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Admittedly, the Toronto Blue Jays are only seven games into their season and their record is marginally better than a year ago, but some disturbing trends are beginning to emerge. First, lets talk about the positives. Melky Cabrera is back and healthy and has already socked three home runs. Hes also playing the field with far more range and confidence after having that tumour removed from his back. Maicer Izturis is swinging the bat well and Adam Lind and Jose Bautista are off to decent starts. R.A. Dickey and Mark Buerhle each have a quality start (the former also has a shutout) and Drew Hutchison pitched shutout ball for five-and-a-third innings. Still, there are things to be concerned about. The Jays, though they are tied with the Seattle Mariners for second in the American League with eight home-runs, just one behind the Houston Astros of all teams, they are only hitting .216 as a team and their offence ranks ninth in the AL. Brett Lawrie, Edwin Encarnacion, Colby Rasmus and Jose Reyes (injured and on the DL after just one at-bat) have almost been non-factors at the plate. The pitching has been a mixed bag. For instance, the Jays registered two shutouts in their first six games for the first time in franchise history, yet their team ERA ranks 11th at 4.57. Of the teams in their own division, only the Baltimore Orioles are worse at 5.02. Yet, the funny thing is that the Jays lead the American League in strikeouts with 63, though they have played one more game than a number of clubs. Heres one stat that can be a staff killer: Through seven games, the Blue Jays have received 39 innings from their starters. That is only slightly better than the 37 innings they got from their starters over the same seven-game span a year ago. Theyve had to use the bullpen for three innings or more in all but two of their games and, in Dustin McGowans start Friday night in the home opener and Sundays Hutchison start against the Yankees, the relievers had to go six-and-a-third and five-and-two-thirds innings, respectively. A staff simply cant sustain that and hope to contend. Though Dioner Navarro is an upgrade over J.P Arencibia behind the plate, the Jays with Erik Kraatz and Josh Thole having started a game each, as well, have surrended a league-leading 10 stolen bases with only one runner caught. Of their first seven games a year ago (three-game sets with the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox at home and one at Detroit against the Tigers), the Jays lost by four or more runs twice and won another game when they gave up four to Cleveland. This year through seven (four at the Tampa Bay Rays and this past weekends three-game home-opening set against the Yankees), they were beaten twice by at least five runs and have given up at least seven runs three times. In other words, though they are a game better in their record (3-4 versus 2-5), many of the same problems still exist and most trace back to the consistencyand talent of the starting rotation. - Through the first week of the season, five of the six divisions are fairly tightly bunched. From first to last in those five, the gap from first to last is no more than two-and-a-half games, while in the AL East, the Blue Jays with all their questions marks are still just one game back of Tampa Bay, a half-game back of the Yankees and a half-game ahead of both Baltimore and Boston. The surprise team so far in the American League is the Houston Astros. The Astros, who visit the Blue Jays for a three-game series starting Tuesday night, have split the first six games of their season-opening seven-game homestand. They took two of three from the Yankees and are looking for a split of their four-game set with the Los Angeles Angels on Monday afternoon. As mentioned earlier, Houston leads the AL with nine home runs including five on Sunday in a 7-4 victory over the Angels. A couple of interesting things about the Astros: They are using one of the shortest clean-up hitters in Major League history. Their 55" star second baseman, Jose Altuve, is hitting in the four-hole. Scott Feldman, never considered much more than a journeyman, has emerged as the teams number-one starter and is 2-0 out of the gate. The Jays will miss Feldman and promising rookie Jarred Cosart, though, in the three-game set at Rogers Centre. - The Arizona Diamondbacks are the surprise team in the National League for all the wrong reasons. After losing both games in Australia against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the , they set a franchise record to open the season at 1-7 before downing the Colorado Rockies 5-3 on Sunday. The one bright spot for the D-Backs has been the home run-hitting of former Angels slugger Mark Trumbo, who was picked up in an offseason deal with the Halos. He has already hit five roundtrippers, including one in each of the last four games. The Major League record is home runs in eight-straight gamesshared by Dale Long, Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey, Jr. - I saw a great old baseball movie over the weekend, the original Angels in the Outfield. It starred Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh. Made in 1951, it chronicled the struggles of the Pittsburgh Pirates and their beleaguered manager whose lives were turned around and their season saved by a group of baseball spirits. Yeah , it was cute and at times a bit cheesy , but it was worth seeing, if only for the location shots of old Forbes Field in Pittsburgh and cameo appearances by Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb and Bing Crosby, who was a part owner of the Pirates at the time. - I was happy to be on hand at Rogers Centre on Sunday to see Derek Jeter add another chapter to his incredible career. With two hits, he passed former Blue Jay Paul Molitor to move into eighth-place on the all-time Major League hits list with 3,320. He needs 100 more hits in this his 20th and final season to pass Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski for seventh. The Yankees are in town twice more this season, June 23-25 and August 29-31. Frank Ragnow Lions Jersey .A caravan greeted the former Boston Red Sox pitcher at the airport and took him to a public park in Santo Domingo, where a crowd lined a 19-mile stretch of highway to catch a glimpse of him.Once at the park, Martinez went on stage accompanied by players David Ortiz and Robinson Cano as merengue music played and fireworks lit up the sky. Detroit Lions Jerseys . For Sweed, a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, this will be his second go around in the CFL after previously having spent time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. http://www.authenticnfllionslockroom.com...r-Elite-Jersey/. The league-leading New York Rangers outhit and outmuscled the Maple Leafs during a 3-0 victory on Saturday. Backup goalie Martin Biron stopped all 20 shots he faced to complete a nice workmanlike effort by the visitors. Devon Kennard Lions Jersey . -- Michael Bennett gambled last off-season that playing on a one-year deal in Seattle would pay off in the future with the long-term contract he always wanted. DaShawn Hand Lions Jersey .Y. -- Major League Soccer has agreed to new measures to protect gay players from discrimination and harassment as a result of meetings with New Yorks attorney general.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Serena Williams is again the Australian Open champion. The top-seeded American earned her sixth Aussie Open title and 19th career Grand Slam championship with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Maria Sharapova on Saturday at Rod Laver Arena. Williams won in Melbourne for the first time since 2010, finishing the match with an ace in the second-set tiebreaker on her third championship point. She now owns the second-most womens Grand Slam titles in the Open Era, surpassing legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. Only Steffi Graf has more with 22. Standing here with 19 majors is something I never thought would happen, said Williams during the trophy ceremony. Sharapova was trying for a second Australian Open title. She fell to 2-17 lifetime against Williams and has lost the last 16 meetings. I havent beaten her in a really long time, but I love playing her because you want to play the best, said Sharapova. And shes the best. The 33-year-old Williams notched her 65th career title and has captured the last two Grand Slam events, taking the U.S. Open crown last September. Williams had a break point opportunity in the opening game of the match when Sharapova fired a backhand wide. A double fault quickly gave Williams the early advantage. The players were locked at 30-30 in the sixth game when rain forced the closing of the roof. Williams, who was bothered by a cold and a cough, hardly seemed affected by the wait, following an ace with a strong forehand winner to complete the hold for a 4-2 lead. She actually threw up during the delay. I guess theres a first time for anything, said Williams about vomiting. I think in a way that just helped me -- I felt better after that. My chest was really stuck at that point. A double fault gave Williams three break points in the next game, but she only needed one as Sharapova fired a backhand long. Sharapova broke back, but Williams responded to the poor service game with a break at love to take the first set. Williams continued her strong play into the second set with a hold at love, then had two more break points in the next game. Sharapova, though, regrouped and managed to save both before holding. Each player had a break chance midway through the secondd set, but Williams failed to convert her opportunity with a wide backhand in the sixth game and Sharapova sent a forehand wide in the seventh game.dddddddddddd Another Sharapova forehand error gave Williams her first championship point in the 10th game, but the Russian came up with a big serve that Williams barely returned. Sharapova followed with a blistering forehand that drew applause from the American. The match definitely got tough in the second set, said Williams. Maria started playing a lot better. She started being a little more aggressive. I think I got a little more passive. Was just trying to get the ball back in play. But I also started serving better in the second set because I knew if I wasnt having my groundstrokes where I wanted them to be, I knew I could serve it out. After Williams held with an ace, Sharapova held at love to force the tiebreak. Sharapova won the first point of the tiebreak with a forehand return winner, but Williams won the next four to take control. At 6-4, Sharapova came up with a forehand that Williams could not return to save a second championship point. Williams then blasted what appeared to be an ace to win the title, but it was ruled a let. She dropped her racket in disbelief, then followed with the same serve. This one did not tip the tape and she dropped her racket again, but in exultation. I thought after the let, Man, I am not meant to win this tournament. I had a couple of match points. She played great on those match points, said Williams, who excitedly jumped around the court after winning. Sharapova fell to 5-5 all-time in Grand Slam finals, including 1-3 against Williams. The only victory came in the 2004 Wimbledon title match. Williams also beat Sharapova for the 2007 Australian Open crown and for the 2013 French Open title. Its always tough getting to a final stage of an event where its down to two players and you end up the one thats going home with the smaller trophy, theres no doubt about it, Sharapova lamented. No matter how you played, well or not, whatever the score line is, its always tough. But it will be all right. The 27-year-old Sharapovas lone Australian Open championship came in 2008 against Ana Ivanovic. She also lost the 2012 final against Victoria Azarenka. Blackhawks Jerseys Store Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Penguins Jerseys Store Capitals Jerseys For Sale Blues Jerseys Store Cheap Kings Jerseys Adidas Lightning Jerseys Stars Jerseys For Sale Cheap Predators Jerseys Ducks Store Sharks Jerseys For Sale Cheap Sabres Jerseys Rangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '