St Louis Cardinals fans authentic jerseys for sale
Shortstop: Alcides Escobar recovered from a down year in 2014 to save his job and put up more than respectable numbers. His so-so defense is overlooked thanks to speed that allowed him to swipe 31 bases this season. Meanwhile, J.J. Hardy liked Baltimore so much he decided against testing the free-agent market this coming offseason, signing a three-year contract extension on the eve of the ALCS, annoying the New York Yankees. cheap custom jersey Of all the coming Baltimore free-agents, manager Buck Showalter made re-signing Hardy job one because of what he brings - power and defense - qualities that lie at the core of the Orioles renaissance. Hardy’s pop was down in 2014, but he did have a blast vs Detroit in the ALDS as he continues to be at the center of all things Orioles.
Alex Gordon has seen it all in Kansas City and so it was fitting that his base-clearing three-run double in the first inning of Game 3 vs LA helped his Royals to their first ALCS since 1985. The left fielder is one of KC’s chief power threats, having hit 19 homers this season. Lorenzo Cain led KC in batting average in 2014 and made to key catches in Game 3 of the ALDS. Nori Aoki himself made two important circus catches in Game 1 vs LA and was also serviceable with the bat. For Baltimore, all-star Adam Jones is one of the best all around players in the game while the defensively strong David Lough splits time with the more offensively minded Alejandro De Aza in left field. Veteran Nick Markakis survived the lean years in Baltimore and is finally enjoying a taste of playoff baseball in right.
What, you think the St Louis Cardinals just started torturing the Los Angeles Dodgers? cheap apartments for rent in south jersey Not by a long shot. In 1985, The NLCS was tied at two games a piece at Busch Stadium in St Louis. The score was also tied at two in the bottom of the ninth, and Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer was on the hill, set to face switch-hitting future hall-of-fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, not exactly a power threat, and certainly not from the left side. In the 3,009 at-bats prior, Smith had hit a grand total of zero home runs as a lefty. Then came a 2-2 fastball that The Wizard pulled and drove off the facade and onto their old astroturf. Joe Buck famously cried “Go crazy!”, and fans of the Redbirds were only too happy to oblige. Two days later, Jack Clark came to bat in the top of the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium and also crushed a Niedenfuer offering, this time it was a three-run blast that basically ended the Dodgers season. Yup, very Cardinal-ish.
The Chicago Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908 and haven’t played in one since 1945. But in 2003, they were going, really, they were. In Game 6 of the NLCS, they were four outs away from an elusive trip to the Fall Classic, holding a 3-0 lead over the Florida Marlins in the eighth inning. Chicago starter Mark Prior was on cruise control, pitching with a runner on second before a high fly ball off the bat of Luis Castillo headed towards the stands in left field. Moises Alou was in pursuit, and looked to be under it before the hand of Steve Bartman interfered with the ball, preventing Alou from a shot at the second out of the inning. The crowd roared in disappointment and the city followed, especially after it became the first of a series of disastrous moments that led to an eight-run eighth inning. Bartman needed police protection, the then Florida governor offered him asylum in Florida, the ball was blown up as a publicity stunt and a life-long Cubbies fan became part of the wretched post-season lore of the lowly Chicago Cubs. And in truth, Alex Gonzalez’s flubbing a would-be double play ball a few batters later was a much, much bigger factor, but no one cared because Bartman was an easier target as the villain. The Cubs lost Game 7, and haven’t won a postseason game since.
Or as he is known in Boston, Aaron f*&%ing Boone. In 2003, jets jerseys cheap the Curse of the Bambino was alive and well, with the Red Sox still looking for their first World Series title since 1918. In Game 7 of the ALDS, the New York Yankees were down two runs in the eighth inning but threatening. Then Sox manager Grady Little succumbed to a Jedi mind trick from a fading Pedro Martinez, and the skipper allowed him stay in the game. The Yanks tied it up 5-5, and a moment that should have never happened, happened in the 11th. Boone took Tim Wakefield deep to left, and the curse continued for one more long season.
I know, I know – all the AL moments involve the Yankees. What can you do? They’re in it … a lot. In 1996 they were facing the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of the ALCS and down a run in the eighth inning. Derek Jeter stepped to the plate and drove an Armando Benitez pitch deep to right field. Tony Tarasco went back for the ball and seemed to have a beat on it, except that it never came down. That’s because 12-year-old Jeffrey Maeir reached out over the wall and pulled the ball in. Left field umpire Rich Garcia called it a home run and the Orioles went crazy. Benitez ran out to right field to protest as Tarasco feverishly campaigned to Garcia along with O’s manager Davey Johnson, all to no avail. The “home run” turned Maier into a celebrity and tied the game, opening up the door for Bernie Williams to hit an 11th inning walk-off homer. cheap football jerseys from china Baltimore never recovered, losing the series 4-1, return the next season before suffering through a15-year postseason drought. Had the play happened today, instant replay would have overturned the call and Maeir would have have likely been ejected from the ballpark.
If you’ve read the Guardian’s baseball coverage over the past few seasons, the one thing you know is that these Cardinals, or indeed any Cards edition, are not to be judged on paper. One quick look at some basic statistical facts – that after 162 games, St Louis are seventh in staff ERA, that they’re tied for ninth in runs scored – tells you that the Redbirds just aren’t a very good baseball team. And yet, it seems that manager Mike Matheny has the NL right where he wants it.
The Cards flew to the finish, overtaking the tanking Milwaukee Brewers at the start of September, going 17-9 as summer turned to fall. The starting pitching came into its own down the stretch, leaping up to third best in the NL over the final 30 days of the baseball season. Adam Wainwright won five of his 20 wins in September, while Lance Lynn actually put up better overall numbers than the Cards ace. Shelby Miller, who enjoyed a standout rookie season in 2013 before being hidden in the playoffs, also had a September ERA south of 3.00. Newly acquired John Lackey was bad, but we all saw what he did in Game 5 against these Cards in the last World Series, so we know what he’s capable of. Remember Michael Wacha? The Dodgers sure do – he was the NLCS MVP a season ago, coming out of nowhere as a rookie to beat Clayton Kershaw not once but twice in ending the Dodgers season. He’s been hurt this season and struggled, but he could also become a weapon out of the pen.
In the 2013 NLCS, Matt Kemp, cheap sf giants jerseys a player who once finished as a runner-up for the NL MVP, was on crutches, after learning he couldn’t play due to an ankle fracture. Now he’s healthy, behaving like a choir boy and hitting once again, ready to help the offense try to overcome St Louis’ arms. Having The Bison, who is the current NL Player of the Month, in the lineup is a very big deal indeed – he had 25 home runs and helped boost the Dodgers offense from seventh in NL runs scored a year ago to second. When Kemp is on point, everyone benefits, from Yasiel Puig to Adrian Gonzalez to Hanley Ramirez and beyond.
Then there’s Clayton Kershaw. The soon-to-be NL Cy Young Award winner and possible MVP lost twice in the NLCS last season, so, considering that he lost just three times all season long, you’d have to think there is a better chance of President Obama going swimming an Iranian public pool than that happening again. Kershaw has struggled in October during his otherwise stellar career, posting a 4.23 ERA, but again, how can that can continue considering the form the southpaw is in right now? A would-be decisive Game 5 would likely feature both Wainwright and Kershaw on the hill.
Alex Gordon has seen it all in Kansas City and so it was fitting that his base-clearing three-run double in the first inning of Game 3 vs LA helped his Royals to their first ALCS since 1985. The left fielder is one of KC’s chief power threats, having hit 19 homers this season. Lorenzo Cain led KC in batting average in 2014 and made to key catches in Game 3 of the ALDS. Nori Aoki himself made two important circus catches in Game 1 vs LA and was also serviceable with the bat. For Baltimore, all-star Adam Jones is one of the best all around players in the game while the defensively strong David Lough splits time with the more offensively minded Alejandro De Aza in left field. Veteran Nick Markakis survived the lean years in Baltimore and is finally enjoying a taste of playoff baseball in right.
What, you think the St Louis Cardinals just started torturing the Los Angeles Dodgers? cheap apartments for rent in south jersey Not by a long shot. In 1985, The NLCS was tied at two games a piece at Busch Stadium in St Louis. The score was also tied at two in the bottom of the ninth, and Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer was on the hill, set to face switch-hitting future hall-of-fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, not exactly a power threat, and certainly not from the left side. In the 3,009 at-bats prior, Smith had hit a grand total of zero home runs as a lefty. Then came a 2-2 fastball that The Wizard pulled and drove off the facade and onto their old astroturf. Joe Buck famously cried “Go crazy!”, and fans of the Redbirds were only too happy to oblige. Two days later, Jack Clark came to bat in the top of the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium and also crushed a Niedenfuer offering, this time it was a three-run blast that basically ended the Dodgers season. Yup, very Cardinal-ish.
The Chicago Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908 and haven’t played in one since 1945. But in 2003, they were going, really, they were. In Game 6 of the NLCS, they were four outs away from an elusive trip to the Fall Classic, holding a 3-0 lead over the Florida Marlins in the eighth inning. Chicago starter Mark Prior was on cruise control, pitching with a runner on second before a high fly ball off the bat of Luis Castillo headed towards the stands in left field. Moises Alou was in pursuit, and looked to be under it before the hand of Steve Bartman interfered with the ball, preventing Alou from a shot at the second out of the inning. The crowd roared in disappointment and the city followed, especially after it became the first of a series of disastrous moments that led to an eight-run eighth inning. Bartman needed police protection, the then Florida governor offered him asylum in Florida, the ball was blown up as a publicity stunt and a life-long Cubbies fan became part of the wretched post-season lore of the lowly Chicago Cubs. And in truth, Alex Gonzalez’s flubbing a would-be double play ball a few batters later was a much, much bigger factor, but no one cared because Bartman was an easier target as the villain. The Cubs lost Game 7, and haven’t won a postseason game since.
Or as he is known in Boston, Aaron f*&%ing Boone. In 2003, jets jerseys cheap the Curse of the Bambino was alive and well, with the Red Sox still looking for their first World Series title since 1918. In Game 7 of the ALDS, the New York Yankees were down two runs in the eighth inning but threatening. Then Sox manager Grady Little succumbed to a Jedi mind trick from a fading Pedro Martinez, and the skipper allowed him stay in the game. The Yanks tied it up 5-5, and a moment that should have never happened, happened in the 11th. Boone took Tim Wakefield deep to left, and the curse continued for one more long season.
I know, I know – all the AL moments involve the Yankees. What can you do? They’re in it … a lot. In 1996 they were facing the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of the ALCS and down a run in the eighth inning. Derek Jeter stepped to the plate and drove an Armando Benitez pitch deep to right field. Tony Tarasco went back for the ball and seemed to have a beat on it, except that it never came down. That’s because 12-year-old Jeffrey Maeir reached out over the wall and pulled the ball in. Left field umpire Rich Garcia called it a home run and the Orioles went crazy. Benitez ran out to right field to protest as Tarasco feverishly campaigned to Garcia along with O’s manager Davey Johnson, all to no avail. The “home run” turned Maier into a celebrity and tied the game, opening up the door for Bernie Williams to hit an 11th inning walk-off homer. cheap football jerseys from china Baltimore never recovered, losing the series 4-1, return the next season before suffering through a15-year postseason drought. Had the play happened today, instant replay would have overturned the call and Maeir would have have likely been ejected from the ballpark.
If you’ve read the Guardian’s baseball coverage over the past few seasons, the one thing you know is that these Cardinals, or indeed any Cards edition, are not to be judged on paper. One quick look at some basic statistical facts – that after 162 games, St Louis are seventh in staff ERA, that they’re tied for ninth in runs scored – tells you that the Redbirds just aren’t a very good baseball team. And yet, it seems that manager Mike Matheny has the NL right where he wants it.
The Cards flew to the finish, overtaking the tanking Milwaukee Brewers at the start of September, going 17-9 as summer turned to fall. The starting pitching came into its own down the stretch, leaping up to third best in the NL over the final 30 days of the baseball season. Adam Wainwright won five of his 20 wins in September, while Lance Lynn actually put up better overall numbers than the Cards ace. Shelby Miller, who enjoyed a standout rookie season in 2013 before being hidden in the playoffs, also had a September ERA south of 3.00. Newly acquired John Lackey was bad, but we all saw what he did in Game 5 against these Cards in the last World Series, so we know what he’s capable of. Remember Michael Wacha? The Dodgers sure do – he was the NLCS MVP a season ago, coming out of nowhere as a rookie to beat Clayton Kershaw not once but twice in ending the Dodgers season. He’s been hurt this season and struggled, but he could also become a weapon out of the pen.
In the 2013 NLCS, Matt Kemp, cheap sf giants jerseys a player who once finished as a runner-up for the NL MVP, was on crutches, after learning he couldn’t play due to an ankle fracture. Now he’s healthy, behaving like a choir boy and hitting once again, ready to help the offense try to overcome St Louis’ arms. Having The Bison, who is the current NL Player of the Month, in the lineup is a very big deal indeed – he had 25 home runs and helped boost the Dodgers offense from seventh in NL runs scored a year ago to second. When Kemp is on point, everyone benefits, from Yasiel Puig to Adrian Gonzalez to Hanley Ramirez and beyond.
Then there’s Clayton Kershaw. The soon-to-be NL Cy Young Award winner and possible MVP lost twice in the NLCS last season, so, considering that he lost just three times all season long, you’d have to think there is a better chance of President Obama going swimming an Iranian public pool than that happening again. Kershaw has struggled in October during his otherwise stellar career, posting a 4.23 ERA, but again, how can that can continue considering the form the southpaw is in right now? A would-be decisive Game 5 would likely feature both Wainwright and Kershaw on the hill.
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