Jays still have a lot to play for

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pride, spoiler status, and individual accolades. That's about all the Toronto Blue Jays have left to play for in the 2010 season. With the Jays now equipped with a 40-man roster at their disposal, youngsters can use this month as a time to showcase their talents and leave a lasting impression in the eyes of the organization.

Some things to watch over the final month of the season:

IMPACTING THE RACE

Toronto will play 16 of its remaining 25 games against teams with playoff aspirations, starting with six straight home games against the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays after defeating the AL-West leading Rangers on Monday. The Jays will also visit the Boston Red Sox for three and host the New York Yankees for another three at the end of the month. Toronto will then end the season in Minnesota for four games against the Twins at Target Field.

A strong finish by the Blue Jays (71-66) may not only have an impact on the AL playoff race, but the team could reach the 80-win plateau for the fifth time in the past six seasons. The 75-87 record the Jays finished with in 2009 was the worst the club has posted since a 67-94 campaign in 2004. The success Toronto has achieved is in large part due to a strong and surprising pitching staff that has proven its worth in the AL East.

The four mainstays of the rotation - Shaun Marcum, Brett Cecil, Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow - have all strung together career years, going a combined 45-29 on the season.

Shawn Hill will at least temporality fill the void left by Morrow, who was shut down for the season due to an innings limit. Hill is slated to start the series finale against the Rangers on Thursday.

The Jays will round out the rotation with lefty Marc Rzepczynski who, despite his struggles, still remains an intriguing option for the remainder of the year after posting a 3.67 ERA over 11 starts in 2009. Rzepczynski has started consistently since mid-August and has a 1-3 record with a 6.62 ERA on the season.

GETTING ANOTHER LOOK

Catcher J.P. Arencibia and third basemen Jarrett Hoffpauir have both been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas of the Pacific Coast League. Both players were PCL All-Stars and Arencibia's strong offensive campaign of .301-32-85 earned him PCL MVP honors.

Arencibia is in the long-term plans of the franchise but it's uncertain if that will result in a full-time gig behind the plate starting as early as next season. The current tandem of John Buck and Jose Molina are not guaranteed to be with the club in 2011, forcing management to decide on which, if any, backstop to bring back.

Buck will become a free agent at season's end and the Jays have a club option on Molina worth $1.2 million for 2011. If Toronto is confident enough with Arencibia, Molina will be the likely choice based on the attention that Buck is sure to garner on the open market.

Hoffpauir, meanwhile, will try to prove that at the age of 27 and a career spent almost entirely in the minor leagues, he's capable of filling a need at the major league level. Further, it just so happens that third base is a big question mark the Jays face heading into the 2011 season. His line of .295-16-73 for Las Vegas this year may have earned him a look if the Jays are unable to acquire an impact bat during the off-season.

MILESTONES

Jose Bautista is having a season that will entrench him in the Blue Jays' record books. The All-Star has a legitimate chance at setting the franchise's single-season home run record currently held by George Bell, who clubbed 47 in his MVP season of 1987. Bautista is sitting at 43, which ranks as the fourth- highest total in club history behind Bell, Jose Canseco (46) and Carlos Delgado (44).

The slugger has already surpassed the Jays' single-season total for walks (88) by a right-handed batter, previously held by Dave Winfield (82) in 1992. He's also in good position to set the team's all-time mark for highest slugging percentage and most extra-base hits in a season by a right-handed hitter.

Gregg, on the other hand, is having a career year despite the uncertainty that arises each time he takes to the mound. The 32-year old is likely to collect the most saves of his career and could post his best ERA and K/9 ratio as well. Gregg is two saves shy from his career-high of 32 set with the Florida Marlins in 2007 and his current ERA of 3.28 would be his lowest of any season. In addition, his 9.67 K/9 ratio is surely to pass his previous best of 9.32, also set in '07.

Gregg may not be the closer for the Jays moving forward but he has pitched effectively enough for the club to consider picking up his $4.5 million option for 2011.

With the club inching closer to reaching the next level, the Blue Jays should consider the playoffs a legitimate goal next year for the first time since 1993.

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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