DieBruderschaft.com

ATLANTA -- A rare burst of Georgia rain following a mostly dry summer helped Freddie Freeman and the Atlanta Braves remain red-hot.Freeman hit his career-high 33rd homer and stretched his career-best hitting streak to 29 games, helping the Atlanta Braves begin their final homestand at Turner Field with a 7-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.The game was twice delayed by weather for a total of 2 hours, 24 minutes. Atlanta overcame a 6-0 deficit to win for the eighth time in nine games and get its fifth straight victory over Philadelphia.I think the rain delay kind of helped; everybody got re-grouped, Freeman said. Things are going through, and Im hitting pitches I was missing early in the season.Mallex Smith and pinch-hitter Emilio Bonifacio had RBI singles in the eighth to lead. David Hernandez (3-4) ended a scoreless streak of 10 2/3 innings and took the loss.Mauricio Cabrera (4-1) got the win for the Braves, and Jim Johnson got his 18th save.The Braves have five games left at Turner Field before moving nine miles north to SunTrust Park for 2017.The Phillies jumped on starter Julio Teheran in the first inning when Ryan Howard hit the 15th grand slam of his career, most ever by a Philadelphia player. His 23 home runs in Turner Field are the most by a visiting player.Philadelphia added two runs in the second inning, and starter Jerad Eickhoff was cruising for the visitors. He retired the first 10 batters he faced before Freemans drive to right field made it 6-1 in the fourth.Neither starter returned after a 1-hour, 53-minute rain delay following the inning, however, and Phillys bullpen struggled from there.If things werent going bad enough, Eickhoff looked like he was having one of his best games and the rain came, said Philadelphia manager Pete Mackanin. We got 14 hits, but we stranded 12 runners and ... the bullpen is just not doing the job.Atlanta scored a pair of runs off Severino Gonzalez and two more off Luis Garcia in the sixth on an RBI single by Nick Markakis and a three-run homer by catcher Tyler Flowers to draw within 6-5.Its true to form with what theyve been doing, Atlanta interim manager Brian Snitker said. You dont feel good down six, but I felt good with all the at-bats we had left.FREAKY FREDDIEFreeman, who on Monday was named NL player of the week, added a single on a night when he tied Rowland Office (1976) for the third-longest hitting streak in Braves history (29). The record is 33, by Dan Uggla in 2011. Freeman also reached base for the 45th straight game, the second-longest streak in the majors this season behind Washingtons Jayson Werth (46), and his home run gave him his NL-leading 82nd extra-base hit. The franchise record is 87, set by third baseman Chipper Jones when he won the NL MVP Award in 1999.TRAINERS ROOMPhillies: OF Roman Quinn, who had hits in his first three at-bats, left the game in the sixth inning with a left oblique strain.BOBBY SAYS BYE-BYEFormer Braves manager Bobby Cox received a warm ovation when he pulled the big numeral 6 off the left-field wall in the middle of the fifth inning. Cox led the team from 1978-81 and then from 1990-2010 when they won 14 consecutive division titles, five National League championships and the 1995 World Series. He wore jersey No. 6, which the team has retired, and thats how many games were left in Turner Field before the first pitch.BECKHAM TRADEDAtlanta traded utility infielder Gordon Beckham, an Atlanta native and former University of Georgia standout, to the Giants for minor league infielder Rich Rodriguez. Beckham will not be eligible for postseason play if San Francisco earns a wild-card spot.UP NEXTPhillies: LHP Adam Morgan (2-10, 5.57) has a career ERA of 3.19 in five starts against the Braves.Braves: RHP Mike Foltynewicz (8-5, 4.41) will make his final start as a near lock to lead Atlanta in wins for the year. Hes 1-1 in two career starts against Philadelphia with a 7.94 ERA after allowing five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings in his lone start against the Phillies this season.Air Max 270 Wholesale Australia . In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. Air Max 270 Cheap Australia . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. http://www.airmax270cheapaustralia.com/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Air Max 270 Sale Australia . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. Air Max 270 Cheap Wholesale . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said.What does it mean to truly believe in something? To know that no matter what your eyes see, your ears hear, your instincts insist, you implore yourself to never, ever give in. Even when that belief has led to disappointment and heartache time and time and time again. When do you quit? When do you cave? When do you decide youve finally had enough?These are the questions that have faced fans of the Chicago Cubs for more than a century. Indeed, when do you decide youve finally had enough? Eight years ago, on the 100th anniversary of the Cubs last World Series championship, ESPN profiled 11 such fans -- one from every decade going back to 1908 -- to reveal both the optimism and torture these die-hards have endured. At the same time, theyve tried to understand why they keep coming back for more. And when -- if ever -- the hope ends.With the Cubs playing in their first World Series since 1945, were revisiting our cast to see how their love for the Cubs has evolved and what the ride has been like with this 2016 team.Sadly, three members -- Richard Savage, Helen Keiling and Betty Maute -- have since died. Savage made it to 105 but died in 2013. Keiling was 95 when she passed in 2010. And Maute was 90 when she died in 2014. But their love for the Cubs is still alive in the form of their families. As each member of our cast said in 2008: Well wait. Well wait for our parents, their parents and anyone else who has ever cheered for the Cubbies. And when our time here runs out, our kids will wait for us.Here are the stories of these 11 Cubs fans. Some who swear they never lost hope, others who have had their hearts trampled enough that they refuse to believe even this team will be the one to win the World Series.Wrigley Fields2008: Age 7 | Ross Dettman for ESPN2016: Age 15 | Alyssa Schukar for ESPNAs Cubs catcher Miguel Montero rounded the bases after his pinch-hit grand slam in Game 1 of the NLCS, Wrigley Fields sat in his bedroom and played video games, somewhat annoyed at all the noise his parents were making in the living room as they watched the game. The boy was named after one of the most iconic stadiums in the world, but hes not that big of a baseball fan.Its just kind of slow and boring. I cant sit still that long, said Fields, a freshman at Lockport High School in Chicagos southwest suburbs. I keep up with the team. I know if theyve won or lost. With my name, I have no choice. But its not like Im some rabid fan who lives on every pitch. Thats my dad. For me, school, diving and video games. Thats my life.Still, Fields loves his name. He chuckles when a substitute teacher stumbles during roll call or when his name is announced at a diving meet and parents look around in disbelief. Sure, kids might tease him occasionally, but with his laid-back personality, he couldnt care less.Ive never had a day where I havent liked it, he said. People learning my name for the first time is honestly the best part of my day. Its the best ice breaker. And then people try to talk to me about the game, and I just play it off like I know what theyre talking about.Wrigleys mom, Kathy, who agreed to let her husband, Jerry, name their first boy after the stadium, has similarly grown to love it.Hes just Wrigley, she said. I dont even think of him associated with the stadium most of the time. Its a name that is as unique as he is.As for the World Series, Wrigley says hell be watching. Sort of. He did manage to come out of his room when the Cubs were two outs away from winning the pennant.I know how big of a deal this would be, he says. I hope they do it.Anna Patras2008: Age 16 | Ross Dettman for ESPN2016: Age 24 | Alyssa Schukar for ESPNTo say that Anna Patras is still as passionate about the Cubs as she was in high school would be an understatement. During the 2015 playoffs she nearly lost her administrative assistant job as she traveled back and forth from Minneapolis for as many games as she could, often taking 6 a.m., morning-after-the-game flights to be at her desk by 8. Looking back on it now, probably not the wisest of decisions, she said. But I can get blinded sometimes by all things Cubs.The 2016 run has been far better for her career, considering she received a promotion and transferred this past summer to her companys Chicago office. Still, she has friends who dont always get it when she drops everything - and, if needed, anyone -- to be in Wrigley or at a Wrigley pub to watch the playoffs. To me, its about the game, and that doesnt always sit well with everyone, she says. And if I have a ticket -- even a single -- well, Im going to go.Patras has also used her Cubs passion to raise more than $6,000 for esophageal cancer research at the Mayo Clinic. The disease took both her uncle and the father of her best friend. During last years playoffs, she ran a half-marathon in a goat costume to raise donations, and this year, when she won the Cubs lottery for playoff tickets, she auctioned off a ticket to NLDS Game 2 with proceeds going to the Mayo Clinic. She plans to watch every game of the World Series in Wrigleyville, except one, which she will watch on the couch next to her grandmother, who is 81.Her and I are long overdue to watch the World Series together, she said. I cant wait.Kurt Evans2008: Age 29 | Ross Dettman for ESPN2016: Age 36 | Finn OHara for ESPNEight years ago, as the founder and writer for Cubs blog Goat Riders of the Apocalypse, Kurt Evans knew without question that the greatest moment of his life would come when the Cubs eventually won the World Series. But then in 2010 he left his high-pressure sales job to become a teacher. His creative energy for the blog dwindled as he focused on the classroom. Four years later, he and his wife welcomed their first son into the world. And now everything has changed.I was totally wrong, Evans said. Becoming a dad will be the greatest thing that ever happened to me.Evans still follows the team closely, especially since Tom Ricketts bought the team and in 2011 brought in Theo Epstein to run the baseball operations department.If you think about it, the real, true curse -- if there ever was a curse -- is the curse of bad ownership, Evans said. Its pretty obvious thats what held this team back for so long.The morning after the Cubs won the NLCS, the Toronto resident connected with old Cubs friends and devoured as many Cubs stories as he could find. And he thought about his son, who wont have much of a choice in choosing a favorite baseball team.Hes going to have a completely different Cubs experience than the one I had, Evans said. Hes going to grow up with a Cubs team that is likely to be competitive and interesting every year. And could maybe even win multiple World Series. Its strange just to say that. But it couldnt make me any happier.I was totally wrong. Becoming a dad will be the greatest thing that ever happened to me.Kurtis EvansDavid Diaz2008: Age 32 | Ross Dettman for ESPN2016: Age 40 | Alyssa Schukar for ESPNIn the top of the ninth inning in Game 1 of the NLCS, former WBC world champion David Diaz crossed his arms and legs in his bed and refused to move, hoping to spark some sort of rally in a game in which the Cubs and Dodgers were tied 3-3. And when three Cubs reached base and Miguel Montero hit a grand slam, Diaz didnt budge until the game was over.My wife tried to take my hand, and Im like, Leave me alone! Diaz said. I didnt move or say anything else until the game was over. And then when the Cubs won I finally told her, I thought it was me. I was the one making all this happen.Its crazy, I know. But thats me and the Cubs -- anything I feel I can do to help.Diaz retired from boxing in 2011 and now works as a real estate agent in Chicago and trains youth fighters. Hes as passionate -- and superstitious -- about the Cubs as ever. Just as he was in 2008 when he was asked to enter a prefight press conference with Manny Pacquiao alongside a goat. I was like, no way, Diaz said. I cant be associated with some goat.Diaz, whose Realty of Chicago office is on the citys South Side, doesnt mince words about his goal for the 2016 Cubs team: I want the World Series. We want that belt. Im happy the Cubs are doing great, but the ultimate prize is to finish No. 1. And then when itt is over, go out and do it again next year.dddddddddddd Now that would be something to shut everybody up from the South Side.Billy Corgan2008: Age 41 | Ross Dettman for ESPN2016: Age 49Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan politely declined a request to talk about his Cubs fandom, suggesting he did not want to grant any Cubs-related interviews until after the World Series. But Corgan has been seen during the playoffs at Harry Carays restaurant and at Wrigley Field.Dr. Jordan Grafman2016: Age 65 | Alyssa Schukar for ESPNIts been almost a decade since Dr. Jordan Grafman penned a chapter in the book Your Brain on Cubs, and yet, despite his renowned work as the director of brain injury research at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, his lifelong love for the Cubs is still one of the things that brings him nationwide notoriety. Hes quoted regularly by George Will, and this October, the interest has come in the form of interview requests. Reporters from all over the country are eager to listen to Grafman explain how the brain of the Cubs fan is intellectually superior to that of any other team because of the mental gymnastics it takes to support a perennial loser.Its not like this is going to help my career or anything, but to be a fan about something since you were young and have all these people ask your advice is kind of fun, Grafman said.Although Grafmans love for the Cubs hasnt waned, hes learned to no longer be driven by bottom-line results. He says he doesnt care if the team wins the World Series. And he isnt kidding.I know people are going to look twice at that, but this team is so much fun to watch. I take so much joy in watching Javy [Baez] and [Jorge] Soler and the younger guys. I just want to see them play longer and longer. Of course, if they play longer than anyone else, theres a good chance that means they will win it all. But to me that isnt everything.Ronnie Woo-Woo Wickers2008: Age 67 | Ross Dettman for ESPN2016: Age 75 | Alyssa Schukar for ESPNThere was a time when Ronnie Woo-Woo couldnt sit still at Wrigley Field. When the most polarizing Cubs fan would spend games scampering up and down the cement bleachers, wooing all along the way. But those days are long gone. Wickers fell at Wrigley on July 19, tearing the patellar tendon off of his kneecap, prompting surgery and a lengthy rehab that caused him to miss all but the last two games of the regular season. And even then, on subsequent trips to Wrigley, hes worn a bulky knee brace and needed a walker to get around.It was the first time Ive ever seen him at Wrigley Field where you could see that sort of sadness on his face a bit, said his longtime friend Janet Tabit. He used to be the one running up and down those stairs cheering all the time. And that day we had to move to a different part of the ballpark where he could be more comfortable. And you could tell it bothered him.Just as frustrating in recent years has been the fading of Wickers voice. Doctors have looked at his throat and vocal chords and determined nothing is wrong. But the wear and tear of a half-century of wooing for the Cubs has prompted his voice to come and go.I try to get past it, Wickers said. People ask me to cheer, I give them a woo. Sometimes its still there. But I promise if they win the World Series, it will come back again. This team is in it to win it. And when they do, thats all the medicine I will need.Bruce Ladd2008: Age 72 | Phil Ellsworth for ESPN2016: Age 80 | Justin Cook for ESPNWhen told this October that he is the oldest living cast member from ESPNs original No Love Lost feature in 2008, Bruce Ladd responded with his typical honest, frank tone. Hot damn, Ladd joked. My mother always told me I should accomplish something respectable in my life.The former Washington, D.C., lobbyist confessed earlier this year that his motivation in starting a Beltway-centric Cubs fan club, called the Emil Verban Society, was based not on his love for the team but rather his desire to grow his Rolodex and open some doors in Washington. It did wonders for me, he said. By the time he stopped sending club newsletters and put the operation on a permanent hiatus in 2010, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Dick Cheney and Antonin Scalia were all members.Ladd, now 80 and retired in North Carolina, has battled 30 years of heart disease and multiple melanomas. Now he says his kidneys are giving him trouble. And hes learned over the years not to expect too much from his favorite baseball team. Not even this year.I know the answer should be, Oh yes, we are going to win the World Series. But honestly, my expectations were lowered a long time ago, he said. Im not looking to win the World Series this year. Why would I possibly think that? There is 108 years of history saying that isnt going to happen.The number of times we have been in the playoffs the last 20 years? If you look at it, honestly, its just more false hope. The Cubs love it. The fans love it. Its good for the bottom line. But honestly I dont have any expectations.Im not looking to win the World Series this year. Why would I possibly think that? There is 108 years of history saying that isnt going to happen.Bruce LaddBetty Maute2008: Age 84 | Ross Dettman for ESPN2016: Family of Betty Maute | Alyssa Schukar for ESPNOn the night the Cubs won the National League pennant, all three of Betty Mautes children, six of her seven grandchildren and all six of her great-grandchildren gathered together to watch the game. Just the way she would have wanted it. Grandson Brian Maute, who attended a Cubs game with his grandma every summer from the time he was 4 years old until she died, wore the Betty #7 jersey she used to wear all the time. And when the Cubs turned the final 6-4-3 double play to beat the Dodgers, it was understandably emotional.There were a few tears in the room, of course, Brian said. The Cubs were such a big part of her life. Shes the matriarch of why we all became big Cubs fans. And we just couldnt help but think how she would have been so super-excited. On absolute cloud nine.Before Betty died in 2014, her grandson says she was excited about the hiring of Theo Epstein and the direction the club was headed.Of course, wed love it for her to be here to see this - she would have adored this team and the way they play and carry themselves, Brian said. But she had 90 years of Cubs fandom in her life. It was a great life. So its hard to be too upset. We will just have to celebrate for her.Helen Keiling2008: Age 93 | Ross Dettman for ESPNWith each Cubs victory during the playoffs, Leslie Keiling hasnt found herself smiling. Her mother, Helen, died in 2010, but she was such a fanatical Cubs fan that when she was alive, Leslie would read her the Cubs articles in the newspaper each morning.Weve said it so many times this year, Leslie said. When they nailed the division, when they beat the Giants and then the Dodgers. If only Mom was here. If only Dad was here. Were far from the only ones. Thats what this is about for so many people. We have a grandma or someone wishing they could see this team.The 2016 Cubs, Leslie says, would have been one of her mothers favorites. She hated all the showboaters like Sammy Sosa, Leslie said. But this team, they are such gentlemen. Everyone who knows my mom always says that -- she would have loved these guys. Like the way [Anthony] Rizzo apologized to the umpire in Los Angeles? She would have been so giddy about what theyve done and the gentlemen they are.Richard Savage2008: Age 100 | Ross Dettman for ESPNRichard Savage photographed in 2008 in Chicago, Ill. He died in 2013 at age 105.Andrew HancockAfter 107 seasons and more than 15,000 games there is no fan base that has ever been more tortured. The question is whether or not this is the year it finally comes to an end. Far less for the hyper teenagers or always believing die-hards in their 20s and 30s and more so for their parents, grandparents and great parents. For loving the Cubs is something that is passed down from one generation to the next, with the promise to never give up. Because someday, it will happen. ' ' '