LaberFred » unprecedented, and the losers of games like LSU-Wisc

ST. LOUIS -- Standing in front of his locker Sunday after the St. Louis Cardinals lost another series to a last-place team, right fielder Brandon Moss wasnt about to slap a Chuck Tanner happy face on this one.We go through our ups and we go through our downs, and we are consistently inconsistent, he said. Thats all there is to it.Moss and his teammates will continue the season-long search for consistency Monday night when they welcome the Cincinnati Reds to Busch Stadium for a three-game series.At 58-53, St. Louis remains among the contenders for a National League wild-card spot, even though it trails Miami for the second wild-card spot by a half-game, pending the outcome of the Marlins game in Colorado.But theres no denying that the Cardinals have mostly missed a prime chance to bank some wins in the last week. In the first six games of a nine-game stretch against Cincinnati and Atlanta, two of the NLs three last-place teams, St. Louis went 2-4.Poor starting pitching has been a problem. The Cardinals got just one quality start in those six games -- Jaime Garcias eight shutout innings on Friday night against the Braves -- and have had to run through their bullpen consistently.St. Louis series loss at Atlantas hands continued a season-long trend of failing to win at home, where it is a shocking 26-32.I feel like every month is the month to watch out for things, Moss said. We have a good team. We still have two months left, so to be honest, a lot of things work themselves out in the last week of the season.The Reds fate is already worked out. At 45-65, they will miss the playoffs for the third straight year and are looking toward 2017 and beyond, having dealt NL RBI leader Jay Bruce to the New York Mets.But Cincinnati at least deserves credit for not mailing in the first 3 1/2 weeks after the All-Star break. It won six straight series before dropping two of three in Pittsburgh during the weekend, although it salvaged a 7-3 win Sunday.These guys have not turned their backs on the fact that we expect to go out there and play hard and win games, Reds manager Bryan Price said. Its a tribute to the guys in the clubhouse.Monday nights pitching matchup is a repeat of the Cardinals 5-4 win over Cincinnati on Wednesday night in the Great American Ball Park.St. Louis Michael Wacha (7-7, 4.35) is 6-1 with a 1.97 ERA in 12 career games against the Reds. Only Texas pitcher Cole Hamels 1.93 ERA against Cincinnati is lower among active pitchers than Wachas.Cincinnati counters with rookie left-hander Cody Reed (0-6, 7.30), who was touched for five runs in five innings by the Cardinals. Reed, who hacked up four first-inning runs, has permitted 13 runs in the first inning of his eight starts.Tuesday nights game will pit former Red Mike Leake (8-9, 4.80) against Brandon Finnegan (7-8, 4.65), and Garcia (8-8, 4.04) opposes Anthony DeSclafani (6-0, 2.94) in Wednesday nights series finale. Vapormax 95 Clearance .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. Vapormax Mens Clearance . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/ .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. Nike Air VaporMax Flyknit Black Anthracite . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. Cheap Off White Vapormax . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. The plethora of thrilling Week 1 matchups is unprecedented, and the losers of games like LSU-Wisconsin, USC-Alabama and Florida State-Ole Miss are going to be in precarious playoff positions throughout the rest of the season because they will naturally have less margin for error.Big games? Absolutely. Deal breakers? Not a chance.We turn to conference play for those.The College Football Playoff selection committee puts a great emphasis on winning a conference championship, which is why Week 1 is a much better time to lose. The committee doesnt release its first official ranking until Nov. 1, but all 13 members of the group will be watching each weekend cllosely.dddddddddddd.These 10 games are listed in order from most to least likely to sway their final verdict:1. Alabama at LSU, Nov. 5 Win the West, win the SEC, and youre in the playoff, unless something truly bizarre happens. The division should come down to these two heavyweights, and Alabama has won the past five games in the series, dating back to the 2012 BCS National Championship. Its even possible that a two-loss SEC champ earns a top-four spot from the committee, but this game should be an eliminator for one of them. ' ' '