08/13/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After regaining the top spot in the American League Central on Tuesday, the Chicago White Sox hope to stay there following tonight's clash with the Kansas City Royals at U.S. Cellular Field.
Chicago moved a half-game in front of Minnesota for first place after handing Kansas City a 9-0 loss in Tuesday's opener of this three-game set. The Twins suffered an extra-inning setback to the New York Yankees last night.
Javier Vazquez (9-10) led the way for the White Sox, with the veteran pitcher twirling eight shutout innings on the night. The right-hander yielded just five hits and one walk while matching a season-high with 10 strikeouts.
Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski and Nick Swisher all hit home runs for Chicago, which improved to 40-19 at home on the year. Dye ended 2-for-4 with three RBI while Pierzynski knocked in two runs on a pair of hits.
Brian Bannister (7-11) worked seven innings for the Royals and allowed four runs on just four hits. All three Chicago home runs came against the Kansas City starter.
Mark Buehrle has the tough task of following up Vazquez's performance tonight. The steady southpaw ended a personal two-start losing streak by delivering seven excellent innings in Chicago's 5-3 victory over Boston this past Friday. Buehrle limited the Red Sox' potent offense to one run and four hits while fanning eight batters.
The 29-year-old rebounded strongly from a shellacking by the Royals in Kansas City on August 2. Buehrle was chased after just 4 1/3 innings during that 9-7 loss and surrendered eight runs on an eye-opening 14 hits.
Buehrle is just 1-2 with a 5.30 ERA in three starts against Kansas City this season. However, he did defeat the Royals at U.S. Cellular Field on July 18 after giving up four runs -- three earned -- over a solid seven frames.
For his career, Buehrle is 17-8 with a 3.55 ERA in 36 games (34 starts) versus Kansas City.
Struggling rookie Luke Hochevar gets the call for Kansas City tonight. The former No. 1 overall draft choice has dropped three straight decisions and is 1-5 with a 7.45 ERA over his last seven starts.
One of those losses came to the White Sox on August 1, when Hochevar was reached for four runs and 10 hits in six innings of work. He followed up by permitting five runs over 5 2/3 frames in the Royals' 8-2 defeat to Boston on August 6.
In his lone career appearance at U.S. Cellular Field, Hochevar allowed four runs and two home runs while issuing five walks in a 5 1/3 no-decision on June 4.
In injury news, Chicago slugger Carlos Quentin sat out last night's game after being hit in the left forearm by a pitch in the team's loss to Boston on Monday. The All-Star outfielder, who is tied for the major league lead with 32 home runs, is expected to miss tonight's test as well.
The White Sox are 8-5 against Kansas City this season and won five of the seven meetings between these divisional foes at home. The Royals are just 9-26 at U.S. Cellular Field since the start of the 2005 campaign.
<< Cubs, Braves set to play two in Atlanta
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After having a day off due to inclement weather in the
Atlanta area on Tuesday, the Chicago Cubs will try again for their sixth
straight road win when they kick off a six-game trek this afternoon with a
day-night doubleheader
<< Red-hot Angels go for sixth straight in finale with Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are going to try and make
their short series with Seattle a good one. The club concludes a two-game set
with the Mariners tonight at Angel Stadium.
Tonight's test brings to a close an e
<< Surging Sabathia, Brewers resume set at Padres
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been more than a week since the Milwaukee Brewers lost
a game. On the other hand, new team ace CC Sabathia hasn't tasted defeat in
over two months.
Sabathia will attempt to remain unbeaten as a Brewer and lead
<< Yanks to wrap up rough road trip with matinee vs. Twins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees are ready to put their disastrous road
trip behind them. The Bronx Bombers conclude a 10-game trek this afternoon
with the finale of a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins at the
Metrodo
Pirates lefty Maholm takes on Reds >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh lefty Paul Maholm will try to continue a recent
run of quality pitching at home tonight, when the Pirates host the Cincinnati
Reds in the middle contest of a three-game series at PNC Park.
Maholm, a first-ro
Curlin's owner goes after Big Brown >>
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Recent remarks by the trainer of Kentucky
Derby winner Big Brown have inspired Jess Jackson, majority owner of Curlin,
to seek a confrontation in the upcoming Woodward Stakes at Saratoga. Jackson
has of
Marlins continue series with Cardinals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies are
floundering out west in LA, the Florida Marlins are slowly climbing their way
back to the top of the division.
The Marlins will try to gain more ground on the Phillies to
Maine set for return as Mets battle Nationals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets hope that John Maine can make a
successful return from the disabled list tonight, when he takes the ball in
the second test of a three-game series against the Washington Nationals.
Maine exited early in h
Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup
September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com. The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans.
Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to name a few. Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR. They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.
The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer. Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.
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Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
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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. 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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