OAKLAND, Calif. Jerseys NFL Wholesale . -- Billy Beane considers Jon Lester a proven ace who can carry a pitching staff through the playoffs, just like he did last fall. The general manager acquired Lester to make sure Oakland gets there first. The baseball-leading, small-budget As won the mighty Lester sweepstakes Thursday, acquiring the left-hander and outfielder Jonny Gomes from the Boston Red Sox for slugging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. "Once again players like this really dont come along too often," Beane said. "When you get a guy whos a legitimate No. 1 starter in the middle of the season and we currently sit in first place, were excited. ... Theres no looking ahead. The way the playoff system is now, you want to win the division." Oakland, with the best record in baseball at 66-41, also received cash from Boston in another blockbuster deal by Beane. The Red Sox also receive a draft pick. "I believe that the deliberations leading to the two trades we did today were deeply analyzed, thoughtful and value-added," As owner Lew Wolff said in an email. "The best trades are when all parties have potential benefits, and what Billy accomplished is an example of such a win-win. The calls I have received from other owners were very complimentary." Lester is 10-7 with a career-best 2.52 ERA in 21 starts in another outstanding season. He has allowed seven earned runs in his last eight games with 54 strikeouts and nine walks. But the Red Sox put him on the trading block because he can become a free agent after the season -- and Beane isnt ready to commit to re-signing the lefty. Lester, 30, was sought by many teams, including Pittsburgh and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The three-time All-Star originally was scheduled to start Wednesday night for the slumping Red Sox, who instead scratched Lester ahead of Thursdays non-waiver trade deadline. After winning their third World Series in 10 seasons last year, with Lester getting two of the four wins with a 0.59 ERA against St. Louis, the Red Sox are last in the AL East with a 48-60 record. They had Thursday off after losing for the eighth time in nine games to drop 13 games behind first-place Baltimore. While the Red Sox look to next season, the As are determined to take the next step after losing in each of the past two Octobers in five-game division series to Detroit. Oakland was off Thursday before returning home to begin a weekend series with Kansas City on Friday night. Lester is scheduled to start Saturdays game against the Royals. "Well I am awake," Friday starter Sonny Gray posted on Twitter when the trade news broke early Thursday. Oakland later sent lefty Tommy Milone to the Twins for outfielder Sam Fuld, who will help fill a void in centre field with Coco Crisp and Craig Gentry sidelined. Beane believes in starting pitching depth, and the As sure have it. Lester joins Gray (12-3), Scott Kazmir (12-3) and recently acquired Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, obtained in a July 4 trade with the Chicago Cubs. Gomes, a fan favourite who grew up in nearby Petaluma, provides a veteran presence who was invaluable during the As run to the AL West title in 2012. He also was a respected clubhouse leader in Boston, which signed him as a free agent before last season. He is hitting .234 with six homers and 32 RBIs in 78 games. For Boston, this marks another big move of a starting pitcher to the Bay Area after Jake Peavy was traded to San Francisco on Saturday for two pitching prospects. The Red Sox traded John Lackey to St. Louis later Thursday. The 28-year-old Cespedes won the past two Home Run Derby titles at the All-Star game. The Cuban left fielder is in the third season of a $36 million, four-year contract he signed before spring training 2012. Cespedes is batting .256 with 17 homers and 67 RBIs. "Hes a tremendous talent, weve had a tremendous amount of success since hes been here," Beane said. "It is difficult. But if youre going to separate yourself from everybody else and try to get a player like Lester, you have to do something thats unique." Speculation had centred on the Red Sox seeking prospects to add to their already deep farm system. That would have given them more young players to use in another deal for an established player, possibly a power-hitting outfielder. They got that in Cespedes, whose 17 homers is the exact number hit this season by the nine Red Sox players who spent time in the outfield. And Gomes six were the most. Lester has said leaving the Red Sox doesnt rule out a return to the team next season. He had said he would take a hometown discount to stay in Boston, but the teams four-year, $70 million offer in spring training fell far short of what he could get on the open market. Lester leaves his only pro baseball organization. The Red Sox drafted him in the second round in 2002. He made his major league debut June 10, 2006, and got a no-decision in a 7-4 loss to Texas. In his nine major league seasons, Lester is 110-63 with a 3.64 ERA. Hes also a proven post-season star with a 3-0 record in his two World Series. He pitched 5 2-3 shutout innings against the Colorado Rockies in the clinching fourth game in 2007. "In Lesters case, were also dealing with a guy whos one of the best at his position in the game," Beane said, "and has been for a long time. It was just too good an opportunity to pass up." Cheap Jerseys .C. -- The Carolina Panthers announced Thursday theyve signed free agent wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery to a two-year contract, helping rebuild a depleted wide receiving corps. China Jerseys . He scored two highlight-reel goals in a three-minute span -- the second on a sideways bicycle kick in the 78th minute -- to give the Whitecaps a 2-2 draw with the Portland Timbers before a crowd of 20,303 at B. http://www.jerseyscheapauthentic.com/ . As analysts we do the same thing, so here are some observations from week one. First there were two major upsets. I should say, major upsets in the eyes of the fans and prognosticators.EDMONTON -- Much has been made of the Edmonton Oilers growing stockpile of young talent, but it was a Calgary Flames rookie who stole the show on Saturday night. Sean Monahan scored two goals, including the overtime winner, as the Flames snapped a two-game losing skid with a 2-1 victory over the Oilers in a game between two of the NHLs current lesser lights. Paul Byron won a battle behind the net with Edmonton defender Martin Marincin 1:50 into the overtime session and sent the puck in front to Monahan, who scored his 18th goal of the season. "In overtime (Byron) was just buzzing all over the puck and made a great pass to me which fortunately enough I was able to bury," Monahan said. "I was surprised that I had so much room. That was pretty awesome. That is my first overtime goal in the NHL." Flames captain Mark Giordano said that Monahan has become a real go-to guy. "One thing we have learned about (Monahan) is that he doesnt miss too many of those chances around the net," he said. "He has a knack for putting those ones in. Good on him. I am happy for him." The Flames (23-30-7) have won seven of their last 10 games. David Perron responded for the Oilers (20-34-8) who have lost three in a row and sit in second last in the NHL, five points back of fourth-worst Calgary. "In our own zone for the most part, I thought we were alright," said Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins. "The last goal was just a great lesson for our defencemen there. You have to win the battle. Its a simple battle and thats what happens when you lose a battle like that, especially four-on-four." One especially troubling area for the Oilers of late has been the power play, which has now gone 0-19 in Edmontons last six games. "On the power play were having troubles entering and were having troubles finishing," said Oilers forward Jordan Eberle. "On the one power play there, we must have had four or five chances and we couldnt capitalize. When that starts to happen, that starts to wear on you and you start doubting yourself. "For me personally the biggest thing with our lack of offence, and we seem to go through it every season, is that our power play is dead." The Flames started the scoring just past the midmark of the opening period as Monahan was left alone in front of the net to coral a bouncing rebound and the Flames rookie sent the puck past Oilers starting goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. The goal was immediately followed by a heated tilt between Edmontons Luke Gazdic and Calgarys Kevin Westgarth, with Gazdic landing a punch that floored Westgarth to the point that he had to be helped off the ice and to the dressing room. "It was a good fight and both guys were throwing good punches," Giordano said. "At the end of the day you care about the person and it is hard to see something like that. Hopefully he recovers quickkly and can get back in the lineup. Stitched Cheap Jerseys. . "He is feeling alright now, which is good to see." Edmonton came close to tying the game just over a minute later when a puck landed behind goalie Reto Berra in the Calgary crease, but was quickly fished out and sent to safety by Giordano. The solid pace of the first period dropped off during a sloppy second period as Edmonton outshot the Flames by just a 5-3 margin in the scoreless middle frame. Calgary almost added to its lead seven minutes into the third period but a Giordano shot rang off the post. The Oilers tied the game just before the midway point of the third as Perron emerged from the sideboards with the puck and fired a laser past Berra for his team-leading 23rd of the season. It was the first goal Edmonton had scored in just shy of 160 minutes of play, extending back to before the Olympic break. Edmonton picked up the pace for the remainder of the third, but the Flames held on to send the game to extra time to set up the victory. Calgary has broken the remainder of the regular season into a pair of seven-game segments to approximate playoff series and with that in mind, Monahan said it was an important victory for the team coming off their eighth shutout of the season in a 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings in their return from the Olympic break on Thursday. "It was kind of a must-win game for us," he said. "It was pretty intense. After (Westgarth) goes to war like he did, you have to find a way to win. Fortunately enough we did. We just want to win as many games as we can at this point." The Flames return to action on Monday as they travel to Minnesota to face the Wild. The Oilers play the third game of a five-game homestand on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators. Notes: Calgary was shutout 2-0 by the L.A. Kings in its return to action from the Olympic break, while the Oilers were blanked 3-0 by the Minnesota Wild earlier in the week. The two Alberta-based teams are tied for the most shutouts allowed this season with eight apiecea. It was the fourth of five games between the Oilers and Flames this season. Edmonton came into the game with a 2-0-1 record in the previous three meetings and had won six of the last nine games between the two teams overalla The Oilers were without forward Nail Yakupov, who took a shot from teammate Justin Schultz off the foot in Thursdays loss to the Wild. While nothing was broken, there is no timetable for Yakupovs returna Flames defenceman Chris Butler was a surprise starter after suffering an injury versus the Kings. Brian McGrattan, nursing an upper-body injury sustained in practice last week, has been cleared for contact but didnt play. Also out for Calgary were goaltender Karri Ramo (lower body) and forward Curtis Glencross (lower body)a Calgary forward Lee Stempniak took the game off to be with his wife after the birth of twin daughters on Friday. ' ' '