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DUNEDIN, Florida – Blue Jays manager John Gibbons knows theres a lot at stake this season. Coming off a disastrous 2013 year, relative to expectations perhaps the most disappointing in franchise history, the club could be dealing with significant upheaval if theres continued, sustained underperformance. Gibbons sat down with TSN.ca before Thursdays Grapefruit League game against Houston to talk about his team, in which he espouses confidence. To listen to the interview, click here. TSN.ca: John, as we sit here, two weeks from tonight you guys will be flying to Montreal for the final two exhibition games of the spring. GIBBONS: Cant wait. TSN.ca: Old stomping grounds for you, right? An ex-Met, did you have some fun in Montreal in your day? GIBBONS: Yeah, you know I wasnt up with the Mets long but I made a few road trips to Montreal. I loved it. I really did. Its a neat city. Its a little different than what were used to or what Im used to but we always had a good time there. Good people. I enjoyed hopping on that subway, riding it to the stadium there so I have some good memories of that place. TSN.ca: Parlez-vous Francais? GIBBONS: Poquito. Oh thats not French, okay. You learn a lot of Spanish around here. Ill put it that way. TSN.ca: Yeah, theres no question about that in your clubhouse. So were three, three and a half weeks in since all the regulars got here. The tone of camp, at least from my point of view, John, is different from last years and there were a lot of mitigating factors with the WBC and whatnot last season. How do you feel camp has gone so far and where do you see your team at today? GIBBONS: I agree with you. I think theres a lot more focus and thats not just coming from the coaching end of it. I think the players are a lot more focused. Last year there was a lot of distraction. A lot of new faces were brought in and the high expectations, much more media coverage so the players were getting dragged in a lot of different directions. We had some celebrities on here. We brought in Dickey coming off a Cy Young. Of course Reyes and those guys coming in and everybody was tugging at all different angles so there were some distractions that way. Good distractions but nevertheless distractions and then of course some guys went off to the WBC and things like that. Its been a much nicer, simpler camp, a lot more low key and weve been able to get some great work in. TSN.ca: As you head into the regular season I think there are some questions about certain positions around the club. The starting rotation, especially the back end, has been a hot topic of conversation. More broadly speaking, the American League East, I think we both agree is always strong but has gotten better. Do you feel you have the quality of starting pitching that matches the quantity of the depth that youll have at Buffalo and in the lower minor leagues. GIBBONS: I think we do. Not a whole lot of change this year other than Navarro. You know, Alex was working all winter trying to bring in a pitcher or two, difference makers. We werent able to do that. It wasnt for a lack of effort. The money, the years, all sorts of things, their desire to go other places hampered that a little bit. There were a couple of trade opportunities but they wanted everybody and their brother top prospects in the minor leagues. After the trades with Florida and the Mets we gave up a lot of our top prospects so, I mean, theres no way you can deplete your whole minor league system to get guys who maybe arent difference makers. We sat tight there. The main reason behind that is we like what we have here. Theres much more depth, like you just alluded to, that we didnt have last year. If somebody falters or if theres an injury weve got some guys, some fallback plans that we think are pretty good that should make a huge difference. As of right now were still looking for that fifth starter. Weve got some guys that are pitching very good. Theres been some good competition down here. Right now, were probably only looking at one spot. J.A. Happ, now, hes been a little bit banged up with his back so at this point, on this day, hes a little bit of a question mark. Hopefully hes going to throw in the next couple of days in a minor league game. If hes fine that should solve some problems there. You know, theres some guys in here that we think are going to have some good big league careers. Now its just are they going to get that opportunity? They may get it as we break camp as we start the season this year. It may come a month in. It may come in two months. Who knows? Weve got some players here who we think are capable of winning in the American League East. Theres some great competitors and well see where it all ends up. TSN.ca: Do you anticipate Drew Hutchison breaking camp with the team? GIBBONS: Well, Im not going to say hes on the team right now but Ill tell you what, hes pitched as well, if not better, than anybody in camp and another thing he has going for him, you know hes really bounced back from that injury, but hes pitched in Toronto before and was pitching very well before he had the injury. Hes got a little experience under his belt. Hes definitely been a standout. Hes always been thought of highly in the organization. Its just basically a matter of time when hes ready again and it sure seems like, you look at it now, he should be ready to go. TSN.ca: Do you believe in the phrase, "Its early?" Especially after last year maybe you dont but getting out of the gate strong, John, aside from having more wins than losses, just setting the right tone I think would be important for you guys this year. GIBBONS: It was early three weeks ago. Its not so early anymore, a couple of weeks left. Yeah, no question, a quick, fast start is very important to this ballclub. Easier said than done, of course, you know we play some pretty good teams early. I think what it would do is give us confidence and it may quell some of the naysayers out there because until we go out and prove something on the field that were better than we were last year and we actually do have the team that we think can win here, thats always going to be hanging over our heads. These guys, theyve been working hard, theyre very focused and now the key is to come out of the gates with everything clicking. Weve got to get good pitching. Hopefully those bats are going at the right time at the beginning of the season and something thats a constant, one thing you can always control, is the way you play defense and I think that will be much, much better this year. TSN.ca: I wanted to touch on that with you because when we think of winning, youve got to score more runs than you allow and we typically always think of offense, just hit the ball out of the park or piece together runs. We dont always think of run prevention. Well cross our fingers for you guys that you have pretty good health here, and you have so far through camp and that that will carry through. But with Lawrie at third, Reyes and short and it looks like Ryan Goins at second base, as long as theyre all out there on the field at the same time, weve seen some pretty sweet double plays and some pretty nice plays made here, John. Youre going to be able to prevent more runs than you did, especially in the first half of last year. GIBBONS: We think so and we have to. You left out Melky Cabrera, who wasnt moving well at all last year and so that created a big hole out there in leftfield. With the guys you just mentioned, we think we have one of the better defenses in baseball, in our minds. As much as our starting pitching struggled last year, we didnt bail them out, we didnt help them out one bit, especially early in the season. A lot of those games, a play thats made here or there, might have got us out of an inning, a big inning and kept us in the game and we may have come back and won some of those. You look at it, you can go through any sport, if you dont play defense youre not going to win. Boston was a good defensive team last year and they won the World Series. Football, another sport I know well, the Seahawks last year, great defense, the best defense in the NFL. Theres no secret there. We think we have a good one but the key is weve got to keep the right guys on the field the majority of the season. TSN.ca: The Red Sox, maybe they didnt have the best team on paper in the majors last year but they won the World Series and there was that grind it out aspect. When youve walked around the clubhouse, talked to your players or youve had them in here one on one, do you sense that there is an unquestioned willingness to grind it out this year? Kind of a win at all costs mentality? GIBBONS: Yes, I do. Weve got a lot of proud veterans out in that room. Some guys whove had some great careers, some guys on the upswing that are going to end up having real good major league careers but everybody was a little embarrassed, the way things went last year. One thing Ill say about this group last year, through all the different changes, all the guys coming and going, there never was a lack of effort. Thats rare when some seasons go south but our guys showed up to play everyday and I tip my hat to them and thats admirable and thats the way it should be but thats not always the way it ends up. They all know they have something to prove, that were a better team than the way we played last year and I sense that. They talk about that. To get to this level as an athlete, to get to the top at anything, youve got to have some pride. We have a lot of that in that room and I think, I dont want to say necessarily that were going to surprise some people because we think we have a good team on the field, we think we had a good team on the field last year it just didnt pan out, but if we play up to our capabilities we think weve got a chance to win this thing. TSN.ca: Its an everyday game so youre always at the field and youre always thinking about, okay, what do I have to do to win today? But when you get away from the ballpark, do you think give any thought to your future and the fact that if it doesnt go well again this year, John, fairly or unfairly, itll be a hard sell to the fan base to continue with you as manager and the coaching staff? There could be changes here if it doesnt work out. GIBBONS: Oh yeah. Thats to be expected in the professional sports world. I can guarantee you one thing, I wont be here forever. Thats a fact. When that day comes, sooner or later, who knows? I dont give that much thought because I approach my job everyday to do the best job I can. I have a great responsibility to the organization whos given me an opportunity here and theres a lot that goes into that. Thats the reality of baseball. I have some fans out there but I also have a lot of detractors. When the dark clouds show up you start hearing more of those voices. If you get caught up in that kind of stuff itll paralyze you, you cant do your job so I take it all in stride everyday because I know I can do this job, I know I can run a baseball team, Ive got zero doubt in my mind about that. Things dont always work out but I think this year it will. TSN.ca: We appreciate the time, John, and all the best this season. GIBBONS: Thank you, Scott. . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. . Johansen scored twice and Derek MacKenzie, Brandon Dubinsky and Cam Atkinson also had goals to lead the Blue Jackets to a 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Thursday night, ending a three-game losing skid. http://www.uswntproshop.com/c-7-kelley- ... ersey.aspx. -- Blake Griffin scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 22 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 98-96 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. .Mateo Kovacic and Andrea Ranocchia scored for Inter, which had goalkeeper Samir Handanovic to thank for several crucial saves.Its an important victory against a Chievo side which plays well, Mancini said. . -- Rookie Victor Oladipo came off the bench to score 20 points and Glen Davis had 18, leading the Orlando Magic to a 112-98 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.ATLANTA -- After losing 14 of 15 games, the Atlanta Hawks seem to be getting their mojo back. Paul Millsap says its been a long time coming. "Yeah, were due for it," he said. "We got a few (loose) balls. We got a few calls. Things just went our way in foul situations when its been the other team getting breaks." Millsap had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Jeff Teague added 15 points and 10 assists, and the Atlanta Hawks rallied for their third straight win with a 97-92 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night. Kenneth Faried finished with 25 points and Wilson Chandler scored 12 for the Nuggets, who were coming off a dramatic victory Friday at two-time defending champion Miami. Kyle Korver, who hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to make it 96-92, had 18 points and Pero Antic added 16 for Atlanta. Denver erased a 21-point deficit in the third quarter to take its first lead at 81-80 lead on Darrell Arthurs two free throws with 7:10 remaining. But Teague hit a 3 with 3:59 remaining that put the Hawks up 89-87 and followed with a long jumper to make it 91-89 at the 1:51 mark. "Every team has big wins," Arthur said in reference to the victory at Miami. "(With) the good teams, its consistent, and we havent been consistent all year. We can beat anybody. We just dont." Ty Lawson, Denvers leading scorer this season, handed out 11 assists, but went 0 for 12 from the field and finished with just two points. Before winning Monday at Utah, the Hawks had dropped from third to eighth in the Eastern Conference during their 1-14 stretch. The Hawks are 3 1/2 games ahead of New York for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Atlantas three-game winning streak is its longest since beating the Jazz on Dec. 20. "We knew they were going to make a run, but I think our mindset was just goiing back to being an aggressive team," said DeMarre Carroll, who had 11 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists for the Hawks.dddddddddddd"I think our biggest thing is we just have to keep staying aggressive for the entire game instead of just for 36 minutes or 40 minutes." Faried gave the Nuggets a 92-91 lead on a three-point play, but they trailed the rest of the way after Antic hit a long jumper over Faried from the left corner and Wilson Chandler missed a 3 that gave Atlanta possession with 30 seconds to go. The Nuggets, who had erased a 14-point deficit Friday in a 102-97 victory at Miami, had won two straight and four of six. After Korvers 3 made it 16-3, Denver coach Brian Shaw called timeout, and the Nuggets went on a 23-15 run, but they trailed 53-37 on Teagues three-point play with 12 seconds left before halftime. Atlanta went ahead by 21 early in the third on Antics 3, but Denver cut the lead to seven on Foyes 3 at the 5-minute mark, and the Nuggets only trailed by six entering the fourth. "Just a case of too little, too late," Shaw said. "We were real lethargic in the first half. We needed to play the way we played the end of the third quarter (and during the) fourth quarter from the start of the game." NOTES: Antics long jumper with 41.8 seconds remaining was originally scored as a 3, but officials changed the call after watching a replay. ... Carrolls double-double was the second of his career. ... J.J. Hickson scored 12 points for Denver. ... The Nuggets outscored Atlanta 44-26 in the paint and 39-13 off the bench, but Atlanta converted 21 turnovers into 25 points. ... The Hawks have won five of six at home against Denver and are 20-3 since 1989-90 versus the Nuggets in Atlanta. ... Atlanta, the NBA assists leader, handed out 25. The Hawks have had 20 assists in 60 of 64 games this season. 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