Schwarzesbrett » And in fairness, I was looking forward to getting

Before tonights Toronto Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre, when the American League East leaders host last years National League pennant winners, the St. Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years. The return of these former stars comes at an apt time. For fans of the Blue Jays, its starting to feel a lot like those glory days again. Heading into Fridays game, the Jays sit at 37-24 with a five-and-a-half-game lead on the second-place Baltimore Orioles. The last team the Blue Jays held such a lead atop the division was in 1985, the year of their first-ever AL East triumph. Its easy to see why theres excitement surrounding this Jays team, but before everybody goes and books their flights to San Francisco for the World Series in October, lets step back and take a good look at these Toronto Blue Jays. Is it time to stop saying "Well, its early" and officially deem them contenders? Is the 2014 version of the Jays just the 2013 one that was expected all along, but a year late on arrival? Or will reality catch up with a team that is currently playing above its station? Friday night marks Game 62, and an even 100 games remain in the regular season. While its not exactly the halfway mark, its as good a time as any to reflect on the interesting dichotomy of the Jays season, thus far. Obviously, there have been plenty of key performances from the top of the roster on down. Mark Buehrle leads the league in wins with 10 and has a paltry 2.10 ERA. Edwin Encarnacion launched 16 jacks in May and made every at-bat a must-see event. Jose Bautista is in the midst of an MVP-calibre season. Melky Cabrera has bounced back from offseason surgery and looks headed to another All-Star Game. Jose Reyes once again looks like the catalyst he was for the New York Mets. Picked up from the Milwaukee Brewers scrap heap, Juan Francisco is one of the five Jays with double-digit home run totals. There is a lot to like right now. But before the Jays were sweeping the likes of the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics and tearing the cover off the baseball with reckless abandon and going 17-4 over its last 21 games, this team was once a very average 20-20. Its bullpen is still second-last in the bigs with a 4.62 ERA, having surrendered a league-worst 97 earned runs. Now second in the AL with 19 home runs, Encarnacion couldnt buy a hit in April and had just two homers. Reyes, Adam Lind and Casey Janssen missed significant time. Brandon Morrow and Colby Rasmus are down again. There were red flags all over this team not that long ago, but those have been seemingly swept aside in a tidal wave of power-hitting and timely pitching. Has this changed your expectations for the rest of the year? With April and early May indicating that the team was headed for another year of mediocrity, the fact that the Jays are division-leaders with the third-best record in baseball in June is quite frankly shocking. But wasnt this the Toronto Blue Jays team that was promised last season after a winter of major trades and free agent acquisitions? Maybe this run that the Jays are on isnt the aberration. Perhaps, last season and the beginning of this year was the outlier. Regardless of why its happening and how long it will last, the Blue Jays are currently playing meaningful baseball and its a welcome change for fans starving for a winner. So with 100 games left in 2014, just who are these Toronto Blue Jays and what happens from here on out? As always, its Your Call! 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Messis public relations firm confirmed Spanish media reports that the state prosecutor has asked for Messi to be dropped from the investigation that began in June 2013. Harold Reynolds Mariners Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla.Rory McIlroy lifted his spirits as he bounced back from a flat opening day with a second-round 68 at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. McIlroys first-day 75 was his worst score in 29 rounds over the Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, but he rallied early on Friday morning and carded six birdies against a pair of bogeys to move to one under for the event.The defending champion offset a birdie at the second by dropping a shot at the short fourth for the second day running, but he suddenly found his range with the putter and reeled off three consecutive birdies from the sixth. Rory McIlroy moved up the leaderboard with a second-round 68 The 27-year-old bogeyed the ninth, but he emulated Thursdays birdies at 14 and 18 in an error-free inward nine, holing out on the last an hour before the final pairing of Lee Westwood and Julien Quesne had begun their rounds. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price McIlroy, out in the second group of the day alongside Ryder Cup team-mate Andy Sullivan, admitted afterwards it was rare for him to have such an early tee time. McIlroy was out in the second group of the day with Andy Sullivan Its been a while actually, he told Sky Sports 4. Obviously its not what Im used to here. I played well here quite a few times in the past and yesterday was disappointing, but I played a bit better today. Hopefully Ill get a couple more hours in bed tomorrow morning. Live European Tour Golf November 19, 2016, 8:00am Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Any time I get to play with Sully, I really enjoy it.dddddddddddd We both played better and had a good laugh out there and enjoyed it. And in fairness, I was looking forward to getting out this morning, because I felt the greens yesterday afternoon got very grainy and quite difficult to read. I felt like I had a chance to hole some more putts and I was able to do that.Mentally yesterday I was still on holiday I think. I was very, very flat and just wasnt really with it, wasnt at the races. Yeah, I felt a bit better out there today, but yeah, just wasnt quite with it yesterday. McIlroy felt the greens were easier to read early in the day I guess if Im within sort of eight or nine shots going into the weekend, I still feel like I have a decent chance. If Im too far back, then I dont think Ill be able to make up that much ground. But if I can keep improving each and every day, then I might not be too far away at the end of the week.Ive shot some really good scores here in the past, and if I can emulate that and shoot a couple really good ones over the weekend, Id be happy enough going into the break.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price! Also See: Westwoods World Cup snub Mannequin Challenge in Dubai Golf live on Sky Sports 4 European Tour Schedule ' ' '