AL West: Short-handed Rangers looking to create separation

Baseball Betting Lines

05/20/2011 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With their disabled list still quite crowded, the Texas Rangers have been able to maintain a slim hold of first place in the American League West by playing .500 ball.

Texas (23-21) has split its last 14 games and entered Friday with a one-game lead over the Oakland Athletics (22-22) and a 1 1/2-game edge over the fading Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. At the moment, the Rangers are merely trying to tread water until they can get some guys back healthy and, they hope, start stringing together some victories.

Already playing with a short deck, closer Neftali Feliz threw another log onto the fire by blowing back-to-back save opportunities this week for the first time in his career. Feliz, normally rock-solid in the final inning, had his streak of 19 consecutive saves come to an end on Wednesday night as he allowed a game-tying leadoff home run to Royals rookie Eric Hosmer in the ninth inning. Teammate Adrian Beltre later bailed him out with a game-winning single in the 11th inning.

After throwing 26 pitches on Wednesday, Feliz was given the ball again Thursday night and allowed a game-tying single to Kansas City's Mike Aviles. His pitch count this time got up to 32, which is cause for concern considering Feliz spent time on the DL from April 21 to May 6 with shoulder inflammation. Still, he informed manager Ron Washington before Thursday's game that he was fine, and the skipper shrugged off his closer's recent struggles as nothing more than a blip on the radar. Feliz gave a similar assessment after the game.

"I feel bad because we lost the game," Feliz said. "But I'm going to try to not go crazy over it, put it behind me and do the best I can the next time I go out there."

Remarkably, Feliz had never even blown a save on the road until the last two nights. Although Feliz has only recently become the culprit, the Rangers have had their share of late-game problems that have spoiled would-be victories. They have lost nine games this season during their opponent's final at-bat, four of which ended in walk-off fashion.

All the while, the Angels have fallen to third place thanks to losses in five straight games and eight of their last 10. The Rangers could certainly use a few healthy bodies to try and create some separation. One of those guys is reigning league MVP Josh Hamilton, who began a minor league rehab assignment this week after suffering a hairline fracture of his right humerus bone on April 12. He will resume his rehab assignment at Triple-A Round Rock Friday night, with a possible reactivation sometime next week.

Right fielder Nelson Cruz (strained right quad) is also in Round Rock this weekend and is nearing a return. Cruz had seven homers through just 30 games this year but has not played a big league game since May 3. A return of Hamilton and Cruz to the lineup would certainly restore some pop, which the Rangers have sorely missed. Their outfield has been sorely depleted with center fielder Julio Borbon also landing on the DL this past weekend with a left hamstring strain. Right fielder Endy Chavez, who entered Thursday with three consecutive multi-hit games, had to exit with tightness in his right hamstring. Chavez was recently called up from Triple-A Round Rock to provide relief for the walking wounded.

With their lineup a moving target from day to day, the Rangers will wrap up their road trip in Philadelphia this weekend before returning to Arlington for a six-game homestand next week. If all goes well on the injury front, the team hopes to have most of its Opening Day starting outfield back in the fold by the end of that homestand.

A'S RIDE SUPERB PITCHING INTO INTERLEAGUE PLAY

When the Oakland Athletics (22-22) begin Interleague play Friday night against the Bay Area-rival San Francisco Giants, they'll send young staff ace Trevor Cahill to the mound for the opener.

Cahill burst onto the scene to earn his first All-Star nod last year as a 22- year-old, and he brings a 6-1 record and a 1.82 ERA into Friday's game. He has been the anchor of an Oakland pitching staff that leads the majors with a collective 2.86 ERA. The A's will face off against the equally pitching- privileged San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park, meaning the pitchers will have to don a bat and helmet and step into the batter's box.

Cahill has one big-league hit on his resume, which puts him one hit above the rest of the rotation.

"He hit a seeing-eye single through the (second base) hole," fellow starter Brett Anderson quipped of his teammate's lone hit, which came back in 2009. "It's weird because he's got the ugliest swing. But he got a hit, so whatever works."

Not having a designated hitter also means Hideki Matsui will likely come off the bench rather than start in the outfield, according to manager Bob Geren. Considering the offense is hitting just .239 as a team even with the DH, the onus is once again on the A's stellar pitching staff to continue putting up zeroes.

ANGELS STUCK IN FREEFALL, LACKING PRODUCTION FROM STARS

For the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (22-23), seemingly everything that could have gone wrong has over this past week. The team has dropped five in a row and eight of its last 10 to lose its grip on first place in the AL West.

The Halos lost to the Seattle Mariners by a 2-1 final Thursday afternoon after a routine fly ball was blotted by the sun and dropped in front of nine-time Gold Glove winner Torii Hunter in the ninth inning, scoring the winning run from third base. Those are the kinds of breaks the team has endured lately, and with each loss the mishaps become magnified.

There are some obvious black holes on the roster, most notably the absence of top run producer Kendrys Morales for the season. Hunter is in the midst of a 1-for-24 slump and has seen his average dip to .218. Leading hitter Howard Kendrick (.322) had to leave in the ninth inning of Thursday's game with cramping in his right hamstring. Kendrick accounted for three of the team's seven hits and broke a 24-inning scoreless streak with a fourth-inning solo home run.

"This is one of the toughest spells I think we've all seen with situational hitting, with hitting with runners in scoring position, with moving runners over," manager Mike Scioscia said. "It takes nine guys for an offense. It's not going to be on two or three guys.

"We're just missing in some of those areas. We have a talented club and we're obviously not bringing it the way we need to, and we're going to look at it closely."

A couple of the team's highest-paid players have contributed next to nothing. Vernon Wells is being paid $26 million this year to hit .183, and he'll make $24 million per year over the next three seasons. Scott Kazmir is earning $12 million this year and has pitched just one full inning due to lower back stiffness. He is still in extended spring training in Arizona, and according to Scioscia, looks to be a long way from rejoining the rotation.

The roster has certainly not come together anywhere near what was intended. Still, starter Dan Haren remained positive after coming away with yet another no-decision on Thursday.

"It feels like we've lost 20 in a row, but we're only a game or so out of first place," Dan Haren told the OC Register. "We're lucky in that respect - no one has really pulled away (in the division). We still play each other 15 times. There's a long, long way to go. We just need to keep pitching like we've been pitching. The offense will come around."

MARINERS' STARTERS GETTING THE JOB DONE

The Seattle Mariners (19-24) have their starting pitching to thank for the fact that they entered Friday just 3 1/2 games off the pace in the AL West despite little to no hitting.

Seattle's offense ranks last in the AL with a .226 team batting average. The starting pitching, on the other hand, trails only Oakland with a collective 3.27 ERA. Reigning Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez has been solid (4-4, 3.23) with two complete games and a team-high 64 strikeouts, but fellow starters Doug Fister (2-4, 2.93) and rookie Michael Pineda (5-2, 2.45) have better ERAs. Then there is Justin Vargas (3-2, 3.39), who is 2-0 with a 0.38 ERA in three May starts and has not allowed a run in his last 16 innings.

"They've been outstanding," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "They've stayed humble, stayed consistent. They respect the game. They haven't given in to our offensive struggles. That's all you can ask."

One of the tradeoffs has been a lighter workload for the bullpen. M's starters have gone at least seven innings in 10 of 14 games this month. Oddly enough, closer Brandon League has had a horrid month of May, blowing three saves to go along with a 12.86 ERA. Still, the starting rotation has kept the team afloat while the offense has consistently failed to put runs across the plate. And if the relief corps can hold its weight, Seattle could remain in the thick of things in the tightly-contested AL West.

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Football Betting Lines

The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.

Bet NFL Sports Lines

Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.

Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.

A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.

Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.

Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.

And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.

2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win

Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1

Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1

Donald Brown (IND) 5/1

Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1

Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1

Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1

Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1

Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1

Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1

Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1

Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1

Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1

Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1

Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1

Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1

Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1

Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1

LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1

Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1

Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1

Jason Smith (STL) 40/1

Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1

Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1

Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1

Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2

Pat White (MIA) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 9/1

Betting Line

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

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