s because of right ribcage soreness.UP NEXTLHP Jon Lester (9-

This is the story of two retirements, one coming at the end of a rich, deeply satisfying career, the other not so much.Unusual Heat, 26, has been pensioned, ending a 19-year stallion career that never ceased to amaze. Year after year, the Unusual Heats would come rolling down the line, winning races large and small in such numbers as to impress even the most casual students of the game.Do not look for the name of Unusual Heat to be whispered in the mists of Kentuckys breeding lore, however. Although he was bred in the bluegrass, Unusual Heat did his stallion deeds in California, and Californias bloodstock history is viewed more with curious condescension than respect, despite the accomplishments of Hall of Famers and champions like Swaps, Tiznow, Native Diver, Tiznow, Ancient Title, Best Pal, and Bertrando.Scores of Unusual Heats have run riot through the regional stakes races offered by a generous California program. But more than that, his best horses were very good wherever they ran. Acclamation was the Eclipse Award champion older male of 2011. The Usual Q. T. was a Grade 1 winner who almost took a Breeders Cup Mile. Tucked Away, Lethal Heat, Unusual Suspect, Burns, Gervinho, Bettys Bambino, Golden Doc A, Pretty Unusual, Lennyfromalibu -- none of them needed the shelter of a California-bred stakes race to bring home a major prize.Unusual Heat is a son of Nureyev who was first trained in Ireland by Dermot Weld and then migrated to California, where he joined the Richard Mandella stable. Barry Abrams claimed him as a 6-year-old for $80,000 for a partnership that included the trainer, his brother David Abrams, and breeder Madeline Auerbach. Not long after that, Unusual Heat was retired with a bowed tendon.I claimed him hoping to get a few races out of him and then to be a stallion, Barry Abrams said. I didnt know much about it then, but I did know that Nureyev was a great stallion.Unusual Heats first foals hit the ground in 1999.The biggest thing he gave them was longevity, Abrams said. Theyd win first time out as 2-year-olds and still be around four, five, six years later. And the more they ran, the better they got. They may have been running as a $20,000 maiden as a 3-year-old, then as a 4-year-old, theyd be an allowance or a stakes horse.Abrams was right. A scan of Unusual Heats progeny reveals hard knockers like Tropical Heat (86 starts), Steamy Story (78 starts), Raise the Heat (74 starts), and at least 30 others with 40 or more starts.Exaggerator, a 3-year-old son of Curlin, made 15 starts. He also earned $3.5 million, which makes him a very efficient moneymaking machine, and by some measures, that is the point of the exercise. Now he has been retired, happy and healthy, to WinStar Farm in Kentucky to begin a stallion career next year before hes even a fully matured Thoroughbred.Racing fans are rightfully miffed at yet another example of the breeding tail wagging the racing dog. Exaggerators quality as a Thoroughbred athlete was borne out by victories in the 2016 Santa Anita Derby, Preakness, and Haskell Invitational and a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. His record was an odd mix of rousing scores on rainy afternoons combined with somnolent wanderings through important engagements in the Belmont, Travers, and, finally, the Pennsylvania Derby.The horse owed us nothing, said trainer Keith Desormeaux, who also owned a minority interest in Exaggerator. But for him to get beat in his last two races was disappointing. I wanted him to go out on a higher note.WinStar bought into Exaggerator before the Kentucky Derby and was along for the Preakness and Haskell rides, but the farms real payoff always figured to be after retirement.My judgment in this matter is secondary to the business of promoting and putting a stallion out there, Desormeaux said. It was a marketing thing, jumping on the Curlin bandwagon. Hes as hot as they come, and theres not many sons of Curlin out there yet.No one should begrudge an ownership group for taking money out of the business after putting money in. Still, the retirement of a reportedly sound classic winner before his fourth birthday goes contrary to racings uphill battle to nurture its stars. Exaggerators fans spent most of their time praying for rain and yet longing for the day when he would unleash a grand moment on a dry track.A horse like that doesnt leave the barn without some degree of sadness, Desormeaux said. The good ones are hard to come by.So, the pages are turned, again. There will be no Exaggerator in the Breeders Cup Classic for the Desormeaux stable, but it has high hopes for Miss Southern Miss, the winner of the Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita last Monday. She will run in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.As for Unusual Heat, Barry Abrams predicts the old boy will be one of the best broodmare sires around, and he might be onto something. On the same afternoon as the Surfer Girl, Big Score, out of the Unusual Heat mare Not Unusual, won the Zuma Beach Stakes to set himself up for the Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf.Wholesale Pistons Jerseys . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. Khyri Thomas 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.cheappistonsjerseys.com/ . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Cheap NBA Jerseys .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. Cheap Pistons Jerseys Authentic . JOHNS, N.NEW YORK -- Jake Arrieta was not accustomed to this.The NL Cy Young Award winner started his first eight batters with balls.He went to 3-2 counts four times in a 35-pitch first inning, allowing Neil Walkers two-run homer.Its frustrating for me, because I expect a lot more out of myself, he said Saturday night after the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in Arrietas first regular-season road loss in 14 months.Just after Anthony Rizzo tied the score with a two-run, fourth-inning homer off Bartolo Colon, Travis dArnaud blooped a two-run single in the bottom half that sent the Mets to their third straight win in the four-game series, which ends Sunday.Arrieta (12-3) has lost three times in six starts, giving up four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings against the defending NL champions.Poor performance on my end, he said. Just didnt get the effort my team needed tonight. I needed to be more of a stopper, put a stop to the bleeding.He had been 19-0 in 24 regular-season road starts since losing at St. Louis on May 7, 2015 -- to current teammate John Lackey. Arrieta is the only pitcher since 1913 to win 19 consecutive road decisions. However, he lost Game 2 of last years NL Championship Series at Citi Field.Believe me, were all going to be in for a treat when this all gets straightened out, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. Hes going to look like he did last year.Arrieta said issues with mechanics were overblown.Were spinning our wheels a little bit too much trying to figure out what the solution is, or is there a problem, he said. I just need to pitch better. Thats the bottom line.Rookie Brandon Nimmo walked leading off the first, and Walker sent a 94 mph sinker off the facing of the second deck in right. Walker had been 4 for 28 against Arrieta, including the postseason.He just wasnt throwing as many strikes early in the count as Ive been accustomed to facing him, Walker said. When youre 1-0, 2-1 with everybody, it makes it difficult to use that entire arsenal.With the score 2-2 in the fourth and runners at first and second, dArnaud popped a ball into short center field, in the middle of a triangle formed by center fielder Jason Heyward, second baseman Javier Baez and shortstop Addison Russell.dddddddddddd. On a full run toward the outfield and with his back to home plate, Baez reached up with his right, bare hand, but the ball glanced off it and fell to the ground as two runs scored. Baez had just entered the game at second base.Colon (7-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, and Ben Zobrist homered off Erik Goeddel in the seventh.Addison Reed struck out Kris Bryant to end the seventh with the potential tying run on second, and then struck out the side in the eighth after Rizzos leadoff single. Jeurys Familia got three straight outs to convert his 44th consecutive save chance, including a major league-leading 28 this season.Chicago lost for the ninth time in 13 games but still has the best record in the major leagues at 51-29. After getting swept in a three-game series at Washington, the Mets can sweep four from the Cubs.We want to finish it off tomorrow, Mets manager Terry Collins said.LOOKING AHEADArrieta is to start Friday at Pittsburgh, putting him in position for a possible start for Collins of the Mets in the All-Star Game at San Diego on July 12.JUST PLAIN LOOKINGPlate umpire Laz Diaz called nine batters out on strikes, including five Cubs. When Baez was called out leading off the ninth, he held out both arms, and Maddon yelled from the dugout.The amorphic strike zone tonight was really difficult for both sides, Maddon said.CUBS ROTATIONRight-hander Adam Warren is to start Wednesday against Cincinnati at Wrigley Field, following Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey. Maddon said Warren could get a start after the All-Star break but because of a July 21 off day, it was unlikely he would go with a six-man rotation two turns in a row.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: RF Chris Coghlan left after three innings because of right ribcage soreness.UP NEXTLHP Jon Lester (9-3) is to start Sundays series final for the Cubs and RHP Noah Syndergaard (8-3) for the Mets. Lester is 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA in three regular-season starts against the Mets but lost last years NL Championship Series opener to Matt Harvey.Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys [url=http://www.nbajerseyschinas