导出博客文章CHICAGO -- The NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs identified the bullpen as the
biggest weakness in their quest to win their first World Series since 1908.Enter
All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman, left-hander Mike Montgomery and, just before
the trade deadline Monday, right-hander Joe Smith from the Los Angeles
Angels.That was an area we thought we could make some changes, general manager
Jed Hoyer said. Adding a closer, a left-hander and then adding a guy like Smith
who can be a right-handed specialist, we felt like those were areas that would
improve our team and improve the mix of our bullpen.The Cubs third trade in two
weeks sent minor league righty Jesus Castillo to the Angels for the 32-year-old
Smith. The sidewinder is 1-4 with a 3.82 ERA and six saves in 38 appearances
with the Angels this season. Smith has also pitched for the Indians and Mets in
his 10-year big league career and is in the last season of his contract.Manager
Joe Maddon sees Smith producing double play grounders and getting right-handers
out.Try to set him up for the righty, the one thats not going to get pinch-hit
for, Maddon said. The chance to get you out of the inning with one pitch, that
kind of stuff. Or maybe start an inning based on another teams lineup . as well
as one out, runners on first and second, right-handed hitter up, its a good spot
to put a guy like that in.With Chapman coming from the New York Yankees last
week and Montgomery from Seattle, the Cubs have a much more imposing look in the
late innings.But the Cubs werent able to bring in a needed left-handed bat
following the season-ending knee injury to slugger Kyle Schwarber in April.Hoyer
said they were hampered because the teams looking to deal late included the
crosstown White Sox and division foes Milwaukee and Cincinnati.It was really
hard to do deals with those teams, Hoyer said. Theres probably a tax you have to
pay or even not be able to get a deal done. We were certainly active, but of the
teams making moves over the last 48-72 hours, a lot of the most active teams we
would have had a hard time matching up with.So with high-priced left-handed
hitter Jason Heyward struggling, do the Cubs have enough offense to end their
championship drought?There is enough here, Maddon said. But we have to
incorporate what were learning, move the baseball when its necessary, accept
your walk.The 20-year-old Castillo has a 3.27 ERA in seven starts at Eugene in
short season Class A and is seen as a long-term prospect for the Angels.The Cubs
also designated left-hander Brian Matusz for assignment Monday after he gave up
three home runs in his Chicago debut Sunday. Right-hander Spencer Patton was
recalled from Triple-A Iowa.Hoyer stressed the Cubs still could make a roster
tweak or two before the postseason.Well work through the August waiver period
and try to find small things, Hoyer said. We did it last year, and you can make
good and impactful moves after the deadline.
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Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder.
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tougher-than-expected opening night matchup.
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. -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move
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network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized
the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Picture
it: Papillion, Nebraska, August 1994. Mark and Teresa Rolfzen had known each
other since high school. Both played basketball, graduated from
Nebraska-Kearney, had a young son. Late that month, their golden girls -- Kadie
and Amber -- would be born to complete the family.We really didnt read any books
about raising twins, but we knew we wanted to go out of our way to treat them as
two different individuals, Mark Rolfzen said. Not force them to do things
together. But that part worked itself out, because they always wanted to play
whatever sport was in season. And they always have gotten along really well, and
been each others best friend.Eventually, volleyball became the twins primary
passion. Which was just perfect in a state where that sport is wildly
popular.Kadie and I have talked about that, Amber said of how meant to be it all
seems. It is really cool to think you were born into the Nebraska volleyball
spirit.They are seniors at Nebraska now, playing in their second consecutive
final four. They helped the Huskers win the national championship last season in
Omaha, close to where they grew up in the suburb of Papillion. You cant help but
mention to them that their lives could be a Disney movie.They already made one
like that, Amber said.Shes referring to Double-Teamed, a 2002 film about
basketball-playing twins Heather and Heidi Burge, who went to three final fours
while at Virginia in the early 1990s.Oh, they were real? Amber said. I didnt
know that.Indeed, Heather and Heidi are as flesh-and-blood as Amber and Kadie,
just a couple of decades older. There have been several other twin sisters whove
competed at a high level in Division I athletics, including Minnesotas Hannah
and Paige Tapp, who also are playing in volleyballs final four for the second
year in a row.Part of what makes the Rolfzens particularly compelling, though,
is just how thoroughly and completely Nebraska they are; they committed to the
Huskers before they were even in high school.Whats it going to be like when we
come back in January, and theyre not here? Nebraska coach John Cook said,
dreading the spring semester when the Rolfzens -- who graduate this month -- are
likely to be playing professionally somewhere far from Lincoln. Its like theyve
been part of this program forever.Theyre not gone yet, though. They have at
least one match left -- theyll face Texas in Thursdays semifinals in Columbus,
Ohio -- and Teresa probably wont eat anything. She typically battles anxiety on
game days. She jokes with her friends, You want to know what a diet is for me?
Its August to December.But some nerve-induced nausea has been a small price to
pay for watching two dreams come true, side-by-side.***Picture it: Grand Island,
Nebraska, November 2010. Amber and Kadie lead Papillion-La Vista South High
School to the Class A championship in a 41-0 season. Its one of three state
titles they would win. As 6-foot-3 teens, they were dominating the prep
volleyball court.Practically every kid in the state wants to be a Husker, and
Kadie and Amber, at age 16, already had been committed to Nebraska for two
years. How easy would it be for their egos to swell? Impossible, as it turns
out.Their parents always reminded them to stay grounded: Just do your thing and
dont crow about it.But the twins had no desire to show up anybody. They competed
in other sports in high school, including basketball and track, did their
homework, and got to bed on time. They remain good eggs. After a recent match,
Kadie told Amber to call Grandma.Their attitude was, This is what God gave me,
and what Im going to work with. And this is how Im going to handle it, Teresa
said.It actually took a while for their parents to even believe Kadie and Amber
were that good at volleyball. Mark and Teresa were athletes, too. But if you ask
which one may have passed on the most ability to their daughters, rather than
playfully brag, they stress they never competed at the twins level.Both of us
are kind of perplexed about where exactly they got it, Mark said.Which is why
the parents were quite surprised when their 14-year-olds returned from a
volleyball camp at Nebraska and matter-of-factly mentioned they had scholarships
to become Huskers. Surely, Mark and Teresa thought, theyre confused.Quite
honestly, their mother and I didnt really believe it, Mark said. I actually had
to call Coach Cook the next day to find out what happened, and sure enough he
did offer them scholarships.Cook knew, even when they were that young, that he
wanted them at Nebraska as much as they knew they wanted to be there. The twins
were in total agreement that there was no sense looking around when Nirvana was
right up the road and had already opened the gates.That said, Kadie and Amber do
not agree on everything; each is very clearly her own person. They banter over
what they both call stupid stuff. On those rare occasions when a squabble does
happen, whos the first to ease the tension?Both of us, Kadie said. Its like we
might argue or whatever, and five minutes later, Ill walk into her room and say,
Hey, you want to go to dinner? Shell say, Sure, OK! and its like nothing
happened.Of course, theyve rarely been apart, and have shared almost everything,
including their SUV. But who is usually in the drivers seat? In perfect twin
logic, I usually drive to places, Kadie said, And she usually drives from them.
Although sometimes its different.***Picture it: Omaha, Nebraska, December 2015.
The Rolfzens had come to the Huskers with the highest of goals. Nebraska was a
good team their first two seasons, but fell short of the final
foour.ddddddddddddYou go back to 2013, their first year, we were playing Texas
here [in the regional final], and they imploded, Cook said. They melted down.
Part of that was the expectations they had on them. They were freshmen, and
werent able to handle all of it. Their growth since then has been incredible;
they worked really hard on it.Nebraska lost again in the elite eight in 2014,
this time to BYU. But the next year, the stakes were at their highest: the final
four was in Omaha. As 12-year-olds, the Rolfzens had watched the Huskers and one
particular hero, Jordan Larson, win the 2006 NCAA title in Omaha. Now was
supposed to be their turn.But would the Huskers make it? The twins switched
positions at the start of their junior year, with Kadie going to the right side
and Amber becoming a middle blocker. The moves benefited both of them --
providing each with a more distinct on-court identity from the other -- and the
team.However, in October, the Huskers lost back-to-back matches at home to Big
Ten rivals Minnesota and Wisconsin. Stress built up a little more.Until you walk
in their shoes, you dont know how much pressure it was about making it to Omaha,
Cook said.Indeed, people would come up to the Rolfzens all the time and say,
Hey, I got my tickets to Omaha, as if it were a given that Nebraska would be
playing there. But a maturity factor kicked in.Youre going to have people say
all these things, Amber said, but it gets to the point where you block out all
those expectations. You just focus on the team and what you can do to improve
yourself.Those losses to the Gophers and Badgers were Nebraskas last of the
season. They got on a victory streak that went all the way through the NCAA
final. Amber had 10 kills and four blocks in beating Texas, while Kadie had four
kills and 10 digs.They just had so much put on them, but they also wanted that,
Cook said. That was what was so cool about going to Omaha and winning
it.***Picture it: Lincoln, Nebraska, December 2016. The Rolfzens Husker careers
looked over on a Friday afternoon, on their home court, at the hands of an
archrival having somewhat of a down season.It couldnt actually end like this,
could it?Penn State was up 2-0, and the score tied 22-22 in the third set of
their regional semifinal. The music that accompanies the end of time outs/return
to action at the Devaney Center is off a random set list, yet it seemed
ominously appropriate.The chimes of AC/DCs Hells Bells sounded like a signal
that time was up for the Huskers.That led into a riff from Metallicas Enter
Sandman. Remember, its a song about nightmares.Thats what this felt like to
Nebraska fans: A nightmare in the middle of a day when so many took off from
work or school to make sure the arena was packed as usual. Among the red-clad
faithful, you saw pinched faces, gritted teeth, hands wringing.But Kadie, Amber,
and their Nebraska teammates were in their own world, one theyd been trying to
maintain all season. Dont look ahead; dont look back. Stay in the moment, point
by point.It was going to get worse before it got better, though.Penn State would
win the next two points, making it five in a row, and the Huskers were right at
the edge of the cliff, one foot in the air. Down two match points against a team
they seemingly couldnt stop.It flashed through Ambers mind: This could be it.
But the enormity of that didnt paralyze her. The opposite happened, in fact. Be
aggressive, she thought. Dont get timid now.And if the Rolfzens story actually
were a movie, this is the part that would really have the critics rolling their
eyes.Because Nebraska climbed out of that enormous hole, with Amber getting a
kill and a block to save the two match points. The twins combined for 29 kills
and eight block assists, with Kadie also getting 18 digs.The next day, playing
with the lightness of a new life, the Huskers demolished Washington and earned
the programs 13th trip to the final four.Kadie and Amber lingered after the
regional final, sitting in the stands near their parents, wearing their Huskers
jackets and knit caps. Theyve played the last of their matches on their home
court, where theyd gone 63-11, losing just once there as seniors. They were
headed to Columbus, and could say goodbye to the Devaney Center with smile... if
a bit wistfully.Amber was asked about the semifinal escape. As steely-eyed as
she was in the moment, she said, I cant watch the last four points in the third
set, even though I know the outcome. I get nervous, and its like a What if?
thing goes through your head.Whatever happens at the final four, their story is
a smashing success. This week, Kadie was named an AVCA first-team All-American
for the second year in a row. Amber made the third team, and was second team
last season.There have been -- and will continue to be -- many very good players
from Nebraska who daydream of playing for the Huskers, and then actually do it.
There have been sisters whove done it, too. The state is a volleyball
factory.But twins? Who are this talented, this low-maintenance, and this
high-character? Who are, as they put it, each others No. 1 fan? It cant get more
special than that.I have a very strong connection with both of them, Cook said.
There are challenges to coaching twins, and Ive learned a lot about it from
them.Theyre two incredible young women. It feels like when my own daughter
graduated from here, like theres going to be this big void. But theres two of
them to miss, not just one. ' ' '
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