Heading into this weekends three game set with Tampa Bay, the Blue Jays have 35 games left to play. They have to make up a four game deficit on Detroit for the second Wild Card spot. Theyre also 3.5 games back of Seattle, are tied with the Yankees and are sitting just a half-game ahead of Cleveland. It will take a 23-12 stretch run, just to finish at 88 wins and there is no guarantee even that will be enough, But I suppose the key point is, they are still alive with just 38 days remaining in the season and are still playing "meaningful" ball. I decided to look back at six of Jays most significant seasons to see just how they did from August 15 up until the regular seasons final day. Lets start with 1984, the year the Blue Jays had the best team of their young history. Detroit started out that season 35-5 and looked unbeatable. The Jays, to their credit stayed relatively close for most of the season. In mid-August, they were (68-51), But from that point on they went (21-22) and didnt win two in a row after September 12 to finish at (89-73). In 1985 the Blue Jays won their first division title, eliminating the Yankees and clinching the top spot with a victory over Billy Martin and company on the final Saturday of the regular season at Exhibition Stadium. On August 16th of that season, the Jays were (72-43), while this years Jays were 63-60 on the same date. The Jays went 27-19 down the stretch, though they did drop five of their last six to give the Yanks one last fleeting chance. Bobby Cox and the troops finish with a franchise record 99 victories. 1987 was the year of the heartbreak. The Blue Jays lead the AL East over Detroit with just seven games to play. Rocked by injuries to Tony Fernandez and Ernie Whitt, they dropped all seven including the final three at Tigers Stadium and finished second to Detroit. That year they were 69-48 in mid-August and went (27-18) the rest of the way. In 1989, the Blue Jays won their second division title, and ultimately lost the ALCS in five games to Oakland. Still, the season featured a great stretch run. They were just (60-59) on August 15, two games worse off than they are this season. Cito Gastons crew went 29-14 the rest of the way to take the East with an 89-73 mark. In 1991 they laid claim to their third division title, before losing to Minnesota in five in the ALCS, dropping the last three at home. They did play well over the last six weeks, going 28-18 to finish at 91-71. In 1992 it all came together as they won their first World Series title beating Atlanta in six games. They were 20 games over .500 on August 15 at 68-48 and finished with another 28-18 run to wind up at 96-66, the second best record in club history. In 1993 the Blue Jays made it a repeat by beating Philadelphia in six, winning the series at home on Joe Carters "Touch em all, Joe" walk off homer against Mitch Williams. The Jays went 27-16 down the stretch that season to finish at 95-67. The bottom line is this: If the Blue Jays need to finish at 23-12 at the very least, they have only done that twice before in franchise history in the years they made the post-season. In 1989 when they were won 15 more games than they lost and 1993, when they won 11 more than they lost. Those were decidedly stronger teams and won division titles and the 93 World Series. If the Blue Jays make the playoffs now even as a Wild Card, it would be an epic achievement considering the odds. Cuban Option A number of teams had been monitoring the workouts of Cuban defector Rusney Castillo with the Red Sox agreeing to terms with him on Friday on a reported seven-year, $72.5 million deal. Castillo has a bit of pop in his bat and can play either 2B or CF. It puzzles me why the Blue Jays havent been in on this 27-year-old. They have needs in both those areas, and they wouldnt have to give up anything but money to get him. On The Farm Big night for the kids Thursday night at Buffalo. Lefty Daniel Norris ran his record to 3-0 with the Herd and dropped his ERA to 1.08. He struck out nine over five innings in Buffalos 5-1 victory over Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Norris has 32 strikeouts in 16-plus innings with the Bisons. Anthony Gose batting second and playing right field tied a Buffalo modern record by stealing four bases in the game and 21-year-old Dalton Pompey made his Triple-A debut in front of a crowd of 11,134 batting leadoff and playing centre field. The 21 year old Mississauga, ON-native went 1-for-4, with his first Triple-A hit coming in the fifth inning on a single. At the very least, all three figure to be September call-ups. Black Air Max 2018 Outlet .com) - It appears both the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls will reach the playoffs, but the two squads are coming off losing efforts. White Air Max 2018 On Sale . Dwyane Wade followed a few days later. http://www.wholesaleairmaxsale.com/. Which is to say, the top of this years draft class is not as dynamic or exciting as the 2013 class of Nate MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones and its not as strikingly promising as the highly-anticipated 2015 slate of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin. Cheap Air Max 2018 . No surprise there. Kershaw, who also earned the title after throwing his first career no-hitter in June, had a 1. Mens Air Max 2018 Grey . Top-seeded Djokovic swept to a 6-1, 6-3 win over 51st-ranked Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in just 57 minutes, but fourth-seeded Federer had to see off a serious challenge from 48th-ranked Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic before coming through 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-3.The post-Olympic NHL is buzzing with rumors of trade talk between the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning involving some significant pieces – Ranger captain Ryan Callahan and Lightning captain Marty St. Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less.2. The real question, though, is what is the latest and greatest information. Or, in other words, is this a story that is a couple of weeks old, just now finally coming to light and perhaps outdated? If its the latter, and either Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman doesnt intend to trade St. Louis or St. Louis doesnt want to be traded (he has a full No Move Clause), one or both of them may want to put the kaibosh on this story real fast now that theyre back from Sochi. Thats their call, but the Lighting are an Eastern Conference contender and letting this take on a life of its own is going to make for an unsettled week to 10 days leading up to the March 5 trade deadline. Ultimately, the larger issue is where is St. Louiss mindset at right now? Does he want to remain captain of the Lightning? There is reason to believe in the immediate aftermath of his Jan. 7 snub from the Canadian Olympic team, in some form or another, St. Louis indicated to the Bolts he may look favorably on a move out of Tampa. We have to be careful here not to get too hung up on semantics. Was it a trade demand? A trade request? A conversation? Was it St. Louis speaking directly to Yzerman or was it some form of communication between St. Louiss agent Lewis Gross and the organization? While none of the principals were confirming or denying anything in those days and weeks after the initial snub, talk in the NHL community was rife that St. Louis wanted out. There was even talk – again, nothing with an absolute confirmation -- that the only place St. Louis would waive his No Move Clause for was the New York Rangers. His off-season hhome is just outside NYC, in Connecticut.dddddddddddd If the NYR or bust account is accurate, it would certainly explain the St. Louis rumors coming out of NYC the last few days and the talk of Callahan for St. Louis. But heres the problem on that front. Tampa, especially now that Steven Stamkos is closer to returning, is a potential Eastern contender. St. Louis is a huge part of the Lightning attack and if you take a primary offensive catalyst out of the Bolts lineup now, its difficult to believe it could be accomplished with Ranger captain Callahan coming the other way on an expiring contract. Yzerman would want and need more from the Rangers than that. And as long as we presume the Lightning want to remain a contender in the East this season, trading St. Louis for future considerations or younger, unproven players presents its own set of unique problems in the short term. As for the Rangers, theyre not about to start giving up draft picks, prospects or young players for a 38-year-old. So the Tampa-NYR fit doesnt appear to be there. Even if there were a fit, when its all said and done, nothing happens if St. Louis doesnt want it to happen. His NMC guarantees that. If he feels more strongly about staying in Tampa now that hes played for Team Canada in the Olympics than he may have in the aftermath of the Jan. 7 snub, then the trade stories out of NYC are old news recycled as new. But if St. Louis would look favorably on a move now, even if its only to NYC, then the ball is back squarely in the Lightnings court to decide if theres any desire to oblige him and whether theres even a deal to be made. The way I see it, Yzerman isnt making any move in the short term unless it totally suits his purposes and IF he is contemplating trading St. Louis, it may make as much or more sense to do it in the summer as now. Or maybe St. Louis and the Lightning are going to live happily ever after. If thats the case, theyll no doubt let us know. Or not. In the meantime, well just sit tight to see how this one plays out but it sure seems as though it has way too many moving parts. ' ' '