Dein erstes Forum » ressed. How much longer the team can afford

CLEVELAND - Theyre alive, barely, but it beats the alternative. The Indians playoff hopes are fragile, and theyre doing all they can to keep them from shattering.Yan Gomes hit a three-run homer, Michael Brantley got three more hits and Cleveland stayed in the AL wild-card chase for at least one more day with a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.A loss would have eliminated the Indians, but after blowing a 3-0 lead, they rallied and moved within 3 1/2 games of Kansas City and Oakland in the wild-card standings. There are four days left in the regular season.We said all year long as long as we have life, were going to keep battling and thats exactly what we did tonight, outfielder David Murphy said. Weve had some good moments. Weve had some bad moments this season, but hopefully were going to be going into the last series of the season still alive.The Royals, who havent made the playoffs since 1985, fell two games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central.Zach McAllister (4-7) pitched 2 1-3 scoreless innings and Cody Allen worked the ninth for his 23rd save as the Indians kept their season relevant.Theyre off on Thursday, but the Indians will closely monitor Kansas Citys game in Chicago and Oaklands visit to Texas.It has all to do whether or not we have life coming into Friday, Murphy said, so regardless were going to come ready to play, but hopefully were going to be playing for something.Brantley has hit safely in 15 straight games and needs one more hit to be the first Indians player with 200 in a season since Kenny Lofton in 1996.The Indians took the lead in the fifth off rookie Brandon Finnegan (0-1) on Carlos Santanas RBI groundout. Cleveland added a run in the sixth on Murphys pinch sacrifice fly.Cleveland entered the unusual series a€” the teams completed a suspended game on Monday a€” 3 1/2 games behind the Royals and the Indians ended in the same place. Unfortunately for them, they wasted a chance to pull closer and now have to win their final three games and hope for help from other teams to play in the post-season.Billy Butler had three RBIs for Kansas City, which can lock up one of the two wild cards by winning one of four games in Chicago against the White Sox starting Thursday.I know things are close, were close, Butler said. Weve got four games left. If we could do it right now, wed be in a playoff spot. You cant help but realize that its right around the corner, but you have to keep grinding and keep your head down.Their flimsy playoff hopes fading, the Indians scored twice in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead.Jason Vargas hit Michael Bourn with a pitch to open the inning and Royals manager Ned Yost pulled the left-hander, who has just one win in his last seven starts.Jose Ramirez doubled off the wall and the speedy Bourn, waved around by third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh, scored the tying run on a headfirst dive into the plate, reaching in with his left hand to avoid catcher Salvador Perezs tag.When you see a guy dive into home like that you realize nobodys playing out the string, Indians manager Terry Francona said. He was pretty fired up.Gomes two-out shot, his 21st homer, to straightaway centre gave the Indians a 3-0 lead in the first.WALK THIS WAYSantana walked three times, giving him 112 this season, the sixth most in club history. Santana has walked more than any major league switch-hitter since Lance Berkman (127) for Houston in 2002.NO RELIEFIndians reliever Bryan Shaw tied the club record with his 79th appearance, matching the mark set by Bobby Howry in 2005.K KINGSClevelands pitchers have combined for 1,419 strikeouts, nine shy of the major league record set by Detroit in 2013.TRAINERS ROOMIndians: Nick Swisher rejoined his teammates after undergoing surgery on both knees last month. Swisher tried to play through pain for several months before deciding to have his knees cleaned out. He expects to be ready for the start of spring training.UP NEXTRoyals: RHP James Shields (14-8) makes his team-leading 34th start as Kansas City tries to clinch a playoff spot in Chicago. Shields is 20-5 with a 2.48 ERA on the road since the start of 2013.Indians: The Indians end a stretch of 30 games in 30 days with their final off day of 2014. They open a three-game series vs. Tampa Bay on Friday as Corey Kluber (17-9) tries to strengthen his case for the Cy Young. Nike Sb Clearance Sale . It took five games, but the Celtics finally helped Stevens earn his first NBA victory. "Im going to celebrate for a whole 12 minutes, and then Im going to start watching Orlando and trying to figure them out," the first-year Celtics coach said after Boston beat the Utah Jazz, one of the leagues other winless teams, 97-87 on Wednesday night. Clearance Nike Sb . It was just time for him to make a big play. Nicolas Batum had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Wesley Matthews scored 18 points, and the Trail Blazers overcame poor-shooting nights by two of their best players in a 94-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday. http://www.wholesalenikesbaustralia.com/. Nothing pretty. But this is 1/4 World Cup. Usually plays out this way. Nike Sb Sale . The international synchronized skating competition takes place from January 31 - February 1, 2014, and features 39 teams from 10 countries, in senior, junior, and novice. Wholesale Nike Sb . Kerber will next play Estonias Kaia Kanepi, who beat American qualifier Victoria Duval 6-1, 6-3. In other first-round matches, Lucie Safarova beat 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-4 and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands had a 6-4, 6-3 win over Canadas Eugenie Bouchard.When speaking with Mauro Biello shortly after the clubs 1-1 tie in Philadelphia on March 29, the Impact assistant looked at the result as a point gained and not a case of another two lost. The same cant be said of last Saturdays 2-2 draw at Olympic Stadium against a very weakened New York Red Bulls side and one which had three stalwarts in Henry, Cahill and Olave back home in Harrison, NJ. With confidence and belief at the lowest of ebbs with barely five minutes on the board the Impact could not have asked for the better start as Felipe threaded the ball perfectly into the space Romero was running into. You could almost feel the relief on the Impact bench as Romero intricately placed his shot just inside the far post. Dominating the possession early on and carving out opportunity seemingly with ease - this was a Red Bulls team that was certainly there for the taking. However, come the final whistle, the post-match discussion yet again was dominated by the Impacts inability to defend effectively. It is the basic and elementary aspects of the craft which have been their unravelling. We saw glimpses of this through the pre-season and alarmingly the trend has been allowed to continue as the season has progressed. How much longer the team can afford to set themselves up in a loose fitting 4-2-3-1 system remains to be seen. Saturday afternoon at Olympic Stadium, and just like 2012s maiden MLS season, the Impact will go into a sixth match of the season still in search of their first victory of the season. With this as the backdrop a match against the Chicago Fire could not have come at a worse time for Frank Klopas as his old club come into Montreal in search of its initial victory this term too. His successor at the Fire - Frank Yallop - spoke in glowing terms during the week about the man he replaced. "I know Frank well, playing against him, coaching against him and socially. Hes a good guy." Klopass Chicago football roots go all the way back to 1983 when he played with the NASLs Chicago Sting. It was during this time Klopas got to visit, and play in Montreal. A city he continued to visit through intervening years during Christmas shopping trips with his wife. Familiarity with Montreal also extends itself through Fire ownership. Club president Andrew Hauptman is married to Charles Bronfmans daughter Ellen. The original Expos owneer was special guest of honour at Olympic Stadium when the Impact played the Fire in front of close to 59,000 during the clubs home debut in MLS back on Mar.dddddddddddd. 17, 2012. With the Impact buoyed McInerneys paperwork has now been sorted out the Fire counter this with news Mike Magee has signed a new deal. Reports yesterday indicated that the league MVP and Golden Boot recipient native had doubled his salary. News coming on the very same day the MLS Players Union released 2014 salary figures. Magee missed the two opening games of the season due to a hamstring recurrence. But just like Marco Di Vaio before him, opened his 2014 account against the Philadelphia Union when the 29-year old Chicago native opened the scoring in last Saturdays 2-2 draw at Toyota Park. Impact players and coaches this week appeared to sound a collective sigh of relief now McInerey had joined their ranks. Di Vaio going as far to say he had the soccer goods that would not look out of order in Europe. Klopas didnt hesitate when asked if the two could play together. Lets see, and in what context. Someone likely missing from the starting XI will be Hernan Bernadello - who was substituted late on against the Red Bulls after landing awkwardly. The 27-year old made his club debut against the Fire last August but due to an ankle injury only managed to feature in eight matches in 2013. Bernier who didnt look at all out of sorts when he came on to replace the DP likely could be inserted into tomorrows line up. The club captain played and scored during the Impacts reserve team outing at Olympic Stadium last Sunday. Tomorrow at Olympic Stadium the Impact go into the match on the back of a solitary victory in their last 13 league matches. Patience will be worn mighty thin though if come 6pm Saturday that number extends itself to 14. It would most certainly sour the planned chance for the two Franks to share a post-game bottle of wine. Ominously on the two previous occasions, the Chicago Fire has played against a former coach they have come out on the winning side each time. Both wins secured on the road. You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter Montreal Impact vs. Chicago Fire live on TSN Radio 690 [TSN690.ca] Saturday. Kick Off at 4pm - Rick Moffat [@RickMoffat] and Grant Needham [@GrantNeedham] with your call. ' ' '