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05/14/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After six weeks of play, delving into the Chicago White Sox' laundry list of problems is like opening Pandora's Box.
Chicago (14-20) has not won back-to-back games since the final week of April, a feat the team has accomplished only twice all season. Offensively, the team is hitting a combined .230, which ranks dead last in the American League.
In Wednesday's 3-2 loss to Minnesota, the White Sox did all of their scoring in the first inning and the final 14 batters went down in order. They are now 1-15 in games when they score three runs or less.
And with that, Chicago remains 8 1/2 games behind the division-leading Twins, and the teams won't face off again for another two months. Manager Ozzie Guillen was clearly frustrated while talking to reporters after Wednesday's game.
At least one person is optimistic, and that's the guy who works directly with the hitters day in, day out.
"Right now, to this point, everybody is dwelling on batting average and says we are not hitting for average," hitting coach Greg Walker told the Chicago Tribune. "We are not last in the league in offense. We are middle of the pack scoring runs. Last time I checked, there's no penetration rule or tiebreaker in baseball.
"I don't look at it so much as where we are at. I look at the potential we have. You've never heard me one time say this team is not talented enough to be good."
One of those guys Wilson is counting on to produce is right fielder Carlos Quentin, who is now hitting .180 on the season after going 0-for-8 in two games with the Twins this week. Quentin was expected to be a key cog in the middle of the lineup, though he has not been able to replicate his 2008 season, when he hit .288 with 36 home runs and 100 RBI during his first year in Chicago.
Guillen said this week that Quentin is putting too much pressure on himself, and that needs to just relax and take good at-bats. On Wednesday, he had planned to replace Quentin in the lineup with Andruw Jones -- whose offensive struggles have been well documented -- but that plan changed when Jones was a last-minute lineup scratch with stiffness in his neck.
While Quentin and the offense continue to search for answers, the starting rotation ranks 24th in the majors with a 4.80 ERA. At the same time, Guillen has opened the search for another closer after Bobby Jenks' meltdown in Sunday's 9-7 loss to Toronto. Jenks entered the game with a two-run lead and wound up allowing four runs without retiring a batter. He has now allowed 20 hits in 13 innings this season and has seen his ERA balloon to 6.23.
Jenks did end up closing out Tuesday's 5-2 win at Minnesota, though Guillen has not ruled out the possibility of turning to left-hander Matt Thornton (2-2, 2.20) or right-hander J.J. Putz (0-2, 4.91), who was Seattle's closer from 2006-08 before an injury shortened season with the Mets last year.
END OF THE ROAD FOR HILLMAN IN KANSAS CITY
Nobody told Trey Hillman that managing the Kansas City Royals would be an easy job. On Thursday morning, that reality came to a head when general manager Dayton Moore replaced Hillman with Ned Yost.
Following a seven-game skid that dropped the team's record to 11-23 entering Thursday, Moore decided it was time to make the move to Yost, who managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 2003-08. He had been serving as a special advisor to baseball operations with Kansas City.
Hillman was in the third and final year of his contract. For all of the Royals' misery over the years, they haven't had too much success among their early draft choices. Third baseman Alex Gordon -- the team's 2005 top pick -- was viewed as a future cornerstone, but so far he has crashed and burned. Earlier this year, he was optioned back to the minors and was recently moved to left field. Luke Hochevar -- the top overall selection of the 2006 draft -- is 16-27 with a 5.85 ERA in 55 career starts. And the list goes on.
Brewers' general manager Doug Melvin credited Yost for developing young players in Milwaukee -- namely infielders J.J. Hardy, Ricky Weeks and Prince Fielder -- while also getting top production from mid-level players such as Scott Podsednik.
Ultimately, Moore broke the news to Hillman Thursday morning, and then gave him the option to manage that night's game against Cleveland, which the Royals went on to win, 6-4.
"(Hillman) said, 'I'm not going out losing seven in a row. I'm going to go out a winner today,'" Moore said.
TWINS READY FOR LITMUS TEST WITH YANKEES
The Minnesota Twins have coasted through the early portion of the season, boasting a 22-12 record and opening up a 2 1/2-game lead in the AL Central.
Now, the road is about to get dicey, as the Twins begin a seven-game road trip against AL East foes New York, Toronto and Boston, beginning tonight at Yankee Stadium. There may not be a more daunting venue across the league right now than Yankee Stadium, where the reigning World Series champs are 10-2 thus far.
Of course, Twins fans remember all too well last season when Minnesota went 0-10 against the Bronx Bombers, including a swift first-round playoff exit.
Under manager Ron Gardenhire, the Twins have won five of the last eight AL Central titles. Still, when it comes to the Yankees, one can't help but feel there is somewhat of a big brother-little brother complex at work.
The Twins catch a bit of good fortune this weekend, as they won't have to face staff ace C.C. Sabathia or unbeaten Phil Hughes (5-0, 1.38). These teams will face off again at Target Field later this month.
TIGERS SEND MESSAGE TO REST OF AL
While the Twins get set to take on the Yankees this weekend, the Detroit Tigers just wrapped up their early-season test with the champs. And they passed with flying colors, taking three of four from the Bronx Bombers this week to capture their first home series victory over New York since 2007.
With that, Detroit improves to 20-15, entering play Friday 2 1/2 games off the pace in the division, and 5 1/2 games ahead of third-place Chicago. Unless the landscape of the AL Central changes soon, it's looking like we could be headed toward a two-team race in the division.
The Yankees series had a bit of everything. Detroit scratched and clawed its way to a 5-4 win to open the series on Monday night, the same night the organization honored the late Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell.
The teams split Wednesday's doubleheader, with the Tigers winning the front end, 2-0, behind seven shutout innings from starter Rick Porcello. In between games, about half the team decided to get mohawk haircuts.
On Thursday, Justin Verlander outdueled Yankees' ace C.C. Sabathia, as he threw 6 2/3 scoreless frames to lead the Tigers in a 6-0 win. The offense was aggressive in that victory, scoring six runs on nine hits off Sabathia. It marked his highest run total allowed in any game this season.
Now, the Tigers move on to face Boston in a three-game set this weekend, followed by two more home games against the White Sox before beginning a seven-game road trip.
TRIBE'S REBUILDING PLAN HITS A ROAD BLOCK
When a team makes the decision to rebuild, very rarely is it a streamlined process with the results steadily improving from one day to the next. When you're talking about young players getting their first extensive taste of the daily grind that is Major League Baseball, there are bound to be some road blocks.
The Cleveland Indians (13-19) are finding that out right now.
Matt LaPorta, acquired as the key piece to the Sabathia deal in July 2008, has seen his playing time cut dramatically as he's struggled with a .218 batting average.
Luis Valbuena, who is viewed as the team's primary second baseman now and in the future, has also been given more and more days off to clear his head. He is hitting just .159.
Manager Manny Acta had a closed-door meeting with young left-hander David Huff following Thursday's 6-4 loss to Kansas City, in which Huff allowed six runs in five innings. Huff is now 1-5 with a 5.34 ERA -- although those numbers would be worse had his last start not been rained out after he allowed seven runs through two innings.
Acta's message was clear: "command the fastball and be aggressive with it."
Acta is sticking behind his young guns because he knows they are the building blocks of the team's future. But still, that doesn't mean he'll always play those youngsters over veterans who are more productive.
"We can't lose track of the big picture," Acta said. "We're trying to find other players to go along with Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo for the long ride. We're still trying to develop these guys."
<< Reeling Revs hope to right ship vs. San Jose
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Revolution host the San Jose
Earthquakes at Gillette Stadium on Saturday in a battle of two Major League
Soccer clubs heading in opposite directions.
Since the two sides met in a league
<< Lille hopes to hold off Lyon for second place
Lorient, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Marseille having already clinched the
Ligue 1 title, most of the attention in France turns to the race for Champions
League places on the final day of the season.
Lille is in position to grab second
<< Hillman not to blame in Kansas City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It wasn't a complete shock that the Trey Hillman era ended
in Kansas City on Thursday.
The Royals had taken a step back last year following a promising 2008 that saw
them out of the American League Central cellar for the f
<< Stanley Cup Playoff Preview - San Jose vs. Chicago
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Finally, the San Jose Sharks have turned in a postseason
run that seems worthy of their regular-season success.
But, just because the club has finally made it past the second round doesn't
mean that the pressure is off the
Crew, Chivas clash before losing U.S. players >>
Columbus, Ohio (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Columbus is one of just two undefeated teams
remaining in MLS but, like the unbeaten Los Angeles Galaxy, the Crew are about
to face a spell without some of their top players.
Columbus defender Chad Marshall
Can Super Saver make it two in a Row? >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Only one horse has a chance to win the
Triple Crown and that's Kentucky Derby champion Super Saver. The Todd
Pletcher-trained colt will take the next step towards racing immortality this
Saturda
Serie A title to be decided on final day >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Serie A title race has come down to the
final day with defending champions Inter Milan holding a two-point lead on
second-placed Roma.
Inter can secure its fourth successive Scudetto with a win at r
Nebraska extends women's basketball coach Yori through 2015 >>
Lincoln, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nebraska announced on Friday that women's head
basketball coach Connie Yori received a three-year contract extension through
the 2014-15 season.
The National Coach of the Year, Yori led Nebraska to its
March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets
With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.
Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.
MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
| EAST | National Championship | Region |
| Arkansas | 300-1 | 50-1 |
| Belmont | 1000-1 | |
| Boston College | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Eastern KY | 1000-1 | |
| George Washington | 75-1 | |
| Georgetown | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| Marquette | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Michigan State | 100-1 | 25-1 |
| New Mexico St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| UNC | 6-1 | 6-5 |
| Oral Roberts | 500-1 | |
| Texas | 15-1 | 5-1 |
| Texas Tech | 200-1 | 5-1 |
| USC | 75-1 | 20-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Washington State | 40-1 | 15-1 |
| WEST | ||
| Duke | 50-1 | 10-1 |
| Florida A&M | 1000-1 | |
| Gonzaga | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Holy Cross | 300-1 | |
| Illinois | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Indiana | 75-1 | 40-1 |
| Kansas | 5-1 | 13-10 |
| Kentucky | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Niagara | 1000-1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 40-1 | 8-1 |
| Southern Ill. | 50-1 | 12-1 |
| UCLA | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| VCU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Villanova | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| VA Tech | 50-1 | 15-1 |
| Weber St | 1000-1 | |
| Wright St | 1000-1 | 300-1 |
| MIDWEST | ||
| Arizona | 50-1 | 30-1 |
| Butler | 40-1 | 30-1 |
| Davidson | 300-1 | |
| Florida | 4-1 | 4-5 |
| Georgia Tech | 75-1 | 25-1 |
| Jackson State | 1000-1 | |
| Maryland | 30-1 | 6-1 |
| Miami-OH | 300-1 | |
| Notre Dame | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| ODU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Oregon | 40-1 | 6-1 |
| Purdue | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Texas A&M CC | 1000-1 | |
| UNLV | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Winthrop | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Wisconsin | 15-1 | 7-2 |
| SOUTH | ||
| Albany | 200-1 | |
| BYU | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Central CT St. | 1000-1 | |
| Creighton | 100-1 | 35-1 |
| Long Beach St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| Louisville | 40-1 | 10-1 |
| Memphis | 30-1 | 4-1 |
| Nevada | 75-1 | 35-1 |
| North Texas | 500-1 | |
| Ohio State | 7-1 | 6-5 |
| Penn | 500-1 | |
| Stanford | 200-1 | 50-1 |
| Tennessee | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| Texas A&M | 12-1 | 11-5 |
| Virginia | 75-1 | 18-1 |
| Xavier | 100-1 | 40-1 |
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“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
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