The Toronto Blue Jays got out of the gate with a dismal 10-17 record last season and dug themselves a hole they could never really get out of. Nike Air Max Thea Uomo . Its a scenario they really cant afford to repeat in 2014. Prior to last season, 39 of the last 60 teams that were in first place in their division on June 1 went on to make the post-season. If you look at last years races division by division, there were only two teams that werent in first or second in June who went on to make the playoffs. In the American League West, Texas was in first through April and May with a 34-21 - two games ahead of Oakland. The As went on a 63-32 tear the rest of the way and won the division by five games over the Rangers, who played and lost a sudden death tie-breaker. In the Central, Detroit and Cleveland hit June 1firsy and second in the division with the Tigers leading by a half-game. Detroit wound up taking the division by one game over the Indians. In the East, Boston was on top at 34-23. This is one division where there was a slight exception. Tampa Bay was actually in 4th place heading into the games of June 1 at 30-25. But the Rays were only a half-game back of Baltimore and one game behind the second place Yankees. The Rays finished 61-46 to take second place. The Blue Jays were 23-33 through the first two months and never really came close to getting back in the race, even with that 11 game win streak. In the National League East, Atlanta was 33-22 through April and May and won the division easily with a 96-66 mark. Washington, a pre-season favourite, was 28-28 and missed the playoffs altogether. In the Central, St. Louis got off to a 37-18 start and led the division wire-to-wire on the way to a Major League best 97-65 record. Pittsburgh was third two months in, but overhauled Cincinnati for second place, though both teams won 90 or more and both made the post season. The National League West was the one division where all bets were off after two months. Arizona was on top at 31-24 with a two-and-a-half game lead on the Giants and Rockies. The Dodgers were seven-and-a-half games out through April and May at 23-31. The division practically turned upside down the rest of the way. The D-Backs faded and finished at 81-81 for the second year in a row. San Francisco and Colorado collapsed and both finished 10 or more games below .500. The Dodgers, though, inspired in large part by the arrival of Yasiel Puig went a scorching 69-39 down the stretch and won the division with a 92-70 mark. So it pretty much goes without saying, the Blue Jays need to be at least slightly above .500 through April and May to have any hope of competing in the tough American League East. Their schedule is, by no means, easy with 22 of their 57 games through the first two months against the A.L East, including six against Boston and seven versus Tampa Bay - the two playoff favourites in the division. The Jays only have 10 games over April and May against "lesser" opponents, with three against Houston, three versus Minnesota and a four-game interleague series against Philadelphia. 25 of the 57 are against teams that either made the playoffs last season or were involved in tie-breakers. The Jays also have just one day off in the month of May; a real test of the pitching staff. No team will ever admit theyre out of it after just two months. The Blue Jays didnt a year ago. But in five of the six divisions last season, the two-month mark painted a pretty vivid picture of where teams are really at. The other day I was reading about the new head of the Players Association, Tony Clark, when another name in the article caught my name. It was Steve Rogers, who also works for the Association as a liaison to the players among his many duties. I actually had to double check that it was the same Steve Rogers who once pitched for the Expos. It was. If you get into a conversation with anyone as to who the greatest pitcher in Expos history was, some might suggest Pedro Martinez, who went 55-33 in his four seasons in Montreal. Others might say Dennis Martinez for his perfect game, maybe Bill Stoneman for his two no-hitters or Ross Grimsley for being the Expos first 20-game winner. In my mind, though, it was Steve Rogers. I was surprised to see his career record was only 158-152, but its his other numbers that blow you away. Over 13 seasons, all with Montreal, he pitched over 200 innings in nine of them. Six times he was over 250 innings, four times over 270 and in 1977 when he won 17 games he pitched an incredible 300.2 innings. He actually pitched more innings per season than Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax and had a better career ERA at 3.17 than another Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. Rogers was a five-time all-star and finished second in the rookie of the year voting and one year was second in the Cy Young balloting. It was a different era, but compare Rogers numbers to one of the Blue Jays all-time greats Roy Halladay in a couple of categories. Rogers had 129 complete games and 37 shutouts and Halladay had 67 complete games and 20 shutouts. Rogers, 64 now, had to retire at 35 when his shoulder essentially gave out on him. He is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame at St, Marys and tries to get back for the Induction Ceremonies every year. He concedes he might even have had a shot at Cooperstown if he had been able to pitch another 5-7 years and could have won another 70 games. The Expos only made the playoffs once in their history - 1981. Steve Rogers beat Phillies legend Steve Carlton twice in the division series and then defeated the Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLCS. But say his name today and many will only remember his relief appearance on "Blue Monday" at the Big "0," when he gave up the series deciding homer to the Dodgers Rick Monday. If you look at the numbers and the character of the man, Steve Rogers should be remembered for much more than that. Nike Air Max 90 Uomo . The Scotsman was dismissed only five days after being told by the club he would remain in charge for the "foreseeable future. New Balance 574 Uomo Prezzo .Y. - Henrik Lundqvist wasnt happy going into Game 6 against Montreal. MADRID, Spain -- Atletico Madrid finally got the better of Spanish rival Barcelona on Wednesday as Kokes early goal guided his team to a 1-0 win and into the Champions League semifinals with a 2-1 aggregate victory. Adrian Lopez filled in for injured striker Diego Costa and created the fifth-minute goal after hitting the post, as the Atletico forward headed an ensuing cross on to Koke to fire home. The boisterous atmosphere at the Vicente Calderon Stadium unsettled Barcelona early on, and Atletico striker David Villa hit the woodwork twice within the opening 20 minutes. Barcelona dug in but produced few tangible scoring chances apart from a pair of first-half misses by Lionel Messi. Atletico, which leads Barcelona by one point in the league, reached the last four of Europes top competition for the first time since 1974. The teams had played four previous games this season which all ended in draws, but Atleticos breakthrough kept Barcelona from the semifinals for the first time in seven seasons. "We just have to keep working hard and stay calm because we still havent won anything," said Atletico coach Diego Simeone, whose team will face either crosstown rival Real Madrid, Chelsea, or Bayern Munich in a two-legged semifinal. Bayern beat Manchester United 3-1 on Wednesday to eliminate the English champions 4-2 overall. Adrian replaced Costa after Atleticos star striker failed to recover from a hamstring injury and the little-used forward immediately made a mark by rocketing a shot off the near post just before the opening goal. Adrian eventually headed the ball back across the area for Koke to score from close range to the delight of the capacity crowd. Atletico, feeding off the roar of its home supporters, had Barcelona consistently on the back foot early on and Villa found the post in the 11th-minute. Barcelona controlled possession but Atletico was dangerous on the counter as Villa fired on the run over goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto but off the crossbar -- the teaams third touch of the woodwork. Nike Free 3.0 v4 Uomo. Messi had Barcelonas lone scoring chances of the first half as he headed Dani Alves cross past the near post in the 13th before firing wide past the opposite post near the break after Neymars quick footwork created the chance inside the area. Barcelona took control from the restart as Atletico hung back, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois doing well to poke the ball away at Messis feet as he darted through the area and then recover in time to ensure the ball was deflected over goal in the ensuing scramble. "There was a big difference between one team and another early on. We couldnt string together four or five passes like we needed to," Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said. "If we had managed to equalize we might have been able to play the game we wanted." Adrian was taken off to a rousing ovation in the 61st and replaced by Diego Ribas, who scored Atleticos goal in the 1-1 draw in the first leg. Minutes later, Pinto was diving to save from the Brazilian on a counterattack before Atleticos penalty appeals were waved off when Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano tripped up Villa inside the area. Villa and Gabi Fernandez led another counter in the 70th, only for Pinto to kick out Gabis weak shot. Barcelona failed to muster up anything more and Pinto had to make a late save on Villa to keep it close, but the Catalans could not break through the hosts tight defence. "I thought we deserved the draw," Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said, despite his team managing just five attempts on goal to Atleticos nine. "The game got away from us." After walking off the pitch to loud cheers, the Atletico players re-emerged again to celebrate a memorable victory with the nearly 50,000 fans. "The five games (between Atletico and Barcelona this season) all turned out nearly the same way, there werent any major differences except there was a clear winner this time," Martino said. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '
