OAKLAND – The following is a question this writer did not expect to type this season: where would the Blue Jays be without the contribution of J. Luis Gonzalez Jersey .A. Happ? Happs seven wins are second on the staff to Mark Buehrles 10. Win-loss record is an antiquated stat, sure, but win total is generally an indication of a pitchers ability to work deep into games, enough to be personally affected by the result. Efficiency has been an issue for Happ during his time in Toronto. Hes acquired a reputation as a five-inning pitcher, driven prematurely from outings because hes plodded along to 100 pitches far too soon. Its gotten late, often, far too early. Something has changed. Suddenly, in more starts than not, Happ is working deep, positively affecting the result. When he returned to the rotation on May 5 in Philadelphia, Happs future was being determined on a start-to-start basis. The leash is now longer. Since being acquired from the Astros in July 2012, Happ has been a starter and a reliever; hes been injured, first with a fractured foot two seasons ago and then with head and knee injuries last year, the result of a horrifying line drive off his skull on May 7, 2013 in Tampa Bay. His back flared up in spring training, resulting in a horrible March that cost him his spot in the rotation and landed him on the disabled list for opening day. There have been periods of self doubt, he admitted to TSN.ca. "I certainly would be lying if I said no to that," said Happ. "Last year there was a point where I tried to talk to (pitching coach) Pete (Walker) one on one and was just like, What have you got? I know Im capable of more and Im willing to do whatever it takes to get over the hump. I never thought I was far away but I just couldnt quite get over the hump for whatever reason. It comes and goes and it still does." Happ is a quiet guy. He doesnt say much, at least not when media have access to the players. Nobody would accuse Happ of seeking the limelight. He laughed in spring training, after he was away from the team for two days to deal with the back problem, when it was pointed out to him that a guy so quiet couldnt seem to avoid controversy. Hes heard the talk and hes read the articles. He knows he has his critics and his doubters; hes been one himself. Happ isnt bitter. "I think you write what you see and if thats what you see then thats your interpretation and understanding," said Happ. "Thats how this thing works. I cant be mad at anybody for what they feel like or whatever. I just know what I knew, or know, Im capable of so thats why I try to defend myself in situations where Im maybe not in a position where Id like to be." Happ has allies in two of important places: the managers and coaches offices, where John Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker reside. Gibbons has consistently defended his left-hander, quick to point out Happs ordeal last season and confident that a slight arm slot adjustment ultimately would pay off. "Ive always been a fan of the guy," said Gibbons. "Ive always known what hes capable of, but the bottom line is hes got to go out and do that. Hes had his ups and downs along the way but everybody in the game at this level, I mean, very few guys take this game by storm year after year." "I think hes comfortable in that slot right now," said Walker. "Its not as high as it used to be and its not as low as he first started when we dropped him down. Its kind of that in-between slot and I think hes really comfortable throwing there. I think hes in a good place physically and mentally he looks forward to that ball every five days." Happ has been told to attack the strike zone. Hes been told to pitch to contact. Hes been told to more aggressively use his fastball. Hes doing both. Consider this: in his start against the White Sox on June 26, a 7-0 win in which he went 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball, Happ threw 124 pitches, 111 of which were fastballs. The relationship with Walker is an important one to Happ, forged when he joined the Blue Jays two years ago. Walker was the bullpen coach at the time. Happ was a reliever who believed he should be a starter. The two meshed. "Hes a guy that I always felt like he felt that I was capable of more and expected more and kind of knew that it was in there," said Happ. "I know thats kind of part of his job and he probably does it to everybody but hes very good at individualizing things and I always felt like he kind of had my back and I felt the same way about Gibby too. Maybe thats the reason why Im still here." There will be future outings when Happ struggles. The aim, of course, is to turn those into the exception rather than the rule. That June 21 start in Cincinnati, for example. Happ got rapped for seven earned runs in four innings. He bounced back with that gem against the White Sox and a strong start against the Brewers. The doubters who believed Happ, version Cincinnati, was the real guy were forced to reconsider. So if this is the real Happ, what happened? Why did a left-handed pitcher with a mid-90s fastball lack mound presence? Why did it appear that he didnt trust his repertoire? "Any answer to this is going to sound like an excuse and thats the last thing I want it to be," said Happ. "I let myself get caught up in a situation, playing on a team that wasnt very successful and I allowed that to affect me mentally as much I tried to not (let it). I think I probably got into some bad habits." Those bad habits were both mental and mechanical. Success, however, breeds confidence. Happ has had some success. His body language on the mound projects confidence. Maybe Yogi Berra was right when he suggested that 90 per cent of baseball is half mental. "Youve got to believe and youve got to really believe that you guys have got a chance out there in order for it to happen," said Happ. "You cant just wish things to happen in this game. They just dont. Youve got to go make it happen. I had a tough couple of years trying to kind of find myself and who I think I should be and I feel good about getting in a place where my body feels good, my mechanics feel good and Im just a little more free in everything. I felt like I had to be perfect for a lot of the time for things to go right and thats just not the case." Jake Lamb Jersey . A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press the Steelers will part ways with the former Pro Bowler, a move that hardly serves as a surprise after fifth-year linebacker Jason Worilds agreed to accept a "transition player" tag last week. Nick Ahmed Jersey . His apology came before a pregame ceremony in which the team honoured its 2004 team that won Bostons first World Series championship since 1918. "I realize that I behaved bad in Boston," Ramirez said. http://www.diamondbacksteamshop.com/Diamondbacks-Curt-Schilling-Kids-Jersey/ . Lexie Lou earned a commanding 4 1/2-length win Sunday in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks.Tony Dungy was an up-and-coming NFL assistant in his early 30s when he met with the Green Bay Packers about their opening for a head coach in 1988.When I finished the interview, Dungy said, I asked them, What are you looking for? And they said, Well, were really looking for a person that has head-coaching experience and an offensive-minded person. I was a defensive coach who had never been head coach.So he didnt get that job, and wound up waiting eight years for his first shot at being a head coach. Still, Dungy is convinced that the unsuccessful sit-down with the Packers ultimately helped send him on the path toward becoming the first black coach to win the Super Bowl — and so he thinks the Rooney Rule, which wasnt around in his day, serves an important purpose, even if he also thinks teams sometimes violate its spirit.That (Packers) general manager said, Hey, he wasnt what we were looking for, but he was really a sharp guy ... and if youre looking for a defensive coach, you ought to talk to this guy. Word spreads, Dungy explained. When people hear that — Hey, Tony Dungy was interviewed by the Green Bay Packers, and did well — that does something. Puts you in a different category.For a dozen years, the Rooney Rule has required NFL teams to interview at least one minority candidate for any vacant coaching or GM post. The man for whom it was named, Steelers co-owner Dan Rooney, is open to seeing whether it could be improved.When it was first implemented in 2003, the Rooney Rule set parameters to provide opportunities for minority coaches and front office personnel a chance to interview for high-level positions throughout the league, Rooney said in a statement issued by the Steelers. It has been successful, but also I believe we should look into the rule in order to continue to help advance the opportunities of minorities to succeed at the highest levels in the NFL.An AP tally of this off-seasons coaching searches — as of Sunday night, six of seven openings were filled, with the Atlanta Falcons still looking — shows that of 27 men known to have been interviewed for thosse jobs, seven were minorities. Paul Goldschmidt Jersey. .There should be more, Dungy said, but thatll come.Todd Bowles was hired this week by the New York Jets, becoming the fifth black head coach currently in the 32-club NFL. The others are Pittsburghs Mike Tomlin, Cincinnatis Marvin Lewis, Tampa Bays Lovie Smith, and Detroits Jim Caldwell.John Wooten, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation, which gives the league a list of suggested minority candidates, said: Were there other guys I wish had gotten interviews? Yes. But overall, Im very satisfied with the numbers that were there.Dungy and Wooten are wary of those occasions when teams meet with a minority candidate simply to conform to the rule — but with no intention of seriously considering hiring him.We have to be alert to the courtesy or the sham interview. We have to be alert to it. We have to know it when we see it, Wooten said.Dungy said its clear that sometimes clubs know who they want to hire before they even begin the search process.I dont think (the Rooney Rule is) always being followed the right way and in the spirit of it, Dungy said. When its, OK, the first day I have an opening, Im going to hurry up and interview a minority so I can go ahead and hire the person I really wanted to hire, and that I had my mind made up to hire maybe even before I had my opening, thats when people look at it and say, Gee, whats going on here?Still, he is not so sure there is any way around it.You cant really legislate that. You cant tell people how to do the search, said Dungy, who like Wooten does not believe the rule should be expanded to include co-ordinator jobs. I think this rule was put in place to just get people to try to broaden their outlook a little bit. And if it does that, then its successful. You can get around any kind of rule. You can circumvent it. And that has been done. But I think, overall, the rule has probably helped people.___Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Blackhawks Jerseys Cheap Avalanche Jerseys Cheap Team USA Hockey Jerseys Cheap Stars Jerseys Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Blues Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Ducks Jerseys Cheap Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Flames Jerseys Cheap Oilers Jerseys Cheap Kings Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Winter Classic Jerseys ' ' '