DUNEDIN, Florida - Melky Cabrera envisioned the worst-case scenario when he was diagnosed with having a benign tumour in his back. "I thought he was going to pass away, I was going to die, I was going to leave his kids behind and his family," said Cabrera through third base coach Luis Rivera, translating Spanish to English. "I know one day hes going to die but I wasnt ready to do that yet." It was a harsh dose of reality for Cabrera not long after turning 29 last August 11. It was a strange time. Finally, Cabrera had a proper diagnosis for the knee tendinitis and quadriceps inflammation that had sent him to the disabled list earlier in the season. But to that point, Cabrera couldnt understand why hed been rendered relatively immobile on the field. The tumour, which if left untreated would have continued to grow and could have ended up wrapping itself around Cabreras spinal cord causing paralysis, even death, was about the size of a walnut at the time it was surgically removed. The scar on Cabreras back is about five inches long and runs straight down the spinal column. "I was worried because of the way I was playing and the pain I was feeling in my legs and his back," Cabrera said through Rivera. "I didnt know what was wrong with me until I they decided to check. I found out, my family and myself, it was a tumour. They didnt know if it was benign or cancer and we were real worried." Once the stiches came out ten days after the surgery, Cabrera immediately began working out. He started slowly, capped at curls with 15 and 20-pound dumbbells. By December, Cabrera had moved his offseason home to Tampa. Teammate Jose Bautista lives in the area and the two began two-a-day workouts immediately, including cardio and weight training in the mornings and baseball related activities, namely hitting, in the afternoon. Cabrera is plenty motivated to have a bounce back season. Limited to 88 games last year, he posted a .279/.322/.360 slash line. He was coming off a 50-game suspension in 2012 for performance enhancing drug use. Now in the final year of the $16 million, two-year contract, Cabrera is playing for his next deal while trying to shake a shady past. In solid physical shape and moving better than he has in more than a year, Cabrera is reunited with his hitting coach from three seasons ago in Kansas City, Kevin Seitzer. "Im real happy that hes here," said Cabrera through Rivera. "Hes a real good hitting coach. He knows what kind of swing I have and he can work with me better." NAVARRO CATCHES BUEHRLE Asked before Fridays game if he could remember catching a pitcher who works as quickly as Mark Buehrle, Dioner Navarro didnt waste any time responding. "Nobody," he said. Navarro wouldnt offer a prediction of how things would go, which necessitated a follow up when he left the game after six innings. "On the positive side I dont have to do conditioning now," joked Navarro. "It was fun. I think hes still trying to build in as spring training goes along. I dont think he was throwing as hard as he can. His mechanics looked fine. The ball was coming out fine. He likes to work fast, thats for sure." Buehrle threw two innings, allowing a run on two hits. He struck out one and walked one. "First thing I told him when we met, I said, Listen, I dont shake off, so I like the sign down and hope youve got a game plan back there, because I dont really go over one, I dont follow one, so I just kind of go off [the catchers signs]," said Buehrle. "Thats big for them to know the hitters and know what I like to throw in certain situations. So far, were just working on some stuff right now and getting his feedback on certain pitches that Im throwing, so its good." Buehrle sat in on a handful of advanced scouting meetings two years ago in Miami, at the request of then-Marlins pitching coach Randy St. Claire, but felt he wasnt benefitting from the information. Hed prefer if Navarro and pitching coach Pete Walker worked out the plan. Hell just throw the pitches, joking that if things go wrong it leaves the blame on the catcher. "We take the blame," said Navarro. "Hey, its been like that for 100 years. When somebody does good, good job. When something goes bad its the catchers fault. Ive got no shame on that. I take the blame. Its okay with me." IZTURIS ACCEPTING OF BACK UP ROLE As long as the regulars stay healthy, Maicer Izturis will find himself back in the role he had with the Angels. Hell play some second base, some shortstop and some third base and be a late-game option off the bench for manager John Gibbons. "Ive been in that situation before in Anaheim with Aybar and Howie Kendrick," said Izturis. "For me, Im coming in ready to help the team win. I just want to make the playoffs and win that thing. I think weve got everything here. We need to just compete." A 10-year veteran, Izturis also is serving as a mentor to Ryan Goins, who ended last season as the Jays second baseman and is expected to have the starting job when camp breaks. "Just be consistent, play good defense," said Izturis of his advice to Goins. "Hes got the same game that I do. Just play defense, move the runner, take some pitches, play for the team. Weve got a lot of players with power and speed. Thats what I try to tell him to help him understand his game." Izturis is fully healed following a season-ending ankle sprain late last August. He began running the bases and taking ground balls in November. LINDS BEARD GETTING ATTENTION Adam Linds goatee is being compared to the beard worn by former professional wrestler Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Shown a photo of Neidhart, Lind laughed and said, "Hes got a better tan." KRATZ DOES COMMERCIALS Check out these three commercials featuring new Blue Jays catcher Erik Kratz, done last year in Philadelphia for Godshalls Quality Meats. Some funny stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGOjaXfwdfg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bltl70SVyuU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oQi1uuq2xI Letro... Guion Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Letro... Guion Packers Jersey . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. http://... . It was hard for Luck to pull off another comeback, or even get into the end zone, while standing on the sideline. Rivers threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to rookie Keenan Allen and Nick Novak kicked four field goals to give the Chargers a 19-9 victory against the Colts on Monday night. [url=http://www.thepackersteamproshop.com/Youth-Dave-Robinson-Elite-Jersey/]Dave Robinson Jersey . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. ... Randall Packers Jersey . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round.DAVOS, Switzerland -- Glen Metropolit hasnt played an NHL game since 2010, but on Thursday, the oldest player on Canadas Spengler Cup roster showed why hes the captain of the Canadian squad. After nearly scoring on his first shift of the game, the 39-year-old Metropolit -- whos played for Lugano in the Swiss league the past two seasons -- picked up a goal in the first period and assisted on Derek Walsers game winner in the third as Canada opened up the Spengler Cup with a 5-4 victory over the HC Vitkovice Steel of the Czech Republic. "Even at his age, on the blue-line and in the offensive zone, hes still one of the best players in the game in Switzerland so thats where hes going to be really good for us," head coach Doug Shedden said. "Hes played for me before and thats why I made him captain. This could be his last Spengler Cup and his children are here visiting from Florida. "Its just something that gets him excited about playing." Byron Ritchie, Micki DuPont, and Alexandre Bolduc also scored for Canada in a back-and-forth offensive game that saw leads slip away between both teams four times. Rudolf Huna, Peter Huzeka, Roman Szturic and Lukas Kucsera scored for Vitkovice. Vitkovices Filip Sindelar was the busier of the two goaltenders, stopping 37 of 42 shots in the losing effort. Canadas Chris Mason made 18 saves. "We were outshooting them pretty good all night," Shedden said. "We really ccarried the play against them.dddddddddddd" Ritchies goal tied the game at 4-4 at 7:58 of the third period, and Walser beat Sindelar off passes from Anthony Stewart and Metropolit at 13:47 to pull Canada ahead for good. Bolduc opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at 2:30 of the first period, but Kucsera responded with a goal for the Czech club team less than two minutes later. Canada took the lead again on Metropolits goal, and Vitkovice replied to take a 2-2 tie into the first intermission. The second period proved costly for Canada when a turnover gave Vitkovice a 4-3 lead 11 seconds after DuPont tied the game 3-3 on a power play. Shedden said the mistake could be chalked up to unfamiliarity between his players, whove had just one practice and one morning skate together before their first game. "The problem was we gave up some easy scoring chances off some miscues and thats going to happen with guys who havent played together, and it happens every night anyway if you have played together." Shedden said. "I thought their goalie really kept them in it because we really crashed the net all night, and it showed the heart of the Canadians. "We were down going into the third period and we thought we were playing well enough, we just had to keep at it and we did that. You work hard enough eventually youre going get rewarded with a couple goals." Canada plays host HC Davos on Saturday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '