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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 movie 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 Air Max Wholesale China .The Dallas Cowboys released Sam from the practice squad Tuesday, dropping the rush end as they prepare for several potential reinforcements to return to the defensive line. Cheap Air Max China . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. http://www.airmaxchinacheap.com/ . Jeter doubled high off the left-field wall and scored on Jacoby Ellsburys first hit in pinstripes in the fifth. Hiroki Kuroda (1-1) pitched 6 1-3 sharp innings in the Yankees 112th opener in New York. In what manager Joe Girardi said would be a season-long lovefest for Jeter, the shortstop was cheered every step of the way by an adoring crowd of 48, 142 -- even when his double-play grounder back to Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez (0-2) scored Solarte in the third inning for the first run. Air Max Cheap China . Nick Young scored 17 points for Los Angeles, which lost five of its last seven before trouncing the Pelicans, who beat them handily last week in New Orleans. Jodie Meeks and Xavier Henry scored 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who led by 20 points in the first half before coasting to their 12th win in their last 13 regular-season meetings with New Orleans. Air Max China Cheap . Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics.PHILADELPHIA -- Flyers coach Craig Berube was already getting ready for a shootout. "I honestly was ready to pull out my lineup card," he said. Claude Giroux made sure it wasnt needed. Giroux scored at 4:55 of overtime to give the Flyers a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Giroux received a pass from defenceman Mark Streit and carried the puck over the blue line before letting a shot go from just above the right faceoff circle, beating Antti Raanta high to the blocker side. "I went on the ice with maybe 15 seconds, 20 seconds, so I knew there wasnt a lot of time," Giroux said. "I was just trying to shoot as hard as I could to net. I didnt really aim, to be honest. I just shot it on net." Giroux had previously assisted on a Scott Hartnell goal in the first period for a two-point night. Since Chicago and Philadelphia last met on Dec. 11, in a 7-2 Blackhawks rout of the Flyers, no one in the league has been hotter Giroux. Hes led the league with 51 points in 39 games. Asked about his captains play over the past two months, Berube said, "Hes been playing well for longer than that, I think. Hes playing hard. Hes really, skating, attacking. Hes leading our team. "It starts on the bench. Hes vocal. Hes really into all the time. He does a good job of keeping everybody going." The Flyers needed that kind of leadership after a poor start. Chicago opened an offence-filled first period with two goals just 3:51 into the game. The first came when Andrew Shaw chipped a loose puck near the crease over goalie Ray Emery (23 saves) -- the result of a Brayden Schenn turnover at the other end. Less than 90 seconds later, Duncan Keith, the wide-open recipient of a pass from Jonathan Toews, overpowered Emery with a slap shot from the top of the slot. But the Flyers rebounded thanks to two goals from Hartnell, one set up by Giroux and the other by the Blackhawks. Parked behind the net, Hartnell attempted a pass that caromed off Blackhawks centre Marcus Kruger and found its way into the net off the left pad of Raanta at 5:48. Then at 16:27, Giroux walked out from behind the Blackhawks net and found Hartnell for a one-timer to tie it at 2-2. The goals were Hartnells 17th and 18th of the season. Following an exciting opening period, the pace slowed in the seecond, when neither team scored.dddddddddddd Flyers forward Vinny Lecavalier was involved in two chances that nearly broke the tie in the third. His breakaway attempt with 7:40 remaining was turned away by Raantas right pad, and Schenns almost-goal just over a minute later was waved off when referees ruled Lecavalier touched the puck with a high stick on its way to the net. The Flyers nearly beat Raanta late in regulation, but neither Steve Downie, from a bad angle, nor Schenn, trying to redirect Downies shot on the far post, could put a Hartnell rebound into an open net. But after finding the post twice in regulation, Giroux finally beat Raanta in overtime. "It seems like the endings here have been pretty amazing," said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, whose team won the Stanley Cup in Game 6 in OT at Wells Fargo Center in 2010. "Tough ending, but a pretty entertaining game ... a pretty intense game." A victory would have given Quenneville the 700th win of his career. His total of 699 is the most among active coaches and the third-most all-time, behind only Al Arbour (782) and Blackhawks senior adviser of hockey operations Scotty Bowman. But rather than pull out a win for their coach, the Blackhawks extended a 10-game, regular-season losing streak in Philadelphia, dating back to Nov. 9, 1996. Quenneville will try again for No. 700 on Wednesday when Chicago returns home to host the St. Louis Blues, whom the Blackhawks trail for first place in the Central Division by eight points. "Obviously, it will be a huge game for us," Quenneville said. "Itll be exciting for us to get to play these guys. I see our team responding and being excited. "Maybe we can chip away and try to catch them (for the division lead), but right now it doesnt look so hot." Notes: Scratches for the Flyers included defencemen Erik Gustafsson and Hal Gill and forward Jay Rosehill. Scratches for the Blackhawks included defencemen Michal Rozsival and David Rundbland and forward Brandon Saad. ... Despite entering the game with two units ranked in the leagues top 10, neither team could take advantage of the man advantage, going a combined 0 for 8 on the power play. ... The overtime win was the Flyers first at home in nearly a year. They topped the Washington Capitals 5-4 on March 31 of last season. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '