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BOSTON – Two of baseballs most historic franchises will meet in the 2013 World Series, which gets underway at Fenway Park on Wednesday night. Discount Nike Shoes . The Red Sox and the Cardinals each had the best record in their respective leagues (both 97-65,) marking the first time since 1999 (Yankees-Braves) that the regular seasons two best clubs are squaring off for a world championship. GAME ONE PREVIEW: PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright (Regular season: 19-9, 2.94, 1.068 WHIP; Playoffs: 3GS: 2-1, 1.57, 0.783 WHIP in 23IP) Only six Red Sox have ever faced Wainwright in a big league game, one of them is Ryan Dempster (4 AB,) another is Mike Carp (3 AB.) Heres the key information on the four whove seen Wainwright most: Shane Victorino: 5-22, .227/.261/.409, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 2 K.Stephen Drew: 2-19, .105/.190/.158, 1 2B, 2 BB, 5 K.David Ross: 2-11, .182/.250/.545, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K.Jonny Gomes: 2-10, .200/.273/.600, 1 HR, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K. LINEUP CONSIDERATIONS: The Cardinals will get first baseman Allen Craig (.315/.373/.457, 13 HR, 97 RBI, 29 2B) back from a sprained ankle suffered on September 4. Craig is expected to be the designated hitter in Games One and Two, with the Cardinals holding the option to keep him off the field under American League rules. Adrian Chambers was taken off St. Louis playoff roster to make room for Craig. Red Sox LHP Jon Lester (Regular season: 15-8, 3.75, 1.294 WHIP; Playoffs: 2-1, 2.33, 1.189 WHIP in 19.1IP) Only three Cardinals have ever faced Lester, none has more than six at-bats and none has an extra base hit. LINEUP CONSIDERATIONS: The Red Sox enter the World Series healthy amongst position players. Xander Bogaerts (ALCS: 3-6, 3 2B, 3 BB) and Jonny Gomes (2013 Playoffs: 5-25, 2 2B, 2 RBI) are expected to be in the starting lineup, at third base and in left field, respectively. Will Middlebrooks and Daniel Nava (Regular Season: .303/.385/.445, 12 HR, 29 2B) will be relegated to bench roles. GAME ONE PREDICTION: I believe the Red Sox will win the World Series and I believe they will get off on the right foot on Wednesday night. Boston wins Game One, 4-3. Cheap Nike Shoes Authentic . Toronto dropped a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon, with only a pair of late runs preventing a second straight shutout loss. Josh Willingham belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Kendrys Morales hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh as the Twins took the rubber game of the three-game series. Wholesale Nike Shoes .C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats said head coach Steve Clifford underwent a successful procedure Friday to have two stents placed in his heart. https://www.wholesalenikeshoesauthentic.com/ . Samir Nasris 88th-minute equalizer at Etihad Stadium will be of little consolation to City, which is now six points behind league leader Liverpool and four points behind second-place Chelsea. Third-place City has a game in hand but the surprise result against Sunderland, coupled with Sundays 3-2 loss at Liverpool, may be a setback too far in its bid for a second championship in three seasons.TORONTO -- Change was on Brendan Shanahans mind when he took over as president of the Toronto Maple Leafs. After taking some time to assess the organization, he made his first major change to the front office Tuesday, firing assistant general manager Claude Loiselle and vice-president of hockey operations Dave Poulin, and hiring 28-year-old Kyle Dubas as the teams new assistant GM. The move represented a shift in philosophy to shape the Leafs more in Shanahans image. "Hes not tied to any old ideas," Shanahan said of Dubas. "I believe we have people in our organization who have maybe been afraid of certain words and certain information who, once you speak with Kyle, I think he makes it seem much more logical and easy to apply." For some time, the Leafs have been considered behind the times with advanced statistics and even the way NHL rosters are shaped. Truculence was and still is a Brian Burke buzzword, and long after his departure Toronto has remained under GM Dave Nonis and coach Randy Carlyle a team that prizes intangibles and toughness perhaps more than the rest of the league. Hiring Dubas doesnt immediately mean that will end, especially given that most of the off-season moving and shaking is over. But the former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds GM brings fresh ideas and could make the Leafs more willing to embrace different philosophies. "I think every organization rightly or wrongly changes every day," Dubas said during his introductory news conference at Air Canada Centre. "If youre not changing, everything around you is and thus youre going to change in not a great way. Ive got the impression in talking to Brendan and talking to Dave that theyre certainly open to any and all ideas, and that was one of the things that was most enticing about the situation here for me." Shanahan said he began this process just "polling the hockey world" looking for rising stars and innovators to talk to, not specifically a person to hire as an assistant GM. A conversation with OHL commissioner David Branch and others led to Dubas emerging as the top name. Over some time, Shanahan began to see Dubas as not just a source of knowledge but someone hed like to apply that to the Leafs organization. An expected two-hour meeting became seven and became dinner as the two men not only bonded over the shared experiences of being criticized in new jobs but challenged each others preconceived notions about hockey. Dubas, who served as a Greyhounds scout as a teenager before becoming the youngest NHLPA certified agent and the second youngest GM in OHL history, made a strong impression on Shanahan. "I think our view on hockey and how its being played and how it should be played are very similar," Shanahan said. "But immediately for a young guy to come in and have his first meeting with me and challenge thoughts and ideas, I thought that was maybe the most encouraging sign. Thats what I want, I always want our group to be a group where thoughts and ideas are challenged and you come out together as a team." Asked what changes hed like to make to the Leafs, Dubas played the card that hell do what hes asked. But what drew him away from his hometown Greyhounds -- not a "slam dunk" -- was an ability to make an impact. "I was enthused with my talking to Brendan, then even more enthused with my discussions with Dave and where he sees the game goingg and the game evolving," Dubas said. Cheap Nike Shoes Free Shipping. "That, to me, was one of the more exciting parts of the entire process: Knowing that Id be able to come in and be heard and help out as much as possible." Shanahan also thinks Dubas will be able to teach older members of the organization a few things, lauding his personal skills to be able to communicate and convince without being overbearing. With the 50-year-old talking so much about changing the Leafs "culture," Dubas is a step in that direction. "I can certainly say that anybody in our organization, regardless of what they were asked in the past or past years, their opinions, a little bit of time with Kyle can change those opinions and change those views," Shanahan said. "He is not an in-your-face kind of guy, hes logical, hes thoughtful." Asked if logic was something that was missing, Shanahan said it was "something that we obviously felt needed to be improved upon." Even amid his excitement about hiring Dubas, Shanahan said it was a difficult day to let good people go. Poulin had been around since 2009 and Loiselle since 2010. Each originally hired by Burke, Poulin and Loiselle didnt fit with the new regime of Shanahan, Nonis and now Dubas. "I think that there wouldve been some redundancies there had they stayed and there wouldve been some changes to their role that I dont think was necessarily going to be a proper fit for them," Shanahan said. Shanahan added that Dubass specific duties for the Leafs were ironed out at dinner with Nonis on Monday night. Though Dubas has salary-cap and CBA experience from his past career as an agent, the team is expected to hire another assistant GM for some of that day-to-day work as well as potentially someone else in the front office. "We want to make sure that everybodys in their most comfortable place and a place in which were as efficient as we can be as a club," Shanahan said. Even with another assistant GM around, Shanahan expects Dubas to influence the organization as a whole. "Information is power and Kyle is great at gathering information," he said. "Its not just one specific job for him. I think hes somebody that really wants to sort of be involved in a lot of things." Dubas spent the past three seasons as GM in Sault Ste. Marie, and the Greyhounds made the playoffs twice after a rocky start. Concerned with his own team, Dubas didnt get a chance to watch the Leafs much but caught some replays recently once the possibility grew that hed be moving to the NHL. Living in Ontario, Dubas couldnt avoid hearing about the Leafs. And though his only connection to the coaching staff is knowing assistant Steve Spott, hell have a chance to learn more in time. "I know what a lot of the criticisms and a lot of the positives are surrounding the team and now its just going to be about really digging into it and breaking it down that Im working here," Dubas said. Later Tuesday, the Leafs signed left-winger David Booth to a US$1.1-million one-year contract. They still need to figure out what to do with restricted-free-agent goaltender James Reimer and sign restricted-free-agent defenceman Jake Gardiner to a new contract, things that Shanahan said Nonis has under control. As far as improving the rest of the on-ice product with the Leafs, Shanahan said: "Were working on it." ' ' '