ince the All-Star break, he has 13 home runs, with a .659

Following Australias Test-series hiding in Sri Lanka, much focus rested on how the batsmen were unable to find a workable method against spin, and on the touring spin bowlers struggling to match the efforts of their Asian counterparts.However, the strongest post-mortem line to emerge from the captain, Steven Smith, was less about technique than attitude and noise. Weve got a pretty quiet group and we need that sort of energy, come South Africa and the summer as well, he said between tours. I thought in the Test series in Sri Lanka we lacked a fair bit of energy in the field and that probably cost us at times.Weve got some pretty quiet characters, so even if its not making noise verbally, it might be just about having a bit more presence and the old Australian way of puffing your chest out and making your presence felt for the quieter guys. Its trying to do that, get into the game that way and try to provide some sort of energy that way.Whether or not Smiths suggested approach is the correct one, the issue he raised was pertinent. This is very much an Australian team still seeking to find an identity for itself after a series of retirements. The performances of the Test team in Sri Lanka, and of the ODI side currently in South Africa, suggest they are still a ways off.The search for an identity and mode of operation true to the team is not new. It may surprise some to note that many of the greatest sides ever assembled went on just such a quest. West Indies worked their way to a position of world authority only after reasoning they had to become harder-nosed than the great entertainers label they had worn since the 1961 Tied Test suggested. Steve Waughs Australian side stumbled early, enduring a decidedly indifferent first two Test series before embarking on a run of 16 consecutive wins. Finding the right level of team discipline and mutual respect was part of this, as was setting lofty goals to focus the mind.Clearly Smith and the coach, Darren Lehmann, need to find the right approach for this team, as distinct from that of the combination led by Michael Clarke that preceded it. The old Australian way is one such, but far from the only one. There could be no greater contrast, for instance, between Brad Haddin, the outspoken wicketkeeper and vice-captain, who remains close to Smith, and his successor behind the stumps, Peter Nevill. I spoke to Nevill recently about his perception as a neat and quiet wicketkeeper.I think thats a common misconception, saying that Im not vocal, because Id be the most vocal person on the field - its just purely directed towards our team, Nevill said. But if Steve was to tap me on the shoulder and say, Id like a bit more of that out of you, then Id certainly oblige.Even without thinking about it, you find a nice little equilibrium where youre comfortable operating at. For some guys, they like to get into a verbal contest, and they find that gets the best out of them. Ive never needed to do that to get myself in that optimal space. It hasnt been something Ive ever thought would that help me play better if I did that.Most dangerous to Smiths team would be trying to take on a persona inauthentic to the group of players currently wearing the baggy green. The search for a team identity was central to the experience of the former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, and as he related in his Cowdrey Lecture, it did not begin until the Black Caps realised, during a grim South African tour, that they had been pretending for too long:Ultimately we concluded that individually and collectively we lacked character. The key for all of us was, the team had no soul. We were full of bluster and soft as putty. It was the first time I had really stopped to consider this in 11 years of international cricket.The significance of what occurred that evening day was that we recognised that we had to change. We wanted to personify the traits that we identified in New Zealanders - to be humble and hard-working. We wanted to be respected by our long-suffering fans in New Zealand. We wanted to be respected by our opposition; and before we could demand this we had to learn to respect them.Later McCullum reflected that this was not a one-size-fits-all approach. It worked because he was leading the New Zealand team: The things that worked for us may not work for everyone. In changing the way we approached the game, and respected the opposition, we wanted to be true to our national identity.Herein lies the dilemma for Smith and Lehmann. To play the game the Australian way, both verbally and tactically, has been shown to work at home. But on foreign shores it is now patently clear that it does not. Further complicating things is that most of the men under Smiths command are not the loud and rambunctious characters of old. If anything, they may at times find themselves identifying more with McCullums approach.It is important, as well, for the Australians to understand that not every team from down under has played the game exactly the same way. Allan Borders collective had more of an obvious snarl than Mark Taylors, personified by the likes of Merv Hughes, yet they played the game more conservatively. Taylor gave way to Waugh and a style that became uncompromising and arrogant in the most overpowering way, before Ricky Ponting dialled back somewhat on stratagems like sending the opposition in to bat, or forsaking nightwatchmen.In the aftermath of Monkeygate, Pontings men felt hemmed in from unbridled attacks by opponents, yet at the same time struggled to be nimble enough to take the fight to them with bat or ball rather than words. Clarkes sense of adventure on the field corrected that to a large degree, but also started a trend of overseas humiliations that Ponting, ever the fighter, had largely been able to avoid.There is one more example worth noting of a team finding itself this year, in the English county competition. As an Australian Test player, Chris Rogers was not always totally comfortable with the extremes of aggression practised by some of his team-mates, though he acknowledged the effectiveness of the approach.Granted the opportunity, with Somerset in his final first-class season, to define a team for himself, Rogers assessed both the club and the players within it. Recognising many of the young men under his command to be quiet, diffident types, he encouraged a brand of hard cricket that did not force them into overt displays of braggadocio.Instead he sought unstinting effort and attention to detail, and enjoyment of shared success. In doing so, Somerset went within a day of their first ever County Championship title, crucially finding a way to defeat Yorkshire outright at Headingley. In recent years that has been close to an unthinkable result, much as success in India has become a similarly distant dream for Australia. From his hotel rooms in Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, that is a tale for Smith to ponder. Travis Konecny Jersey . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Travis Sanheim Flyers Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. http://www.hockeyflyersauthentic.com/bill-barber-jersey/ . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. Brian Elliott Jersey . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. Sean Couturier Flyers Jersey . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Its pretty much the same story at the top of the rankings, with the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals remaining No. 1 and No. 2 for the sixth straight week. The remainder of the top five continues to be dominated by the American League, with the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays switching spots at No. 3 and No. 4 and the Cleveland Indians remaining at No. 5.Elsewhere in the rankings, the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals both moved up three spots after strong weeks that saw them climb back into the wild-card race in the American League. Is the top 10 next for either of them?This weeks voters are Jim Bowden of ESPN Insider, Eric Karabell of ESPN Fantasy, Tim Kurkjian of ESPN, David Schoenfield of the SweetSpot Blog Network/ESPN.com and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Most of the team comments come courtesy of the SweetSpot Blog Network.Past rankings: Week 20 |?Week 19 |?Week 18 |?Week 17 |?Week 16 |?Week 15 |?Week 14 |?Week 13 |?Week 12 |?Week 11 |?Week 10 | ?Week 9 |?Week 8 |?Week 7 |?Week 6 |?Week 5 |?Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason1. Chicago CubsRecord: 82-47 Week 20 ranking: No. 1The Cubs finished the week with a 4-2 record and head into the upcoming week with a series against the Pirates and the Giants and a chance to reinforce that they are the team to beat. --?Joe Aiello (@VFTB), View from the Bleachers2. Washington NationalsRecord: 75-55 Week 20 ranking: No. 2After scoring just 4.32 runs per game in July, the Nationals are racking up 5.92 per game in August. Nearly everyone is contributing, but you can credit Bryce Harper (.621 OPS in July, 1.004 in August) and Trea Turner (.738 OPS in July, .931 in August), the latter of whom is really coming into his own, with 16 hits in his past six games. -- Ryan P. Morrison?(@ryanpmorrison), Inside the Zona3. Texas RangersRecord: 77-54 Week 20 ranking: No. 4Texas enters this week with an 8? game lead in the AL West over the Mariners and Astros and the best record in the AL by 2? games. If the Rangers play .500 baseball the rest of the way, theyll finish with at least 92 wins. In order for Houston or Seattle to match that, each would need to go 24-8 the rest of the way, while playing one another six more times. --?Brandon Land (@onestrikeaway), One Strike Away4. Toronto Blue JaysRecord: 74-56 Week 20 ranking: No. 3Dioner Navarro was reacquired on Friday. He provides additional flexibility as a switch-hitter off the bench. Navarro served as Marco Estradas personal catcher during his first stint with the team. Trade acquisitions Jason Grilli (setup) and Joaquin Benoit (seventh inning) have solidified the bullpen.?-- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit5. Cleveland IndiansRecord: 73-56 Week 20 ranking: No. 5The Indians scored 16 runs during their seven-game road trip through Oakland and Texas, where they went 2-5. Twelve of those runs were scored in just one game -- Friday night in Texas. ?--?Stephanie Liscio (@stephanieliscio), Its Pronounced Lajaway6. Los Angeles DodgersRecord: 73-57 Week 20 ranking: No. 7Clayton Kershaw will take the next step in his recovery from a herniated disk in his lower back on Tuesday, facing hitters in a simulated game setting. Los Angeles has already used 14 different starting pitchers. (The team record is 19, set in 1944.) --?Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit7. Boston Red SoxRecord: 72-58 Week 20 ranking: No. 6At the end of July, Drew Pomeranz had done little to impress with his new team, with 12 earned runs in 14.1 innings. But Pomeranz has rattled off five strong starts in August, yielding eight earned runs in 30 innings (2.40 ERA) and racking up 31 strikeouts in the process. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the Zona8. San Francisco GiantsRecord: 71-59 Week 20 ranking: No. 8In a critical midweek series, the Giants couldnt keep pace with the Dodgers, who now have a two-game lead in the National League West. Brandon Belt will miss some time with neck stiffness, and Jake Peavy hit the DL with a lower back strain, putting more stress on San Francisco.?-- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the Zona9. Baltimore OriolesRecord: 71-59 Week 20 ranking: No. 9Last week, the Orioles took four of seven combined games from the Nationals and Yankees. But they also had three straight ugly losses between their third and fourth wins. The Orioles are treading water without Chris Tillman in the rotation and will send?Wade Miley, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Yovani Gallardo?to the mound as the scheduled starters for their upcoming three-game series with the Blue Jays.?--?Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer), Camden Depot10. St. Louis CardinalsRecord: 68-61 Week 20 ranking: No. 11With a 1.75 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 86 strikeouts in 67 innings, reliever?Seung Hwan Oh?might be the teams?second-most valuable pitcher (2.5 bWAR) after Carlos Martinez (4.0 bWAR). Luke Weaver has held his own while filling in for Michael Wacha, but the Cardinals lead for the second wild-card spot has shrunk to half a game. -- Ryan P. Morrison?(@ryanpmorrison), Inside the Zona11. Detroit TigersRecord: 69-61 Week 20 ranking: No. 12The Tigers have six players with at least 17 home runs, which ties for the AL lead with the Red Sox. Alas, my quest to use an arbitrary cutoff point to find something that the Tigers excel at that their playoff rivals dont continues.?--?Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers12. Houston AstrosRecord: 68-62 Week 20 ranking: No. 15The arrival of Yulieski Gurriel created a discussion of who will play third base with Alex Bregman on the roster, but the pair continued to ease concerns on Saturday night, combining to go 4-8 with two doubles, a homer and five runs batted in. Gurriel DHd again, while Bregman manned the hot corner.?Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the Zona13. Seattle MarinersRecord: 68-62 Week 20 ranking: No. 10Seattle surrendered some ground this week after re-emerging as a wild-card threat. The Mariners lost two of three against the Yankees at home, then dropped three of four while visiting the White Sox in Chicago. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the Zona14. Miami MarlinsRecord: 67-63 Week 20 ranking: No. 14Miami has suffered 10 shutout losses this season, three of them by 1-0, including two in the past week. There has been a shuffle in the bullpen, with Fernando Rodney taking over the closer role and A.J. Ramos sliding into a setup spot.?-- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit15. Kansas City RoyalsRecord: 68-62 Week 20 rankking: No.dddddddddddd18The Royals were six games under .500 to start August, but with the help of 12 wins in 14, they charged to six games over .500. Alex Gordon has also flipped the script in what was shaping up as an underwhelming season, hitting seven homers in August to raise his OPS this month to .907 -- after marks of .654 or lower in each of the seasons first four months. --?Ryan P. Morrison?(@ryanpmorrison), Inside the Zona16. New York YankeesRecord: 67-62 Week 20 ranking: No. 16It was a solid week for the Yankees, as they took two of three from both the Mariners and Orioles. The rotation is holding up its end for the time being, and Gary Sanchez has paced the offense with the best 20-plus-game start to an MLB career in a very, very long time. His at-bats have become must-see TV, even if hes being intentionally walked, and the team as a whole continues to be much more entertaining than it was a month ago.?--?Brad Vietrogoski,?Its About the Money17. Pittsburgh PiratesRecord: 67-61 Week 20 ranking: No. 13Sweeping the Brewers in a four-game series over the weekend, the Pirates are 67-61 and just a half-game behind the Cardinals for the NLs second wild-card spot. The team is matched up with the Cardinals six more times this year. Eighteen of the Pirates final 34 games are against the Brewers, Reds and Phillies. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the Zona18. New York MetsRecord: 66-64 Week 20 ranking: No. 17Since returning from the DL on Aug. 19, Asdrubal Cabrera is 15-for-33 (.454) with four doubles, three homers and nine RBIs, and Yoenis Cespedes is batting .355 with four homers and eight RBIs. Since July 27, Neil Walker is batting .440 with a .490 OBP, seven homers, 15 RBIs and 19 runs. All three players are day-to-day this week with nagging injuries.?-- Joe Janish, (@metstoday), MetsToday.com19. Chicago White SoxRecord: 63-66 Week 20 ranking: No. 20The White Sox have had their issues in 2016, but dont blame Chris Sale and Jose Quintana. The pair were at it again this week, as Sale pitched a complete game with 14 Ks in a loss to Seattle on Thursday, while Quintana got revenge with 7? innings of two-run ball in a win over the Ms on Friday.?--?Jeff Wiser?(@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the Zona20. Colorado RockiesRecord: 62-68 Week 20 ranking: No. 19With Mark Reynolds?gone for the season, Daniel Descalso becomes the Rockies best first baseman. Thats incompatible with the idea that the Rockies are a winning organization. The last Rockies first baseman to log more than 130 games was Todd Helton back in 2009. That was also the last year the Rockies made the playoffs. Signing or developing a reliable first baseman shouldnt be this hard.?--?Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers21. Philadelphia PhilliesRecord: 60-70 Week 20 ranking: No. 21If you checked the stats with your coffee on Sunday morning, you might have noticed the only two Phillies comfortably above the .322 OBP of an Average Joe National Leaguer were?Odubel Herrera?(.360)?and Cesar Hernandez (.354). Maybe their cup of joe makes them jittery, though. Theyve been caught stealing 16 times in 49 attempts, a 32.7 percent rate thats just a sip worse than the 30.4 percent posted by their NL brethren.?--?Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers22. Milwaukee BrewersRecord: 56-74 Week 20 ranking:?No. 23In a time of rebuild, the Brewers have discovered multiple diamonds in the rough, one being utility man Hernan Perez. The 25-year-old has exhibited surprising power, with 13 homers and 47 RBIs, including his first career multihomer game on Saturday night against the Pirates.?-- Gabe Stoltz (@Stoltzy3), Disciples of Uecker23. Oakland AthleticsRecord: 57-73 Week 20 ranking: No. 22The As had an up-and-down week but managed to take a series from the AL Central-leading Indians. After a tough loss on Monday, when Andrew Triggs pitched very well, the bats came alive as Oakland took the next two by 5-1 and 9-1 margins. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the Zona24. Cincinnati RedsRecord: 55-74 Week 20 ranking: No. 28Joey Votto continues to do things that mere mortals simply cannot. He has been on base in 39 of his past 41 starts and is batting .431 in the second half. Votto is on pace to be the first player to hit .400+ in consecutive months since 2010. --?Chad Dotson (@dotsonc), Redleg Nation25. Tampa Bay RaysRecord: 55-74 Week 20 ranking: No. 26It hasnt been a great season for Chris Archer, but since the All-Star break Tampas ace has a 2.94 ERA in eight starts with 62 strikeouts in 54 innings. For the season Archer leads the AL in strikeouts with 202.-- ESPN.com26. Los Angeles AngelsRecord: 56-74 Week 20ranking: No. 25The Halos received some effective starting pitching this week, but all eyes were on Albert Pujols, as he hit his 584th career home run in Wednesdays win over Toronto. The historic blast pushed him past Mark McGwire and into sole possession of 10th on the all-time home run list.?Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the Zona27. San Diego PadresRecord: 55-75 Week 20 ranking: No. 24San Diego claimed Oswaldo Arcia off waivers, making this the fourth major league team for Arcia this season. Travis Jankowski has an MLB-best .510 on-base percentage leading off games.?-- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit28. Arizona DiamondbacksRecord: 55-76 Week 20 ranking: No. 27Has Yasmany Tomas finally learned to bring his power into games? In 76 games during the seasons first half, Tomas hit 13 home runs, with a .442 slugging percentage. In 34 games since the All-Star break, he has 13 home runs, with a .659 slugging percentage. --?Ryan P. Morrison?(@ryanpmorrison), Inside the Zona29. Minnesota TwinsRecord: 49-81 Week 20 ranking: No. 29That the Twins were swept in Toronto over the weekend, despite scoring 21 runs in three games, speaks to the truly embarrassing state of their pitching staff. The rotations youngest members, Tyler Duffey and Jose Berrios, were both shipped to the minors last week. -- Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN), Twins Daily30. Atlanta BravesRecord: 48-83 Week 20 ranking:?No. 30The Braves have a chance to make August their best month of 2016. That coincides with the arrival of Matt Kemp, which has gone well so far, especially for Freddie Freeman, who his hitting .315/.456/.719 with eight home runs since Kemps arrival. -- Martin Gandy (@gondeee), Chop County ' ' '