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| e later to seal the outcome. The Leafs op http://runetrack.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5546 |
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| Author: | lw789 [ Fri Aug 18, 2017 4:12 am ] |
| Post subject: | e later to seal the outcome. The Leafs op |
The Blue Jays have had an incredible month of May - no two ways about it. With two games still to play, they are 20-8 including a nine-game win streak that came to an end at the hands of the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night at the Rogers Centre in 10 innings. If they win the last two games in May against KC, they will close out the month at 22-8. A year ago only four teams had a singular month better than that, three in the American League and one in the National League. Three of the four made the post-season and the other, the Texas Rangers, made it to the knockout tie-breaker and lost out in Game 163. The Tampa Bay Rays were the best going 21-5 in June, while the Cleveland Indians were a scorching 21-6 in a pressure-packed September run. The Rangers were 20-7 in August. The Blue Jays best month in 2013 was June where they finished 17-9, including an 11-game win streak. but they quickly faded after that. The Dodgers actually put together the most incredible short-term run on the way to winning the NL West. On June 20, they were sitting 12 games below .500 and there was talk skipper Don Mattingly was on the verge of being fired. Then, almost coincidentally with the arrival of Yasiel Puig , they went 8-1 to close out June, followed by a League best 20-6 in July and 23-6 in August. That in total is a fabulous 51-13 run that led them to finish the campaign at 90-72. Im not saying one 20-win month guarantees you a playoff spot. Injuries can undermine all that momentum, but one huge month can provide a team with an incredible boost of confidence and provide a bit of a cushion for the inevitable cold spells as the season unwinds. Heres something else. I know the season is only one-third over, but I cant remember the last time the Blue Jays had contenders for four major awards. Edwin Encarnacion for MVP, Mark Buehrle for Cy Young, Melky Cabrera for Comeback Player of the Year and, possibly, Casey Janssen for Fireman of the Year ( 8-for-9 in save opportunities, so far) and, if Edwin werent my pick for MVP, Jose Bautista would be right there, too. A lot can change over the course of the final fourth months of the season, but you cant ignore all of the positives coming out of the Blue Jays camp after all those years wandering in the wilderness. - There has been plenty of talk about the Blue Jays trying to pry right hander Jeff Samardzija loose from the Chicago Cubs to shore up the rotation and possibly push the Blue Jays over the top. Well, Alex Anthopoulos made it pretty clear on Thursday, the Blue Jays wouldnt be making any trades until July at the earliest and could wait up until the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. This wont really make any difference as far as possible dealings with the Cubbies go this season, but in their entire 37-plus years history, the Blue Jays have only made six trades with the Cubs. Only one really included a significant name player from a Blue Jays standpoint. On December 10, 2001, Gord Ash, embarking on his final season as Jays GM, dealt shortstop Alex Gonzalez to the Cubs for lefty reliever Felix Heredia and a player to be named later, who turned out to be 3B/SS prospect Jim Deschaine who never made it to the Majors. Heredia only spent one season with the Jays before leaving as a free agent. Alex spent two-plus years with Chicago and even went to the playoffs with them in 2003, the year of the " Bartman" catch down the left-field line, that helped the then Florida Marlins rally to win that NLCS in seven games and ultimately go on to beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. Some Blue Jays fans believe George Bell was dealt to the Cubs. Not so, as he left the Jays and signed with the Cubbies as a free agent on December 6, 1990. On March 30, 1992 Bell was swapped across town to the White Sox for reliever Ken Patterson and, yes, Sammy Sosa who would go on to become a tainted legend with the Cubs. That is to this day considered to be the worst trade in White Sox history. Outside of teams that have never won the World Series, the Cubs have the worst Fall Classic legacy. They are 2-8 all-time and, since winning their last World Series over the Detroit Tigers in 1908, they have won only one playoff series since when they edged the Atlanta Braves in a five-game NLDS in 2003. They dropped seven-straight World Series appearances between 1910 and 1945 and their all-time playoff win-loss record is 27-54. If thats not enough, they have the worst record in the Majors this season at 19-32 and are sitting in last place in the NL Central 11-and-a-half games back of the Milwaukee Brewers and the season isnt even two months old yet. - Friday night at Dodger Stadium, Josh Beckett will be the latest to try and equal a record that most feel can never possibly be broken. Beckett will have the chance to throw a second-straight no-hitter when the Dodgers host Francisco Liriano and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds made history within a four-day span in June of 1938. On June 11, the 23-year-old lefty, in his first full season in the Majors, pitched a no-hitter against the Boston Braves, then known as the Bees. It was the first no-hitter by a lefty since 1931. Four days later at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Vander Meer was the Reds starting pitcher in the first night game ever in New York in front of a sellout crowd of 48,000. "Vandy" was outstanding again. He almost lost it in the ninth when he walked the bases loaded with one out, but he got a force out at the plate for the second out and then got Leo Durocher to fly out to end the game. Though he was a four-time All-Star and was one of a handful of pitchers to lead his league in strikeouts three years in a row, he finished with a 119-121 record and a 3.44 ERA with 29 career shutouts, He also has the ever-lasting fame that goes with back-to-back no-hitters. Josh Beckett gets his shot at immortality on Friday night. Edwin Encarnacion All Star Jersey . Although Olivetti, a qualifier, had 13 aces, he failed to force a single break-point chance on Gasquets serve and lost his own three times. Gasquet next plays third-seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, who won had 18 aces in a 6-2, 6-4 win against seventh-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France. Josh Donaldson Jersey . Phoenix got injured centre Emeka Okafor and a top-12-protected first-round draft pick in 2014 -- giving the rebuilding Suns potentially four choices in the opening round. The Suns also sent guards Kendall Marshall, Shannon Brown and Malcolm Lee to Washington so the deal will work financially. http://www.officialbluejaysjerseysonlin ... ys-jersey/. Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov. Devon Travis Jersey . Leaning forward with both hands on his knees, Buffon appeared to be resting or somehow trying to withstand the rain. Or perhaps the 36-year-old goalkeeper and Italy captain was reflecting on this: He is only the third player in history to be part of five World Cup squads, along with Germany great Lothar Matthaus and former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal. Troy Tulowitzki Jersey . City has reached new heights under manager Manuel Pellegrini as they transition from big spending/immediate impact to perennial contender. Yaya Toures seeming discontent Tuesday may complicate that, as does the little issue of Financial Fair Play.Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Jake Gardiner and Richard Panik scored 45 seconds apart late in the first period and Jonathan Bernier made 44 saves, as Toronto raced out to a four-goal lead then held on to beat Vancouver, 5-2, from Air Canada Centre. Peter Holland and Joffrey Lupul tallied early in the second to complete the burst and David Clarkson added a late marker for the Maple Leafs, who have won five of their last seven. You never want to lose back-to-back games, Bernier said. We got an early lead and then we got into penalty trouble in the second and they had a few good scoring chances on the power play. I thought we played pretty good in the last 10 minutes of the third period. Daniel Sedin and Christopher Tanev provided offense for the Canucks, who had recorded road wins against Pittsburgh and Washington but fell to 3-2 on their seven-game road trip. Ryan Miller was pulled after giving up four goals on 14 shots in almost 26 minutes. Eddie Lack finished up by halting all 13 Toronto chances for the remainder of the contest. I just didnt make the saves the guys needed, Miller said. [Bernier] played well. He was steady and saw the puck. A couple posts on the power play and maybe its a little different game towards the end of the third. But he played well. Vancouver halved its deficit at 8:45 of the third period, when Tanevs deflection of a Linden Vey offering slid behind Bernier for a 4-2 game. The Canucks then hit two posts in the opening seconds of a power play after Panik was booked for interference and continued to buzz Bernier in hopes of getting back to a one-goal spread, but failed to score.dddddddddddd Lack was pulled for an extra attacker with just over 2 1/2 minutes remaining before Clarkson hit the empty net a short time later to seal the outcome. The Leafs opened the scoring at 15:47 of the first period. Gardiners quick pass from the right-wing boards, intended for Holland, instead changed direction off a Vancouver player and got past Miller. Panik doubled the margin less than a minute later, using a stick fake to draw a Canucks defenseman and Miller out of position before sliding a backhander home. Holland struck to make it 3-0 for the Leafs, beating Miller high over the right shoulder from the left circle at 4:16 of the second. Toronto went up by four on Lupuls marker only 1:23 later. Daniel Sedin got one back for the Canucks with 4:39 to play in the stanza with an assist from brother Henrik. Game Notes Vancouver completes its sojourn with games in Ottawa on Sunday and at Montreal on Tuesday ... Toronto improved to 3-1-0 on its current five-game homestand which concludes on Tuesday against Calgary ... Berniers performance marked a season high for saves, besting his 38-stop effort on Nov. 14 against Pittsburgh in a 2-1 loss. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' |
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