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07/31/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Things sure are changing in the Astros' clubhouse in a hurry, but that hasn't stopped the club from putting together a little win streak.
Having already traded one face of the franchise, Houston appears on the verge of shipping out another before tonight's continuation of a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers at Minute Maid Park.
With the Astros 13 1/2 games off the pace in the National League Central, the club has become sellers at this year's trade deadline. They already shipped starting pitcher Roy Oswalt to the Phillies on Thursday and are rumored to have a deal in the works today to send Lance Berkman to the New York Yankees.
Berkman is expected to become the Yankees' full-time designated hitter after batting .245 in 85 games this season with 13 homers and 49 RBI following knee surgery in March.
"If you decide to leave a place you've grown up and call home, that's very difficult," Berkman told Houston's website on Friday. "This is a tremendous organization, and they've given me an opportunity to not only play in the big leagues, but they kept me around. It would be very tough to leave a place as comfortable with as I am here."
Berkman was not in the lineup on Friday, but J.A. Happ was. One of the players acquired from the Phillies on Thursday for Oswalt, the young left-hander threw six scoreless innings in his Houston debut, helping his club to a 5-0 victory.
Happ gave up just two hits and struck out six to earn the win, the Astros' third in a row that is one shy of their season high.
"I'm sure there was a lot of anxiety and nerves throwing for the first part of it," Astros manager Brad Mills said of Happ. "We saw a guy that knows how to pitch."
Houston's look to the future has opened up playing time for guys like Chris Johnson, who had one of three Astros homers last night. Jason Michaels and Jeff Keppinger also went deep while Johnson extended his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by an Astros rookie since Julio Lugo's 14-game run in 2000.
Brewers starter Manny Parra couldn't keep up with Happ, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings. Happ's performance did not catch Milwaukee manager Ken Macha by surprise either.
"I voted for him for Rookie of the Year last year," Macha said of Happ. "He's got a good arm. I thought we were just a little too aggressive and went out of the zone a little bit tonight."
Milwaukee finished with just four hits, none from Corey Hart, who went 0-for-3 with a walk in his return to the lineup after missing six games due to a sore right thumb and wrist.
Hart and company will be looking to slow down Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez, who is on an impressive run that has seen him win two straight and five of his last six starts while allowing one run or less in four of those games.
The left-hander beat the Reds on Sunday with seven scoreless innings of one- hit, two-walk ball while striking out seven and moving to 8-11 on the season with a 4.80 earned run average.
Rodriguez, 31, beat the Brewers on June 30 with seven innings of one-run ball and is 6-6 versus them lifetime with a 4.48 ERA.
Brewers starter Dave Bush snapped a two-start skid on Sunday with a win over Washington, allowing three runs -- two earned -- on six hits over six innings to improve to 5-8 on the season with a 4.27 ERA. It was an encouraging outing for the right-hander after he gave up 10 runs, five earned, over four innings of a loss to Pittsburgh in his previous outing.
Bush has pitched well versus the Astros in his career, going 6-2 with a 3.23 ERA in 15 games, 13 of those starts. The 30-year-old did lose to them on June 30, but allowed two runs over six innings.
The Brewers and Astros split six games in Milwaukee earlier this year.
<< Dodgers send out Billingsley on short rest to face Giants
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In danger of losing a fourth straight game, the Los Angeles
Dodgers are in need of a spark. That could come from work-horse Chad
Billingsley, who will pitch on three days' rest for the first time in his
career this afternoon
<< Reds hope to reclaim first place in test with Braves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds try to once again reverse their
standing in the National League's Central Division today when they host the
Atlanta Braves in game two of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds entere
<< Tigers continue road series with Red Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers finally halted a nine-game road losing
streak last night and will aim for a second straight win over the Boston Red
Sox today at Fenway Park.
In Friday's opener, Jhonny Peralta hit a pair of homers and d
<< Blue Jays hope to stay hot versus Indians
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays are riding a four-game winning streak
and will attempt to continue the string of strong play against the Cleveland
Indians in the second of three weekend games at Rogers Centre.
Righty Jake Westbrook
Angels shoot for another win over first-place Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim continue their quest to
gain ground on the Texas Rangers as the top two teams in the AL West continue
their three-game weekend series.
Newly-acquired Dan Haren will make his second start f
Rockies hope to break out bats against vs. Cubs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The host Colorado Rockies can make it three straight in
suddenly potent offensive style tonight when the Chicago Cubs head to Coors
Field for the second of three games.
Colorado, which had lost eight straight before Thursd
Power-swinging Marlins resume series with Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Even a trip to spacious Petco Park couldn't derail the
Marlins' power train. Florida seeks a sixth straight victory at the Padres'
home park as it continues a three-game set tonight with San Diego.
The Marlins got home run
Rays get Qualls from Diamondbacks >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired
reliever Chad Qualls from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for a player to
be named later.
The right-handed Qualls has posted an 8.29 earned run average, t
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.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.
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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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.
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