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09/07/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though the St. Louis Cardinals appear to be loaded at the top of their pitching rotation, the back end could use some work.
Kyle Lohse gets a chance to claim his rotation spot this evening, when St. Louis tries to gain more ground in the National League Central with the second contest of a three-game series versus the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.
The Cardinals' top three starters of Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter and Jaime Garcia have combined to notch 45 wins, but closer Ryan Franklin ranks fourth on the club with six victories. Jake Westbrook, Jeff Suppan and Lohse have just four victories between the three of them.
Lohse, a 15-game winner in 2008 with St. Louis, is just 2-6 with a 7.12 earned run average in 12 starts this year and will pitch tonight on nine days' rest after getting drilled for eight runs on 11 hits over five innings in an Aug. 28 loss in Washington.
Still, manager Tony La Russa won't hesitate in giving the start to Lohse tonight.
"Kyle gets the ball Tuesday because I think there's an anticipation he's got the best chance to get us a [win]," he told St. Louis' website. "And then that spot comes again [next] Sunday. So it's an opportunity for him to justify the confidence."
The 31-year-old righty's first start of the season came in Milwaukee on April 9, and he got a no-decision after yielding four runs over six innings. He is 3-5 with a 5.24 ERA versus the Brewers lifetime.
Lohse will try to keep the Cardinals' momentum going after they picked up their third victory in four games following a five-game slide with Monday's 8-6 triumph over Milwaukee.
The Cardinals snapped a 2-2 tie with six runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by Yadier Molina's second career grand slam. Westbrook gave up two runs over a six-inning start and Mitchell Boggs got the win in relief.
The victory pulled St. Louis to within six games of first-place Cincinnati.
"It was a great win," said La Russa. "[The Brewers] are a tough club to play here because of all that power. We got touched up at the end, but everybody got the outs that they needed."
Corey Hart hit a pair of homers and Rickie Weeks added a solo shot for Milwaukee, which has lost six of its last seven.
Yovani Gallardo threw seven innings for the Brewers and was charged with two runs on four hits. Zach Braddock was tagged with the loss in relief.
"Gallardo threw the ball very well and gave us the innings that we needed," said Milwaukee manager Ken Macha. "It was a big night for Corey with the two home runs. We just didn't get the bullpen help we needed."
The Brewers send Chris Narveson to the hill tonight, and the left-hander has allowed three earned runs or less in each of his last seven starts. He has also given up just three runs in his last two outings, including a no-decision in Cincinnati on Wednesday in which he allowed a run on two hits and two walks over 6 1/3 innings.
Narveson is 10-7 with a 5.33 ERA in 32 games (23 starts) this year and 0-1 with a 4.30 ERA lifetime against the Cardinals. That loss came in his last matchup with them, which took place on July 2 in St. Louis, and he was charged with four runs over five innings.
<< Rockies hope to stay hot versus Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have put together a couple of strong
Septembers over the past few years. They've been even more successful in
recent meetings with the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field.
Colorado shoots for an eighth cons
<< Padres try to string back-to-back wins together against LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After finally being able to end a potentially-costly 10-
game skid on Monday, the San Diego Padres will try to start up a winning
streak behind their best pitcher when the National League West leaders resume
a three-game seri
<< Braves seek to bounce back in second test with Pirates
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta's offense has been mostly shut down during its
current stretch of four losses in five games. That is exactly what starter Tim
Hudson has done to Pittsburgh over the last few years, though.
Hudson looks to extend a
<< Giants eye first place as they continue series in Arizona
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -Runs were hard to come by in Monday's opener of a three-
game series between the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks, and
another pitcher's duel could be in the works when the two National League West
foes square off
Twins continue set with Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Capturing a second straight American League Central title
may be the Minnesota Twins' main objective, but judging by the team's
performance at Target Field this season, having home-field advantage for the
opening round of the
2010 World Basketball Championship update - September 7th >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
Halftime - Lithuania 43, China 40
Argentina vs. Brazil, 2 p.m.
The Real Deal on the AL Cy Young Race >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With 28 days left in the regular season, the
American League Cy Young award is still up for grabs. It seems the New York
Yankees' CC Sabathia is considered the leading candidate, although I think
there's another
Illini lineman suspended after DUI arrest >>
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) -Illinois has indefinitely suspended defensive lineman Michael Buchanan after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving over the weekend.Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz said Tuesday that Illinois State Police
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.
NFL Betting
After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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