CLEARWATER, Florida – J. Nat Moore Jersey .A. Happ got the start in the Blue Jays rain-shortened, Grapefruit League opener against the Phillies but it was Todd Redmond who left an early impression on his manager. "Redmonds like anybody else, hes going to get hit every now and then but all weve ever seen out of him is good pitching and he gets guys out," said John Gibbons. "Hes pretty polished." The 29-year-old pitched two clean innings, the second and third, striking out a batter over 22 pitches. He got the win, for what thats worth on February 26, in a 4-3 game called midway through the seventh. Redmond is among more than a half-dozen pitchers in contention for the last starting rotation spot. While not much can be made of one outing, Redmonds performance resonated following a comment Gibbons made before the game. "Usually what happens, when theres a spot open, the guy that takes it, some of those guys have those springs where theyre good all spring and theres no doubt about it ... a lot of times that guy from day one, man, hes standing out and theres no hiccups." All Redmonds ever wanted is an opportunity. Here it is, less than three months before hell turn 29. Think hes overwhelmed? Redmonds been around too long – eight minor league cities over nine seasons – to get rattled by the best chance hes had to crack an opening day roster. "Im an easy-going guy," said Redmond. "Just give me the ball, Ill go out there and pitch. Same thing as I do every day. I pitch." Redmond made 17 appearances for the Blue Jays last season, 14 of them starts. Hed only made one previous appearance in the majors, a start for the Reds in 2012 that didnt go well. Familiarity breeds a sense of comfort. "I have a little more confidence coming into camp. Of my stuff, not of me, just of my stuff. More trusting of my ability," he said. As a starter last season, Redmond slowly earned Gibbons trust, which allowed Redmond to pitch deeper into games. If hes going to succeed at the major league level, however, Redmond will have to vastly improve his numbers facing hitters for a second and third time through the order. Batters have a .627 on-base plus slugging percentage against Redmond the first time through. Redmonds OPS against spikes to .939 when the lineup turns over and .914 the third time around. He insists durability isnt an issue. "My entire career, if you look at my minor league side of it, I dont think Ive ever thrown under 160 innings a year," said Redmond. "The workload. Thats one thing I take pride in is being able to go out there every fifth day and take the ball." Redmonds almost right. In the seven seasons between 2007 and 2012, he logged at least 160 innings five times and never through less than 145 innings. Having worked a modified heavy ball program this offseason, he would typically stretch with the one-pound or two-pound weighted ball prior to throwing, Redmond says his should feels strong as he makes the push for a job in the rotation. "Hes been a good pitcher in the minor leagues," said Gibbons. "Every year hes pretty steady and he never really had that opportunity until he came here last year. If this is his year he makes it and he goes on to have a good year, hell be a big league player and I dont think there will be any looking back." DRABEK UNHAPPY WITH PERFORMANCE Kyle Drabek was visibly upset with his first spring performance, a line that looked like this: 1.2IP/1ER/1H/3BB/1K. In his only full inning of work, Drabek threw 11 pitches but only four for strikes. A candidate for that final rotation spot, he was most bothered by the lack of command. "Ive had it so good in all the bullpens," said Drabek. "Its just frustrating for me to kind of fall back into being wild a little bit. I know what I can do and thats not me." "Kyles whole thing, get it into the zone and hes fine," said Gibbons. "Hes had a long layoff through the surgery. He pitched some last year but in a lot of ways, hes been out for so long it may be something that he can build back into." The 26-year-old has a history of control problems. Hes averaged 5.8 walks per nine innings over 169 1/3 big league innings. Returning from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery last season, Drabek vastly improved his walk rate, issuing just six bases on balls over 43 innings. BAUTISTA IMPRESSIVE It took Jose Bautista all of three pitches to appear in midseason form. He smacked a 2-0, Roberto Hernandez fastball out of the park, literally. The drive to left field cleared the Phillies bullpen, the walkway behind the bullpen and the fence beyond the walkway. "I dont know, for whatever reason, I feel like Im seeing (the ball) better," said Bautista. "Theres nothing that I could have done different. Im not going to go to play winter ball right now. Its kind of odd because I havent played since August. But Im not complaining." CABRERA LIKELY TO HIT SECOND Its not even March, everyone is healthy, and manager John Gibbons is able to envision putting together a full lineup, something he wasnt able to do all of last season. Jose Reyes will lead off and, as the plan was at this time last year, Melky Cabrera has the inside track to bat behind him. "The only real downfall is he does hit a lot of ground balls but you look at what hes done the last few years, take away last year, and hes been one of the better hitters in baseball," said Gibbons. "We like guys there that can get a lot of hits. Hes a switch-hitter, he can manipulate the bat a little bit, he knows how to do those things. Ideally, if hes the player we expect him to be, than hed be a good guy for that spot." One thing Cabrera doesnt do often is walk, an ideal trait of a two-hole hitter and something that would get him on base more often ahead of sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. After walking 56 times in 2006, his first full year in the big leagues, Cabrera hasnt had more than 43 bases on balls in a season. A HEALTHY PERSPECTIVE Nobody wants to read about or hear about injury as an excuse for the Jays disappointing 2013 year. But a little perspective never hurt anyone, either. Last season, manager John Gibbons had these six players – Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Colby Rasmus and Brett Lawrie – in the lineup at the same time on only eight occasions all year. It happened over an 11-day period, starting on July 21 and ending on August 1. Nat Moore Womens Jersey . They wanna make t-shirts about it and sell them at our next hockey game..DB: Wow, they want to make t-shirts? That sounds pretty amazing.MS: Yeah, I was also on the Top 10, I was number 1 today, so that was pretty cool. Bob Griese Jersey . Nick Young scored 17 points for Los Angeles, which lost five of its last seven before trouncing the Pelicans, who beat them handily last week in New Orleans. Jodie Meeks and Xavier Henry scored 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who led by 20 points in the first half before coasting to their 12th win in their last 13 regular-season meetings with New Orleans. http://www.authenticdolphinspro.com/Dan-marino-dolphins-jersey/ . -- Jacksonvilles offensive makeover is just getting starting.SAN ANTONIO -- A big effort from the bench sent San Antonio to its 11th straight victory. Manu Ginobili had 16 points to lead seven players in double figures, and the Spurs beat the New Orleans Pelicans 112-93 on Monday night to remain undefeated at home. "The second team did a good job coming in and playing smart, aggressive basketball," coach Gregg Popovich said. "They didnt take anything for granted." San Antonio, which led by as many as 32 points, never trailed after Al-Farouq Aminus layup put New Orleans up 4-2 with 10:54 left in the first quarter. The Spurs had 30 assists on their 44 field goals, continually making at least two passes on each possession compared to isolation plays and one-pass-and-shoot attempts by the Pelicans. New Orleans had 15 turnovers and finished with 21 assists, which was almost matched by San Antonios reserves (16). "Weve just got to play harder," Pelicans big man Anthony Davis said. "They just came out and put it on us. Its tough. We didnt play with (any) effort. No energy. We didnt care. We played like we didnt care, and it kind of showed." Tony Parker had 14 points and seven assists, Tiago Splitter added 11 and Tim Duncan 10 for San Antonio (13-1). Reserves Marco Belinelli had 14 points, Boris Diaw scored 13 and Patty Mills 12. Ryan Anderson had 17 points, Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday each added 12 points and Davis had 10 for New Orleans (6-7). The Pelicans, who have lost six straight in San Antonio, had a three-game winning streak snapped. San Antonio matched its best start after 14 games and was again able to give its starters significant rest after rolling past Cleveland 126-96 on Saturday. "We didnt do a good job of (guarding and sharing the ball)," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said. "I thought their offence was as crisp as any offence weve ever seen. There were times when we were a bit discombobulated on the offensive end." The Spurs have seven double-digit victories during their streak, winning their last four by an average of 19 points. "Weve got a deep team," Ginobili said. "Were moving the ball really well. Were making shots. The last five games, we made a ton of shots and we are playing focused. Weve got 10 players that play every game. Were all concentrating, and were hustling; were getting hands on lose balls. And then offensively, were just moving the ball, attacking quick and finding open teammates." Ginobili had another instant impact, making coonsecutive 3-pointers and then drawing a charge on Eric Gordon in his first 2 minutes as the Spurs took a 21-10 lead with 4 minutes left in the first quarter. Reshad Jones Youth Jersey. Ginobili had 11 points in his first 11 minutes, going 3 for 4 on 3-pointers, and finished with six assists and five rebounds. The Spurs starters played an average of 20 minutes on Monday, with Splitter playing 14 after spraining his right ankle in the first half. The Pelicans shot 38 per cent from the field, going 37 for 97 while allowing the Spurs to shoot 54 per cent. San Antonio confounded New Orleans frontcourt with a defence led by Duncan and wings that kept collapsing on Davis and Jason Smith, who finished with eight points on 4-for-9 shooting. "(The defence) was real active," Duncan said. "Everyone was real active tonight. With good hands, we made it crowded for everybody. We got a lot of hands on balls. Danny (Green) did a great job in there. We had a lot of guys in there get some steals and turn them into offence. Just all in all, good team defence." Kawhi Leonard stole a pass and had a breakaway dunk to give San Antonio a 61-40 lead with 9:45 left in the third quarter. Evans shook his head and looked down almost in surrender after Mills drained a 3 that put San Antonio ahead 81-56 with 3 minutes left in the third. "We didnt want to play," Davis said. "We (werent) focused, we werent locked in. They had 30 assists, open shots, a lot of layups. We just (werent) playing defence. We tried to stay in it, but we just (werent) mentally out there tonight." NOTES: Splitter went to the locker room with 5 minutes left in the first half after stepping on Davis foot while attempting to guard a pass. Splitter dropped to the floor after his ankle turned awkwardly, allowing Davis an uncontested layup. He returned for the second half, but did not play. Splitter appeared to be walking normally upon his return, but San Antonio led 57-40 entering the second half. ... Williams complained that Parker was travelling "every time" he pump-faked, which drew a sarcastic query of "every time?" from official Ron Garretson. ... Parker spread his arms and then fell to the floor in disbelief after official Olandis Poole called a foul against him on a block of Aminus layup on a fast break. Replays showed it was a clean block, which made Parker and Popovich even angrier. ... Pelicans F Darius Miller (left foot) and C Gret Stiemsma (left knee sprain) did not play. ' ' '