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07/16/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When your pockets aren't deep and you live in the American League East, you need to do things a little differently. With a new general manager in town, it seems as though the Toronto Blue Jays have finally come to understand that motto.
It's been less than one year since Alex Anthopoulos replaced J.P Ricciardi as GM of the Blue Jays and he's looked anything but a man in his early 30's in his first year on the job.
Although their record may not indicate it at 44-45, Anthopoulos has brought an optimism of hope back to the club despite playing in a division that features the three best teams in the American League. The task left for him was not easy either, as he had the responsibility of unloading the franchise's greatest pitcher, Roy Halladay.
Anthopoulos took over with a vision that, at this point, most Torontonians can probably feel comfortable trusting after living through eight years of Ricciardi's five-year plan. Nobody said it would be easy, especially when the Jays have to look up to AL East behemoths New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, but Anthopoulos has executed his plan well.
He's building through youth and high-ceiling, high-potential types of players. A few of those pieces were already in place, but the new GM has done a solid job supplementing the existing talent.
A look at some of the key moves made by Anthopoulos:
Anthopoulos stepped into a tough spot - despite being the assistant GM before taking over the role - as he would become the man responsible for trading away the best player on the roster. He went to work quickly, landing the Jays three very good prospects in starting pitcher Kyle Drabek, catcher Travis d'Arnaud and outfielder Michael Taylor from the Philadelphia Phillies. Taylor was immediately shipped to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Brett Wallace, the future first basemen of the Jays who already has played for three organizations during his brief span in the minor leagues.
While it's impossible to replace Halladay's arm and work ethic, but this type of return could prove to be a success for years to come. All three players made their respective minor league All-Star games this season, and Wallace and Drabek are on a fast track to the majors. Wallace did not participate in the Pacific Coast League's All-Star Game (Triple-A) due to a wrist injury, but his teammate Jarrett Hoffpauir, someone Anthopoulos also snatched up in the offseason, took his spot. Hoffpauir has seen a little bit of time this season, appearing with the big club in nine games.
The youth movement continued by way of the draft this past June, as Anthopoulos selected a little bit of everything, starting with a polished college arm and continuing with some high-potential prospects and homegrown talent. He made a point of targeting pitching, using his first four picks to select right-handers Deck McGuire, Aaron Sanchez, Noah Syndergaard and Asher Wojciechowski as well as capitalizing on Canadian-born talent. The most intriguing of which is Ontario-native Marcus Knecht, who batted .472 with 16 homers at Connors State College last year.
As much as Anthopoulos has concentrated on a youth movement, the team entered the season with several holes still to fill. Although his offseason signings didn't appear to be significant at the time, even the most optimistic of supporters couldn't have foreseen the production the Jays gotten from their additions. Catcher John Buck is enjoying his finest season and fresh off his first All-Star game, shortstop Alex Gonzalez is on his way to a career year and Kevin Gregg, despite being shaky at times, has converted 20-of-23 save opportunities.
Gonzalez, who hit 17 home runs and drove in 50 runs in the first half, was never part of the long-term plan, which is why his trade to the Atlanta Braves came as no surprise. The five-player deal was essentially a swap for shortstops, where the Braves were more concerned with the now and the Jays for the future, as they are willing to let Yunel Escobar play through his current struggles. Although he's having a down year, the 27-year-old still has plenty of upside and is coming off a fine 2009 season, when he hit .299 with 14 homers and 76 RBIs - the later numbers career highs. If Escobar, who is hitting .238 with no home runs, doesn't bounce back, the Jays also have Cuban Adeiny Hechavarria, an offseason acquisition who is currently playing in the minor leagues but projects to be the shortstop of the future.
The biggest steals for the Jays have come in the form of outfielder Fred Lewis and starting pitcher Brandon Morrow. Lewis was acquired from the San Francisco Giants at the beginning of the season and has turned out to be a complete success. The 29-year-old is batting .276, leading the team with 10 stolen bases and has become a fan favorite in Toronto.
Morrow, on the other hand, has finally found a role, as he's not only firmly entrenched in the Jays' rotation, he's quite possibly the future ace of the staff. He still needs to string together more consistency, but has shown flashes of dominance during his first year as a Blue Jay. He came over to Toronto in an offseason trade with Seattle.
There's a lot of hope for the Blue Jays moving forward, with Anthopoulos steering the ship into a deep pool of youth. Toronto already has a surplus of young players thriving in the big leagues, led by a rotation whose oldest member is 28-year-old Shaun Marcum. It goes without saying that Anthopoulos has done an exceptional job and has the Jays heading in a positive direction.
For the fans, this team has become a breath of fresh of air. This truly is a new era for Blue Jays baseball.
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Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.
Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.
Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.
Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.
All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.
A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.
2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award
Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1
Ron Brace (NE) 25/1
Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1
Darius Butler (NE) 40/1
Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1
Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1
Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1
Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1
Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1
Larry English (SD) 15/1
Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1
Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1
Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1
Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1
James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1
Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1
Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1
Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1
Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1
Roy Miller (TB) 20/1
Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1
Fili Moala (IND) 30/1
Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1
Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1
B J Raji (GB) 7/1
Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1
Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1
David Verkune (CLE) 20/1
Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 6/1
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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