It might not feel like it for those who bet on the Boston Red Sox last night (victims to the largest comeback in Orioles history), but as the 2009 All Star break approaches, the BoSox have the best record in the AL, and have been a profitable play for bettors when picking their spots.
Today they hit the field trying to shake off yesterday’s collapse and win the series with Baltimore.
A – Albuquerque. Manny Ramirez returned to action in the minors this week in preparation for his return to the pros next week, and as you would expect from him it was a bit of a circus. His first stop was in Albuquerque, where he was hitless in two Triple-A games while generally ignoring the media. A change was in order, so he headed to California to play A-ball. Ever the great teammate, he went 2-for-2 with a home run for the Inland Empire 66ers before leaving the ballpark in the fifth inning.
Hey, look who’s back in the majors! It’s John Smoltz, who has missed over a year after undergoing shoulder surgery.
He’s not doing the Tomahawk Chop in Atlanta anymore though but rather, he’s taking the mound for the Boston Red Sox.
Smoltz’s first start for the BoSox comes tonight when his new team heads to the nation’s capital to play the Nationals—SPORTSBETTING.com has Boston listed as a -135 road favorite and the Total is set at 9.
A – Albuquerque. The circus is coming to New Mexico on Tuesday. That’s when Manny Ramirez is scheduled to report to the Albuquerque Isotopes for a conditioning stint in Triple A before he is eligible to return to the Dodgers on July 3. It’s hard to believe that it has been almost 50 games already since Manny disgraced himself and his sport. I can only imagine what the media coverage will be like surrounding his return.
betED.com has Rich “Ace” Franklin as a slight favorite against Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva in the highly anticipated main event of UFC 99 on Saturday.
Franklin is a -135 favorite and Silva a +115 underdog in MMA Betting Odds at betED.com.
Baseball season is now three weeks old and several longshot underdogs have put themselves in the talk for world series champions. Sports Handicapper Craig Trapp today is going to give you his three longshots that can win the 2009 World Series. Last year we had both of the World Series teams come from no where and end up in the promise land.
Odds to Win MLB’s American League West
The AL West has been dominated by the Los Angeles Angels the last several seasons, winning their division four out of the last five years and in 2008 by a whopping 21 games. I do not see things being that easy for them in 2009 as the rest of the teams in the West have worked hard this past off season to try and close the gap.
The AL Central should be the most wide open race in baseball as three maybe four teams have a legitimate shot to win this division. It will all come down to who has the best pitching late in the summer when there are those “must win” games on the line. Most likely there will be little margin for error, so every win becomes that more important.
The American League’s Eastern Division was extremely competitive last season with Tampa Bay shocking everyone by edging out Boston for the division crown. The Red Sox captured the Wild Card and four out of five teams finished with winning records. With some major off season acquisitions and some juggling of the line ups, 2009 is shaping up to be even more competitive and should be a thrilling race to the finish.
In one of the better division pennant races from last season, the Dodgers outlasted the Diamondbacks to win the NL West by 2 games. With Manny Ramirez aboard for the whole season, LA should be able to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the division.
Something tells me this isn’t going to be the case, as the NL West could be more competitive this season than most people think.
The NL Central has been dominated by the Chicago Cubs the last two seasons as they have clearly been the class of this division. While there have been some significant player moves by the rest of the teams to try and close the gap, it remains to be seen if it will enough to dethrone the Cubs.
Chicago Cubs -200: While shuffling their line up somewhat, this year’s team remains basically intact from last season’s team that won 97 games.
The Betting Numbers
This game opened at -6.5 and is staying pretty steady with the line moving to -7 in some places. The total has also remained stable, opening at 134.5 and holding on that number.
Series History
This will be the fifth meeting between Purdue and Connecticut, but the first since 1992.
The NL East has basically been a two team battle the last few seasons with the Mets and the Phillies going down to the wire. The question this year is can anyone else in the division stay in the race long enough to challenge for the top spot.
Here is a look at the current odds to win the NL East.
The Betting Numbers
When it comes to (1) against (16) matchups in the NCAA Tournament, we are always going to see big numbers and that is the case here. Connecticut, the top seed in the West Region opened as a three touchdown favorite over the SoCon Tournament Champion Moccasins and the line is holding steady and staying above 20 in all places.
The Betting Numbers
If this matchup looks familiar, then you have a good memory as the Aggies and Cougars squared off in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament. Last season, the seedings were identical as BYU was the eighth seed and Texas A&M was the ninth seed but it was the Aggies that were a slight favorite as they closed at -1.
As I watched the brackets unfold on Selection Sunday, there were few surprises as the number 1, 2, and, 3 seeds went pretty much to the teams I expected. Some could argue that Memphis should have been a number one seed instead of Connecticut, but to me it is a mute point as the pairings placed them on a collision course in the West final either way.
