So, is this the year of Buck Showalter, Bryce Harper and a Beltway Series? Or perhaps Albert Pujols, Yasiel Puig and a Freeway S

So, is this the year of Buck Showalter, Bryce Harper and a Beltway Series? Or perhaps Albert Pujols, Yasiel Puig and a Freeway Series? Maybe a Bay Area matchup or something from the Show Me State. Ray Bourque Jersey .Plenty of World Series possibilities this year. And a lot to enjoy way before we get there, now that the playoff brackets are set.It took Game 162 to settle three races Sunday, a final afternoon that featured Derek Jeters farewell and Jordan Zimmermanns no-hitter.Just an epic day for an epic season, Nationals outfielder Denard Span said.A look ahead:FRESH FACES: Mike Trout, Stephen Strasburg and Adam Dunn all get their first playoff chance. Favored for the AL MVP after two near-misses, the 23-year-old Trout can boost his stature even more when the Angels host the AL wild card in the best-of-five division opener Thursday. Strasburg is rarin to go after Washington held him out of the 2012 post-season because of a pitch limit, a decision that still rankles some in D.C. a€” the Nats host the NL wild card Friday. Dunn has played 2,001 games, the most by any active big leaguer never in the playoffs. The slugging DH tries to help Oakland advance in the AL wild-card game Tuesday night at Kansas City, while the Royals make their first playoff appearance since 1985.LATE LIFTS: Jon Lester, David Price and Huston Street each got traded in midseason, deals designed with big games in mind. Price delivered the AL Central crown to Detroit on Sunday, and will pitch again when the Tigers take on Baltimore. Lester tries to extend his post-season brilliance when he starts for the As against James Shields in the wild-card game a€” the former Boston lefty is 3-0 vs. the Royals this season. Street has smoothly fit into the closers role for the Angels.MOST VALUABLE PLANS: Buster Posey and Andrew McCutchen split the last two NL MVP awards, but the San Francisco catcher has a couple of things the Pittsburgh centre fielder really wants a€” namely, a pair of World Series rings. By Wednesday night, only one of the stars will have a chance to earn the jewelry this year. Posey and the Giants visit McCutchen and the Pirates in the NL wild-card Wednesday night, with San Franciscos Madison Bumgarner set to start against Edinson Volquez.BANGED UP: Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina each spent time on the disabled list this year. Healthy now, they meet in a neat Game 1 Friday in Los Angeles a€” itll be 20-game winner Adam Wainwright vs. Kershaw, fresh off becoming the first pitcher to lead the majors in ERA for four straight years.Still to be determined: How much will Josh Hamilton play for the Angels? The former MVP has been limited to just one game since Sept. 4 because of side and shoulder injuries.Definitely out: Orioles third baseman Manny Machado and catcher Matt Wieters, both gone after season-ending surgery.THE DRUG CLOUD: Someday, maybe PEDs wont be so intertwined with HRs, RBIs and ERA. But performance-enhancing drugs are still a part of the conversation. Orioles slugger Chris Davis, the major league home run champ last year, was suspended 25 games in mid-September after a positive test for an amphetamine. Hes out at least through the division series. Baltimores Nelson Cruz led the majors with 40 homers this year and Jhonny Peralta hit a team-leading 21 for St. Louis a€” both players were suspended for 50 games last year in Biogenesis investigation. Brad Marchand Jersey . The former Toronto FC designated player played three of his 15 professional seasons with the team. David Pastrnak Jersey . However, Jim Popp isnt sure how long hell be able to admire wide receiver Duron Carter. http://www.bruinshockeypro.com/authentic-paul-postma-bruins-jersey/ .B. -- Canadian pairs skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford went from elated to frustrated in the span of a few minutes.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Alex Gordon saw the ball skipping past Giants outfielder Gregor Blanco and all the way to the wall, and the Royals homegrown star put his head down and churned toward third base.For just a moment, thousands of fans thought he might try to score — one last dash for home, and a tying run for the ages in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 of the World Series.I was doing whatever I could to score, Gordon said later, standing in front of his locker. Its hard to see when you hit a ball like that with the scoreboard in the fence.Forced to rely on his coaches to judge whether he could score, Gordon saw third-base coach Mike Jirschele flash him the signal to stop. Gordon pulled up and stood on third base, leaving San Francisco with a 3-2 lead with two outs Wednesday night.Salvador Perez stepped to the plate against Giants ace Madison Bumgarner. With the crowd at a roar once more, the big catcher popped out to third base for the final out.We had a chance, said the Royals Billy Butler. We had a chance at the end there with Sal, it just didnt work out. Jirsch is a tremendous third-base coach. He said he shouldnt go, he shouldnt have gone. We just fell short. It hurts. Its only one run.Gordon also said it was the right decision to hold him. The relay throw had arrived in plenty of time, and any decent throw to the plate would have beaten Gordon by several feet.It was a good hold, Gordon said. Close, but just short.Still, the season will be remembered for much more than how close the Royals came to forcing extra innings one more time. It will be remembered for their 12-inning wild-card win over Oakland, and sweeps of the Angels and Orioles in their first playoff appearance since 1985.It will be remembered for Yordano Venturas inspired pitching performance in Game 6. And the gutsy performances by the Royals brilliant bullpen. It will be remembered for James Shields and Wade Davis, and the way they taught a losing clubhouse how to win.It will be remembered for waking a baseball-starved city from its slumber.The character we had in this clubhouse is what Ill remember the most, said Shields, who now becomes a free agent and will likely pitch elsewhere for next season.We battled, first baseman Eric Hosmer said. I think yoou saw how much heart we have. David Krejci Jersey. It was on display one last time in the World Series.After splitting the first two games at home, Kansas City lost two of three in San Francisco, returning to Kauffman Stadium needing a victory just to force a deciding Game 7.They got it in a 10-0 rout behind Ventura, who dedicated the victory to the late Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras, his good friend who died in a car crash over the weekend.Kansas City rallied once more in the finale, falling behind 2-0 in the second inning when the Giants managed back-to-back sacrifice flies against Royals starter Jeremy Guthrie.In the bottom half, Butler laced a single up the middle, and Gordon drove in a run with a double. He later took third base on a fly out by Mike Moustakas, and then hustled home for the tying run when Omar Infante sent another flyball to centre field.The Giants regained the lead in the fourth when Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence opened the inning with singles, and Michael Morses base hit drove in a run. But hard-throwing relief pitcher Kelvin Herrera escaped the jam without allowing another run.Wade Davis and Greg Holland, the other two pieces of their brilliant bullpen trio, kept San Francisco off the board the rest of the way. But an offence that had rolled the previous night was shut down one more time by Bumgarner, the beguiling lefty who pitched the Giants to victory in Game 1 and then tossed a shutout in Game 5.Obviously we wanted to win, Gordon said, but to be in this situation with these young guys and what theyve done this post-season, Im just proud to be a part of this team.Now, the question is whether it will take them another 29 years to return.Along with the likely departure of Shields, the Royals will have to make some hard decisions with players such as Butler, who holds a pricy option for next season. But young cornerstones in Hosmer, Perez and Lorenzo Cain should provide the foundation for the next few years.So as the chants of Lets Go Royals drifted into the chilly night air, and fans streamed for the exits, one thing had become clear: After decades spent toiling in the shadows, the Royals had finally returned to baseballs spotlight.Even if it was extinguished just short of a championship. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys NFL Jerseys From China China NFL Gear Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Stitched NFL Jerseys ' ' '