Jays vs. Yankees The Biggest Series In Over Twenty Years

      The last time there was a series this important to the Toronto Blue Jays, there was no internet. There were no mobile phones and no DVD players. Infamously, that series ended with Joe Carter prancing around the bases throwing his arms in the air as the Jays secured their second world series title in as many years. It's been a long time coming to say the least.

     The Jays enter this series with a record of 79-60 with a 1.5 game lead on their division rival, the New York Yankees. While these two teams have been jockeying for the division lead for the better part of the last month and a half, the Jays find themselves atop the division for quite the long time considering they were barely squeaking past .500 before the additions of Troy Tulowitzki and David Price. The next 4 games for both these clubs will be a major impact to the post-season picture. If one team runs away with this series, we could see our definitive leader in the division heading into the post-season. And without a doubt, both teams will be firing on all cylinders in the Bronx.

     The first game of the series has been rained out, they have rescheduled Thursday night's contest to Saturday, which will be the second of a double-header that will begin at 1:05pm local time. Friday night's game is still penciled in at the original time, with David Price set to take the hill against Yankees rookie Luis Severino. It is crucial that the Jays come out of the gates strong and get the momentum rolling early in this series after they were taken care of easily at the hands of the basement-dwelling Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park this week. If the Jays can't turn a new leaf and move on from the Boston series, the Jays could be orchestrating their own demise. The Jays are 5.5 games up on the wild card spot if that's where they're headed, and these two teams do meet again in two weeks time for a three-game set, but the time is now for the Jays to put their best foot forward against the Yankees. This series comes at a particularly bad time for the Jays due to their lack of success as of late, but that being said it could also be a huge confidence booster for the club.

     In the eyes of the Blue Birds, a split of the series is not an option. To keep the Yankees that close with a series to go will come back to bite you. Luckily, the final series between the Yankees and Jays is in Toronto, but you don't want to take any chances with a team like the Bronx Bombers. If the Jays can take 3 of 4 in New York, that would put them 4.5 up on the Yankees with just 20 games remaining. If the Jays drop 3 of 4, they find themselves with a big obstacle to overcome down the final stretch: keeping up with the Yankees when they aren't playing eachother and then pretty much sweeping the Yankees in their final three game series. This is a must-win scenario for the Jays if they want to win the AL East.

     The stage is set for one exciting series with plenty on the line, especially when one team hasn't played post-season baseball in over twenty years. This Yankees/Jays series is without a doubt the most important series for the Blue Birds since they took on the Phillies in the 1993 World Series. Make sure you're watching, as this Blue Jays' squad looks to make history.

Revamped Blue Jays Attempting To Make History

     If you would've told me three weeks ago that the Toronto Blue Jays would go out and acquire all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and ace pitcher David Price within 72 hours, I would've called you crazy. However, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos pulled off just that leading up to the 2015 MLB Trade Deadline, and now has the Blue Jays positioned in the second wild card playoff spot with 53 games remaining in the regular season, with 13 games remaining against the AL East leading New York Yankees. For Blue Jays fans, there hasn't been this much hype around the ball club since the glory days back in the late 80's and early 90's. This season can go one of two ways down the stretch: either the Jays end the MLB-leading 22 year post-season drought with one of the most dangerous teams in the league or they wind up falling just short for another season. Either way, the Blue Jays are geared up for one roller coaster of a finish.

     Let's go back two months, June 3rd. The Jays sit 4th in the AL East with a record of 25-30 and have just a 14% chance of making the postseason. Thanks to a great month of June that saw them bump from 5 games below .500 to 5 games above .500. A mediocre July put the Jays at a crossroads heading into the trade deadline. The team was sitting at 50-51, 7 games behind of the division-leading Yankees on July 28th when they acquired 5-time all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies for Jose Reyes, Miguel Castro and two minor leaguers. While most of the baseball world was shocked at the sight of this deal, most pointed out that the deal didn't address the Jays biggest need, pitching. LaTroy Hawkins is a great veteran out of the bullpen but him alone couldn't resurface the Jays in both the Wild Card and Division playoff hunt. Just under 72 hours later, the Jays acquire another 5-time all-star, David Price from the Detroit Tigers. This trade solidified the Jays rotation by adding something they hadn't had since the departure of Roy Halladay, a bonafide ace that can not only eat up innings but also has the ability to strike out batters with overwhelming power. At the time of the Troy Tulowitzki deal, the Jays had just a 37% chance of making the postseason. Fast forward just a week since the deal and the Blue Jays now sit 4 games above .500 and not only hold onto the second wild card spot but are just 4.5 games back of the Yankees in the division. The addition of Ben Revere also gives the Jays much needed speed at the top of the line-up and a good glove in left field, a piece of the puzzle that should definitely not be overlooked. It's astounding what a couple acquisitions can do to boost a ball club in such little time.

     So here we are, 53 games to go with a grasp on the second wild card spot and a very realistic shot at chasing down the Yankees for the AL East Division title. Alex Anthopoulos was on the hot seat heading into this year's trade deadline, and he delivered to say the least. Even with the offseason acquisitions of Josh Donaldson (who is an AL MVP candidate right now) and Russell Martin, AA was forced to turn good results this season or his tenure as GM of the Jays was likely over. If the Jays don't make the playoffs after the acquisitions, at least it wasn't because of Anthopoulos sitting back and not taking action like last year, and it makes it hard for the Blue Jays management to give him the boot after the work he's done to improve the team this season. However, with a new team president on the way, it'll be interesting to see what happens with Anthopoulos at the end of the year.

      While there's still a long ways to go in the regular season, the Blue Jays have positioned themselves to make history, ending the longest post-season drought in the league thanks to help both on and off the field. With 53 games to go and 13 against the Yankees, one thing is for sure, it's going to be an exciting finish.

*Sorry I haven't posted in so long, I'll try and be less lazy :)*