pion and No. 4-seeded Angelique Kerber was scheduled first on Centre Cou | Forum

Amid the inevitable rough patches in the schedule, the San Francisco Giants take encouragement in the even-year phenomenon, which bodes well for happy endings in the Bay Area. Quinnen Williams Youth Jersey . But recent history is no guarantee that some odd occurrences wont happen along the way.The 2010, 2012 and 2014 Giants parlayed togetherness, rally thongs and dominant pitching into three titles. The 2016 club, a work in progress, is in the midst of an identity crisis. Are the Giants the juggernaut that cruised into the All-Star break with a 57-33 record and a 6 ?-game lead in the National League West? Or the lost boys who have dropped 13 of 18 since the break, provided an opening for the Los Angeles Dodgers and tested the proposition that Bruce Bochy-managed teams are adept at navigating turbulence and sticking the landing?Theyll find out soon enough if their recent funk is nothing that a few well-timed reinforcements cant cure.The Giants have been on a self-improvement kick of late. In the days, hours and minutes leading up to Mondays non-waiver trade deadline, they fortified the rotation by acquiring left-hander Matt Moore from Tampa Bay, added depth to the bullpen with the acquisition of lefty Will Smith from Milwaukee and addressed a trouble spot at third base by trading for Minnesotas Eduardo Nunez. In addition, second baseman Joe Panik returned from a concussion last week, and outfielder Hunter Pence is back in the lineup after missing two months with a torn right hamstring.In a best-case scenario, the 20 percent roster overhaul will result in a crisper brand of baseball and bring order to the chaos. Things?cant get much worse.Without question, I think the message is that ownership is doing all they can, Bochy said. When were buyers and we go out and fill some needs and get players to help out, (the players here) are being rewarded for a good first half. I think thats a shot in the arm and a shot of adrenaline for the guys.The Giants need to be inoculated for something. Since the break, they rank 25th in the majors in runs (64) and 23nd in OPS (.683). The pitching staff is 23rd in baseball in ERA (4.45) and leads the majors with 30 home runs allowed. And theyve committed 16 errors in 18 games after making only 46 in their first 90. Pick a facet of the game, and theyve been deficient at it.A brutal schedule hasnt helped. The Giants began the second half with an eight-game trip to San Diego, Boston and New York, followed by a seven-game homestand, which fed into the current nine-game swing through Philadelphia, Washington and Miami. Thats a mother lode of jet lag, but its not going to win them any sympathy points.I cant put my finger on it and say, This is why we havent been able to win more games than weve lost, said center fielder Denard Span, whose 10th-inning home run gave San Francisco a 3-2 victory over the Phillies on Thursday. I dont think anybody was complacent or took anything for granted. We just havent been able to get things going.In the first half, we were in sync. Whenever we didnt pitch well, we hit well. Whenever we didnt hit well, we pitched well. In the second half, its been vice versa. We score eight runs and lose. (In the first half), if we scored three runs, we won. This isnt how we wanted to start. But were still in first place. Life could be better, but it could be worse.Wheeler dealersBrian Sabean, Bobby Evans and the Giants front office have never hesitated to think bold at the deadline. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.In 2011, the Giants traded highly-regarded pitching prospect Zach Wheeler to the New York Mets for Carlos Beltran. He hit .323 with seven homers down the stretch, but San Francisco went 25-32 and faded from contention. Last year, the Giants swung a deadline deal for Cincinnatis Mike Leake, who went 2-5 with a 4.07 ERA for a team that finished out of the money. Outfielder Adam Duvall, packed off to the Reds in the deal, emerged as an All-Star this season.Conversely, San Franciscos three title teams are replete with in-season feel-good acquisitions -- from Pat Burrell, Cody Ross and Javier Lopez in 2010 to Pence and Marco Scutaro in 2012 to Jake Peavy in 2014. They all made a difference after joining the Giants midstream.This time around, the Giants werent shy about tapping a farm system thats better than the industry rankings suggest. They gave up pitcher Phil Bickford, the 18th overall pick in the 2015 draft, in the Smith trade and parted with third baseman Matt Duffy, shortstop prospect Lucius Fox and pitcher Michael Santos for Moore, who is two years and three months removed from Tommy John surgery. Moores contract includes three club options for a total of $26 million from 2017-2019, and that club control was especially appealing to the Giants.Get past Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto (who blew a 4-0 lead in a loss to the Phillies on Wednesday), and San Franciscos rotation has a house-of-cards feel to it. Jeff Samardzija has two quality starts in his last 11 outings. Matt Cain sports a .298 batting average against and a 1.50 WHIP, and opponents are slugging .498 against Peavy, who was demoted to the bullpen in the aftermath of the Moore trade.?In his Giants debut Thursday, Moore threw six innings of two-run ball and emerged with a no-decision.Moore was in the weight room at Tropicana Field on Monday when his phone buzzed moments after the 4 p.m. ET trade deadline. It was a media outlet asking him to hop on and do an interview about the trade to San Francisco.I think youre a little bit ahead of where I am right now, a flustered Moore told the caller. We can catch up some other time.Moments later,?Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey came into the weight room and made it official, and Moore began the process of moving on with his professional life. Upon joining the Giants, he settled into a clubhouse where new arrivals blend seamlessly into the mix. Ninety minutes before Wednesdays game at Citizens Bank Park, he sat in front of a clubhouse TV and chatted with Samardzija as if they were longtime pals.Im a fan of the game, Moore said. Ive paid attention in the postseason. You look at all the guys here and understand its a special group. Theyre very much geared to one thing. From the day and a half Ive been in the clubhouse, theres a different aroma. Theres a lot of conversation about winning and how to get hitters out. There are a lot of open arms and guys who are happy Im here. That really helps with the transition.Mr. InspirationFor all the attention the Giants generated with their trades, the most meaningful upgrade might have come from within. Since his first full season with San Francisco in 2013, Pence ranks 12th among MLB outfielders in adjusted OPS+, which factors each players home park into the equation. Pence also inspires his teammates and keeps them amused with his Cosmo Kramer-like birds nest of hair, his unorthodox hitting and fielding mechanics and his penchant for hurtling his body in all directions with no regard for personal safety. His baseball preacher shtick might elicit eye rolls if he werent so gosh-darned sincere about it.You can look at all the numbers you want to on Hunter Pence, Peavy said. Whats lost is that intangible, that X factor that cant be quantified. Hunter Pence and Dustin Pedroia bring as much of that as anybody Ive played with. Its all about Hunters personality, his energy, his attitude and his mindset. Were a completely different team with him in the building -- never mind what he brings on the field.When Hunter walks in the room and starts talking about the game, hes influencing us from our minds on down. I call him our Spiritual Gangster.Contrary to public perception, Pence didnt completely lose his mind during eight weeks of idleness on the disabled list. He?meticulously tended to his rehab and?kept encouraging his teammates through good days and bad. Now that hes back on the active roster, its time to get his stroke in order and do whatever it takes to push this vehicle off the breakdown lane.Pences 10 years in the majors have taught him that hitting, and baseball in general, are two of lifes great mysteries.Ive been swinging (a bat) my whole life, Pence said, and you never master it. You never figure it out. Its a beautiful thing. Every day, its about coming in here and trying to get better.With two months left in the regular season, the Giants?quest to perpetuate their even-year mystique is a cooperative venture. If Pence, Bumgarner and Buster Posey are ready to lead, their teammates will be more than happy to follow. Mark Gastineau Youth Jersey . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. Sam Darnold Youth Jersey . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. http://www.jetsrookiestore.com/Jets-Wayne-Chrebet-Jersey/ . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. LONDON -- The Latest on Wimbledon (all times local):---7:15 p.m.Venus and Serena Williams won again at Wimbledon.The American sisters advanced to the quarterfinals in the doubles tournament on Tuesday, beating sixth-seeded Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 6-4, 6-3 on No. 3 Court a short time after each reached the semifinals of the womens singles competition.Venus, a five-time singles champion, and younger sister Serena, a six-time champion at the All England Club, have teamed up to win five doubles titles at the grass-court major.---4:35 p.m.Dominika Cibulkovas wedding is on.The 19th-seeded Slovak lost to Elena Vesnina in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Tuesday, falling 6-2, 6-2 on No. 1 Court.Cibulkova is planning to get married on Saturday in Bratislava, but said she would have to postpone the wedding if she kept winning at the All England Club. The womens final is also set for Saturday.Instead, it will be Vesnina playing defending champion Serena Williams on Thursday in the Wimbledon semifinals.---4:15 p.m.Six-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams is back in the semifinals at the All England Club.The top-seeded American beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court to reach the semifinals for the 10th time.Williams will next face either Dominika Cibulkova or Elena Vesnina.---2:47 p.m.Venus Williams is one match away from another Wimbledon final.The five-time champion advanced to the semifinals at the All England Club by beating Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 7-6 (5), 6-2 on No. 1 Court.The 36-year-old Williams won her first Wimbledon title in 2000, and then added others in 2001, `05, `07 and `08.She then reached the final in 2009, and the quarterfinals in 2010, but has struggled to go deep into the second week in recent years.Williams will next face Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.---2:40 p.m.Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber staggered into the Wimbledon semifinals by beating Simona Halep of Romania 7-5, 7-6 (2).The quarterfinal match on Centre Court was messy, featuring 13 breaks of serve, more than half of the games.Kerber waas broken while serving for the match at 5-3 in the second set, and ended up having win in a tiebreaker. LaDainian Tomlinson Jersey. In her first Wimbledon semifinal match since 2012, Kerber will next play either Venus Williams or Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan.---1:50 p.m.Tomas Berdych completed the quarterfinal lineup at Wimbledon when he finally overcame Czech countryman Jiri Vesely 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8), 6-7 (9), 6-3.Their fourth-round match was suspended overnight, at two sets apiece, because of darkness on Monday.Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up Rafael Nadal, will play Lucas Pouille of France for the first time, in the quarterfinals.For Berdych, it will be his third consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. He was stopped in the last eight at the Australian and French Opens.---1:10 p.m.Play is underway in the womens quarterfinals at Wimbledon.In the first match on Centre Court, fourth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany is playing No. 5 Simona Halep of Romania. On No. 1 court, five-time champion Venus Williams is up against Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan.Meanwhile, in the resumption of a fourth-round mens match, Tomas Berdych and Jiri Vesely are back on Court 3, tied at two sets apiece.---12 p.m.The Williams sisters are back in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, 16 years after they first made it this far together at the All England Club.Six-time champion Serena and five-time winner Venus will be playing on Tuesday for spots in the semifinals.Top-ranked Serena will face No. 21-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Centre Court in one of the days four womens quarterfinals. Eighth-seeded Venus was paired against Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan on No. 1 Court.Australian Open champion and No. 4-seeded Angelique Kerber was scheduled first on Centre Court against No. 5 Simona Halep, with No. 19 Dominika Cibulkova facing Elena Vesnina on No. 1 Court.One mens fourth-round match still needed to be completed, with No. 10 Tomas Berdych and Jiri Vesely resuming at two sets apiece. ' ' '