DS Talk » what he sees in the Astros, praising

Essex 291 for 4 (Browne 116, Westley 72) vs DerbyshireScorecard Something about playing against Derbyshire brings out the best in Nick Browne and the Essex opener punished his favourite opponents again on the opening day of their Specsavers County Championship match.The 25-year-olds only previous century in the Championship this season came when he hit 255 against Derbyshire at Chelmsford and he added a second to give Essex control at 291 for 4 on a docile 3aaa County Ground pitch.Although he began to be more aggressive against the young Derbyshire spinners in the final session, it was a largely risk-free, patient innings from Browne and he earned the right to carry on at the start of day two on 116 not out.He passed 1,000 first-class runs for the season on 57 and his hundred came off 266 balls with six fours and a six. It was his fourth century in six innings against Derbyshire, at an average of 227.The home side blew one golden chance to dismiss Browne when he was on 60 but, off the fifth ball after tea from Milnes, Neil Broom spilled a regulation catch at second slip. I do seem to do quite well against Derbyshire - I dont know what the reason for that might be, Browne said. Maybe you just feel a little bit more confident against certain bowlers or maybe its the time of the year where Ive missed out a couple of times and they just happen to be there when Im hungry for runs.I definitely know thats what happened in the first game against them this season. I had a lean patch going into that game and I needed to score a big score and managed to score one. Perhaps its the same now. Its just one of those things.Chances of any sort were rare for Derbyshire but they did a good job of containing and trying to frustrate Essex on a surface that gave them very little help. If they had taken that chance straight after tea, they would have been able to consider it a decent day.They took a wicket in the 10th over when Jaik Mickleburgh clipped Tom Milnes off his legs straight to Alex Hughes at midwicket to make it 14 for 1 but second-wicket pair Browne and Tom Westley let them know they were set for a long day in the field with a stand of 128.There were very few loose balls to allow the pair to score easily and it took both a long time to bring up their half-centuries. Westleys came first, off 113 balls with three fours, and Browne finally completed his in the 51st over, off 141 balls with four fours.Westley finally went, caught by wicketkeeper Alex Mellor off the second ball of leg-spinner Matt Critchleys spell, for 72 at 142 for 2.Ravi Bopara showed his intent by lashing his second ball straight down the ground for the games first six and he moved smoothly to 44 before driving loosely at slow left-armer Callum Parkinson, on his home debut, and was well taken by Mellor at 217 for 3.The third over with the second new ball brought a second wicket for Milnes, who finished with a very respectable 2 for 48 in 19 overs, as Kishen Velani stepped across his stumps and was lbw trying to glance the ball to fine leg but Browne was unmoved.He completed a seemingly inevitable century by turning Milnes to midwicket for three and was still there at the close with Ryan ten Doeschate. Pittsburgh Pirates Store .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Pittsburgh Pirates Gear . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/ . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Cheap Pirates Jerseys . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. Pittsburgh Pirates Shirts . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees traded veteran catcher Brian McCann and $11 million to the Houston Astros on Thursday for a pair of young minor league pitchers.Houston sent right-handers Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman to the Yankees.?The Yankees are kicking in $5.5 million of the $17 million McCann will make in each of the next two seasons.It had to be the right fit, McCann said on a conference call. It wasnt going to be just anywhere.The Astros busy day also included the signing of free-agent outfielder Josh Reddick?to a deal that is reportedly for four years and worth $52 million.?In Reddick, the Astros get a steady glove in right field, who in 155 combined games last season between the As and Dodgers hit .281 with 17 doubles, 10 home runs and 37 RBIs.McCann is a seven-time All-Star, but his playing time diminished in the second half of the season as rookie Gary Sanchez emerged as a power hitter behind the plate. Sanchez hit 20 home runs in just 53 games.The 32-year-old McCann hit .242 with 20 homers and 58 RBIs this year.We entered the offseason with the acquisition of a catcher as a primary focus, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said in a statement.Brian McCann is a great fit for the Astros as he is not only a good defensive catcher, he is also a left-handed hitter with proven run-producing ability, Luhnow said. His experience and his ability to impact his teammates will be a significant benefit to our team.Jason Castro made the most starts at catcher for the Astros last year, batting .210 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs.Houston and the Yankees met in the AL wild-card game in 2015, but neither team reached the playoffs this year.McCann maade his big league debut with the Braves in 2005.ddddddddddddHe hit 24 homers the next year and has hit at least 18 home runs in every season since then.McCann has 245 career homers with 888 RBIs while batting .266.This was McCanns third season in New York after signing an $85 million, five-year deal as a free agent. The Yankees had a $15 million option for 2019 with no buyout.?I wanted to catch every day, he said. I feel like I still have a lot of good years left.McCann likes what he sees in the Astros, praising a lot of great young pieces.I wanted to be a part of it, he said.The 21-year-old Abreu was a combined 3-8 with a 3.72 ERA for two teams in Class A. The 20-year-old Guzman was a combined 3-4 with a 4.05 ERA with two rookie-level teams.The Yankees signed McCann in the winter prior to the 2014 season, with a full no-trade clause. McCann is entering the fourth year of the contract.The deal includes a vesting option that, in theory, he will now have a better chance of achieving. If McCann has a total of 1,000 plate appearances combined in 2017-18 and he plays 90 games at catcher in 2018, while avoiding the disabled list, he would add another $15 million for 2019.With the Yankees, it would seem unlikely he would reach those goals, unless Sanchez underperformed or were injured. With McCann gone, the Yankees have catchers Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka as possible backups to Sanchez on the 40-man roster.Information from The Associated Press, and ESPNs Buster Olney and Andrew Marchand was used in this report. ' ' '