TORONTO - Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach Kevin Seitzer usually stands right behind the cage during batting practice while the players take their cuts. Randy White Shirts . From time to time, hell move over to the side and will weigh in with a quick tip or two. Its a comfortable approach that has paid dividends for the American League East division leaders, who boast an offence that is among the best in Major League Baseball. "I think hes hands on when he needs to and he sits back and he watches when he needs to too," said Blue Jays catcher Erik Kratz. "We have a lot of good hitters here and with good hitters comes success and some streakiness. "He does a good job of limiting the bad streaks and extending the good streaks." The teams offensive statistics over the first two months of the campaign have been eye-opening. Entering Wednesdays games, the Blue Jays led the major leagues in home runs (83) and were second in runs scored (296), RBIs (281), slugging percentage (.451), hits (534) and OPS (on-base plus slugging — .784). Toronto was also tied for second in on-base percentage (.333) and sat fifth in team batting average (.264). Seitzer keeps a close eye on all the numbers but values some statistical categories more than others. "Runs scored is the one Im most concerned about," he said. "If youre scoring runs, whether you do it by home runs, situational hitting, youve got to be able to get on base, draw walks, be able to move runners and get big hits when guys are in scoring position. "It kind of encompasses everything really." The 52-year-old native of Springfield, Ill., was hired by the Blue Jays last fall after spending parts of five seasons as a hitting coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals. He succeeded Chad Mottola, who spent one year in the position. Seitzer, a two-time all-star as a player, had a .295 career average over 12 seasons with the Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Indians. As a coach, he has preached the importance of preparation and making hard, consistent contact in the box. "Have an idea of what the pitcher has got and what hes going to try to do, and then what each guy needs to do in order to have the best chance to succeed," he said of his approach. "I like to keep things simple. I dont like it complicated, they dont want it complicated. "Theyve made really good adjustments so far." The power portion of the Toronto lineup has delivered so far with sluggers Edwin Encarnacion (.272 average, 19 homers, 50 RBIs) and Jose Bautista (.310, 14 homers, 41 RBIs) on pace for big seasons. Among the other notable performances, first baseman Adam Lind is batting .347 while Melky Cabrera has a .303 average. Juan Francisco is hitting .276 with nine homers and 24 RBIs in just 36 games. As for that important runs scored category, three Toronto players are in the top 15 in the major leagues: Bautista (44 - tied for fourth), Encarnacion (41 - tied for seventh) and Cabrera (37 - tied for 14th). Those numbers are a big reason why Toronto took a 35-24 record — the second-best mark in the American League — into Wednesdays game at Detroit. Its a big step up from this time last year, when the Blue Jays were last in the East at 24-34. "Its been phenomenal," Seitzer said of the teams effort. "If youre in first place after the first third, then the second third and the third one, then youre right where you need to be. So I couldnt ask for more right now." The 2013 Blue Jays posted decent offensive numbers despite their poor 74-88 record. The team was ninth in runs scored (712), fourth in homers (185), 11th in RBIs (669), eighth in slugging percentage (.411) and 15th in batting average (.252). While Seitzer deserves his share of the credit for the improvement, hes quick to praise the players for their professional approach and effort. He has been very impressed with what hes seen so far. "Probably the most (impressive thing) is the talent level and then secondly, their work ethic and preparation going in," he said. "When you have that combination and the ability to make adjustments along the way, youve got a chance to do some damage every night. Theyve been doing great." Brandon Weeden Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Dan Bailey Shirts. LOUIS -- St.MONTREAL -- Rachel Homan and Team Canada have served notice theyre ready to defend their title at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The defending champions grabbed the early lead and held on for a 9-6 win in nine ends over Quebecs Allison Ross on Sunday to emerge from the second day of play at the Maurice Richard Arena as the lone team yet to lose a match. "Its where I hoped wed be," said 24-year-old Homan (3-0). "You never know whats going to happen, but the teams playing really well. Weve just got to keep rolling." With previous victories of 8-3 over Manitoba and 9-3 over Ontario, both in eight ends, they have piled up points against some highly-regarded teams without yet having to go the full 10 ends. But Homan and the team were most concerned about giving up three to Quebec (0-4) in the second, which drew a roar from the 2,281 in the seats. "We gave up three in two, but thats alright -- mistakes will happen," said Homan. "Were learning the ice and different draws will be different weights." "I underthrew two halfway hits and that didnt turn out well and then Rachel threw one we thought was good but it sailed off," said Team Canada third Emma Miskew. "We got tricked a little on either the speed or the weight. "We didnt throw any more finesse shots after that because it tricked us a little." The evening draws saw two matches go to extra ends as both New Brunswick and P.E.I. pulled off victories. New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford (2-1) scored a single in the 11th end to take a 4-3 win over British Columbias 22-year-old skip Kesa Van Osch (1-3). And Kim Dolan (1-2) of P.E.I got her first victory of the tournament, 7-6 over Quebec in 11 ends. In the other late draws, Newfoundlands Heather Strong (3-1) edged Yukons Sarah Koltun (1-2) 6-5. Koltun scored singles in the ninth and 10th ends but fell short of the comeback. And Albertas Val Sweeting (3-1) scored three in the sixth end en route to a 5-4 victory over Nova Scotias Heather Smith (1-2). The afternoon draw saw some wild finishes. Stefanie Lawton (2-1) of Saskatchewan tied her game up with two in the ninth and then stole two in the 10th to win 8-6 over Sweeting. "Tied up coming home, without hammer, we know what we have to do," said Lawton, whose side gave up two in the 10th to lose 5-4 to Manitoba in the morning draw. "We have to put up two guards and get one on the button. "We got away with one when they kissed the guard and bit and I was able to put another on top of that and put the pressure on them. Theres going to be lots of games that will be battles. You just have to keep plugging away." Another cliffhanger saw Manitobas Chelsea Carey (2-1) get the point she needed in the 10th to defeat the B.C. side 7-6. And Ontarios Allison Flaxey (1-2) scored two in the 10th and a steal of one in an extra end to down Newfoundland by 8-7. Homan won last years Scotties as skip of Team Ontario, beating Jennifer Jones Winnipeg rink in the final. Jones isnt at this years tournament, havving won an ultra-competitive qualifying tournament to represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Justin Durant Womens Jersey. . Other top teams bowed out in their provincial championships, some citing mental fatigue from trying to make the Olympic team. But Homans side was spared that because they qualified automatically for the Scotties as the defending champions. "That definitely helped us," said Miskew. "Theres a lot of new faces here, but its nice to see a lot of young teams here." "We definitely have room to improve. We had a bad end but we were able to bounce back, so that was important for us. It seems every game you get a little better and thats our goal." Team Canada is part of the youth movement. Homan and Miskew are both 24, while second Alison Kreviazuk is 25. Theyve been playing together since they were young kids. Lead Lisa Weagle, 28, joined them later. Building a big lead in the morning draw against Ontario allowed them to give some playing time to their alternate, Stephanie LeDrew, who substituted for Weagle for the final two ends. "Its good to have her throw some shots and see the lines," Homan said of LeDrew. "You never know during a week if youre going to have to use her or not. "Hopefully not. Hopefully shell just be there to cheer us on, but its good to get her in early." LeDrew normally plays for Hollie Nicols Toronto rink, but she was brought in as an alternate by Homan for last years Scotties in Kingston, Ont., as well as for the 2013 womens world championship in Riga, Latvia. She got into three matches last year. "I know what it is to be prepared to jump in at a moments notice," said LeDrew. "I actually went for a jog around the arena in the sixth end to be prepared to go in the seventh, so I was warmed up and ready to rock." LeDrew said it is usually a team decision to get the alternate some playing time. "It tends to be on the ice between ends, if they have a big lead going," she said. "They see it as a good opportunity to throw the alternate in. "They also want to get me in because I have to play in two games, for at least one end in each game, in order to be eligible for the jewelry (prizes) at the end of the week -- the diamonds. So theyre being good to me." The match also pitted sister against sister as Alison Kreviazuk faced Lynn Kreviazuk, the Ontario second. "Actually, I havent played against Lynn in a few years, so this was kind of a first for me," Alison Kreviazuk said of her 22-year-old sister. "We get along great, so theres nothing negative. "They played really well, they just had a few bad breaks. I know shell pick it up for the next one." The morning draw saw more one-sided wins as Yukon downed P.E.I. by 10-3 in eight ends. Nova Scotia, beat New Brunswick by 12-2, also in eight ends. Yukon scored five in the eighth end to prompt P.E.I. to concede, while Nova Scotia had ends of four and five points in their romp over New Brunswick. ' ' '
