DUNEDIN, Florida - Whether the approach translates to on-field success will only be revealed with the passage of time but its obvious to those whove been around the first two weeks of camp: the 2014 Blue Jays, constructed and built to win beginning in 2013, have no intention of repeating the misery that befell the ballclub a season ago. Nike Roshe Run Heren Zwart . The attitude is all business. One of the major pieces of the clubs puzzle knows it ought to be, given whats happened and what could happen if Torontos fortunes dont turn around. "I think guys are singularly focused on trying to get the most out of what we have collectively here," knuckleballer R.A. Dickey told TSN.ca. "I think last year we were kind of handcuffed a little bit by a few different variables but this year guys are together and they know its basically we need to make this work or it could all get blown up. "We know that and we dont want that to happen so guys are focused." Theres been no speech alluding to a closing window of opportunity but the veteran players, all too familiar with the business of baseball, sense that after falling flat in the season after club ownership increased payroll by some $40-million, another failed year wont be tolerated. You can have one bad year as a group. A second consecutive down season and the "this team cant get it done" narrative cements itself in reality. Dickey, himself, is looking for a bounce back season. The trend is positive, dating back to last year. In 20 first half (pre-All Star Break) starts, Dickey was 8-10 with a 4.69 ERA, 20 home runs allowed and a strikeout to walk ratio of less than two-to-one. He threw 128 2/3 innings, averaging a little more than 6 1/3 per start. After the break, in 14 starts, Dickey went 6-3, 3.56, 15 home runs allowed and stuck out more than three-and-a-half hitters for every walk. Dickeys 96 second half innings work out to almost seven per start. While still prone to the long ball, everything else improved, including his health. Dickey pitched through a strained muscle in his neck, something that began in spring training but by mid-April had mushroomed into a pain that forced him to consider a stint on the disabled list. "You know how things progress," said Dickey. "It starts as something very mild and you just keep going on and thinking its probably going to go away and then something happens and it gets much more significant. It had been there in the spring. When everything gets cranked back up some things arent necessarily in the right places yet." There are no such concerns now. "Physically, Im stronger," said Dickey. Mentally, Dickeys refreshed. The trade to Toronto wasnt the only matter on his plate last offseason. He was promoting his book, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, working with child sex victims in Mumbai and by the time camp started, was being followed by a reporter and camera crew from 60 Minutes. Aside from a fundraiser in New York City and a family vacation to Florida, Dickey had a much quieter winter this year. "That was intentional," said Dickey. "Anne and I both felt like it was a season to be at home together. With the year before, with the trade and the book and India and the Cy Young and all of that, just really spread me very thin. Having a good mate, she realized that was one of the things that should probably change this offseason and she was right." When its pointed out to Dickey that the American League East likely will be stronger this year than last - the Red Sox are the defending World Series champions, the Rays have great starting pitching, the Orioles added pitching in support of a potent offense and the Yankees retooled - the knuckleballer acknowledged the Blue Jays will need a diamond in the rough, maybe more than one, to emerge. "I think that every championship club has to have a guy on the team that you dont expect a ton out of that steps up and does something special for you," said Dickey. "Whether its a position player or a pitcher, in our case I think the hope is theres going to be a pitcher that steps up and gives you something that you werent anticipating and its going to lift you into the next place." Drew Hutchison could be the guy, based on early camp returns. "I think Drews a name," Dickey concurred. "I think Todd Redmonds a name. There are others in this clubhouse that I think, by the end of the year, well have a conversation about this day and youll say, Yeah, that was the guy that you were talking about and heres what happened. Thats the hope. Thats what were hopeful for." JAYS HAMMERED BY TWINS The Blue Jays longest spring trip, not including two games in Montreal later this month, got out of hand early and finished with a 12-2 drubbing at the hands of the Twins in Lee County, near Fort Myers. J.A. Happ struggled badly, retiring one of only seven hitters he faced. He allowed four runs on two hits, walking four in a third of an inning of work. The game was the first played under MLBs new replay rules. In the sixth inning, manager John Gibbons challenged a close play at first base in which the Twins Chris Rahl was ruled safe when shortstop Munenori Kawasakis high throw brought first baseman Jared Goedert off the bag. After a review lasting more than two and a half minutes, the umpires upheld the call on the field. DELABARS BEARD While it isnt yet long enough or messy enough to be mistaken for the facial hair you see on Duck Dynasty, Steve Delabar is committed to the beard hes wearing in camp. Where this odyssey will take him, he doesnt know. "No plan," said Delabar. "Its not a bother to me. It doesnt itch. It doesnt get in my way. I get good comments from it." He wouldnt be the first late-game reliever to create a specific look but Delabar, typically low-key and easy going, isnt trying to strike fear in opposing hitters. This was a concoction for the hunting season. "Its not an intimidation thing at all," said Delabar. "I started growing it in the offseason, Ive trimmed it a couple of times and Im just letting it go." There will be no dying his facial hair, like Brian Wilson of the Dodgers. Itll have its natural tinges of red, white and brown. "Its going to become what it becomes on its own and Im going to let it do what it does," said Delabar. What about his wife, Jamie? Is she agreeable to all of this? "My wife tells me Ive got stuff hanging off of it all the time but its not intentional. "She puts up with it," Delabar continued. "Its not like, Ooh, I like the beard, its not like that. Shed rather me trim it and have it groomed nicely and keep it clean but that aint me." Adidas Zx Flux Heren Sale . Only when the Seattle Mariners left fielder tumbled to the ground did Ackley know hed robbed Travis dArnaud of a home run. Nike Free 5.0 Dames Lichtblauw . Wingers Watisoni Votu and Sireli Bobo both scored two tries and backrower and captain Akapusi Qera scored another as Fiji piled on six tries to two in a comprehensive performance. DENVER -- A sprawling catch by Tony Gwynn Jr. kept the Dodgers big night at the plate from going to waste. Los Angeles had a season-high 18 hits and Gwynn ended the game with a diving play in left, helping the Dodgers snap a three-game skid with an 11-7 win over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday. Gwynns clutch grab was the chatter in both clubhouses. With the bases loaded and the Rockies threatening a ninth-inning comeback, Charlie Blackmon sent a liner to left that was tailing away from the speedy outfielder. Blackmon thought for sure the ball was going to drop, even thinking that he just might be able to run all the way home if it got by Gwynn. No such luck for the Rockies as Gwynn dove to his right and made the backhand grab -- the second time hes closed out a close game with a magnificent catch. He also robbed San Diegos Nick Hundley on April 29. "I thought it was down. I feel like everybody else thought it was down. And then he caught it," Blackmon said, shaking his head. "That was a really nice play. Im impressed." Ted Lilly (5-5) wasnt all that surprised by Gwynns glove work. The veteran lefty had seen it before. "Hes one of the best defensive outfielders in the game," Lilly said. "Hes as good as any in the game right now, so him making a play like that is not too surprising." Aaron Miles and Jamey Carroll each had four hits as the Dodgers won for the first time in five games at Coors Field this season. Lilly (5-5) was his typically solid self, scattering four hits before being lifted for pinch-hitter Casey Blake, who didnt start because of a sore neck but broke a tie with a three-run double in the sixth. The Dodgers bullpen nearly squandered a late six-run lead, much like the Rockies the night before. Colorado scored five times in the eighth and had a chance for even more but shortstop Dee Gordon made a diving stop up the middle to record a forceout at second and reliever Matt Guerrier then struck out Jonathan Herrera to contain the threat. Los Angeles added four runs in the ninth, with Rod Barajas hitting an RBI double, Gwynn bringing in a run on a fielders choice and Carroll lacing a two-run single to centre. "If were not hit for four runs in the top of the ninth inning, because of where I feel they were at bullpen-wise, I think were in an ideal position to win the game. I really do," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. Javy Guerra pitched a rocky ninth in a non-save situation, giving up an RBI single to Ty Wigginton. Blackmon sent a tailing liner to left, only to have Gwynn ssave the day for the Dodgers.Adidas Zx 750 Grijs. And with that, he finally quieted a fan who was heckling him all evening. "None sweeter," Gwynn said. "As soon as it was hit, I knew my jump was good enough to get my glove on it. Now whether the ball gets in your glove and the impact (knocks it out), thats something you cant control. "But on that play I tried to turn my glove over as fast as I could without breaking my wrist." This late rally came a night after the Rockies seemingly had things in hand with a 6-0 lead, only to watch the Dodgers score five times in the ninth before their rally fell short. Jason Hammel (3-6) was cruising along until the sixth, when his lower back began to stiffen up. After his second walk of the inning, Tracy and trainer Keith Dugger came out to check on the righty, who then headed for the clubhouse. After the game, Hammel said his back was bothering him since the second inning, but he laboured on. He didnt anticipate going on the disabled list. Hammel gave up seven hits and three runs -- two earned -- before exiting. Hes still searching for his first win since April 30. "We put up some runs, put up some hits, we didnt lay down," Hammel said. "Thats a good thing to see." Matt Kemp had an RBI double in his return to the Los Angeles lineup after not starting the day before because of tightness in his left hamstring. Even with a 1-for-4 performance Saturday, Kemp is hitting .432 in June with a league-best 15 RBIs. Miles was in the middle of all three big innings for the Dodgers. He drew a walk in the sixth ahead of Blakes bases-clearing shot to left, delivered a two-run double in the seventh to give the Dodgers some breathing room and then singled in the ninth during their four-run burst. "I come to the park ready to play," said Miles, who was filling in for Blake. "Of course I want to play every day, but we have a lot of good ballplayers on this team and I think its obviously a good problem." In the Colorado eighth, Troy Tulowitzki had a two-run single. Two batters later, pinch-hitter Seth Smith lined a single up the middle that Kemp misplayed, allowing two more runs to score. Blackmon added an RBI single, but the Rockies got no closer. "We were able to string some hits together, but still we came up short," said Wigginton, who had a homer off Lilly in the second. "Lets sleep this one off and come get them tomorrow." NOTES: Rockies 1B Todd Helton was given a day off to keep him fresh. ... The Rockies had their three-game winning streak snapped. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
