Unsere Homepage » defensive end.With points at a premium, the

We can all agree that the Chicago Cubs are pretty good, yes? Theres really no argument against it. They have one of baseballs best records. They have baseballs strongest run differential. And its not like it came out of nowhere; they were good last year, then they improved. Its hard to imagine any team having a better chance of winning the World Series. I want to make this point clear: The Cubs are terrific.All right then.But lets take a closer look. The Cubs have been good because theyve performed well. Couldnt be simpler, right? Theres another, more hidden contributor, though. Have you happened to look at the Cubs schedule so far?I must admit, I didnt expect this post to focus on the Cubs. That wasnt my intent going in, but a trend emerged that is worth our attention. Schedule strength doesnt get talked about in baseball the way it gets talked about in football. The samples are bigger, and the opponents tend to be more uniform. Yet baseball schedules definitely are not balanced, and its possible to look at who has benefited and who has been hurt by it. And the Cubs, so far, have had it relatively easy, while the AL West-leading Texas Rangers have not.So I set out to examine individual players, looking for the hitters and pitchers who have faced the easiest and toughest individual opponents. Which hitters have faced aces with regularity, and which hitters have faced call-ups? Which pitchers have faced sluggers, and which pitchers have faced a ton of backups? The results of my findings are fascinating enough, but youll quickly see why the Cubs became the focus. JJ Redick Pelicans Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Frank Jackson Jersey .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. https://www.pelicanslockerroom.com/Kenrich-Williams-City-Edition-Jersey/ . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. Jahlil Okafor Pelicans Jersey . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. Brandon Ingram Jersey . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. A dominant final quarter has handed the Brisbane Bullets a spiteful 86-73 win over the Sydney Kings and their fourth victory of the NBL season.There was no love lost between the sides, who had met each other twice already this season for one win apiece, with plenty of niggle and unsportsmanlike fouls during the Thursday night contest, which eventually spilt over into a mid-court scuffle during the third quarter.Sydneys Brad Newley (27 points) led all scorers at the Brisbane Convention Centre, with Torrey Craig bagging 18 points and four rebounds for the Bullets, who outscored the Kings 24-13 in the final quarter.The result takes Brisbane to a 4-4 win-loss record for the season, while the Kings remain on top of the NBL ladder with 6-3.Sydney jumped the Bullets early in the first quarter as the hosts struggled in the foul department, with the Kings in the bonus after only three-and-a-half minutes.The Kings took a 22-19 lead into the second stanza and pulled away to a seven-point lead until a four-point play by Jermaine Beal handed momentum back to the Bullets.Back-to-back Brisbane three-pointers brought the house down late in the quarter, which spurred Brisbane to a 12-4 run to take a 39-33 leead at halftime.ddddddddddddThe intensity stepped up after the main break and so did Sydney guard Newley, who drained 16 points in the third to keep the Kings within striking distance as they trailed by two heading into the final stretch.It took more than two minutes of fourth-quarter action for a basket to drop as both sides stepped up on the defensive end.With points at a premium, the Bullets shot out to a seven-point lead inside the final three minutes and the Kings crumbled even further in the late stages to eventually fall by 13 points.The Bullets holding the Kings to only 13 points in the fourth quarter was much to the delight of coach Andrej Lemanis, who had been keen for his side to correct their recent defensive frailties.Defence is obviously very important particularly for who we are as a team at the moment, he said.Thats where improvement comes for us because when you leak points its hard to build any momentum.Weve been showing focus and intent in patches during the season but tonight we were able to maintain that intensity for the majority of the game. 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