Cardinals a top-of-the-order hitter. He gives th

Zach Merrett is wary of the road ahead for Essendon in the AFL, even with the return of their banned players.On Wednesday, the suspensions end for the 17 current AFL players found guilty of doping offences stemming from the Essendon supplements debacle.Of those, 12 are at Essendon and nine have re-signed at the club.Only captain Jobe Watson is yet to decide his future.Essendon finished last this season, but the Bombers stood firm and look well-placed to improve in 2017.But Merrett, who won the club best and fairest award this season for the first time, said nothing is guaranteed.Id love to say were aiming for the premiership - I think we are - but obviously we finished only 15th (last year) with those (banned) guys as well, Merrett said.We definitely understand theres a lot of hard work to be done and were a long way back from where wed like to be.But its exciting as well - we can really paint a picture of how the club goes forward.Merrett said he had spoken to Dyson Heppell, one of the returning players, this week - but not to Watson.He (Watson) is obviously a key player for us and someone whos won a Brownlow Medal, so it speaks about how good a player he is on the field, Merrett said.Off the field, hes a fantastic leader as well, so it would be great for the younger boys in the club if he came back.He obviously has everyone in Australia wondering what hes going to do.Essendon will let the players ease back into the club, with apparently no organised sessions this week.Of the 12, Michael Hibberd wants a trade and Tayte Pears has retired from senior football.On Tuesday night, Merrett was rewarded for his fine season when he was named vice-captain of the AFL Players Associations 2016 commemorative under-22 team.China Jerseys . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Custom Jerseys . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. https://www.cheapjerseysjustwholesale.com/ . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Cheap Authentic Jerseys . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. College Jerseys . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2.There are two ways to look at the St. Louis Cardinals offseason.The optimists will say that general manager John Mozeliak aggressively filled his two biggest needs, signing outfielder Dexter Fowler and reliever Brett Cecil to big contracts. And in doing so, he managed to hold onto the top prospects in his farm system, ensuring a bright future.The pessimists will say that he overpaid for both of them, and that could back the Cardinals into a corner when they need the financial flexibility to make other moves next season.Reality is probably somewhere in the middle, but one thing is certain: Mozeliak has boldly acquired two premium free agents that better position St. Louis to deal with the World Series champion Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.Our group worked tirelessly over the past few weeks, especially this past week at the winter meetings, Mozeliak said. There were a lot of things that we were chasing.In truth, the dealing began when the Cardinals fortified their bullpen by signing Cecil to a $30.5 million, four-year contract. The left-hander was the only relief pitcher that really fit their wish list, and should be able to deal with high-leverage situations ahead of closer Seung Hwan Oh. Cecil, who was slowed by a torn lat muscle last season, dominated down the stretch. He threw 3 2/3 innings of scoreless ball in the playoffs, confirming everything the Cardinals thought of him.They always have good teams -- good, winning teams, Cecil said of the Cardinals, and like I said, for my family and me, this is where we wanted to come. It was the best fit for us.It turned out that plugging up the bullpen was the easy move. Mozeliak knew that solving his outfield quandary would be more expensive, either in terms of prospects or cash on the free-agent market.Perhaps recognizing that, he sent veteran left-hander Jaime Garcia to the Atlanta Braves. The trade not only saved them the $12 million option the Cardinals exercised on Garcia earlier in the offseason, but it also landed them a pair of pitching prospects and second base prospect LLuke Dykstra.dddddddddddd.There were several options available to fill the Cardinals outfield hole, not to mention address their desire to improve their defense, speed on the base paths and get younger across the board.But their interest in Adam Eaton became moot when the Nationals swooped in with a better package of prospects, luring the 28-year-old outfielder from the White Sox to Washington. And if there was any interest in Ian Desmond, who converted from shortstop to the outfield for Texas last season, it didnt matter after the Rockies doled out $70 million over five years to grab him in free agency.Not surprisingly, the Cardinals turned their focus to Fowler -- assuming it was anywhere else all along -- and reeled him in last week. But it came at a steep price : $82.5 million over five years.Hes expected to take over center field, allowing Randal Richuk to slide to left.A lot has been written -- I dont know if you were questioning what we were trying to do or werent sure we were going to be able to finish, Mozeliak said. We certainly wanted to get this done, were excited we got this done.Fowler gives the Cardinals a top-of-the-order hitter. He gives them speed. He upgrades their defense and gives them more flexibility. And he provides some excitement in the clubhouse.This is a baseball city, said Fowler, who recalled seeing Cardinals shirts in the crowd during the Cubs World Series victory parade. Every time you come here, you see red everywhere. Just being a part of that and their winning culture was a big part of my decision.The moves Mozeliak has made this offseason, he hopes, ensures that the winning culture continues. But he also insisted that he isnt done, even if the big pieces appear to be in place.I think for us its going to be looking more at complementary pieces to what we have, he said. There is no doubt we still have work to do, but making a bolder-type move, I dont envision that. ' ' '