The good news is that, heading into Canada Day, the Toronto Blue Jays are still in first place in the American League East. Paris Saint-Germain Jerseys . The bad news is that with 78 games left to play, they have removed almost all of their margin for error. After winning their first five games in June, injuries and a cooling offence caught up with them. They only won seven of their next 22 and finished the month at 12-15, exactly their record in April. In other words, thats two losing months out of three so far this season. Two things are saving them, the general mediocrity of the entire AL East and that brilliant month of May that saw go 21-9. If you go back to 2002, only twice have the Jays headed into July with a better record than the one they have now. In 2006, they were 45-34 and, in 2003, they were 46-37. In the latter, they tailed off to 42-41 the rest of the way and finished at 87-75, while in the former, they went 42-39 down the stretch and finished at 86-76. Both were in the era before the extra Wild Card and, in 2003, they wound up in third place in the division, 15 games back of the Yankees in the East and seven-and-half games out of the Wild Card spot taken by the Boston Red Sox. They didnt fare much better in 2006, finishing three games back of the Chicago White Sox for the Wild Card. Even if there had been a second Wild Card, they would have missed it by a game to the Angels. The Blue Jays will have to go 45-33 the rest of the way to finish with 90 victories, which figures to be around the number they will need to put themselves in the conversation for a post-season berth, division title or a Wild Card. The AL East will probably be won within the division. The Baltimore Orioles have the best record within the East at 22-16, while the Jays and Yankees are both 17-15. The trouble part for the Blue Jays is they are only 3-6 against the Yanks this season and havent won in New York so far this season or in all of last year. Seven of the Jays remaining 10 games against the Yankees are in the Bronx. On the plus side, theyve split with Baltimore thus far in 2014 and six of their remaining nine against the Os are at Rogers Centre. Boston, though still a long shot, is slowly entering the equation again, as well. The BoSox are six out in the East and six out in the Wild Card race. The Blue Jays still have 13 left with Boston, seven at home and six at Fenway. Tampa Bay is pretty much an also-ran now. The Jays still have 12 left with them, including six in September, but Joe Maddons teams arent know for packing it in in the final month. So the Jays will play 44 of their final 78 games in the East, 22 at home and 22 away. Going 26-1) over than span just might be enough to put them in the playoffs if they hold their own in their other 34 games. To break it down even further though, the Blue Jays and T-Bay have the fewest number of home games left of the teams in the East with 37 apiece. The Yankees have the most with 43 and Baltimore has 41. Although the latter two have stumbled a bit in their own parks this season, being at home and travelling less and playing meaningful games in their own facilities could be a sizeable edge in a close race. Boston, too, has a favourable home/road split at 42-38. Then there is the matter of strength of schedule down the stretch. The Blue Jays play 40 of their 78 against teams that currently sport winning records and 38 against teams with losing records. The Yankees, on the other hand at my count, play only 38 against teams above .500 and 44 games against teams below .500. Again, that gives them an edge. The Orioles, though, play 48 games against teams with winning records and only 33 against teams with losing marks. So, the Blue Jays and the Yankees get the edge there. For the Blue Jays, the next five weeks could ultimately tell the tale. In July, they play only nine of their 17 games at home, broken up in the middle by the All-Star Game. After the next two games at home to the Milwaukee Brewers, they hit the road for 10 in 11 days including four at the Oakland Athletics, three at the Los Angeles Angels and, after an off-day, three at Tampa Bay. Then, after a seven-game homestand, they go on another 10-game journey over 10 days that includes three in New York versus the Yankees,three at Fenway against the Red Sox, culminating with four at Houston against the Astros. If they are still in it at that point, the Blue Jays will at least have a shot. Somewhere near the end of that span, Brett Lawrie should be back, as well. - With Milwaukee hitting town, its interesting to compare the numbers of the two guys who were disgraced by PED suspensions that, this year, have been key factors in getting their teams into first place in their respective divisions. The Brewers Ryan Braun, coming off his 50-game suspension of last season, is batting .290 for the N.L Central leaders with 11 homers, 46 RBI, an .849 OPS and 18 walks versus 52 strikeouts. Braun also helped the Brewers cause by agreeing to move to right field this season. Melky Cabrera is having a stand-out season in his own right and has put up almost identical numbers, hitting .299 with 11 homers and 42 RBI, an .809 OPS and 23 walks to 46 strikeouts. Cabrera is playing some strong left field, as well. Both have a decent shot at being at the All-Star game two weeks from Tuesday at Minnesota. - Speaking of the All-Star game, isnt the Home Run Derby starting to feel like the NBA Slam Dunk Contest? Every year it seems many of the bigger stars opt out. This year, American League captain Jose Bautista has to deal with the fact his own teammate Edwin Encarnacion doesnt want to compete and neither does Orioles slugger, Nelson Cruz. Then, White Sox rookie Jose Abreu, who slugged two dingers at Rogers Centre Friday night against the Jays and is one of baseballs emerging stars, isnt inclined to take part either, though, he apparently hasnt entirely closed the door. Good on Jose Bautista for agreeing to be part of this again. But if most of the other sluggers the fans really want to see dont want to be part of it all, then whats the point? Layvin Kurzawa Paris Saint-Germain Jersey .ca. Hello Kerry, After watching Nino Niederreiter clobber Alex Burrows with an open-ice hit on Wednesday, do you think he should have gotten more than the two minutes for interference. Thiago Silva Paris Saint-Germain Jersey . -- Justin Verlander took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and won his fourth straight decision, leading Detroit over the Kansas City Royals 9-4 Sunday and extending the Tigers winning streak to a season-high five games. http://www.parissaintgermainfcstore.com/Women-Alphonse-Areola-Paris-Saint-Germain-Jersey/ .Y. -- Cory Schneider has to make the most of his opportunities to guard the New Jersey Devils net to earn more playing time.Roberto Luongo will looking to erase some painful memories as he leads the Vancouver Canucks against the Bruins tonight. Luongo will be making his first start at the TD Garden since Game 6 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final when he surrendered three first period goals in a potential Cup-clinching game for the Canucks. The Canucks will try to avoid matching their longest winless streak of the season on Tuesday night as they visit the Atlantic Division-leading Bruins. The Canucks have lost four straight in regulation, one setback shy of their longest stretch without a win this season done twice before. Vancouver was able to earn some points over those earlier droughts, going 0-3-2 from Nov. 9-19 and 0-2-3 from Dec. 30-Jan. 7. Vancouver is holding on to the eighth spot in the Western Conference by just a single point over the Phoenix Coyotes and were unable to get a spark from the return of both coach John Tortorella and captain Henrik Sedin on Monday. Tortorella returned to the bench after serving a 15-day suspension for his actions in a game versus the Calgary Flames on Jan. 18, missing six games. Sedin was absent for each one due to a rib injury that halted his consecutive games played streak at 679 and was held off the scoresheet in last nights 2-0 setback to the Detroit Red Wings. Eddie Lack made 28 saves in the second contest of a five-game road trip, but Detroit got eight saves from Jonas Gustavsson in the first period before he exited due to dizziness. Jimmy Howard stopped all 16 Vancouver shots he faced the rest of the way. "We cant buy a win right now," Lack said. "Im trying to do my job and keep us in every game. Its tough." After Detroit scored the games first goal early in the second period, David Booth was hooked on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot. However, Howard turned his chance aside to leave the Canucks and Tortorella frustrated. "We need to change the complexion of our hockey club, either with our play or with different people, because we looked like a slow hockey team tonight," noted Tortorella. "Were going to keep on banging away to try and get better, but its very frustrating to see the same looks. It worries me. Ill leave it at that." One change that could happen tonight is the insertion of defenseman Raphael Diaz into the lineup. He was acquiredd in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on Monday for forward Dale Weise. Kevin Trapp Jersey. Diaz could make his debut with the Canucks tonight after notching 11 assists and a minus-4 rating in 43 games with the Habs this season. Hell help fill a void on the back end left by injuries to Kevin Bieksa (foot) and Christopher Tanev (thumb). The Bruins will host the Canucks to close a four-game homestand and are 6-1-1 in their last eight games. That stretch includes a disappointing and lackluster 4-1 loss to Montreal on Thursday, but Boston rebounded to secure a 4-0 triumph over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. Chad Johnson made 22 saves in his first shutout of the season and second of his career, while Boston scored three times in the third period to break open a close game. Dougie Hamilton started the burst 6:43 into the frame before Carl Soderberg and Torey Krug followed with goals. David Krejci also lit the lamp and Zdeno Chara added a pair of assists for the Bruins, who posted 19 of their 41 shots in the third period. "Well, I think so -- a much better game tonight in all aspects of it," said Bruins head coach Claude Julien comparing the game to Thursdays loss to Montreal. "Thought that goal by Dougie kind of made everybody relax a little bit more and our game seemed to get better after that too." Boston leads the Tampa Bay Lightning by four points for the top spot in the division and will have Chara in the lineup tonight for the last time before the Olympic break. The hulking defenseman will not play on Thursday in St. Louis or Saturday versus Ottawa as he had earlier been selected to carry Slovakias flag during the Opening Ceremonies on Friday for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. The Bruins have lost three of their last four versus the Canucks, including a 6-2 setback on Dec. 14 that marked the first time the two clubs met in Vancouver since Boston won Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. Tuukka Rask got the start for the Bruins, but was pulled early in the second period after allowing four goals on 23 shots. He fell to 0-1-1 with a 3.38 goals against average in his career versus the Canucks. Sedin had a goal and an assist in the victory, while Roberto Luongo posted 39 saves to improve to 12-10-3 in his career versus Boston with a 2.38 GAA and four shutouts. Cheap Heat JerseysCheap Bucks JerseysCheap Timberwolves JerseysCheap Pelicans JerseysCheap Knicks JerseysCheap Thunder JerseysCheap Magic JerseysCheap 76ers JerseysCheap Suns JerseysCheap Blazers JerseysCheap Sacramento Kings JerseysCheap Spurs JerseysCheap Raptors JerseysCheap Jazz JerseysCheap Wizards Jerseys ' ' '