Blue Jays getting lucky with a pair of aces

Baseball Betting Lines

08/17/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the Toronto Blue Jays started the year without ace Roy Halladay for the first time in 12 seasons, the mood among fans and prognosticators alike was doom and gloom. However, the Jays' young pitching staff has surprised the league by showing maturity well beyond its years.

Although the team sports a 4.12 ERA, good enough for just 17th in the majors, the number has been bloated by a spotty bullpen that has had trouble finding an identity. If you look at the horses in the starting rotation who have 115 innings pitched or more through the team's first 117 games, the ERA drops to 3.93, a number that ranks among the better staffs in the league.

ERA doesn't tell the whole story though, especially in the American League East where it seems like the Blue Birds must contend with the big bats of the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays on a nightly basis. As a team the Jays have racked up 863 strikeouts (7th in MLB), 10 shutouts (10th) and 64 quality starts (16th), while holding opponents to a .250 average (9th in MLB). Pretty impressive numbers when one considers the starting rotation has an average age in the mid-20s.

From a starting pitching standpoint the future looks very bright, but who is the real ace on this team of talented young arms? The answer to that question is definitely a matter of debate.

The year started with Shaun Marcum being placed in the No. 1 role because of some dominant pitching during the 2008 season coupled with a swift and successful return from Tommy John surgery in 2009. Marcum, the grandfather of the staff at only 28, can almost always be counted on to calm the team when he takes the mound. His surgical precision, which is a must when you consider that his fastball tops out at only 88 miles per hour, mixed with a devastating changeup has made him a consistent option at the top of the rotation. But his stuff isn't the best on the team, and he's gotten into some trouble recently when his location has suffered. Simply put, there are younger, fresher arms on the squad that have been making a case for staff No. 1.

Ricky Romero is the owner of one of those arms and his follow-up to a successful rookie season in '09 has been brilliant. The Jays are so confident in the 25-year-old sophomore that they recently signed him to a new contract that will pay him $30.1 million dollars over the next five years in order to retain his services. So far this year, the 6'0", 210-pound lefty has shaved almost a run off his '09 ERA, which now sits at an impressive 3.43. His bread- and-butter looping curve ball has been vexing batters all year, and with a fastball that touches 93 mph to go along with an improved changeup, the 6th overall pick from the 2005 draft is finally reaching his potential.

When crowning an ace, it's not just the numbers but also the workload that must be considered. With three complete games and one shutout to go along with a team-leading 153 innings pitched so far this season, Romero is fulfilling all aspects of the role.

So just as it sounds like the Blue Jays are ready to crown their new ace, a look at the roster reveals another arm with even more raw potential than Romero's. Brandon Morrow has the stuff to make big league managers salivate, and the fact that general manager Alex Anthopoulos acquired the big righty from the Seattle Mariners for fringe reliever Brandon League makes Morrow's breakout season even sweeter. The Mariners selected the 6'3", 195-pounder fifth overall back in 2006 and never gave him a chance to blossom in the starting rotation before shipping him to Toronto, an enormous mistake that has the Blue Jays reaping the rewards.

The 26-year-old can be inconsistent at times, and his 4.45 ERA reveals that he can give up runs when he has trouble finding the plate, but the talent level is staggering. With a heater in the mid-to-upper 90's, a split finger fastball, a hard breaking curveball and a developing changeup, Morrow has the tools to be special. He leads the majors among qualified starters with an insane 10.67 K/9 ratio and when he has command of all four of his pitches, he's nearly unhittable. When everything is working for Morrow, the results are scary, as evidenced by one-hitting the Rays in a masterful 17-strikeout performance that saw him come one out shy of a no-hitter on August 8.

Although his stuff is undeniable, Morrow needs to find more consistency on a start-to-start basis before being mentioned among the top pitchers in the league. His teammate, Romero, may still end up having the best pitching numbers on the team as the year closes out, but as their careers progress, one must give the edge to Morrow because of his incredibly high ceiling.

Who knows, maybe both guys end up becoming prolific starters and the Jays end up with a pair of aces anchoring the rotation for years to come. To be sure, the talent is there to make that happen.

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Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds.  The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.

Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.

Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).

Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.

World Series odds

Adam Dunn 15-1

Albert Pujols 5-1

Alex Rodriguez 12-1

Alfonso Soriano 15-1

Andruw Jones 25-1

Barry Bonds 50-1

Carlos Delgado 40-1

David Ortiz 8-1

Jermaine Dye 40-1

Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1

Lance Berkman 40-1

Manny Ramirez 20-1

Richie Sexson 40-1

Ryan Howard 6-1

Travis Hafner 20-1

Vladimir Guerrero 40-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.