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NL East: With playoffs in sight, Braves make a switch at shortBaseball Betting Lines07/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It appears as though the Atlanta Braves got tired of waiting for Yunel Escobar. The Braves dealt the 27-year-old shortstop to the Blue Jays on Wednesday in a five-player trade that sent 33-year-old Alex Gonzalez to the Braves. Atlanta also shipped 25-year-old pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes to Toronto for the shortstop while getting back a pair of minor league players in the deal as well. Escobar was a second-round pick of the Braves in 2005 and showed flashes of being a solid player for Atlanta. He hit .299 last season with 14 homers and 76 RBI, but was batting only .238 in 2010 with 19 RBI and zero home runs this year before the trade and has before taken heat due to his inability to mature and grow on the field. Escobar has at times looked lazy on defense and was prone to making mental mistakes. Currently the owners of first place in the National League East, the Braves decided to part ways with a young talent in exchange for a veteran presence at short in Gonzalez as they look to make a playoff run in manager Bobby Cox's final season before retirement. "We have been looking at ways to strengthen our club offensively and Alex Gonzalez is a proven veteran player who gives us added power," said Braves general manager Frank Wren. "He is a winner and a solid offensive presence in the lineup as well as a quality defensive shortstop." A member of the 2003 Florida Marlins championship club, Gonzalez was hitting .259 this year with 17 home runs and 50 RBI with the Blue Jays. His trade to the Braves marks his fifth different team since making his debut in 1998. The right-handed hitter has also played with the Marlins, Red Sox and Reds in addition to the Blue Jays. Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk in his Atlanta debut on Thursday, a 2-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. MARLINS: RAMIREZ, JOHNSON SHINE AT ALL-STAR GAME They may have some ground to make up if they want to compete for a playoff spot, but that didn't stop some of the Florida Marlins from making a name for themselves at this past week's All-Star Game. The Marlins have a pair of representatives in Anaheim in shortstop Hanley Ramirez and pitcher Josh Johnson. Ramirez was voted in to start at short for the Mid-Summer classic, but his biggest impact came at Monday's Home Run Derby. Ramirez had 13 homers at the break, but belted a total of 26 during the event. The 26-year-old made it to the finals, but hit just five in the final round to finish second behind Boston's David Ortiz. "The most important thing tonight is that we were all rooting for each other," Ramirez told MLB.com. "Nobody was rooting for himself. We had fun." It was then Johnson's turn to shine during Tuesday's game. Though given serious consideration to start, Johnson entered the game in the third inning after Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez threw the first two frames. The right-handed Johnson didn't allow a hit in his two innings of work, striking out two while throwing 18 of his 29 pitches for strikes. Considered a contender for this year's NL Cy Young Award, Johnson went 9-3 in the first half and led the majors with a 1.70 earned run average while striking out 123 batters over 122 innings. NATIONALS: CLOSER HELPS CAP NL ALL-STAR VICTORY The rule in major league baseball has always been that every team must be represented at the annual All-Star Game. That means even last-place clubs that are 11 games under .500 at the break get represented at the Mid-Summer Classic, which is why Nationals closer Matt Capps found himself among baseball's elite in Anaheim this week. Capps earned the All-Star nod over teammates Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn, who both could have made a case to serve as Washington's representative, but don't think Capps wasn't worthy either. The 26-year-old is tied for third in the NL with 23 saves and is just four shy of matching the 27 he posted last season with Pittsburgh. In his first year with the Nationals, Capps is 3-3 with a 3.18 earned run average in 41 games. He has also been charged with four blown saves, but was credited with the win in Tuesday's 3-1 victory over the American League. The right-hander faced just one batter, but struck out Boston's David Ortiz to end the sixth inning with a runner on first base. "It feels pretty good," Capps told MLB.com after the game. "I just came in to face one hitter. The guys did a great job of putting some runs up later. ... It worked out well, I'm very pleased with it, excited about it." There was some rumblings out there, mostly by the media, that starter Stephen Strasburg should have been named to the All-Star roster. While the soon-to-be 22-year-old has lived up to his epic hype so far, going 3-2 with a 2.32 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings, the bottom line is that the phenom has made just seven major league starts. His time to run with the All-Stars will come soon enough. PHILLIES: HOWARD GETTING HOT While the Philadelphia Phillies' offense continues to run warm and cool, All- Star first baseman Ryan Howard is doing his best to stay at one temperature: hot. Howard hit a pair of two-run homers in Thursday's loss to the Chicago Cubs, giving him a National League-leading 69 runs batted in heading into play on Friday as well as 19 homers and a .298 batting average. The left-handed slugger is on pace for his highest season average since a .313 clip during his 2006 MVP season. The 30-year-old has driven in 14 runs over his last 10 games, belting four homers in that span. Howard could use some help though. While the Phillies continue to play without second baseman Chase Utley (right thumb) and third baseman Placido Polanco (left elbow), outfielder Shane Victorino is hitting just .252 while shortstop Jimmy Rollins has a current average of .248. Polanco, who was hitting .318 before going on the disabled list, could return before the end of this weekend. "He might be," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told Philadelphia's website on Thursday. "We'll see. He might join us in a couple days -- hopefully will. We'll see how it goes." METS: BELTRAN RETURNS The New York Mets know they need a little something extra if they are to catch the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East. Enter Carlos Beltran. The 33-year-old returned to center field on Thursday versus the Giants, his first major league game this season. Offseason knee surgery caused Beltran to miss all of spring training and the first half of this season. Beltran didn't have it easy in his return as he faced two-time defending NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, who threw a six-hit shutout versus the Mets. Beltran went 1-for-4 in the 2-0 loss and was also thrown out trying to steal second. "I thought he had some good at-bats, for the first time facing a major league pitcher of that stature," said Mets manager Jerry Manuel. A five-time All-Star, Beltran was limited to just 81 games last year due to injury, but hit .325 with 10 homers with 48 RBI. In 161 games in 2008, he batted .284 with 27 homers and 112 RBI. A healthy Beltran should take some pressure off teammates David Wright and rookie Ike Davis. Beltran hit between the two on Thursday, with Davis shifting down to the fifth spot, while Jason Bay hit sixth.
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Betting FootballNFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL? I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants. Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said. There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans. Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal. For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though. A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup. The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games. Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff. So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action. Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns. “I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said. Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season. “Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said. It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties. Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples. The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left. “The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits. “These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.” Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough. The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday. “Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.” Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach? “It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.” Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines. Teams that should be in: Stanford Should be in: Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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