Kritik und Anregungen » nts challenge in the past and

CHICAGO -- A native Chicagoan who was a Cubs fan, Adam Rosales took a little extra satisfaction Thursday night when he homered in the 10th inning. Rosales two-out homer helped lift the Oakland Athletics to a 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox. "It feels really special," Rosales said. "I had family in the stands and a lot of friends. I grew up a Cubs fan, I grew up coming here when it was Comiskey (Park). Just to play on this field is a great opportunity, and to do that is just unbelievable to me." Rosales fourth homer of the season came off White Sox reliever Matt Thornton (0-2), one of a season-high four homers for the As. Oaklands Yoenis Cespedes hit two home runs for the second time in three games. Josh Reddick also connected. All four longballs were solo shots. As reliever Jerry Blevins (5-0) pitched the ninth for the win, and Grant Balfour gave up one hit in the 10th for his 14th save. The As have won six of seven and 17 of 20. Oakland is 12-2 during a 17-day stretch without a day off. "The guys have just been awesome, theyve been playing really well, a great team chemistry, guys coming up big and getting big hits and pitchers keeping us in the ballgame," Rosales said. "Its been a great start to the season." Oakland right fielder Reddick had two of the biggest plays of the night. In the bottom of the fifth, he threw out Chicagos Tyler Flowers trying to score from second on Alejandro De Azas single to right. Had Flowers scored, that would have been Chicagos fifth run. "Nobodys really challenged my arm this year," Reddick said. "Thats one thing I take pride in, thats the best part of my game on defence, throwing guys out. For them to actually try that made me feel really good that there are some guys that are going to try and run on that." And Reddicks homer in the seventh tied it 4-all. "Its hard to pick one," Reddick said when asked which play was more crucial. "Theyre both equally as important. The throw-out saves a run and if that run scores, we lose in the ninth. "And, obviously, if you dont hit the home run, we dont go into extra innings and win the ballgame," Reddick added. "Its harder to pick one. Youve got to look at them both the same way and look at them as saving the ballgame." The White Sox have lost nine of their last 10 games and have been outscored 47-26 in their last nine games. Chicago has lost all four games against Oakland this season. "We need to start winning some games or we might be saying bye to some people in July," White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham said. "Hopefully, we can start winning and get a streak going." White Sox starter Jose Quintana went 7 2-3 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits. He did not walk a batter but gave up three home runs. Oakland starter Dan Straily pitched seven innings, gave up four runs on six hits, walked two and struck out three. "I thought (Straily) pitched really well and I think his confidence has gotten to a point where he can give up some runs and still stay with it," As manager Bob Melvin said. "Whereas earlier in the season it might have snowballed or cratered on him a little bit. It was impressive." After Straily retired the first seven batters he faced, the White Sox scored three runs in the bottom of the third. Beckham singled to centre, but was forced at second when Flowers hit into a fielders choice. De Aza doubled down the right field line, scoring Flowers. Alexei Ramirezs bloop single to short centre scored De Aza. Ramirez then stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch by Straily and scored on Alex Rios single to centre. The As broke up Quintanas perfect game with two outs in the fourth when Cespedes drove a 1-1 pitch into the left-centre stands to make it 3-1. Oakland closed the gap to 3-2 in the top of the fifth when Nate Freiman led off with a single to centre and scored on Rosales double just inside the third base line. Beckham led off the fifth with a walk, Flowers double pushed Beckett to third and De Aza singled to score Beckham. Oakland again closed Chicagos lead to one run in the sixth when Cespedes hit his second homer of the game -- and 13th this year -- a one-out drive to right-centre. The As tied it at 4 in the seventh on Reddicks longball to right field, his second of the season. The White Sox played without manager Robin Ventura, who was excused from Thursday and Fridays games to attend his daughters graduation in California. Bench coach Mark Parent filled in for Ventura on Thursday, while pitching coach Don Cooper will manage Friday. NOTES: Prior to the game, the White Sox placed right-handed pitcher Jake Peavy on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to June 5) with a broken rib. ... The 12 combined extra-inning runs scored by the White Sox and Mariners in Wednesdays 16-inning marathon tied the American league record for the fourth time, the most recently occurring in 1983. ... Brandon Mosss three-run homer in the seventh inning of Wednesdays game at Milwaukee was the 12,000th homer in As team history. . Former NBA star and Fox Sports TV personality John Salley threw out the first pitch. ... Attendance was 21,156. ... Fridays starters will be Oaklands Jarrod Parker (4-6, 4.90) vs. Chicagos Chris Sale (5-3, 2.44). The White Sox are scheduled to start four left-handers in a series for the first time since July 21-24, 1980, against the Royals in Kansas City.Matt Festa Jersey . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Tim Lopes 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. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. Taijuan Walker Mariners Jersey . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Braden Bishop Mariners Jersey . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable.DurhamThis year: 4th in North Group; beat Gloucestershire in quarter-finalLast year: 6th in group stageMost runs: Mark Stoneman (328)Most wickets: Scott Borthwick and Paul Coughlin (17 each)Highest total: 193 for 2 v DerbyshireHighest individual score: Calum MacLeod (83)Key features: One of three teams at Finals Day this year never to have won the tournament, Durham squeezed into the last eight thanks to a thumping win over Derbyshire and defeat for 2014 champions Warwickshire in the final round of the group stage. Durham have been scraping by all season - Paul Collingwood admits the club is going through a difficult period - but they are never better than when their backs are against the wall, as evidenced by winning the Championship in 2013 and Royal London Cup in 2014 despite ongoing financial trouble. Mark Woods return to fitness after ankle surgery looks like a huge boost in the circumstances, the England pace bowler leading the way during Durhams quarter-final victory at Bristol, and Ben Stokes has also been made available as he recovers from a calf strain. Mark Stoneman, the former captain who will be playing his final limited-overs fixtures for the club before leaving for Surrey, looks to be coming into form at the right time, too.Key player: While Stokes and Wood will provide the obvious X-Factor, Scott Borthwick might just be the man to unlock Finals Day for Durham. The legspinner has combined wicket-taking potency with a handy economy of 7.26 and, with Edgbaston having tended to aid slow bowling at this stage of the season, his craft ought to be to the fore when it comes to choking the scoring in the middle overs. Like Stoneman, Borthwick has attracted the attention of wealthier counties but he would surely love to scoop up some more silverware with Durham if he is to depart. Alan GardnerThe coach, Jon Lewis: Its been a long time since we made it to Finals Day; too long, really. Weve had decent teams in the past, but never quite done it. To reach it this year, with no overseas player, has been a really good achievement. Id be lying if I said the money issues at the club has hadnt affected us: of course they have. People have been distracted. Players feel uncertainty and we all understand them being concerned over their future. Things were difficult for a few weeks. But the chief came and spoke to all the players and put some minds at ease. Mark Stoneman is leaving us, but Im pretty confident well keep the rest of them. We have a proven record of producing players for England. Theres no need to go anywhere else. Having Stokes back for Finals Day is huge - hell play as a batsman only - and having Wood and Borthwick bowling in the middle of the innings - a proper fast bowler and good legspinner - gives us great wicket-taking potential. We used big boundaries at Durham - anywhere from 70m up to 90m - which plays to our athleticism. Well never be satisfied just with being competitive. We want an expectation of winning.NorthamptonshireThis year: 2nd in North Group; beat Middlesex in quarter-finalLast year: beaten finalistsMost runs: Ben Duckett (389)Most wickets: Richard Gleeson (14)Highest total: 200 for 5 v Warwickshire Highest individual score: Adam Rossington (85)Key features: The team that keeps defying the odds to challenge in white-ball cricket. Making their third appearance at Finals Day in four years - they won in 2013 and made it to the final in 2015 - Northants consistency comes despite the clubs dire financial situation, the continuing interest of larger counties attempting to lure their talent elsewhere and, lets be honest, the less-than-svelte physique of several players. If Northants results were reflected at a football club of similar size, it would be the manager - or in this case the coach - David Ripley gaining the offers. Ripley, who developed several of the squad at youth level, has somehow overcome the small playing staff (16) and lack of finance to build a selfless, confident team that achieved qualification to the knockout rounds of both of this seasons limited-overs competitions. Their formula is built upon a commitment to aggressive cricket at the top of the order, with five men having contributed at least two half-centuries, several seamers who hit the pitch surprisingly hard and excellent fielding. But they may be without Richard Gleeson, arguably the revelation of the season as a fast bowler, who sustained a side strain on Thursday, and overseas legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna, who is required by Sri Lanka. Steven Crook is also a fitness doubt and they have not beaten their semi-final opponents, Nottinghamshire, for a decade.Key player: As a business, Northants are an also-ran. But as a cricket club, they keep producing players. The latest to emerge from their production line is 21-year-old batsman Ben Duckett. Blessed with a hint of Jos Buttler and James Taylor, Duckett has been in prolific form this season, recently setting a new English record for the most List A runs (650) in a calendar month, during which he thrashed the highest one-day score by a Lions player, an unbeaten 220 against Sri Lanka. He is not out of contract this year, but is already attracting envious glances from richer counties wanting to entice him elsewhere. Finals Day provides a wonderful shop window to his extravagant talents. George DobellThe coach, David Ripley: We have played the underdog card quite well in recent years. I suppose that becomes more difficult with more sustained success: other teams know we are good thesee days and they know they cant take us lightly.dddddddddddd We still make a positive out of a negative in terms of our small squad size: players arent looking over their shoulders. They know they will be playing and what is required of them. That gives them confidence and the ability to learn their roles inside out. It is flattering that other clubs keep coming after our players; part of our role is to produce good players and we take great pride in that. But its also frustrating. Weve had a bit of a golden age of young players though the club - David Willey has shown his quality, Olly Stone and Ben Duckett will do the same - and it isnt easy to sustain that.NottinghamshireThis year: 1st in North Group; beat Essex in quarter-finalLast year: 5th in group stageMost runs: Riki Wessels (396)Most wickets: Samit Patel and Harry Gurney (16 each)Highest total: 185 for 8 v LancashireHighest individual score: Riki Wessels (80*)Key features: This tournament represents the last chance to salvage success from a season that sees them facing relegation in the Championship. They overcame a quarter-final hoodoo by beating Essex when the game was appearing to slip away from them. However, they will need to hope a misfiring batting order has enough in them for two good performances on Finals Day. Providing he has overcome his frustrations of the Oval Test, Alex Hales availability should help that side of things while Stuart Broad certainly has a big match mentality and Andre Russell has won as many T20 tournaments as Jason Kenny has Olympic gold medals. In terms of squad, Nottinghamshire appear to have an embarrassment of riches with Imran Tahir and Dan Christian also available but the challenge will be to quickly refocus on the T20 format.Key player: For all Russells bling, Broads match-winning bursts and Hales ability to blast the ball, in Samit Patel Nottinghamshire have an experienced and extremely canny performer with bat and ball. Alongside Tahir he forms a telling spin combination; in the quarter-final he claimed four of the top six during Essexs collapse. Eoin Morgan has said that he wants extra spin options for the one-day squads over the winter, so Patel could yet force his way back into the England reckoning after his surprise recall to the Test side last year. Andrew McGlashanThe coach, Mick Newell: People who say it must be great to have such an embarrassment of riches in selection terms arent the ones who have to tell the players they will not be playing. We have three overseas players registered here but only two can play. With the weather poor and the possibility of shortened games, it may count against Imran Tahir. But we havent decided yet. We havent been good enough in the Championship of late - sides that are relegated tend to be sides that have batted poorly and we are batting poorly - but we have an opportunity to give our supporters something to celebrate and an opportunity to become one of very few sides to win all three competitions within a 10-year cycle. Winning trophies is tough but that is an exciting possibility.YorkshireThis year: 3rd in North Group; beat Glamorgan in quarter-finalLast year: 8th in group stageMost runs: Alex Lees (272)Most wickets: Tim Bresnan (20)Highest total: 223 for 6 v DurhamHighest individual score: Joe Root (92*)Key features: Yorkshire were a mess in Twenty20 in early season, still looking for all the world like a Championship side uncomfortable in the shorter format. Then something clicked. Quite what is analysed in more depth elsewhere on these pages, but in essence a change of attitude also came with a change of personnel. David Willey, although a slow starter with the bat, has added a combative presence in the early overs with both bat and ball, Adam Lyth has been properly restored to the top of the order, Tim Bresnan can no longer be measured up so easily and the return of the offspinner Azeem Rafiq after a couple of difficult years out of the professional game has restored a partnership with Adil Rashid.Key player: Even with Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow available for Finals Day (although Bairstows hand took a battering in the Royal London Cup against Kent), it is hard to look beyond David Willey for Yorkshires most influential player as he prepares for his fourth appearance at Finals Day. The barnstorming innings against Glamorgan in the quarter-final in Cardiff loudly stated that he wanted another and nobody was about to get in his way. Equally inspirational with the new ball and tigerish in the field, he fuelled Northants challenge in the past and now he has done the same for Yorkshire. David HoppsThe coach, Jason Gillespie: Why has our form improved? We gained greater clarity of our roles. We challenged everyone to think and understand exactly what they were trying to do and to stick to it once they got out there. Its tough to leave good players out, but everyone at Yorkshire understands that we have really good England players and, when they are available, they add to the side. It wont damage the spirit or the plans of the team. Weve named the same 12 that played in the Royal London quarter-final. I think county cricket is a wonderful product and the quality of cricket is very high. The difference between it and the Big Bash is partly just the weather and partly about marketing. In Australia the Big Bash is on free-to-air TV. That has to make a difference. ' ' '