Will December be magic again?" for Hong Kong Tourism BoardNovember resultsThe surprise signing of Eduardo Escobar to a contract extension appears to have provided a boost to fan confidence. Perhaps because it signaled that the much-feared total rebuild was not on the way this winter? Or maybe seeing the Dodgers choke in the post-season once more Cliff Pennington Jersey , brought a warming glow to the hearts of Diamondbacks’ fans? Of course, there still remains a great deal of uncertainty, not least around the future of club superstars, Zack Greinke and Paul Goldschmidt. And that’s reflected in a wide spread of opinions this month, with almost as many people voting “9” as voted “2”. 11% - 1 (not confident in the slightest)7% - 218% - 316% - 422% - 512% - 66% - 72% - 86% - 9 (very, very, VERY confident)The lower third of the spectrum all dropped by 3-4%, with the rest of the categories each seeing small increases as a result. Still a very broad range of opinions, with no single score reaching even a quarter of the votes Joey Votto Jersey , for the third consecutive month. Below, you can see the breakdown of voting for the past year. Time progresses from the top down, beginning with the November 2017 poll.The overall result was the first increase in D-backs fan confidence since the beginning of August. We’ve had several sharp declines since, but this month saw a mild recovery, though we’ll need to wait and see if it is just, in the colorful language of stockbrokerage, a “dead cat bounce.” The average score improved by half a point to 4.38, though this is still the lowest we’ve seen at this point of the winter, It currently sits below the previous low of 4.63 http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-cliff-pennington-jersey , set two seasons ago, as Mike Hazen was about to embark on his first off-season in charge. Here’s the chart with all the poll averages.December pollThis will be an interesting one. Rumors about Greinke and Goldschmidt have certainly not been in short supply already. But is this just Hazen kicking the tires to see what the market is worth, or are they being actively shopped? With the winter meetings coming up the week after next, the hot-stove is likely to warm up, and there are no shortages of needs for the D-backs. Starting pitching appears the most obvious, but there could be gaps at catcher, the outfield or in the bullpen also addressed. How are you feeling about what the winter meetings might bring? Please explain yourself in the comments, as ever. Lamb injured his quad rounding second in the 9th inning of the DBacks’ 4-1 loss to the Padres on Wednesday."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Diamondbacks Farm TeamsGameday ThreadsDiamondbacks NewsDiamondbacks Game ReportsFang FoodLatest NewsDiamondbacks NewsDiamondbacks place 1B/3B Jake Lamb on the 10-Day Injury List, recall INF Ildemaro Vargas from AAA RenoNew Reggie Sanders Jersey ,10commentsLamb injured his quad rounding second in the 9th inning of the DBacks’ 4-1 loss to the Padres on Wednesday. EDTShareTweetShareShareDiamondbacks place 1B/3B Jake Lamb on the 10-Day Injury List, recall INF Ildemaro Vargas from AAA RenoJake Roth-USA TODAY SportsAs no big surprise, the Diamondbacks are expected to place corner infielder Jake Lamb on the 10-day injured list. Lamb had injured his left quad when running out an RBI double. Utility infielder Ildemaro Vargas is expected to be recalled from Reno to take Lamb’s spot on the 25-man roster. Vargas did not play in last night’s game for Reno, as expected, and despite being optioned to AAA to make room for Jon Duplantier on April 1st he is eligible to be recalled due to injury.The injury to Lamb is just another one in the long list of injuries that have plagued him throughout his MLB career. After trying to play through an injured shoulder, Lamb decided to get corrective surgery to repair a torn labrum and missed the final two months of the 2018 season. After getting off to a slow start at the plate in 2019, this injury certainly doesn’t help the team’s fortunes. Christian Walker will likely be the team’s primary option at 1B with Avila seeing a few games there while Lamb is on the shelf. Walker has gotten off to a blistering start at the plate with 3 HR in 6 games while barreling up pretty every hittable strike so far this season.

TORONTO (AP) — Rhys Hoskins and Carlos Santana hit back-to-back home runs Marcus Stroman Jersey , Maikel Franco and Wilson Ramos each had two-run shots and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 on Sunday, avoiding a three-game sweep.Ramos had four hits. He singled in the first, doubled home a run in the second, singled in the sixth and homered off Tyler Clippard in the eighth, his 15th.Vince Velasquez (9-9) allowed two runs and three hits in five innings for the victory as Philadelphia won for the second time in eight games. The Phillies began the day three games behind Atlanta in the NL East, and two games out in the wild card race.Luis Garcia, Hector Neris, Tommy Hunter, and Seranthony Dominguez each pitched one inning of relief.Kendrys Morales set a Blue Jays record by homering for the seventh consecutive game, hitting a two-run shot off Velasquez in the third. Morales, who leads the Blue jays with 21 homers, is the seventh player in major league history with a home run streak of at least seven games. Ken Griffey Jr. Devon Travis Jersey , Dale Long, and Don Mattingly share the all-time record with home runs in eight straight games.Hoskins reached base four times as the Phillies ended Toronto’s winning streak at five.Hoskins opened the scoring with a one-out drive off right-hander Marco Estrada in the first, his 26th. Three pitches later, Santana doubled the lead with a blast to right, his 19th. It was the third time this season the Phillies have hit back-to-back home runs.Ramos hit an RBI double in the second and the Phillies chased Estrada in the third. Asdrubal Cabrera led off with a double, Franco celebrated his 26th birthday with his 22nd home run, and Odubel Herrera walked before Justin Shafer came on in relief.Estrada (7-10) allowed five runs and seven hits in two-plus innings.TRAINER’S ROOMPhillies: OF Roman Quinn (sore left hamstring) was not available. Quinn’s injury is not considered serious.Blue Jays: 3B Josh Donaldson (strained left calf) had the contents of his locker in Toronto delivered to him at the team’s spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., where he is working out. In a statement, Donaldson said he wanted all his equipment on hand before starting a rehab assignment. Donaldson has been out since May 28.UP NEXTPhillies: RHP Zach Eflin (9-4, 3.93) starts as Philadelphia returns home to begin a three-game series against Wahsington. RHP Stephen Strasburg (6-7, 4.23) starts for the Nationals.Blue Jays: RHP Sam Gaviglio (3-6 Roy Halladay Jersey , 4.94) starts the opener of a three-game series in Baltimore. Gaviglio snapped a 5-start winless streak by beating Baltimore last Tuesday. RHP David Hess (2-8, 5.50) starts for the Orioles. Hayden A is joined by Andrew Bryzgornia on Minnie and Paulcast"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Twinkie Town Farm ReportSatire, Irreverence, & Other HumorGame RecapsTwinkie Town podcastMinnie And Paulcast, Episode 1: Holy Shift! New,27commentsHayden A is joined by Andrew Bryzgornia on Minnie and Paulcast ESTShareTweetShareShareMinnie And Paulcast, Episode 1: Holy Shift! Hi all, Hayden here!As part of my work for Twinkie Town, I’ve started a podcast! It’s called the Minnie and Paulcast. Each installment, I’ll be joined by a different guest, usually a Twinkie Town member, to discuss the Twins http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey , baseball in general, or both. Each episode will begin by focusing on an article that I find interesting as a discussion launch point, and then the conversation will go from there. I wanted to start a podcast because I have a goal of becoming a sports broadcaster, and this will give me some experience with discussing and analyzing specific topics. I also recognized that Twinkie Town did not have a podcast, and I felt that I would be able to help expand the site’s coverage by adding a new type of content. Thus, Minnie and Paulcast was born.For the first episode, I was joined by Andrew Bryzgornia. We discuss the debate surrounding the shift, pace of play, bad sports fans, and a lot more. You can find it on any podcast platform, but I’ve embedded it below for ease of access. Enjoy!Article discussed in this episode

Here are the nominees in the next sub-category for Play of the Year"On Monday John Smoltz Jersey , we kicked off the 2018 AZ SnakePit awards, with the first sub-category in our Play of the Year honor. There are six of these sub-categories in total, each focusing on a different area of the game, and the winner from each will go through to the final vote for Play of the Year, which takes place next week. We’ve already seen the best Jarrod Dyson and Nick Ahmed plays, we now move into the infield, and take a look at five of the best plays made by an infielder not named Ahmed. Note that double-plays which were turned by the Diamondbacks won’t be included here, since they have their own category, which will be taking place later in the week. The nominees in this category are:9/9: Avila nabs Acuna at third base8/18: Goldschmidt’s heads-up DP5/13: Marte’s twirling play nabs Turner after review6/19: Lamb dives, throws from his rear5/10: Greinke snags a comebacker LOS ANGELES (AP) — An 18-inning loss in Game 3 of the World Series couldn’t wear out the Boston Red Sox. A four-run deficit late in Game 4 definitely didn’t faze them.This plucky powerhouse just kept getting big hits to move to the brink of another championship.Steve Pearce hit a tying homer in the eighth inning and a three-run double in the ninth, and the Red Sox emphatically rallied for a 9-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.Pinch-hitter Rafael Devers singled home Brock Holt with the tiebreaking run in the ninth as Boston roared to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven matchup.Less than a day after a wrenching, 440-minute defeat ended well past midnight, the Red Sox trailed 4-0 in the seventh inning before they shook off that heartbreak Matt Kemp Jersey , warmed up their bats and sped away from LA.“I’ve never been on a team where you just get punched in the face and then come back tomorrow and act like they are totally fine,” Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez said. “It’s impressive.”Game 5 is Sunday at Dodger Stadium, where the Red Sox can close out a spectacular season with their fourth title in 15 years. Boston picked Game 2 winner David Price to start on short rest over Chris Sale against fellow lefty Clayton Kershaw.Soon after Yasiel Puig’s three-run homer in the sixth put the Dodgers up by four, Boston’s incredible surge began with pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland’s three-run homer in the seventh. By the time they were done decimating the Dodgers’ bullpen, six Red Sox had combined for seven hits — four for extra bases.“It was just a great night, all the way around,” Pearce said. “A great team win. A much-needed win, especially after what happened (in Game 3). I just love this team’s fight.”The Red Sox scored just two runs in their first 24 innings at Dodger Stadium, but added nine more in the final three innings of Game 4. Sale’s motivational screams in the dugout might have played a role, but whatever the reason, Boston responded splendidly to a perilous situation.“Sometimes in October we talk about mechanics, and how you feel at the plate and all that, (but) sometimes it’s will Hank Aaron Jersey ,” rookie manager Alex Cora said. “You will yourself to do great things. And it started very simple. A few good at-bats, and then the big swing, and we kept rolling and we didn’t stop playing.”The Red Sox overcame a three-run deficit in a World Series game for the second time. Boston also rallied from three down against Cincinnati in 1975 in Game 6, best known for Carlton Fisk’s dramatic homer in the 12th after Bernie Carbo tied it with a three-run shot.Pearce was an unlikely candidate to join that lineage as the latest postseason hero in Boston’s long October history, but the 12-year veteran acquired in June did it twice.The 35-year-old journeyman connected off All-Star closer Kenley Jansen for a tying homer in the eighth, and cleared the bases one inning later with a double to the gap. Pearce joined Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 and David Ortiz in 2004 as the only Boston players to homer while driving in four runs in a World Series game.“(Puig’s homer) was a big blow, but everybody was pulling for each other, trying to get each other riled up,” Pearce said. “This team has a lot of fight, and it was great to see how we responded. Our offense went silent for about 20-plus innings, so our pitchers did a great job.”The superlative Boston roster that won 108 regular-season games and then rolled through the 100-win New York Yankees and defending champion Houston Astros to win the AL pennant is now one win from this formerly tormented franchise’s ninth World Series crown.Enrique Hernandez hit a two-run homer in the ninth for Los Angeles, which could become the first team to lose the World Series on its home field in back-to-back seasons since the New York Giants lost at the Polo Grounds to the Yankees in 1936 and 1937. The Dodgers’ bullpen flopped after manager Dave Roberts pulled starter Rich Hill, who dazzled for 6 1/3 innings of one-hit ball.Los Angeles must overcome a 3-1 deficit to end its 30-year championship drought. Only six teams have accomplished the feat in a best-of-seven World Series http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-nick-markakis-jersey , although the Chicago Cubs did it just two years ago.“We’re not out yet,” Roberts said. “Our guys aren’t done. We’ve got our best going tomorrow and we’re expecting to win a baseball game.”Less than 17 hours after Max Muncy’s 18th-inning homer for the Dodgers ended the longest game in World Series history at 7 hours, 20 minutes, the teams were back on the field in Chavez Ravine. Game 4 took only 3 hours, 57 minutes, but had at least as many twists and turns.After Hill left to a standing ovation, Boston’s feast on the Dodgers’ relievers began. By the time the Red Sox were done, all five relievers used by Roberts had yielded at least one run.Moreland got the comeback started with his three-run shot off Ryan Madson — only Boston’s second hit of the game — after Xander Bogaerts and Holt walked.Pearce then repeated the Game 3 feat of Jackie Bradley Jr., who also hit a tying homer in the eighth off Jansen. The longtime Dodgers closer has three blown saves and an extra-inning loss during the past two World Series.Dodger Stadium was already rumbling with tension and fear when Holt doubled in the ninth off losing pitcher Dylan Floro. Devers sent him home with a go-ahead single — and three batters later, Pearce cleared the bases.After Pearce arrived at second and Martinez was intentionally walked, Martinez used his hands to make a heart and mouthed “I love you!” to Pearce. Both players cracked up.Pearce even scored Boston’s ninth run on Bogaerts’ single, celebrating wildly with teammates in somnolent Chavez Ravine.Devers added a big defensive play in the ninth when he slid to stop Manny Machado’s hard grounder behind third before throwing across the diamond for the second out. Craig Kimbrel retired Cody Bellinger to end it, leaving Puig in the on-deck circle.After throwing six pitches in relief the night before Julio Teheran Jersey , left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez largely stymied the Dodgers until giving up Puig’s homer in the sixth. Rodriguez slammed his glove on the mound in frustration.Los Angeles opened the scoring on a throwing error by catcher Christian Vazquez.Joe Kelly was the winner after tossing two shutout innings.HOLLYWOOD LIGHTSThe stands were packed with iconic Los Angeles athletes from Sandy Koufax and Magic Johnson to Kobe Bryant, who read the Dodgers’ starting lineup before watching from the front row in a Machado jersey. Hollywood luminaries also attended, including Charlize Theron, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, James Franco, Don Johnson and Rob Lowe. For the first pitch, Dennis Eckersley took the mound in an Athletics jersey for a toss to Kirk Gibson, whose game-ending homer off Eck in the 1988 World Series still looms larger than Muncy’s drive in Dodgers history.STARTING FROM ZERORodriguez, who threw 93 pitches, became the first pitcher to start a World Series game on zero days’ rest since Firpo Marberry for the Washington Senators in 1924.UP NEXTRed Sox: Price gave up two runs and three hits over six innings in Game 2 for his second consecutive postseason win. He also pitched in relief in Game 3.Dodgers: Kershaw makes his fourth World Series start. He was charged with five runs and seven hits over four-plus innings in a Game 1 loss at Boston.

The Los Angeles Dodgers can clinch the fifth and final playoff berth in the National League on Saturday with a victory over the San Francisco Giants or a loss by the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs.Although the NL postseason field is nearly set Justin Morneau Jersey , the teams' respective seeding is still up in the air, with races between the Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central as well as the Dodgers and Colorado Rockies in NL West separated by just a single game apiece with two days remaining.The NL East champion Atlanta Braves are also set to play October baseball, but they are fighting for home-field advantage in the Division Series.Here's how the standings look heading into Saturday's action:1. Cubs (94-66; NL Central leaders)2. Rockies (90-70; NL West leaders)3. Braves (90-70; NL East winners)4. Brewers (93-67; No. 1 wild card)5. Dodgers (89-71; No. 2 wild card)6. Cardinals (87-73; first team out)Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said after Friday's win they don't want to rely on other teams' results to decide their playoff fate."We want to win our way into the postseason," Turner told reporters. "We don't want to rely on someone else losing to get us in. So鈥攁nother big one tomorrow."MLB's wild-card system makes these final few days crucial. The division winners advance directly to the NLDS, while the wild cards must face each other in a one-game elimination contest. So the Brewers could win 95 games and be ousted from championship contention because of one bad night.Along with the Dodgers vs. Giants and Cardinals vs. Cubs, the other key series this weekend include the Rockies taking on the Washington Nationals, the Braves battling the Philadelphia Phillies and the Brewers hosting the Detroit Tigers.Here's a prediction for how the NL playoffs will set up following the conclusion of the regular season and any necessary tiebreaker games:1. Cubs2. Braves3. Dodgers4. Brewers5. RockiesThat would pit the Braves against the Dodgers in the NLDS, while the Cubs would own home-field advantage throughout the NL postseason and face the winner of the wild-card game between the Brewers and Rockies as they seek their second World Series title in the past three years. Mitch Haniger might not be a prototypical leadoff hitter.But his statistics since moving into the top spot for the Seattle Mariners indicate he might stay there.The 27-year-old outfielder, who made his first All-Star Game this summer, has hit .333 in 41 games in the leadoff role http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-max-kepler-jersey , with eight homers and 19 RBIs since replacing Dee Gordon, who was hobbled by a broken toe.Article continues below ...“He does it a little differently,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “More the George Springer/Mookie Betts type where there’s real pop at the top of the lineup, which isn’t your traditional leadoff guy. I like having him there and it’s been really good for our offense. The consistency he’s had, just on his approach, has been really good from that spot.”Haniger and the Mariners will open their final series of the season Thursday when they host the Texas Rangers.In Haniger’s first game at the top of the order in the major leagues, he went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a leadoff home run in the first inning off Houston’s Justin Verlander.“It’s the same approach,” Haniger said. “Nothing changes. I’ve batted leadoff in college and the minor leagues. I’ve always liked it, but I really don’t care where I hit. It doesn’t really matter to me. As long as there are hits, it’s fine.”The Mariners (86-72) have a winning record against every team in the AL West this season except one — the last-place Rangers (66-92) Byron Buxton Jersey , who are 8-7 against Seattle.Rangers rookie right-hander Ariel Jurado (4-5, 6.66 ERA) is scheduled to start the opener of the four-game series against Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales (13-9, 4.12).Jurado beat the Mariners 8-3 on Friday with five innings of relief, entering after Connor Sadzeck pitched a scoreless first inning. Jurado allowed two runs on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts.Gonzales is 3-1 with a 3.97 ERA in four career starts against the Rangers. He’s 2-1 versus them this season, including a 13-0 victory Saturday in which he allowed one hit in six innings, with one walk and three strikeouts.Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo reached a couple milestones Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels as he hit his 40th home run, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to reach that total in consecutive seasons.In his next at-bat, Gallo struck out for the 200th time this season, the most in Rangers history.“I’m trying to get better (at making contact), and I feel like I have gotten better http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-max-kepler-jersey , but that’s me. That’s what I kind of bring to the table,” Gallo said. “When they make their pitch, they’re probably going to get me, but when they make a mistake, that’s when I have to be on my game and hit that pitch and be ready for it.”Interim manager Don Wakamatsu greeted Gallo when he returned to the dugout after his home run.“People don’t know about his sense of humor,” Wakamatsu said. “He came in after that 40th one and I said, ‘We got it Joey.’ He said, ‘Good, well maybe I don’t have to play the rest of the year.’ It’s just his dry sense of humor. But he doesn’t know how good he can be.”

The New York Mets introduced new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen Tuesday and he used his press conference to convert fans that were unsure of the hire."We will win now. We will win in the future David Price Jersey ," Van Wagenen told reporters. "We're going to develop a winning culture and a winning mindset, and we will deliver this city and this fanbase a team they can be proud of."The new GM joins the team after spending his career as an agent, serving as a co-head ofCAA's baseball division. In this capacity, he represented several current Mets stars like Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Yoenis Cespedes.However, he explained that there wouldn't be a conflict of interest in his new role.Van Wagenen said he has divested all of his current and future commissions from CAA. Mets COO Jeff Wilpon also noted that the GM will have to recuse himself from negotiations of former clients.On the other hand, fans will be excited to hear of Van Wagenen's interest in targeting big-name players on the open market."I expect to be in on every free agent," Van Wagenen said, per Tim Healey of Newsday.Fans have complained for years about the New York squad acting like a small-market team when it comes to acquiring talent, but the new administration could seek to change that.Another significant change could be the increase in analytics Craig Kimbrel Jersey , which Van Wagenen also discussed Tuesday:Anthony DiComo AnthonyDiComoNew Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen discusses his experiences in scouting and analytics, and his plans for the latter: 9gsGa0tq1W"I look forward to working with the analytics team here and building it out," he said. "And I think we need to make sure our in-game management is bolstered, and have an understanding of how to value assets, both in the minor leagues and major leagues."The question now is whether he can turn these plans into practice and help the Mets become a winner after back-to-back losing seasons. ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Bartolo Colon kept the Texas Rangers close after a rough first inning in his first start since setting the record for victories by a Latin American pitcher.His catcher helped the 45-year-old right-hander extend that mark.Robinson Chirinos hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fourth while finishing with four RBIs, and Colon made it through five innings in the Rangers’ 5-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.Colon (7-10) retired 10 consecutive batters after allowing run-scoring doubles by A.J. Pollock and Steven Souza Jr. in the first. Pollock’s liner was misplayed in right field by Joey Gallo.Big Sexy got his 247th career win, two more than Dennis Martinez of Nicaragua. A native of the Dominican Republic, Colon has four more victories than countryman and Hall of Famer Juan Marichal.“He’s been doing it for so long Steven Wright Jersey , he knows when he gives up some runs he can come back and keep the game close,” Chirinos said. “That’s what he did tonight.”Chirinos’ 443-foot drive into the visitors’ bullpen in left-center was his 16th homer of the season and ended Arizona right-hander Zack Greinke’s streak of nine straight starts allowing two runs or fewer. Chirinos added an RBI single in the eighth.Ronald Guzman led off the third with his 13th homer after Greinke (12-8) retired the first six Texas hitters.Greinke permitted six hits and four runs in 6 1/3 innings with two walks and six strikeouts while dropping his third straight start after winning his previous seven decisions.“I think they’re the best offense in baseball the last month,” Greinke said. “So going in in their home park is going to be tough. But I made more mistakes and got behind in more counts than needed to make it a little bit tougher.”Colon gave up four hits and three runs while setting a Texas record with his 22nd straight start with two or fewer walks. He issued one free pass and struck out three. Colon has won both his starts in August after losing all five in July.Rangers reliever Eddie Butler retired all six batters he faced. Cory Gearrin got Eduardo Escobar on a tapper in front of the plate to end the eighth with runners at the corners in a one-run game, and Jose Leclerc struck out two in a perfect ninth for his second save.BELTRE’S HAMSTRINGRangers manager Jeff Banister said Adrian Beltre reinjured his left hamstring while scoring from second base on Chirinos’ single in the eighth. He was replaced at third base by Jurickson Profar in the ninth. The Rangers said Beltre, who got career hit No. 3,137, would have an MRI on Tuesday. Beltre has missed 27 games over two stints on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring.TOP OF THE HEAPThe Diamondbacks began the night a game ahead of the Dodgers for the lead in the NL West. Los Angeles played San Francisco at home later Monday. “Our pitching has been outstanding, and that’s the reason we are where we’re at,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I feel like we’ve earned it. Could it be better? Yeah.”NICE SNAG, SKIPBanister made a nifty http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-dustin-pedroia-jersey , one-handed catch on a bouncer into the dugout from Guzman in the fourth inning, reaching above his head with his right hand. Three innings earlier, he stayed away from a smash by Escobar. Both were batting left-handed. “It was just inside my reach,” Banister said. “The first one I was not going to be able to catch. That one was coming pretty hard. That one would have hurt for a long time.”TRAINER’S ROOMRangers: RHP Doug Fister is headed home for the season because his right knee strain isn’t responding to treatment as hoped. Fister hasn’t pitched since limping off the mound after throwing the first pitch of the sixth inning against Houston on June 8. … RF Nomar Mazara (right thumb sprain) will play nine innings in a rehab assignment for Double-A Frisco on Tuesday. He’s been out since July 17.UP NEXTArizona LHP Patrick Corbin (9-4, 3.15 ERA) makes his first career appearance against the Rangers in the finale of the two-game series. Texas RHP Yovani Gallardo (7-1, 6.11) has the most wins in the majors since June 23 with seven, and the highest run-support average by almost two runs at 11.43 during that same span.

The Philadelphia Phillies reportedly contacted the Miami Marlins recently to discuss the trade prospects of catcher J.T. Realmuto.According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic Gary Sanchez Jersey , the Phillies were merely checking in, and there is "no indication" that a deal is close.The Phillies have been linked to both outfielder Bryce Harper and infielder Manny Machado in free agency.Realmuto, 27, has been the subject of trade rumors since last offseason.While the Marlins decimated their roster before the start of the 2018 campaign by trading Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon, they kept Realmuto.He was Miami's best player by far last year http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , as he hit .277 with 21 home runs and 74 RBI en route to his first All-Star berth. Healso won his first Silver Slugger Award.Miami went just 63-98 last season, and since it is still early in the rebuilding process, it doesn't figure to contend for a playoff spot anytime soon.The Marlins could stick with Realmuto for the foreseeable future since he can't hit free agency until 2021, but dealing him now would likely allow the club to maximize his trade value.Aside from their starting pitching behind Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta, catcher may be the Phillies' biggest need.They lost Wilson Ramos to the New York Mets in free agency, which means Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp are their backstops.Alfaro hit .262 with 10 homers and 37 RBI last season, while Knapp hit .198 with four home runs and 15 RBI.Philadelphia has been active this offseason with the acquisitions of shortstop Jean Segura Sonny Gray Jersey , outfielder Andrew McCutchen and reliever David Robertson.One or two more big splashes could be on the horizon, depending on what Harper and Machado do.If the Phillies don't land either of them, however, turning their attention to Realmuto and solving an area of weakness may be the best way to surpass the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals in the NL East. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Luis Severino is making his bid to be on the mound and throwing to catcher Gary Sanchez in the New York Yankees‘ playoff opener.Severino won his 19th game, the struggling Sanchez drove in four runs for the first time since early April and the Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-2 on Tuesday night to keep up their push for home-field advantage in the AL wild-card game.Severino (19-8) is competing for Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ to start in the Oct. 3 winner-take-all game against Oakland. The Yankees opened a 2½-game lead over the Athletics for home-field advantage.“I’m ready for anything,” Severino said.Severino was 14-2 at the All-Star break but lost six of his next nine decisions before beating Boston and Tampa Bay in his last two outings. He gave up two runs and four hits in five-plus innings Luis Severino Jersey , and is third in the major leagues in wins behind Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell (21) and Cleveland’s Corey Kluber (20).Severino appeared to lose concentration after the Yankees’ seven-run third inning.“It was a long inning,” Severino said. “I don’t think I warmed up that good. But after that everything was great.”Brandon Lowe hit a two-run double with no outs, but Ji-Man Choi was thrown out trying to score from first. Choi was hurt on the play and needed stitches for a cut left ear and also experienced concussion-like symptoms.Sanchez had been 10 for 66 (.152) since returning Sept. 1 from a groin strain and 1 for his last 28, dropping his average to .180.“I think he’s just struggled to find his way a little bit offensively and dug himself a hole,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “The one thing I keep telling him, it’s not too late to dig out.”Sanchez hit a three-run homer off Jalen Beeks, his first long ball since Sept. 10 http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , and added an RBI single in the fifth.“Definitely a tough season for me,” Sanchez said through a translator. “But, whatever I’ve already done this season is in the past, and the struggles are in the past. This definitely won’t be a season that’s going to be one favorites, for sure. The focus is to concentrate on the next game and concentrate to keep performing and help the team.”New York improved to 97-60, its most wins since going 97-65 in 2011. The Yankees are 37 games over .500 for the first time since finishing 103-59 in 2009, their last World Series title.Adeiny Hechavarria homered against Jake Faria (4-4) leading off the third. Luke Voit had an RBI double Aaron Judge Jersey , Beeks walked Neil Walker with the bases loaded, Miguel Andujar hit a sacrifice fly and Sanchez followed with his 17th homer. Sanchez’s only other four-RBI game this year was April 11 against Boston.Andujar added his 26th homer in the ninth. He only trails Aaron Judge (52 in 2017) and Joe DiMaggio (29 in 1936) for the most home runs by a Yankees’ rookie.Faria allowed three runs and four hits in 2 1/3 innings. His night ended after catching a 108.5 mph head-high liner by Aaron Judge. The right-hander bent over afterwards with both hands on his legs and exhaled.“I threw my hands up to get my head out of the way and the ball went in my glove,” Faria said. “I’ve never seen anything hit that hard come at my face before.”TRAINER’S ROOMYankees: CF Aaron Hicks (left hamstring) should play within a few days, the Yankees said. … SS Didi Gregorius (torn cartilage in right wrist) is the be re-examined Wednesday. … INF Gleyber Torres (hip/groin) was scratched but could start Wednesday.Rays: Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said Choi was cleared of a concussion but is in concussion protocol. … CF Kevin Kiermaier (sore shoulder) started after missing one game. … C Michael Perez (left hamstring) won’t play again this season. … Cash said INF Daniel Robertson (left thumb surgery) is doing on-field work and is ready to have a normal offseason.STREAKINGRays LF Tommy Pham doubled in the first and extended his career-high on-base streak to 27 games, the longest active run in the AL. He has a hit in 26 of them. Pham got hit near the left elbow by a Severino pitch in the third but stayed in the gameMINORS’ MATTERSINF Thairo Estrada hit a long homer in his first instructional league game against the Pirates. He started the year on the DL after being shot in the right thigh during a January robbery attempt in Venezuela and then had a regular season-ending back injury at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes/Barre.UP NEXTYankees Tanaka (12-5) starts Wednesday for the Yankees. He has allowed two or fewer runs in nine of his last 12 starts. The Rays will use reliever Ryne Stanek (2-3) as the opener.

On the six-year anniversary of their 42-13 Sunday Night Football thumping of the San Francisco 49ers to a clinch a playoff berth back then Justin Britt Jersey , the Seattle Seahawks turned in a terrific 38-31 SNF win over the Kansas City Chiefs to get themselves back into the postseason after missing out in 2017. Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson got off to relatively slow starts, but delivered the exciting quarterback duel that was advertised. In the end, the Seahawks offense made the biggest plays they needed to make to hold off KC, and we can all celebrate a glorious win against the likely favorite to win the AFC.Let’s get to Winners and Losers right now!WinnersDoug BaldwinHealthy-ish Doug changes the Seahawks offense so damn much. He’s my biggest winner especially since you can see he wasn’t at 100%. Seven catches for 126 yards, a touchdown, and for all intents and purposes a game-sealing diving one-handed catch on a 2nd and 19... after being held! It has been so enjoyable watching Dougie play from day one, and he will go down as one of Seattle’s greatest ever receivers.Tyler LockettFour catches for 99 yards puts him on the cusp of 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career. He need 101 against the Arizona Cardinals. His final 45 yards from this game came on an astonishing long throw by Wilson into tight coverage. Lockett’s contract-extension raised some eyebrows at the start of the season... I think Tyler has proven himself out there.Russell WilsonSeattle’s notorious slow starting and low-volume passing attack might forever deny Russell Wilson a legitimate shot at winning a league MVP award, but he’s our damn MVP and I don’t give a shit what the league thinks. 18/29 for 271 yards and three touchdowns, no turnovers, 57 yards rushing, clutch throw after clutch throw, it was a dazzling second-half performance in particular. He now has 68 touchdown passes to just 17 INTs since 2017. That’s a 4:1 TD-INT ratio! Ed DicksonBelieve it or not, that 3rd and 15 catch was Seattle’s first 3rd and 15 conversion all season, and that led to the Baldwin score. He had a touchdown of his own in the 4th quarter on a diving catch in the back of the end zone, which was also impressive. Chris CarsonA well-earned 1,000 yard season for Carson, who rushed for 116 and two more scores. He has established himself as one of the best RBs in the NFL. Yes, Carson lacks breakaway speed and an ability to get 40-50 yard runs, but he does everything else so well. The hype from 2017 training camp is more than realized as we near the end of the 2018 season.Dion JordanI didn’t think I’d be putting him on here at all, to be honest! He had the only sack of Patrick Mahomes and a critical forced fumble on Damien Williams on what proved to be Kansas City’s only offensive possession with a lead. Jordan has had a quiet year but he had very important contributions.Delano Hill and Akeem KingHill had a fumble recovery late in the 1st half as the Chiefs tried to score in the one-minute offense Cheap Ethan Pocic Jersey , while the seldom-used King was slotted as an extra DB and played tremendously. Both guys helped hold Travis Kelce to just 5 catches for 54 yards, which is extremely impressive. I’ve been very critical of Hill but he fared well, as did King.Brian SchottenheimerI detest running it on 2nd and 10 as much as any other Seahawks fan, but I wanted Seattle to be aggressive in the final quarter, and they were really damn aggressive. They threw it on 2nd and 12 as well as 2nd and 19 on their final scoring drive. The 2nd half in particular was an adjustment to go away from effectively playing for 3rd and manageable, and it unleashed the best of Russell Wilson. Kudos to Schotty for his gameplan and the late-game playcalls that showcased this offense at its finest. Also praise for the Nick Vannett touchdown design, which was either an RPO or a well-worked play-action that had the Chiefs fooled completely.Pete CarrollHe may be questionable with the challenge flag. He may be careless with timeouts. He may run a little too much for your liking, or not go for it on 4th and inches enough when the analytics says go for it. Pete Carroll is the best coach in Seahawks history, and this team went from 4-5 into a playoff spot clinched with a week to spare. They have had a winning record in seven straight seasons, to go along with two NFC Championships and a Super Bowl win. These are the types of wins that other Seahawks coaches before him simply could not consistently replicate.LosersBrian SchneiderSpecial teams is a trashfire. Another missed kick by Sebastian Janikowski, terrible kick coverage that gave the Chiefs the final three points of the contest, it’s just not a good unit.I’ll always be thankful for the 2010-2013 years, but it’s time for this Brian to go. Imagine how much worse the DVOA would look if not for Michael Dickson, and even he had a couple of clunkers on Sunday.Sebastian JanikowskiOfficially, Janikowski missed only one field goal. Unofficially, he missed two field goals but got roughed on the second miss, which left him limping the rest of the game. Janikowski is 20/25 on field goals this season, and 80% is close to the bottom of the pile for qualified kickers. Hopefully he’s alright, but the missed kicks as of late are a concern.Run defenseI’d like to thank the Chiefs for only calling four rushing plays the entire 2nd half, and had five rushes total after halftime. Damien Williams was gashing the Seahawks defense and got 103 yards on 13 carries, but his 1st half was 11 carries for 91 yards. Outside of that Duane Brown Jersey , even though they gave up 31, it never felt like the Seahawks defense was playing poorly overall.Final NotesI wasn’t paying close enough attention but it felt like outside of a false start, Ethan Pocic had an okay game. He was shifted to left guard when JR Sweezy got hurt, and it looks like he stayed there for the 2nd half. DJ Fluker went to right guard and came away seemingly unscathed, which is a relief. George Fant had two penalties, one a needless hold, but nothing egregiously bad for him. The o-line fared much better in pass protection in the 2nd half than in the 1st half.Shaquill Griffin’s lack of awareness hurt him on that Damarcus Robinson touchdown. He looked like he could’ve made a play on the ball or pushed Robinson out of bounds, but did neither. Apart from that, Mahomes didn’t pick on him that much at all. Same for Tre Flowers.Seahawks two-minute drills are still lousy, but that didn’t matter in this game.JD McKissic got a single pitch play and went for 6 yards. I’d love to see him involved in the offense more, especially as a receiver.The Seahawks are going to the playoffs and you better believe Enemy Reaction is coming your way on Christmas Eve. Go ‘Hawks! This is a list of the things that are true about the 2017-2018 Seattle Seahawks, a team that just clinched another playoff berth:All-Pro strong safety Kam Chancellor was injured last season and has been unable to play since. The team signed him to a lucrative contract extension prior to that, which is taking up a significant amount of their cap space in 2018.The team fired offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and replaced him with Brian Schottenheimer. The first move was applauded by many, the second move was ridiculed by most.The team fired defensive coordinator Kris Richard and replaced him with Ken Norton, Jr. The first move was probably questioned by many and surprising to say the least, while the second move involved a coach who had been fired by the Oakland Raiders, of all teams.The team replaced Tom Cable with Mike Solari. Few didn’t like this.They traded Pro Bowl defensive end Michael Bennett for almost no return and no savings against the 2018 cap. They released All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman. All-Pro free safety Earl Thomas broke his leg in Week 4.Between Kam, Bennett, Sherman, and Thomas, the Seahawks are spending almost $28 million on those four players with virtually no production other than four games from Thomas.They also lost defensive end Cliff Avril in Week 4 of last season and never really found a replacement for him.They waived their first pick in 2017 Cheap Shaquem Griffin Jersey , Malik McDowell, and they’ve still never seen him play for them.They didn’t have a second round pick in 2018. Instead, they drafted running back Rashaad Penny, who has been helpful but contributed very little as a rookie. Third round pick Rasheem Green has done even less. En total, their contributions from the first round of the draft since 2017 is a little bit of Penny, their return on the second round is some poor play by Ethan Pocic, and the third round is a little bit of production from Green, a lot of starts (but mostly inconsistent-to-uninspiring play) by Shaquill Griffin, inconsistencies from Nazair Jones, not much from Delano Hill, and virtually nothing from Amara Darboh.Basically, if you took away the first, second, and third round by Seattle over the last two years, you wouldn’t change the team by much. In fact, fourth round tight end Will Dissly looked like a steal who could offset that issue but he tore his Achilles.The team also let Paul Richardson (second on the team in yards for 2017) and Jimmy Graham (third in yards, first in touchdowns) leave via free agency. Some fans lamented the lack of compensatory picks and their production could not or at least was not replaced.The team lost Sheldon Richardson in free agency with Richardson saying that their offer was a joke. Instead, they used some cap space to sign Tom Johnson and Shemar Stephen in his place, then released Johnson after Week 1. Some fans ridiculed their handling of the Richardson and/or Johnson situations, and the team has been transparent in their admission of mistakes made. Less loud are the voices of praise that the front office found Jarran Reed in the second round in 2016.As the season approached, it became apparent that number one receiver Doug Baldwin was seriously hurt and that he might not be at 100-percent at any point in the year. Baldwin had one target and zero catches in Week 1 Cheap Jarran Reed Jersey , then missed Weeks 2 and 3, before returning in Week 4. In Week 5, he had one yard on one target. He also missed Week 14.K.J. Wright was seriously hurt just before the season and has missed all but four games. His cap hit this year was $8 million. The team found a gem replacement in Mychal Kendricks. After three games he was suspended for eight games. When he returned, he broke his leg.Starting running back Chris Carson missed two games with injury.Backup running back Rashaad Penny broke his finger in the preseason and has also missed the last two games.Free agent signee, planned starting tight end Ed Dickson opened the year in NFI, missing six games.Starting cornerback Tre Flowers missed Week 2, further weakening a secondary that had lost Sherman, Jeremy Lane, and offseason signees like Dontae Johnson and Byron Maxwell.Offseason signee D.J. Fluker has missed five games.Germain Ifedi missed Week 16.Dion Jordan was expected to pick up some pass rush production and has done almost nothing.J.D. McKissic opened the year on injured reserve, unexpectedly. C.J. Prosise still couldn’t stay healthy or do anything productive.Jordan Simmons steps in as a solid replacement for Fluker, then goes right onto IR after his second start.Bobby Wagner missed Week 2.The Seahawks schedule has ended up including games against the 9-6 Cowboys, 11-4 Bears, 12-3 Rams (twice), 11-4 Chargers, 11-4 Chiefs, and 8-6-1 Vikings. All playoff teams, if Minnesota wins next week or the Eagles lose. It’s a significant amount of difficult games. The team was 0-2 after two games, 2-3 after five, and 4-5 after nine.They are also ... going to the playoffs. Again.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Houston Astros aren’t putting up big numbers with their injury-depleted lineup. But the World Series champions are making up for that with a couple of timely home runs.Tyler White hit a two-run drive in the eighth inning and the Astros pulled off a late rally for the second straight game Andy Pettitte Jersey , beating the San Francisco Giants 2-1 on Tuesday.The win followed the Astros’ 3-1 victory Monday night in which Marwin Gonzalez hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth.This time, the AL West leaders again trailed 1-0 when Gonzalez doubled and White hit a high, arching shot to left field off Ray Black (1-1).“It’s not easy to win games in the eighth and ninth,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “We kind of make a habit of it every now and then, but different guy every day.”Houston has hit 13 home runs in its last eight games. The Astros have won six of seven and the Giants have lost four of five.“I was trying to put a good swing and then I saw it went up in the air to left field,” White said. “It was a good moment.”And it followed an anxious moment.On an 0-2 pitch, White was brushed back by a high 96 mph fastball from Black Jose Cruz Jr. Jersey , who topped 100 earlier in the at-bat.“That’s always scary,” White said. “He let one get away a little bit, you just have to calm yourself down because it’s little bit scary. You just have to look for a good pitch to hit on the next pitch, and that’s what I was doing.”Joe Smith (4-1) struck out the only two batters he faced in the seventh for the win. Hector Rondon pitched a scoreless ninth for his 13th save in 16 tries.Astros starter Dallas Keuchel gave up one run and three hits in six innings, striking out five and walking two.Giants starter Madison Bumgarner pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out seven. He is 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA in six career starts against Houston.“It’s hard to take when you get that kind of pitching,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.“Give them credit; they beat two of our hottest relievers. Lightning hit us twice. Black has been lights out. That was the first hit he allowed since his debut. He had a 1-2 count and made a mistake. He missed his spot. It looked like it was right down the middle.”D’ARNAUD’S DAYGiants INF Chase d’Arnaud left the game with a bruised left knee after fouling a ball of himself in the fourth. He hit an RBI single in the second.“He’s day-to-day http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-nolan-ryan-jersey ,” Bochy said. “I’m guessing he’ll be fine with the day off (Wednesday).”TRAINER’S ROOMGiants: 1B Brandon Belt, on the DL with a hyperextended right knee since July 26, is ramping up baseball activities and could be activated for next week’s series opener against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Monday, Bochy said.UP NEXTAstros: After a day off, the Astros and RHP Justin Verlander (11-6, 2.19 ERA) will open a series at home against Seattle. He has won just two of his last eight starts, posting a 3.54 ERA over that stretch.Giants: LHP Andrew Suarez (4-7 http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-yuli-gurriel-jersey , 4.60) with make his 20th career start Thursday in a series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates at home. NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts has been chosen major league player of the year by Baseball Digest.Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets was picked as the pitcher of the year and Oakland closer Blake Treinen was selected as the top reliever.The awards were announced Thursday. A 15-person panel including broadcaster Bob Costas, former team executive Jim Duquette and ex-player Eduardo Perez chose the winners.Betts won the magazine’s 50th player of the year award. He led the majors in batting at .346 in helping the Red Sox to a franchise-record 108 wins. Betts hit 32 homers, stole 30 bases and scored 129 runs.DeGrom led MLB starters with a 1.70 ERA. He struck out 269 in 217 innings while going 10-9 for a Mets team that often provided little run support.Treinen posted an 0.78 ERA in 68 games for the A’s and had 38 saves.

The Broncos have had enough of Chad Kelly.Kelly Womens Courtland Sutton Jersey , the backup quarterback who was arrested early yesterday morning for criminal trespassing, was cut by Denver today.That’s a harsh punishment, but Kelly had to know he was out of second chances: He dropped to the very end of last year’s draft because of off-field problems when he was in college, and the Broncos surely warned him that he was going to be on a short leash.There had been some talk that Kelly could start for the Broncos this year if Case Keenum continued to struggle, but now there’s no chance of that happening. Kevin Hogan will move up to No. 2 on the depth chart behind Keenum.Kelly will be subject to waivers, which means any team that wants him can have him, paying him only the league minimum salary for the rest of this season. If there’s a team that thinks Kelly has the potential to be a starting quarterback some day, he could easily get claimed. But a lot of teams will decide he’s more trouble than he’s worth.NFL Power Rankings Week 4: NFL is very top heavy in 2018 I’m going to try really freaking hard to not be all “doom and gloom” about the Broncos this week. I mean, I predicted this outcome twice last week. Once in my NFL Predictions column, and the other in the Staff’s column. Sure, I was the only staff member who lives in the real world and saw this as the loss it was always going to be, but it still hurts to see it unfold the way it did.Here’s the thing: Yes, the Broncos got jobbed on some straight up game wrecking calls. We also got jobbed on a bunch of legit calls. Now to answer your obvious question: If the call was legit (such as holding) then how in the hell did the Broncos get jobbed? I’m so glad you asked, and the answer is simple: Because they didn’t call holding on the Ravens when there was obvious holding, yet they called it on the Broncos when there was obvious holding. Look, if you’re gonna call a game one way, at least call it the same way for both freaking teams! /End RantThe Good: We were hella efficient in the opening 2 drives. 1 pay and a touchdown. Another play and another touchdown. The rout was on, right? DT also remembered his hands that day. And, umm, umm, umm, yeah, that’s about it. That’s all I got for the good.The Bad: Our quarterback is SURELY better than this, right? Look Case, you’re apparently going to throw interceptions no matter what, so at least do so while trying to run an electric and high tempo offense. I’d rather you throw 3 INTS like you did in week 1 and have us look like an offense that is waiting to explode than throw 1 interception and have us look like Siemian Lite out there. How about our secondary? Do you want to know the most troubling stat I have seen all year? 8.2 and 8.0. What are those numbers? 8.2 is the number of yards per pass play that the Broncos allow. Ok, so what’s the 8.0? That’s the yards per pass play that the Kansas City Chiefs allow. Yes ladies and gentlemen Youth Bradley Roby Jersey , the Chiefs and their “sad ass defense” is actually BETTER than the Broncos “we got an amazing defense!” Why do I mention that? Oh, you know, because we play them next Monday. And if the Chiefs Offense is a McClaren P1, then the Broncos offense is a beat-up rust bucket that backfires and has bathroom towels as seat covers. But fear not Broncos Country, at least their defense is pathetic so it’ll keep us in the game, right? Yeah, until you look and see our defense is actually more pathetic in the passing game, you know, where most of NFL offense is generated. So yeah, color me pessimistic about our chances. I’m hoping the Chiefs “only” double our score and don’t triple it... at home... in Denver... in Prime Time.Now onto the rankings. Remember, I’m ranking teams as they stand TODAY. Not a culmination of last year or the last decade. If they look like they are world beaters today, they’ll be ranked high regardless of what their record is. After-all, if we went by record alone, then Power Rankings wouldn’t exist, you could just look in your local newspaper (do they even exist anymore?) to see the standings.POWER RANKINGS WEEK 41. Los Angeles Rams:The Rams are the NFL’s best and most complete team. Their defense is legit and their offense is high scoring. Now be honest with me people, who here saw Talib snatch that ball for a fumble and think to themselves “why did we trade him away again? Oh yeah, because he thought Vance Joseph was a crap coach... which he is!” Yeah, you are missed Talib. Sorely missed.2. Kansas City Chiefs:I think the Chief fans are in denial about their team. Last week I had them #2 and they bitched and moaned that the Jags were. So after I was proven 100% correct, what will their excuse be to complain this week? Is it because their QB is in a “slump” because he only threw 3 TDs instead of 5? Look, the Rams are clearly the best team in the NFL, but the Chiefs are clearly the 2nd best. The NFL is currently like the NBA, 2-4 mega good teams, and then “the rest.” The AFC and NFC have the two best teams in football. Everyone else is just cannon fodder till playoff time. 3. Philadelphia Eagles:We now see the Eagles start to move towards their end of year lofty perch. Carson Wentz showed that there wasn’t a whole hell of a lot of rust, and he’s picking up where he left off, which is music to all their fans’ ears. 4. New Orleans Saints:The Saints look a lot like the Chiefs, just with a worse defense (who knew that was even possible?). They are scoring at will, but also giving up scores almost as frequently. Why have them at #4? Because why not? Outside of the two top teams Womens Bradley Chubb Jersey , all the others have plenty of flaws. If the Eagles pick up with Wentz where they left off, then we’ll have a clear Top 3. But after that, the Saints are as worthy as any to be right here.5. Jacksonville Jaguars:The waters are muddy for the next 5-10 teams. Are the Jags better? Probably, but how can we be so sure when you score a whopping 6 points! That’s inexcusable for a Top 5 team and borderline inexcusable for a Top 12 team. Fortunately for them, there were a lot of eggs laid this last Sunday, so here you go. You’re welcome Blake Bortles.6. Carolina Panthers:Look at C.J. Anderson rumbling down the sideline! This team can do some good things if they don’t try getting too cute.7. Cincinnati Bengals: Are they really this high? For today they are simply because I don’t trust anyone else below them to really be better than them today. 8. Baltimore Ravens:Much like the Bengals, they are really here by default as there really isn’t many teams below them that I’d trust to beat them, or at least be this high up. I told you the waters are muddy in no-mans-land.9. Miami Dolphins:I struggle with these guys as I’m still not sure if they are really all that good or if they’re just this lucky. But if Woody Harrelson taught us anything in Zombieland, “Sometimes its better to be lucky than good.” So here you go Miami, Top 10 for you!10. Cleveland Browns:WHAT?!?! Yes, Baker Mayfield mania is gonna take over! The Browns defense is legit and now their offense can score. Isn’t that right Baker?11. Washington Redskins:Say hello to the last “if the playoffs started today, this is the last team in” teams. Are they deserving? Who the hell knows anymore. Show me a team outside of the Rams that isn’t flawed and I’ll answer this question for you. But they are playing above average for the 2018 season, especially seeing up is now down with the historically dominant teams looking so “meh”.12. Green Bay Packers:I’m not sure I want to put them here, but everyone else around them is crumbling just as fast. At least they still have a semi-healthy Aaron Rodgers, and eventually Clay Matthews won’t be called for roughing the passer. Maybe. 13. Chicago Bears:I simply can’t put them higher than the Packers seeing the Packers beat them already. Mack is looking like he plays Michael Schofield every week. Maybe he needed to get out of Oakland to see his true potential? 14. Denver Broncos:Let the free-fall begin. If they play this brand of pathetic defense and offense, we shouldn’t count on a much better record than last year. I believe Doc Holiday said it best:15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers:It looked like the clock had struck midnight on Fitzmagic, but 17 unanswered points in the second half keeps that dream alive for Bucs fans, even if it was complete garbage time! 16. Tennessee Titans:Why? Because I’m still not a believer. Hey, they beat Blake Bortles and held him to 6 points. But is that really an accomplishment? Is it? ... IS IT?!?!???17. Atlanta Falcons:I almost feel sorry for the Dirty Birds. They are so close to being 3-0. I believe the phrase is “Always a bridesmaid, never the bride!” 18. Minnesota Vikings:hahahahahaha wow, best $90 million EVER! hahahahahahaha19. Indianapolis Colts:They’re close to being good again. With each rep, Andrew Luck gets better. It’s still interesting that they pulled him for a Hail Mary throw. Is it because he’s lacking the strength? Or is it because they didn’t want to risk injury by having him air it out? 20. New England Patriots:I LOVE watching this team in full decline. I don’t expect it to last much longer, and they’ll probably finish the season something ridiculous like 14-2, but today, as they stand, they aren’t all that good. 21. Los Angeles Chargers:They aren’t all that bad, but they aren’t all that good either. One thing is for sure though http://www.thebroncosfootballauthentic.com/ronald-leary-jersey-authentic , Antonio Gates is gonna destroy the Broncos defense. He looked 25 out there on Sunday, and we have to play them twice in the last few weeks of the season! Yikes!22. Pittsburgh Steelers:Mike Tomlin might bet canned. And you know what? That bodes well for the Broncos. Why? Because you might be looking at our next head coach. This team is destroying itself from the inside, but they still have a ton of talent.23. Oakland Raiders:Once they pull it together, they’ll start winning a few. They are in every game they play, right up until the wheels fall off. They aren’t as bad as the other undefeated teams, but they until they can learn how to win a game, its safe to say they are losers.24. New York Jets:They have their rookie QB starting, and he looks just like a rookie QB. He has his ups and his downs. They are playing semi-decent in between the growing pains, which is enough to keep them out of the bottom of the barrel. 25. Buffalo Bills:Darnold won in his first start. Mayfield won in his first action. Now Allen wins in his first start. I’m beginning to see a trend here. Then again, Darnold sucked in his second start, so the jury is out on if Allen will be good, bad, or in between in his second start. Which is why they’re landing where they are on these rankings.26. Dallas Cowboys:I’m not sure what to make of this team. They aren’t any good, yet have all the flashes of hope you’d want from a younger core of players. But they’ve already gone through their growing pains, so is this really all that can be expected? Or does their coaching staff just needing to be replaced?27. Seattle Seahawks:Their defense seems to be the only thing working for them, and it isn’t a historically great defense anymore, so it isn’t nearly enough as they figure out what they have on offense and how to protect Wilson.28. New York Giants:Throwing around all that money to dependent players seems to be the perfect plan... if that plan is to lose and look stupid in doing so. Yes, I get great pleasure out of watching this team and a few of their players suffer. Deal with it.29. Detroit Lions:I’m not sure if they’re on the up-tick or not, but they did just beat the Patriots who seem to be a shell of their former self. So lets string together a few more wins before you see real movement from the bottom dwellers. Until then, I’m chalking this up to Matt Patricia knowing the Patriots offense.30. Houston Texans:I’m still waiting for the magic to happen. Now at this point, I hope it doesn’t happen until after the Broncos play them.31. Arizona Cardinals:But boy oh boy did they try to win. Now we can finally see the Josh Rosen era ushered in.Seriously, can they PLEASE trade us Patrick Peterson? Please? 32. San Francisco 49ers:I hate to kick anyone when they’re down, but they are officially done with Garoppolo out for the year with a torn ACL. #1 draft pick, here you come!

49ers offense suffers big blow http://www.authenticsseattleseahawks.com/cheap-justin-britt-jersey , as Jerick McKinnon is out for the season The San Francisco 49ers are a trendy pick to reach the playoffs as a wild card team, with many analysts favoring them to finish above the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West standings.Unfortunately for Kyle Shanahan’s group, the rebuilt offense received some unexpected and heavily damaging bad news. Running back Jerick McKinnon tore his ACL on the final play of practice on Saturday, and his season is over. McKinnon was signed to a four-year, $30 million deal this offseason, coming over from the Minnesota Vikings, whom the 49ers play in Minneapolis next Sunday, so Jerick will not play against his former team.San Francisco intended to make McKinnon the starter, and he would’ve been an interesting player to watch in Shanahan’s offense, given his love for using running backs in the passing game matched McKinnon’s versatility. With McKinnon out, the 49ers will turn to Matt Breida, who himself has just been cleared to return to the field after a shoulder injury in the team’s preseason opener. Breida rushed for 465 yards on 105 carries in his rookie season, as well as 21 catches for 180 yards and 3 total touchdowns.Behind Breida on the depth chart is the veteran Alfred Morris, who racked up 547 yards on just 115 carries in Dallas last season, but dating back to his days in Washington, is a total non-entity in the passing game. Shanahan should know that, seeing as he coached him from 2012-2013.With Week 1 literally a week away, the 49ers offense will have to undergo some significant tweaks following the loss of one of its projected key contributors. The Seattle Seahawks host the Kansas City Chiefs in primetime this Sunday. The 5 Qs and 5 As is coming in late this week, so let’s just jump right to it.I sent five Qs to someone at Arrowhead Pride and in kind someone sent me back five corresponding As. That someone to respond was John Dixon and here is what he told me about KC’s defense, offense, Andy Reid Seahawks Tom Johnson Jersey , and his knowledge of Michael Dickson.Q: The Chiefs offense is number one in the NFL. Number one in points, yards, yards/attempt, TD%, DVOA, passing touchdowns. It’s hard to believe I’m going to throw a “but...” in this after scoring seven touchdowns in the last two games...BUT, the Chiefs have only scored seven touchdowns in the last two games, facing the Ravens and Chargers. Those games resulted in an OT win and a one-point loss. Kansas City does not appear to be a team capable of dominating (like they have for much of the season) when not scoring 30 points. So do you see this as merely a two-game sample size of underachieving or is the offense noticeably more vulnerable recently for any reason in particular, whether it be the release of Kareem Hunt, the injury to Sammy Watkins, teams getting a better read on Patrick Mahomes, or other?A: As so often happens, the answer is likely all of those things to one degree or another. From our perspective, though, it’s about Watkins. Without him, the offense is a normal NFL offense with a really good quarterback and two really good receivers -- in the case of the Chiefs, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. But with Watkins on the field, the offense is a three-headed monster. It’s just too difficult for defenses to account for all three of these receivers on every play. Even if they can, the Chiefs still have viable receiving options out of the backfield, too; even before Hunt’s release, Damien Williams and Spencer Ware had also made big plays in the passing game. It’s not that the Chiefs don’t have other receivers who can take Watkins’ place. They do. But Watkins is clearly on another level. Q: If KC is more beatable when scoring under 30 (as any team would be Seahawks Tyler Lockett Jersey , but perhaps when you are this prolific, it’s worth further examination) then it obviously leads us to a question on the other side of the ball. The defense is 31st in yards, 28th in points, 32nd in passing yards, 32nd in yards per carry, 27th in DVOA, 32nd in rush defense DVOA, It can’t be for a total void of talent: Chris Jones, Dee Ford, Justin Houston, Kendall Fuller, and I believe I heard Orlando Scandrick was having a good season but perhaps I’m incorrect there. Where are the major issues/problem areas on defense and how much did the return of Eric Berry last week affect the plan?A: The Chiefs defense isn’t very good? You don’t say! We never would have noticed! It’s certainly true the team has given up a lot of yards and points, and the rushing defense has been awful. The Chiefs made multiple personnel moves in the offseason to shore up the run defense, and it hasn’t worked. On paper, the addition of free agents like Anthony Hitchens and Xavier Williams -- and draft acquisitions like Derrick Nnadi and Breeland Speaks -- should have made a difference, but in the running game, they haven’t. Hitchens in particular has been a disappointment. In Bob Sutton’s scheme, he seems unable to play at the same level he did in Dallas; he seems confused and hesitant on the field. A large number of Chiefs fans believe Sutton is the problem -- that his scheme is too complicated for his players to execute... that he is unable to adjust... that the NFL has passed him by. For many fans, watching Eric Berry move players in the secondary into their proper positions during the first half of Thursday’s game against the Chargers was the last straw; it was seen as a clear indication of Sutton’s inability to coach. But when Berry was on the field, there was no doubt the defense played much better -- even beyond Berry’s personal contributions. If Berry can get to the point he can play full games, the Chiefs -- even with Bob Sutton as defensive coordinator -- could be very difficult to beat.Q: Andy Reid now has a firm reputation for inconsistency within seasons: KC started 5-0 last year Youth Shaquem Griffin Jersey , then fell to 6-6, then finished 10-6. KC started 2-2 in 2016, finished 12-4. In 2015, a 1-5 started ended with 10 straight wins. The year before that, 7-3 ended at 9-7 and out of the playoffs. In 2013, a 9-0 start ended at 11-5. The nice thing is that most of these seasons ended in playoffs but the negative side is that Reid has still only won one playoff game in that time. The Chiefs started 9-1 this year and after losing two of the last four, questions are popping up again: Will Reid fall backwards into the playoffs, and worst of all, lose the one seed and division to the Chargers? How real or valid are these concerns, in the bigger picture? Do you believe it’s a pattern or a coincidence? How worried are you about this KC team today not looking like the KC team of September and October? If the Chiefs don’t advance in the playoffs, how loud do the voices that want a change up top start to get?A: In 2013, the Chiefs schedule was backloaded; all the difficult teams were in the second half of the season. Two years later, the exact opposite was true: the difficult teams were in the first half of the season, and the easier teams were in the second half. That explains the hot and cold streaks of 2013 and 2015. As for this season, we’re as surprised as anyone. I personally predicted that the Chiefs would go 10-6 on the season -- 4-4 through the tough stretch at the beginning, and then 6-2 as Patrick Mahomes got more experience and the new players on defense started to gel. Mahomes was clearly much more NFL-ready in his first season as a starter than we realized, and the defense still hasn’t figured it out. Yet here we are at 11-3, and still in control of our destiny in the playoffs. Fans of other teams may see inconsistency. What we see is a head coach who took a 2-14 team to the playoffs not just in his first year, but in four years out of five -- and has now found the quarterback we have all wanted for decades. If the Chiefs fail in the postseason, there will be plenty of voices calling for Bob Sutton’s removal -- many have hated him for almost the entire time he has been here -- but Andy Reid is here to stay. Q: Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed has 8.5 sacks and is the most exciting player Seattle has had at the position in many years. I won’t name the Seahawks DT that shall never draw comparisons from mortals, but let’s just say that Reed is explosive Seahawks Tre Flowers Jersey , talented, and arguably the DT Pete Carroll has been searching for since he arrived in 2010. Chris Jones has 14 sacks and they’ve all come in his last 10 games. I mean, 8 sacks is great, 12 sacks is fantastic, but once you start talking about 1+ sacks per game, especially from the DT position, you enter extremely rare territory. How good is Jones and how big is the concern around his injury? (For some reason P-F-R listed Jones with a shoulder injury but that does not appear to be the case anywhere else, hence why I addressed it and why is is addressed below) Related: How long do you expect Jones, Ford, and Houston to occupy the same defense?A: Chris Jones is a force of nature. Even if he was injured -- which he isn’t -- he’d be making sacks from the sidelines. He’s always been supremely gifted, but this season he’s figured it out. He came into camp with a new attitude, has responded well to coaching, and now it’s paying off. With Jones and Dee Ford, the Chiefs have what is arguably the most disruptive inside/outside pass rush duo they’ve had since Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith in the early 1990s. The Chiefs will definitely have some hard choices to make with regard to their top pass rushers in 2019 and beyond, but I think we’ll see at least one more season with Jones, Ford and Houston playing together.Q: Normally this is where I would ask you if you’ve heard of Michael Dickson. This is normal. Have you heard of Michael Dickson?A: Yes. I went to high school with him. He still owes me $20. Do you have his address?