The Kansas City Royals are still a dark horse favourite as far as the World Series goes, but KC is rapidly turning into the peoples choice after beating Oakland 9-8 in that Wild Card game extra-inning thriller and then wiping out the L. Yeezy China .A. Angels three straight in their A.L Division series. Going all the way still wont be an easy task. Since the advent of the original Wild Card format, only four teams have gone on to win the World Series from that position. In the American League that would be the Angels in 2002 and Boston in 2007. The Red Sox incidently have made to the postseason through the back door Wild Card route more than any other franchise, seven times in all. The two National League Wild Card World Series winners over that 20-year span were the Florida Marlins in 1997 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011. The Rockies and Cards have made it to the Playoffs as Wild Cards most frequently among the Senior Circuit clubs at three times apiece. We talk so much about what pitching means to success, and it certainly does. But the Atlanta Braves are an interesting case. Theyve made it twice to playoffs as a Wild Card team, however they havent won a single playoff series in over a decade. This despite having the second-best ERA in the Majors over the past nine years at 3.75. The Braves pitching coach over those nine years has been Roger McDowell, he of the Magic Loogie Seinfeld episode. Concussions have come to the fore as a major problem in pro and amateur sports over the past few years, Baseball is no exception, but the bulk of concerns in the Majors surrounds one position, catcher. In these playoffs alone, Royals star catcher Salvatore Perez was hit in the head on the follow-through of a Josh Hamilton swing in Game 2 of their series. Perez was left dazed and suffering from concussion-like symptoms, but fortunately is alright. Then Sunday, in Game 3 of the Orioles series, Tigers catcher Alex Avila took a foul ball right off the jaw and had to leave the game. Its not the first time it has happened to Avila and it has caused some to worry about his long-term future in the game. Just doing a rough count, I came up with seven other catchers who have had concussions or at least concussion-like symptoms. The Twins Joe Mauer heads the list. He has become a 1B/DH type after getting hit in the mask a number of times. He may never catch full-time again. The others on the list include the Blue Jays Dioner Navarro, the Yankees Brian McCann, Bostons David Ross and Oaklands John Jasso in the American League along with the Mets Travis DArnaud, the Phillies Carlos Ruiz and the Giants Hector Sanchez. That was only a quick search - I know there are more. Baseball has already done its best to eliminate home plate collisions, but Im honestly not sure what can be done about foul tips and follow through swings. Being a catcher has always been a hazardous occupation and to a certain degree at least it always will be. The Search is On For the bulk of 30 Major League clubs, the off-season has already begun. Houston has already hired A.J. Hinch as its new manager, and the Astros old skipper Bo Porter has surfaced as the Braves third base coach. Texas and Arizona are still looking for new managers. Of the eight candidates the Rangers are considering and interviewing, two have former ties to the Blue Jays. One is Clevelands bullpen coach and former Jays catcher Kevin Cash, and the other is John Farrells bench coach Torey Lovullo, who was also a coach on Farrells staff with the Blue Jays for two years. The Rangers are also close to adding two assistants to GM Jon Daniels. The first is former Jays third base prospect Michael Young, who went on to star with Texas and the Phillies, and the other is former Jays reliever Darren Oliver. Arizona is also interviewing eight candidates including Don Wakamatsu, who was Farrells bench coach with the Jays, and Diamondbacks hitting coach Turner Ward who came off the bench with the Blue Jays when they won the World Series in 1992 and 1993. Also on the list is Sandy Alomar Jr., Robbies brother, who has been coaching in Cleveland the past few years. Popularity Poll There has never really been a question as to which team is more popular in Chicago. But this point only further serves to drive the point home. The Cubs and White Sox finished with identical records and both missed the Playoffs by a mile yet the North side Cubs drew one million more fans than the South siders. Clearance Yeezy For Sale .com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to play spoiler as the Los Angeles Kings will try to match their longest winning streak in over four years in Thursdays battle at Staples Center. Fake Yeezy Online . -- Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu will be the Dodgers starting pitchers in their two-game season-opening series in Australia against the Arizona Diamondbacks. https://www.yeezychina.us/ . -- Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman is undergoing surgery to repair a broken bone above his left eye but has no other serious injuries after being hit in the face by a line drive in a spring training game.SAO PAULO, Brazil -- With a subway strike put on hold, traffic in Brazils biggest city returned to its normal, congested nature Tuesday, but there was no guarantee service would be on for Thursdays opening of the World Cup. Subway workers in Rio de Janeiro, meanwhile, were holding an assembly to vote on whether they would strike to demand higher wages, threatening to disrupt transportation. By late Tuesday night there was no announcement of their decision. Both situations are deeply worrying for World Cup organizers. Theyre counting on the subway systems to carry tens of thousands of fans to the games. The problem is a bigger worry for Sao Paulo, where the Itaquerao stadium is far from the hotel areas where most Cup tourists will stay. Union workers in Sao Paulo suspended their strike for two days, but planned to vote again Wednesday to decide whether to renew it. If they do, the subway system would grind to a halt on Thursday just as Brazils national soccer team faces Croatia in the Cups opening match. Sao Paulos Metropolitann Transportation agency said it has a "Plan B" -- yet refused to say exactly what that would entail. Cheap Yeezy China. "We will only give details if and when the workers go on strike again," an agency official said, insisting he couldnt give his name because he wasnt allowed to speak to the press about the issue. A Sao Paulo labour court has fined the union $175,000 for the first four days of the strike and said it would add $220,000 for each additional day the work stoppage continued. The subway strike was the latest unrest to hit Brazil in the run-up to the World Cup. Teachers remain on strike in Rio and routinely block streets with rallies. Police in several cities have gone on strike, but are back at work now. There also has been a steady drumbeat of anti-government protests across Brazil blasting spending on the World Cup and demanding improvements in public services. The protests that began last year have diminished in size but not in frequency, and they also have disrupted traffic at times. ' ' '