Admittedly, the Toronto Blue Jays are only seven games into their season and their record is marginally better than a year ago, but some disturbing trends are beginning to emerge. First, lets talk about the positives. Melky Cabrera is back and healthy and has already socked three home runs. Hes also playing the field with far more range and confidence after having that tumour removed from his back. Maicer Izturis is swinging the bat well and Adam Lind and Jose Bautista are off to decent starts. R.A. Dickey and Mark Buerhle each have a quality start (the former also has a shutout) and Drew Hutchison pitched shutout ball for five-and-a-third innings. Still, there are things to be concerned about. The Jays, though they are tied with the Seattle Mariners for second in the American League with eight home-runs, just one behind the Houston Astros of all teams, they are only hitting .216 as a team and their offence ranks ninth in the AL. Brett Lawrie, Edwin Encarnacion, Colby Rasmus and Jose Reyes (injured and on the DL after just one at-bat) have almost been non-factors at the plate. The pitching has been a mixed bag. For instance, the Jays registered two shutouts in their first six games for the first time in franchise history, yet their team ERA ranks 11th at 4.57. Of the teams in their own division, only the Baltimore Orioles are worse at 5.02. Yet, the funny thing is that the Jays lead the American League in strikeouts with 63, though they have played one more game than a number of clubs. Heres one stat that can be a staff killer: Through seven games, the Blue Jays have received 39 innings from their starters. That is only slightly better than the 37 innings they got from their starters over the same seven-game span a year ago. Theyve had to use the bullpen for three innings or more in all but two of their games and, in Dustin McGowans start Friday night in the home opener and Sundays Hutchison start against the Yankees, the relievers had to go six-and-a-third and five-and-two-thirds innings, respectively. A staff simply cant sustain that and hope to contend. Though Dioner Navarro is an upgrade over J.P Arencibia behind the plate, the Jays with Erik Kraatz and Josh Thole having started a game each, as well, have surrended a league-leading 10 stolen bases with only one runner caught. Of their first seven games a year ago (three-game sets with the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox at home and one at Detroit against the Tigers), the Jays lost by four or more runs twice and won another game when they gave up four to Cleveland. This year through seven (four at the Tampa Bay Rays and this past weekends three-game home-opening set against the Yankees), they were beaten twice by at least five runs and have given up at least seven runs three times. In other words, though they are a game better in their record (3-4 versus 2-5), many of the same problems still exist and most trace back to the consistencyand talent of the starting rotation. - Through the first week of the season, five of the six divisions are fairly tightly bunched. From first to last in those five, the gap from first to last is no more than two-and-a-half games, while in the AL East, the Blue Jays with all their questions marks are still just one game back of Tampa Bay, a half-game back of the Yankees and a half-game ahead of both Baltimore and Boston. The surprise team so far in the American League is the Houston Astros. The Astros, who visit the Blue Jays for a three-game series starting Tuesday night, have split the first six games of their season-opening seven-game homestand. They tk two of three from the Yankees and are lking for a split of their four-game set with the Los Angeles Angels on Monday afternn. As mentioned earlier, Houston leads the AL with nine home runs including five on Sunday in a 7-4 victory over the Angels. A couple of interesting things about the Astros: They are using one of the shortest clean-up hitters in Major League history. Their 55" star second baseman, Jose Altuve, is hitting in the four-hole. Scott Feldman, never considered much more than a journeyman, has emerged as the teams number-one starter and is 2-0 out of the gate. The Jays will miss Feldman and promising rkie Jarred Cosart, though, in the three-game set at Rogers Centre. - The Arizona Diamondbacks are the surprise team in the National League for all the wrong reasons. After losing both games in Australia against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the , they set a franchise record to open the season at 1-7 before downing the Colorado Rockies 5-3 on Sunday. The one bright spot for the D-Backs has been the home run-hitting of former Angels slugger Mark Trumbo, who was picked up in an offseason deal with the Halos. He has already hit five roundtrippers, including one in each of the last four games. The Major League record is home runs in eight-straight gamesshared by Dale Long, Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey, Jr. - I saw a great old baseball movie over the weekend, the original Angels in the Outfield. It starred Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh. Made in 1951, it chronicled the struggles of the Pittsburgh Pirates and their beleaguered manager whose lives were turned around and their season saved by a group of baseball spirits. Yeah , it was cute and at times a bit cheesy , but it was worth seeing, if only for the location shots of old Forbes Field in Pittsburgh and cameo appearances by Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb and Bing Crosby, who was a part owner of the Pirates at the time. - I was happy to be on hand at Rogers Centre on Sunday to see Derek Jeter add another chapter to his incredible career. With two hits, he passed former Blue Jay Paul Molitor to move into eighth-place on the all-time Major League hits list with 3,320. He needs 100 more hits in this his 20th and final season to pass Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski for seventh. The Yankees are in town twice more this season, June 23-25 and August 29-31. tballauthentic.com/authentic-tarik-cohen-bears-jersey/" target="_blank">Tarik Cohen Youth Jersey . And follow TSN.ca right through Wednesdays 3pm et trade deadline for all the updates. Blue line help for Red Wings? In addition to what he reported in Insider Trading, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun wrote on ESPN. tballauthentic.com/authentic-tom-waddle-bears-jersey/" target="_blank">Tom Waddle Womens Jersey . Bth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. tballauthentic.com/authentic-brian-urlacher-bears-jersey/" target="_blank">http://www.chicagobearftballauthentic....r-bears-jersey/. The goals tk Liverpls tally in the Premier League this season to 70, overtaking Manchester City as the top scorers, and left the fourth-place team just four points behind league leader Chelsea. tballauthentic.com/authentic-akiem-hicks-bears-jersey/" target="_blank">Akiem Hicks Youth Jersey . Trailing 4-1 in the final set, Sharapova steadied her erratic service game and tk command again to beat the 56th-ranked American 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on clay at the Magic Box tennis centre. The ninth-ranked Russian lked to be cruising before McHale broke late in the second set to tie the match and then tk her commanding lead in the final set after breaking Sharapova. tballauthentic.com/authentic-anthony-miller-bears-jersey/" target="_blank">Anthony Miller Womens Jersey .The result meant Juventus will spend the winter break three points clear of Roma after the league leader beat Cagliari 3-1 on Thursday.Milan remained seventh ahead of the rest of the weekends fixtures, but was provisionally two points behind third-place Napoli in their duel for the final Champions League spot.As part of our coverage leading up to the 102nd Grey Cup in Vancouver, TSN.ca takes a lk at four key matchups that could go a long way in determing the outcome of Sundays game. Jon Cornish vs Tiger-Cats run defence Its the leagues best running back against the leagues top run stoppers. Cornish proved just how valuable he is, leading the league in regular season rushing with 1,082 yards on the ground despite playing in just 10 games. The former Most Outstanding Player was the only running back in the league to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing and showed hes back to 100 percent - or at least close - in the Western Final, combining for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Perhaps in response to Kory Sheets huge performance in last years Grey Cup, the Ticats committed to improving against the run this season. Led by linebacker Simoni Lawrence, Hamilton led the league in almost all defensive rushing categories. They were first in fewest yards net rushing with 1,382 (an average of 76.8 yards per game, almost 20 fewer than the second place team), and gave up the fewest first downs to the run. The Ticats were rushed on less than any other team in the league but that figures to change with Cornish in the backfield and a championship on the line. Cornish was injured for both regular season meetings between the two clubs. Zach Collaros vs Stampeders secondary Making only his second career postseason start, Zach Collaros will face three division All-Stars in the Stampeders secondary. Cornerback Fred Bennett and halfbacks Jamar Wall and Brandon Smith will do their best to make Collaros second postseason start not nearly as enjoyable as his first, but numbers suggest Collaros may have the advantage heading into Sunday. The Stamps were the second most thrown on team in the league this season, partly due to the fact they didnt do much to deter opposing offences. Calgary gave up the third most passing yards (253.1 per game) and the third highest completion percentage for oppossing QBs (63.1). For his part, Collaros averaged 250 yards passing and a 65 percent completion rate in his 13 regular season games. What Collaros will have to be mindful of however, is the turnver.ddddddddddddThe Stamps secondarys strength lies in their ballhawking ability. They had the second most interceptions in the league with 20 this season. And when they do force turnovers, they make teams pay. Calgary led the league in interception return yards with 417. Stampeders pass rushers vs Tiger-Cats offensive line If there was a stat for turnover in a position group, the Ticats offensive line would likely be among the league leaders. 11 different linemen have started for the Ticats this year, including a whopping four at left tackle alone. Only Brian Simmons and Tim ONeill have started every game for Hamilton this season, but neither has stayed at the same position all year. The Ticats did gain some continuity on the line in the second half of the season, a gd thing for Collaros with two of the leagues top pass rushers coming into town. Shawn Lemon was tied for second in the league in sacks with 13 and last years sack leader Charleston Hughes, would have likely hit thirteen at least if not for missing six games in the regular season. A year after compiling 18 quarterback sacks, Hughes amassed eight in just 12 regular season games played. Brandon Banks vs Rob Maver This matchup could become Brandon Banks vs the Stampeders punt coverage team, but if Maver does his job well, Banks wont be given the opportunity to take on the rest of Calgarys special teams. Theres no question Banks, winner of two Special Teams Player of the Week awards, is the top returner in the league and has game breaking ability. He showed just how big of an impact he, and the rest of Hamiltons superb special teams, can have on a game in the Eastern Final. While its unrealistic to think Banks will have a repeat performance on Grey Cup Sunday, his return skills will go a long way in helping the Ticats win the field position battle. The Stamps best strategy may be to keep the ball out of Banks hands, and with a punter like Maver they may prove very successful at it. A West Division All-Star, and the teams nominee for Most Outstanding Special Teams Player, Maver was second in the league in punting average at 45.4, second only to Torontos Swayze Waters. ' ' '