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Its only two starts, but Chien-Ming Wang appears to be just what the doctor ordered for the Blue Jays beleaguered pitching staff. He has taken the team deep into both games hes pitched and picked up the victory Sunday at Arlington, pitching seven shutout innings while walking two and striking out five. The Blue Jays were able to get Wang, who starred for the Yankees in 2006 and 2007, winning 19 in each of the those seasons, simply because the Yankees felt he couldnt help their big club. They released him from his Triple A deal at Scranton-Wilkes Barre of the International League, allowing him to sign on with the Blue Jays. In a certain way, it reminds me of the success the Jays had with another Yankee discard, Doyle Alexander. In 1982, Doyle went 1-7 for the Yankees with a 6.08 earned run average. He got off to another rocky start in 1983 going 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA. Then out of frustration one night, he punched a wall and broke his hand. On May 31 of 1983, the Yankees released the 32-year-old Alexander and some wondered if his career could be over. The Blue Jays signed him on June 21 of that season, and suddenly Doyle was reborn. He went 7-6 for the Jays the rest of the season and, more importantly, shaved his earned run average to 3.93. Things only got better the next two seasons under skipper Bobby Cox. Doyle won 17 games in 1984, and 17 again in 1985, the year the Blue Jays won their first division title. In fact, Doyle pitched the division clincher against the Yankees on a Saturday afternoon at Exhibition Stadium on the second last day of the regular season. Doyle had a very strong and serious personality. Bobby Cox left after the 85 season and returned to Atlanta to become general manager of the Braves. Whether it was Cox leaving or some other reason, "Dour Doyle" as he came to be known, slipped a bit in 1986. He was 5-4 with 4.46 ERA when he was ultimately swapped to Coxs Braves in July for a young starting pitching prospect by the name of Duane Ward, who would eventually become part of the greatest 1-2 relief punch the Blue Jays ever had with Tom Henke. Alexander had his moments after leaving Toronto, especially in 1987, when he helped Detroit beat out the Blue Jays for the East Division title on the final weekend of the season at Tiger Stadium. Still, overall, he never again reached the heights he enjoyed in Toronto. Over two full seasons with the Blue Jays and parts of two others, he went 46-26 with a 3.56 ERA. Though he won 194 games over his career, the best span of Doyles career came in Toronto. Truth be told, over those Toronto years, I enjoyed watching him pitch more than any other Jays starter. The man knew how to pitch. He could change speeds and vary his location as well as anyone Ive ever seen in a Blue Jays uniform. No, he could not blow people away like a Roger Clemens and he wasnt Dave Stieb or Roy Halladay, but when he was on, he could make hitters look foolish. The circumstances are different with Chien-Ming Wang. The Yankees werent fed up with him. They just didnt have a spot for him, what with Michael Pineda going on rehab and expected to finally pitch for the big club in the near future. But the Yankees could get stung on this one, just as they did in 1983 when they released Alexander. The Blue Jays should be so fortunate. Playoff Watch If you look at the American League standings from last year, four of the five teams that made the post-season are holding down playoff positions right now outright with the only exception being the Yankees and Texas, who are tied for the second Wild Card position. Both teams are struggling right now, especially at the plate. The team that has stepped up is Boston. Theyve gone from also rans to first place in the AL East under John Farrell. If this continues the rest of the campaign, Farrell is going to be a shoo-in for American League Manager of the Year. Along those same lines, if the BoSox win the East, Dustin Pedroia would have an excellent shot at the Most Valuable Player Award, though Ive got a feeling in the end it will boil down to a battle between the Orioles slugger Chris Davis and Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers. The Blue Jays are coming off a great 6-1 road trip, just when they needed it most, to climb to within five and a half games of the second Wild Card spot. But theyve got to come close to sustaining this pace through the end of this month. They have 13 games left in June, including 10 against the East: three at home this weekend against Baltimore followed by three at Tampa Bay and four at Fewnway Park in Boston. Going 8-5 would keep them in the conversation at least about having meaningful games down the stretch. Cheap Curry Shoes . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Stephen Curry Shoes Online Store . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. http://www.cheapcurryshoes.net/ .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. Buy Curry Shoes Online . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Stephen Curry Shoes Cheap . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. North Melbourne got the win against St Kilda they craved to celebrate Brent Harveys historic AFL milestone and that they needed to boost their top-four campaign, but they may have lost Jarrad Waite in the process.The important forward buckled in agony after he kicked his second goal early in the third quarter at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night and left the game having aggravated the hip injury that has put the brakes on his impressive season of late.I understand hes been in the side, then out, then in, then out in quick succession. So for our supporters and members, he looks like hes just jarred his hip again, the same hip, coach Brad Scott said after the 23-point win.Whether its exactly the same injury, Im not sure.But its a strange one because you saw how he was functioning right at the start of the game and then five minutes later, without incident, hes pretty sore.Well just go and get it scanned again. We were really patient with it at the start and were just going to have to reassess howw we treat him and when he comes back.ddddddddddddNorth stayed in eighth spot despite the win but are still right in the hunt for a top-four berth, with Scott confident the Roos are on the right track after a mid-season slump.The build-up to Harveys 427th match which made him the AFLs leading all-time games record holder, was intense but Scott paid tribute to the veteran midfielder for his handling of the situation.He has done an exceptional job of honouring the occasion and honouring the legends that have gone before him, he said.I cant see this record being equalled or broken in my lifetime. The thing that impresses me the most is hes not limping to the line - he completes every training session and he sets the standard in terms of professionalism at the club.Hes broken the all-time games record, arguably, at the peak of his powers, which is something to behold. ' ' '