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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. Patrick Willis 49ers Jersey . 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Ronnie Lott Youth Jersey .com) - The Chicago White Sox have officially announced that the club has agreed to terms with utilityman Emilio Bonifacio on a one-year, $4 million contract that includes a team option for the 2016 season.PRETORIA, South Africa -- Using witness accounts of a panicked nighttime phone call from Oscar Pistorius begging for help and his desperate pleas for Reeva Steenkamp to stay alive, the defence at his murder trial tried to reinforce its case Monday that the double-amputee Olympian fatally shot his girlfriend in a tragic error of judgment. Johan Stander and his daughter Carice Viljoen, neighbours and friends of Pistorius, testified that they were at the runners villa soon after the shooting on Feb. 14, 2013 and that Pistorius was praying, trying to help Steenkamp breathe and urging her to live. Viljoen testified that Pistorius was saying to Steenkamp as she lay on the floor with multiple gunshot wounds: "Stay with me, my love, stay with me." The world-famous disabled runner had shot four times through a toilet cubicle door with his 9 mm pistol minutes earlier, hitting Steenkamp in the hip, arm and head. He claims he thought she was a dangerous intruder in the cubicle in his darkened bathroom. Prosecutors maintain Pistorius, 27, is lying about the perceived trespasser, and his story is designed to cover up that he killed the 29-year-old model intentionally in the midst of a heated argument. The first amputee to run at the Olympics in 2012, Pistorius faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of a premeditated murder charge. The testimonies from the neighbours began the seventh week of proceedings in the globally televised trial, which resumed after a two-week recess. Stander testified that Pistorius phoned him at around 3:19 a.m. -- about two minutes after the shooting. Pistorius told him he had thought Steenkamp was an intruder and shot her, Stander testified, and Stander and his daughter went to Pistorius house after the world-famous runner pleaded for him to come and help. "I saw the truth there that morning. I saw it and I feel it," Stander testified, saying he believed that the shooting was accidental because of Pistorius desperation when they found him carrying a bloodied Steenkamp downstairs from the upstairs bathroom. Pistorius was "really crying. He was in pain," Stander said. Standers own voice shook at one point and he became emotional as he described Pistorius state. "He was torn apart, broken, desperate, pleading," Stander said. "Its difficult really to describe." The defence was trying to underline its scenario that Pistorius was emotionally distressed after shooting Steenkamp by mistake.dddddddddddd Pistorius lawyers were also trying to regain some momentum after chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel put Pistorius under intense pressure during the runners own testimony, which appeared to show some inconsistencies in his story. The prosecution has preferred to focus on events before the killing -- and not Pistorius demeanour afterward -- to try and show that his version is a fabrication, including that he never attempted to locate Steenkamp despite knowing she was awake before walking to the bathroom on his stumps and firing through the toilet door. Pistorius slumped forward in the Pretoria courtroom Monday with his head in his hands as details of what may have been Steenkamps last moments alive were discussed. Cross-examining Stander, Nel questioned if he was a good friend of Pistorius and therefore trying to "assist" the defence. Stander said he had known Pistorius since 2009 and looked after his home and dogs when he was away. Nel asked if the friendship led him to back Pistorius story. Stander said he also knew Steenkamp. "Im here to give the truth," Stander said. "And I think Ive given the truth, what I saw that morning." Nels manner in cross-examining both Stander and Viljoen was relatively subdued in contrast to his aggressive questioning during his five-day questioning of Pistorius, and of two expert witnesses for the defence. Stander earlier recounted the telephone call from Pistorius that woke him up in the pre-dawn hours of Valentines Day. "He (Pistorius) said on the call, Johan, please, please, please come to my house. Please. I shot Reeva. I thought she was an intruder. Please come quick," Stander said. Viljoen testified that when they arrived at the house, Pistorius begged her to help him get Steenkamp into a car so they could take her to a hospital. Viljoen said she urged Pistorius to "just put her down" so they could try and stop the bleeding. As Viljoen spoke, her voice broke and she became tearful. "I just saw blood everywhere," she said. Her father stepped outside to telephone an ambulance, Viljoen said, and she went upstairs to fetch towels to stop the bleeding. Pistorius was pleading for Steenkamp to stay alive, she said. "He kept on egging Reeva to just stay with him," she testified. ' ' '