ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – The time for talking is over. Its put up or shut up time. A pivotal season, the Blue Jays 38th in Major League Baseball, gets underway at Tropicana Field on Monday afternoon. Last springs eternal optimism has been replaced by this springs eternal doubt. Jobs are on the line if 2014 takes on a pattern similar to 2013. That certainly goes for manager John Gibbons. The heat already is being turned up on general manager Alex Anthopoulos. The players know it, including the ace knuckleballer for whom much was traded away over a year ago. "Guys really know that this is a big year for us collectively," said R.A. Dickey, who will make his second consecutive opening day start for the Blue Jays. "Were kind of getting a mulligan this year. Last year a lot of things went wrong. This year were pretty much all healthy, were here, weve been here all spring, weve been able to do relationships with one another and now were in a much different place than we were last year and its a much more comfortable place." While its nice that a full season has bred greater familiarity, the degree to which teammates are comfortable around one another will only take them so far. The Blue Jays go into the season with a starting rotation full of question marks on the heels of last year, when the club finished 29th out of 30 teams in starting staff ERA (4.81). "Thats the key to our success this year, thats the key to anyones success is how well you pitch as far as giving you a chance," said manager John Gibbons. "Were ready to go. Weve had a good spring all year." All things being equal, namely health, you know what youll get from Dickey and Mark Buehrle. The knuckleballer will be among the American League leaders in innings pitched, he was second last year with 224 2/3 innings despite pitching most of the first half with a strained muscle in his neck, and if Dickeys spring is any indication he could improve upon last years numbers (14 wins, 4.21 ERA). "I feel prepared. I feel confident, which is great," Dickey said after his final Grapefruit League start on March 26. "Last year I didnt feel very confident simply because I didnt feel as prepared. Im really looking forward to getting started and being able to adjust my schedule this year in a way that really maximizes my preparedness has been great." Buehrle, whose 12 wins and 203 2/3 innings in 2013 marked the 13th consecutive season hes achieved double-digit victories and more than 200 innings pitched, said of his changeup after an early March outing that it hadnt been that good in three years. Typically a slow starter, Buehrles 4.32 career ERA in the month of April is his worst for any month of the season. The joke has been how good he feels. "Its a joke but not a joke," explained Buehrle. "At times you go through your little stretches where you almost say, man, I wish I was giving up some hits and home runs to kind of get them out of the way for the season. But I feel good. I mean, obviously the results in spring training dont mean stuff but you still want to get people out no matter whether its spring training or the regular season. I feel good and I think thats the biggest thing Im taking out of this camp is I feel healthy, Im ready to go and hopefully the results are there." Throw Drew Hutchison and Brandon Morrow in the questionable category. Hutchison is there because hes 23 years old and likely to experience the normal ups and downs of any young pitcher, not to mention he has limited minor league innings under his belt following last summers return from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. Still, Hutchison was the Jays best pitcher this spring. He earned a starting job on merit and appears poised to resume a career halted by injury in June, 2012. Morrow, entering the final guaranteed year of his contract (the Blue Jays hold a $10 million option for 2015), must prove he can not only remain healthy but that he can pitch effectively, consistently. The Jays need Morrow to be his 2012 version (10-7, 2.96, 1.115 WHIP) save for the two and a half months lost to an oblique strain. Dont think the 29-year-old doesnt feel he has a point to prove. "You definitely dont want to be labeled as somebody injury prone," said Morrow. "My goal is to go out there and make every start this year. I had a positive spring so Im feeling good about it." Its a wait-and-see, hold-your-breath approach with Dustin McGowan, wholl be closely monitored not only during his outings but in between starts. The 32-year-old is returning to the starting rotation on a full-time basis for the first time since 2008. Multiple shoulder surgeries and various other injuries later, McGowans story is testament to his resolve but also a reflection of the Blue Jays lack, at the moment, of quality starting pitching depth. Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman and Sean Nolin are on the way but arent ready yet. Todd Redmond or J.A. Happ, once the issues with his wonky back get worked out, are the immediate fallback plans should McGowan falter. Anything the Jays get from McGowan has to be considered gravy given what hes been through. CASEY JANSSEN TO DISABLED LIST The Blue Jays have placed closer Casey Janssen on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 29, with what the club is calling a left abdominal/back strain. Janssen, 32, made only three spring appearances, all in the last week, after dealing with pain and stiffness in the back of his pitching shoulder for most of camp. Reached for comment, Janssen told TSN.ca he isnt worried about the state of his shoulder, which was surgically repaired more than a year ago. "Shoulder is feeling good," said Janssen. "Maybe compensated for it but, no, shoulder is good to pitch." Sergio Santos will replace Janssen as the clubs closer for the time being. Catcher Erik Kratz, who lost out to Josh Thole for the back-up job to Dioner Navarro, has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo. McGOWAN THROWS SIMULATED GAME Dustin McGowan threw a 77-pitch simulated game at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on Sunday. General manager Alex Anthopoulos, speaking on a Sunday afternoon conference call, said that as of this moment McGowan is on track to start the home opener on Friday against the Yankees. McGowan describes himself as a "second day pain guy," meaning his shoulder is most uncomfortable following his second sleep after a start. Regardless, at the moment the 32-year-old appears to have cleared all hurdles in his attempt to return to the starting rotation. Joe Thuney Jersey . The Austrian ski federation said Morgenstern was "conscious and well responsive" and his condition would be monitored in the intensive care unit of a Salzburg hospital for the next 72 hours. The federation said it was "way too early" to judge Morgensterns chances of competing in Sochi, and that an update on his condition was not expected before Monday. Phillip Dorsett Jersey . The Broncos quarterback earned the offensive award Wednesday after passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-21 win over the Raiders Monday night. Manning completed 32-of-37 passes and had a passer rating of 135. http://www.cheappatriotsjerseyssale.com/?tag=keionta-davis-jersey-sale. Charlottetown scored four times in the third period en route to a 5-2 win over the defending champion Halifax Mooseheads on Friday. Lawrence Guy Jersey .Hammel pitched inside more and it helped him get into the seventh inning as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Friday night. Tom Brady Jersey . The veteran NFL receiver received his work permit and is in Montreal for the start of the Alouettes rookie camp. Johnson even took in the Montreal Canadiens Game 5 win over the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre Tuesday night.The Colorado Avalanche may have lost one of the premier free agents, centre Paul Stastny, but recovered somewhat by bringing in the top free agent goal-scorer. Numbers Game looks into the deal for Jarome Iginla The Avalanche Get: RW Jarome Iginla. Iginla, 37, scored 30 goals last season, just like he has in every full season since 2000-2001, while playing for the Boston Bruins. The Bruins ran into cap issues that squeezed Iginla out of their plans and opened the door for the Avalanche to improve their forward ranks. Sure, at his age, Iginla has probably lost a step (his 2.68 shots on goal per game last season was his lowest since 1998-1999), but over the past six seasons, he ranks seventh in goals, with 186. He can pull the trigger and thats largely what the Avalanche will need from him. Colorado has lots of young talent up front, guys that the can skate the puck into the offensive zone and it would easy enough to fit Iginla on a line with rising star Nathan MacKinnon and veteran Alex Tanguay, with whom Iginla shared some productive years in Calgary. The issue for the Avalanche is how rapid Iginlas descent might be. Hes been unbelievably durable throughout his career, missing eight games in the past two seasons following five straight seasons without missing a game. But, once more than 1300 NHL games are on the odometer, its difficult to maintain production and its already begun with Iginla, who has averaged under 0.80 points per game in each of the past two years for the first time since 1998-1999. Its evident howw this career arc is playing out.dddddddddddd With 560 career goals, Iginla ranks second among active skaters, behind only Jaromir Jagr now that Teemu Selanne has retired. But, for all the great goal-scorers that have played at age 37 and beyond, its rare to keep scoring 30 goals per season. Since 2000, there have been five forwards, aged 37 or older, to score 30 goals in a season. Theyre Hall of Fame calibre players, like Iginla, so maybe he can get there at least once during the life of this contract, but the odds are that Iginla is going to start falling between 20 and 30 goals because as players get older, even for the great ones, its not as easy to get to the net. Without much room to maneuver under the salary cap, the Bruins may have to look internally to fill the void created by Iginlas departure. Loui Eriksson could move up to join David Krejci and Milan Lucic on the top line and prospects Ryan Spooner and Alexander Khokhlachev are likely to have opportunities to make the team next year. As long as he doesnt drop too precipitously, Iginla can still provide value on the three-year, $16-million contract he received from Colorado, but its likely to be in more of a supporting role because while every career isnt the same, all athletes eventually diminish with age and the Avalanche are looking at those years with Iginla. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Baseball Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys China Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap Custom Jerseys China Cheap Basketball Jerseys Authentic NFL Jerseys China Cheap College Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys ' ' '