TORONTO – The first-place Blue Jays hit the halfway mark of the season with 45 wins and a two-game lead on Baltimore in the American League East, territory unfamiliar to a franchise still waiting for its first playoff game since October 23, 1993, the night Joe Carter walked off Mitch Williams into World Series lore. "Im proud of the way the guys played," said manager John Gibbons. "It was kind of a so-so start and we kicked it in there in the month of May and put ourselves in a good position. Now, you know, we just need to do that again in the second half or even improve on that but Im very, very happy with the effort and the way the guys have been playing baseball. Its that simple." You wont find a Mission Accomplished banner hanging in the clubhouse. The expectation is much greater. "Has it met it yet? No," said Casey Janssen. "Our expectation is to make the playoffs and win the World Series and were not there yet. Weve got a long way to go. I think everyone believed we could be this type of team but were not throwing a party yet, we know that. We know theres a ton of talent here and its the AL East so anything can happen." Despite a recent downturn in offensive production, through 81 games Toronto continues to sit in the top seven of most major categories. The club sits first in the majors with 104 home runs. Its fourth with a .262 batting average and .331 on-base percentage. The on-base plus slugging percentage of .767 ranks third and its 272 walks are seventh. The most pleasant surprise and biggest disappointment reside on the same spot: the pitchers mound. The pleasant surprise: Blue Jays starters lead the American League with 35 wins (a number not reached until the 135th game last season) and the staff ERA of 3.87 is best in the AL East. The biggest disappointment: the bullpen, the ray of sunshine in a stormy 2013 season, has compiled baseballs fourth-worst ERA (4.48). Its a target for improvement. "I think there are some times when weve got to be better in the bullpen," said Gibbons. "Weve got to shore that up a little bit. Its like anything, consistency over the whole pitching staff and hopefully you stay healthy enough." The Blue Jays have been fortunate to remain relatively healthy, dealing with injuries theyve been able to cover. Maicer Izturis was a backup infielder. Brandon Morrow wasnt pitching well when he got hurt. Colby Rasmus missed 33 games with a hamstring strain and the Jays got by with an Anthony Gose-Kevin Pillar platoon in centerfield. The medical staff is now doing the dance with Jose Bautista as he deals with a hamstring problem, which could be made worse if rushed. Bautista will run sprints on Saturday morning and depending on how he feels, could be available to at least pinch hit on the weekend. QUIET TIME FOR JANSSEN Wondering where closer Casey Janssen has been these days? Hes around. He just hasnt pitched much due to a lack of save opportunities. Since notching his 12th save of the season on June 15 in Baltimore, Janssen has appeared twice. He mopped up the epic, 14-9 comeback win on June 20 in Cincinnati. He threw the ninth inning of a 6-6 game against the Yankees on June 24 and got the win when the Blue Jays walked off. It can be difficult for relievers when they go through a period without consistent work. "I feel like saves come in bunches at times," said Janssen. "You get opportunities to pitch maybe in a lopsided game one way or another if it gets to be too long. Sometimes there are times when you dont get in but you get up. Im one of those guys that always has relied on my command and I guess it comes a little more natural to me than others." Janssen has 12 saves in 14 opportunities this season. "Sometimes the rest is good, knowing that the tough stretch is going to come at some point," said Janssen. Expect Janssen to get into a game before the weekend is over, regardless of whether Toronto has a lead of three or less. Janssen speaks to pitching coach Pete Walker about his schedule, who relays the message to manager John Gibbons. If Janssen goes four or five days without action his arms reaction to its diminished workload becomes less predictable. "You wonder if your arms going to be a little cranky or if its going to be super fresh," said Janssen. "Sometimes you feel great when you get the rest and sometimes youre kind of knocking the dust off a little bit." Remember that Janssen had an abbreviated spring training thanks to stiffness in the back of his pitching shoulder. He didnt appear in a Grapefruit League game until the final week of March. Then, in Montreal, he strained his left oblique and didnt make his season debut until May 12. Its been a build for Janssen, who anticipates being able to pitch on three consecutive days, if needed, as the importance of each game ramps up. "I feel like Id love to do it and Id love to have the opportunity to do it," said Janssen. "I think a lot of those three in a rows depend on how the first two went and the stress level of those innings. My goal is to be able to pitch in every opportunity possible, especially as the season gets further along and as this division and the race gets tight and everything like that." Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys China . Rodgers was ruled out on Friday by Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Matt Flynn will make his second consecutive start for the Packers. Cheap Tampa Bay Buccaneers Gear . Despite Arsenals financial firepower, the 31-year-old midfielder was the only arrival in the January transfer window. Signed until the end of the season as injury cover, Kallstrom might not be fit until mid-March after arriving Friday at Arsenal having injured his back earlier in the week while training with Spartak Moscow. http://www.cheapbuccaneers.com/ .twitter.com/xBTpoAKLJk — Daryl Zerr (@darylzerr) May 29, 2014 @BarDown I give to you the @SquirrelsNCHL aka the Fighting Squirels. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Devin White Jersey . The Canadians led for much of the game before Argentina forced overtime in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. Canada weathered the storm after squandering a lead with a series of made shots. "Its a fantastic win for our country with 11 first-time Canadian national team members," said head coach Roy Rana. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mike Edwards Jersey . Pominville scored in all three of Minnesotas games last week to help the Wild (8-4-3, 19 points) earn four out of a possible six points. His best performance was in a 4-3 win over Montreal on Friday, where he posted a season-high three points (two goals, one assist), including the game-winning goal.ROME -- Canadian Daniel Nestor and Serbian partner Nenad Zimonjic claimed a second consecutive clay-court title Sunday as they won the Italian Open 6-4, 7-6 (2) over Dutchman Robin Haase and Spains Feliciano Lopez. The victorious sixth seeds backed up their Madrid trophy of last weekend with Masters 1000 success at the Foro Italico, claiming the title in 84 minutes with eight aces and three breaks of serve. The pair have now won 27 trophies as a team. They lifted their first of 2014 in January in Sydney and added Madrid and Rome to head into the French Open starting next weekend as favourites. "Were playing mentally tough right now," said Nestor. "Weve faced a lot of good opponents but weve found a way to win with all the ups and downs. "On clay there are a lot of momentum chances. Weve been doing a good job of playing relaxed on clay, a lot of momentum chances, doing a good job of playing relaxed and staying with our game plan. Wev been playing well these last few weeks and we are confident going to Paris." Torontos Nestor has won four Roland Garros titles since 2007, the last one two years ago with former partner Max Mirnyi of Beelarus.dddddddddddd "Its always nice to go back to back, especially the way weve been winning." said Nestor. "Weve shown a lot of resilience. We are dealing well with any situation on court, thats a feeling going into a grand slam. We hope to keep this up in Paris, but nothing is easy. If we stay mentally strong, we give ourselves a chance to win (in Paris). "Well continue training, we have to adjust to longer matches. Well keep building and try to be as ready as possible for Roland Garros." Nestor, 41, now owns 85 doubles titles from 140 finals and remains in third place in the post-1968 Open era doubles title leaderboard behind Mike Bryan (100) and Bob Bryan (98). Nestor and Zimonjic came back quickly after Nestor was broken in the third game of the match, recovering the break for 3-3. They earned the set after 36 minutes with a concluding break. Zimonjic lost serve early in the second set but two double-faults from Lopez set up break-back points, which were converted for 2-2. Nestors team hung onto their clay momentum as the set moved into a tiebreaker. They earned the victory on the first of four match points. 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