at Edgbaston to promote grass growth on the outfield (either that or they have moved into a most unorthodox si | Forum

PITTSBURGH -- Pitcher Jake Arrieta and catcher Miguel Montero?arent the only Chicago Cubs players who want to move past the spring training feel to the final days of the regular season -- they are just the most vocal. Wholesale Vapormax Plus .Both bristled Wednesday night at the decision to remove Montero from the game while Arrieta was still pitching. The Cy Young Award winner had just given up three runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fourth inning when manager Joe Maddon pulled Montero in favor of Willson Contreras.Maddon said it was a predetermined move to give the rookie Contreras an inning with Arrieta in case that combination is together in a postseason contest. Arrieta wound up giving up three more runs in the fifth.They all knew what was going to happen before that game, Maddon said Thursday afternoon. There were no surprises. And theres been no surprises.But thats not what Arrieta indicated earlier in the day during his own radio show on ESPN 1000 in Chicago.Going into the game, I was really unaware we were going to go with a catching change, Arrieta said.Maddon shot back in his take on Arrietas night, in which he gave up a season-high 10 hits.I dont think it was attributable to a spring training attitude as much as the Pirates had a good approach last night, Maddon said.Even general manager Jed Hoyer chimed in, also on ESPN 1000.Its a difficult balance, Hoyer said. We mostly get it right, maybe yesterday [Wednesday] we didnt.In the long run, the disagreement probably will matter little as the regular season has just three days left, which means only three more days of meaningless games.Its a little weird at this time of the year to be doing that, Ben Zobrist said. I understand. I get it. Were preparing for something else than today. Its odd because [normally] at this time of the year, youre playing one game at a time and pushing.In other words, teams normally are not treating games like its a second spring training. To be fair, even the players who want to play more get what Maddon is trying to do. The strategy may prevent shortstop Addison Russell from getting to 100 RBIs, but he wasnt about to get upset.It would be nice to have the starters out there doing their thing, Russell said. People getting rest is OK and giving the bench guys a chance to see how they handle the pressure is good, too.When informed some players were griping about the atmosphere that Maddon laid out to them after they clinched a playoff spot, the manager had an answer ready to go.Were 7-2 in our last nine games, so I dont see any kind of negative pattern right there, Maddon said before Thursdays 1-1, six-inning tie with the Pirates.Furthermore, Maddon wont change much in the final three games in Cincinnati. Hes not pushing anyone more than he has over the past couple of weeks.The relief pitchers are still going to be choreographed, Maddon said. The team on the field, guys [will get] three to four at-bats. Its still going to be scripted.That might not be great news to hear for a regular starter, but that doesnt mean its the wrong move.Its been a little weird here knowing these games dont matter for either team, but at the same time they matter for the individuals to get their work in, Zobrist said. Its a place nobody is usually in.Its new for all of us. They have to do the best job they can to keep everyone healthy and at the same time keep everyone sharp. Thats a difficult task.As for spring training, the Cubs already have had one. They dont need another. Its time to get serious again.It does feel like spring training, Zobrist said. We want to get away from that as quick as we can and get back to playing competitive baseball. Cheap Vapormax . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Cheap Nike Shox Gravity Mens . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. http://www.clearancenikeshoxcheap.com/clearance-mens-nike-shox.html . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. The reaction to defeat at Lords speaks volumes for the febrile atmosphere in English cricket at present.With a couple of newspapers calling for the selectors to be sacked, you would think defeat at Lords, or defeat against Pakistan, was an unprecedented disaster. But actually England lost at Lords in 2015 and 2014 and Pakistan beat them 2-0 barely six months ago.So quite why the defeat at Lords has caused such shock is puzzling. Pakistan are a fine side with, arguably, the best bowling attack in the world. They are rated above England in the rankings and Lords (and The Oval and Manchester) offer England little home advantage. Anyone surprised by Pakistan playing well - or Englands batting looking fragile - really hasnt been paying attention.The consternation over the absence of James Anderson is puzzling, too. The decision not to risk him at Lords - a not unreasonable decision bearing in mind he had yet to play a game after sustaining a shoulder injury - was not responsible for the defeat. Englands na?ve batting, as Alastair Cook termed it, was.Its certainly not a selection fiasco in the grand traditions of English cricket. Take the Major Nigel Bennett episode, for example. Major Bennett popped into The Oval in 1946 to renew his county membership after the war, but was mistaken for Major Leo Bennet - who had represented the British Empire XI during the war - and offered the captaincy. He took up the offer before anyone realised a mistake had been made and went on to lead Surrey to what was, at the time, the worst season in their history. He averaged 16 with the bat.Still, Andersons return to the squad - he bowled in the nets on Wednesday and looks fully fit - is welcome. So, too, is Ben Stokes, who admitted he required the bowling he gained in the Championship match he played against Lancashire instead of the first Test to regain match fitness. Both of them are highly likely to play though the selectors have given the captain and coach - a coach, it should be remember, who has barely seen a weeks county cricket in his life - every option with an unusually large 14-man squad.With Stokes and Woakes available as allrounders, England have plentiful options here. One of those is to field a second spinner (Saqlain Mushtaq worked with Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in training on Wednesday) and either drop one of the batsmen (probably James Vince, but perhaps Gary Ballance) or play only three of Stokes, Woakes, Anderson and Stuart Broad. Nike Vapormax Mens Sale. Bearing in mind Pakistans excellence against spin and Englands record of success fielding a two-man spin attack in home Tests - they have not won a game in England using a two-man spin attack since 1985 - and that looks both an unwise and unlikely scenario. England have only fielded a two-man spin attack at home six times in the last 20 years. The last time - at The Oval in 2013 - saw Simon Kerrigans unfortunate debut. The time before that was in 2009 when Monty Panesar helped James Anderson bat England to what had seemed an unlikely draw against Australia in Cardiff.It seems more likely that England will pick the four-man seam attack with one spinner. Whether that is Rashid or Moeen remains to be seen, though Rashid does look the favourite at this stage. Pakistan look likely to play only one spinner though, as Stokes remarked on Wednesday, Yasir may well be the best legspinner since Shane Warne.As well as a few Lancashire players, Glen Chapple and Steve Rhodes attended England training on Wednesday with a view to taking coaching tips back to their counties. Matt Parkinson, the Lancashire legspinner, will again bowl in the nets on Thursday (he was with the England squad at Lords) and Mason Crane, the Hampshire legspinner, will do the same at The Oval. The England camp also hope to continue to engage with former players and create situations where they can pass on their tips to the current team. Andy Caddick is expected to speak to the squad at Edgbaston and Darren Gough will do so later in the summer.Although the outfield at Old Trafford is not especially pretty - the result of staging lucrative Rihanna and Beyonce concerts here in recent weeks - the pitch is expected to be good. It should offer some pace, bounce and spin as the surface wears; in short, it should reward good cricket.Lancashire played two spinners in their last Championship match here. One of them - Parkinson - took a five-wicket haul in the first innings. The groundstaff are using the cannabis hot lamps we have seen previously at Edgbaston to promote grass growth on the outfield (either that or they have moved into a most unorthodox sideline) but, unless heavy rain hits, it should only be a cosmetic problem. ' ' '