Kritik und Lob » , Tim Frazier (No. 135) and ETwaun Mo

CHICAGO -- Just days after winning the World Series, the Chicago Cubs said goodbye to a key regular season component when they declined the $12 million option on starting pitcher Jason Hammel?for 2017, the team announced Sunday.I want to thank Jason for all of his contributions in his almost three seasons as a Cub, team President Theo Epstein said in a press release Sunday. He was an effective, reliable starter the entire time he was a Cub, and this year he was an integral part of one of the best rotations in club history. We would not have been in a position to win the World Series without Jasons terrific performance during the regular season.A source familiar with the situation told ESPN.com that the team gave Hammel the option to decide if he wanted to return in 2017 or test free agency in a very attractive market for starting pitchers.?When we agreed with Jason on this two-year contract back at the 2014 winter meetings, the option was included with the intent that it would be exercised if Jason was going to be a Cub in 2017, Epstein said. The intent was never to exercise the option and then trade Jason, so we will not consider that path. Instead, Jason will have the opportunity to enter free agency coming off an outstanding season and the ability to choose his next club. Meanwhile, the organization gains some flexibility and the opportunity to use a rotation spot to develop a younger, long-term starting pitcher.Hammel, 33, went 15-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 2016, but was left off the playoff roster after a bit of a second-half fade partly due to an elbow issue. He went 1-3 in September and October with an 8.71 ERA. But he helped the Cubs get off to a fast start, going 6-1 in April and May, including a 0.75 ERA in the first month of the season.While Jason is healthy and primed to have another effective season in 2017, we have decided to consider other internal and external options for our starting rotation next year, Epstein said. Our hope is that by giving a starting opportunity to some younger pitchers under multiple years of club control, we can unearth a starter who will help us not only in 2017 but also in 2018 and beyond.Lefty Mike Montgomery is most likely to benefit from the move as he came on strong after the Cubs acquired him in a midseason deal with the Seattle Mariners. Montgomery appeared in 17 regular-season games and 11 postseason contests, starting five games overall. He earned his first career save in Game 7 of the World Series, but from day one the Cubs have discussed using him as a starter in the future. Manager Joe Maddon has raved about Montgomerys stuff, especially a nasty curveball which is effective against both righties and lefties.Hammel was re-signed by the Cubs before the 2015 season after they traded him in 2014 as part of the deal that brought shortstop Addison Russell to the Cubs from the Oakland Athletics. Hammel will get a buyout of $2 million and can sign with any team beginning at 12:01 am Tuesday morning. Hydro Flask Sale . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Hydro Flask Clearance . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. http://www.hydroflaskcheap.us/ .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. Discount Hydro Flask . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. Rose tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. Hydro Flask Sale Clearance . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Looking around the league as we hit mid-November, one thing that stands out is the amount of centers who havent lived up to the hype or have simply underperformed so far this season.Pau Gasol is playing only 25 minutes a night in San Antonio.Nikola Vucevic is down to 27 MPG in Orlando, and his 10.9 points per game are the lowest since his rookie season in Philadelphia.DeAndre Jordans scoring, rebounding and blocks are all down as the Clippers continue to blow out just about everybody they play.Marc Gasol, a 50.2 percent shooter in his career, has added the 3-point shot to his game, but hes shooting just 42.1 percent from the field in the early going.Joakim Noah is a shell of his former self, blocking only 0.7 shots per game thus far with the Knicks.And then theres Al Horford, who has played only three games due to a concussion that has kept him sidelined since Oct. 29.All of these players are ranked lower this week as a result.But enough of the doom and gloom.On the opposite end of the spectrum -- no, not that Spectrum -- is Joel Embiid. What a story he has become in his first month of NBA action. While playing under a minutes restriction that has limited him to 22.1 MPG and caused him to sit the second of back-to-backs, his per 40 minute numbers (32.5 points/13.2 rebounds) reveal whats ahead once his minutes rise and his shot-blocking (2.3 BPG) and 3-point shooting (1 3PG) make him one of the best fantasy centers out there -- already.We started to bump up Embiid in the rankings before the season started, and hes all the way up to No. 33 this week.Kemba Walker (No. 18) is another notable riser this week. He is averaging a career-high 25.3 PPG and improved shooting is a big reason why. His days as a poor perimeter shooter seem to be a thing of the past, and all you have to do is look at his 3-point shooting to see that (47 percent, 3.4 3PG).Otto Porter Jr. (No. 65), Ricky Ruubio (No.dddddddddddd 74) and Jrue Holiday (No. 76) each make big jumps as well. Porter showed his upside with a career-game against Boston last week, going for 34 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. He also connected on three 3s. Rubio returned from a sprained elbow and promptly dished out 16 assists and swiped four steals in his first two games back. His return also pushed rookie Kris Dunn way down to No. 144. Meanwhile, the news of Holidays impending return -- sometime within the next week, says Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry -- elevates him to the spot right behind another soon-to-be returner, Reggie Jackson. With Holiday and Jackson due back any game now, weve dropped Ish Smith (No. 134), Tim Frazier (No. 135) and ETwaun Moore (No. 147) as all three are expected to see their minutes take a steep decline.Others notable fallers this week include Denver power forward Nikola Jokic (No. 79), Washington shooting guard Bradley Beal (No. 89) and Memphis small forward Chandler Parsons (No. 93).Jokic was moved to the bench in favor of Kenneth Faried and played poorly in a reserve role after struggling as a starter in the opening weeks. While this ranking may seem a little high for someone contributing as little as Jokic, part of it is due to his tremendous upside. Beal has missed the last two games due to a hamstring injury and is shooting just 36.6 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from 3-point range. Considering his minimal contributions aside from scoring, it was time to move him down. Parsons hasnt shown much in his first four games back (7.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1 APG) from offseason knee surgery, and its clear that hell need some time to ramp back up to the Parsons we know.Here is the full rundown of the updated top 150 rankings: ' ' '