Slotmachines » n 2012, his first season in Atlanta

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The moment Alex Gordon knew the Kansas City Royals were serious about winning can be traced to a cold December day when his wife heard they had traded for James Shields.The franchise had long suffered through a forgettable cast of starting pitchers, from Jay Witasick to Darrell May to Runelvys Hernandez. Hot prospects flamed out. Free agents fizzled. And every year, the Royals languished near the AL Central cellar.But things changed in December 2012. General manager Dayton Moore thought enough pieces had been assembled and all that was missing was the right starting pitcher — someone who could be the staff ace and change a clubhouse culture accustomed to losing.Moore called up the Rays and made the deal.Thats when I knew, Gordon said, that we were going for it.Two years later, a trade that was panned by many has helped the Royals reach the World Series for the first time since 1985. Shields, who will start Game 1 at home Tuesday night against San Francisco, has been everything Moore had hoped he would be.Those opportunities to acquire a top rotation starter and an impact pitcher like Wade Davis, theyre not presented year-in and year-out, Moore said. We were fortunate the timing of it was such that it was staring us in the face and put us in a position to compete in 2014.It was a gamble. The Royals sent baseballs top minor league talent, Wil Myers, and a bevy of other promising prospects to the Rays.Shields went 13-9 with a 3.15 ERA last year, helping the Royals to their best record in more than 20 years. And over the course of the season, Davis established himself as one of the most dominant late-inning relievers in the game.This year, Shields finished the regular season 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA, helping the Royals return to the post-season for the first time since their only World Series title.He started their wild-card win over Oakland. He allowed two runs over six innings in earning the victory in a Division Series game against the Angels. And he was good enough to help the Royals beat Baltimore in the ALCS, running their post-season winning streak to 11 games.Hes earned the nickname Big Game James for a reason, Royals manager Ned Yost said.On a team with few veterans, Shields has proved invaluable in October. And when he takes the mound against the Giants, hell be drawing on the experience he gained in 2008, when he tossed 5 2-3 innings for the Rays against the Phillies in the only other World Series start of his nine-year big league career.Hes been tremendous, said Greg Holland, the Royals All-Star closer. He takes that starting five as kind of collectively, Hey, we want to be the backbone of this team. We want to throw 200 innings apiece. We want to push each other, learn from each other.I think he also leads by example, taking the ball every five days and giving his heart and soul, Holland said. I think once you start rattling off good start after good start, it kind of builds on itself. You want to do just as good as the guy in front of you did.Shields also keeps the clubhouse jovial between games and ratchets up the intensity when its time to compete. Once hes on the mound, he stalks around like a lion, often roaring as he heads back to the dugout after a big strikeout.His teammates took notice, adopting many of his mannerisms.I just try to be myself and hopefully its contagious, Shields said. Thats about it. I mean, I have fun with this game. I feel like Im a grinder. I feel like I have a winning attitude, so hopefully it feeds off these guys, and we have fun with it. Were all little kids at heart.Shields can become a free agent after the World Series, and few expect him to re-sign with the small-market Royals. Clubs with far bigger budgets figure to drive up the bidding to the point that Moore is forced to bow out of the negotiations.All of that is for later, though. Shields is too busy with the present, trying to win a World Series ring, to worry about any of it.Obviously we understand the magnitude of whats going on in Kansas City, he said. Were going to go out there and play our game and trust our ability to win ballgames. Cheap Chicago Bears Jerseys . The San Angelo, Texas product, who was a high school and college quarterback sensation in the Lone Star State, will start his first CFL game with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (9-4) on Friday at Mosaic Stadium against the leagues top team, the Calgary Stampeders (11-2). Cheap Carolina Panthers Jerseys .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. http://www.wholesalejerseysstore.net/?ta...eahawks-jerseys. -- Syracuse was dangerously close to letting another less talented opponent pull off the upset when C. Cheap Los Angeles Rams Jerseys . More importantly, he is trying to show his young teammates the Colorado are still post-season contenders. He hopes winning a series at home was a fresh start. Cheap Buffalo Bills Jerseys . -- Jane Kish stopped all 25 shots she faced as the Weyburn Gold Wings blanked the Sudbury Lady Wolves 3-0 on Friday to advance to the gold-medal game at the Esso Cup.TAMPA, Fla. - Dirk Koetter is confident he can help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers become relevant again.The teams new offensive co-ordinator is taking over a unit that ranked 29th in scoring and 30th in total yardage during a 2-14 season that not only left the Bucs out of the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season but also left the team examining the prospect of selecting a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.Koetter spent the past eight years building a strong resume as a play-caller — first with the Jacksonville Jaguars, then the Atlanta Falcons.Whether Tampa Bay decides to draft Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariotta, or winds up sticking with incumbent starter Josh McCown at quarterback, Bucs coach Lovie Smith is counting on the clubs fifth offensive co-ordinator in six years to balance a sputtering attack thats relied far too much on throwing the ball.Koetter offers few details about his offensive philosophy, stressing his job simply is to do whatever it takes to move the ball, score points and — most of all — help the Bucs win games.We all have things that we believe in as coaches, but at the end of the day, Im a big believer that the system that you have has to be flexible enough to take into account the various strengths and weaknesses of your players, Koetter said.I think its foolish to take a system and ram it down a players throat, if that doesnt play to his strengths, the former college head coach at Boise State and Arizona State said. With that said, you cant always make it fit exactly perfect for every single guy youve got on the team. Butt for the guys that are touching the ball a lot, you need to play to their strengths.dddddddddddd.Despite ranking near the bottom of the league statistically, the Bucs are not devoid of talent on offence.Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson became the first tandem of Bucs with 1,000 yards receiving in the same season in 2014; running back Doug Martin is two seasons removed for rushing for 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns, and last years second-round draft choice Austin Seferian-Jenkins showed flashes of being an impact tight end during an injury-shortened rookie season.Koetter helped the Falcons reach the NFC championship game in 2012, his first season in Atlanta. He replaces Jeff Tedford in Tampa Bay, giving the Bucs the experienced play-caller they lacked after former quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo assumed those duties while Tedford sat out the entire regular season after undergoing a heart procedure.The Bucs pursued Koetter after the Falcons fired former coach Mike Smith last month.The new offensive co-ordinator said there were a number of factors that made the position attractive.It starts with Lovie Smith and his reputation as a leader and a head football coach in the NFL. And then, secondly, just the talent they have on offence, Koetter said.Every team in the NFL has some areas theyd like to improve, and nobody has 11 starters that theyre in love with from the very first day, so its a work in progress, he added. But, trust me, Tampa Bay, personnel-wise, is in better shape than one on the outside might think.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '