Off-topic - you get down to brass tac lingzi - Sun Dec 30, 2012 12:22 am Post subject: you get down to brass tac
ST. Leon Washington Jersey . LOUIS -- For the third straight game, a St. Louis Cardinals starter thrived with get-me-by stuff. There was more than enough offence again, too. Lance Lynn won his 12th game with six mostly spotless innings, and Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran homered on consecutive pitches to put the finishing touches on a 7-0 victory Sunday that completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs. The weekend was near perfect for the World Series champions, who were 1-5 and totalled 15 runs in their first trip after the All-Star break. "Were in a good rhythm now," Lynn said. "We just need to stay there." Jon Jay and Tony Cruz hit consecutive two-run doubles off Travis Wood (4-5) in the first for St. Louis, which outscored the Cubs 23-1 and outhit them 38-16 for their sweep over Chicago since June 3-5, 2011 in St. Louis. Its just their second series sweep overall at home, where theyre 26-20. The Cardinals have had strong pitching most of the year, and rookie manager Mike Matheny has been waiting for a spotty lineup to produce consistently. St. Louis leads the National League with a .276 average and 464 runs. "You see guys having big numbers and our record really wasnt indicative of that," Matheny said. "Its just a matter of kind of putting it together and those hits falling in timely spots. "That was probably one of the more frustrating things with the trip we just had. Hopefully we can ride this out for a while." Lynn (12-4) has allowed just one run in 19 innings his last three starts. Like Kyle Lohse, who allowed a run in seven innings Friday, and Jake Westbrook, who put up seven scoreless innings Saturday, the right-hander had to work for his outs. "It was one of those days that command-wise I wasnt where I needed to be early in the count," Lynn said. "But I was able to make pitches to get out of situations. Youve got to do that sometimes." Fernando Salas and Marc Rzepczynski finished a combined five-hitter as the Cardinals earned consecutive shutouts for the first time since Oct. 1-2, 2010, against the Rockies. The Cubs 14-5 record entering the series was the best in the majors over that span. Aside from pitching woes with Ryan Dempsters 33-inning scoreless streak ending and Matt Garza lasting just three innings, the offence ended the game with 25 consecutive scoreless innings and was 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position in the series, including seven chances Sunday. "Its very tough," said cleanup man Alfonso Soriano, who was 1 for 11 with five strikeouts in the series. "I think you have to give a lot of credit to St. Louis, they pitched very well and have a very good team, a very good offence. I think we forget this weekend." Attendance of 42,411 just missed a third straight sellout, with some fans perhaps scared off by forecasts of triple-digit temperatures. It was 94 degrees at game time. Holliday also doubled in the first, giving St. Louis a two-game total of 12 one day after tying the decades-old major league record with seven. The Cardinals also tied the franchise record with a 12-run seventh against four Cubs relievers in that game Saturday. Jay added three singles for his first career four-hit game, with everything to the opposite field including a dribbler down the third-base line that he legged out in the seventh, plus a nice running catch at the warning track in centre field to deny pinch hitter Joe Mathers bid for extra bases in the seventh. Jay entered the series finale in a 2-for-20 slump and did not start the series opener Friday. Lynn pushed aside workload concerns in his first season in the rotation. In his previous three starts, he gave up 17 runs in 15 1/3 innings while steadfastly insisting that the problems were solely pitch location at key spots. Lynns lone problem, inattentiveness to baserunners, didnt hurt him. David DeJesus, whos just 3 for 8 on steals, and Bryan LaHair, 2 for 3, stole second standing up to start the first two innings, but stayed there. "After they told me what I was doing, they didnt steal again," Lynn said. "You give up two steals with no throw with a good catcher back there, you know you screwed up. So you fix it." Wood almost got out of the first without damage when Allen Craig stumbled rounding third on Hollidays one-out double and had to retreat. Jay bailed out Craig with an opposite-field flare to left that dropped just inside the line. "Im not sure what happened," Wood said. "Their series, I guess. They put the ball in play, got the hits when they needed them. "It just wasnt our series at all." The Cubs paid homage to Hall of Famer Ron Santo before taking the field in the bottom of the first, jumping over the third-base foul line and clicking their heels. "Everybody did it and I think everybody is happy for the team and for the Ron Santo family," Soriano said. NOTES: Jeff Samardzija (6-8, 4.57) starts for the Cubs in the opener of a three-game series at Pittsburgh on Monday. Joe Kelly is 0-1 but with a stingy 2.11 ERA in four career home starts heading into the Cardinals opener of a four-game series against the Dodgers and Chad Billingsley (4-9, 4.30). ... Jay is 7 for 13 with 21 RBIs for his career with the bases loaded. ... The Cubs demoted RHP Rafael Dolis, 2-4 with a 6.44 ERA, to Triple-A Iowa before the game and recalled LHP Jeff Beliveau. He allowed three hits in 1 2/3 scoreless innings in his major league debut. ... Holliday is batting .440 (48 for 109) his last 29 games with six homers, 14 doubles and 28 RBIs. Doug Baldwin Jersey . Set to become a free agent, the 33-year-old third baseman hit .236 with 15 homers and 46 RBIs in 80 games for the White Sox after being acquired from Boston on June 25. Earl Thomas Black Jersey . The team released a statement Thursday night saying Crawfords diagnosis was made by the Red Sox medical staff and confirmed by Dr. James Andrews. http://www.nflseahawksfansstore.com/nike-sidney-rice-Seahawks-jersey/ . A report in the Detroit Free Press says that Suter was offered $80 million by the Red Wings on Sunday, and the team has since increased its offer to the 27-year-old blueliner. Zach Miller Camo Jersey . Louis Rams with a concussion. Smith scrambled and started to slide before turning his back late, and linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar barrelled into his neck area with 1:10 left in the first quarter Sunday. Russell Wilson Authentic Jersey . -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have placed guard Carl Nicks, an All-Pro last season, on injured reserve.NEW YORK - With a seemingly inevitable lockout charging straight ahead, a trio of Leafs who endured the last NHL work stoppage couldnt help leaving midtown Manhattan without some frustration. "From the leagues stance, it seems like they have it in their minds, theyre set to lock us out and take it from there before they start negotiating," Mike Komisarek told TSN.ca as he and a pair of teammates, John-Michael Liles and Matthew Lombardi, exited the most recent set of NHLPA membership meetings. Negotiations between the league and the players association remain at a relative standstill with the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on September 15, paving the way for the fourth NHL work stoppage. Komisarek, Liles and Lombardi were among the 283 players on hand for a pair of players association meetings, led by executive director Donald Fehr. Beginning with a detailed explanation of their most recent proposal and a lengthy question and answer period, the players met for upwards of five hours on Wednesday evening, reconvening again on Thursday morning to iron out the plan moving forward. Frustrated with the league and its insistence on drastically cutting their percentage of hockey-related revenue, players left New York with little optimism in hand, hoping with only a whimper for a sudden change in the current tide. League revenue has grown dramatically since the last agreement was reached in 2005 with average salaries rising in tow, but despite the dramatic uptick in growth, Gary Bettman and the owners pine for a greater share of the pie; up from the current 43 per cent. In their latest proposal, the players association looked to secure the $1.8 billion or so garnered last season with a series of increases over the length of the five-year deal. The offer also addressed revenue sharing with an intent toward stabilizing the smaller market teams across the league. "Right now they keep saying Wee have to keep taking from the players, we need to take from the players, we need to take from the players," Liles explained. Steven Hauschka Womens Jersey. "Well, the proposal we put forward, we feel, is the best way to make the league as solid as possible top to bottom, not just Hey lets put some more money in the owners pockets for now and then in five years theyre going to come back for more." "I think the PA is trying to implement a system where were not doing this again in five years," Komisarek said. "Coming out of the last lockout with the rollbacks and the salary cap and everything that the current system has in place now, it seemed like the owners and Bettman got the deal that they wanted and here we are seven years later after an average of 7 per cent growth every year over the term of the last deal and here we are and theyre saying it doesnt work again." Meeting for the first time since late August on Wednesday, the league countered the players association proposal with an offer of their own, simplifying matters by cutting player revenue to 49 per cent in year one, down to 48 per cent in year two, followed by 47 per cent in the final four years. "I think that theyre trying to pull a bit of a PR fast one with some of the proposals that theyve made," Liles noted. "When you get down to brass tacks, its pretty misleading some of the numbers that they throw out…its not essentially the proposal that theyre actually coming forth in the media and saying." Overwhelmingly in support of Fehr and his detailed leadership, the players claim to be better informed at this point from seven years prior, preaching unity at every turn. "Its a lot different this time around," Lombardi concluded. "I feel like the guys are on the same page. Everyone believes in the cause and we truly believe in this process in terms of standing strong and fighting for what we believe in." ' ' '