Happy Anniversary: Chicago's Buehrle baffles A's

Baseball Betting Lines

07/24/2010 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle pitched his second complete game of the season to earn his first career win in Oakland as the White Sox topped the A's, 5-1, to open a three-game series.

Buehrle (9-8) twirled a four-hitter, one a Jack Cust RBI double, and struck out two without issuing a walk. The veteran southpaw made it eight starts in a row allowing three runs or less and broke through for a win at the Coliseum in his 13th appearance and 11th career start there.

Buehrle bested an Oakland club that had won seven of its last eight games coming in and did so on the one-year anniversary of his perfect game against Tampa Bay.

Carlos Quentin and A.J. Pierzynski each had a pair of RBI in the win, Chicago's third in four games after dropping three straight. Alex Rios added two hits and an RBI.

Trevor Cahill (9-4) pitched seven innings in the start for Oakland, surrendering three runs (two earned) on only four hits and two walks. It was just his second loss in his last 13 starts, with the A's going 10-3 in that time.

The White Sox manufactured the game's first run in the fourth when Rios doubled leading off, moved up on a groundout and scored on a Quentin sacrifice fly.

Chicago added two runs in the sixth. Juan Pierre drew a leadoff walk before Omar Vizquel singled to leave runners at the corners. Cliff Pennington's error on a ground ball to short from Rios scored a run and Quentin plated another with groundout.

Meanwhile, Buehrle contended with only a double from Cust in the second and a Coco Crisp two-out single in the third before back-to-back doubles by Kevin Kouzmanoff and Cust in the seventh scored the A's lone run.

Oakland went in order again in the eighth and Pierzynski scored two with a single in the ninth before Buehrle returned to polish off his 26th career complete game with a 1-2-3 bottom half.

Game Notes

Buehrle previously was 0-6 at Oakland Coliseum and had lost his last four decisions versus the Athletics. His previous win over the club came on May 24, 2006, In 24 career games versus the A's, all but four of those starts, Buehrle is just 4-12...Cahill had won eight of his last nine decisions coming in and fell to 5-2 in eight home starts this season...These two clubs were meeting for the first time since the A's took five of the nine matchups a season ago...The White Sox remain an MLB-best 29-9 since June 9...It was Pennington's 14th error on the year.

Intercasio Baseball Betting News

<< Red Sox edge hot-headed Mariners in Beckett's return
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Hall hit the go-ahead home run in the seventh inning and Josh Beckett pitched into the sixth in his first appearance in over two months as Boston edged the Mariners, 2-1, in the continuation of a four-ga

<< Santana shuts down Dodgers, Mets offense awakes
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Santana silenced the Dodgers for seven innings, and New York's offense awoke from a two-week slumber in a 6-1 victory at Chavez Ravine. The Mets were held to four runs or less in each of the

<< Diamondbacks' Kelly Johnson hits for cycle
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Kelly Johnson became the fourth player in team history to hit for the cycle Friday against the Giants. Johnson homered in the first inning and was hit by a pitc

<< Wife of former Steelers coach Cowher dies
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kaye Cowher, the wife of former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, reportedly died Friday at the age of 54. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Kaye died in her native North Carolina after a

<< Indians extend home win streak against Rays
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fausto Carmona allowed just one unearned run in five strong innings, as the Indians extended their home dominance of the Tampa Bay Rays with a 3-1 win in a rain-shortened, seven-inning affair at Progres

Santana shuts down Dodgers, Mets offense awakens >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Santana silenced the Dodgers for seven innings, and New York's offense awoke from a two-week slumber in a 6-1 victory at Chavez Ravine. The Mets were held to four runs or less in each of the

Huff's HRs lift Giants; D'Backs lose despite Johnson cycle >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aubrey Huff hit two home runs and drove in three, as the San Francisco Giants spoiled Kelly Johnson's cycle and beat the Diamondbacks, 7-4, in the continuation of a four-game series. Andres Torres added

Cards activate Ryan Ludwick off DL >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have activated outfielder Ryan Ludwick off the 15-day disabled list. Ludwick had been sidelined with a strained calf since June 26 and missed 23 games entering Saturday's c

A-Rod hopes for another milestone against Kyle Davies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez continues his quest to become the youngest player to 600 home runs this afternoon when the New York Yankees resume their four-game series with the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. On Saturday, Rodriguez

Gorzelanny shoots for fourth straight win in middle tilt with Cards >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Gorzelanny goes after his fourth straight win this afternoon when the Chicago Cubs play the middle test of their three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. Gorzelanny, who is 5-5 with a 3.12

FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

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.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.