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Nady looks to stay healthy, make impact in Chicago Injuries will surely affect the Super Bowl line for the game, and they’ll have an impact on the upcoming baseball season. It actually starts before Opening Day, as teams will take risks on free agents with injuries in their past. Take Xavier Nady, who signed with the Chicago Cubs recently. Nady has struggled with injuries throughout his six-year career, and has already had two Tommy John surgeries. When he’s healthy, Nady is a productive outfielder who can give you 20-25 homers and 80-90 RBIs, and they were looking to replace Milton Bradley, the disruptive outfielder who was traded to Seattle. Nady won’t be anything close to the headache that Bradley was on the team, and he’ll just be looking to fit into the squad. With the outfield presumably filled by Kaisuke Fukudome Marlon Byrd and Alfonso Soriano, Nady is great insurance to have on the bunch for the Cubs, and you never know...if any of those outfielders slip up, Nady could take advantage of the chance and snag a spot. The Cubs were looking for an outfielder, and passed on Jermaine Dye and Reed Johnson to get to Nady, who will be a Cub pending a physical. But the Cubs could do a lot worse than Nady, who works very hard, and he could be an x-factor in Chicago’s World Series odds for next season. |
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MLB betting futures will be coming out soon, even though it seems like just yesterday that the New York Yankees were winning their 27th World Series over Philadelphia. Everyone is waiting to see who will get their hands on the Toronto ace, but the Blue Jays may be asking too much to get a deal done during the offseason. New York Yankees The Yankees always have to start the conversation, because like the rest of the teams in this list, they can afford him. Halladay wants a long-term extension when he signs, and given his market share, there aren’t many that can ante up. The Blue Jays want catching prospect Jesus Montero, as well as either Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes. Imagine having C.C. Sabathia, Andy Petttite, AJ Burnett (a close friend of Halladay’s from Toronto) and then Halladay in your rotation? Gross. Boston Red Sox The Red Sox moved to the forefront recently, but Toronto’s asking price is Clay Buchholz and Casey Kelly, a hotshot shortstop prospect that was recruited to play quarterback at Tennessee. However, we’ve seen the Red Sox jump in bidding wars before just to keep players from going to New York, so don’t think they won’t try to stop the sight of Halladay in pinstripes. Los Angeles Dodgers This was a hot rumor before the trade deadline, but the Blue Jays wanted Clayton Kershaw, who had a great season as a 21-year-old southpaw for the Dodgers. Halladay would instantly improve their starting pitching, which regressed over the season, especially with the fall of Chad Billingsley to the bullpen. Philadelphia The Phillies were hot on Halladay’s heels before they snagged Cliff Lee from Cleveland, and he led them back to the World Series. However, they could still be chasing Halladay, who you know would have pitched in the Fall Classic on three days rest. Also, Cole Hamels struggled badly last year. |
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Baseball sports betting fans have to love Roy “Doc” Halladay. Not only has he stuck with the Blue Jays way longer than most aces of his caliber ever would, he’s now redefining the proper way to request a trade. Is he calling a press conference and mouthing off about his needs? Having his agent make demands on his behalf? Taking a leave from the team? Nope. All Roy is doing is making a few honest statements about winning, and doing so only in reaction to rumors that Toronto is shopping him. Halladay is already a rich enough man and he’s not a money-first guy – all he cares about is winning, and that’s a virtuous trait as far as I’m concerned. He never raised the idea of being traded but, now that the team is thinking about it and now that the team is tanking yet again, he seems to be warming up to the idea of pitching for a winner. Baseball sports betting fans can hardly blame him for that. And he’s openly stated that he only wants to leave if it’s through a deal that really helps the Jays too. He understands the lofty return he could command. Good on ya, Doc. You revealed your openness to a trade without trying to weasel out of your contract or commitment to the team. You’re simply reacting to what your team reportedly wants to do with you. That’s the way to do it. |
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are clearly the best team in baseball. They have the most wins among any Major League team and they are rolling through the regular season without any problems. But winning a World Series is more than just winning your way through the regular season and a lot of teams find that out the hard way in the playoffs (the Chicago Cubs being an example from last year). The Dodgers have made a complete 180-turnaround from previous years where they were completely pitching oriented and horrible at hitting. Now all of the sudden they have one of the best hitting ball clubs in all of baseball but their pitching is suspect. They have a good enough staff to get through the regular season but their postseason rotation would not be ideal. Ace Chad Billingsley was an All-Star this year but he has really struggled of late. He’s also unproven in the postseason. Clayton Kershaw is having a breakout season but he’s too young to rely upon right now. Randy Wolf and Hiroki Kuroda are reliable veterans but aren’t going to dominate anyone in a postseason series. The Dodgers need another pitcher and they actually need an ace. Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee would make sense and if they acquired either without breaking up their core, it would be a surprise if they didn’t win the World Series at that point. |
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Baseball sports betting handicappers have noticed that it’s back to the old status quo in the American League East. It’s early July and the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are battling for first in the division. For a period of time, it looked like the Toronto Blue Jays might be able to weave some magic and get themselves into the mix but baseball sports betting fans now know that not to be true. The Jays started the season 27-14 in their first 41 games but have flipped the script on those digits and are now just 15-27 since. They are 42-41 and they don’t look like they have a realistic shot of finishing above fourth in the division. The Red Sox and the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays are hot right now, which doesn’t leave much room for the Jays except for in fourth or fifth. The Jays spent their weekend in New York and had their lunch handed to them as they lost the first three games of their four-game series. They squandered away another Roy Halladay start on Saturday in the loss and once again the rumors are swirling that they should trade him. Ricky Romero will start on Monday for the Jays and he’ll try to end their slump. The Jays have lost seven of their last eight games. The good news is that Romero hasn’t given up a run in 20 straight innings pitched, so they’ve got a good chance to keep it low-scoring and get the win. |
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