TORONTO – There may come a time in the next few years when the Houston Astros are a good baseball team. Adidas Continental 80 Korting . That time, however, is not now and with apologies to the "Its Early" crowd, with whom we typically should all agree hardly removed from opening day, this three-game home set with the Houston Astros is important to the Blue Jays. Nobody is suggesting that, say, if Toronto gets swept its season is over. But a check of the math tells you it doesnt help. The Blue Jays, by virtue of their perch in the American League East, have the unenviable task of playing 76 of their 162 games against their four divisional opponents. They get the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles 19 times each, a veritable meat grinder that can chew up and spit out the hope for a successful season all by itself. Lets say, for the sake of argument, the Blue Jays go 38-38 against their own division. That leaves 86 games against non-divisional opponents. To get to 90 wins, which likely wont be enough to win the division and may or may not be enough to capture one of the two wild card spots, Toronto would have to go 52-34. So far, after splitting a four-game series in Tampa Bay and disappointingly dropping two of three at home to the Yankees, the Jays are 3-4 within the AL East. Houston marks the first non-divisional opponent and due to the make up of the schedule, this is the only time the Astros will visit Toronto all year. It doesnt matter whether its April, June, or the intensity filled months of August and September, Houstons only here once and when they visit the Jays need to make hay. More than anything, manager John Gibbons wants his club to better protect home soil. "Ive always said you cant bury yourself early," said Gibbons. "Especially in this division, its an uphill battle and its real tough to come back. Were trying to get off to a good start and with more games at home itd be nice to finish up good at home. Youve got to play good at home, its no secret. Hold your own on the road and play good baseball at home." JEKYLL AND HYDE ROTATION The biggest question facing the Blue Jays (3-4) heading into the season centred on the starting rotation. Could it hold up in the toughest division in baseball? In the wins, Dr. Jekyll rules the day. When Torontos lost, Mr. Hyde rears his ugly face. Heres a look at the numbers through the first seven games: In the three wins, no runs allowed in 20 2/3 innings pitched. April 1: Drew Hutchison, 5.1 innings pitched.April 2: Mark Buehrle, 8.2 IP.April 5: R.A. Dickey, 6.2 IP. In the four losses, the starts have allowed a staggering 20 earned runs in just 16 innings pitched (11.25 ERA, averaging four innings pitched per start): March 31: R.A. Dickey, 6 earned runs in 5 innings pitched.April 3: Brandon Morrow, 4 ER in 5 IP.April 4: Dustin McGowan, 4 ER in 2.2 IP.April 6: Drew Hutchison, 6 ER in 3.1 IP. ROTATION JUGGLING Mondays off day has afforded manager John Gibbons the opportunity to flip R.A. Dickey and Dustin McGowan, meaning Dickey will start Thursdays series finale against the Astros and McGowan will open a three-game set in Baltimore on Friday night. "Thatll split up Morrow and McGowan," said Gibbons. "The two guys were watching a little bit. Put Dickey in the middle and he can eat some innings, anyway." Dickey has repeatedly said he prefers pitching under a roof, although Gibbons denied the forecasted cool conditions outdoors in Baltimore factored in to the decision. REYES UPDATE Jose Reyes, eligible to come off the disabled list from a strained left hamstring on April 16, ran the treadmill and took ground balls during batting practice on Tuesday afternoon. "Ill know better when I start running and see how Im feeling," said Reyes. "For now, Ill just take it day by day and see what happens." Reyes has been hitting to maintain his batting stroke but still has yet to run at full speed. When Reyes is ready to play, he expects to appear in at least a couple of minor league rehab games before returning to the Blue Jays. JANSSEN UPDATE Casey Janssen, out with an abdominal/back strain, doesnt think hell be ready to come off the disabled list when hes eligible on Sunday. "Probably not," said Janssen. "I dont know the exact date but Ive got to get on a rehab somewhere; hopefully shortly thereafter." Janssen expects only to need one or two minor league rehab games before hes back with the Blue Jays. If he continues to progress, its not unreasonable to expect Janssen to return mid-to-late next week. Adidas Alphabounce Kopen . "I only want to go through this one more time," Crosby said Friday. The 24-year-old captain hasnt played since the symptoms resurfaced following a loss to Boston on Dec. 5. Doctors allowed him to return to full practice on Tuesday and while Crosby is pleased with the way his body is responding he refuses to put on his return. Adidas NMD Kopen . Vonn flew back to Vail, Colo., last week after hurting her surgically repaired right knee at a downhill race in France. "Her knee was swollen again after Val dIsere," U.S. womens head coach Alex Hoedlmoser told The Associated Press. http://www.nmdbelgie.com/kopen-adidas-zx-flux-sale.html . The post-season, Pierce said repeatedly, is no time to panic. And the Heat, apparently, are nothing to fear.FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Coach Mike Smith took his first steps to help the Atlanta Falcons return to NFL relevance, firing defensive line coach Ray Hamilton and offensive line coaches Pat Hill and Paul Dunn on Monday night. One day after ending a 4-12 season, Smith said the team must get tougher to win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the line. Smith said that defensive co-ordinator Mike Nolan, offensive co-ordinator Dirk Koetter and special teams co-ordinator Keith Armstrong will return next season. The firings of Hamilton, Hill and Dunn were hardly surprising as Atlantas offensive and defensive lines rarely won game-long battles on the line of scrimmage. Quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked a career-high 44 times. Poor play on the defensive line led to Atlanta entering Week 17 ranked last in third-down efficiency, 29th in scoring and 28th in total yards. General manager Thomas Dimitroff lamented "missed assessments" on acquiring some players and letting others go and how those moves affected the entire team. When training camp started, neither Smith nor Dimitroff envisioned holding a news conference to discuss anything worse than a loss in the Super Bowl after the Falcons narrowly lost the NFC title game last season. But injuries to star wideout Julio Jones, left tackle Sam Baker and defensive end Kroy Biermann were too much to overcome. Sean Weatherspoon, supposed to be Atlantas only every-down linebacker, was hurt and limited to just seven games. Receiver Roddy White and running back Steven Jackson played injured most of the season. "We believe we have a talented football team here and that we need to make adjustments," Dimitroff said, ";but I really, truly believe we have the nucleus and the coach and the leadership to turn this around quickly within our off-season. Adidas NMD Dames Sale. Though Smith and Dimitroff wouldnt cite specific players, they didnt dispute that the offensive line was a disaster. Peter Konz was overmatched as a starting centre and starting right guard. The right tackle position remained in flux all season, and Lamar Holmes was inconsistent at left tackle. No discrepancy was worse than in the 21-20 season-ending home loss to Carolina. Ryan was sacked nine times and hit 14 others. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was sacked once and hit once. Ryan, as hes done throughout his six-year career, refused to blame his teammates for the poor protection. The two-time Pro Bowl QB, who signed a new five-year, $103.75 million contract last summer that guarantees $59 million, was more disturbed about his interception that Panthers cornerback Melvin White returned for a 3-yard touchdown. "Its the end of the season, and Im healthy, but we all have to improve," Ryan said. "I have to play better. We have to play better up front. We have to play better on the outside. Collectively, we didnt play good enough to win." Atlantas defensive line wasnt much better. Releasing veteran end John Abraham last March proved to be a bad decision after he put up big numbers for Arizona. His replacement, free agent acquisition Osi Umenyiora, was unable to hold onto the role he wanted as an every-down end. But Smith and Dimitroff were proud of the performances of rookie cornerback Desmond Trufant, a first-round draft pick, and rookie linebacker Paul Worrilow, an undrafted free agent. ' ' '