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The Chicago Cubs have been taking a lot of heat lately. First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". But the bigger target was the franchises owners of the past four years, the Ricketts family. Under their stewardship, the Cubs have compiled a record of 273-375 and havent come close to being a contender in any of the four seasons. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein felt compelled over the weekend to defend the Ricketts, saying at the Cubs Fans Convention in effect they were absorbing short term pain for long term gain. Epstein explained that the Ricketts had a long term plan that would ensure success for the organization. Last I looked, the Cubs havent won a World Series since 1908 and havent been in a Fall Classic since 1945. Thats not the point of this story though. I decided to compare the Blue Jays record to that of the Cubs over the last four seasons. The Cubs are 273-375. Thats an average of a little more than 65 victories per season. The Blue Jays are better but not by a significant amount. Their record from 2010 thru 2013 was 313-335. So the Jays averaged a bit more than 75 victories per season. Thats 10 more per season over the four years, but still under .500 and still nowhere near a post-season position. The Blue Jays record of futility in nowhere near that of the Cubs, but just the same, they havent been to the post-season since 1993, a stretch of 21 seasons. Over that span Kansas City is the only other Major League club that hasnt made the playoffs. The Blue Jays record since Rogers acquired the club consists of five winning seasons, eight losing seasons and one .500 campaign. The Cubs may be breaking their fans hearts, but the Blue Jays are hardly inspiring the planning of victory parades either. The Days of Key When the Dodgers signed their ace lefty Clayton Kershaw to that massive seven-year $215 million contract last week, it brought back memories of a veteran left-hander the Blue Jays had to make a decision on back in the off-season of 1992. Jimmy Key wasnt in the same talent class as Kershaw, but he will go down as one of the top pitchers in Blue Jays history. In nine seasons with the organization he went 116-81 with a 3.42 ERA. Key was to become a free agent after the 92 season. He and his agent wanted at least a four-year contract. Blue Jays GM Pat Gillick had a steadfast policy at the time of giving no more than three years to starting pitchers. So sure enough, Key left, signing a four-year deal with the Yankees. He was outstanding in his first two years in New York, and in fact led the American League in the strike-shortened 1994 season with a 17-4 mark and a 3.27 earned run average. In 1995 though, he blew out his arm and missed almost the entire season. Key bounced back strongly in 1996 though, and actually outdueled Hall of Fame-elect Greg Maddux to beat Atlanta in the final game of the World Series. That would be his final game as a Yankee and earned him a second World Series ring. Jimmy Key would sign with Baltimore for 1997, where Gillick was now in charge and would finish out his career with the Orioles. In an ideal world Key would have pitched his entire career in Toronto. I still distinctly remember three landmark starts in his career, that helped define the pitcher and the man he was. On the final day of 1987 season at old Tiger Stadium, the Blue Jays had dropped six straight games and needed a victory on that last Sunday over the Tigers to force a tie-breaker with Detroit. Key engaged in an epic pitchers duel with Detroit southpaw Frank Tanana. Detroit won the game 1-0 on Larry Herndons home run that barely cleared the low fence in left. The Tigers went to the ALCS against Minnesota and the Blue Jays went home. In 1991, the Jays were facing Minnesota in the American League Championship Series. The organization made the decision to go with knuckleballer Tom Candiotti in the opener at the Metrodome against Jack Morris. Many felt Key should have been given that start. Just being around Jimmy as long as I had been, I could see how angry if not crushed he was at the snub. Candiotti was horrid in that game and the Twins got the quick jump in the series. Key finally did start in Game 3 with the series tied at a game apiece. Jimmy pitched six innings of two-run ball, but got saddled with a no-decision. The Twins ultimately won 3-2 in 10 innings on Mike Pagliarulos homer off Mike Timlin. Minnesota would go on to take the series in five games. I said to myself after that series that resigning Key would be next to impossible after he was passed over for that Game 1 start. To his credit, Jimmy put all that behind him and had a strong season in 1992. The game I will never forget was Game 4 of the World Series against Atlanta. Key was at his absolute best and went 7.2 innings against the Braves. When he walked off the mound towards the dugout, he received an incredible ovation and tipped his cap. I just felt at that moment, and Im sure Jimmy did too, that it was his final performance as a Blue Jay. As mentioned earlier, Key signed that four-year deal with the Yankees in the off-season, and the Jays took a fair amount of grief for letting him go. To this day I cant remember any other Blue Jays player who ended his time in Toronto with a moment like that. First Impressions Drake did an incredible impression of Alex Rodriguez on Saturday Night Live. If they ever do a ................... about this sordid tale, Drake can play A-Rod and actor/comedian/radio host Jay Thomas can play Anthony Bosch. Thomas played Carlas second husband, the hockey player Eddie Lebec on Cheers. His character died when he was run over by a Zamboni, and Thomas bares an uncanny resemblance to Bosch. First Date The Blue Jays season opener at Tropicana Field against the Tampa Bay Rays has an unusual starting time. They kick off the season at 4:10 in the afternoon in the opener of a four-game series on March 31. Cheap China Jerseys . Terry came from Boston along with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce but has appeared in just 35 games after a knee injury, averaging 4.5 points on 36 per cent shooting. Evans was a favourite of fans but not coach Jason Kidd, who used him in just 30 of their 51 games. Wholesale China Jerseys . That still leaves a big ......................You dont replace the leadership, defensive co-ordinator Billy Davis said. You just dont. Leadership is something that is earned over time. http://www.chinajerseysatwholesale.com/. Ortiz hit a pair of two-run homers, including his 400th shot in a Red Sox uniform, and drove in a career high-tying six runs to power Boston past the Houston Astros 10-7 on Saturday night. China Jerseys Cheap Authentic .Do you have to be that close? Federer snapped at a TV cameraman hovering nearby as he received medical advice after losing a set on Wednesday.For Nadal and Sharapova, the nuisance was coming from the lowly-ranked qualifiers across the net. China NFL Jerseys . However, the intensity and physicality that has characterized the postseason so far has caught Gretzky by surprise. "Its a little bit risqué right now," Gretzky told Philadelphia radio station 97.Every year around this time, that question gets trotted out once more: When will a Canadian win the RBC Canadian Open? Its a difficult question that has no answer, really. It will happen when it happens. To give it some perspective, a Canadian hasnt won on the PGA Tour since Stephen Ames captured the Childrens Miracle Network Classic in 2009. So perhaps the first question we ask should be - when will the drought of a Canadian winning anywhere on the PGA Tour end? For a Canadian to win the Open at home, it means having his game peak on one particular week, on a course they may or may not like, while being pulled in many different directions by media, sponsors and friends while defeating a field of international stars that wont be laying down just because a guy has a maple leaf on his bag. Its a tall order, for sure. "Ive played I think 100 tour events, or 99 tour events in my career," said Graham DeLaet, the highest ranked Canuck in the world, "and I have yet to win one so I guess it would have to be a little bit of luck for it to happen here, but I feel like Im close to my first win and thered be no better place to do it than here." "I think winning a PGA Tour event is difficult let alone to do it here in Canada for a Canadian," added David Hearn. "That being said, this would be a wonderful place for it to happen. Such wonderful history at Royal Montreal. It would be an ..... achievement and something special. So if its not me Ill be pulling for another Canadian to do it as long as Im not the one in second." Yup, there is some symmetry with all this. The last Canadian to win the Open on home soil was Pat Fletcher, who spent much of his career as the head professional at Royal Montreal. And this club was where this tournament started, back in 1904 when just a handful of professionals and amateurs teed off in the pouring rain. Canadians have come close in the past. One of the first Opens I covered was in 1988, when Dave Barr tied for fourth. He was the leader in the clubhouse on Sunday afternoon when a massive thunderstorm rolled in and stopped play. When it resumed on Monday morning, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees and the wind was howling. I didnt think anyone could get in the house and defeat Barrs score but Ken Green did it to win. In 2004, Mike Weir came about as close to winning as possible when he lost in a playoff to Vijay p;Singh.dddddddddddd That was in front of a ramped-up crowd that more or less expected it to happen. It was as if there was a hockey game going on at the 18th green. Weir understands perhaps better than anyone what it would take for a Canadian to win. "To end it, you just have to play great golf," he said. "Theres good competition here and great players and you just have to play four solid days and you have to do what you can do as a player. You have to know your own game. You have to know your strengths and weaknesses and try to minimize the mistakes, but you have to have fun too." In 2011, the unheralded Adam Hadwin shocked just about everyone – including himself – by nearly taking the title. He was just a PGA Tour Canada member at the time. He says that the attitude every player needs to take is that anythings possible. "Why not?" he asked. "Its not impossible, thats the way you look at it. Obviously, like you said, I dont think anyone expected me to do what I did in 2011, maybe including myself. I might have surprised myself back there at Shaughnessy, but if you put it together, why not?" But perhaps to get a different perspective, we need to go outside the Canadian perspective. Jim Furyk won his national championship but says that for a Canadian to do it would be massively more difficult just due to the outside pressure that gets put on them. "Its hard to win a national open, its hard to win a big tournament," he said, "but any time one of those guys gets close it becomes such a focus, it makes it that much more difficult." However its not as if the non-Canadians wouldnt like to see it happen. Brandt Snedeker won last years RBC Canadian Open and his caddie, Scott Vail, hails from Oshawa, Ont. He saw the joy on his bag-toters face after they combined to capture the Open. "I can imagine winning a US Open what that would feel like to me," he said, "talking with Scott after last year, winning his national Open. It would mean the world to Graham or David or any other Canadian up here so if I cant win Im pulling of a Canadian to win because its a big deal for them and I know it would be special to see that get done." Will it happen this week? The odds say its difficult, but not impossible. But if nothing else, Id love it to happen so I dont have to ask the question again next year. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '