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04/02/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The big-spending Chicago Cubs are set to begin their regular season today when they travel to Cincinnati and Great American Ball Park to begin a season-opening three-game series against the Reds.
No other team in the majors made the splash the Cubs did in the free agency waters this past offseason. In addition to the big catch of outfielder Alfonso Soriano, arguably the best non-pitcher available this winter, the club signed pitchers Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis to big-money deals, and also brought in the versatile Mark DeRosa and slugger Cliff Floyd.
Don't forget, the club also waived goodbye to Dusty Baker and brought in a World Series winning manager in Lou Piniella to pull this new squad together. He has his work cut out for him, as the Cubs finished a disappointing 66-96 last year.
Lilly and Marquis fill out a rotation that is missing two big names from season's past, but still contains the electric Carlos Zambrano. Gone from the starting five is both Kerry Wood (expected to go on the disabled list) and Mark Prior (beginning the season in the minors), as the once-promising duo has been rattled by injuries the past couple of seasons.
However, the bad news for the rest of the NL, and especially the Reds, is that Zambrano will make his third straight Opening Day start for the Cubs. However, he didn't pick up a decision in the previous two lid-lifters.
Zambrano went 16-7 last season and posted a 3.41 earned run average in 33 starts while striking out 210 batters. The right-hander was 3-2 with a 3.76 ERA against the Reds last season. He has had success against Cincinnati in his career, going 8-5 in 21 games -- 17 starts -- with a solid 2.80 ERA.
Soriano, who became just the fourth player in league history to join the 40/40 club last season with 46 homers and 41 steals, brings more power to a lineup that already features Derrick Lee. Lee had a career year in 2005 (.335, 46 homers, 107 RBI) when he won the NL batting title, but injury limited him to just 50 games last season.
Throw in re-signed third baseman Aramis Ramirez, and the Cubs should put up some big numbers on the scoreboard this season.
Cincinnati has some sluggers of its own in the form of Adam Dunn (40 home runs in 2006), Ken Griffey Jr. (563 career blasts) and Edwin Encarnacion (15 homers last season). Keep an eye on Griffey this season as he shifts from center to right field. Griffey has won 10 Gold Gloves in his career, but the Reds will hope moving him out of center will reduce the wear-and-tear on his oft-injured body.
Griffey suffered a broken left hand this offseason, but should be in the lineup today. A healthy Griffey will help Cincinnati improve on its 80-82 mark from last season.
The Reds open the season with the very capable Aaron Harang on the mound. Harang won 16 games last season with a 3.76 ERA. His NL-leading 216 strikeouts also helped keep opponents from hitting the balls out of the hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park.
Harang will hope this year's Opening Day start goes better than last year when he allowed nine runs -- six earned -- and nine hits over just five innings. That game was also against the Cubs.
The right-hander went on to post a 1-1 mark in two starts against the Cubs last season with a high 5.14 ERA. However, in nine career starts against Chicago, Harang is 5-1 with a 4.26 ERA and two complete games.
Harang and Bronson Arroyo should combine for a nice 1-2 punch for the Reds. Arroyo had a big first half en route to a 14-11 season. David Weathers will start the season as the club's closer, as he anchors a bullpen that started to be revamped before last season's trade deadline.
The Cubs edged the Reds in the season series last year, 10-9, while the teams split 10 games in Cincinnati. The two teams are off tomorrow before resuming the series on Wednesday.
In a related note, the Tribune Company announced on Monday its intentions to sell the Cubs at the end of the 2007 season. The news comes on the same day that the Tribune Company accepted a proposal from real estate investor Sam Zell to purchase the media establishment.
Tribune, which is one of the top media organizations in the country, also announced it will sell its 25 percent interest in Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
Tribune's sale of the Cubs will be subject to the approval of Major League Baseball when it occurs.
In 1981, Tribune bought the Cubs as well as historic Wrigley Field.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Stars attempt to continue their late-season
string of success as the streaking club returns to the American Airlines
Center tonight to battle the St. Louis Blues.
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Average Baseball Salary >>
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Youngster Hernandez takes hill for Seattle against Oakland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The new-look Oakland Athletics get their 2007 season going
this evening with the start of a three-game series against the Seattle
Mariners at Safeco Field.
Oakland won 93 games in 2006 and claimed its fifth American Leagu
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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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.
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