Realmuto of a run-scoring hit with two outs and runners on

In so many ways, the Western Bulldogs and Luke Beveridge have smashed the mould that tells us what to expect of AFL premiership teams.Beveridge entered the 2016 finals with hardly any of the KPIs that have come to be gospel in footy circles.For instance:1. The Dogs did not have enough experience, so it seemed. The team that won the preliminary and grand finals averaged 81 games per player, a ridiculously low number. Outside of the crusty veterans, Matthew Boyd and Dale Morris, and a 176-game player in Liam Picken, they were callow youth, with nine players having logged fewer than 50 games. Hawthorn in 2015 had players averaging 167 games.You needed to delve back to Adelaides 1997 outfit to find a less-experienced premiership team, the Crows coming in at 73 games per player. This explains why the Dogs were so nervous on grand final day. Or not!2. Beveridges team came from seventh place, which we know is unheard of. In the 23 years the AFL has had a top-eight finals system, no one has done it from there, or even reached the grand final before. Since the current finals configuration was adopted in 2000, the Bulldogs are the first to win from outside the top four. The reasons for that are simple: it requires winning four finals (and in the Bulldogs case, two of them interstate). The only previous team to win four finals, Adelaide in 1997, did it under the previous finals system.The conventional wisdom, spouted year-after-year, is that you have to finish top-four to win the flag. Its just been blown out of the water.3. The Bulldogs are not a high-scoring team. In the era of Alastair Clarksons Hawthorn, and following on from Bomber Thompsons Geelong, it has been accepted thought that you needed to be a heavy-scorer, probably in the top-four rankings, to win a flag. Hawthorn in their three consecutive flags, were No.1 every time. Fox Footys much-hyped premiership standard suggests a premiership team needs to score at least 100 points a game and concede fewer than 86 points, for example.But in the regular season, the Bulldogs were 12th in scoring with an average of 86 points per game. It is the lowest scoring rank of a premiership team since Paul Roos remarkably strong 2005 Sydney team, which defended so well and was 14th in points-for that season, eventually winning a premiership with eight goals on a picture-perfect afternoon.The key here is that when it counted, and when they played their best footy, the Dogs found a way to score an extra two goals a game in the finals: from the regular-season average of 84 points to 96 points. They conjured 14, 16, 13 and 13 goals in the big games, and continued to defend at the same rate (73 points per match). They did enough, albeit with an unconventional forward set-up with only one genuine tall (Tom Boyd), and with the seasons top goalkicker, Jake Stringer, having a stinker on grand final day.4. They did not spend big. Aside from the front-ended Tom Boyd contract, the Bulldogs have bucked the trend with football department spending, too. According to reports this week, they will be the first team in many years to win a flag without being in the top handful of clubs for football department spending, which counts player wages as well as coaching and other football costs. Beveridge has worked a miracle in this sense, for the whole point of the recently-introduced tax on this spending was based on the premise that the wealthy clubs were getting a clear advantage. So much for that theory.The lesson from all this? It is that there is hope. The Bulldogs were 14th in 2014, a short two years ago, which shows that with good coaching (and Beveridge has just written himself a ticket to years in this job), excellent recruiting (Simon Dalrymple and list manager Jason McCartney might be excused for the odd head-wobble this week) and smart development, a team can make quick strides.Fifteen of the 22 players who took the field on Saturday were taken after pick No.30 in the draft - an astonishing return on a modest investment. In the overall scheme of things at Whitten Oval, Dalrymple, the recruiting chief, has proved himself almost as valuable as the coach. Almost.All of these factors trump the idea that extracting early picks in the draft, which is fluky at best, are the key to improvement. Rather, the Bulldogs found organic growth from existing players like Picken, perhaps the most improved player in the competition and certainly the player of the finals, and from Jason Johannisen, a rookie. And, of course, they nailed the picks that they had Not to mention the great intangible of sports the world wide ... they had self-belief and it was never, ever shaken.Why not us? Why not, indeed. USA Soccer Shirts . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. Fake USA Soccer Jerseys . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. USA Soccer Jerseys 2019 .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Stitched USA Soccer Jerseys . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. PHILADELPHIA -- Aaron Nola had nothing to show for outpitching Jose Fernandez.Nola tossed two-hit ball over six innings but the Miami Marlins rallied off Jeanmar Gomez in the ninth and beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 in 11 innings Monday night.Martin Prado hit a solo homer leading off the 11th off Brett Oberholtzer (2-2).Nola struck out five and got the final two outs in the sixth after Adeiny Hechavarria ripped a line drive off his right shoulder. He said afterward hes fine.I had a pretty good bullpen tonight, got ahead of guys, got grounders and pop-ups, Nola said. My location was better than previously, more down in the zone. I wasnt getting quality strikes before. I was up in the zone.Nola was 0-4 with a 13.50 ERA in his last five starts before the All-Star break. The Phillies skipped his last turn so he had 15 days off between starts.It was a tough month for me, he said. Those two weeks were a long time. I was definitely ready to get back out there. Throwing live sessions and batting practice isnt the same.Gomez was one out away from his 25th save before allowing an RBI double to Christian Yelich and tying single to Marcell Ozuna.Good news was Nola, manager Pete Mackanin said. He pitched really well. He was painting the corners. It was very encouraging.Fernandez tied a career-high with 14 strikeouts.We had too many strikeouts, Mackanin said. I dont care who is pitching. Thats too many.A.J. Ramos finished for his 30th save in 31 tries, retiring Maiikel Franco on a fly ball to the warning track in left-center to end the game.ddddddddddddCody Asche prevented the Marlins from taking a lead in the 10th when he made a diving catch to rob J.T. Realmuto of a run-scoring hit with two outs and runners on first and second.After Edubray Ramos worked the seventh and Hector Neris pitched the eighth, Gomez blew his third save.Tommy Joseph hit Fernandezs first pitch in the seventh out to left for his 12th homer. Odubel Herrera hit a double to start the bottom of the first and later scored on Francos groundout to second.STATSPhillies 2B Cesar Hernandez went 0 for 3, extending his hitless streak to 19 at-bats. ... Phillies were 36-2 when leading after eight innings. ... Phillies are 5-1 in extra innings. ... Joseph has 12 homers in his first 48 games.STANDINGSThe Marlins (50-42) are one game ahead of the Mets for the second wild-card spot in the NL. The Phillies (43-51) fell to eight games behind Miami.TRAINERS ROOMPhillies: OF Aaron Altherr had his rehab assignment transferred to Single-A Clearwater. Altherr tore a tendon in his left wrist in March. He batted .241 in 39 games last season, but 20 of is 33 hits were extra-base hits.UP NEXTRHP Vince Velasquez (8-2, 3.32 ERA) starts for the Phillies on Tuesday night. RHP Jose Urena (1-1, 7.52) will make his first start this season for Miami. ' ' '