Yanks should have A-Rod back for finale with Jays

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09/05/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees have put together their longest winning streak of the season without the presence of Alex Rodriguez in their lineup. The All-Star third baseman hopes to provide the American League East leaders a further boost when he makes an expected return to action for this afternoon's clash with the Toronto Blue Jays from Yankee Stadium.

Rodriguez hasn't played since leaving an August 20 contest against Seattle with a strained left calf, but the Yankees haven't been hindered by the three- time AL MVP's absence. New York has gone 11-3 since Rodriguez went on the DL and prevailed for the eighth consecutive time with Saturday's 7-5 triumph over the Blue Jays in the second test of this three-game series.

The surge, coupled with Tampa Bay's loss to Baltimore last night, has moved the Bronx Bombers 2 1/2 games up on the Rays for first place in the AL East as well as the best record in baseball.

Marcus Thames knocked in the deciding runs in Saturday's matchup by belting a tie-breaking two-run homer off Toronto reliever Jason Frasor in the bottom of the seventh inning. The blast followed a two-out single by Robinson Cano, who finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI on the afternoon.

Big. Huge home run," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi about Thames' shot. "Marcus has been a huge addition for us."

Joba Chamberlain, one of five New York relievers for the game, received the win after keeping the Jays off the board in the top of the seventh. Kerry Wood followed with a shutout inning before Mariano Rivera worked a scoreless ninth for his 29th save of the year.

Yankees starter Javier Vazquez lasted only 4 2/3 innings and was reached for five runs while walking four batters. Marc Rzepczynski wasn't any better for Toronto, allowing five runs and issuing three walks before exiting after four innings.

"You can't walk people and expect to survive, especially when you're dealing with a team like the Yankees, Boston or anybody in the East Division," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston remarked. "You have to throw strikes."

The Yankees will be aiming to string together nine straight victories for the first time since May 13-21, 2009 and will have 16-game winner Phil Hughes on the hill for today's finale. The All-Star hurler has compiled a 10-3 record at home during his breakthrough campaign, although he's pitched to a so-so 4.60 earned run average and surrendered 16 homers in 88 innings over those 15 Yankee Stadium starts.

Hughes has an opportunity to atone for a poor outing against the Blue Jays in Toronto on August 25, when the young right-hander was tagged for five runs and walked five while throwing 104 pitches in just 3 2/3 innings to take a loss. He also walked five batters in Tuesday's home assignment against Oakland, but was able to limit the damage to two runs in five innings and got plenty of offensive support in a 9-3 win.

The 24-year-old did come through with 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball to defeat Toronto in the Bronx on August 4 and is 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA in 15 career appearances (eight starts) against Toronto.

Brett Cecil opposed Hughes in that August 25 tilt at the Rogers Centre and helped the Blue Jays to victory by yielding just two runs over eight effective innings. The sophomore lefty has given the Yankees trouble all throughout the year, as he's 2-0 with an excellent 1.64 ERA in three 2010 starts against the defending world champs.

Cecil wasn't as sharp in last Monday's encounter with Tampa Bay, permitting five runs in seven innings during his team's 6-2 setback. Three of those runs wound up being unearned, however, due to one of three errors committed by the Blue Jays on the night.

The 24-year-old, who's 2-1 with a 4.20 ERA over five lifetime meetings with the Yankees, has put together a solid 11-7 record with a 3.74 ERA in 23 starts for the year.

Cecil will be attempting to halt a three-game slide for the Blue Jays, losers of five of their last six tests. Toronto has split 14 bouts with the Yankees this season, with New York having won five of the eight games played between the teams at home.

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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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