SARASOTA, Florida – On a pristine, cloudless Saturday morning before his Blue Jays took to the field to play the Orioles, manager John Gibbons assumed his familiar perch behind home plate to watch his charges take batting practice. That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. To his left stood his high school baseball coach, Syl Perez and on his right, Frank Arnold, Gibbons high school football coach. The two are spending these early days of camp with the man they mentored. Its a chance for the men to catch up, reminisce about old times, and for Gibbons to share his pro experience with two people whove helped him along the way. "Your high school years are very big years in forming who youre going to be," Gibbons told TSN.ca. "When youre in athletics, if you get the right guys, it can steer you the right direction, teach you discipline, the work ethic and all the right stuff that benefit you in life." Arnold, 72, is a legend in Texas high school football, a state where "football is king," as Gibbons likes to remind the uninitiated. Gibbons played but didnt start at MacArthur High School in San Antonio. He was a running back, although in hindsight, Arnold thinks Gibbons was better suited to play linebacker because he was athletically inclined and had good instincts. Arnold also took notice, almost immediately, of Gibbons upbringing, especially his supportive parents, William and Sally. "Great kid, great family, never had, you know you have some parents who are a little overbearing, his parents were right there to support him," said Arnold. He had a knack for baseball, although Gibbons admits he was a late bloomer, especially offensively. A senior catcher graduated after Gibbons sophomore season, a year in which Gibbons played the outfield, and Perez had someone else pegged as the teams next catcher. Gibbons was still an unknown commodity. The coaching staff tried him at third base. It wasnt the right fit. "I dont care where I put John Gibbons, he was a catcher," said Perez. "I mean, it was in his DNA. He carries himself like a catcher." Perez had Gibbons and the would-be catching successor get behind the plate and simulate throwing out base stealers. "I timed him," said Perez. "From the time the sound hit the mitt to the time it hit the shortstop or second baseman at the bag. The other young man was very accurate but John was kind of like a Nolan Ryan. He was not very accurate, or not as accurate, but he would only average two seconds and sometimes slightly less than that. The other kid was 2.3, 2.4." Funny thing, Gibbons ended up catching that year. The other kid played third base. Both were all district at the end of the season, Gibbons in spite of a batting average below .200. He was that good defensively. His game rounded into form in his senior year, thanks to a scout named Buzzy Keller, who in advance of the baseball season, instructed Perez on a new hitting philosophy featuring a more compact swing. Perez coached up Gibbons and the results were immediate. "John batted .500 in 19 games and he hit 10 home runs," said Perez. "Its not that he hit 10 home runs, its how far he hit those 10 home runs that really got him to be a lot more noticed. A lot of our practices were very, very well attended and of course, he went 24th overall in the first round (1980) to the Mets." A series of injuries derailed Gibbons big league playing career, the nail in the coffin being the Mets acquisition of Gary Carter before the 1985 season. He stayed around the game, coached at various levels over a number of years, and by 2004, was into his first run as manager of the Blue Jays. "Hes old school and the old school way of thinking is, good catchers become good managers," said Perez. "Theyre the only ones looking the other way at the entire defence. Lets face it, he may have been not a starter in his major league life but when hes in the bullpen catching and working with folks like the Dwight Goodens and such, Im sure hes going to learn some things." Gibbons credits Arnold and Perez with teaching him some of the tactics he employs to this day. "You get to this level, its a little different," said Gibbons. "Guys are very successful when they get to this level so theyve got a good idea of what they do. Theres not as much coaching, teaching and things like that and you give these guys a little more leeway because theyre adults. But theres a lot of the same principles that work. I dont care if youre in high school or big league baseball, you have to have discipline. You still have to play the right way." Gibbons fair, jovial but stern-when-he-needs-to-be personality endears him to those who know him best and have known him the longest. "Personally, I think he has the demeanour, the ability to work with people," said Arnold. "I hope he gets lucky this year because last year they had some bad luck, in my opinion, with injuries and other things. I follow him, I watch him all the time and Im very proud to say that I was around him." Arnold continued, "John is going to be the same on the docks with some dock workers as he is at some high class place with the boss. I just think hes a quality person. Hes not flashy, he is what he is but hes always good to people." Coming off a disappointing 74-88 season, a startling and uncomfortable thud after the offseason hype of a year ago, Gibbons knows there is pressure to rebound. His mentors know it, too. "Nobody wants you unless you win," said Arnold. "I dont care what level, what league so I wish him well and hope he has some great luck this year. I hope some of the guys have some great years because I think he deserves it." Gibbons is aware the fan base is angst-ridden, unsure of whether the Blue Jays can compete in the ultra-tough American League East. He knows about the Twitter faction thats popularized the "FireGibby" hashtag, understands and accepts its a fans right to be upset, but wants to be clear about something he says wont change, win or lose. "I want people to know that I care about Toronto, I care about Canada, and nobody wants to win for the fan base more than I do because I know they deserve it." Darius Miller Pelicans Jersey . 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Nicolo Melli Jersey . - While he appreciates suggestions from Packers fans of remedies for his sore left calf, Aaron Rodgers is not necessarily going to listen to the advice. Zion Williamson Pelicans Jersey .6 seconds left to give the Toronto Raptors a 92-89 victory over the Boston Celtics in an exhibition game Wednesday night. MILWAUKEE -- Ryan Braun hadnt done much except get hit by a pitch. He made up for it with one swing in the bottom of the ninth. Braun was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning that scored a run and had an RBI single in the ninth, lifting the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night. "I got beat up pretty good," Braun said. "Ill take it. Ill take them both." Braun thought the Rockies might pitch around him. He had already struck out twice and grounded out while Jonathan Lucroy had two hits and a RBI. "Typically, there is probably a higher likelihood that they pitch around me," Braun said. "I have been swinging so terribly and Luc has been swinging so great that that combination probably enticed them to at least come at me a little bit." Rockies manager Walt Weiss told reliever Matt Belisle to pitch carefully to Braun, but the strategy didnt work. "Ill always take responsibility for that one," Walt Weiss said. "Could have put him on. Its a tough situation for Mattie. Hes trying to get him to expand for a couple of pitches. The ball was maybe a little up. Braun went up and got it." Mark Reynolds led off the ninth with a single off Belisle (2-3) and advanced on a sacrifice by Jean Segura. Scooter Gennett pinch hit for Francisco Rodriguez (3-2) and was intentionally walked. The runners advanced on a passed ball by catcher Michael McKenry. After Rickie Weeks went down swinging, Braun drilled Belisles first pitch up the middle. "I dont think they were trying to throw it where he ended up throwing it," Braun said after collecting his first walk-off hit since 2011. Josh Rutledge tied the game when he homered off Rodriguez with one out in the ninth. Rutledge hit a 3-2 pitch that just barely cleared the wall in left for his second homer this season. Rodriguez was trying to help Kyle Lohse win his third straight start. Lohse has been victimized by five blown saves this season. He allowed one run on seven hits over seven innings and came within two outs of beating the Rockies for the second time in five days. Sunday, he pitched five innings and allowed three runs on seven hits in the Brewers 6-5 win in Colorado. Rodriguez leads the majorss with 27 saves, but this was his third blown save this season.dddddddddddd Lohse had plenty of sympathy for Rodriguez. "I feel bad for K-Rod because hes been pitching so well, but the bottom line is we won," Lohse said. "He came in and did what he does. Ill take K-Rod closing out one of my games any time." The Brewers became the first team in the majors to record 50 wins. Their NL-leading record (50-32) is the best in team history through 82 games. They have 13 games left to top the team record of 54 wins before the All-Star game. The Brewers also improved to 5-0 in the season series with the Rockies. "Its nice to be the first one to 50 wins, for sure," Braun said. "Were excited with the way that weve played so far, but theres still a lot of baseball left." The Brewers went ahead 2-1 in the seventh. Khris Davis doubled off Nick Masset to start the inning and Reynolds followed with a walk. Both advanced on a sacrifice by Segura. When Lyle Overbay was announced as the pinch hitter for Lohse, the Rockies brought in Rex Brothers. The Brewers countered with Martin Maldonado, who struck out swinging. After Weeks walked, Adam Ottavino came on to face Braun and hit him with the first pitch. Lucroy hit into a fielders choice for the third out. The Rockies scored their run in the seventh on a sacrifice by pinch-hitter Brandon Barnes that scored Rutledge. The Brewers scored first when Lucroy chopped an RBI single over second base off rookie Tyler Matzek in the sixth. Matzek went six innings, allowing one run on five hits while striking out three. NOTES: The Rockies challenged the call when Carlos Gomez was ruled safe at second in the eighth inning. The decision was reversed in under 2 minutes. . Rockies C Wilin Rosario, who left Thursday nights game with lower back tightness, missed the game. Weiss said that the injury was not serious, but enough to keep him out of the lineup. . Rockies RHP Nolan Arenado (broken left middle finger) heads to Triple-A Colorado Springs on Sunday for a rehab assignment. . Troy Tulowitzkis double in the fourth was his 400th career extra-base hit. . RHP Matt Garza (4-5, 3.20 ERA) faces Colorados RHP Jhoulys Chacin (1-6, 4.84) on Saturday. ' ' '