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As teams close in on postseason opportunities, certain veterans are feeling the hunger pangs to step up to the October buffet a little stronger than others.Having never tasted life on baseball's biggest stage, these guys have the fork in one hand, knife in the other, napkin on their laps, and they're ready to dig in.The alluring aroma of the postseason is strong for everyone, but especially for t england football hose who've been starving for it for years.Vernon Wells, for one, says he had the postseason in mind when he waived his no-trade clause in January to accept a move to the Angels from the Blue Jays, the team he'd played for his entire career -- a team always facing an uphill battle in the tough American League East.With the Angels having cut their Wild Card deficit to 2 1/2 games, behind Boston and england football Tampa Bay, Wells is focused on the same thing he was in January: the postseason, a goal that has eluded him through 10 full seasons and 1,517 games -- the most by far of any active player who has never made the postseason but is still in the hunt this year."That's one reason I came here, to have this opportunity," Wells said recently. "It's going to be a learning experience. At the same time, it' england football s what you play this game for -- to play some meaningful baseball."Of course, the first step to the postseason is getting there. You can't savor October baseball when it's not soup yet, as any veteran on any contending team right now will tell you."I'm ready to go ahead and clinch this. But all along, we've said we would just deal with today. So that's what we're trying to do for now," said Brewer england football s outfielder Nyjer Morgan, who spent the past four years out of contention with the Pirates and Nationals but is on a team holding a magic number of three to win the NL Central.There's the rub: With a champagne celebration and the intensity of October baseball so tantalizingly close, it can be a balancing act of emotions for those on the cusp."This is my 10th season at it, and have come up empty e england football very year with the exception of last year," said Arizona's Willie Bloomquist, who clinched with the Reds last year but didn't get to play in the postseason because he was acquired in September. "I would imagine it would be pretty awesome."There are a number of players around the game still seeking that big playoff payoff as another season winds down, though none as long as Wells.Through Wednesday' england football s games, Wells' 1,517 appearances without reaching the postseason ranked second overall among active players to Adam Dunn's 1,564, and Dunn's White Sox were eliminated last weekend. To put that in perspective, Wells' wait exceeds the one Michael Young had to endure before he and the Rangers reached the postseason last year, Young going for 1,508 games before getting in on the October fun.Among pla england football yers whose teams are in contention, Arizona's Lyle Overbay is next behind Wells with 1,255 games played without a trip to the postseason, fourth overall after Atlanta's Jack Wilson (1,323), according to baseball-reference.com. Braves second baseman Dan Uggla is another notable player whose regular-season appearances have piled up before he's gotten a taste of October, standing at 931 games played, england football with the Braves holding on in the NL Wild Card race. Phillies backup catcher Brian Schneider has played 1,012 games with the Expos, Nationals, Mets and Phillies and didn't make a postseason appearance a year ago with the Phillies.Prior to last year's playoffs, Roy Halladay had started 320 games but hadn't started in the postseason. He proceeded to pitch a no-hitter in his debut.That's obviously a england football tall order for any of the starters hoping for their first postseason assignments in 2011. Milwaukee's talented trio leads the bunch, with Zack Greinke having made 195 starts (236 total appearances) thus far in his career with no taste of October and Shaun Marcum next with 127 starts and counting. Boston's Erik Bedard trails Greinke with his Tuesday start marking the 164th of his career without a england football postseason appearance.Among relievers, D-backs closer J.J. Putz has the most appearances among current contenders without seeing one in the postseason, with 454. The Angels' Scott Downs isn't far behind with 436, and the D-backs' Brad Ziegler has 245 appearances without one in the postseason.For Bloomquist, whose 840 regular-season games played have been spread out over a decade of utility work an england football d some starting duty, the wait has given him a high level of appreciation for what he and the rest of the D-backs are seeking."I don't want to speak for anybody else, but I think it can be maybe taken for granted a little bit, especially if you've gone to the postseason early in your career a few times," Bloomquist said. "It's not an easy thing to do. ... We haven't won anything yet, but I can ima england football gine if it happens it would be pretty special."Bloomquist chooses his words carefully, knowing D-backs manager Kirk Gibson expects his players to focus on the task at hand, not daydream about the postseason. Morgan has experienced much the same mind-set in Milwaukee, with Brewers manager Ron Roenicke setting the tone from Spring Training onward.But who could blame Morgan for sneaking a peek at the england football out-of-town scoreboard, something he really hadn't needed to do before?"I've been doing that for a long time," Morgan said. "I'm not going to sit here and lie to you and say I don't. There are days when we're watching it out there on the field and then come here and watch on the TVs. But the big thing is just take care of the Cubs for now and deal with the rest later on."Wells is in a more diffic england football ult situation, being on the outside looking in at the current postseason lineup. He's bringing more to the table offensively after a rough start to the season, individually. And he's enjoying every moment he can, because he knows all his All-Star appearances and Gold Glove Awards can't stack up with October baseball -- even if he hasn't experienced it yet."I'll take this situation, because I've ne england football ver had a chance to play in postseason," Wells said. "Individual numbers are great, but at the end of the day, you want to be in postseason, you want to win a World Series. You want to have a chance to do that."I've been able to accomplish a lot individually, but it really hasn't gotten me anywhere but being at home watching October baseball." england football
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