Updates » s a year ago. ... Former Flames D Jakub Nakladal was am

CHICAGO -- It was soooo easy for those San Francisco Giants to look at the classic October baseball game that unfolded Friday evening at turbocharged Wrigley Field and chalk it up to the minuscule difference between winning and losing this time of year.When you lose a 1-0 game to the mighty Chicago Cubs on a brisk October night, its soooo easy to think it all came down to one pitch. To one swing. To one eighth-inning home run that floated through the Chicago sky and came down in a contraption that doesnt exist in any other ballpark in America.And if thats how the Giants want to look at it -- by which we mean heck yeah, they did -- it would be hard to blame them. But heres another question they might want to ask themselves: What makes them think theyre going to be able to score enough to beat the team with the best pitching staff in baseball?OK, weve noticed its an even year. And yessir, weve noticed that magical stuff happens to the Giants in even-year Octobers. But you want to know what else weve noticed?That when they face the Cubs, every night looks a lot like this night.Since the beginning of September, the Giants now have played the Cubs five times. Want to take a look at how those Giants hitters have fared in those five games? Sure you do. But you might need to sit down first and maybe pour yourself a beverage, because this wont be easy on the eyes.In those five games, the Giants have gotten a total of 20 hits. In 163 at-bats. And if you dont have a calculator handy, that computes to a terrifying batting average of -- ready? -- .123. It also includes nearly twice as many strikeouts (39) as hits (20).You can now repeat after us: Yikes!Of the 10 runs the Giants have scored in those five games, four of them came off Mike Montgomery during a Sept. 1 spot start. In the other four games, they went 16-for-98 (.163) against Jake Arrieta, John Lackey and Friday nights Cubs ace du jour, Jon Lester -- scoring a total of four earned runs in 28 innings.So is that an indicator of whats to come in this attractive little Division Series between the three-time champs and the 103-win juggernaut on a mission to end its towns fun-filled 108 years of suffering? If it is, then Jeff Samardzija, Madison Bumgarner and Matt Moore had better be ready to drop a whole lot of zeros on the scoreboard over the next three games.Asked Friday night if he enjoys hitting at Wrigley, Buster Posey couldnt help but chuckle.Sure, he said. When I get hits.Well, he did get two of them on this night. Thats the good news. The bad news is, his two forays into scoring position (which would be more than all of his teammates combined) converted into zero runs -- because the lineup around him combined to go 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position against Lester and his favorite 102 mph closer, Aroldis Chapman.When youre facing Jon Lester and Aroldis Chapman, youve got your hands full, Posey said, in the midst of an almost dead-silent clubhouse. Hey, wed love to score six off Lester. But the odds of that arent very good.Yeah, you dont need to check the tote board in Vegas to know hes got an excellent feel for those odds. But how much better do the odds get Saturday in Game 2, when the Giants have to face Kyle Hendricks, a fellow who just led the league in ERA and went 9-2 with a 1.32 ERA at Wrigley this season?Do those odds improve a whole lot in Game 3, when the Giants have to line up against the incumbent Cy Young, Arrieta, a gentleman who has allowed a grand total of seven earned runs against them in five starts as a Cub?Then next up, after him, is Lackey. His career ERA against the Giants in the regular season: 2.37. Are we allowed to mention a slightly painful Game 7 win over them in a 2002 World Series that didnt turn out so hot? Oops. We just did. Sorry!So those numbers alone tell you this is one dazzling rotation the Cubs are about to run out there. Just to make sure, we asked Posey if these guys were as good as the numbers make them look. Lets just say he didnt deny it.Yeah, theyve got good stuff, Posey said. And theyre all a little bit different. Lester has really good stuff, and he commands the ball well. And obviously, the guy weve got tomorrow [Hendricks] commands the ball as well as anybody in the game. Arrieta is a stuff guy, for sure. His ball is moving all over the place. And Lackey is going to compete his tail off. But I mean, thats what you expect this time of year.Since hes speaking as a man who is about as familiar with this time of year as any human on the planet -- from Derek Jeter to David Ortiz to Vin Scully -- you can feel free to assume hes as confident as ever that he plays on a team that will figure out how to make this work somehow or other.Am I confident of that? Sure, he said. Youve got to scratch. But its what weve done in the past.The question, however, is this: Is this lineup as good as it was in the past? The 2012 and 2014 Giants both ranked in the top six in the league in runs scored. This team finished ninth. Over the second half, just two NL lineups (the Marlins and Phillies) scored fewer runs than they scored. So its fair to wonder if what theyve done in the past even applies anymore.A lot of the second half, it felt like most of us were in a slump, first baseman Brandon Belt?said. So thats not as well as we can play. But I think you saw a team more like what youre used to seeing from us in that last week of the season. I think we played more like we should play. And I think that gives us confidence going into these next games, because yeah, were going to face a lot of good pitching, but we know that were capable of winning these ballgames.Oh, theyve slayed plenty of great pitching staffs and plenty of great teams on the road to those three parades, of course. The 2010 Phillies, 2012 Cardinals and 2014 Nationals could tell you all about it. But in Game 1 at Wrigley Field, the Giants got a textbook lesson on what can happen to even a special team when it doesnt score.What happens is this: A game gets decided on a towering fly ball that the left fielder settles under, knowing hes going to catch it -- and instead it plops into a basket that hangs over the outfield wall, because, well, its Wrigley Field. So of course, the only overhanging basket in baseball helps determine who wins and loses a pivotal postseason game.When Angel Pagan was asked afterward if hed have caught Javier Baezs game-winning home run if that basket had never existed, even he couldnt help but smile.Yes. Of course, he said. I was right under it. It looked like it was coming back. It was coming [down], but it was coming back. So I could see the ball coming back, but it was right in the back of the basket. It was right on the edge. But it was good enough.In other words, it caught the very edge and dropped in?I havent seen the replay, but thats what it looked like, Pagan said. I saw [the] baseball. Right before I got to the wall, I saw [the] baseball right there. So you could see that if it kept [going], I could catch it.Pagan uttered these words with more resignation than bitterness. This was life in October. He knew it well. He has roamed outfields in the major leagues for 11 seasons now. He knows there is nothing quite like those baskets in any of the other 29 parks.But its been there for so many years, youve got to respect those baskets, he said. Theyve been there much longer than weve been playing baseball -- or living.Now, he knows, its time for his team to find a way to overcome whatever obstacles present themselves this month -- whether its baseball-eating baskets or bat-eating aces. Or else.Theres no other way, Pagan said. Otherwise, were going to go home. Daniel Ross Jersey .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. Treston Decoud Jersey . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. http://www.cheapcowboysjerseyschina.com/nate-hall-jersey/ . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. Amari Cooper Jersey . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Demarcus Lawrence Jersey .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. CALGARY, Alberta -- After squandering two big leads already this season, the Carolina Hurricanes were determined not to let this one slip away.Victor Rask scored his third goal of the season, Jeff Skinner had a goal and an assist and Noah Hanifin had a career-high three assists to lead the Hurricanes to their first victory of the season, 4-2 over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.Carolina had started 0-1-2 on a season-opening six-game road trip. In this one, the Hurricanes were up 3-0 before letting the Flames pull within one.Its just part of the process of learning how to win and close out games, Skinner said. They get one late in the second. You dont want to give those up, right when the period ends. They get one there to make it 3-2. We just had to keep our composure and stay tough mentally.Calgarys comeback attempt hit the wall when penalties to Alex Chiasson and Troy Brouwer in the final three minutes put the Flames down two men and the Hurricanes took advantage on Skinners second goal of the season.Skinners five points tied him with Rask and Lee Stempniak for the team lead.With a young team, Carolina coach Bill Peters says its all part of the learning process.Well get better at playing with the lead. Well get better at managing situations as we go. Well learn from each game, he said.Teuvo Teravainen and Viktor Stalberg also scored for Carolina, which won for the first time at the Saddledome in eight tries, dating back to Dec. 12, 2002.Brouwer and Johnny Gaudreau scored for Calgary.Were trying to make plays that arent there and weve got to just make those simple plays, Calgary center Sean Monahan said. It almost feels like were not on the same key. Its not working well right now and weve got to figure it out.Special teams continues to be a point of concern for the Flames. An 0-for-6 night on the power play droopped them to 0 for 19 in their last four games.dddddddddddd Carolina went 2 for 8 with the extra man.You cant lose special teams battles in this league or youll lose games, Flames captain Mark Giordano said. Its easy to say but a lot of that is when youre struggling, it comes down to battles and winning those battles and finding ways to get an ugly one.Carolina surged in front 3-0 at 4:55 of the second when Stalberg slipped behind Dougie Hamilton, took a perfect pass from Klas Dahlbeck and beat Brian Elliott on a deke to his backhand.That made it three goals on 13 shots on the Flames new No. 1 goaltender and resulted in a jeer from the agitated home crowd the next time he handled the puck.Acquired in the offseason from St. Louis, Elliott has started the season with three straight losses. After giving up four goals on 32 shots on Thursday he has an .839 save percentage.Its slight breakdowns here and there and it starts with me. Ive got to make a save here and there too, to keep us in it, the 32-year-old said. Its hard coming back in these games when you spot them a couple goals early and youre always coming from behind.Eddie Lack made 24 stops to earn the win for Carolina.Game notes Carolinas six-game road trip to start the season is a result of the North Carolina state fair going on in Raleigh. ... The Flames now begin a difficult stretch in their schedule in which 11 of their next 12 opponents were playoff teams a year ago. ... Former Flames D Jakub Nakladal was among the scratches for Carolina.UP NEXTHurricanes: At Philadelphia on Saturday night in the fifth game of their season-opening six-game road trip.Flames: Host St. Louis on Saturday night in the finale of a th