DUNEDIN, Florida – For a guy with an uncertain future and a history of self doubt, Colby Rasmus has arrived for his third spring training with the Blue Jays a relaxed and confident ballplayer. He eagerly relives the thrill of the Iron Bowl football victory in November, in which his beloved Auburn Tigers defeated the two-time defending NCAA champion Alabama Crimson Tide on a last second missed field goal returned for a touchdown. In the next breath, he laments Auburns loss to Florida State in the BCS title game. “Too many mistakes,” he said. Rasmus isnt a fan of American Idol. He watches only when his wife, Megan, has it on TV and admits to only passing interest in the success on the show of Dexter Roberts, a singer whos made it into this seasons final 13 contestants and who, through friends, performed at Rasmus New Years Eve bash. “I dont really know him. I only met him once,” he said. When it gets down to the business of baseball, Rasmus will attempt to control only what he can – his performance on the field. Signed for this year at $7-million, Rasmus will become a free agent for the first time in his career if he and the Blue Jays dont reach a contract extension before the end of the season. Hes not bothered that general manager Alex Anthopoulos hasnt approached him about a long-term deal, preferring instead to wait and, as Anthopooulos put it in December, “gather more information.” “Im given a chance to play again another year,” said Rasmus. “They didnt see fit to hold me for a long time and I have had some ups and downs and I get that. Im not really worried about it. Ive been given a chance to play another year so Im going to go out and play and let it all hang out and leave it all out there on the field.” Rasmus enjoyed a bounce back season in 2013. Limited to 118 games thanks to oblique and facial injuries, he authored a .276/.338/.501 slash line. His OPS of .840 looked more like the number in his 2010 breakout season in St. Louis (.859) than in either 2011 (.688) or 2012 (.689.) Despite missing 44 games, Rasmus hit 22 home runs, one off his career high. Prorate that number over a full season and he hits 30-plus home runs for the first time. At 27, Rasmus is entering his prime years. Hes maturing with time. “I guess everybody always said it comes with age or whatever,” said Rasmus. “I mean now that Ive got some time under my belt it definitely is easier. Looking back on how it was when I was younger I understand I had hard times with the older guys. I get it. But now, to be where Im at, Im just happy to be here and I look at it like that.” His manager sees all-star potential in Rasmus. “Last year was a big year for him,” said John Gibbons. “I think as the season went on he got much better. A lot of strikeouts early but he made some adjustments and when he puts the ball in play consistently, the ball goes a long way. Hes got a chance to be one of the premier power hitters in the league. He can do a lot of things.” Rasmus had a strong relationship with former hitting coach Chad Mottola. The two formed a quick bond, Mottola helping Rasmus with his mental approach to hitting. Now, as Rasmus gets to know his third hitting coach in as many seasons, hes willing to be patient as he adjusts to Kevin Seitzer. “Im not putting a rush on it,” said Rasmus. “Weve got a lot of time here in spring. I just try to get my thoughts together on what I think would help me and help him to make it a good flow and a good mix of what Im trying to do and what I need him to look for in me.” Seitzer knows Rasmus is a pull hitter who loves his fastballs – Rasmus believes hes evolved from being a dead pull hitter to someone willing to use all fields – and hes not coming in to overhaul the centerfielders swing. “Hitters have to be able to make adjustments from week to week, game to game, pitcher to pitcher, depending on the stuff theyre going to attack with,” said Seitzer. “Hes been around a long time and hes a smart hitter and hes very talented. You cant teach hand speed and hes got a lot of that. Well see how the process unfolds. “Youve got to be able to get in their head quick and find out how they tick and where their insecurities are, their points of concern in their swing with their mindset and all of that,” said Seitzer. “I get to know them pretty quick.” CECIL AND DELABAR ADJUST Brett Cecil and Steve Delabar were two important pieces of the Blue Jays stellar bullpen last season. Both missed time due to injury and while heavy workload would seem to be the obvious reason why, Delabar identified a different reason: He made a mechanical change to his delivery before the All-Star break, which led to shoulder inflammation and a month on the disabled list in August. “It caused me to put some stress in unneeded areas,” said Delabar. Delabar changed the positioning of his feet in an effort to be, as he describes it, more directional rather than rotational toward home plate. He was falling away on his pitches down and away to right-handed batters, likening the problem to a hitter with a persistently open stance who cant get to outside pitches. “I thought it would get me straight on line,” said Delabar. “It felt good to do it so I started playing catch with it, messing around with it and I got in a game and did it and I was like, ‘Hey, it feels pretty good. I just kept doing it, kept going with it and I didnt realize it was putting stress on my shoulder.” When Delabar returned from injury on September 2, he continued with his new delivery and with such little time left in the season, he didnt experience any more significant trouble. The plan is to use the adjusted delivery this season. Cecil appeared in 60 games in his first season as a full-time reliever. Not a lock to make the club out of spring training, Cecil took the ball whenever he was asked and was eager to put in extra work to prove he belonged. He was shut down on September 13 with elbow pain after only three appearances that month. With his role in the bullpen now firmly established, Cecil will focus on better monitoring his own workload this season. “Casey (Janssen) and Darren (Oliver) have been in this situation a lot longer than I have and they were telling me in April, you know, save your bullets. You may not feel like you need a day but if you pitch one day then use your better judgment,” said Cecil. “I told them in August, you guys were right, man. I was starting to feel like I was breaking down a little bit … Thats why you never stopped learning.” Cecil will better communicate with the training staff if hes not feeling 100 percent, but wants something in return – that the training staff doesnt raise any unnecessary red flags if he describes only simple soreness. Hes already adjusting. Cecil was given a 25-pitch cap for his bullpen session on Friday. He chose to throw only 20 pitches. Wholesale Kobe Bryant Shoes . 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Some will say that Martin is too sensitive while others will say that it is part of the way football is in the locker room. But to have to absorb what was said to him for any rational and intelligent person is too much.KELOWNA, B.C. - When Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier didnt make Canadas team for the Sochi Olympics, the ice dancers put themselves on autopilot.It was the low point on a roller-coaster season of crazy highs and heartbreaking lows.We really had to keep moving forward, so we had to go home, take it one day at a time really, because we couldnt really dwell on: Well, that was it, Gilles said. We had to turn our minds off for a little bit.Gilles, from Toronto, and Poirier, from Unionville, Ont., captured a silver medal in ice dance at Skate Canada International on Saturday night, and reflected on how far theyve come from last season.Its so nice to be prepared coming into the Grand Prix season this year, I think there are so many positives coming out of this competition, Poirier said.Their Sochi Olympic campaign got off to a nightmare start when Poirier broke his ankle in May of 2013, a break so severe it took three plates and 13 screws to repair it. He wasnt back on the ice until August, and the two werent able to do full run-throughs of their programs until about three weeks before their Grand Prix debut last November.All the while, the American-born Gilles was nervously waiting for her Canadian citizenship, which she was finally awarded a few weeks before the Olympic trials, making her eligible to compete for Canada in Sochi.It wasnt to be — they would finish fourth at the trials, narrowly missing the team.The first couple days (of Sochi) were hard for me, Gilles said. I couldnt watch the first couple of days. But then once your competitors and your friends are all there, youre like, OK, I have to, because you want to cheer them on. And as hard as it is for you, it still gives you the motivation for the next four yyears.ddddddddddddGilles and Poirier, who are both 22, didnt have much time to dwell on their disappointment. They were named to the Four Continents team, where they finished second, and then were replacements for Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir on Canadas team for the world championships, where they finished eighth.I think more at the end of the season, it was like: Aw man!, Gilles said on not making the Sochi team. But we did worlds and we had a positive worlds, so that kind of helped the negative part of it.It gave us a lot of momentum going into this season and we saw what we could achieve with training behind us, and weve tried to really embrace that this season, Poirier added.Gilles and Poirier say they already have more training under their belts this season than they did all of last year, and with the changing landscape of ice dancing post-Olympics — both Virtue and Moir and U.S. Olympic champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White are taking the season off to contemplate their futures — are keen to position themselves among the worlds best.We really want to make a big statement this year, said Poirier, who was 14th at the Vancouver Olympics with former partner Vanessa Crone. We really want to show were contenders in this quadrennial, and I think it has to start now. Weve really been pushing ourselves because now is the time where we can really break into the ranks.Looking back on the stresses of last season, especially the nerve-wracking wait for citizenship, Gilles said, I wouldnt change it.Were still hoping for our goal, a medal, for the next one, so were still pushing, she added.The end goal is still the same, Poirier said. And were still hoping to get there three and a half years from now. ' ' '