Talk » balance of the season.Mik

BOSTON -- Rick Porcello doesnt figure to face Alex Rodriguez on Tuesday when the right-hander takes his undefeated 2016 home record to the mound as the Boston Red Sox open a three-game series with the New York Yankees.No announcement had been made on the potential involvement of Rodriguez, who is in his final four games as a Yankee after Sundays announcement. The veteran slugger is 3-for-22 with six strikeouts against Porcello lifetime, making a Wednesday matchup with left-hander Drew Pomeranz more likely.The rivals come into this summer series from opposite overall directions. The Red Sox are battling for both the American League East and wild-card spots and the Yankees having sold at the deadline to build toward the future.Boston is coming off a 5-6 road trip, while the new-look Yankees just won two of three from the first-place Cleveland Indians.Rodriguez and the Yankees announced on Sunday that he would be released after playing a final game at Yankee Stadium on Friday night. Manager Joe Girardi said he had to speak with Rodriguez to get a feeling on whether or not he wanted to play at Fenway, where he will hear it one last time from the fans.Rodriguez has hit .287 with 29 homers and 88 RBI in 131 career games at Fenway, a place he almost called home after a deal that would have brought him to Boston. He hit two homers in four games at Fenway Park earlier this season.Hes played a long time. It comes to an end for all of us at some point, Bostons Dustin Pedroia said. All I know is that it was never fun when he comes up. He can do some damage.Porcello, who is 14-3 overall, is 10-0 in 11 starts at Fenway this season. He has two starts coming on a brief six-game homestand before the Red Sox head back out onto the road.Hes walking the fewest number of players in his career over nine innings and his sinker has been re-established and more consistent, Boston manager John Farrell said. Those are two primary reasons for his success. Hes not beating himself.Porcello, who is 1-1 this season and 6-5 lifetime against the Yankees, has had all kinds of trouble with Jacoby Ellsbury. The center fielder is 12-for-28 with four solo homers against him.Porcello will face young right-hander Luis Severino, who pitched well out of the bullpen after his return from the minors and gets his first start since his demotion. He worked 4 1/3 strong innings in relief his last time out, getting his first win in seven big league decisions in 2016.Severino lost to the Yankees in New York on May 8 and David Ortiz has three home runs in five at-bats against him.The Yankees still are technically alive in the wild-card chase but its clear the organizations eye is on the future after trading Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran and Ivan Nova.Ive said all along Ive felt we have a good team, New York outfielder Brett Gardner said. I know weve been inconsistent and weve been disappointed and we havent, at times we havent pitched as well as we should and most of the time we havent hit as well as we should, so its been frustrating for all of us involved. But were still playing hard, still playing to win and still not giving up so we have what, 55 games left or something like that, and were going to continue to do that.Its sad. Its sad the way that this season has unfolded, not just for (Rodriguez) but for everybody and I think that if we could maybe, if we had played better as a team obviously that wouldnt be, things would be unfolding this way. Its something thats kind of hard to swallow.Cheap Basketball Jerseys . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Custom Basketball Jerseys . "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. https://www.fakebasketballjerseys.com/ . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. Fake Basketball Jerseys Free Shipping . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Cyber Monday Basketball Jerseys . Now, correct me if Im wrong but I saw one official distinctly pointing at the net indicating a good goal but after an inconclusive review they overturned the goal. Shouldnt the ruling on the ice (good goal) stand after an inconclusive review? Why was this overturned? James Veaudry Pembroke, ON -- Hey Kerry, Youll get a lot of these, but why was the Montreal goal against Nashville Saturday night overturned? Eller puts the puck on net and the on ice ruling from the ref behind the net is a Montreal goal.CLEVELAND -- Two days later, the pain has diminished -- a little.The cruel sting of losing Game 7 hasnt completely left the Cleveland Indians.We all want to hoist that World Series trophy, team president Chris Antonetti said Friday, so it hurt when we lost.At the same time the Chicago Cubs were parading down Michigan Avenue after winning their first title in 108 years, the Indians -- who pushed the National League champions into extra innings in an unforgettable season finale before losing 8-7 -- took the first steps toward getting back to the Series in 2017.For Antonetti, who has been with the club for 18 years, there is some comfort in what the Indians did this season. But hell never be satisfied completely until Clevelands title quest is finished.We went to Game 7 of the World Series, that in and of itself is an accomplishment, he said. Not the ultimate one were striving for, but still a great organizational accomplishment.With deadlines approaching and no time for pity, the Indians jumped right into the offseason by locking up manager Terry Francona through 2020.The club exercised its contract options for 2019 and 2020 on the 57-year-old manager, who did a remarkable job in steering the Indians around numerous obstacles to get them to their first Series since 1997.Cleveland overcame key injuries, suspensions and questions about their legitimacy as title contenders under Francona, who in his fourth season got the Indians within one win of their first title since 1948.He did a masterful job, Antonetti said. The way in which Tito is constantly thinking about how to place individual players in a position to be successful, to most impact the team, is always extraordinary. He does that first and foremost by building really deep relationships with guys, where they know he cares and he has their best interest in mind, and hes always going to find a way for them to be the best versions of themselves.Hes done that from the day he got here. As high as our expectations were for Tito when we hired him, hes gone beyond that. Were really fortunate to have him.Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff also praised Franconas willingness to include everyone in Clevelands front office on major decisions.Hes five steps ahead of all of us [on the field], Chernoff said. Thats just a small part of it. Hes broken down barriers organizationally for us, whether its scouting, player development, that connection people feel internally, and hes done it on the field with the team and in the clubhouse. And the culture he hhas helped to build, a lot of the resiliency you see, the grit you saw in this team, is a product of that culture.dddddddddddd Its not any one move that he made.The Indians have had four straight winning seasons under Francona, who won two titles with Boston. Hes become wildly popular in Cleveland, where he can be seen riding his motorized scooter to the ballpark and where fans have embraced his everyman persona, enthusiasm and self-deprecating sense of humor.Along with rewarding Francona, the Indians exercised their $12 million option on slugger Carlos Santana for next season. The move was expected after Santana belted 34 homers while splitting time at first and designated hitter.Cleveland declined a $13 million option on outfielder Coco Crisp, who gets a $750,000 buyout.The switch-hitter had a few key hits in the postseason and a .208 batting average with two home runs and eight RBIs for the Indians in the regular season after being acquired from the Athletics on Aug. 31.The trade returned Crisp, who turned 37 on Tuesday, to the team he broke into the majors with in 2002.Antonetti also said the club has expressed to first baseman Mike Napoli and outfielder Rajai Davis that they would like to re-sign the potential free agents. The team has until Monday to make qualifying offers to both. Napolis is worth $17.2 million.In his first season with Cleveland, Napoli reached career highs in homers, plate appearances and RBIs. The 35-year-old struggled in the postseason, but Antonetti said the team will take into account the balance of the season.Mike did a phenomenal job for us, he said. He made a huge impact for us on the field and in the clubhouse, and I think thats the lens through which well view it.Davis, too, helped the Indians to their first American League Central title since 2007. The 35-year-old led the league in stolen bases and helped them offset the loss of All-Star Michael Brantley.And for a little while, Davis hit the biggest homer in Cleveland history. His two-run shot in the eighth inning of Game 7 off Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman tied the score 6-6 before Chicago scored two in the 10th.Antonetti and Chernoff were together in a suite and couldnt contain their emotions.I didnt even try, Antonetti said.I almost fell out of the booth, Chernoff said.And next time, they hope to celebrate after the Series.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ' ' '