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08/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With each loss, each mounting injury, the odds against the Chicago White Sox overtaking the American League Central crown grow increasingly longer.
At the moment, the White Sox are 3 1/2 games behind division-leading Minnesota, and they haven't been able to close the gap. The White Sox couldn't take advantage of three straight losses by the Twins this week, instead losing seven of their last 10 games entering Thursday's series finale against Baltimore.
Relievers J.J. Putz (right knee patella tendinitis) and Matt Thornton (left elbow inflammation) were placed on the disabled list on Wednesday, leaving manager Ozzie Guillen thin on bullpen options. Closer Bobby Jenks recently overcame a bout with back soreness, which had been hindering his performance.
"I believe our inconsistencies of late in the bullpen have been due to some injuries, starting with Bobby (Jenks) and spreading to both Matt and J.J.," pitching coach Don Cooper said. "It is what it is. We are down. You are talking about two of the main cogs and one of the starters being down when Jake Peavy left."
So, where exactly do the White Sox go from here? One potential scenario that has been generating a lot of buzz would be luring right-handed slugger Manny Ramirez back to the American League.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers placed Ramirez on waivers. According to the Los Angeles Times, the two sides have discussed a deal that would send Ramirez to Chicago for a combination of players and money. The Chicago Sun- Times has reported that Manny has, in fact, been claimed by Chicago, and that Ramirez is weighing removing his no-trade clause to make the deal happen. Other outlets have reported that Manny, who was not in the lineup Thursday, has told friends he would indeed waive his no-trade clause to join the South Siders.
Of course, a team with a worse record could also put in a claim and have priority. And White Sox general manager Kenny Williams hasn't made any kind of comment publicly, though it's tough to imagine any scenario where he wouldn't try to land Ramirez, who still knows how to produce runs at age 38. In 64 games, he is hitting .313 with eight homers and 40 RBI despite battling multiple ailments. He is scheduled to make about $4.25 million for the remainder of the season.
"He's probably one of the top five hitters ever," said left fielder Juan Pierre, who played with Manny in L.A. "He can hit when healthy. I don't know how healthy he is. When healthy, he can help any ballclub. He's fine in the clubhouse. He puts on a show for the media for a little bit, but he's a great guy, and a great teammate."
One thing is clear; the momentum from Chicago's 28-8 run between June and July has officially faded. Now, it's up to the White Sox to come up with an answer, either on the field or in the front office.
TWINS' BAKER, LIRIANO SHOWING IMPROVEMENT
Amidst growing concerns about a dead arm, left-hander Francisco Liriano was given two extra days off leading into Thursday night's start. The rest paid off, as Liriano yielded two runs in seven innings against Texas, striking out six. He attacked the strike zone and worked ahead in the count, and the result was his 12th win of the season, tying his career-high set in 2006.
Since the All-Star break, Liriano is 6-0 with a 2.47 ERA. He said the biggest difference has been his health.
"I feel way, way better," Liriano told the Star Tribune. "I think when you feel better, you go out there and not think that you're not feeling great. Feeling better is a good thing."
Meanwhile, fellow starter Nick Blackburn has also turned a corner since the All-Star break, posting a 4-1 record in seven starts. Scott Baker tossed seven scoreless innings against the Angels on August 22, allowing only five hits and displaying top-notch command. He then allowed two runs in 6 2/3 frames Friday night at Seattle. Carl Pavano has been a horse all season long, with 15 wins, a 3.56 ERA and six complete games.
If those three continue to form the 1-2-3 punch that they have been the last few times through the rotation, the Twins will be tough to catch in the AL Central race.
PERALTA MORE THAN A RENTAL?
When the Detroit Tigers acquired shortstop Jhonny Peralta from Cleveland a month ago, the hope was that he'd help spark a playoff push. Peralta has certainly provided a spark, hitting .242 with six homers and 18 RBI in just 26 games with Detroit. However, the Tigers have continued to struggle in other areas and have fallen 10 games off the pace in the division.
Peralta has a $7 million option for next season, which he obviously hopes the club will pick up. For his part, Peralta said he loves it in Detroit and wants nothing more than to stick around, at least through the end of the 2011 season. Of course, outfielder Johnny Damon recently expressed similar sentiments when he declined a possible trade to Boston in order to stay in Detroit.
"I want to be here," Peralta said after blasting a three-run homer against Toronto Thursday night. "I hope they pick up the option. But I want to be here. I like everybody here."
The Tigers haven't gotten much offensive production from the shortstop position this season.
ROYALS PROSPECT MOUSTAKAS LIVING UP TO THE HYPE
Baseball prospects are just that; prospects. While some come with much better tools, intangibles and promise than others, ultimately there is no guarantee that a highly regarded prospect will tear through the minors, reach the Major League level and become a perennial All-Star.
But in the case of Kansas City Royals' minor league third baseman Mike Moustakas, so far everything has gone according to plan. The 21-year-old entered Friday hitting a combined .318 with 28 homers and 99 RBI in 106 games between Double-A and Triple-A. As a result, he has been named one of five finalists for the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year award.
Moustakas was the No. 2 overall selection of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft. Upon his promotion to Triple-A in mid-July, Moustakas was leading the Texas League in batting average, home runs and RBI.
In the wake of yet another trying season in Kansas City, Moustakas represents a big ray of light for the organization's future.
SETBACK FOR INDIANS' PITCHING PROSPECT
Like the Kansas City Royals, the Cleveland Indians are an organization with all eyes toward the future. However, the future has become pretty cloudy for a potentially big piece to the team's plans.
Hector Rondon, Cleveland's Minor League Player of the Year in 2009, underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama on Wednesday. Rondon, 22, had been out since mid-May after injuring the elbow early in the season. He had been rehabbing the injury at the team's facility in Goodyear, Arizona, but recently had a setback. As a result, his 2011 season most likely has now been lost.
"It's not good, because he was one of the guys we were counting on for pitching depth down the road," manager Manny Acta told the team's Web site. "If he didn't lose this year of development, we were probably going to take a look at him in September. But he lost this year, and he's probably going to lose another one."
Rondon had struggled this year before being shutdown, though his live fastball had turned enough heads to land him a roster spot on the World Team during the 2008 Futures Game. Despite the setback, Acta is still hopeful for Rondon's future.
"Tommy John surgery is not what it used to be," Acta said. "Every year, guys come back who had it the year before, and a lot of times they come back stronger. But you feel bad for the kid."
<< 2010 World Basketball Championship update - August 28th
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Group C: Greece vs. China, 9 a.m. (Ankara)
Final: Greece 89 China 81
Group D: New Zealand vs. Lithuania, 9 a.m. (Izmir)
Final: Lithuania 92 New Zealand 79
Group A: Australia vs. Jordan, 9:30 a.m. (Kayseri)
Gro
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals will try move closer towards a
playoff berth tonight in the third test of a four-game series against the
homestanding Washington Nationals.
The Cardinals are one game off the wild card l
<< First-place Reds aim to continue mastery of Cubs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first-place Cincinnati Reds can make it 12 wins in 15
games with the Chicago Cubs tonight, when the clubs meet for the second of
three weekend games at Great American Ball Park.
On Friday, Jay Bruce slammed a c
<< Mets, Astros go at it again in New York
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets will attempt to make it two straight wins
and improve to 15 games over .500 at home tonight, when they meet the Houston
Astros in the middle test of a three-game series at Citi Field.
The Mets won Frida
F MacArthur signs 1-year deal with Maple Leafs >>
TORONTO (AP) -Forward Clarke MacArthur has signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.The team announced the deal with the unrestricted free agent Saturday.MacArthur had 16 goals and 19 assists last season between the Buffalo Sabres and
Nebraska's Pelini mum on starting quarterback >>
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -Nebraska coach Bo Pelini has hinted he's picked a starting quarterback, but he isn't saying who got the nod.Pelini said after Saturday's practice that the coaching staff has a plan for the position. But everyone else will have to
Devils submit new Kovalchuk contract >>
Hackensack, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Jersey Devils have reportedly
submitted a new contract with Ilya Kovalchuk to the NHL.
The Bergen Record reported that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed
Friday that the league is
Miller continues hot start for Rangers >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenny Miller continued his fast start to
the new Scottish Premier League season on Saturday, scoring the decisive goal
11 minutes from time in a 2-1 Rangers win over St Johnstone at the Ibrox
Stadium
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
MySportsbook.com Releases World Series Championship Lines
New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox early favorites to win 2008 World Series
The Major League Baseball season starts this weekend and MySportsbook.com, a leading online sportsbook for over 8 years, is the first to offer baseball sports betting lines on who will win the 2007 World Series.
"The World Series is the biggest baseball event in the sports betting world and MySportsbook.com is excited that we are first to market with betting lines on every team," says Tim Dalton, Marketing Director, MySportsbook.com. "We are getting things ready for a great baseball season and our members are looking forward to our Player Payback Bonuses, as well as Dime Lines, all season long."
Going in to this weekend, MySportsbook.com's favorites to win the World Series are the New York Yankees at 7-2 and last year’s winners the Chicago White Sox at 9-2.
"These betting lines are ripe for the picking," Dalton added, "baseball fans know that the season is long and many factors, including players staying healthy, will affect these Future odds as the baseball season progresses. Betting on your favorite team in the beginning of the season could prove quite lucrative. We are seeing examples of this right now in the NCAA College Basketball Tournament with a lucky few that placed pre-season bets on George Mason to win it all. Anything can happen."
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs..
About www.MySportsbook.com
MySportsbook.com is the foremost online sportsbook offering Internet wagering to its worldwide customers. Fully licensed and regulated in St. John’s, Antigua since 1997, MySportsbook.com offers a complete range of online casino games, sports betting lines, poker tournaments and horse racing offtrack betting daily through its portfolio of companies and managed services. With over 7 years of experience, MySportsbook.com has become one of the most respected companies in the gaming industry by providing unparalleled 24/7 customer support and timely payouts. MySportsbook.com is part of the SportingBet PLC group of companies that is publicly-traded on the London Stock Exchange ( LSE ) under the symbol SBT.L. MySportsbook.com provides a secure environment for sports and casino wagering and has been featured in numerous media outlets, including MAXIM Magazine, Cigar Aficionado, and CNN’s Paula Zahn Now among others.
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