Chopping Lines: Hey Mr. Blue Jay, Put a Record On

READ MORE: Boston, Chopping Lines, MLB Betting, Red, Sox", Toronto Blue Jays

7:10 p.m.

Boston Red Sox (84-60, D. Wells)

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Toronto Blue Jays (72-72, J. Towers)

Best Line: TOR +126, BOS -127

It has slowly come to light that the Toronto Blue Jays are to the Boston Red Sox what the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are to the NY Yankees. And that is, a big pain in the ass. Toronto has defeated Boston in nine of 13 games this season, including last night’s 9-3 laydown. I look for more of the same tonight with Blue Jays batters tucking a napkin under their chins and digging in on a suddenly very hittable Dave Wells. Big, fat Boomer got jacked by the Yankees in his last start, giving up 9 hits and 5 earned runs in 5 innings. The left-hander is 0-1 with a 6.98 ERA in three starts against the Blue Jays this season. Don’t forget, this last three weeks of the season are Toronto’s playoffs. This is when scrubby teams get to play spoiler. I’d look for Blue Jays hitters to sit on Wells’ big, breaking ball and have themselves a field day.

BENZAPICK!: TOR +130

Chopping Lines: We Once Had a Cousin Named Gustavo

READ MORE: Chopping Lines, MLB Betting, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays

1:05 p.m.
Toronto Blue Jays (62-59, G. Chacin)

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New York Yankees (69-56, S. Chacon)

Best Line: TORONTO +170, NYY -190

Obviously, the books think the Yankees are better than this. We do too, but we have to ride the Gustavo Chacin train until it topples off the mountain. Today could very well be that day. But how can you pass up a pudgy man with tinted goggles getting close to 2/1 odds? You can’t. And even though Yankees’ starter Shawn Chacon is showing some studly stuff of late, we can’t deny a fat man his day. Look for a low score, tight game, and some sort of collossal Yankee meltdown once again to give the Jays the W. And besides—do you know how hot we are this week? We’re animals.

PICK!: TORONTO +170
(YTD 8-6)

Chopping Lines: Make Your Own Jaret Wright Pun

READ MORE: Chopping Lines, MLB Betting, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays (63-60, S. Downs)

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New York Yankees (67-55 , J. Wright)

Best Line: Toronto +196, New York -200

More murders are committed in August than any other month of the year. Some years it’s the heat that drives the people crazy. Other years is the Yankees record that makes the people more bat shit. It’s unfathomable but here we are with 40 games left to play and the $225 million Yankees are still 4 games behind the Red Sox and 1/2 game behind the Wild Card-leading Oakland A’s. Worse, George Steinbrenner is publicly snapping at manager Joe Torre’s ass like a Grand Caymen in a Webster Ave. toilet. But the killing stops here. The Yankees’ 7-game homestand spells relief in the form of a returning Jaret Wright. The right-hander returned last week with a 2-run in 6 1/3 performance. It also ain’t bad that Wright will be pitching on an extra two days rest against a Toronto team that has dropped three straight. Add to the mix the fact the theYankees have hit .393 against Scott Downs, with Gary Sheffield, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano each getting two hits against him in his previous outing in which he rolled over in the fourth. Yanks are a big nut to cover, so don’t get silly. But tonight, Wright makes right.

BENZAPICK!: Yankees -250

Chopping Lines: That is a Blue Jay in Our Pocket and We’re Thrilled to See You

READ MORE: Chopping Lines, Los Angeles Angels, MLB Betting, Surfin' Byrd, Toronto Blue Jays

10:05 p.m.

Toronto Blue Jays (61-57, S. Downs)

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Los Angeles Angels (69-49, J. Saunders)

Best Line: Blue Jays +176, Angels -123

If Paul “Surfin’” Byrd was making his scheduled start today, we’d totally be all over the Angels. However, since he’s back on the DL(again) we have to go with our nemesis Toronto Blue Jays’ starter Scott Downs. After this freak pitched a two-hitter last week against the Detroit Tigers and Jeremy Bonderman, we’re firm in the belief that we must ride the Scott Downs short bus until it careens off a craggy precipice into shark-infested waters. And the Angels are sending Jon Saunders out to make his first career start against an offensively potent Blue Jays squad. Maybe not a blow out, but at this price, the BJ’s are well worth the investment. (Insert paying for a BJ joke RIGHT HERE.)

PICK!: Blue Jays +176

Chopping Lines: Bonderman Bounce-Back?

READ MORE: Chopping Lines, Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays

12:37 p.m.

Toronto Blue Jays (58-55, S. Downs)

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Detroit Tigers (53-60, J. Bonderman)

Best Line: Detroit -132, Toronto +132, o/u 9.5

Nobody can deny the outright studliness of Jeremy Bonderman at this point. Even though he’s dropped his last two starts, he’s still shown a different set of mechanics and maturity since his hit-or-miss early days of being a top Tigers’ prospect. And then there’s Scott Downs on the mound for Toronto Blue Jays. Who’s Scott Downs you ask? We have no idea either. Downs has a striking resemblance to Scott Schwartz, the kid actor in the Richard Pryor movie The Toy, but other than that, he’s done little to make us think that he’ll be able to go head-to-head with Bonderman and come out with a win.

PICK!: Detroit -132 and Under

Chopping Lines: Gustavo Cha-Ching?

READ MORE: Chopping Lines, MLB Betting, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays

7:07 P.M.

NY Yankees (57-49, A. Small)

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Toronto Blue Jays (55-52, G. Chacin)

Best Line: Toronto -110

Two players of the month of July will face off tonight as the Yankees travel to Skydome for a three game AL East series that the Yankees desperately need if they hope to keep pace with AL East leaders Boston Red Sox. The Yankees got off the schneid at the Jake last night thanks in no small part to Jason Giambi who went 3-4 with two homers, the most important coming in the ninth inning to give the Yankees the win. Giambi was named MLB player of the Month for July as he hit .355 (27-for-76) with 14 home runs and 24 RBIs. He is first Yankee to hit 14 homers in a month since Mickey Mantle hit 14 in 1961. Giambi led the AL with a .974 slugging percentage, .524 on-base percentage and 74 total bases in July. Which is great and all, but the Yankees have been plagued with really bad pitching - save for Mo Rivera.

The Yankees will try to put together a two game winning streak tonight as they have Aaron Small (2-0, 4.05 ERA) on the mound at Sky Dome. Small, who before playing this year started his last game in 1996, has won both his starts for the Yankees. Small allowed three runs and scattered six hits over seven innings in a 6-3 win over Minnesota on July 28. In his career Small has never faced the Blue Jays.

The Jays have one of the best young pitchers in baseball and a possible candidate for rookie of the year in Gustavo Chacin (11-5, 3.28 ERA), who went 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA with Toronto last year after going 18-2 in the minors. In fact, SportsTicker reports Toronto Blue Jays SP Chacin was named American League Rookie of the Month for July. Chacin went 5-0 with a 2.97 ERA in six starts during the month, yielding 12 earned runs and 38 hits in 36.1 innings.

PICK! TORONTO BLUE JAYS -110

MLB Futures Betting: Time to Clean Your Bloody Sock?

READ MORE: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Futures Betting, MLB, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays

Since last year’s remarkable World Series victory, public bettors prove that the Boston Red Sox are still the fair-haired boys in the crowded American League East. The Bloody Sox are -165 favorites followed by the always lurking, always dangerous, New York Yankees at -105. Typical.

However, Covers points out that with the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays still hanging on in the division—and with their respective prices currently at +500 and +2000 to win it all—there may be some great value in taking one of those teams. But let’s not get batshit crazy about this—let’s wait until the trade deadline before taking out third mortgages to bet on the Blue Jays.

Public Ignoring History on AL East Futures [Covers]