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NL West: Dodgers welcome back Manny with road tripBaseball Betting Lines07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's some sort of buzz going on right now in Los Angeles. Is Eric Karros making a return to the Dodgers? Did Juan Pierre embarrass himself by rapping in public again? Oh wait, Manny Ramirez is returning from his 50-game suspension Friday to help the National League West-leading Dodgers kick off a nine-game road trip against the Padres, Mets and Brewers. If you don't own a television, do not read newspapers or web sites, then you would have no idea that Ramirez is back after violating the league's substance abuse policy for taking performance enhancing drugs. One of the most feared hitters this past decade, Ramirez, who's been the talk of the town lately, was slapped with a 50-game suspension on May 7 and baseball was slapped even harder in the face. The league's poster boy for antics and dominant skills, Ramirez served his time and even got some swings in at the minor league level. Now he just has to adjust to major league pitching and that certainly won't be a problem. "We're looking forward to having Manny back," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said earlier this week on the team's official site. "I think he'll add something to our lineup." How perceptive of you, Joe. You have to feel bad for Padres starter Chad Gaudin, who gets to face Ramirez Friday night at Petco Park. LA fans will surely hit the road to San Diego to see one of the best hitters in baseball take center stage. The Dodgers played to a solid 29-21 mark without the slugger in the lineup and still lead the NL West with a comfortable 7 1/2-game lead over San Francisco. They were 6 1/2 games ahead of the competition and 21-8 when Ramirez was suspended. LA still has the best record in baseball at 50-29 and got a huge lift from Juan Pierre in Ramirez's absence. Pierre started all 50 games in left field and did a fine job for Torre, going 68-for-214 for a .318 average with 14 doubles, 21 RBI, 31 runs, 15 walks and 20 steals in those games. The Dodgers won't return to Chavez Ravine until after the All-Star break, when the "Mannywood" seats re-open for business. Ramirez was hitting .348 with six homers and 20 RBI before the suspension. WILD CARD-LEADING GIANTS OPEN HOMESTAND The San Francisco Giants will play by the Bay until after the All-Star break, as they open a 10-game homestand Friday versus Houston, Florida and San Diego. The Giants (42-36) have won three straight as the host and sport a 24-12 record at AT&T Park this season. While winning the NL West division is a long shot with a 7 1/2-game deficit, San Francisco is currently in the driver's seat in the wild card standings. The lead isn't a big one, just a half-game ahead of Milwaukee and St. Louis, but it's better than not having one at all. Starting pitching has been the key to the Giants' latest success, especially Matt Cain. Cain will most likely earn an All-Star nod and has lasted at least seven innings over four consecutive trips to the hill. He is 9-2 with a 2.48 ERA in 16 starts this season, and has taken away some of the load off of Tim Lincecum's young shoulder's. Lincecum, last year's NL Cy Young Award winner, is just plain nasty. He has recorded three complete games over his past four starts, and has lasted no less than eight innings over that span. The righty is 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA through 16 outings in 2009, and will most likely join Cain on the NL All-Star roster. Youngster Ryan Sadowski will shoot for an encore performance tonight in the opener against the Astros. Sadowski made his major league debut on Sunday at Milwaukee and threw six shutout innings in a 7-0 victory, scattering four hits and striking out two batters with three walks. The righty was 5-2 with a 4.11 earned run average in 13 starts for Triple-A Fresno before being recalled. ROCKIES' MARQUIS LEADS NL IN WINS The Colorado Rockies took a shot on Jason Marquis this offseason and the right-hander hasn't disappointed. Marquis is on pace to finish with a career high in wins, as he sports a 10-5 record and a 3.87 earned run average in 16 starts this season. He posted his NL-leading 10th win in fashion on June 30 at the Los Angeles Dodgers, as he recorded his second complete game this season and third shutout of his career. Marquis held the Dodgers to a pair of hits in the 3-0 victory and fanned three batters. He also drove in two runs and threw 86 pitches, 66 for strikes. "I can promise you in all the games that I've managed in the big leagues, I can't tell out that I've had a starting pitcher that pitched a nine-inning, complete-game shutout and did it with less than 90 pitches," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said on the team's site following the game. It was Colorado's second win in 11 games against LA this season -- and both were with Marquis on the mound. It also gave the Rockies 21 wins in June, a club record for any month. The Rox won 20 in the September surge of 2007 that led to a playoff berth and their first World Series appearance. The veteran right-hander has posted 10 or more wins in six straight seasons and improved to 6-2 over his previous nine starts. Marquis is on pace to finish with a career high in wins, and his best campaign came in 2004 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. He was 15-7 in 32 starts that year. Colorado (41-37) is back home after a lengthy road trip and will open a three- game series tonight against the NL West-rival Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field. It went 5-4 on a nine-game road swing through Anaheim, Oakland and Los Angeles and dropped two of three matchups with the Dodgers, including Wednesday's 1-0 loss behind Rafael Furcal's pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth inning off Rockies starter Jason Hammel. Hammel pitched brilliantly, allowing only that one run on five hits with five strikeouts through eight innings. The Rockies, who are one game behind San Francisco for the top spot in the NL wild card standings, have won 21 of their past 26 games and own a 23-9 record under Tracy. GONZALEZ SLOWING DOWN IN SAN DIEGO? Hits and homers have been hard to come by for San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who has just two home runs since going deep in four straight games from May 30-June 2. Gonzalez also hasn't had more than one hit in a game since a 4-for-4 effort against the Seattle Mariners on June 18. He has just seven total hits since then, spanning 41 at-bats and 13 games. On a more positive note for the slugging Friar, Gonzalez has appeared in every game dating back to August 15, 2007 -- a stretch of 285 games. San Diego's all-time record for consecutive games played is held by Steve Garvey, who appeared in 305 straight games. San Diego (34-44) has lost two straight, six of nine and 13 of its last 19 games. It fell to just 1-3 on a seven-game homestand versus the Astros and Dodgers. The Padres will welcome Manny Ramirez and LA to Petco Park for a three-game series over the weekend. Ramirez is coming off a 50-game suspension for the use of performance enhancing drugs. SERIES WINS NOT COMING FOR D-BACKS The Arizona Diamondbacks are brutal. They sit last in the NL West standings at 19 games off the pace and are also 11 1/2 games behind in the wild card race. Over its last 11 series, Arizona (31-48) is only 1-8-2, with the lone victory coming against the Kansas City Royals from June 16-18. The D-Backs haven't won a series against a National League team since winning three of four matchups against the Florida Marlins from May 19-21. Much of the blame can be directed towards the starting pitching staff. Brandon Webb is pretty much done for the season, Jon Garland hasn't won since May 19 and Doug Davis owns one win since May 4. Dan Haren and Max Scherzer have been respectable, but overall the rotation is under siege. Garland has lost six of his last eight starts after opening the campaign 4-2 in eight trips to the hill. Garland is just 4-8 with a 4.81 ERA in 16 starts.
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MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one. (September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977. Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded. Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer. In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season. MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season. Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite. After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up. Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions. They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTINGNCAA Football BettingMany fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.) "To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good." Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida. Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October. USC Trojans - 10.5 wins A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention. Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2 "There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach." Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1 The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines. Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1 If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J. Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines . |
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