Off Topic » good," James said. "And Im getting there. Im getting

TORONTO – It didnt happen right away, this positive working relationship between centerfielder Colby Rasmus and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. It wasnt that the two men were at odds. Its just, sometimes, these things take time. Its especially true with a guy like Rasmus. Hes taken all kinds of advice through the years on how to be a better hitter and how to be a better player and sometimes too much information rattles around in his brain. "Weve crossed some humps for sure," said Rasmus. "Just getting to know each other better; him getting to know me a little better." It was a conversation in Kansas City that proved the turning point. Rasmus was scuffling, his batting average hovering around the so-called Mendoza Line (.200). Hed been trying things his way. Noticeable details, like how he would hold his hands out over the plate when he came set in his batting stance. There were less noticeable things, like his approach to particular pitchers, which also needed tweaking. Seitzer approached Rasmus. The coach asked his 27-year-old pupil to do it his way for one week. The hands came in a bit, the bat rested still on Rasmus shoulders to launch a more even swing through the strike zone and the results were immediate. Entering Sundays play, Rasmus had at least one hit in each of the nine games hed played in May. He was tied with Jose Bautista for the team lead with nine home runs. "I was probably more surprised than what he was that he was able to do it so quick and he did it immediately," said Seitzer. "It was amazing how he just went from a straight pull guy to having a willingness to go back through the middle of the field." For his entire career, Rasmus has been considered a dead pull hitter. Seitzer, with whom manager John Gibbons became familiar when the two served on Trey Hillmans coaching staff in Kansas City, was brought in to change the Blue Jays all-or-nothing offensive approach. The hitters would use all fields under his tutelage and get away from their pull-happiness. Seitzer would like to clarify. "I said, I dont care where the ball goes. What I care about is your approach," said Seitzer. "The quicker your hands, the better your swing, the more balls youre going to catch early and youre going to pull them but its the approach that allows for better recognition and the ability to repeat your swing path to where youve got a chance on balls that are cutting and sinking and the change of speeds." The hitting coach also plays the role of part-time psychologist. Different guys need different types of help. Rasmus doesnt need the proverbial kick in the rear. His issue never been work ethic; if anything, hes often worked too hard to the point of physical and mental fatigue. "Keep it light," said Rasmus of what he needs from Seitzer. "I guess make the game less than what it really is and I think hes learned that about me, that I dont need a lot of poking and prodding to give me a lot of energy out there because I like to compete, I like to play, I like to do good and I think hes starting to learn that about me. Hes been just kind of cutting up with me and trying to keep it light and we laugh. I think if Im laughing, its a good thing." Rasmus slash line had climbed to .234/.279/.516 before Sundays action. The on-base plus slugging is closing in on .800, moving toward the numbers of his two best seasons (.859 in 2010; .840 in 2013). His career on-base percentage of .315 suggests that statistic will improve as games pass by. The strikeout rate remains high, almost 33 per cent after Sunday, but Seitzer thinks Rasmus will end up cutting down on the whiffs with his new approach. "I feel like hes putting balls in play and fouling off more pitches that he would have swung through the first part of the season," said Seitzer. "Thats an encouraging sign for me." Rasmus admits to being too pumped up after hitting a grand slam in Pittsburgh. Hes still finding an even keel, having to remind himself that each at-bat isnt life and death. Seitzer has met a student hes better learning to understand as time rolls on. "I think Colbys very quiet, hes a very private person and what Ive learned about him is hes probably one of the most genuinely nice, kind, sincere, honest people that Ive ever been around," said Seitzer. "I told him he has an absolutely beautiful heart inside and I can see it. I see it everyday even when hes got a scowl on his face because hes either in his zone or a little frustrated." JANSSEN RETURNS The Blue Jays activated closer Casey Janssen from the disabled list in time for Sunday afternoons game with the Angels. Janssen strained his left oblique muscle on March 28 in Montreal. He felt a tweak during a warm up pitch, thought nothing of it and threw a scoreless inning against the New York Mets. He made three appearances for Double-A New Hampshire on a rehab assignment that began on Monday and concluded on Saturday. "In my last outing I told myself I was going to step on it a little bit more and get some more velocity and I did that," said Janssen. "Not that velocity is anything really but I know that the difference between throwing in a Double-A game and a big league game youre going to go through those adrenaline rushes where youre going to throw harder based on actual adrenaline and I wanted my arm to withstand it." Torontos bullpen entered play on Sunday with the fourth-worst ERA in baseball (4.77). Its 62 walks rank third-most in baseball. The Jays are hoping Janssens return settles down the relief corps as pitchers resume roles to which theyre more accustomed. "We had a nice bullpen last year," said Janssen. "We were able to pass the baton pretty well in the certain inning that they had and if we can back to that and start putting up some zeroes I think that would help everybody." "I just think it brings a bit of a comfort down there for those guys having Casey back," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "Obviously our staff, knowing that hes down there and hes a viable option to close out a game, it does put guys back into their more proper roles. Trying to mix and match and close out the ninth without him has been difficult." To make room for Janssen on the active roster, infielder Chris Getz was designated for assignment. ROGERS ALTERS DELIVERY Esmil Rogers, whos struggled early this season, looked noticeably different during his two-inning appearance in Saturdays game. He dropped to a three-quarters arm slot. Rogers went six up, six down. "He made a little bit of an adjustment the day before," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "Were trying to find a little more deception. Hes an over-the-top guy and maybe the hitters have a good view of the baseball. We just altered just a hair and he seems comfortable with it and he had a good outing (on Saturday)." Its been a tough year for Rogers. Hes allowed a staff-high five home runs in just 18 1/3 innings pitched and of late has been used by manager John Gibbons only in low-leverage situations. Cheap Super Bowl Jerseys . Pominville scored in all three of Minnesotas games last week to help the Wild (8-4-3, 19 points) earn four out of a possible six points. His best performance was in a 4-3 win over Montreal on Friday, where he posted a season-high three points (two goals, one assist), including the game-winning goal. NFL Jerseys Wholesale .com) - The Calgary Flames are spoilers once again. http://www.cheapjerseyschinanfl.com/ . Dougie Hamilton and Jordan Caron scored in the first period after the Red Wings had miscues on the ice and Tuukka Rask finished with a 23-save shutout, giving Boston a 3-0 win over the Red Wings and a 2-1 series lead in their first-round series. Cheap Minnesota Vikings Jerseys .28 for a combined time of 1:14.70, also an Olympic record. Lee won the gold medal, defending her title from the Vancouver Games. Stitched NFL Jerseys .com) - Devan Dubnyk stopped all 30 shots fired his way and made several big saves down the stretch for his third shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 on Tuesday.TORONTO -- With Chris Bosh back home on dad duty, the Miami Heat had to make do with the "Big Two." But despite a good start for Toronto, it was business as usual for the Heat. LeBron James poured in a season-high 35 points, while Dwyane Wade added 20 to propel the Heat to a 104-95 win over the Raptors on Tuesday, marking Miamis 12th consecutive victory over Toronto. DeMar DeRozan had 21 points to top the Raptors (2-2), who fell apart in the fourth quarter against the two-time defending NBA champions. "Were still a good team, we lost to a good team, we lost to the defending champs. Two-time defending champs," said Rudy Gay, who had 13 points and 10 boards. "But we still can grow, we played them pretty solid for three quarters, weve just got to learn how to finish games out." Jonas Valanciunas finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. Kyle Lowry had 13 points and five assists while Terrence Ross added 11. Bosh -- the third piece of Miamis "Big Three" -- didnt make the trip for the game that came a day after his wife Adrienne gave birth to their daughter Dylan Skye. The former Raptors all-star, who spent seven seasons in Toronto, is averaging 19.8 points and 6.8 rebounds a night. But his absence was barely noticeable -- save for the fact he wasnt there for fans to boo -- as James and Wade more than carried the load. When they werent scoring, they were helping each other score. "To see it now and to where it was before, you dont see all the hours of commitment on their part to develop different parts of their game, and that specifically is: what are they doing without the basketball?" Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said on the chemistry between his two stars. "Early on, when we put this team together, it was a challenge, they were used to having the ball so often in their hands, particularly in pivotal moments during the game, and they had to learn how to adjust, play off the ball. . . and theyve both done a tremendous job, for marquee players to make that adjustment is much easier said than done." Ray Allen had 14 points for Miami (3-2). The Heat moved the ball with high-speed precision, totalling 31 assists to Torontos 15. Still, the Raptors led by as much as 11 points in the second quarter before Wade, looking as if he was toying with Toronto, sccored on a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to end the third.dddddddddddd The basket gave the Heat a 78-74 lead heading into the fourth and sucked all the life out of Toronto. The Heat opened the fourth with a 12-0 run, and held the Raptors scoreless for more than five minutes in about as ugly a quarter as you can get. The Raptors had nine turnovers, and Lowrys driving layup with 3:58 left in the game was Torontos first field goal in the quarter. The game was out of reach by that point, and many of the 18,470 fans at the Air Canada Centre were already headed for the exits. "I thought our guys battled for three-and-a-half quarters, but those turnovers in that one stretch broke our back," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. The Raptors string of futility versus Miami is the teams longest active losing streak. James reached another milestone during the game, becoming the fifth player in NBA history to score 10 points or more in 500 consecutive games, achieving the feat with a huge first-quarter dunk. The four-time NBA MVP joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (with streaks of 787 and 508 games), Michael Jordan (866), Karl Malone (575) and Moses Malone (526) as the only players to accomplish the feat. "I felt good," James said. "And Im getting there. Im getting to where Im going out there and feeling like I was at the end of last year. That was a great road win for us tonight." Joel Anthony of Montreal played just nine minutes for the Heat and had two boards and zero points for the Heat. Valanciunas had 10 points in the first quarter to give the Raptors a nine-point lead. But Allen drained a three to cap a Miami run and pull his team even at 23-23. The Raptors led 25-23 heading into the second. A Valanciunas hook shot gave Toronto an 11-point lead with five minutes to go in the first half, but Mario Chalmers buzzer-beating three capped an 18-5 Heat run and gave Miami a 52-50 advantage at halftime. The Raptors and Heat meet three more times this season, including Nov. 29 at Miami. NOTES: The Raptors are at Charlotte on Wednesday, and Indiana on Friday before returning home to host the Utah Jazz on Saturday. . . Rapper Macklemore had a courtside seat and helped chuck T-shirts into the crowd during a timeout. . . DJ Jazzy Jeff and Toronto Maple Leafs James Reimer and Phil Kessel were also seated courtside. ' ' '