RW Hornqvist skated on his own and there is a possibility that

The Blue Jays have had an incredible month of May - no two ways about it. With two games still to play, they are 20-8 including a nine-game win streak that came to an end at the hands of the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night at the Rogers Centre in 10 innings. If they win the last two games in May against KC, they will close out the month at 22-8. A year ago only four teams had a singular month better than that, three in the American League and one in the National League. Three of the four made the post-season and the other, the Texas Rangers, made it to the knockout tie-breaker and lost out in Game 163. The Tampa Bay Rays were the best going 21-5 in June, while the Cleveland Indians were a scorching 21-6 in a pressure-packed September run. The Rangers were 20-7 in August. The Blue Jays best month in 2013 was June where they finished 17-9, including an 11-game win streak. but they quickly faded after that. The Dodgers actually put together the most incredible short-term run on the way to winning the NL West. On June 20, they were sitting 12 games below .500 and there was talk skipper Don Mattingly was on the verge of being fired. Then, almost coincidentally with the arrival of Yasiel Puig , they went 8-1 to close out June, followed by a League best 20-6 in July and 23-6 in August. That in total is a fabulous 51-13 run that led them to finish the campaign at 90-72. Im not saying one 20-win month guarantees you a playoff spot. Injuries can undermine all that momentum, but one huge month can provide a team with an incredible boost of confidence and provide a bit of a cushion for the inevitable cold spells as the season unwinds. Heres something else. I know the season is only one-third over, but I cant remember the last time the Blue Jays had contenders for four major awards. Edwin Encarnacion for MVP, Mark Buehrle for Cy Young, Melky Cabrera for Comeback Player of the Year and, possibly, Casey Janssen for Fireman of the Year ( 8-for-9 in save opportunities, so far) and, if Edwin werent my pick for MVP, Jose Bautista would be right there, too. A lot can change over the course of the final fourth months of the season, but you cant ignore all of the positives coming out of the Blue Jays camp after all those years wandering in the wilderness. - There has been plenty of talk about the Blue Jays trying to pry right hander Jeff Samardzija loose from the Chicago Cubs to shore up the rotation and possibly push the Blue Jays over the top. Well, Alex Anthopoulos made it pretty clear on Thursday, the Blue Jays wouldnt be making any trades until July at the earliest and could wait up until the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. This wont really make any difference as far as possible dealings with the Cubbies go this season, but in their entire 37-plus years history, the Blue Jays have only made six trades with the Cubs. Only one really included a significant name player from a Blue Jays standpoint. On December 10, 2001, Gord Ash, embarking on his final season as Jays GM, dealt shortstop Alex Gonzalez to the Cubs for lefty reliever Felix Heredia and a player to be named later, who turned out to be 3B/SS prospect Jim Deschaine who never made it to the Majors. Heredia only spent one season with the Jays before leaving as a free agent. Alex spent two-plus years with Chicago and even went to the playoffs with them in 2003, the year of the " Bartman" catch down the left-field line, that helped the then Florida Marlins rally to win that NLCS in seven games and ultimately go on to beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. Some Blue Jays fans believe George Bell was dealt to the Cubs. Not so, as he left the Jays and signed with the Cubbies as a free agent on December 6, 1990. On March 30, 1992 Bell was swapped across town to the White Sox for reliever Ken Patterson and, yes, Sammy Sosa who would go on to become a tainted legend with the Cubs. That is to this day considered to be the worst trade in White Sox history. Outside of teams that have never won the World Series, the Cubs have the worst Fall Classic legacy. They are 2-8 all-time and, since winning their last World Series over the Detroit Tigers in 1908, they have won only one playoff series since when they edged the Atlanta Braves in a five-game NLDS in 2003. They dropped seven-straight World Series appearances between 1910 and 1945 and their all-time playoff win-loss record is 27-54. If thats not enough, they have the worst record in the Majors this season at 19-32 and are sitting in last place in the NL Central 11-and-a-half games back of the Milwaukee Brewers and the season isnt even two months old yet. - Friday night at Dodger Stadium, Josh Beckett will be the latest to try and equal a record that most feel can never possibly be broken. Beckett will have the chance to throw a second-straight no-hitter when the Dodgers host Francisco Liriano and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds made history within a four-day span in June of 1938. On June 11, the 23-year-old lefty, in his first full season in the Majors, pitched a no-hitter against the Boston Braves, then known as the Bees. It was the first no-hitter by a lefty since 1931. Four days later at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Vander Meer was the Reds starting pitcher in the first night game ever in New York in front of a sellout crowd of 48,000. "Vandy" was outstanding again. He almost lost it in the ninth when he walked the bases loaded with one out, but he got a force out at the plate for the second out and then got Leo Durocher to fly out to end the game. Though he was a four-time All-Star and was one of a handful of pitchers to lead his league in strikeouts three years in a row, he finished with a 119-121 record and a 3.44 ERA with 29 career shutouts, He also has the ever-lasting fame that goes with back-to-back no-hitters. Josh Beckett gets his shot at immortality on Friday night. Cheap Adidas Shoes Free Shipping . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. Adidas Shoes Cheap Uk . Mission accomplished. Now the Royals will take the field on Saturday with a World Series lead for the first time in team history when they play Game 4 of the Fall Classic against the Giants at AT&T Park. http://www.cheapadidasshoesuk.com/ . The 29-year-old Mills started three games for Oakland this season, posting a 1-1 record with a 4.41 earned-run average. He opened the season appearing in 14 games and making 12 starts for the Milwaukee Brewers triple-A affiliate in Nashville, posting a 4-2 record with a 1. Cheap Adidas Shoes Wholesale . Smiths former Atlanta teammates were glad to hang on for an ugly win. Cheap Adidas Shoes .cas NHL Play of the Year showdown continues today with a man whos spent most of his career on highlight reels and a goalie actually "reaching back" for a save.Anaheim Ducks The team signed G Ilya Bryzgalov to a one-year, $3 million contract Tuesday. He will be practicing with the Norfolk Admirals (AHL) on a conditioning assignment. - @AnaheimDucks Corey Perry has a knee sprain and will miss the next three to four weeks. - @AnaheimDucks Boston Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara is skating with the team for the first time since October 23. - @NHLBruins C David Krejci is back at practice, but has not been cleared to play yet. - @NHLBruins LW Daniel Paille and C Carl Soderberg both have viruses and missed practice this morning, while LW Simon Gagne is on a personal leave of absence. - @NHLBruins Buffalo Sabres D Tyson Strachan was absent from the morning skate. - @BuffaloSabres G Jhonas Enroth appears to be tonights starting goalie against the Kings. - @BuffaloSabres Calgary Flames F Sven Baertschi has been sent to the Adirondack Flames (AHL) - Calgary Flames LW Mason Raymond is back in the lineup tonight against the Leafs. - Calgary Flames Chicago Blackhawks F Jeremy Morin was sent to the Rockford IceHogs (AHL) for a conditioning assignment. - Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Sharp returns to the lineup tonight against the Devils. - @NHLBlackhawks F Joakim Nordstrom has been sent to the Rockford IceHogs (AHL). - Chicago Blackhawks Colorado Avalanche RW Borna Rendulic will be playing tonight. - @Avalanche Columbus Blue Jackets F Brandon Dubinsky will make his season debut tonight against the Flyers after being activated from IR. - @BlueJacketsNHL Edmonton Oilers C Boyd Gordon will be out for at least the next two games. - Jack Michaels, @EdmontonJack D Brandon Davidson from the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) has been called up and will join the Oilers in time for tonights game. - @EdmontonOilers G Ben Scrivens will start tonight in San Jose. - @EdmontonOilers Los Angeles Kings F Paul Bissonnette signed a professional tryout with the Manchester Monarchs (AHL) on Tuesday. – @MonarchsHockey Minnesota Wild G Josh HHarding was hospitalized due to dehydration over the weekend while playing for the AHL Iowa Wild.dddddddddddd The incident was related to his MS condition. - Star Tribune D Ryan Suter will be returning to the lineup tonight vs the Islanders. - Minnesota Wild Montreal Canadiens Coach Michel Therrien confirmed that D Nathan Beaulieu will play tonight against the Canucks. - @CanadiensMTL New Jersey Devils G Keith Kinkaid has been recalled from the Albany Devils (AHL) while G Scott Clemmensen was sent down. - @NHLDevils F Patrik Elias has been placed on IR, while F Reid Boucher has been recalled from Albany Devils (AHL) - @NHLDevils F Mike Cammalleri and F Dainius Zubrus will not play tonight vs Blackhawks. - @NHLDevils New York Islanders C Casey Cizikas has been placed on injured reserve. - @NYIslanders G Jaroslav Halak, D Lubomir Visnovsky, and LW Josh Bailey are all in tonights line-up for New York. - @NYIslanders New York Rangers F Anthony Duclair has officially been loaned to Team Canada for the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship. - @NYRangers D Henrik Tallinder has agreed to remain in Hartford with the AHL Wolf Pack on tryout for another week.- Larry Brooks, @NYP_Brooksie Pittsburgh Penguins D Kris Letang practiced with the team on Tuesday, while RW Patric Hornqvist and D Olli Maatta are both absent. - @penguins RW Hornqvist skated on his own and there is a possibility that he could return to the lineup by Friday against the Flames. - @penguins San Jose Sharks F Melker Karlsson has been recalled from the Worcester Sharks (AHL). F Tyler Kennedy has been placed on IR, while G Troy Grosenick was sent back down to Worcester. - @SanJoseSharks Washington Capitals F Aaron Volpatti is scheduled to practice this week as he recovers from injury. - @CapitalsPR G Braden Holtby will be starting tonight against the Lightning. - @WashCaps Vancouver Canucks G Ryan Miller will be starting tonight in Montreal against the Canadiens. - @VanCanucks ' ' '