Blue Jays getting lucky with a pair of aces

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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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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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