Protection » guys what they did to Kershaw in the NLCS --

The Canada Day long weekend saw some fantastic storylines in Major League Soccer, with last-minute goals coming in games played in Philadelphia, Montreal, San Jose and Los Angeles adding to the drama. For Canadas three MLS teams, the results were mixed. Toronto FC fell to Real Salt Lake, 1-0 at BMO Field, continuing TFCs winless streak on home soil. The last time the Reds picked up maximum points on the grass pitch down by the lakeshore was on July 18, 2012, when they beat the Colorado Rapids by a score of 2-1. A loss to Real Salt Lake wasnt entirely unexpected; the Western Conference leaders are the form team in MLS right now, having won seven of their last nine games. Toronto FC had a few fleeting chances, with the best falling to Bobby Convey just inside the penalty box after Danny Koevermans found the winger cutting inside, only for Convey to poke his ensuing shot wide of the target. There was a penalty appeal by Jeremy Brockie in the first half, after the Kiwi went down following contact with Real Salt Lake defender Nat Borchers. The referee made the correct decision in waving away Brockies appeal, as Brockie simply ran into Borchers after pushing the ball beyond the defender. While there was contact – Borchers clipped his own heels and went down as a result – it wasnt instigated by the defender and certainly didnt merit a penalty kick. Toronto FC head coach Ryan Nelsen felt otherwise, saying in the post-game press conference that they were denied a “stone-cold penalty”. Whether it was an attempt to deflect criticism away from yet another uninspiring performance is unclear. What is very evident is that Toronto FC is in dire need of a creative influence in midfield. Expect the upcoming transfer window to be a busy one for Nelsen and General Manager Kevin Payne, as the two continue to try to turn Toronto into a contender. There was controversy in Washington, D.C. as the Vancouver Whitecaps held on for a 1-0 win against United. Camilo scored the games only goal after he smashed home a penalty kick early in the second half following a foul by DC goalkeeper Bill Hamid on Vancouver midfielder Matt Watson. The controversy arose because replays clearly show that Hamid played the ball before making contact with Watson, who went sprawling under the challenge. Proponents of the call argue that “getting the ball first” isnt a defence for Hamid. They claim that his challenge was careless, and merited a foul being given. That the foul occurred inside the penalty area meant that referee Matt Foerster had no choice but to award a penalty. Critics argue that Hamids challenge was a legal one; he got the ball first, and his momentum carried him into Watson. It wasnt careless, but rather a strong challenge to win the ball. I agree with the critics. I do not want our game to become so sanitized that players are unable to challenge for the ball, knowing that even the slightest contact will result in a foul, a card or a penalty being given. Contact between players has always been a part of the game and denying a goal-scoring opportunity – as Hamid did when he came out to challenge Watson – can swing the momentum in a game. The referees job is to ensure that whatever contact occurs is within the laws of the game, but I feel that we are beginning to err too far on the side of caution. If this carries on, it wont be long before no contact at all is allowed in the game. The controversy masked the fact that Vancouver has been on a tidy little run of late, winning five of their last seven games to drag themselves into the playoff race in the Western Conference. The Whitecaps have a tough week coming up, though, with an away game against Sporting KC on Wednesday (which can be seen live on TSN at 9pm et/6pm pt) followed by a home game against Cascadia rivals Seattle Sounders on Saturday (also on TSN, 11pm et/8pm pt). The Montreal Impact were involved in a seven-goal thriller at Stade Saputo in Montreal, conceding in stoppage time to lose 4-3 to the Colorado Rapids. In head coach Marco Schallibaums first season in charge, the Impact have been in fantastic form, sitting atop the Eastern Conference with 29 points from 15 games played. They have games in hand on all of the teams chasing them, and if the Impact can convert those games into points, they will have a very good chance of making their first MLS playoff appearance in just their second year in the league. The Impact are anchored by some excellent senior players - Patrice Bernier, Marco Di Vaio, Alessandro Nesta and Matteo Ferrari to name a few. They have also made some very good off-season additions, with one of them – Daniele Paponi – scoring two goals against Colorado. If the Impact can stay healthy, they have more than enough to challenge not just for a playoff place, but also for a deep run into the post-season. The Impact will kick off an MLS double header on TSN on Wednesday when they renew their rivalry with Toronto FC at 7pm et/4pm pt, before Sporting KC hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps at 9pm et/6pm pt. Minkah Fitzpatrick Youth Jersey . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Michael Deiter Womens Jersey .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. http://www.dolphinsrookiestore.com/Dolphins-Cameron-Wake-Jersey/ . 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Theres stuff you need to know about this.So what do you say we get all the terrifying Cubs notes out of the way early on? It will be easier that way.? Over the past three decades, almost every team that lost Game 1 of the World Series found it had just dug itself a canyon it couldnt climb out of. Its tough to comprehend, but Game 1 losers have lost the past six World Series. And 12 of the past 13. And 17 of the past 19. Not to mention 19 of the past 22 and 24 of the past 28. Going all the way back to 1997, the only two teams to lose Game 1 and survive were the 2009 Yankees and the 2002 Angels. Hard to believe in a best-of-seven series, but 100 percent true.? Then theres the Cubs own not-so-beautiful history when they lose Game 1 of any postseason series. Tuesdays Game 1 loss in Cleveland marked the 14th time the Cubs had lost the opener of any type of series. They went 1-12 in the previous 13, coming back to win only in the 2015 NLDS against St. Louis.? If we confine this study just to best-of-seven series, it gets even more ominous. The Cubs now have lost Game 1 of a best-of-seven series 10 times. Theyre 0-9 in the previous nine. Then again, theyre the Cubs! So losing series in just about every way possible has been one of their areas of expertise.? Finally, the Cubs have now been shut out three times in this postseason. Of the seven previous teams to get blanked three times or more in the same postseason, just one -- the 1981 Dodgers -- went on to win the World Series. So are we saying theres a chance? Sure. Why the heck not?But the words of wisdom emanating from the clubhouse of the National League champions sounded remarkably similar to the words welling up from that same group a week or so ago, after theyd been held to two hits and no runs by Clayton Kershaw in Game 2 of the NLCS, and then held to two hits and no runs again, by Rich Hill, in Game 3 of that series.This time, the Cubs were talking about another ace, Kluber. Who held them to four hits and no runs, while striking out nine, in six-plus innings.That, Cubs catcher David Ross?said, is what Cy Youngs do. Thats what aces do.Of course, what Kluber did to the Cubs in this game wasnt quite what Kershaw and Hill did to them in the last round, if only because hes right-handed and the two Dodgers aces are left-handed. But were starting to see signs that this team can be shut down by great pitching this time of year -- when guys like Kluber and Miller show up on the mound with a lot greater frequency than they do from April through September.During the season, this Cubs lineup finished second to Colorado in runs scored. But it has now been shut out more times in 11 games in this postseason (three) than it was shut out in the 102 games it played from June 1 on in the regular season (two).The question is: What does that tell us about where this World Series is headed from here?This is not going to put all the pressure on us, just because we didnt win one ballgame, said the Cubs DH du jour, Kyle Schwarber, who somehow found a way to jet in from the Arizona Fall League, become the first position player ever to get a hit in a World Series after getting zero hits in the season and then rise up to be a voice of reason afterward.Were a good baseball team, Schwarber promised. Well be fine.But will they? They struck out 15 times Tuesday -- something they hadnt done in any nine-inning game in more than four months (since a June 13 meeting with Max Scherzer). They also set a franchise record for most whiffs in a postseason game.So what was the common thread between this game and those two shutouts against the Dodgers? According to ESPN Stats & Information, it was the unusually high percentage of fastballs the Cubs took for strikes against the starters they faced in all three of those games.ddddddddddddWhen Kluber threw his fastball Tuesday, he had a 58 percent called-strike rate. It was 55 percent in that game against Hill and 54 percent in Kershaws Game 2 start. Those are the three highest rates against them by any starting pitchers they faced all year.And while the Cubs had some complaints about plate ump Larry Vanovers strike zone, those gripes mostly concerned the pitches on the corners that Jon Lester didnt get, not the pitches that Kluber did get. Their biggest issue was the number of Klubers exploding two-seam fastballs they appeared to give up on, only to see them veer back into the strike zone.Then, when Kluber went to his off-speed stuff, the Cubs didnt fare much better. They had more swings and misses against his slider and curve (eight) than balls in play (seven). So the nicest thing that happened, Ross said, gratefully, was getting Kluber out of there.But if that was the good news, the bad news was it meant they had to spend the next two innings dealing with Miller, a man who had faced 41 hitters in this postseason before this game -- and struck out 21 of them.Unlike the Red Sox and Blue Jays, the Cubs at least made Miller sweat, running four three-ball counts, drawing as many walks against him in two innings (two) as hed issued in the entire postseason before this and forcing him to throw 46 pitches -- the most hed thrown in relief in more than five years.But they also learned all about what makes Miller maybe the most feared reliever in baseball -- when they loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh and got zero runs out of it. The last two outs came on sliders he threw past Addison Russell and Ross. And the movement on both of those pitches was so severe, they were unhittable even for hitters who were pretty sure what was coming. At 3-and-1, Ross said, he threw me a strike slider that kind of backed up a little bit. So what I was seeing [on the next pitch] was, Was that slider going to start in the same place? Im trying to protect against the nasty one and the one that kind of backed up. So as Im trying to look for that, the pitch I struck out on looked like it started from the same spot, but it ended up wrapping around my back leg and pretty much disappeared.Then, an inning later, with two on and two outs, it was Schwarber who got swallowed up by another of Millers most ferocious sliders, swinging over it for the innings final out, then screaming at himself in frustration.Thats his pitch, man, Schwarber said later. Its a plus-plus pitch for a reason.Kluber and Miller were so good, it was easy for the team they beat to fire out the obligatory tip your cap quotes about them and mean every word. But the Cubs will be seeing both of them again. So if theyre going to roar back to win this World Series, theyre going to have to do to those two guys what they did to Kershaw in the NLCS -- make a radical adjustment in the game plan the next time around.The common thread I see, Ross said, is we have a young group that usually gets better the more they see guys and how theyre going to pitch them. Im holding out hope that thats whats going to help us moving forward. But I dont want to take anything away from Corey Klubers performance. It was as dominant as it gets.Well, if they enjoyed his dominance on this night, stay tuned, because there is every indication the Indians plan to run Kluber out there again in Games 4 and 7. And if they grab the lead again, it will be Miller and Allen to follow. Its a formula the Indians already have used to smother two great lineups. And now its the Cubs turn. Lucky them.Asked if he was ready for more of the same fun in Games 4 and 7, Ross laughed and said, Well see. But right now, were going to worry about whoever theyve got on the mound tomorrow. Id rather forget about Corey Kluber for a little while.And after a Game 1 loss that history tells us normally means big trouble -- even for teams this good -- who the heck could blame him? ' ' '