sxx123: World Golf Championship was only for current Ryder Cup and P

World Golf Championship was only for current Ryder Cup and P

4 Jul 2018 at 04:34

CLEVELAND -- The guy who has spent the last three months possibly redefining what it means to be a closer remains in awe of the guy who took his job this spring. Black Friday Packers Jerseys .Sorry, Andrew Miller cant help it. Aroldis Chapmans stuff is so electric, its impossible to turn away.I love watching him pitch, Miller said. I dont change the channel when hes on TV.At the moment, his view is even better. The Cleveland Indians reliever can just glance over at the Chicago Cubs bullpen during the World Series to get his fix of Chapmans seemingly endless stream of triple-digit fastballs.Theres a perception that its easy for him because hes such an outlier, Miller said. But hes got a tremendous work ethic and in the way he goes about getting himself prepared.Miller would know. They were in the bullpen together for 2+ months with the New York Yankees this season. New York acquired Chapman last December, and the Cuban left-hander bumped Miller to a setup role when he returned from a domestic violence suspension in May. Miller had tied for second in the AL with 36 saves the year before.The experiment lasted until the trade deadline. Treading water in late July, the Yankees sent Chapman to the Cubs and Miller to the Indians in exchange for prospects while committing to a full rebuild.Three months later, the two players who began the season trying to help the Yankees win a 28th World Series title find themselves playing vital roles on teams that have combined for a small fraction of that number (four). Miller and the Indians can clinch the clubs first championship since 1948 on Tuesday night in Game 6, while Chapman and the Cubs are hoping for a chance to send it to a deciding Game 7 as Chicago tries to end a 108-year drought.On the surface, Miller and Chapman could be carbon copies of each other: hard-throwing lefties who overwhelm batters with power. The reality is a bit more complex thanks in large part to the unorthodox way Cleveland manager Terry Francona deploys Miller.In an era of clearly defined bullpen roles, Francona uses Miller as a 6-foot-7 piece of duct tape. Sometimes, the seventh inning needs to be patched up. Sometimes the eighth. Sometimes the sixth. Sometimes, all three. And Miller, a former first-round pick who spent the first half of his career trying to make it as a starter before the Boston Red Sox gave up and converted him into a reliever in 2012, has responded by putting together one of the most dominant postseason runs ever.Nine times during the playoffs, Miller has jogged to the mound. The Indians are undefeated in those nine games. Its not a coincidence. Hes entered as early as the fifth and as late as the eighth, recording at least four outs in every appearance. His numbers -- 2-0 with a save and a 0.36 ERA, striking out 39 against just five walks -- look like a typo or something out of a video game where fatigue has been turned off.Theyre not.Andrews the model of just pitch whenever, Francona said. The kids unbelievable.Even Miller is having a hard time describing the run hes on, one fueled by a nearly unhittable slider that forces batters like Chicago first baseman Anthony Rizzo to play the baseball version of the lottery every time they swing.You just hope you pick the right lane, Rizzo said.Almost nobody has. Opponents are hitting .140 against Miller, who doesnt seem to tire whether hes throwing 17 pitches or 37. He attributes his elasticity to the gadgetry Clevelands training staff uses to keep him fresh and the survival instincts honed from the days when he was simply clinging to a spot on a major league roster.Its not something you offer, its something you have to have, he said. If youre not flexible, youre not going to have a spot in the big leagues.Besides, as Miller points out, theres very few closers who become closers right away and fall into that routine.Meaning closers like Chapman, who took over the job in Cincinnati in 2012 and proceeded to make four straight All-Star teams. The 28-year-old is a meticulous creature of habit, so used to being used in the ninth inning -- and almost exclusively the ninth inning -- that Cubs manager Joe Maddon checked with Chapman before Game 5 about entering earlier.The call ended up coming with one out in the seventh and Chicago up a run. Chapman responded by allowing just one hit over 2 2/3 innings to preserve a 3-2 victory and pick up his fourth save of the playoffs. The way Chapman went about his business, it was almost Miller-esque.That was impressive, Francona said. I mean, kind of like what Andrews done, he kind of did the same thing.Its a performance the Cubs would love to see a couple more times.I like our chances when hes in the game, Cubs catcher David Ross said. Hes a presence. JMon Moore Womens Jersey .C. -- Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said after all of these years in the NBA hes still amazed at some of the things LeBron James does. Jaire Alexander Womens Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . www.cheappackersjerseysauthentic.net/ . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. AKRON, Ohio -- One of Karrie Webbs greatest thrills was carrying the Olympic torch on the eve of the Sydney Games in 2000. She had a cousin who played for the Australian womens basketball team in the 1984 Olympics, and she has been a huge fan since then.Its the reason Webb, a Hall of Famer with nothing left to prove, keeps a full schedule at age 41. Golf is back in the Olympics for the first time in 112 years, and Australias greatest female player wants to be there.But in a sudden shift in the world ranking, Webb now faces an uphill battle.Minjee Lee is the highest-ranked Aussie at No. 13 and a winner in Hawaii this year. Webb appeared safe to earn the second spot until Su Oh was runner-up at the Kingsmill Championship and then tied for eighth in the KPMG Womens PGA Championship at Sahalee.Oh is No. 42 in the world, while Webb has slipped to No. 60.Webb is playing the Cambia Portland Classic this week (Oh is not playing), and the final tournament before the July 11 deadline to qualify is the U.S. Womens Open.The Olympics is pretty much why Im still playing full time, so I guess thats a pretty big driving factor for me to be working as hard as I am, Webb said in March.She started the year by finishing third in the Womens Australian Open, but has not had a top-10 finish since then. Oh, who won the Australian Ladies Masters in 2015, is helped by being an LPGA rookie, meaning she has fewer tournaments on her ledger that gives her a built-in advantage.Lee and Oh, both 20, were on the Australian team that won the World Amateur Team title in 2014. They also were members of the Karrie Webb Scholarship team while growing up in Australias junior golf program.---MICKELSON IN THE FALL: Phil Mickelson hasnt played a domestic PGA Tour event in the fall since the FedEx Cup began in 2007. He was on the Ryder Cup Task Force that came up with a new points formula, and the fall events were left out because Mickelson said it would be giving the bottom half of the tour a head start.He will be joining them in October.The Safeway Open, the first event of the 2016-17 season, announced Tuesday that Mickelson will play at Silverado Resort in Napa, California, on Oct. 13-16. It will be the first time Mickelson plays a PGA Tour event in America since 2005 in Las Vegas.The Safeway Open is in its first year as title sponsor, replacing Frys.com.When we made the decision to be the title sponsor of the Safeway Open, Phil is one of the players we hoped would play and support our new event, said Bob Miller, chairman and CEO of Albertsons Companies, the parent company of Safeway.Mickelson referred to Miller and the grocery company as one of our best PGA Tour sponsors for over 25 years.Amy and I love going to Napa and now we have an even better reason to spend a week with the players and their wives, he said.The Safeway Open is run by the golf event management division of Lagardere Sports and Entertainment, which also manages Mickelson.---HURLEYS CHOICE: Billy Hurley III won the Quicken Loans National on Sunday and earned a spot in the British Open. That left him in a tough spot because his sister, Megan, is to be married in Virginia on the Saturday of the Open.It wasnt a tough decision.Hurley called R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers to tell him he would not be coming to Royal Troon.I wouldnt miss my sisters wedding for the world, Hurley said Tuesday. And I think that at this point in time for me and my family and the trajectory of our family, its very important for me to be there to support her and her husband.The Hurley family has been through a lot in the last year. He sought public help a year ago at the Quicken Loans National finding his father, who had gone missing. Kendall Donnerson Womens Jersey. . His father was located, but then died of a self-inflicted gunshot a short time later. Weddings are emotional enough.It was a pretty easy decision at the end of the day, Hurley said.He said the topic didnt come up on Sunday night. Hurley was still trying to soak up his first PGA Tour victory. He played a practice round at Firestone on Tuesday and called her from the golf course.She started crying, he said. So she was pretty thrilled that Ill be there.---TIGERS SON: Tiger Woods was asked during the telecast of his Quicken Loans National if he was close to returning, but before Jim Nantz of CBS Sports could finish the question, Woods replied, Close to what? Yeah, Im close to beating Charlie?That would be his son, Charlie. And there might be some truth to that.The 7-year-old son of the 14-time major champion tied for second in the Boys 7 division of a U.S. Kids Golf event. It was his first tournament.It was pretty neat, very special to get to watch that, Woods said.Charlie Woods shot a 55 in the nine-hole event at Mayacoo Lakes in West Palm Beach, Florida. He finished five shots behind Henry Crowe.---WORLD CUP: Bubba Watson loves playing for the flag, and he would really like to do that three times this year.He is set to qualify for the Olympics and said he was committed to going to Rio. He is No. 6 in the Ryder Cup standings and has played on every team since 2010. The tough one might be the World Cup at Kingston Heath in Melbourne.Jordan Spieth is the highest-ranked American and can choose whoever he wants as a partner. Watson is No. 3 on the American list behind Dustin Johnson. Spieth and Johnson have not indicated whether they plan to play, although Spieth will be Down Under for the Australian Open.Im pleading my way into the World Cup, Watson said.Spieth said how he feels that late in the year depends on whether he stays in Australia for an extra week to play in the World Cup.I dont know what my schedule is going to be right after the Ryder Cup, if Ill play before the Aussie Open, Spieth said. Theres a chance Id play one of the Fall Series events. ... Ill probably have to make a decision somewhat soon on the World Cup.Meanwhile, Jason Day and Shane Lowry both plan to play in the World Cup. They withdrew from the Olympics on Tuesday citing concerns over the Zika virus.---DIVOTS: Keegan Bradley picked up his first victory of the year on Tuesday when he teamed with fellow New Englander Jon Curran for a playoff victory in the CVS Charity Classic over Bill Haas and Billy Andrade. ... The PGA Tour is donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross to help those affected by the West Virginia floods. The flooding forced The Greenbrier Classic to be canceled next week. ... The PGA Tour Champions is off this week, but not John Daly. He is playing the Barracuda Championship, only his second PGA Tour start of the year. ... The 61-man field at the Bridgestone Invitational is the smallest since 2001, when the World Golf Championship was only for current Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players and had a 39-man field.---STAT OF THE WEEK: Only 13 players in the World Golf Championship at Firestone are eligible and still planning to play in the Olympics.---FINAL WORD: Theres not going to be an asterisk, I dont think. You go win a gold medal, youre going to win a gold medal. -- Jason Day, on the weakened field at the Olympics with 10 players having withdrawn. Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale NFL Hoodies Cheap Jerseys 2019 NFL T-shirts From China Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Throwback ' ' ' 



Share

Add comment

Guests are not allowed to Add blog comments. Please sign in.

Rate

Your rate: 0
Total: 0 (0 votes)

Tags

No Tags