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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. Bryan Trottier Jersey .J. -- All those records, all for naught. Jaromir Jagr Jersey . MLB.com reported that the Dodgers locked the left-hander in for one year at $10 million with up to $4 million in incentives. http://www.penguinsauthenticofficial.com/sidney-crosby-jersey/ . -- Brandon Hope stopped 46 shots and Kurtis MacDermid scored with 27 seconds remaining in overtime as the Owen Sound Attack edged the visiting Kingston Frontenacs 5-4 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Michel Briere Jersey .com)LeBron clearly likes his Italian sports cars, and thats ok with me, so up next up is the 458 Spider. Mark Recchi Jersey .Carla Fontes hadnt cut her hair since intermediate school, but her coach at Waiakea High School, Stan Haraguchi, thought the locks flowing below her waist were interfering with the sport. CHICAGO -- It started with a pregame video and ran all the way through the final out and a high-five line for the New York Yankees. This was the Derek Jeter show, and it was quite a performance for the shortstops farewell tour. Jeter had four hits and Masahiro Tanaka rebounded nicely from his first major league loss, leading the Yankees to a 7-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. "I just want to try to help us win. Thats it," Jeter said. "Our job is, if theres a guy on second base and Ive got to hit a ground ball to second to move him over, Ill do it. I dont think about personal statistics. I think about trying to help us win." He certainly played a key role as the Yankees closed out an extended stay in Chicago with a pair of wins against the White Sox. Brett Gardner had a big two-run single in New Yorks four-run second inning, and Brian Roberts added a solo homer in the eighth in his return to the lineup after missing a game with a sore right knee. "Everyone contributed today," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. Tanaka (7-1) pitched into the seventh inning as New York improved to 3-3 on its unusual nine-game trip to Chicago and St. Louis. The Yankees split two games against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, and then had another split in their four-game set on Chicagos South Side. Conor Gillaspie had two hits and drove in a run for the White Sox, who had won eight consecutive home games against New York before Saturdays 4-3 loss in 10 innings. Gillaspie is batting .364 (20 for 55) in his past 15 games. Andre Rienzo (4-1) struck out seven in five innings, but allowed four earned runs and seven hits. "It seemed all day he was working from behind," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "He wasnt getting ahead. He just wasnt as sharp as hes been in previous outings -- and it cost him." Jeter once again heard loud cheers throughout the day in what likely was his final game in Chicago. The 13-time All-Star plans to retire after the season. "Its one of my favourite cities, and the way the fans have treated me these two series here, its been tremendous," Jeter said. "Its something Ill always remember." The White Sox showed a video highlighting Jeters background before the game and prresented the 39-year-old shortstop with three gifts: a baseball-themed bench made by former White Sox and Yankees player Ron Kittle, enclosed infield clay from the shortstop area at U.ddddddddddddS. Cellular Field and a $5,000 donation to Jeters Turn 2 Foundation. Jeter waved to the sellout crowd of 39,142 after he received the gifts from White Sox slugger Paul Konerko, who also plans to retire after the season. He also acknowledged the home dugout, where the White Sox applauded the pregame ceremony from the top step. Once the game started, it was all business for the captain. Jeter drove in Roberts with his second single in the second. He tripled past diving centre fielder Adam Eaton in the fourth and scored on Rienzos wild pitch, and then added another run-scoring single in the sixth. "Man. Hes good," Rienzo said. "The first one is cutter, the second one is inside, and the third is cutter, too. Hes a winner. I hope I would win, but its OK." The crowd gave Jeter a standing ovation when he batted for the last time in the eighth, and then applauded again when he struck out swinging to end the inning. It was Jeters first four-hit game since a 9-6 loss at the White Sox on Aug. 20, 2012. New Yorks 10-hit attack was more than enough for Tanaka, who allowed one run and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. The Japanese right-hander struck out six and walked two in his 10th major league start. Tanaka was coming off a 6-1 loss to the lowly Cubs on Tuesday that ended his unbeaten streak at 42 regular-season starts. "I wanted the ball to go down and thats why I made some tweaks to my mechanics," Tanaka said through a translator. Tanaka had been 34-0 in Japan and North America the last two seasons, though he did drop Game 6 of the Japan Series last year before earning the save in Game 7. NOTES: It was Jeters first triple since New Yorks 22-9 victory over Oakland on Aug. 25, 2011. ... Yankees RHP Michael Pineda is scheduled to pitch two innings in an extended spring training game on Tuesday. Pineda was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 6 with a shoulder muscle injury. ... Yankees slugger Carlos Beltran will attempt some dry swings in New York on Monday. Beltran is out with a bone spur in his right elbow that could require surgery. ' ' '