The NL advantage during interleague play

I took the Jays/Phillies game to go under 9 runs Tuesday night thinking that Cole Hamels was on the mound and the Jays have been hitting like they’ve traded their bats for purses lately.   I also liked the fact that Ricky Romero was being slightly underestimated by oddsmakers here as a young arm that has been a pleasant surprise for the Bee-Jays as their rotation continues to crumble to injuries.

But there was another factor I failed to consider that also helped my bet. His name is Ricky Romero.  

Not the guy on the mound. The guy at the plate.

Watching him bat with runners on the corners in the fourth inning with one out, the Jays up 2-1, was like watching a little kid trying to jump off the diving board for the first time.

He was lining up to bunt for so long before Hamels delivered that I can’t believe the Phillies’ southpaw didn’t crack up laughing and call for time. 

On his second strike, he sort of whiffed on a bunt that made his bat look like he was holding a piece of road kill.

“That was new,” said the Rogers Sportsnet color guy. (I think it was Pat Tabler doing the game.)

Romero went down on strikes after following up that embarrassment with the ugliest hack I’ve seen all season. Surely this guy has had to hit at some point in his life on his way to the majors... [More]

Is New Yankee Stadium the new Wrigley Field?

It’s a little early to say for certain, but 20 home runs through the first four games suggest bettors need to be paying as close attention to the wind for Yankee games as we do for Cubs games.   Over bettors cashed in on three of those four games and oddsmakers have steadily bumped the total in New York from 8 runs for the home opener last Thursday to 10.5 runs for the past two games (odds from betjamaica.com).   Several books also delayed Tuesday’s line – an occurrence we see daily for outings at Wrigley Field – but that could also have something to do with the fact that Monday’s game was rained out.   Engineers apparently did a wind study before the $1.5 billion stadium was built but a team official said the club is going to do another one according to this column.   The piece went on to say that “games will be affected only during times when the winds are from a westerly direction above 10 mph, which they (meteorologists) say occur typically in spring and fall.”   Whatever the case, you should definitely take a read through this piece before wagering on any more games at Yankee Stadium. There could be an angle here... [More]