Talk » They know what hes been through

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Joaquin Benoit suffered a torn left calf and will miss at least the rest of the regular season after he tripped coming out of the bullpen during one of two benches-clearing incidents against the New York Yankees on Monday night.Manager John Gibbons made the announcement Tuesday and added that Blue Jays?second baseman Devon Travis also was hurt in one of the two benches-clearing incidents in the second inning. Travis aggravated an injury to his left shoulder and is day-to-day, Gibbons said.Benoit expects to be out for at least two to three weeks, meaning he likely wont pitch again unless the Blue Jays make a deep playoff run.It felt like something hit me, he said. I wont be able to get on the mound anytime soon, so personally this is really disappointing.Benoit was acquired by the Blue Jays from the Seattle Mariners on July 26. Since joining Toronto he has a 0.38 ERA in 23? innings and is 2-0 with one save.Its a big loss, no doubt about it, Gibbons said. Hes been so good.Left-hander Brett Cecil and right-handed rookie Joe Biagini will see time in Benoits seventh-inning role, Gibbons said.Travis acknowledged Tuesday that he aggravated his injury during one of the two incidents Monday. He left Monday nights game during his next at-bat.?He had an X-ray Tuesday to confirm that screws in his shoulder were not displaced during the brawl.I aggravated it, initially, during that little scrum, Travis told reporters. I probably should have used my right arm and not my left.The Blue Jays (86-70) lead the American League wild-card standings entering Tuesdays games. Travis wont play in Tuesdays pivotal game against the?Baltimore Orioles, who are second in the AL wild-card race.The first incident Monday night was precipitated by Blue Jays starter J.A. Happ hitting the Yankees Chase Headley on the hip with his second pitch of the second inning after narrowly missing him with his first. The Yankees appeared to think this was retaliation for?Luis Severino?grazing Josh Donaldson on the elbow pad with a pitch in the first inning.Things got much more heated in the bottom of the inning when Severino nailed Justin Smoak in the leg with his second pitch of the inning after narrowly missing him with his first.Benoit was injured during the second incident.Yankees manager Joe Girardi and starting pitcher Severino were ejected, as were New York pitching coach Larry Rothschild and bench coach Rob Thomson. No one from the Toronto side was ejected.Gibbons said the incidents, which came in the final regular-season meeting between the teams, wasnt a knee-jerk reaction.Teams pitch us inside, no doubt about that, Gibbons said. Weve had some close calls. Sometimes youve got to deal with things. One thing thats key to the success of a team is that they stick together. Thats all Im going to say on that.Toronto pitcher Marcus Stroman was more vocal than his manager, firing back at Headley over accusations that Stroman had yelled obscenities at Yankees batters after striking them out in Saturdays Toronto victory.I couldnt care less what other teams think of me or my team, Stroman said. We play with a lot of passion. We play with a lot of heart and were not boring. Boring people have problems with that.ESPNs Wallace Matthews and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Mark Recchi Jersey . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Leo Boivin Jersey . 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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- There was no rational reason to expect Alex Smith to be in his current position.It was just a few years ago that he was a bust, a first-round pick of the 49ers who had failed to live up to expectations.His job had been snatched away by Colin Kaepernick and he had been shuttled off to Kansas City for a couple of draft picks, his career scuffling along but just barely.He had a lot of adversity his first few years, had what, seven coordinators in seven years? Chiefs offensive tackle Mitch Schwartz said. Hes had to bounce around a lot.All those hardships have only made these days more gratifying.Now viewed as a consummate pro and the undisputed leader of the Chiefs, Smith is coming off perhaps his finest performance.He set career highs with 34 completions on 48 attempts and threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-27 overtime victory over San Diego in their season opener.His leadership was never more evident than in leading the Chiefs to the biggest comeback in team history, a 24-3 second-half hole that was erased in the blink of an eye.To cap it off, Smith called his own number on third-and-goal in overtime. It was an option and he kept the ball, slipping through a crease and into the end zone for the winning score.They went to review it, Smith said. Everybody was kind of going nuts and I was literally like, `I know theyre reviewing it. And I didnt want to start celebrating, then they come and take it back. Then when he finally said, `Touchdown, after he reviewed it -- yeah, I definitely lost it.Smith roared like a lion in celebration, a rare display of emotion from the stoic quarterback.If his free-flinging style when the Chiefs needed him to throw didnt prove how comfortable hes become in Kansas City, it was that moment as he walked off the field.And when he arrived to the locker room, the last player to make it after TV interviews, he was greeted by a roar from teammates.The guy that got jettisoned from San Francisco has become the toast of the town.Hes one of the most respected guys on the team, said Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who has loved him ever since his days in Philadelphia, and was a big proponent of the 2013 trade for him.You saw the love for him when he came in -- that was obvious. Theyre happy for him, Reid said. Not only did he have a big day, he was able to score that last touchdown, which he called --- that check he put in to win the game.dddddddddddd I think everybody was happy for him that way.Smith no longer dwells on his divorce from the 49ers, any lingering animosity washed away by three straight winning seasons and the first playoff victory for Kansas City in more than two decades.Yet consider this: Smith is 31-16 as a starter since the trade. Kaepernick is 22-18.Hes a humble guy, Reid said, so everybody roots for him. They know what hes been through, kept his head high and took the high road with things during the tough times.Perhaps unfairly labeled a game manager or check-down Charlie, the numbers bear out just how productive he has been since his arrival:- Thirty wins in his first three seasons are the best in franchise history, three more than Trent Green and seven more than Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson, who led them to their only Super Bowl.- Through 47 regular-season games, Smith has completed 63.9 percent of his passes, making him the most accurate in franchise history. That list includes another Hall of Fame quarterback, Joe Montana.- So far in his career, his quarterback rating -- which considers attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns and interceptions -- of 92.7 is better than any Kansas City quarterback.I think any time someone reaches a level that they havent reached before that it proves to everybody -- the whole room, including myself -- that nothings impossible, Reid said.Hard work, dedication and you can always better yourself, thats the way Alex approaches things, and guys see that. Not only does it help him in his game and his confidence, but it also helps the players around him.Its one of the big things that lured Schwartz over from Cleveland, where quarterback instability during his first four seasons continually scuttled rebuilding jobs.It really sets you back, he said. I played with some good guys there as well, but whether it was injuries or other circumstances it didnt quite work out. So that was a big thing that kind of brought me here was just knowing we had health and stability. It kind of solidifies everything.The quarterback is the cornerstone of the entire team, Schwartz said, so its a big advantage.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '