broke away in the west during their epic 42-8 run.
Even if we were still operating under the old postseason system that ended after the 2011 season, that's four teams making it to the playoffs, we would be left with three central division teams trying to squeeze into two spots - hardly show stopping stuff. This kind of dud of a pennant race happens from time to time, but it's worth noting that in 2011 we thought we were going to have a bore of a September, but instead, cheap car rental new jersey we wound up with what could have been the most dramatic conclusion to a regular season in the history of baseball. So yes, there is hope for some kind of miraculous finale, with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Washington Nationals (and their lazy phenom Bryce Harper) potentially moving into the postseason picture. However, unless those teams start winning every day, which is what would-be playoff teams do this time of year, we'll have to wait for the postseason for any NL theatrics.
The same can't be said for the American League, where that fifth available playoff slot has created a log jam of teams vying to reach the postseason. dallas cowboy jerseys cheap No fewer than six teams are competing for two spots in the 2013 AL playoffs, including the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals. The loser in the AL West dual between the Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics, currently tied for first place for the division, would be in a strong position to reach the postseason - they co-hold a healthy four game lead on the first wild card spot.
Thanks to the Rays' ill-timed slump, the race for that second wildcard spot has gotten a whole lot more interesting and brought scoreboard watching to a level that the NL can only dream about. Back on August 24th Tampa were sitting pretty in a first-place tie with the Boston Red Sox in the AL East, while holding a healthy five game cushion in the wildcard standings. cheap hotels in jersey Since then, they've suffered through a stretch of eight losses in ten games and are now holding on to a 2.5 game lead on the second wildcard spot.
Whatever happens with the rest of this season, no one will accuse GM Neal Huntington of not going for it all. After bringing in outfielder Marlon Byrd and catcher John Buck from the Mets, Huntington acquired Justin Morneau, who won the 2006 MVP Award,buffalo bills jerseys cheap from the Twins, and so the Buccos are well stocked to take on a very competitive National League playoff group in a bid to make their season about much more than achieving mediocrity.
With at least two would-be closers ahead of him when the season began in April, Koji Uehara couldn't have possibly imagined himself being in the position he's in today - finishing off opponents in save situations for the Boston Red Sox. What's even more surprising than his actually being the closer for a team on the verge of going worst to first in the American League East is the way he's going about his business. cheap nba jerseys china Uehara, who signed with Boston as a free agent in the offseason, is completely dominating opponents, and that's a grave understatement. He has thrown 29.1 consecutive scoreless innings over the course of 27 games and allowed, wait for it, 10 base runners during that streak. That is a silly number, but not as silly as this one - over his previous 10 appearances, opponents are hitting .088 against him, and that's not their batting average, it's their OPS. Over his previous 7.1 innings, he's allowed no hits or walks or hit batsman. Pick your jaw up yet?
Uehara, a hurler who has enjoyed an excellent professional career on two continents, is no stranger to the closing games. A successful starter for the Yomiuri Giants, he transitioned to being a reliever in 2007 and tallied 33 saves. In 2009 he left Japan for Baltimore - a season later he saved 12 games for the Orioles. Despite Uehara being a well above average reliever since arriving in MLB, one that was traded by the O's to Texas for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter in 2011, few could have foreseen the Japanese righty playing on such an elite level, and doing so at the tender age of 38. cheap dallas cowboy jerseys Then again, few could have envisioned the Red Sox heading back to the playoffs after a three year hiatus, a goal well within reach, 6.5 games ahead of the Rays in the AL East. A season after everything that could have possibly gone wrong, Boston is doing everything right, with Uehara right in the middle of that success.
The National League may boast several compelling teams, but its stretch run is anything but, with five ballclubs comfortably set in the five available playoff spots with little competition coming from elsewhere. The Atlanta Braves and their bullet-proof bullpen have the best record in all of baseball, the St Louis Cardinals are a juggernaut, the Los Angeles Dodgers are probably the most watchable franchise in baseball this season, the trend bucking Pirates have made new fans, and the Cincinnati Reds are something of an underdog despite their well rounded club. new jersey cheap hotels So, I ask, where is the drama? Where is the phrenetic race to the end? For that, you have no choice but to look to the American League. Baseball neutrals have loved watching the Pirates this season, but their battle for top seed in the central division with the Reds and Cards is anything but must see TV. Meanwhile, the Braves have had the East in their grasp for what seems like forever, and the Dodgers broke away in the west during their epic 42-8 run.
Even if we were still operating under the old postseason system that ended after the 2011 season, that's four teams making it to the playoffs, we would be left with three central division teams trying to squeeze into two spots - hardly show stopping stuff. This kind of dud of a pennant race happens from time to time, but it's worth noting that in 2011 we thought we were going to have a bore of a September, but instead, cheap car rental new jersey we wound up with what could have been the most dramatic conclusion to a regular season in the history of baseball. So yes, there is hope for some kind of miraculous finale, with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Washington Nationals (and their lazy phenom Bryce Harper) potentially moving into the postseason picture. However, unless those teams start winning every day, which is what would-be playoff teams do this time of year, we'll have to wait for the postseason for any NL theatrics.
The same can't be said for the American League, where that fifth available playoff slot has created a log jam of teams vying to reach the postseason. dallas cowboy jerseys cheap No fewer than six teams are competing for two spots in the 2013 AL playoffs, including the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and the Kansas City Royals. The loser in the AL West dual between the Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics, currently tied for first place for the division, would be in a strong position to reach the postseason - they co-hold a healthy four game lead on the first wild card spot.
Thanks to the Rays' ill-timed slump, the race for that second wildcard spot has gotten a whole lot more interesting and brought scoreboard watching to a level that the NL can only dream about. Back on August 24th Tampa were sitting pretty in a first-place tie with the Boston Red Sox in the AL East, while holding a healthy five game cushion in the wildcard standings. cheap hotels in jersey Since then, they've suffered through a stretch of eight losses in ten games and are now holding on to a 2.5 game lead on the second wildcard spot.
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