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In the midst of hearing his team get ripped by soon-to-be retired Commissioner Bud Selig, Tampa Bay owner Stuart Sternberg went off this week about the unbalanced schedule and how its penalizes a small budget team like his. I suppose Sternberg has earned the right to speak out since his Rays, despite one of the lowest payrolls in the Majors at $58 million, are entering the final weekend of the regular season holding down the first Wild Card spot in the American League, one game ahead of Cleveland and two up on Texas. Sternbergs point is that its unfair for his team to have to play 19 games apiece against the likes of the Red Sox, Orioles and Yankees in the toughest division in baseball every year. Sternberg maintains the easier schedules of teams like Texas and Cleveland give those teams two, three or four extra games "in the bag on us" over the course of a season. The Blue Jays could easily say the same thing. I was curious to see how they have actually done against the East over the last 10 years. I got a bit of a surprise in that, over the decade, the Jays have had four winning seasons against their own division, five losing seasons and one where they broke even. The problem is, in all but one winning season, they were barely over .500. In the five losing seasons, they were blown out of the water. Here are the telling numbers. In the last 10 years, the Blue Jays are 23 games over .500 against the American League Central, three games over the break even point against the West and 12 games under in inter-league play. Total that up and the Jays are 14 games over .500. The troublesome number is in the East. Heading into this weekends three-game set against Tampa Bay at Rogers Centre, the Jays are 52 games under .500 against their own division. The only winning season theyve had against the East in the last five years was 2010 when they wound up 39-33 against the East and finished with a record of 85-77. They still finished 11 games back of the divison-winning Rays and 10 games back of the Yankees for the Wild Card spot. The Jays only truly dominant season against the East was 2006 when they went 43-31 and finished with 87 victories and 75 losses. Even at that, they finished eight games back of the Yankees and Tigers, who finished with 95 wins. The Yankees won the East while the Tigers took the Wild Card. Fixing the schedule and making it balanced wouldnt necessarily turn things around for the Jays. Major League talent, scouting and a productive farm system figure into the mix as well. Blue Jays president Paul Beeston has said on numerous occasions the organization doesnt want to give up the extra home games against the Yankees and Red Sox because they are such huge draws. At some point, though, youd think the Blue Jays would want to even the playing field a bit. Along those lines, if the Blue Jays sweep the Rays this weekend, they will finish with 75 victories, just two more than last year. Yet over the last 10 years, in each and every season, the division winner has won at least 95 games with the Yankees breaking 100 twice. Even looking at the Wild Card clubs, under the old system where there was just one in each league, Tampa Bay got into the post-season with the fewest number of victories at 91 in 2011. Last year, Baltimore and Texas were the Wild Card teams with 93 wins apiece. Thats how far the Blue Jays have to go. A balanced schedule certainly couldnt hurt, especially when you see the Indians going 17-2 against the White Sox, and Texas putting up the same numbers against Houston. Extra Bases Its such a fine line between winning and losing. A year ago, Baltimore made the post-season in part because they went 29-9 in one-run games. This season, the 0s have 31 one-run losses. Part of that is the fact that Orioles closer Jim Johnson, who was nearly flawless last season, has blown nine saves this time around. When the Red Sox celebrated the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park, which opened in 1912, they were able to bring back a breath-taking array of former stars and even World Series heroes. Next season is the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field in Chicago. Though there are quite a few Cubs legends still with us, I would be shocked if there were any still alive who played the last time they made it to the World Series in 1945. And sadly, there is no one left from the last time they actually won the Fall Classic in 1908, when they didnt even play at Wrigley. Camiseta Seleccion Española Eurocopa 2016 . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Iker Casillas Camiseta .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. http://www.camisetasdefutbolshop.es/ . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Camisetas De Futbol Personalizadas . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. Comprar Camiseta Iker Casillas . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night.Its a nice situation to be in. As the Toronto Argonauts prepare to face their hated enemies from down the QEW, the Hamilton Tiger Cats, in this Sundays Eastern Final, theyre faced with something they havent experienced all season - a healthy receiving corps. There hasnt been one game this season where all five import receivers have been healthy, mainly because newcomer Romby Bryant suffered six broken ribs in a preseason game and wasnt able to get back in the lineup until Week 17. A CFL lineup consists of 42 players. At least 20 must be non-imports, with seven of them being starters. All of a sudden the Argos have a decision to make. Do they dress four or five import receivers? This season the Argos have dressed four import and three non-import receivers. Two of the spots have been filled with starting Canadians, Andre Durie and Spencer Watt, with Mike Bradwell and/or Julian Feoli-Gudino dressing as backups who also play special teams. Is there a chance they could dress five American receivers? "I dont know if were going to make major changes there" said head coach Scott Milanovich. "It will still probably be pretty similar (to what theyve done all season)." If thats the case, the Argos now have to deal with which four import receivers will run through the tunnel to play on Sunday. Here are the options. Chad Owens Theres no doubt he will play. Owens won the leagues Most Outstanding Player award in 2012 and led all CFL receivers with 94 catches this year. Hes also their primary returner. Owens missed all four games of a western road trip due to a rib injury. Dontrelle InmanInman is also a lock. The 62 second-year Argo battled hamstring problems early in the season. Hes back and is a major threat in the red zone. There are very few defensive backs who can beat him on a jump ball in the end zone. Jason BarnesA favourite of QB Ricky Rays, especially in the red zone. The two were teammates for three years in Edmonton before both headed to Toronto in 2012. Barnes had 44 catches this season, with seven of those being for touchdowns, and is the only one of the group that did not miss a game due to injury. John ChilesPerhaps the fastest receiver in the league. Clocked with a stopwatch at a free agent camp this year at 4.24 in tthe 40 (his fastest electronic time being a 4.dddddddddddd29) He stretches defences and is a legitimate game breaker. Of the rookies 44 catches this year, eight were for touchdowns. He missed four games in October with a hamstring injury, but returned to the lineup in the season finale against Montreal. Romby BryantThe six-year veteran is the wild card here. Bryant suffered six broken ribs in an exhibition game this year, finally returning to the lineup late in the season. In Week 18, Bryant caught seven passes, two of them for touchdowns. He also possesses eight games of playoff experience. During Tuesdays practice, judging by the number of reps, Bryant seemed to be the odd man out. After the workout was over, TSN.ca asked Milanovich whether Bryant would be the man who got the short straw when it came to dressing on Sunday. "We have not made that decision yet" said the second-year head coach. "Thats going to be one thats going to take a couple of days in practice (to figure out)." How do they make that decision? "Its a comfort level with the game plan" continued Milanovich. "Its performance based off this week of practice. Its health." Figuring out any changes to the ratio is not a unilateral decision. Milanovich and offensive coordinator Marcus Brady discuss what they need on offence with defensive coordinator Chris Jones. "You have certain guys that you know have played and can play at this level" Jones told TSN.ca. "Those (players) are identified very early during the process of deciding who are going to be the Canadian players for you. Then, of course, injury has to play into the factor; you have to see who is healthy and who is not." The playoff bye week, coupled with most of the veterans being rested for the final regular-season game, have allowed the Argos to become as healthy as they have been all season. It will be interesting to see which receivers and which Canadians will be donning the double blue Sunday as they attempt to get to a second-consecutive Grey Cup final. Mike Hogan is the play by play voice of the Argos on TSN 1050 radio. You can listen to the game at 1pm Sunday on TSN 1050 or TSN1050.ca with a one hour pre-game show kicking off at noon. Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '
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