Just when I leave Toronto, all the fun begins. In Cincinnati, where I sit in the rain, the Reds finally ended up in the black against the Mets. On Wednesday the Jays gave the boot to .300 perennial hitter Shea Hillenbrand after manager John Gibbons reamed him out in front of the entire team. Just prior to the All-Star break, general manager J.P. Ricciardi blasted the Jays’ 3, 4, and 5 hitters as the reason for the Jays not being on top of the division.
Hillenbrand was becoming a cancer in the clubhouse, constantly complaining about his lack of playing time and the Jays needed to read the Riot Act. With the New York Yankees arriving on the scene today, this will surely affect baseball betting across the board for those who were planning on siding with the Jays. Here’s why…
The modern day athlete treats sports as a business and this type of upheaval may not even cause them to bat an eyelash. Toronto sits six games back of Boston in the AL East and will send Roy Halladay to the hill against Mike Mussina. Halladay (12-2, 3.06 ERA) is emerging as a leading candidate for the Cy Young Award which he won in 2003. He leads the AL in wins and is 4-0 with a 3.41 ERA over his last five outings.
The right-hander is 6-1 with a 1.61 ERA in his last seven starts against New York (55-37) including a victory on April 28 at Yankee Stadium when he yielded seven hits over 5 1-3 scoreless innings in a 7-2 win.
Two Yankees who have struggled mightily against Halladay are A Rod and Jason Giambi. Rodriguez is 2-14 since 2003 and Giambi is batting just .250 in his career. On the bright side for the pinstipers is Johnny Damon who is 14-40.
Halladay is also unbeaten in his last eight starts at home going 6-0 with a 2.93 ERA.
This is the first of 14 remaining meetings between the AL East rivals after New York won three of the first five. Toronto trails the Yankees by four games for second place in the division. The Yankees are 1 1/2 games behind AL East-leading Boston.
Mussina (11-3, 3.30) has already clinched posting double-digit victories for the 15th straight year. He is 3-0 with a 2.74 ERA in his last four starts for the Yankees.
The veteran right-hander is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in two starts against Toronto (52-42) this season. He’s also 5-2 with a 3.67 ERA over his last eight starts at Rogers Centre.
If sports betting is your thing, call up your local sportsbook and grab the Yankees as a dog!
Bob Acton
