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TORONTO – The debate over chemistry, whether it exists in baseball and, if so, to what degree it matters, will likely never be completely settled. The question gets asked often these days, whether these Blue Jays get along better this year than they did in 2013. The assumption seems to be that they do because theyre winning more than theyre losing. J.A. Happ, who along with Mark Buehrle are the only two current Jays to take part in an on-field world championship celebration, summed it up. “You just feed off each other,” he said. “The musics better. The jokes are better. Everythings better when youre winning. Thats kind of the way it goes. People start getting louder. You feed off that. You feed off peoples personalities.” Its a chicken and egg deal. Winning is the egg, which begets the chicken that is chemistry. More to the point, manager John Gibbons has settled into a number of roster combinations that are producing results. Helping him in this endeavour is a cadre of players who began the season at Triple-A Buffalo. “Weve got a handful of them,” said manager John Gibbons. “We brought [Steve] Tolleson up to be the second baseman against left-handers. Hes doing a great job with that. Of course Gose and Pillar, filling in for Colby, have been a pretty good combo there. Kratzys been up and down a couple of times, but hes fit in. Theyre all contributing.” Juan Francisco, signed off the scrap heap when the Milwaukee Brewers decided late in spring they didnt want to pay him despite an 18-home run season last year, is hitting .280/.370/.602 (.973 OPS) with eight home runs. Anthony Gose entered Mondays action with a slash line of .296/.457/.407. Three of his eight hits are doubles. Hes walked seven times against eight strikeouts, a small sample size, but a great ratio nonetheless. Gose has two stolen bases, but anyone whos watched him play knows hes created runs with his speed and prevented runs with his defence. After a slow start, Kevin Pillar looks up and sees a .304 batting average. Erik Kratz has three home runs in just 45 at-bats. Tolleson, in a small sample size, is hitting better than .300 and has posted a .946 OPS. Gibbons has also established batteries for all three of his catchers. Kratz has become J.A. Happs personal catcher. Josh Thole serves the same role for R.A. Dickey. Dioner Navarro is behind the plate for every Mark Buehrle start. “Hes able to give Navarro a little bit of a breather,” said Gibbons of Kratz. “Against left-handed pitching you can DH (Navarro). Thats where we feel were strongest.” Against right-handed starting pitching, Francisco plays third base and Lawrie second base. Lawrie heads over to third base, where hes most comfortable, when the opposition starts a left-hander. Tolleson plays second. The Jays have a fearsome late-game bench when the opponent starts a lefty. Adam Lind and Francisco are lingering, waiting for their names to be called. “As the game goes on, the only place youre vulnerable, you get to a certain point of the game theyre always going to have that lefty ready,” said Gibbons. “Teams that have enough lefties (in the bullpen), youre waiting on Lind or Francisco. But I think it makes us stronger.” The bullpen has settled down since the return of Casey Janssen, whos converted all seven save opportunities since his return from a strained oblique muscle. Gibbons is most pleased with the progress hes seeing from the rotation. “It all revolves around starting pitching, you know,” said Gibbons. “If starting pitchings good, youve got a chance. If its not, its tough. I dont care what kind of offence youve got, what kind of defence youve got - thats the key to any team in baseball. Check the May ERA of the four rotation mainstays to see the improvement. Drew Hutchison (including Monday night): 5 starts, 3.94Mark Buehrle: 2.16R.A. Dickey: 2.73J.A. Happ: 3.20 RASMUS PROGRESSING On the disabled list since May 13 with tightness in his right hamstring, Colby Rasmus is sprinting his way toward a rehab assignment. “He was out there running and shagging during early BP,” said Gibbons. “Well see in the next few days what happens.” Rasmus sprinted the infield cutout on Saturday and the warning track on Sunday. While hes eligible to return from the disabled list on Wednesday, Rasmus will be sent out on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment before rejoining the Blue Jays. SANTOS PLAYING CATCH Sergio Santos played catch for the third-straight day on Monday afternoon. Hes recovering from a strained right forearm. “He feels pretty good,” said Gibbons. “No soreness at all. So like Colby, we dont know how long its going to be for him. Hes got to build up a little bit, of course.” Santos can be activated off the disabled list at any time - hes been out since May 10 - but hell throw at least two bullpen sessions before heading out on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment. Theres no timetable for Santoss return to the Blue Jays. Brad Richardson Jersey . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. Jason Demers Coyotes Jersey . Or at least on everyone elses expectations. Costa Rica followed up its surprise win over Uruguay with another World Cup stunner on Friday, beating four-time champion Italy 1-0 to secure a spot in the next round and eliminate England in the process. http://www.coyotesteamstoreonline.com/au...tes-jersey/.com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames. Niklas Hjalmarsson Coyotes Jersey . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Dale Hawerchuck Jersey . Ronaldo netted his 14th goal of the season in Europes top competition to give Madrid a clear advantage ahead of next weeks quarterfinal return leg in Germany. But it came at a price as the Portugal forward, who came into the first-leg nursing a sore left knee, came off in the 80th minute. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The civility between Florida State and Miami seemed like sportsmanship at its finest as the two rivals lined up for a pregame handshake at midfield of Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday. Two and a half quarters later, officials scrambled to break up skirmishes and Miami defensive end Anthony Chickillo lay flat on his back with Florida State tackle Bobby Hart on top. So much for the friendly part of the rivalry. As for the competition, that last about a half, too. No. 3 Florida State rolled to a 41-14 victory against No. 7 Miami in another matchup of undefeated Atlantic Coast Conference rivals that turned into a Seminoles blowout. Jameis Winston threw for 325 yards, but added two interceptions in the first half after throwing four in the first seven games. The Florida State defence picked up the slack and shut out the Hurricanes (7-1, 3-1) in the second half after it was 21-14 at the break. The Seminoles (8-0, 6-0) went on a 20-0 run after the skirmish broke out midway through the third quarter. The two teams were called for offsetting personal fouls and James Wilder Jr. scored on a 5-yard run on the next play. The rout was on from that point, not much different from Florida States 51-14 win at Clemson last month. "Its a team that is understanding how to compete in big games and is learning to do it different ways," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. "We were very excited early and had to keep our emotions in check. "The second half we came out and were very physical and were able to run the football and take control. The defence was dominant. Im just proud of the way our guys competed. The Seminoles have defeated three Top 25 teams by a combined score of 155-28. Their national championship hopes are alive and well with rival Florida being the last real challenge in the regular season. Devonta Freeman ran for 81 yards and two touchdowns for FSU against his hometown team while Miami running back Duke Johnson posted 97 yards on 23 carries, before leaving with a leg injury. There was no update on Johnsons injury. Florida State safety Terrence Brooks left the game in the second half with a concussion and did not return. Wilder Jr. had 42 yards rushing and two touchdowns in his first game back after being held out last week with a concussion. Winston threw one touchdown and Miamis Stephen Morris threw for 192 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Florida State outgained Miami 517-275.dddddddddddd "Just like baseball, sometimes you go out there and strike out," said Winston, who also stars for the Seminoles baseball team. "Then youve got to come back and bounce back and my team really helped me through it. "I told the guys, No more turnovers and were going to go out there and win this game." The Seminoles opened the game with a 13-play, 72 yard drive that ended with Freemans 5-yard touchdown run. The Miami offence responded with an impressive drive of its own that included 28 yards from Johnson on his first three carries. Coach Al Golden didnt open with a slow, ball-control plan as many expected to keep the Florida State offence on the sideline. Miami went hurry-up with a heavy dose of Johnson to move to the FSU 27-yard line, but Matt Goudis missed a 44-yard field goal wide left. The Miami defence forced two huge turnovers in the first half that kept Florida State from running away. Safety Deon Bush picked off a Winston overthrow intended for Greene. The Hurricanes scored five plays later on a 33-yard pass from Morris to Allen Hurns to tie the game at 7-7. "We played the No. 7 team in the country and we won by 27," Fisher said. "Thats a very good football team. "Were just going to keep playing well and let people judge. This is a heck of a football team here." The Seminoles got their groove back on the ensuing possession and put together another drive capped by a Wilder Jr. 1-yard touchdown run to go up 14-7. The game was on the verge of being a first-half blowout after Freeman took a screen pass 48 yards for a touchdown. Miami overloaded the right side of the Florida State line and came with a heavy blitz, but Fisher caught them with the perfect call -- the screen to the left where there were more blockers than defenders. The Seminoles went up 21-7 with 5:08 left in the second quarter and the Hurricanes promptly went three-and-out. Winston took the field ready to bury Miami under a 21-point lead, but Rayshawn Jenkins picked him off and gave the offence the ball near midfield. Morris found Hurns again with a 14-yard touchdown pass eight plays later to send the game into halftime with the Hurricanes up 21-14. "Give them credit. They made all the plays. We did not," Miami coach Al Golden said. "Its a high powered offence. They executed better than we did." ' ' '