in the American League Central. The Yankees are on the verge of falling right out of the Wild Card chase, having dropped 14 of their last 20. How ca

You can debate long and hard over whether the Toronto Blue Jays top priority in the offseason should be a catcher, a second baseman, a top of the rotation pitcher or all of the above. But for now, lets just look at how difficult it is to get a top-notch pitcher. When the Blue Jays aquired the likes of Jack Morris, Dave Stewart, Roger Clemens and even Doyle Alexander, it was through free agency. In the case of Morris and Stewart - besides the lure of big money contracts - it was the ability of Paul Beeston and Pat Gillick to convince them the Jays were on the verge of winning a World Series. It was somewhat the same with Clemens when he joined the team in 1997, though at the time there were those in the game who believed he had pitched his best years in Boston and was starting to slip. Alexander was a struggling Yankees castoff who seemed to be near the end of the line. A.J Burnett was also a free agent. Last winter, Alex Anthopoulos stunned the baseball world by trading for three quality starters in 2 deals, getting Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle from the Marlins and R.A. Dickey from the Mets. Although those deals havent exactly panned out, you still cant understate how incredible a feat it was to aquire three starters with such resumes in one offseason. If you look back though over the Blue Jays history, there arent too many other top-end starters the team has been able to trade for. When they landed David Wells from the Yankees in the spring of 1999, it was Clemens himself who exercised a side deal with the Jays to force a trade. It was quality for quality. The Blue Jays picked up Juan Guzman from the Dodgers in 1987 for second baseman Mike Sharperson. At the time of that deal though, Guzman was a month from turning 22 and didnt actually crack the Blue Jays roster until 1991. David Cone is the only top notch starter the Jays traded for twice. In August of 1992, they got him from the Mets for Jeff Kent - who would later blossom into a star with the Giants - and outfielder Ryan Thompson. Cone left for Kansas City as a free agent after the Blue Jays won their first World Series, but the Jays got him back again in 1995 for David Sinnes, Tony Medrano and Chris Stynes - who never came close to what Cone was worth. The Blue Jays 1995 season crumbled despite all the springtime promise and the team shipped Cone to the Yankees in July for Jason Jarvis, Mike Gordon and Marty Janzen - three pitchers who didnt exactly have distinguished big league careers. The point is that the Blue Jays have probably traded away more quality pitching than they have aquired through deals, including Guzman, Clemens and Roy Halladay. If the Blue Jays go the free agent route in the offseason, the pickings are pretty slim. The Royals James Shields, whos only 6-8 this season but still eats a lot of innings, is out there. But the team has a contract option for next season worth $12 million. The best of the rest include the Rangers Matt Garza, the Yankees Hiroki Kuroda (whos closing in on 40), the Reds Bronson Arroyo and of course, A.J. Burnett - who opted out of his contract the first time he was with the Jays to sign with the Yankees. Id never bet against Alex Anthopoulos based on what he did last winter, but its going to be a lot more difficult to get the pitcher the Blue Jays need this time around. Elsewhere, catcher Travis DArnaud - one of the top prospects the Jays gave up to the Mets for Dickey - could play his first big league game for New York as soon as this weekend. Catcher John Buck, who also went to the Mets in that deal, and his wife are expecting a child any day now. DArnaud was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas this week in part so he would be in close proximity to Phoenix where the Mets are playing this weekend. Yankee Stadium is the place to be Friday night and the whole weekend. Alex Rodriguez is playing in his first home series since returning to the lineup, and hes doing it against the team that knocked the Yankees out of the ALCS last fall. Not only that, the Tigers have won 12 straight and are pulling away in the American League Central. The Yankees are on the verge of falling right out of the Wild Card chase, having dropped 14 of their last 20. How can you feel sorry for a team thats made it to the postseason in 17 of the last 18 seasons and had won at least 90 games in all but two of those campaigns? The Yankees fans figure to be in a foul mood, especially with New York Post headlines suggesting after just one bad season, New York is on the verge of becoming a Mets town again. Cmon. O. J. Howard Womens Jersey . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Matt Gay Buccaneers Jersey . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/John-lynch-buccaneers-jersey/ . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the Colts on Monday night. Jamel Dean Jersey . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Custom Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. NFL Week 1 has arrived, beginning with a matchup between the Carolina Panthers and the Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos. ESPN Chalks Vegas experts are here to provide analysis and best bets on the game.Note: All odds courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Thursday morning.Matchup: Carolina Panthers at Denver BroncosSpread: Opened Denver -3; now Carolina -3 Total: Opened 43.5; now 41.5 PickCenter public consensus pick: 77 percent CarolinaPublic perception: Cam Newton says this Supper Bowl rematch is just another game, but most people dont believe him.dddddddddddd ESPNs Pick Center has 77 percent on the Panthers (and other bet-tracking sites are also about? 70 percent) and a lot of them probably like the revenge angle. The fact the Broncos are going with second-year Trevor Siemian doesnt appear to inspire much support from the public, either. ' ' '