Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Team

The Toronto Blue Jays are making a strong push to obtain pitcher Jim Abbott, offering the Angel free-agent a three-year deal worth more than $9 million, and it's unclear whether the Angels will be able to counter that offer to keep him in Anaheim. Abbott reportedly received a three-year, $8-million offer from Toronto this week. After the Blue Jays lost free-agent pitcher Al Leiter to the Florida Marlins Thursday, they increased their offer to Abbott Friday.

After the Blue Jays postponed their Southern California tryout camps for possible replacement players last weekend because of heavy rains and flooding, one had to ask: Who could have expected a week in January in which the weather in Los Angeles would be worse than in Toronto? But that's the way things have been going for the Blue Jays. As major league baseball gropes its way into an uncertain future, the Blue Jays face more questions and obstacles than any other team.

Shawn Green pecked hastily at the hotel room telephone buttons in mid-March while trying to maintain his composure. Green had news to share--and it wasn't good. The former Tustin High outfielder was heading back to the minor leagues, having failed to impress the Toronto Blue Jays' brass enough during spring training. His bags were packed and his name printed on a one-way airline ticket to Syracuse, N.Y., home of the Blue Jays' triple-A affiliate.

Baseball players and their agents say the owners' proposal, which contains a demand for a salary cap, won't deter a strike. "I hope it doesn't happen, but my gut feeling is that it will," Tony Gwynn of the Padres said. The union's executive board meets today in Chicago to discuss options. * The Toronto Blue Jays purchased Dave Righetti's contract from double-A Knoxville. Righetti, 35, began the year with Oakland but was released after he compiled a 16.71 ERA in seven relief appearances.

For those nostalgia buffs, Anaheim Stadium was the place to be Sunday. It was there that relics from the Angels' previous youth movement were on display. Devon White, the outfielder who could do it all, and Dick Schofield, the sure and steady shortstop, came up with big plays. They got key hits and played solid defense. They did so as members of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Toronto Blue Jays, whose midseason or second-half acquisition of a player eligible for free agency has become a title-winning art form, did it again Thursday. Moving to strengthen a struggling rotation, the Blue Jays acquired David Cone from the New York Mets for third baseman Jeff Kent and a player to be named--probably minor league outfielder Ryan Thompson.