CHICAGO -- With a division title well in hand, the Chicago Cubs might be tempted to ease up through the final stages of the 2016 regular season. Wayne Gretzky Jersey .Instead, the Cubs swept the Cincinnati Reds this week and have more objectives in mind -- including a chance to play spoiler this weekend as the St. Louis Cardinals come to Wrigley Field with the opener set for Friday afternoon.Chicago (97-55) matched last years win total with Wednesdays 9-2 victory over the Reds.Cubs manager Joe Maddon said hed like to reach a 100-win plateau hes never achieved.Ive had 100 losses (with Tampa Bay), he said.Chicagos magic number to clinch home field through the National League playoffs is three.And then there are the Cardinals (80-72), who are one-half game behind the San Francisco Giants and the New York Mets in the wild-card race.I think definitely the intensity will be there, Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant said. I think any time you play them, its a fun series. You get a lot of Cardinals fans down here. We want to play everybody tough.The Cubs big four starters work the next four games as right-hander Jake Arrieta (17-7, 2.96 ERA) pitches Friday with Jason Hammel and Jon Lester to follow.Kyle Hendricks is scheduled to pitch Monday, kicking off a three-game series in Pittsburgh.There will be other lineup tweaks as Maddon and his staff ponder the postseason roster.There are all kinds of different things were working on right now to try to make it a constructive week where you get a really final good look at some guys, give them a chance to possibly be in a role they might be utilized in the postseason, he said.Arrieta makes his 30th start of the season and is 6-2 with a 2.03 ERA in 12 career turns against St. Louis.The Cardinals had won four straight until Wednesdays 11-1 loss in Colorado. With no head-to-head games against their wild-card competitors, St. Louis is on its own while hoping for help from those playing the Giants and Mets.We control what we can control, same boring stuff, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told reporters. But it works for us, because it keeps it very simple what our job description is. We control ourselves. Thats it.The Cardinals Mike Leake (9-10, 4.54 ERA) makes his fourth start of the season (0-2, 4.26) against the Cubs on Friday.It will be his fourth start this month since coming off the disabled list (shingles). Hes 0-1 in that span with a loss to Chicago and two no-decisions, including a Cardinals victory over the Giants on Saturday as he allowed two runs and seven hits over six innings.The Cardinals close the regular season at home with four games against the Cincinnati Reds and three against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs hit the road for series in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Tanner Pearson Jersey . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. Kyle Clifford Jersey .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. http://www.authentickingsshopnhl.com/alec-martinez-jersey/ . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Anyone who remembers?Jahlil Okafor or (reaching way back to ancient times) Anthony Davis knows that freshmen can be amazing. In fact even a somewhat less celebrated one-and-done performer like Jabari Parker?was both a statistical wonder and, like Okafor and Davis, a consensus first-team All-American.But those guys all played for Kentucky or Duke, and, as detailed below, one thing weve havent seen in the last five years is an Okafor- or Davis-level immaculate season from an elite freshman at a program other than one of the usual suspects. For example, LSUs?Ben Simmons?earned some All-American nods on his way to being the No. 1 overall pick, yet a seeason in?which the Tigers missed the NCAA tournament and where SEC player of the year honors went to Kentuckys?Tyler Ulis?was, often as not, termed disappointing. Dustin Brown Jersey. Living up to the hype as an elite freshman is very difficult. And, apparently, one thing thats even more difficult is living up to that hype for a team that stands just outside the very top echelon of college basketball.This is the tendency that an extraordinary talent like Washingtons?Markelle Fultz?will be going against this season at Washington. NFL Jerseys WholesaleCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaJerseys NFL CheapJerseys WholesaleJerseys From ChinaCheap Authentic JerseysChina Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '
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