If its a 50-over team, you have the Cham | Forum

CHICAGO -- Finding ways to win in the American Leagues Central Division has been an issue for both the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins this season. Custom Orioles Jersey China .But as the White Sox look to return to their winning ways and the Twins hope to build on whats been their most successful month to date, reversing course against divisional opponents moving forward will be key.The White Sox and Twins wrap up their three game series at U.S. Cellular Field Thursday before both teams venture outside the Central this weekend.For the White Sox, in-division competition of late has been especially painful even after the White Sox won for only the fourth time in their last 20 divisional games with Wednesdays 9-6 victory.Although the White Sox will clinch their third consecutive series with a win on Thursday, they havent been nearly as successful against their Central Division neighbors -- and the teams they face the most each season.You have to pick it up a little bit in your division, White Sox manager Robin Ventura said this week.Thursdays game will mark the ninth time the Twins and White Sox have faced one another this season. The White Sox won the first six games and outscored Minnesota 30-9 before being shut out 4-0 in Tuesdays series opener. Chicago regained some of their form Wednesday behind James Shields first win for Chicago since coming over in a trade with San Diego.But the Twins are about the only division opponent the White Sox have had success against during their recent troubling stretch. Chicago is 1-6 against Cleveland, 2-7 against Kansas City and 2-4 against Detroit.And even after improving to 7-1 against Minnesota, Ventura knows things have to improve against other divisional opponents. White Sox third baseman said familiarity with one another may play a factor in Chicagos troubles.Maybe they know us a little bit, Frazier said. They may know our tendencies a little more. There is no real rhyme or reason.Twins manager Paul Molitor is hoping his players have taken their struggles against divisional opponents personally. Teams like the White Sox had their way with the Twins earlier this season.And yet after coming within a win of earning their first series victory over the White Sox since last September, Molitor said his team has to find ways to build off wins like Tuesdays 4-0 shutout.Wednesdays loss -- which included a five-run, ninth-inning Twins rally that saw the tying run come to the plate -- was the latest example of the Twins being unable to string together multiple wins.Its not like youre expecting to go out and reel off a long winning streak -- it would be great if you were able to do that, Molitor said. You just want to see more consistency. We dont make a tough play (Wednesday), we have a base-running mistake that I thought it was costly -- those can be momentum-changers -- and you go from being in a pretty close game to trailing by eight runs. Eddie Murray Jersey Large ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. Cal Ripken Jersey Large . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. http://www.customoriolesjersey.com/ . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. In the not so distant future, India might face an issue: if Wriddhiman Saha, their specialist wicketkeeper in Tests, does not succeed or gets injured, who is the best replacement for him?KL Rahul doubling up as a wicketkeeper-batsman in the IPL has helped him jump a few places in the queue, which is led by Naman Ojha and includes Dinesh Karthik, Sanju Samson, and Rishabh Pant. For now Saha, a specialist wicketkeeper, remains Indias first choice, as Kohli had made clear ahead of the sides departure for the Caribbean.Obviously, whenever Rahul played, he has played as an opener or as a back-up option for the opening slot. I think it is up to the team management to take a call on the batting combination, but as far as wicketkeeping goes, Saha, being a specialist keeper is always the first choice, Kohli had said in Bangalore earlier this month. Sahas batting has also improved a lot in the last few months and we can bank on him as he is a quality glovesman who can grab those half chances.Former Bengal and India wicketkeeper-batsman, Deep Dasgupta firmly backed a specialist wicketkeeper like Saha over part-time options. Especially when you are talking about Test match cricket, Id always say a specialist is better, Dasgupta told ESPNcricinfo.Mental strength is crucial to succeed in the longest format, according to Dasgupta, who had also opened the batting for India in Test cricket. T20 and one-day cricket is different, but in Test cricket, the mindset and the way you think about the game is completely different, he said. If youre looking at somebody to be a top-order batsman and keep wickets, the physical training is different. There will be matches where you need to be on the ground for four days, either keeping wickets or batting.The other important issue is whether your keeping will affect your batting or your batting will affect your keeping. If its somebody who has grown up as a wicketkeeper-batsman, he knows how to handle it. But for someone who is going to start keeping now, you dont know, and God forbid if the keeping affects batting, you lose the player as a keeper and a batsman. Thats the last thing you want, so its a very tentative call.With India set to play 13 Tests at home in the upcoming season, Sahas skills especially on turning pitches will be tested. Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Kiran More also said that a specialist keeper was the key.All wicketkeepers bat well now. You look at Parthiv [Patel] or Naman Ojha or Wriddhiman Saha, they all bat well, theyve all got fantastic domestic records and scored loads of hundreds, so I think there is no doubt about their batting credentials, More said. But when you play on such types of wickets, you need to have better wicketkeepers all the time. Why did India win the World Cup? I think its because we had a player who could bat at No. 6 or 7 and was a wicketkeeper. When you look at the teams that have won World Cups, they always had a better wicketkeeper-batsman, bee it Adam Gilchrist or MS Dhoni. Earl Weaver Jersey Large. Thats why these countries have done well. While Sahas glovework is tidy, India may still face a problem because his batting stats have been underwhelming, despite Kohlis assessment of his improved skills. In 19 Test innings, Saha has two half-centuries and averages only 21.58, as opposed to his first-class average of 42.60. Saha isnt at the same level as Dhoni - who averaged 38.09 - as a batsman and if India play five bowlers, as Kohli has preferred to do, they could have a long tail.Saha may not be technically correct, Dasgupta, formerly Sahas senior in the Bengal side and chairman of the state selection panel, said, but he was effective.Ive known Saha since he started playing first-class cricket, or even before that, when he was playing under-22 for Bengal, Dasgupta said. He is not a very orthodox batsman, but he is very effective. His numbers in first-class cricket - he averages over 40 - are as good as any batsman around. I still remember a couple of fifties he got in Sri Lanka which were very, very crucial. He might not score 10 out of 10 in terms of beauty, but he is quite effective with the bat. I think he is good enough; you just need to keep faith in him. Knowing Wriddhiman, I know why Virat Kohli is showing that much faith in him.According to Dasgupta, whether it is Saha or Ojha or Rahul, the wicketkeeper needed to be given a long run in the Test side. We have to be very conscious in what we want in the future. I wouldnt look at part-time keepers. I wouldnt mind if someone like KL Rahul opts to be a keeper, but I dont like the tag part-time. The keepers we have in the country are all good batsmen, be it Naman or Wriddhiman. They all have very, very impressive batting numbers. So all I would like to see is these guys being given enough opportunities to figure out where they stand. Its a little unfair to say Naman isnt good enough when you have already given him one opportunity and he has done decently well. We have enough talent in the country to not look at part-time options.Saha, Ojha and Karthik are older than 30, but Dasgupta said fitness should be the priority, rather than age. Someone like a Naman or a DK [Dinesh Karthik], for that matter, who is in his early 30s, in this day and age, your age is just a number. Its about how fit you are and whether you are performing or not. And if these guys who are in their 30s are still fit enough to keep wickets and bat in Test match cricket, why not, even if its just for two or three years. If its a 50-over team, you have the Champions Trophy coming up next season, or if its 20-over cricket, you are looking at the World Cup. But in Test cricket, theres no big tournament. Youre looking at the next series. So I dont understand building a team for the future as far as Test cricket is concerned. ' ' '