AL Central: Cleveland a target for jokesters

Baseball Betting Lines

05/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When your team has the second-worst record in the American League and boasts the lowest attendance totals in all of baseball, you're bound to be the butt of a few jokes.

That seems be the case for the Cleveland Indians, who are just 8-15 in the month of May and are approaching new levels of futility.

According to a recent report (with pictures) on the Dan LeBatard Show, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen had some fun with a Cleveland fan prior to Tuesday's game. The fan had asked Guillen to sign a ball. Guillen obliged, sort of.

On the one side of the ball, he signed, "Bye Bye Lebron!! LOL." And on the other side, "When are you going to win anything in sports? Please."

For the record, Guillen later said he had signed the ball for a friend of his. Still, when it comes to a fan base as tortured as Cleveland's, Guillen would probably be wise to tap into his sensitivity training from a few years ago. In any case, you at least have to give the guy credit for always knowing how to stir the pot.

All jokes aside, Indians manager Manny Acta is turning over every stone to try and keep his team competitive amidst some major roster turnover. Among those efforts is the 'positive at-bats' channel, which is available to the hitters every day on the in-house monitor in the Progressive Field clubhouse. Essentially, the channel features that day's opposing starting pitcher. But rather than always showing the pitcher's last outing, as most clubs do, the 'positive at-bats' channel shows the last time he got shelled.

"It's positive reinforcement," hitting coach Jon Nunnally said. "It reminds them that they can get the pitch they want to get and have success."

Meanwhile, the front office is also doing its part to accelerate the rebuilding process. However, as general manager Mark Shapiro rolls up his sleeves and immerses himself in that process, he can't help but be reminded of the many failures from the past decade.

As a recent column in The Cleveland Plain Dealer pointed out, of the 28 players the team has drafted in the first and second rounds between 2000-06, Trevor Crowe is the only position player currently in the majors. Jeremy Guthrie (2002), Brian Tallet (2000) and David Huff (2006) represent the only pitchers in the big leagues, although that trio hasn't exactly drawn rave reviews.

But the tide appears to be turning with regard to some of the Tribe's high- profile prospects.

Mitch Talbot, a 2002 second-round pick by the Houston Astros, leads all big league rookies with six wins, and he trails only Tampa Bay's David Price (seven) among all American League hurlers.

Shortstop Jason Donald, a third-round pick by the Philadelphia Phillies who was acquired in the Cliff Lee deal, has started to come along since being called up May 18. Donald is 6-for-15 over the last five games, and on Tuesday he registered his first big league home run off White Sox' starter Jake Peavy. Donald has also turned heads with his smooth glove and high intensity.

Meanwhile, down in Triple-A Columbus, top prospect Carlos Santana is hitting .313 and just belted his 10th home run of the season on Wednesday. The catcher leads the International League in on-base percentage (.447) and walks (35), ranks third in slugging percentage (.573) and OPS (1.020), and is tied for third in homers and fourth in RBI (40).

Of course, Santana was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a nondrafted free agent in 2004. With this year's draft quickly approaching on June 7, the Indians have the fifth pick. Obviously, they would love to strike gold in the later rounds or even find another nondraftee gem like Santana. But considering the way things have gone for the organization lately, it's almost imperative the team finds a player with that No. 5 pick.

DETROIT HOLDING LEADS

When leading in the seventh inning or later, the Detroit Tigers (25-21) have lost only two games this season, which is tied for the third-best mark in the American League. Now, consider that Detroit's starters are last in the league with 18 quality starts out of 46 games, and the picture becomes clearer as to why the Tigers remain in second place in the division, trailing Minnesota by 1 1/2 games.

Yes, the bullpen deserves most of the early-season kudos. In 11 of the Tigers' 25 wins, the bullpen hasn't allowed a run and has pitched at least three innings, according to the Detroit Free Press. But how long can they keep it up?

If the starters continue to rank last in the league in ERA (5.01) and innings pitched (257), probably not very long, one would figure. On three occasions this season, the Tigers have rallied to win after trailing by five runs in the sixth inning or later. While that may make for good TV, it's no way to go through a 162-game season. Sooner or later, the starters are going to have to hold up their end of the deal in Detroit.

CAUSE FOR CONCERN IN CHI-TOWN?

When it comes to the Chicago White Sox' schedule, there are no easy matchups.

Entering this weekend's four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays, owners of the best record in all of baseball, Chicago was 14-14 against teams with records of .500 or better, but 6-12 against teams with losing records.

"I guess it's a matter of just gearing up for the big games," reliever Scott Linebrink told the Chicago Tribune. "It's a lesson to us that we need to take the same intensity all the time. There are no pushovers in the league. We've got to play good ball against everybody.

"(Young teams) sometimes are the most dangerous. They've got nothing to lose. They're not playing for anything, and you can tell they're playing relaxed."

In other team news, starting pitcher Jake Peavy clarified some comments he made following Tuesday's start, in which he gave up six earned runs in six innings and was charged with his fourth loss of the year. Multiple reports described Peavy as having arm fatigue after the game.

"I just said I didn't have good stuff and didn't feel that great," he told the team's Web site. "That's part of being a pitcher. You won't make 33 or 34 starts and feel good and have A-plus stuff. Stuff-wise, the ball wasn't crisp out of my hand. That's part of it. There are times where your arm doesn't respond the way you hope it would. The bottom line is I have to find ways to win and keep the team in the game."

Peavy added that he is sometimes honest to a fault, and he didn't mean for his comments to be misconstrued as having a tired arm. For what it's worth, the Chicago Tribune reported that Peavy would likely skip his bullpen session this week, thus giving his arm more rest leading up to Sunday's scheduled start against the Rays.

BLACKBURN, KUBEL SPARKING TWINS

The Minnesota Twins (27-20) will be glad they won't have to face the AL East again for a while, considering they went 5-10 this month against that division. Still, Minnesota remains in first place in the AL Central despite dropping three of four to the New York Yankees this week.

Two players who helped the Twins avoid a sweep against the Yankees, and who have also keyed the team's early-season success, are Jason Kubel and Nick Blackburn. Blackburn picked up the win in Thursday's 8-2 triumph, as he allowed just two runs in seven innings and did not issue a single walk. The win was Blackburn's fifth in as many outings during the month of May. Just a couple of weeks ago, he stifled the Yankees to three runs over seven innings for a 6-3 win in New York.

Ultimately, Kubel was the hero of that game in Yankee Stadium, as he blasted an eighth-inning grand slam off closer Mariano Rivera to seal the win. This time around, Kubel knocked two homers, collected three hits in all, and drove in five of the team's eight runs.

Kubel hasn't gotten off to a picture-perfect start, batting .233 with five homers as he's adjusted to sharing DH duties with Jim Thome. But he has driven in 27 runs, and Yankees manager Joe Girardi pointed to Kubel's performance last year to make the point that he certainly wasn't being overlooked in the series. Last season, Kubel set career-highs by hitting .300 with 28 homers and 103 RBI. Kubel said he is starting to get into a better groove offensively of late.

"I felt great all day," Kubel said following Thursday's victory. "That's something I haven't been doing too much lately, is just seeing the ball. Instead of swinging at everything, I was able to get some pitches to hit and put some good swings on them."

BUTLER CARRYING KANSAS CITY'S OFFENSE

By now, most baseball fans are aware that Justin Morneau is leading the majors in batting average (.377). Raise your hand if you know who is in second place.

That would be Royals first baseman Billy Butler, who would likely be well on his way to breakout stardom if he weren't playing in Kansas City. Butler has hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games and is hitting at a .348 clip on the season. Last year was his coming out party, as he hit .301 with 21 homers and 93 RBI.

"I don't know if it's because I play in Kansas City or something that they don't take any notice, but hopefully we start winning some more ballgames and people take notice of how good we all can hit," Butler told the team's Web site.

Manager Ned Yost credits Butler's approach, day-in and day-out, and his knack for always studying the game.

"If you ask me if I'd finish second in the league in hitting or get in the playoffs, you know which one I'd choose," Butler said.

Kansas City (20-28) has won two straight -- over Texas and Boston -- and is now just a half-game behind Chicago for third place in the division.

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2007 online football betting Preview

My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."

The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.

To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.

However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.

Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.

Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.

Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.

2007 College Football Betting Preview

There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.

The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.

So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.

USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.

USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.

Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.

That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.

The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"

The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.

Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.

Las Vegas Sports Lines

The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.

It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."

The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.

The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.

Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.

After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.

To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

2007 online football betting Preview

My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."

The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.

To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.

However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.

Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.

Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.

Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.

2007 College Football Betting Preview

There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.

The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.

So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.

USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.

USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.

Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.

That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.

The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"

The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.

Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.

Las Vegas Sports Lines

The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.

It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."

The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.

The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.

Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.

After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.

To visit this sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.