Baseballs offseason activity is really going to start to

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jean Machi and the San Francisco Giants ended their six-game losing streak in the most wacky way. Vapormax Mens White Sale Uk . They dont care how it happened, any break is welcome these days. A timely, heads-up glance by Machi helped San Francisco take advantage of a huge baserunning blunder by Pittsburgh, and the Giants tagged out of two runners who wandered away on the same play to beat the Pirates 7-5 Wednesday. "Just like we drew it up, right?" second baseman Joe Panik quipped. "We got lucky with that one. Everything happened so quick. Almost like Little League, a rundown, playing a game of Pickle." San Francisco stopped a skid that matched its longest of the season, and avoided the clubs first winless homestand of at least seven games in the 15-year history of AT&T Park. The Pirates, who had won three in a row, led 5-4 in the sixth when Chris Stewart drew a one-out walk with runners on second and third. Machi (6-0) got the ball back from the catcher and noticed Travis Snider had left second base, apparently thinking it was a bases-loaded walk. "Absolutely! It was 100 per cent mental error on my part," Snider said. "Offensively, we could have made something happen. Honestly, I was thinking about getting to third base and if he walked Id get to third. Thats obviously not what you want to happen when you have first open. I take ownership for that mistake." Machi threw to shortstop Brandon Crawford to trap Snider in a rundown. Crawford tagged Snider, then saw Gaby Sanchez stray off third and break for home. Crawford threw to Machi, who tossed back to third baseman Pablo Sandoval to get Sanchez. "You dont see that very often. We got a break there," manager Bruce Bochy said. "I havent seen that. He mustve thought the bases were loaded, going to third." Gregor Blanco hit a tying single in the seventh, and a passed ball by Stewart later in the inning put the Giants ahead. Justin Wilson (3-2) took the loss. Santiago Casilla, San Franciscos fifth reliever after Tim Lincecums short start, earned his eighth save in 11 chances. Jordy Mercer hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Josh Harrison also connected for the Pirates. But the blunder on the bases left manager Clint Hurdle baffled. "You know, I have a buddy and we always talk about how if you watch enough games youll continually see something you have never seen before," he said. "Unfortunately, thats the first time Ive seen us walk into a double play." Bochy met with slumping Crawford before the game about tweaking his hitting mechanics, then moved him up to the No. 2 hole. Crawfords single started a three-run first on a day the Giants runs were more than the six they had total in the previous six games. HARRISONS POP: Harrisons ninth home run was his fourth longball in as many games. The Pirates have nine homers in their last five games. "We call it game-time pop," Hurdle said. SUSACS FIRST HIT: Andrew Susac recorded his first career hit and RBI in the third for San Francisco. Starting at catcher as Buster Posey played first base, Susac was 0 for 5 in four games before his single. He was promoted Saturday from Triple-A Fresno with Hector Sanchez out because of a concussion. "Its awesome. I cant explain how it feels," he said. And the ball from his hit? "I think my dad earned it." QUOTABLE: On his 57th birthday, Hurdle offered: "All I want for my birthday is another birthday. Im good now and could go out tomorrow and have no regrets." TRAINERS ROOM: Pirates: Outfielder Starling Marte needs more time to recover on the concussion list and wasnt activated Wednesday when eligible. He went through his first full workout Tuesday, then had a recovery day Wednesday. He is likely to need a rehab assignment. Giants: Bochy is optimistic of getting first baseman Brandon Belt back from a concussion as soon as this weekend against the Mets in New York, while centre fielder Angel Pagan could play in a rehab game in the next couple of days in Arizona as he returns from an inflamed back. Right-hander Matt Cain was being re-evaluated Wednesday as he tries to recover from an elbow injury in his throwing arm. ON DECK: Pirates: Jeff Locke (2-2) starts Thursday night at Arizona. Giants: Ryan Vogelsong (5-8) pitches Friday night vs. the Mets at Citi Field to start an 11-day, 10-game road trip. Mens Vapormax Sale Uk . - Mike Zimmer has brought a demanding style to the Minnesota Vikings. Cheap Vapormax Womens White . The third baseman whipped the ball across the diamond to second baseman Aaron Hill. He quickly tossed it to shortstop Chris Owings, who flipped over his shoulder to left fielder Cody Ross. http://www.vapormaxwholesaleuk.com/wholesale-vapormax-mens-trainers/vapormax-mens-black-cheap-uk.html . Last year, Matt Kuchar closed with a 4-under 68 to beat Kevin Chappell by two strokes for his second win of the 2013 season and sixth of his career.Everybody has a favourite team. We suffer with them when they lose and rejoice when they win. The trouble is some teams never seem to win. Of the 30 teams in Major League baseball, eight have never won the World Series. In the American League, Tampa Bay, Seattle, Texas and Houston have never celebrated victories in the Fall Classic, but at least the Rays, Rangers and Houston got that far. Seattle, the Blue Jays expansion cousin, never has. In the National League, Washington/Montreal, Milwaukee, Colorado and San Diego have never emerged victorious, though all but the Nationals/Expos have made it to the World Series. Washington and Milwaukee have actually tasted victory, but with other franchises in the past - the Senators and the Braves. All of this made me wonder how the other "Big 4" sports compare. In the NHL, 12 of the current 30 teams have never won, though Ottawa and Vancouver did capture Cups in the early 1900s. Still, essentially that is 40 per cent of the teams that have never reached the "promised land." In the NFL, 14 of the 32 teams have never won the Super Bowl, though I must add some of those 14 teams won titles in the old AFL, or in the NFL before the merger.Still, thats just over 43 per cent who havent been Super Bowl Champs. The NBA has the worst percentage of all. 16 of 30 teams have all been also-rans for their entire current existence, or just over 53 per cent. I dont really know what any of this means. Someone once told me, its all about the journey and not the end result. The emotional ups and downs make sports what they are and why they are so compelling. The debate over the Washington Redskins name and whether it should be changed has pretty much reached the boiling point now. Im in the camp that believes it should be changed, but its interesting how the name came to be and its baseball connection. Washington wasnt the original home of that NFL franchise. They began in Boston in 1932, as the Braves. They played in the home park of Bostons National League franchise, the Braves, so owner George Preston Marshall figured it was best to stick with the same name. The following year, though, he struck a better deal and moved the team to Fenway Park; the home of the American League Red Sox. To pay homage to the Bosox, he wanted to include the word Red in the teams new nicknamme. Cheap Nike Vapormax China. It also so happened that his coach, William "Lone Star" Dietz, had a mother of Indian heritage. That lead Marshall to combine the colour with a rather strange tribute to his coach, who eventually wound up in the College Football Hall of Fame. None of that justifies the name; its just interesting to find out how it came about. There was a special anniversary this week. November 7th marked 50 years since the Yankees Elston Howard won the American Leagues Most Valuable Player Award. The Yankees have had so many great catches over their history; from Bill Dickey to Yogi Berra, Thurman Munson and Jorge Posada, that at times Howard gets pushed into the background. But he occupies a special place in Yankees history. He was the first African-American player to suit up with the Yankees in 1955. That was a full eight years after Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was to the Yankees shame that it took that long for them to employ a black ballplayer. Jackie Robinson played his first season in the Dodgers organization at Montreal with the old Royals. Elston Howard too had his Canadian connection. He was an all-star with the Pennant-winning Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League in 1954 - the year before joining the Yankees. In addition to the MVP honours, Howard won four World Series rings with the Yankees. He was also with the Red Sox in 1967 for their miracle run under Dick Williams, which ended with them losing the Fall Classic with St. Louis. That Boston club was the parent team of the Maple Leafs. Baseballs offseason activity is really going to start to percolate next week. The 13 players who were offered those $14.1 million qualifying offers will have to decide by November 12 whether to accept or reject them. At the same time, the general managers will be meeting in Orlando, Florida from November 11-13. Remember, the GMs meetings were a couple of days earlier a year ago and that is where the genesis of the mammoth 12-player deal began to evolve. That deal was completed on November 13 and was finally approved by commissioner Bud Selig on Monday November 19. Im not saying the Blue Jays are going to pull off anything close to a deal of that scope, but they have to be active; they must improve. The next week or so should be very interesting. ' ' '