Jays Vs. Yanks: The Start Of Toronto's Last Stand

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Tonight the Toronto Blue Jays start a series with the red hot New York Yankees, who are coming off a sweep of their rivals in Boston.  This series is the start of a one-month slate where the Jays play teams that are playoff contenders.

Their schedule looks like this:

Aug. 10-12 @ New York

Aug. 14-16 @ Tampa Bay

Aug. 18-20 vs. Boston

Aug. 21-23 vs. Los Angeles

Aug. 24-26 vs. Tampa Bay

Aug. 28-30 @ Boston

Sep. 1-3 @ Texas

Sep. 3-6 vs. New York

Now this may look like the "Officially Eliminated From The Playoffs Tour" for the Jays, but this could be the stretch that gives Jays fans hope for the future or even get them talking about a miracle run(which isn't going to happen).

The Jays have absolutely nothing to lose at the moment and have embraced the role of spoiler in recent years, while showing flashes of brilliance this year.  Remember when people were talking about them winning the AL East?

If the Jays can pull off a winning streak against the best of the AL, it could give the young players a surge of confidence that the Jays sorely need at this point.

If the Jays lose, all that it means is that the Jays' current rebuilding will be reinforced as they continue to keep plodding along and dropping games to much better competition.

The Jays can prove to the baseball world that April and May were no fluke and show that they are the team of the future, or they can just slide into the darkness of September.

Either way, August is the defining point in the Jays' season, and it should be an interesting one.

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