Wir suchen Dich! » out a routine. Thats the biggest thing

In the beginning, man created defense. For more than 100 years, man was pretty happy with itself.More recently, there has been something of a revolution. Baseball teams have always understood that defense matters, but were well into what you might call the Defensive Enlightenment. The first stage would have simply been an improved appreciation of defensive skills. This was fueled in part by the development of advanced defensive statistics such as Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) and Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). Numbers put value on what had been merely perception to that point.The second stage brought about the proliferation of shifts. There have long been some version of shifts, and shifts dont always work, but the idea makes perfect sense, in theory, and this stage isnt over. Hitters dont distribute their batted balls randomly. Teams that can anticipate can turn more of those batted balls into outs. For a while, shifts were doubling in frequency league-wide literally every year.Now, it appears that we could be entering the beginning of a third stage. Teams know defense matters. Every team these days is shifting at least some of the time. The third stage could be one of increased versatility. To see how well it can work, look no further than the best team in Major League Baseball.The Chicago Cubs mightve just had the best defensive season in history. Even if not historically, they were easily the best defensive team in 2016, and that was due to any number of factors. Among them, though, was the flexibility granted by the roster to manager Joe Maddon. The Cubs are extremely versatile, and this isnt some happy accident.Grant Dayton Braves Jersey . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. Braves Jerseys China . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. https://www.cheapbraves.com/343o-phil-niekro-jersey-braves.html . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Rowland Office Braves Jersey . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Rafael Ortega Braves Jersey . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL.INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers will look to keep their strong week going as they host the Phoenix Suns on Friday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.The Pacers (6-6) have won consecutive games for the first time this season, defeating the Orlando Magic on Monday and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. Despite the .500 overall record, the Pacers are 6-1 on their home court.Were slowly building day by day, said Pacers center Myles Turner. Weve got to keep the ball rolling.Coach Nate McMillan is seeing the improvement on the defensive end.Weve gone back to focusing on the basics, McMillan said. We were switching a lot, but that was making us too soft. Weve gone back to working hard and just playing traditional defense.Turner added: To be the team we want to be, and to go where we want to go, weve got to be a good defensive team.The Pacers and Suns have both been much better on the offensive end compared to the defensive end overall this year. It could make for a high-scoring game.Theyve got some good guards, said Pacers point guard Jeff Teague. We have to make sure we match their intensity.Those guards include Devin Booker (20.5 points per game), Eric Bledsoe (17.5), and Brandon Knight (12.8).The Suns (3-9) have lost three straight games. Theyre averaging 108 points per game, good enough for fifth in the NBA. However, theyre also fifth-worst in the NBA in defensive efficiency (107 points allowed per 100 possessions).Phoenix has scored over 100 points in every game except the opener, but still has nine losses to show for it. That will happen wheen you give up the most points per game in the NBA as the Suns have so far this season.ddddddddddddTheyve given up 120 points or more in three consecutive games for the first time since 1988.Were 3-9, Suns guard Brandon Knight told ESPN.com. Our goal was to be a playoff team, so we have a lot of major issues.Knight scored a season-high 32 points in the losing effort against Denver on Wednesday. Hes been getting more accustomed to his role off the Suns bench.Its not an easy transition, Knight said of being a sixth man. Just trying to figure out a routine. Thats the biggest thing. Youve had a routine over the past five, six years. Just trying to figure out how to be successful within the time youre playing and how to pace yourself because you can play long spurts as a bench guy.Both teams are in the midst of a critical early season stretch. The Pacers have been playing a lot of home games lately, and that will continue with four of their next five games in Indianapolis. The next six games for the Suns will be against the Pacers, Sixers, Wizards, Magic, Timberwolves, and Magic. Those teams have a combined 22-44 record, and the Suns will need to take advantage.For the first time in several weeks, Rodney Stuckey is listed as questionable for the Pacers. He will be returning soon from a hamstring injury.The Pacers won both games against the Suns last season, but Phoenix has won eight of their previous 11 trips to Indiana. ' ' '