Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
09/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies All-Star second baseman Chase Utley recorded just four runs batted in during August. At the pace Utley's at so far in September, his RBI total for the month will be astronomical.
Utley and the National League Wild Card-leading Phillies are back at home following a successful road trip out West and will open a three-game series versus the Milwaukee Brewers tonight at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies swept San Diego in three games, took two of three matchups in Los Angeles, then defeated Colorado last night in a make-up game of a previous rainout.
Philadelphia rallied from an early 4-0 deficit and scored nine runs in the top of the seventh inning for a seemingly comfortable 12-7 advantage in Thursday's game. Utley, who drove in a pair of runs in Wednesday's win over the Dodgers, highlighted the seventh-inning deluge with a grand slam. He had already recorded an RBI single earlier in the frame.
Ryan Howard blasted a two-run shot for the Phillies, who have won three in a row and sit two games in front of San Francisco in the Wild Card standings. Utley ended with six RBI at hitter-friendly Coors Field.
"I imagine there are a lot of guys that have driven in a lot of runs here," Utley said on the team's site. "There's a lot of room for hits. The ball carries extremely well here. You put those two together, you're going to have some success."
The Phils also pulled within two games of NL East-leading Atlanta after the Braves were downed by the New York Mets on Thursday. Jayson Werth belted a solo homer in the seventh inning -- Philadelphia's third of the frame -- and went 3-for-5 with three runs scored.
Colorado, however, responded with three runs in the bottom half of the seventh thanks to an RBI hit from Jonathan Herrera and a two-run single by Dexter Fowler. The Phillies were able to hold the Rockies to a run the rest of the way, though, and closer Brad Lidge notched his 19th save in the ninth.
Joe Blanton started for the Phillies and allowed six runs -- four earned -- on 10 hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings for the no-decision. Antonio Bastardo got the win with an inning of relief.
The Phillies will also host Florida for four games on the residency and will try to erase the memories of a four-game sweep at the hands of Houston the last time they played at home. Cole Hamels will take the first crack at doing that when he toes the rubber tonight.
Hamels was 0-3 in his last eight starts despite a surprisingly decent 2.83 earned run average before beating the Padres in a 5-0 win last Sunday. He hurled eight scoreless innings and allowed four hits with six strikeouts and no walks to improve to 8-10 with a 3.31 ERA in 27 starts this season.
Hamels is 4-5 in 14 home starts and defeated Milwaukee on May 16 of this season at Miller Park, where he allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings of a 4-2 triumph. The lefty and 2008 World Series MVP is 3-2 with a 4.23 ERA in seven lifetime starts against the Brewers.
Milwaukee is just trying to play consistent baseball right now and was just swept in three games at Cincinnati. It won all three games against Pittsburgh before coming up empty against the Reds and suffered a 6-1 setback on Wednesday. Chris Narveson pitched 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball for the Brewers, but Todd Coffey absorbed the loss for giving up three runs in a six- run seventh inning.
"I didn't want (Narveson) to pitch the whole game and get a loss," said Milwaukee manager Ken Macha. "He was going to be in there in the seventh inning until he got a baserunner."
Narveson also had a team-best two hits and drove in Milwaukee's only run in the fifth inning.
The Brewers, who have lost seven of 10 games, will pin tonight's pitching duties on Chris Capuano. The left-hander is 2-2 with a 5.06 earned run average in 18 games (3 starts) this season and previously pitched in last Saturday's 8-7 win versus Pittsburgh. He was fortunate the results were in Milwaukee's favor after he gave up six runs and six hits in three innings of relief.
Capuano is 0-1 with a 3.54 ERA in four career appearances, three of which have been starts, against the Phillies.
Philadelphia swept a three-game set in Milwaukee back in May and has won five of the past seven meetings between the two ballclubs.
<< Greinke goes for Royals in opener with Tigers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Zack
Greinke can continue a recent hot streak tonight when the Kansas City Royals
host the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a three-game weekend series at
Kauffman Stadium.
<< Nats, Pirates open set in the Steel City
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ageless right-hander Livan Hernandez can reach double-
digit wins for the 11th time in his big-league career tonight when the soon-
to-be-shorthanded Washington Nationals visit the Pittsburgh Pirates for the
first of three
<< Cards hope to revive postseason hopes in opener with Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time the Cardinals faced the Reds, they completed
a three-game sweep that gave them sole possession of first place in the
National League Central.
The teams have drastically gone in opposite directions since.
F
<< Myers opposes red-hot Hudson in the desert
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trade deadline pick-up Daniel Hudson can continue a
sterling National League debut tonight when the Arizona Diamondbacks host the
Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game series at Chase Field.
A 23-year-old from Lynch
A's seeking to get back on track against Angels >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics are coming off a beating in the Bronx
and are back in the Bay Area to kick off a nine-game homestand starting with
Friday's opener of a three-game series versus the Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim.
The
Indians, Mariners continue set between last-place clubs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shin-Soo Choo and the Cleveland Indians look to remain in
the win column when they resume a four-game series against the homestanding
Seattle Mariners tonight from Safeco Field.
Choo stroked a three-run double during a fou
Ramirez, White Sox begin series in Boston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Ramirez returns to one of his old stomping grounds in
a new uniform when the former Boston star leads the Chicago White Sox into
Fenway Park for a key three-game series with the Red Sox that begins tonight.
Ramir
Red-hot Yankees eye seventh straight win vs. Jays >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees hoped to be playing their best
baseball in September, and the early returns of this month seem to indicate
they may have reached that goal.
The defending world champions set their sights
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting