The Blue Jays are still hanging in there in the American League East. With 63 games left to play, theyre tied with the Yankees at three full games back of Baltimore. Theyre also just 1 1/2 games back of Seattle for the second Wild Card spot. So essentially, the Jays season is down to this. Forty-one of their remaining 63 games are against their own division. Over the last few years, their record against the AL East has turned them into also-rans down the stretch when the schedule toughens up. In three of the past four seasons, their mark at this point was almost identical. In 2012, they were 51-49. In 2011, they were 50-49 and in 2010 they were 50-48-1, with the one being a suspended game. Right now in 2014, they are 51-48. The only exception was last year, when they were actually a little worse at 45-54 on July 23. Of the four previous seasons, with Alex Anthopoulos as GM, the Jays had a winning record after 99 games just once. In 2010, the Jays went (35-29) to finish at 85-77-1. If the Jays can win 35 of their final 63 games this time around, their 86 victories may or may not put them into the postseason. The Blue Jays next 10 games are against the Easts traditional powers - Boston and the Yankees - with both having off-seasons by their standards. The Jays kick off this stretch with four at home beginning Monday night at Rogers Centre against the BoSox. Then its on to New York for three and then to Fenway for three more. Considering they probably wont have Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Lind and Brett Lawrie for at least seven of those 10 games - and perhaps all 10 - its going to be a daunting task indeed. Over the past four seasons, the Blue Jays cumulative record against Boston is only 37-42. Theyve also had a losing record against the Red Sox in three of those four seasons. The only exception being the 2012 season, when the Jays held an (11-7) edge in the year of the Bobby Valentine managerial fiasco. The Jays record against the Yankees over that four year span has been even worse. Theyre 32-50 in all, with 2010 being the only season they had a winning edge at 10-8 and remember the Jays have also dropped 16 in a row at Yankee Stadium. The Jays desperately need to go at least 6-4 or better over the next 10 to tide them over until everyone gets healthy. Then and only then, will John Gibbons and company have a chance at staying in the race for first in the AL East until the end. For the record, the Jays are 18-17 this season against the East, including 4-2 against Boston and 3-6 versus the Yankees. They have 13 left against Boston and 10 with the Yankees. Thats more than a third of their remaining games and they likely hold the key to having any chance of winning the division. Grabbing the second Wild Card slot ahead of Seattle is the emergency safety hatch. The Jays still have seven games left with the Ms - three on the road and four at home. But taking the second Wild Card would likely mean a one game playoff with the As or the Angels out on the West Coast - not exactly the most desirable situation. The Blue Jays Triple A affiliate in Buffalo has lost seven games in a row and is having almost as much trouble most nights scoring runs as the Jays. Just the same, Kevin Pillar - who spent 26 games up with the big club this season - has been on fire. Hes tied for the International League lead in doubles with 27, which would have been the team high for the entire season a year ago. He also leads the Bisons in hits with 87, triples (with three) and is tied for the team lead in stolen bases (15). On the flip side, righty reliever Steve Delabar still hasnt rediscovered his A game. In eight appearances over 10 innings, he is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA with nine strikeouts and six walks. I got asked the other day if I could remember the last Major League player to play at all nine positions in one game. Off the top of my head I could only remember the first two - Bert Campaneris, who turned the trick for the Kansas City As on Sept. 8, 1965, and Cesar Tovar of the Minnesota Twins who accomplished the feat on Sept. 22, 1968 - against (go figure) Campaneris and the As. Playing all nine positions in a game is more of a novelty event, used by teams who are basically playing in nothing games near the end of the season. Its only happened two other times in Major League history, the two I couldnt remember and both happened in 2000. Scott Sheldon and the Texas Rangers were playing at Comiskey and the White Sox blew out to a big lead early and went on to hammer Texas 13-1. Sheldon actually didnt get into the game for the Rangers until the fourth inning, but still managed to play all nine spots on the diamond. That was on Sept. 6. About three weeks later, with the Twins playing Detroit on Oct. 1 - the final day of the regular season - Shane Halter of the Tigers became the most recent Major Leaguer to play all nine positions in one game. Not only that, he went 4-for-5 with four runs batted in. But the two earlier games each had something unique about them - which may be why I remember them so well. When Campaneris pitched in 1965, he pitched lefty-to-lefty hitters and then switched to righty-to-righty hitters. Cesar Tovar actually was the starting pitcher for the Twins in his game in 1968. Will it ever happen again? Maybe not, but I guess we can never say never. If I had to bet on a Blue Jay doing it, it would probably be Steve Tolleson. Randall Cobb Jersey . Sam, who joined the Cowboys in early September, has spent the entire season on the practice roster. Mike Daniels Jersey . The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to arrive in Boston in time for a workout on Tuesday afternoon. Much of Mondays discussion focused on Bostons lineup considerations as the series progresses, specifically when the venue shifts to St. http://www.officialgreenbaypackersfootba...n-jersey-womens. The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal. Muhammad Wilkerson Jersey . Johns IceCaps erased an early two-goal deficit to come from behind and defeat the host Portland Pirates 5-4 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. Jamaal Williams Jersey . "[People] keep asking that question and its not a legit question because we dont have that right, we havent arrived yet," Casey responded. "Weve got to take each game at a time, each possession at a time and look at it that way.TAMPA – The Maple Leafs best player ambled out of the Tampa Times Forum sorting through a gamut of emotions, mostly embarrassment and disappointment for the events of another epic spring of failure. There will be no playoff hockey in the city of Toronto for the eighth time in the past nine seasons. This 18-wheeler veered off the road once and for all on a cloudy and cool night in Tampa, another stunning late-season collapse destroying what seemed all but certain less than one month earlier. "Obviously, Im disappointed – disappointed for Leafs Nation," said Phil Kessel, thick red stubble dotting his face after the teams 10th loss in the past 12 games. "Obviously its not good enough. I havent been good enough for the last 15 games. I need to be better." Boasting 37 goals and 80 points on the year, the 26-year-old carried the Leafs for the better part of two months in early 2014 – along with Jonathan Bernier – helping to mask the troubles of a flawed club en route to 15 wins in 22 games. He had a mesmerizing 35 points in that stretch – not to mention a dominant Olympics. But when he cooled (which was inevitable given the scorching run he was on) so too did the Leafs. Without Kessel and first-line amigos James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak piling up points on the regular and Bernier no longer performing like a superhero (James Reimers struggles notwithstanding), cracks that lingered beneath the surface suddenly became too glaring to ignore amid a losing streak that hit eight sour games. Worrying defensive issues were unmasked for all to see, an endless parade of breakaways and odd-man rushes highlighting the troubles. A dominant power-play fizzled – one big factor in the top lines slowdown – coupling with a bad penalty kill for unsavoury special teams. Support staff behind Kessel, van Riemsdyk and Bozak failed to emerge. And a team that promised to be harder to play against at seasons open remained mostly the opposite. "Obviously we didnt play well enough," Kessel said. "I think both ends of the rink we didnt play well enough. We obviously didnt get it done." Back in mid-March, after a triumphant victory over the Kings – their second on the daunting California triangle – Toronto sat ahead of every team in the East but Boston and Pittsburgh, icing a three-point lead for that matter on Tampa (who is now 11 points up after Tuesdays game). There was talk of home-ice in the first round of the playoffs and a confrontation with either the Lightning or Canadiens. And then another disturbing swoon, from which they could not escape happened. "After that we never got our groove back," Kessel said. "The last 15 games we didnt get it done and thats why Im really disappointed. We just need to be better. Obviously Im not happy the way this has ended here. I dont think anyone is." Kessel has just three goals and seven points in the past 13 games – just four of those coming during the eight-game slide. Perhaps worn down by heavy minutes in an Olympic year, he could no longer shoulder the kind of burden his club required for survival or maybe the bounces, as he always describes them, simply went the other way. The Leafs are just 7-23-3 when their leading scorer fails to record a point. And yet Kessel still sits sixth in league scoring and fifth in goals, boasting the kind of sterling numbers one would expect of a top flight offensive player. There he was though after the sting of another looming spring without playoffs, bearing more than his fair share of the brunt for the second late season collapse in the past three years. It was the kind of accountability required for growth from this kind of wreckage and a sign of leadership from a player not known for anything of the kind. "Obviously Im really disappointed and I feel like Ive let a lot of people down," he said with some emotion. "(The fans) expect a lot from us. They love us. We need to be better these last 15 games. I think everyones pretty disappointed." Five Points 1. Cloud of Emotions A rarity for the Leafs head coach, Randy Carlyle didnt say a word to his team after the 3-0 loss to Tampa, which sealed their playoff fate in conjunction with a Columbus victory. "Numb and shock" were among the emotions Carlyle was experiencing afterward along with extreme disappointment and embarrassment. Why embarrassment? "Because I think we have more than what we were able to accomplish and thats the most troubling issue here is we just didnt find a way to compete to a level that was necessary and execute to a level [that was necessary]," Carlyle said, looking defeated. "We felt that this group coming into the start of the season would be a better hockey club than we had last year and I dont think we proved that." Carlyle, whose future remains cloudy at best, said plenty of time would be taken in the days ahead to analyze what exactly happened and why. "Theres going to be lots of questions and lots of prodding going on on the answers to that," he said. "We dont have the answers right now as to why it happened, but were all responsible. We win and lose as a team and thats basically the way we have to approach it now." 2. PP Demise One of the more prominent factors in the cooling off of the Leafs top line was their inability to score on the power-play after the Olympic break.dddddddddddd Kessel has just one power-play point in the past 23 games and hasnt scored there since Feb. 1. van Riemsdyk, who leads the Leafs with nine power-play markers himself, hasnt scored with the man advantage since Jan. 30 and has gone 24 consecutive games there without even a single point. Torontos power-play went 0-3 against the Lightning and is 8-57 after the Olympics (14 per cent). The unit still ranks fifth overall this season. 3. Not 100% Limited and still dealing with pain in the left ankle which sidelined him for 56 games earlier this season, Dave Bolland did not play Tuesday against the Lightning and may be done for the year. "Whats happened is hes aggravated it and its bothered him," Carlyle said. Carlyle had hoped to employ Bolland more regularly after his return from the injury last month, but the 27-year-old is simply not at 100 per cent. He garnered between 9-13 minutes most nights upon return, even rolling the ankle in some situations according to Carlyle and requiring up to 10 minutes to get back for another shift. Bollands arduous recovery from the severed tendon took longer than was expected, but it appears that even a near five-month absence may not have been enough. The Mimico native is an unrestricted free agent this summer. Its worth wondering whether hell play again for the Leafs with only two meaningless games remaining. 4. Carter Ashton It was more than two years ago that Carter Ashton was shipped from the Lightning organization to Toronto in exchange for towering defender Keith Aulie. And while the 23-year-old has dipped his toes into the NHL waters here and there hes yet to establish himself in any firm capacity. "Its been one of those that when hes come here and played with us his confidence level seems to erode whereas when he goes back to the Marlies hes the best player," Carlyle said of Ashton, a first round pick of Tampa in 2009. Ashton has scored 16 goals and totaled 23 points in 24 games with the Marlies this season, but has yet to score with the Leafs in 47 games, adding just three assists. Part of the disconnect would seem to lie in the opportunity hes been granted under Carlyle. Playing mostly on unskilled fourth lines, Ashton has averaged six minutes per game this season, held under four minutes in nine of 32 games. "We think that we have to bridge some of the opportunity for him and maybe play him a little higher in the lineup versus playing him in the fourth line position," Carlyle said. "Let him play with some skilled players and give him more of an opportunity with minutes in the hockey game." Recalled on emergency status with Joffrey Lupul sidelined for the remainder of the regular season and Bolland sore, Ashton played Tuesday alongside Nazem Kadri and David Clarkson and totaled 12 minutes. "I dont think its a question of my confidence in my abilities," he said. "Its just translating it to the NHL." 5. Check the IR One question rose above all when the Maple Leafs signed Lupul to a five-year extension in Jan. 2013: could the now 30-year-old stay healthy? More than one year later and the answer would be well, sort of. Though hell miss the final the three games of the regular season with a knee injury, Lupul did manage 69 games this season – totaling 22 goals and 44 points – the most hes played in one campaign since 2008-09 when he dressed in 79 games for the Flyers. But over the past three seasons, Lupul will have missed 59 games with a variety of injuries, which include a dislocated shoulder, fractured forearm, concussion, bruised foot, groin tear, and now an injury to the knee. And while well attuned to the maintenance of his body – a transformation that took place as he aged – its worth wondering whether Lupul can stay healthy as he enters his 30s considering the challenge it became in his mid to late 20s. Saturdays game against Winnipeg, which he left because of the knee injury, was the 600th in his career. He underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday. Stats-Pack 8 – Times in the past nine seasons that the Leafs have missed the playoffs. 2-10-0 – Leafs record in the past 12 games. 47 – Career NHL games for Carter Ashton, who still has yet to record a goal. 24 – Consecutive games without a power-play point for James van Riemsdyk. 1 – Power-play point for Phil Kessel since Feb. 1. 0 – Victories in a start for James Reimer since Jan. 21. 8-57 – Toronto power-play after the Olympic break. 3 – Times this season that the Leafs have been shutout. 7-23-3 – Leafs record this season when Kessel fails to record a point. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3Season: 20.3% (5th) PK: 0-1Season: 78.2% (28th) Quote of the Night "Obviously Im really disappointed and I feel like Ive let a lot of people down." -Phil Kessel, on the disappointment of playoff elimination. Quote of the Night II "Because I think we have more than what we were able to accomplish and thats the most troubling issue here is we just didnt find a way to compete to a level that was necessary and execute to a level [that was necessary]." -Randy Carlyle, on why he was embarrassed by the Leafs late season meltdown. Up Next The Leafs conclude their swing through Florida with a Thursday clash against the Panthers. 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