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DUNEDIN, Florida – Brandon Morrow arrived to camp healthy and with a noticeably heavier upper body, but when pressed to reflect upon a miserable 2013 season, he lightened his load by getting some pent-up emotions off his chest. "Really, we pitched like garbage," said Morrow. "Starting pitchers were awful the first month, myself included. None of us were pitching like we wanted to, whether it was just bad luck we were going through at that time or just putting pressure on ourselves." Manager John Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker are counting on this year to be different. The club needs R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle to pitch like they did post-All Star Break. J.A. Happ appears a favourite to secure either the fourth or fifth starters spot and must be more consistent. Theres a void at the back end of the rotation which will be sorted out this spring. Morrow is a lock, provided he doesnt get hurt. Staying healthy would mean bucking a troubling trend of the last two seasons. After making 30 starts and throwing almost 180 innings in 2011, arguably his best as a starter in the big leagues, Morrows been limited to just 31 starts over the last two seasons. A strained oblique cost him almost three months in 2012; an entrapped nerve in Morrows pitching forearm ultimately shut him down at the end of May last year. Coaches and players alike lamented Morrows latest injury, feeling bad for a fallen comrade but also disappointed because they viewed the flamethrower as the backbone of the rotation. In fact, last September, Mark DeRosa opined that losing Morrow "killed us." There are questions Morrow, who turns 30 on July 26, can answer only with time. Can he pitch 180 innings? How about 200? While pitchers dont enjoy sole control over their win totals, can Morrow pitch effectively, deep enough into games to blow past his single-season career-high win total of 11? "Theres no question, its important," said Walker of Morrow pitching healthy and pitching well. "Hes definitely someone were counting on to give us quality innings, to give us a good opportunity to win ball games. We need him out there every fifth day. We want him to be a workhorse for us. Thats what we envision for the season." Pitchers completed their medicals on Sunday and Morrow weighed in at 219 pounds, a full 30 pounds heavier than a year ago. The change is noticeable. His shoulders are broader. His chest is bigger. "He looks like hes supposed to look," said Gibbons. "Last year, he didnt look like that. He looks like a good, strong, durable pitcher. But the fact that hes out there and he feels good is big for us." Filling out the Rotation As of today, Dickey, Morrow and Buehrle are the Jays top three starters. Working off the assumption that Happ also has a spot, as many as seven pitchers will battle for the fifth job. They are Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond, Drew Hutchison, Sean Nolin, Marcus Stroman, Kyle Drabek and Ricky Romero. "Somebody is going to rise to the top and somebody is going to, obviously, pitch well enough to take that (spot,)" said Morrow. "Theres like eight guys vying for that position and I couldnt tell you who its going to be but I know all the guys are capable of stepping into that spot." While they both admit there are favourites, Gibbons and Walker wont say who has the inside track. Rogers and Redmond each enjoyed periodic success in the rotation last summer, filling in when the likes of Morrow, Johnson and Happ were hurt. Kratz Catches Dickey Catcher Erik Kratz, acquired in the deal that sent reliever Brad Lincoln to the Phillies, is back with the organization that drafted him. He caught R.A. Dickeys bullpen session on Monday and with the coaching staff leaning against having Dioner Navarro catch Dickeys knuckleball, the honour will go to the man who wins the second catchers job. "Its really all about the reps," said Kratz. "If you step in and catch him perfectly right off the bat, youre probably not trying that hard. Thats really, for me, just a matter of not pushing it too much, not trying to be too perfect. Just trying to sit and wait for it to come to me." Kratz travelled to Nashville during the offseason and spent about a week with Dickey, catching a couple of bullpen sessions. Kratz, 33, is a 64", 255-pound, righthanded hitting catcher. The Jays selected Kratz in the 29th round of the 2002 draft. He made his major league debut with the Pirates in 2010 before moving on to Philadelphia. Wholesale Yeezy Boost 350 .com) - The Eastern Conferences best team takes on one of its worst Tuesday night when the Atlanta Hawks pay a visit to the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia 76ers. Cheap Authentic Yeezy Boost 350 . Former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds made his longshot request of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit upheld Bonds conviction in September. http://www.wholesaleyeezy350.com/. Last years runner-up, Sara Errani, also reached the last eight in straight sets. Flipkens converted all four of her break points against Meusburger, and the third-seeded Errani broke Karin Knapps serve five times to win their all-Italian match 6-4, 6-3. Cheap Yeezy Boost 350 For Sale .com) - The Toronto Blue Jays will look to snap a three-game skid Friday night when they continue their road trip in the opener of a three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Wholesale Yeezy Boost 350 Authentic . The Raptors two leading scorers were never able to co-exist the way they hoped or the team had envisioned, but individually DeRozan was thriving, in the midst of a career season.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, Always a pleasure; really enjoy your column. Keep up the good work. In the Bruins/Panthers game Tuesday with less than 10 seconds to play, Tim Thomas - clearly frustrated - took a swipe at Soderberg with his stick. He was assessed a two-minute minor for high sticking. I am curious as to why this was not a match penalty and perhaps even a suspendable action. It seems to me had a skater done a similar action, as blatant as it was, it would be deemed as such. I believe this would fall under Rule 60.4, but am not certain. Can you please comment on this play and explain what the ref/linesman saw (or failed to see), to deem it a mere minor high sticking penalty? Thank you (I was trying to work the word qualm in there somewhere, since I know you like it so much)! Dear Anonymous Friend: I have no qualms in telling you that Tim Thomas deserved a match penalty under Rule 60.4 for the one-handed tomahawk swing with his heavy goalie stick paddle to the neck of Bruins forward Carl Soderberg. Regardless of the score or time in the game, or whether the blow was in retaliation for Thomas being contacted on the shoulder by Soderbergs stick inside the blue paint, a match penalty was warranted based solely on the degree of force and especially the location of the blow with the goal stick to the neck of Soderberg. While no apparent injury resulted to Soderberg this was a very dangerous play that should be addressed by the Player Safety Committee. At the very least, a substantial fine should be levied to Tim Thomas even if that Committee does not deem the stick swing to be worthy of a suspension. It is acknowleedged in the rules that a goalkeepers unique equipment is not only designed to provide protection and to stop the puck but that when used in an altercation can do considerable damage to an opponent.dddddddddddd For that reason, Rule 51.3 provides that a match penalty must be assessed if, in the judgment of the referee, a goalkeeper uses his blocking glove to punch an opponent in the head or face in an attempt to deliberately injure an opponent. The manner in which Tim Thomas used his heavy goalie stick last night falls well within the spirit and intent of the match penalty rule. The reason the referee most likely assessed only a minor penalty on this stick swing was based on his obstructed view from behind the goal line against the end boards. I continually state this not the best location to view plays in and around the goal crease; as a matter of fact it is often the worst position for a referee to stand! I want you to look at the replay clip again; only this time through the eyes of the referee that made the call from behind the goal line. Tim Thomas swing was very quick and accelerated in real-time but most importantly, the ref, from his position, was looking directly through Brian Campbells back as Thomas stick made contact with Soderberg. Campbell then wrestled Soderberg to the ice so both players were now directly in the referees sight line. There was also a minor log jam of players out in front of the net (especially Tom Gilbert and Chris Kelly) that could have prevented the linesmen and the other referee from seeing the full force of Tim Thomas stick blow to Soderbergs neck. As quickly as it can happen, the full effect of a play can be missed or greatly diminished without the best sightline. I have no qualms admitting it, friend! ' ' '