said. He creates opportunities through creative bowling tactics.New Zealands ability to innovate is the envy of several other si

CHICAGO -- The NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs added bullpen help Wednesday by acquiring left-hander Mike Montgomery from the Seattle Mariners for first baseman and designated hitter Dan Vogelbach.Chicago obtained right-handed prospect Jordan Pries in the deal. Right-hander Paul Blackburn also goes to Seattle.The 27-year-old Montgomery has a 2.34 ERA in two starts and 30 relief appearances with the Mariners this season. The former first round pick of Kansas City was traded to Tampa Bay in the 2012 James Shields deal, when the Cubs Joe Maddon was managing Tampa Bay.I was with him in two spring trainings. I was in Triple-A, but I went to the big league camp. I had conversations with him and hes great. Everything about him was fun, so Im looking forward to it, Montgomery said.Montgomery said Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto told him about the trade during Seattles 6-5 win over the White Sox in 11 innings.I was a little sad at first, understanding that Im not going to be here with these guys in this city. But at the same time, Im excited because Im going to a good team and Im ready to go contribute any way I can and help them win a World Series, Montgomery said.It kind of hit me by surprise, he said. When I heard the news, I wasnt shocked, but I definitely didnt see it coming.Montgomery said the Cubs told him he would begin in the bullpen.Mike had a good deal of value in the market today, Dipoto said. I told him he built up so much equity from opening day to today in the industry, that his value I thought was at a high.He pitched incredibly well for us, he did a great job in the `pen, hes done a great job since we asked him to fill in in the rotation and he fills a real niche for the Cubs. I think that combination of events allowed us to get a pretty good deal for him, he said.Maddon described Montgomery as big left-hander with a very good arm.Hes certainly not a household name, but we think hes got a chance to take off, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said.Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer was looking for a boost in the bullpen with Travis Wood and Clayton Richard the only healthy left-handers. The NL Central leading-Cubs are likely to seek more reinforcements as they aim for the clubs first World Series title since 1908.Every day they come down and talk to me postgame about what their thoughts are, Maddon said after Wednesdays 6-2 win over the New York Mets. Theyre obviously very good at piecing everything together. I just give my suggestions when asked. Were working diligently every day, and Mike Montgomery is a nice fellow.Vogelbach, 23, was hitting .318 with 16 homers and 64 RBI in 89 games for Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs selected Vogelbach in the second round of the 2011 amateur draft.Pries, 26, had a 4.93 ERA in Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Tacoma this season. The 22-year-old Blackburn had a 3.17 ERA in 18 starts with Double-A Tennessee. Cheap Custom Bulls Jersey . 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. Authentic Custom Bulls Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. http://www.custombullsjersey.com/ . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Custom Bulls Jersey China . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. John Paxson Jersey Large .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. South Africa did not have the chance to get into New Zealands lower order in Durban, but they have identified it as an area to exploit in Centurion.Thats the one weakness New Zealand have. They are not a team that bats until 10 or 11, South Africas stand-in captain Faf Du Plessis said. If you can get inroads and get through those high-quality batsmen in the top order, you can put some pressure on them.Without Brendon McCullum, New Zealand batting experience comes in the form of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, and they are yet to settle on a No.5. Henry Nicholls is the incumbent but is yet to prove his worth with one half century in six Test innings. BJ Watling provides the lower-middle order muscle with the tail starting at No.7, something Kane Williamson explained cant be helped.We always pick the best team we can, the best balance we can, New Zealands captain Williamson said. Its always nice to have a seam-bowling allrounder that is so sought after in any international side but its a luxury we dont really have at this stage but if you dont have that, you compromise.He hoped Doug Bracewell, who is likely to keep his place unless New Zealand go into the match with two specialist spinners, could fill that role in the future. Someone like Doug Bracewell is looking to try trying to play that allrounder role and improve in it going forward. He can bat and bat well so its just experience at this top level will continue his improvement with that bat.For Williamson, the immediate focus, though is on the other side of the game. Whats most important for us is that we pick a team that can take 20 wickets, he said.To that end, New Zealand have opted for the extra bowler in each of three matches they have played in sub-Saharan Africa this winter. In Zimbabwe, they fielded three seamers and two spinners, in Durban, they went with four seamers and a spinner. The core of both compositions is the three quicks who played in both countries - Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner - who each offer something different.Southee and Boult make use of swing and seam movement while Wagner eextracts bounce.dddddddddddd In what will be Wagners first Test on what used to be his home ground, Williamson is hopeful he will do most of the damage.Wags has been outstanding for a long period of time, particularly on surfaces that dont offer a huge amount in terms of swing movement or seam, Williamson said. He creates opportunities through creative bowling tactics.New Zealands ability to innovate is the envy of several other sides, including South Africa, who started this series with an aim to try and emulate the aggression. They are a team that knows their style of play. Brendon was key with that, du Plessis said. They looked at themselves and said that, to play like any other team in the world is not going to work for us, and they got their own brand and own style. That positive style of play works for them. It will be interesting to see if this stays with them.They were very out of the box and very aggressive. I dont think that will carry on with Kane. He is a different personality. Im not saying it will be worse for them, it might give them the same success. They are a team that has pioneered that in their own way and a lot of other teams are trying to be a bit positive as well.South Africas attempts at throwing the first punch did not land as well as they wanted after they slipped to 236 for 8 on the first day in Durban. Three of their big names - Dean Elgar, JP Duminy and Quinton de Kock - fell to soft dismissals and another two - Hashim Amla and Temba Bavuma - were dismissed after looking as though they could dominate. In the hope that they do not leave their tail with too much to do, du Plessis wants one of them to go to a big score in the deciding Test.We all got in but we needed one guy to get to a hundred, he said. Everyone looks like they are in good touch. Everyone is playing nicely. Now its a case of being really hungry to get back to how we were when weve played really good Test cricket. Then, weve always scored hundreds. ' ' '