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CLEARWATER, Florida – J.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. Cooper Kupp Womens Jersey . -- Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que. Aaron Donald Jersey . The cause of his death is as of yet undetermined, but police said foul play is not suspected. http://www.ramsrookiestore.com/Rams-David-Long-Jersey/ . The Eastern Conference-leading Celtics finished their recent trek at 3-1 on Monday in Salt Lake City when Rajon Rondo made a key jumper with 24.1 seconds remaining, as Boston held off the Utah Jazz, 107-102, at EnergySolutions Arena. Taylor Rapp Youth Jersey . And follow TSN.ca right through Wednesdays 3pm et trade deadline for all the updates. Blue line help for Red Wings? In addition to what he reported in Insider Trading, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun wrote on ESPN. Greg Gaines Rams Jersey . -- Darrelle Revis says at least 26 teams called after he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.TORONTO -- Brayden Point is banking on the second time being the charm. The Moose Jaw Warriors forward is again at the Canadian under-18 national hockey teams training camp. Last year as an under-age player he was with the squad through its final exhibition game in Sochi, Russia -- scoring twice in regulation and once in a shootout in a 5-4 victory over Czech Republic -- before being released and returning home. Adding insult to injury for Point, the Canadians went on to win the tournament for the third time overall but first since 2008. Canadas victory also snapped the United States run of four straight gold medal finishes. "It (being released) was tough but it was an older team and there was a lot of good players," Point said following Mondays practice at the Mastercard Centre. "I understood and was just thankful to get the experience. "Meeting the Hockey Canada guys and getting to know them over the course of the trip last year was great so now its a lot more comfortable and I feel a lot more confident." The five-foot-nine, 160-pound Point was the Warriors leading scorer this year with 91 points (26 goals, 55 assists). He played in all 72 of his teams games and finished the season with an impressive 12-game point streak. The 18-year-old Calgary native has recorded 149 points (61-88) in his three seasons with Moose Jaw. He also took part in the 2014 CHL Top Prospects game. Point does have previous national under-18 experience. He was a member of the Canadian squad that won gold at the 13 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament, registering a goal and three assists in five games. And although he wasnt a part of last years under-18 world championship squad, Point is well aware of what the expectations are for this years team. "No matter what Hockey Canada event you go to, the expectation is always gold," he said. "That never changes no matter what the previous team did. "But being able to play exhibition games last year over there was an awesome experience. I think I can take the pace of the game from that experience and hopefully translate it into my game this year." Point is among 22 players who were invited to the camp -- eight from both the WHL and OHL, six from the QMJHL. Thirteen participated in last years under-17 world hockey challenge in Quebec while eight played in this years under-17 event in Cape Breton, N.S. Point is one oof nine players on the roster who helped Canada win gold at the Ivan Hlinka event last summer in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.dddddddddddd. But what stands out most to head coach Kevin Dineen is the sheer size of his squad, with 14 players in camp standing six feet or taller. "I cant believe the size of these guys and when you look at their bios they were playing midget just a couple of years ago," said Dineen, the former head coach of the NHLs Florida Panthers. "But not only are they big, theyre skilled with talent. "That makes it enjoyable having guys who are able to play the game anyway we need to have success." But Dineen, who played 19 NHL seasons and led Canadas national womens team to Olympic gold in Sochi in February, has also been impressed with his players hockey smarts. "Were certainly not going to compromise and dumb things down for this group," he said. "That wouldnt be fair to them because that wouldnt be making them live up to their potential and by no means are we doing that. "Its a pretty smart, cerebral bunch and I like the chemistry . . . one of our players missed the first day and didnt understand the drill we were doing so one of his teammates said, Here, hop in and Ill show you what we have to do. Theres a little bit of that going on which were really trying to encourage." And with good reason. Dineen faces the challenge of having to mould 22 players into a team less than two weeks before the start of the world championship tournament in Lapeenranta and Imatra, Finland. "Many teams were going to face have a real advantage because theyve been centralized like the U.S. team out in Ann Arbor, Mich., and many of the European players have played together for a while and were just putting this together," Dineen said. "But for me I love this kind of stuff, its so much fun. "This is such a good bunch to be around. Theyre enthusiastic, theyre talented, theyre nervous, its the whole package. Weve all felt each other out here for the last few days. Yes, there are challenges. Weve got to gel and find some chemistry in a pretty timely manner but its a really fun group to work with and theyre very sharp kids." Canada will conclude its training camp sessions Tuesday and play exhibition games against Finland and Denmark before opening the under-18 tournament April 17 against Sweden. ' ' '