Toronto Blue Jays

Who: Phillies (12-7) at Toronto Blue Jays (8-8) When: 1:05 p.m. Where: Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, Dunedin, Fla. TV/Radio: None On the mound: RHP Joe Blanton; RHP Jesse Litsch

TORONTO - The Toronto Blue Jays moved pitcher J.A. Happ to the 60-day disabled list yesterday as the lefthander recovers from injuries after being hit in the head by a line drive earlier in this month. Happ suffered a skull fracture and a sprained right knee when he fell to the ground in pain after being struck behind the left ear by a liner off the bat of Tampa Bay's Desmond Jennings on May 7. Happ left the field on the stretcher and spent the night in hospital. "He's lucky, extremely lucky," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.

Former American League MVP Jose Canseco claims he was told three years ago by several players, including Alex Rodriguez, that he was being "blackballed" by baseball. In an interview with Fox Sports Net that was broadcast last night, Canseco said he was never given a chance to go back into baseball after playing for the Chicago White Sox in 2001 even though he had 462 career home runs and still wanted to play. After reading a partial transcript of the interview yesterday, Rodriguez said he didn't recall such a conversation with Canseco.

Kevin Comer is a baseball player, but the recent Seneca High graduate got to experience his own version of midnight madness. Fewer than 10 minutes before the midnight Monday deadline for draft picks to sign with major-league teams, Comer agreed to terms with the Toronto Blue Jays on a deal that includes a $1.65 million bonus as well as provisions for his college education. "It was wild," said Comer, a righthanded pitcher who was the 57th overall pick in the June draft. "It really didn't look like it was going to happen.

The game of baseball has changed a lot since Pat Gillick became general manager of the expansion Toronto Blue Jays in 1976. "I guess you've got to be a good texter to be a good GM now," he said with a laugh earlier this season. Still, some core principles don't change. Here are Gillick's bedrock verities for being a successful executive. Listen: "You've got to be a good listener. Sometimes people hire people to do jobs and then they don't let them do their jobs.

The Phillies announced their 2013 spring training schedule on Monday, and it includes 16 games at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., and two exhibition games at Citizens Bank Park against the Toronto Blue Jays. Spring training three-game ticket packs will go on sale Dec. 12, and individual ticket sales for spring training games will begin Jan. 10, the team said. Tickets can be purchased at phillies.com or by phone at 215-463-1000. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Feb. 12, with the full squad reporting Feb. 15. Spring Training Schedule FEBRUARY Home game in bold 23 Houston, 1:05 24 Detroit at Lakeland 25 Detroit, 1:05 26 New York Yankees, 1:05 27 Minnesota at Ft. Myers 28 Atlanta, 1:05 MARCH 1 New York Yankees at Tampa 2 Toronto at Dunedin 3 Toronto (ss)

Kevin Comer is a baseball player, but the recent Seneca High graduate got to experience his own version of midnight madness. Less than 10 minutes before the midnight Monday deadline for draft picks to sign with major-league teams, Comer agreed to terms with the Toronto Blue Jays on a deal that includes a $1.65 million bonus as well as provisions for his college education. "It was wild," said Comer, a righthanded pitcher who was the 57th overall pick in the June draft. "It really didn't look like it was going to happen.

Adam DiMichele, a 2004 graduate of Sto-Rox High in McKees Rocks, Pa., who signed with Penn State during his senior year, is headed to Temple to play both football and baseball. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound DiMichele, who was recruited as a defensive back at Penn State, will play quarterback for the Owls. He will be eligible to play this fall after spending the last two years on the baseball team at Okaloosa-Walton College in Niceville, Fla. "I think [Temple] will be my last stop," DiMichele told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said an ESPN report accusing his team of stealing signs had "zero truth" to it. ESPN cited four unnamed relievers from an AL team who claim the Jays used a man in the stands to steal signs and signal to the batter during a game in 2010. According to the article, the man would raise his arms to indicate an offspeed pitch, and leave them by his side if a fastball was coming. Blue Jays fans and players had some fun with the allegations during Wednesday's game.

EAGER FOR a new challenge and a better chance to win, R.A. Dickey broke the news of his trade even before the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets. A few minutes ahead of the teams announcing the seven-player swap Monday that sent the NL Cy Young winner to Toronto, he tweeted his thanks to Mets fans and added he was all set to pitch for the Blue Jays. "Now that it's official, I want to say that I don't have the words to express how grateful I am to you for the steadfast support," Dickey posted on Twitter.

THE TORONTO Blue Jays came up with a winning formula to address their pitching woes. First, start a reliever. Then, bring in two guys just called up from the minors. The result was a four-hitter against the Atlanta Braves, who looked downright feeble in a 3-0 loss to the last-place Blue Jays last night. Four pitchers combined on visiting Toronto's second shutout of the season, with Casey Janssen working a 1-2-3 ninth to finish it off. But the most important work was turned in by the three pitchers who came before the closer.

TORONTO - The Toronto Blue Jays moved pitcher J.A. Happ to the 60-day disabled list yesterday as the lefthander recovers from injuries after being hit in the head by a line drive earlier in this month. Happ suffered a skull fracture and a sprained right knee when he fell to the ground in pain after being struck behind the left ear by a liner off the bat of Tampa Bay's Desmond Jennings on May 7. Happ left the field on the stretcher and spent the night in hospital. "He's lucky, extremely lucky," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.

LAS VEGAS - Former baseball slugger Jose Canseco Jr. has been accused of sexual assault in Las Vegas, in an investigation that the former baseball slugger made public with postings on a social media website claiming that a woman falsely accused him of rape. No arrest was made and police said no charges were immediately filed against the 48-year-old former Oakland Athletics rookie of the year who played for six other teams from 1985 to 2001 and later wrote a tell-all book admitting that he used performance-enhancing steroids.

EAGER FOR a new challenge and a better chance to win, R.A. Dickey broke the news of his trade even before the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Mets. A few minutes ahead of the teams announcing the seven-player swap Monday that sent the NL Cy Young winner to Toronto, he tweeted his thanks to Mets fans and added he was all set to pitch for the Blue Jays. "Now that it's official, I want to say that I don't have the words to express how grateful I am to you for the steadfast support," Dickey posted on Twitter.

The Phillies announced their 2013 spring training schedule on Monday, and it includes 16 games at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., and two exhibition games at Citizens Bank Park against the Toronto Blue Jays. Spring training three-game ticket packs will go on sale Dec. 12, and individual ticket sales for spring training games will begin Jan. 10, the team said. Tickets can be purchased at phillies.com or by phone at 215-463-1000. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Feb. 12, with the full squad reporting Feb. 15. Spring Training Schedule FEBRUARY Home game in bold 23 Houston, 1:05 24 Detroit at Lakeland 25 Detroit, 1:05 26 New York Yankees, 1:05 27 Minnesota at Ft. Myers 28 Atlanta, 1:05 MARCH 1 New York Yankees at Tampa 2 Toronto at Dunedin 3 Toronto (ss)

TIRED OF THE offseason? Pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater, Fla., on Tuesday, Feb. 12. The first full-squad workout will be held on Feb. 15. And the Phillies will take the field for the first time in 2013 exactly 4 months from Tuesday. The Phils unveiled their spring-training schedule on Monday. The Grapefruit League schedule begins on Saturday, Feb. 23, when the Phillies host the newest American League team, the Houston Astros, at Bright House Field. If you're already planning your Florida vacation, spring-training three-game packs will go on sale Dec. 12. Individual ticket sales for spring-training games will begin on Jan. 10. All home-game times are 1:05 p.m. Times have not been announced for road games.

Stand Pat. That was the unflattering nickname attached to Pat Gillick at one point during his tenure as general manager with the Toronto Blue Jays. Stand Pat had some terrific teams in Toronto. The Blue Jays won 86 games or more from 1983 through 1990, collecting a couple of American League East titles along the way. Gillick, after joining the Blue Jays when they entered the American League as an expansion team in 1977, built a tremendous farm system with the help of a sensational team of scouts.

Roy Halladay has extraordinary perspective on many things. He knows what it is like to fail to the point of exile. He learned the hard way in his early 20s, with the help of his late mentor Harvey Dorfman, how to pick up the pieces and narrow his thoughts to only the most relevant things about being an elite big-league pitcher. That's why there should be little concern about whether Halladay will bounce back from a 2012 start that has been mostly pedestrian by his high standards.

Kevin Comer is a baseball player, but the recent Seneca High graduate got to experience his own version of midnight madness. Less than 10 minutes before the midnight Monday deadline for draft picks to sign with major-league teams, Comer agreed to terms with the Toronto Blue Jays on a deal that includes a $1.65 million bonus as well as provisions for his college education. "It was wild," said Comer, a righthanded pitcher who was the 57th overall pick in the June draft. "It really didn't look like it was going to happen.

Kevin Comer is a baseball player, but the recent Seneca High graduate got to experience his own version of midnight madness. Fewer than 10 minutes before the midnight Monday deadline for draft picks to sign with major-league teams, Comer agreed to terms with the Toronto Blue Jays on a deal that includes a $1.65 million bonus as well as provisions for his college education. "It was wild," said Comer, a righthanded pitcher who was the 57th overall pick in the June draft. "It really didn't look like it was going to happen.