News & Neuigkeiten » Stewarts mighty England care

NEW YORK -- At last years trade deadline, Sandy Alderson fed a big meal to New York Mets fans hungry for a title, acquiring Yoenis Cespedes. This year, the general manager is more likely to add a side of fries.This is the entertainment business, and we talk about steak and sizzle, and I enjoy sizzle as much as anybody, Alderson said before Monday nights game against St. Louis was rained out and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Tuesday.Then he added: I think realistically the bullpen is the area where we can probably get someone who can make a difference at a relatively low cost in terms of prospects.New York was 53-50 at the time of the trade last July 31, trailing Washington by two games in the NL East. Led by Cespedes and boosted by the acquisitions of relievers Tyler Clippard, Eric OFlaherty and Addison Reed, the Mets went 37-22 after the deal to win the division. They reached the World Series for the first time since 2000, only to lose to Kansas City in five games.Cespedes energized the fan base, re-signed and leads the Mets offense with a .299 average, 21 homers and 56 RBI. But New York is in third place and trails division-leading Washington by five games.Even sizzle becomes less sizzling over time, just because it becomes part of the everyday expectation, Alderson said. So I think its unfair to think that he could continue to have that sort of novelty impact as well as performance over a year or year-plus. But hes certainly a significant part of our team at this point and has done everything we could have expected.Without mentioning names, Alderson appeared to downplay the possibility of acquiring Jonathan Lucroy from payroll-paring Milwaukee for Travis dArnaud in a swap of catchers.Im thinking of the same rumors that youre thinking of, that rumor was dead on arrival, he told reporters.Alderson said splashier acquisitions were unrealistic because of high prices.For whatever reason this year, clubs keep asking for the top tier of our system, he said, and were simply not going to move players that we think are going to have a significant role for us in the somewhat near future for the possibility of getting the kind of unique return that we got last year.Third baseman David Wright is out for the year following surgery June 16 to repair a herniated disk in his neck, and first baseman Lucas Duda hasnt played since May 20 because of a stress fracture in his lower back.New Yorks rotation has been weakened by a season-ending injury to Matt Harvey, who had surgery July 18 to correct Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which affects blood and nerves near the shoulder. In addition, right-hander Noah Syndergaard and lefty Steven Matz are pitching with elbow bone spurs.Manager Terry Collins hopes for a spark during this nine-game homestand.This is when the good teams take off, he said, and we need to take off.ROTATIONSyndergaard (9-4) and the Cardinals Carlos Martinez (9-6) were pushed back a day and still start Tuesdays opener, scheduled for 4:10 p.m. The Mets Bartolo Colon (8-5) and St. Louis Jaime Garcia (7-6), who had been scheduled to pitch Tuesday, will start the second game. Less than an hour after Mondays game was called off, the rain stopped and a rainbow appeared over the ballpark.WHEELERAlderson projects right-hander Zack Wheeler could return in late August from Tommy John surgery but said thats a little bit speculative. Wheeler had elbow reconstruction on March 25 last year.WALKERSecond baseman Neil Walker was not in the starting lineup for the second straight day. He is hitting .155 (9 for 58) in July with eight RBI, dropping his season average to .239.We talked about just taking a couple of days to mentally kind of hit restart, he said.Collins has not detected any great mechanical problems with Walkers swing.Mental fatigue can lead to physical fatigue, and so the swings can start to get a little long, which we see, and even though they think theyre not tired, they dont feel tired, they are tired, he said. When your mind starts to fade, youre in trouble.WRIGHTWrights wife Molly gave birth Saturday to a girl, Olivia Shea Wright, who weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces. The middle name matches that of the Mets former ballpark, Shea Stadium. In August 2004, Atlantas Chipper Jones named his newborn son Shea Logan Jones after the ballpark, where Jones hit his first big league home run. Saquon Barkley Cheap Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Michael Strahan Jersey . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. http://www.giantsonlineteamshop.com/lawrence-taylor-jersey-cheap.html . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. Harry Carson Cheap Jersey . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. Deandre Baker Giants Jersey . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. Brad Hodges matchwinning 99 against New Zealand last week was quite possibly his final chance to impress the selectors ahead of the World Cup. He amply succeeded, and in doing so, has given his career a kick-start at precisely the moment it appeared to be petering out. Here, Cricinfo takes a look at 11 instances in Test cricket when resuscitation occurred in the nick of time.David Gower, England v India, The Oval 1990Officially, English cricket ended its distinction between amateurs and professionals way back in the 1960s. In practice, the Corinthian spirit wasnt banished until Englands last great cavalier, David Gower, had been ousted from the team. The tensions between Gower, Englands former captain, and their new leader, Graham Gooch, did not explode until a certain Tiger Moth incident during the Ashes campaign in 1990-91, but Gooch had made the parameters of his regime quite clear by omitting Gower from Englands tour to the West Indies the previous winter. He was duly recalled for the series against India in July 1990, but in a riotous summer for run-scoring, Gowers efforts in his first five innings - 134 runs at 33.50 - were not enough to ensure his Ashes ticket ... and he knew it. England followed on and faced a series-levelling defeat, but Gower plumbed depths of determination that he rarely allowed to be so visible. An unbeaten 157 ensued, and his career was saved (though only, as it turned out, for a further eight matches).Matthew Hayden, Australia v England, The Oval 2005 Englands Ashes victory in 2005 could not have been possible had it not been for their singular dominance over two key individuals - Adam Gilchrist, who didnt make a half-century all series, and Matthew Hayden, who did ... but not until the horse had all but bolted in the final match of the series. Two years earlier, Hayden had been a batsman at the peak of his powers, bullying opponents into submission with his stand-and-deliver strokeplay. At one stage he had managed 19 hundreds in 41 Tests, but by the Oval Test, he had gone 30 innings without a three-figure score, and had been badly found out by men such as Matthew Hoggard, whom he had formerly treated with disdain. Knowing that the axe was hovering above his head, he set himself to survive no matter what and in a disciplined, determined and uncharacteristically scratchy innings, made 138 of the most cathartic runs of his career. Suddenly the beast had been unleashed. He followed up with centuries in each of his next three Tests and, to judge by his 153 at Melbourne this winter, is still going strong.Don Bradman, Australia v England, Brisbane 1947-48 Bradman, famously, was dropped from Australias Test side just once in his incomparable career - and that happened straight after his debut. But by 1946-47, seven war-torn years had gone by since his last Test appearance and in that time Bradman had been weakened by fibrositis, the illness that forced his discharge from the Army in 1941, and distracted by his burgeoning business interests. There was no guarantee that he would see out the summer, as England toured to reignite the Ashes. Had he been given out on 28, however, when he edged Bill Voce to second slip where Jack Ikin thought he had taken a clean catch, that could quite conceivably have been that. Instead Bradman ploughed onwards and upwards, finishing with 187 - his 22nd Test century in his 38th Test - and an innings-and-332-run win.Michael Atherton, England v New Zealand, Auckland 1996-97Any leader of any enterprise, whether it is industry or commerce, who leads his team to such a succession of dismal failures sooner or later is either shoved aside or does the honourable thing and resigns. Now will you do the honourable thing? Those were the damning words uttered by ITNs foreign correspondent, Michael Nicholson, as Michael Atherton sat his teams first press conference in New Zealand, following their arrival from a farcically-inept tour of Zimbabwe. The Tests had been drawn 0-0, the one-dayers lost 3-0, and Athertons own form with the bat was as poor as at any time in his career. He had contributed 34 runs in the Zimbabwe series and, in a last-ditch attempt to find some semblance of form, locked himself into an indoor school in Hamilton and batted for hours against a solitary bowling machine. Astonishingly it worked. He nudged his way back to form with 83 in the first game, and then made 94 not out and 118 in the decisive third Test at Christchurch, a triumphant performance in which he was on the field for every minute of the first four days.Steve Waugh, Australia v England, Sydney 2002-03 Australian legends dont always get the sort of cap-doffing treatment that came Shane Warnes way this winter. On Englands last tour of Australia in 2002-03, their captain, Steve Waugh, was coming under mounting pressure for his lack of runs and advancing age. He had guided Australia to a 4-0 series lead with one match to play, but in his last 23 Test innings he had posted just four fifties and one century. Another failure and the axe was almost certain to fall, especially as Ricky Ponting was already in charge of the one-day side that was about to begin a triumphant World Cup campaign. In the build-up to the match the career obituarists were already in full flow, with one journalist asking Waugh what the highlight of his career had been. It might be yet to come, came the prophetic reply. With his side in rare trouble at 150 for 5, Waugh accumulated grimly in partnership with Adam Gilchrist, until he was left needing two runs for his century from the final delivery of the second day. Cool as a cucumber, he lashed Richard Dawson through the covers to cue an outpouring of sentiment from a rapt nation.Mark Taylor, England v Australia, Edgbaston 1997 If Atherton and Waugh thought they had it bad, then few form slumps can have been so prolonged or destabilising as the one that engulfed Mark Taylor in the run-up to the 1997 Ashes. For eighteen months he could barely buy a run, and it was only the acknnowledged excellence of his captaincy and the good-humoured diplomacy he brought to the job that kept the knives from his back.dddddddddddd But then things turned nasty for him and his team. A unexpected whitewashing in the Texaco Trophy against a resurgent England was followed by a humiliating first morning of the Ashes at Edgbaston, as Australia were rolled over for 118, having at once stage been 54 for 8. Taylors own share was 7, making it 11 Tests and 21 innings since he had last made even a half-century. When England bulldozed their way to 478 for 9 declared in reply, Taylor knew he would be getting no final final chances. In 396 minutes of the gutsiest batting imaginable, Australias captain hauled his career back from the brink with his 15th Test century. It didnt save the Test, but it ultimately turned the series.Bob Willis, England v Australia, Headingley 1981 It was Bothams Match, of that there is no doubt. But the coup de grace of arguably the most famous game of all time was delivered by a man on whom time had already been called by the selectors. Bob Williss inspired spell of 8 for 43 scattered the Aussies for 111 and made possible Englands successful defence of the Ashes, but he had originally been omitted from the squad in favour of the Derbyshire seamer, Mike Hendrick. Englands returning captain, Mike Brearley, believed Willis - who by now was 32 and increasingly fragile - had a chest infection that would rule him out of contention for the Test. Willis, however, argued otherwise, and to prove his fitness was asked to bowl flat out in a 40-over one-day game for Warwickshire, as well as a second-XI match and an extended net session. Hendricks invitation to play was intercepted before it could reach him, Willis explained. My name was among those read out to the waiting world on the midday news the following day.Ian Botham, England v Australia, Brisbane 1986-87Bothams own game of reckoning came some five-and-a-half years later in Australia. After lording it over the Aussies in the summer of 1985, Beefys career had hit the skids somewhat. He was clobbered all around the Caribbean in the midst of that winters 5-0 whitewash, and at the start of the 1986 season, he had been banned for five Tests for admitting to using cannabis. At The Oval against New Zealand he made a triumphant return, equalling Dennis Lillees world bowling record with his second ball and breaking it an over later, but the doubts persisted as England toiled through the opening matches of that winters Ashes, with the taunt cant bowl, cant bat, cant field ringing in their ears. Botham, however, had lost none of his Midas Touch, and at Brisbane he climbed into his 14th and final Test century, and his first for almost three years, to propel England towards what remains one of the sweetest Ashes wins in their history.Steve Harmison, England v West Indies, Kingston 2004 Ashingtons third most famous sporting son is also one of the most notoriously reluctant travellers ever to play international cricket. His first England tour, to Pakistan with the Under-19s in 1996-97, ended in an early flight home and the lifelong friendship of his captain on that trip, Andrew Flintoff. His first Ashes tour, in 2002-03, degenerated into an attack of the yips when he lost his run-up at Perth, and the following winter, he was sent home from the tour of Bangladesh after taking nine wickets in the first Test. Ostensibly he had suffered a back injury on the flight from Dhaka to Chittagong, but when he wasnt invited back for the Sri Lankan leg of the tour, murmurs started to circulate about his attitude. He returned under something of a cloud for the tour of the Caribbean in April, whereupon he stunned the world - and himself - with 7 for 12 in the first Test in Jamaica. Before long he was an equally reluctant No. 1 in the world rankings.Shaun Pollock, South Africa v India, 2006-07In Australia they heave under-achieving legends out of the side window; in South Africa they plot how to ensure they can bow out with dignity. Last year that was what Shaun Pollocks career had been reduced to. In 12 Tests since the start of 2005 he had mustered just 29 wickets at 43.17, more than double his previous career average, and it seemed it was only his batting that was keeping him in the side as Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel shared the new-ball burden. And with just two fifties to his name in that period, even that was debatable. But then along came India, and a remarkable rebirth took place. His 13 wickets came at just 16 runs apiece and with the bat he delivered a pair of matchwinning performances at Durban and Cape Town, the last of which came after being shoved up to No. 4 in the order. Im not the first Pollock to bat at No.4 for South Africa, he said while accepting his Man-of-the-Series award, in reference to his famous uncle, Graeme.Alec Stewart, England v India, Lords 1996 If Raymond Illingworth had had his way, Alec Stewarts mighty England career would have been sawn off shortly after his half-century. Following a disappointing tour of South Africa (and an even worse World Cup), Stewart was one of a clutch of scapegoats that included Robin Smith and Angus Fraser, as England began their next Test series against India in 1996. Stewart by this stage had played 53 Tests at an average of 38.23, not too shabby by the dismal standards of Englands decade, but he was ousted in favour of Nick Knight. Knight, however, broke a finger during his comeback Test, and a suitably piqued Gaffer resumed his duties for the second Test on his favourite ground, Lords. He made 66 in the second innings to secure the draw, and then embarked on a run of form that included at least a half-century in his next nine games. By that winter he had even been reunited with the wicketkeeping gloves, and responded with innings of 101 not out and 173 against Zimbabwe and New Zealand. ' ' '