Pettitte's health the key to the Yankees repeating

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08/30/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the New York Yankees hope to win a second straight world championship they'll need a healthy and productive Andy Pettitte on the mound come October. Before the 38-year old lefty went down with a strained groin July 18, he was clearly the defending champs' second-best starter with an 11-2 record and 2.88 ERA.

The Yankees got some encouraging news regarding Pettitte on Sunday. He threw a 35-pitch bullpen session prior to New York's game with the White Sox, and said it's the best he's felt on the mound since the injury.

"I feel good," Pettitte said. "My arm bounced back big-time today. If I was going to grade it (on a 1 to 10 scale), I'd say my arm felt like a 9 today."

With A.J. Burnett (9-12, 5.17 ERA) and Javier Vazquez (9-9, 4.96 ERA) fading into oblivion, Pettitte's importance to the Yankees repeating as world champs has become that much greater. His presence alone in the rotation is vital, and the fact that's he's left-handed is doubly valuable against some the Yankee's potential opponents in the American League playoffs.

The Texas Rangers' Josh Hamilton, one of the leading candidates for the American League MVP award, has actually been a very ordinary hitter against left-handed pitching this season. He leads the AL with a .359 batting average and is second in slugging percentage at .639, but is hitting only .258 with a .429 SLG versus lefties.

Two of the biggest hitters in the Minnesota Twins lineup have also put up bad numbers against southpaws this season. Joe Mauer is hitting .244, while Jason Kubel, second on the team in RBI with 81, is batting just .210. Kubel, as a matter of fact, usually has a seat on the bench when the Twins face Pettitte.

The Tampa Bay Rays' second-best hitter, Carl Crawford, is much less effective against lefties too, putting up a .241 BA and .373 SLG, compared to his overall numbers of a .294 BA and .468 SLG. Carlos Pena, the club's home run leader and number two RBI man is hitting just .210 versus left handers since joining the team in 2007. And when a southpaw is on the mound, Matt Joyce is usually out of the lineup. The left-handed hitting Joyce has given the Rays a really nice offensive boost since being called up from the minors on June 25, with 31 RBI in 52 games. But he would likely sit against a tough lefthander like Pettitte, since he rarely plays against lefties now with just 16 AB this season.

QUICK HITS

-As much as I've written about the San Diego Padres' young pitching star Mat Latos, I feel like I should nominate myself as president of his fan club. Latos continued his amazing run last Friday, going toe-to-toe with the Phillies' Roy Oswalt. Latos finished with a no-decision, giving up just one run and five hits in seven innings. That marked the 19th time in his last 20 starts he's allowed a remarkable two earned runs or fewer. Since May 1, you can make a very strong case he's been the best pitcher in baseball. The numbers speak for themselves: 12 wins, 2 losses, 1.63 ERA. I think Latos has to be in the discussion at this point for the NL Cy Young award.

The Arizona Diamondbacks look like they got themselves a good, young pitcher in Daniel Hudson, whom they acquired from the White Sox in late July for Edwin Jackson. He's been very impressive in his first six starts since the trade, going 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA. He also has an eye-opening 42 strikeouts and mere eight walks in 43 2/3 innings. According to teammate Adam LaRoche, Hudson has also caught the eye of National League hitters. The Arizona first baseman has heard plenty of praise for the 23-year old righty on the rare occasion an opposing batter reaches base. "They talk about how nasty he is," LaRoche told the Diamondback's official website, "and how uncomfortable the at-bat is."

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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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