TORONTO - Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach Kevin Seitzer usually stands right behind the cage during batting practice while the players take their cuts. From time to time, hell move over to the side and will weigh in with a quick tip or two. Its a comfortable approach that has paid dividends for the American League East division leaders, who boast an offence that is among the best in Major League Baseball. "I think hes hands on when he needs to and he sits back and he watches when he needs to too," said Blue Jays catcher Erik Kratz. "We have a lot of good hitters here and with good hitters comes success and some streakiness. "He does a good job of limiting the bad streaks and extending the good streaks." The teams offensive statistics over the first two months of the campaign have been eye-opening. Entering Wednesdays games, the Blue Jays led the major leagues in home runs (83) and were second in runs scored (296), RBIs (281), slugging percentage (.451), hits (534) and OPS (on-base plus slugging — .784). Toronto was also tied for second in on-base percentage (.333) and sat fifth in team batting average (.264). Seitzer keeps a close eye on all the numbers but values some statistical categories more than others. "Runs scored is the one Im most concerned about," he said. "If youre scoring runs, whether you do it by home runs, situational hitting, youve got to be able to get on base, draw walks, be able to move runners and get big hits when guys are in scoring position. "It kind of encompasses everything really." The 52-year-old native of Springfield, Ill., was hired by the Blue Jays last fall after spending parts of five seasons as a hitting coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals. He succeeded Chad Mottola, who spent one year in the position. Seitzer, a two-time all-star as a player, had a .295 career average over 12 seasons with the Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Indians. As a coach, he has preached the importance of preparation and making hard, consistent contact in the box. "Have an idea of what the pitcher has got and what hes going to try to do, and then what each guy needs to do in order to have the best chance to succeed," he said of his approach. "I like to keep things simple. I dont like it complicated, they dont want it complicated. "Theyve made really good adjustments so far." The power portion of the Toronto lineup has delivered so far with sluggers Edwin Encarnacion (.272 average, 19 homers, 50 RBIs) and Jose Bautista (.310, 14 homers, 41 RBIs) on pace for big seasons. Among the other notable performances, first baseman Adam Lind is batting .347 while Melky Cabrera has a .303 average. Juan Francisco is hitting .276 with nine homers and 24 RBIs in just 36 games. As for that important runs scored category, three Toronto players are in the top 15 in the major leagues: Bautista (44 - tied for fourth), Encarnacion (41 - tied for seventh) and Cabrera (37 - tied for 14th). Those numbers are a big reason why Toronto took a 35-24 record — the second-best mark in the American League — into Wednesdays game at Detroit. Its a big step up from this time last year, when the Blue Jays were last in the East at 24-34. "Its been phenomenal," Seitzer said of the teams effort. "If youre in first place after the first third, then the second third and the third one, then youre right where you need to be. So I couldnt ask for more right now." The 2013 Blue Jays posted decent offensive numbers despite their poor 74-88 record. The team was ninth in runs scored (712), fourth in homers (185), 11th in RBIs (669), eighth in slugging percentage (.411) and 15th in batting average (.252). While Seitzer deserves his share of the credit for the improvement, hes quick to praise the players for their professional approach and effort. He has been very impressed with what hes seen so far. "Probably the most (impressive thing) is the talent level and then secondly, their work ethic and preparation going in," he said. "When you have that combination and the ability to make adjustments along the way, youve got a chance to do some damage every night. Theyve been doing great." Authentic Michael Jordan Jersey . -- Oakland Athletics starting pitchers Jarrod Parker and A. Cheap Sports Jerseys . -- Green Bay wide receiver Greg Jennings will be on the sideline as the Packers make their push for a perfect regular season. https://www.sportsstarsjerseys.com/tom-brady-jersey/.ca NHL Power Rankings, ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks. Moving up, from 10 to seven this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins have won seven straight despite a depleted lineup. Womens Michael Jordan Jersey . The 41-year-old Northern Irishman has proved a perfect fit at Liverpool since taking over from Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2012 and steered the team to an unexpected title challenge in the Premier League last season. Michael Jordan Jersey . And thats about it. After the Salukis 73-65 loss at Murray State on Tuesday night, Hinson called his players "uncoachable," "a bunch of mamas boys" and compared the disciplining of his young team to housebreaking a puppy.NEW YORK, N.Y. - The New York Rangers had just suffered a difficult loss to the Kings in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final, but coach Alain Vigneault didnt use the long plane ride home from Los Angeles to drill his players on how to get back into the series. Vigneault wanted the Rangers to rest and re-energize, and after a tiring start to the series the Kings had the same idea. "You shouldve seen the plane ride over here," Kings winger Justin Williams said. "It was all lights out and guys were sleeping." Kings coach Darryl Sutter voiced some concern about fatigue earlier in the series, but the true test is how these teams will react moving forward after two overtime games and then cross-country flights Sunday. Neither team practised on the day before Game 3 because rest is now at a premium. "I think the longer series go, the longer the playoffs go, (its about) courage, determination, extra effort," Sutter said. "Youre never going to feel fresh. Youre never going to feel as good as you did in November. Thats the way it works. Thats for sure. Theyre people." Williams doesnt consider fatigue a problem. For now. "Well be fine," he said. "Its the Cup finals, theres no excuse for not being ready or not being prepared or being tired. You can get yourself ready." Thats easier said than done after it took until midway through the second overtime before Dustin Brown finished off Game 2 to give Los Angeles a two games to none lead in the series. Despite Williams scoring 4:36 into overtime in Game 1, theres a build-up of extra hockey going on for the Kings. That was their third overtime game in a row. "Its pretty tough," Kings winger Marian Gaborik said. "To play this many periods the last three games, its a lot of hockey. But everyone will find the energy." The Rangers had a handful of days off after beating the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference final, but that doesnt mean players could immediately re-adjust to the time change by the time they took the ice at Madison Square Garden on Monday morning. Trying to explain the mood around the team, forward Brian Booyle noted that its still early in the morning.dddddddddddd But he wasnt worried about being tired. "You just try and get your rest and plenty of fluids," Boyle said. "Its the same for probably everybody. Its an even playing field. So you just do your best." Even though it is an even playing field, it takes some work. "I think on the days off is where you take care of a lot of the physical fatigue, get as much liquids into you as possible and take a step back and relax a little bit," Kings forward Dwight King said Sunday at the team hotel. "As far as prepping for games, everybody has been in this situation long enough to know what they need to do to bring what they need to bring in order for our team to be successful. Defenceman Drew Doughty, who played a game-high 41:41 on Saturday night, has his own strategy. "Im the best couch-sitter in the world, so I make sure to do a lot of that," he said. Thats one way to physically re-charge. But 14 players in this series also participated in the Olympics, so the grind is no joke. "I think its my longest season ever," said Kings defenceman Slava Voynov, who played for Russia in Sochi. "But I feel like last season, a couple of years ago, same thing, its not big deal for me. Just try to play games." And there have been a lot of games. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist has played 91, counting the Olympics. He thinks the bigger concern is the mental aspect of playing so many games, including the overtimes. "Physically we can all do it," Lundqvist said. "Its about how you recharge mentally. You have to make sure youre in the right place. No letdowns here." NOTES — Injured Rangers backup goaltender Cam Talbot did not skate Monday morning, and David LeNeveu is expected to continue serving in that role. Vigneault did not provide an update on Talbots status. ... Injured Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr, who hasnt played since May 3, continues to skate but his status is uncertain. Sutter said the team will continue to see what happens as warm-ups and games go on. Follow @SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '