导出博客文章HOUSTON -- Josh Hamilton is starting to break out of his season-long slump, and it has helped the Los Angeles Angels string together some wins.
Saucony Shoes On Clearance . Hamilton doubled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and scored on shortstop Jake Elmores overthrow, helping the Angels beat the Houston Astros 3-1 Sunday and extend their winning streak to six. C.J. Wilson won his fourth straight start and Mark Trumbo hit his 18th homer for the Angels, who swept three-game series at Detroit and Houston for their first undefeated trip of at least six games since 2002. "Theres no doubt that I think theres a comfort level that you can see starting to form," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said. "We talked a while about it, but Josh is important to us and its good to see him swinging the bat better this trip." Hamilton, who left Texas to sign a $125 million, five-year contract during the off-season, is hitting just .223. But hes been better lately, with 11 RBIs in his last 16 games after driving in just 10 in his previous 50 games. He is batting .273 with nine hits and five RBIs in his last 10 games. Hamilton had 43 homers and 128 RBIs last season. Eighty-two games into this season he has just 10 homers and 29 RBIs. "Getting there," he said. "I feel a lot better, but even if I had been hitting for a month, I still wouldnt say I was there." He is starting to have a bit more fun though, something that was clear by the huge grin he had when he trotted home after the error on his double. "Its fun when you remember the game that you played your whole life and Little League," he said. "Nothings changed inside the lines, its still the same game ... so dont get caught up in struggles or anything like that, and just enjoy having the opportunity to be here and play." Scioscia is encouraged by the recent surge of the Angels, who are in third place and nine games back in the AL-West. "I think theres a feeling of confidence in the clubhouse and on the field, which is more important," he said. "Although I dont think were firing totally on all cylinders, were doing enough good things to get it done." Wilson (8-5) allowed an unearned run, three hits and three walks, and he struck out 10 for his third double-digit strikeout game this season. Ernesto Frieri pitched a one-hit ninth for his 21st save in 23 chances. Houston starter Lucas Harrell yielded a run and six hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings. He took a comebacker to the lower left leg on a single by Howie Kendrick starting the sixth and fell to the ground for a second before quickly popping back up. Harrell as checked by Houstons trainers before throwing a couple of warmup pitches and remaining in the game. "His stuff was probably as good as it had been all year," Houston manager Bo Porter said. "He battled, and even after taking the shot off the leg, he continued to pitch, which was good to see." Trumbos fourth-inning homer put the Angels ahead, but Houston tied the score in the sixth. Brandon Barnes singled leading off, stole second and took third on Jake Elmores bunt single. Jose Altuve hit a line drive to third baseman Alberto Callaspo, who tried to double up Elmore at first but bounced his throw for an error as Barnes scored. Howie Kendrick singled off Jose Cisnero (2-1) leading off the eighth and Albert Pujols struck out. Hamilton then doubled off the wall in left-centre. Barnes, the centre fielder, threw to Elmore at shortstop, and Elmore badly overthrow the plate for his third error in two games. Houston put runners at first and second with two outs in the eighth, but Kevin Jepsen struck out Carlos Corporan, who fanned four times Sunday and has 15 strikeouts in his last 20 at-bats. NOTES: Angels OF Peter Bourjos has a broken right wrist, an injury sustained when he was hit by a pitch from Houstons Jordan Lyles on Saturday. Bourjos is likely to be placed on the 15-day DL Tuesday, when the Angels start a series against St. Louis. ... Houston 1B-DH Carlos Pena will be away from the team until Tuesday due to a death in his family. Astros manager Bo Porter said Penas nephew drowned in the Dominican Republic and Pena was travelling there to be with his family. He was not placed on the bereavement list, and the team expects him back for Tuesday nights game against Tampa Bay. ... Houston placed OF Justin Maxwell on the seven-day DL because of concussion-related symptoms. He sustained a concussion on Tuesday night and passed the concussion tests the next day. He then experienced a slight headache after pinch running in Friday nights game. Houston recalled OF Jimmy Paredes from Triple-A Oklahoma City. ... Los Angeles OF Mike Trout got a day off for the first time this season. ... Houstons Dallas Keuchel opposes Tampa Bays Matt Moore when the Astros open a four-game series on Monday.
Saucony Clearance Outlet . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City.
Cheap Saucony Shoes . "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.
http://www.discountsaucony.com/ . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Matthew Dellavedova was skeptical at first.Delly had just become a sneaker free-agent after years with Nike, wearing mostly Kobe Bryants signature shoe, so when Peak approached him with an idea to design a signature shoe especially for him, and also an apparel range under the Peak Australia banner, Dellavedova was understandably taken aback, but curious at the same time.I was a bit surprised to start with, but once I talked to [Peak Australia] they explained that Id have a lot of involvement in the development of the shoe, Dellavedova says.The allure of being the first Australian with his own signature basketball shoe appealed to Dellavedova. Sure, Andrew Gaze had a Gaze-branded shoe with Dunlop some years back, but not as an actual signature basketball shoe. When talks progressed to include apparel as well, Dellavedovas signing with the brand became an opportunity too good to pass up.We saw a real opportunity to develop a signature shoe for the Australian market and to promote basketball in Australia, Peak Australia chief executive Greg Bickley told ESPN. The shoe is the cornerstone of the range, but also were developing a running shoe, a casual shoe and a range of apparel under the Delly brand.Designing a shoe to an athletes individual specifications is a painstaking trial-and-error process of sorts. A company will begin with a prototype that the athlete wear-tests, the athlete then gives his feedback on improvements that can be made, along with things they particularly like and dislike. The process goes on for months until the athlete is satisfied with the final product.Dellavedova was hands-on with the Delly 1s development from day one.Peak Australia and Dellavedova went through five or six prototypes until the shoe met the specifications of the Bucks point guard.I had a whole lot of involvement with the shoe, Dellavedova says. I wanted a low-cut shoe that was light and close to the ground because I need to guard all these quick guards that are tough to defend over here [in the NBA]. They [Peak] did a great job with that, and as we went through the process of me testing it we just made minor adjustments.I was very particular about my shoe because thats the most important piece of equipment you wear in basketball.Some final adjustments were needed after Dellavedova saw an increase in his playing time as a starter with Milwaukee. The extra minutes on the floor meant that the Delly 1 required more cushioning to better help protect Dellavedovas feet. Wed developed a shoe which was what he wanted - it was low and fast, close to the ground, and modelled on the type of shoes that hed been wearing for many years, says Bickley. Thats what he wanted.Hes playing a lot more minutes [so] the demands on his shoe have certainly increased. We went into more development with the outsole and the cushioning that he needed because he was really putting a lot more demands on the shoe, so the shoe that hes wearing now is the final prototype that will now go into production.It was a typical cold and blustery late-June Melbourne morning.Darkness still cloaked the city as the sound of the overnight street sweepers had given way to trams taking early morning commuters to work.Matt Hammond, co-owner of Kickz101, one of Australias leading speciality basketball stores. made his way to work a little earlier than normal for a weekday. This was, after all, a big day for not only his store, but for basketball fans in Melbourne. Nestled right in the heart of the citys business district, its not uncommon for kids to be seen lining up outside Kickz101 on Saturday mornings when the latest sneakers are released.Hammond is accustomed to the sneaker drops - hes been handling those for years, but on this day, he had to orchestrate something entirely different. At 10am, Matthew Dellavedova, member of the recently crowned NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, was scheduled to make an in-store appearance.Hammond arrived at work at 6:30am to a group of about 20-30 kids braving the cold and lining up to be part of the first throng of people to greet Delly when he arrived. Hammond asked the group when they had arrived: 1am, they replied.That was just the beginning.Not long after that the line just started growing, and growing, and growing fairly quickly, Hammond remembers. [Delly was due] in around 10, so I think it was probably around 9 oclock that the line had already gone around the corner, down Collins St and around the corner on Elizabeth St. By the time he arrived around 10, the line had gone down Elizabeth, and snaked all around back up to Little Flinders. It was a pretty huge line. As people were going to work they were asking us, whats going on?Hammond estimates the number of people waiting to see Delly reached between 1,500 to 2,000, including people from country Victoriia, Tasmania, and even a girl who had flown in from Cleveland for the event, which speaks to the popularity of the Maryborough product.
Saucony Outlet Online. .It became a production line of sorts trying to get as many people in the store to meet-and-greet the Aussie.As Delly is, hes very polite, laid-back sort of guy. He was nice with everyone. Right on 10 we opened the doors and started filing people through, says Hammond. He was there for two hours, and a lot of people didnt get a chance [to meet him] but a lot of people did.Its a great reaction to a guy thats local. Weve had [Melbourne-born NBA star] Kyrie (Irving) at our old location and that was huge - if we had Kyrie out now we would have had a huge crowd [also], but it shows that even for a local player, theres a massive, massive respect. Of course, it helped that he played for Cleveland and had just won a championship. Its a real healthy sign for the guys that play in the NBA that there is a lot of love for them.Walk the streets of Australia and check the feet of anyone whos into sneakers, chances are that rarely will you see a pair of Peak shoes. Peak is still a fledgling company in the basketball sneaker world, but theyre hoping to make a dent in the market similar to what Under Armour did in recent years with Steph Curry. Granted, Dellavedova doesnt possess the global appeal of the two-time MVP of the Golden State Warriors, but he does have homegrown support as a foundation to build on.That support will largely come from the grassroots level, according to Hammond, who believes regional locations will be where Peak targets its marketing of the shoe.I think from talking to the guys at Peak, the [majority of] sales for them will come from the regional stores, he says. Country and regional locations which, for them, they get very limited basketball footwear range, and because Delly is from country Victoria, that market will do quite well with the shoe.Popularity with Aussie NBA fans is one thing, but the challenge facing the Delly 1 will be translating that popularity into sales of footwear and apparel. Hammond, who understands the basketball footwear landscape in Australia better than most, feels that the stranglehold established behemoths Nike and adidas have on the market could be the biggest hurdle to overcome for the Delly 1.One thing we are a little wary of is the price ($160 AUD) - its not necessarily a cheap shoe here, says Hammond. The Kyrie 2 is $160 retail [so] were wondering, is the consumer going to come in and buy Dellys shoe just because its Delly, or are they going to weigh up, and go with the Kyrie because it is a Nike and they have the runs on the board?Thats one area to be mindful of, and will people pay that price for a brand thats not necessarily premium here?In saying that, were still confident itll sell quite well.Will sales be the sole barometer the company used to judge the success of the Delly 1, or is resonating with the sneaker consumer just as crucial at this stage of development?I think sales will be [a barometer], says Bickley. Were in the business to make money, but [also] provide a product that is high quality, and give the Australian market a sense of something new, something different.Its definitely gonna sell, adds Hammond. Its not gonna fly out the store like a Kyrie does, or the main signature product from Nike or adidas, but were definitely having people asking us quite regularly about it.Although regional Australia will be the target demographic, Peak have plans to make a global push once the Delly 1 hits retailers. Peak China (where the company headquarters are located) have some very exciting plans for Matthew as an athlete all around the world, says Bickley. His product will be going into countries all around the world. Theyve already got orders from Europe, South America, Asia .... its a massive uplift in his profile.Were excited for what it will mean for him as a Delly brand, but also for Peak to have an athlete of his calibre as a person under their brand. Hes a great ambassador for the brand. Hes the ultimate role model for Australian kids, not just as a basketball player, but as a person.Even now, with the shoe already in production and scheduled for retail release in March or April next year, for a kid from Maryborough, Victoria, its still a little surreal for Dellavedova to grasp that he has his own shoe and apparel range. Its something that he never imagined possible.I never thought that would happen, that thought never really crossed my mind [but] its very cool and I cant wait for them to start getting sold in Australia, he says.Itll be cool to see somebody wearing them up in the local stadium in Maryborough. ' ' '
