Angels take on Seattle's Vargas in series finale
Baseball Betting Lines
09/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have had plenty of difficulty producing runs as of late, and recent history says the team could be in for a tough time again in tonight's matchup with Jason Vargas and the Seattle Mariners from Safeco Field.
After mustering a mere one run in being swept in three games at home by lowly Baltimore over the weekend, the Angels had a temporary breakout in Monday's 5-3 besting of the Mariners. That mild offensive surge was short-lived, however, as Seattle evened this three-game series with a 3-1 triumph last night behind strong pitching and some clutch late hitting.
The game featured a terrific pitcher's duel between Mariners ace Felix Hernandez and Anaheim's Dan Haren, with neither hurler giving up a run over the first seven innings. The Angels finally broke through in the top of the eighth to grab a 1-0 lead, but Seattle put up a three-spot in its half of the frame to prevail.
The Mariners loaded the bases with one out against Kevin Jepsen (2-4), who took over for Haren to try to protect the one-run edge, before Michael Saunders delivered a sacrifice fly to tie the score. Adam Moore followed with a go-ahead single before Josh Wilson greeted reliever Francisco Rodriguez with a base hit that extended the margin to 3-1.
"We did our job a little later than we would've liked, but a win's a win," said Saunders afterward.
Brandon League (1-1) was credited with the win despite allowing Anaheim's only run in the top of the eighth, when Alberto Callaspo and Howie Kendrick smacked back-to-back doubles to break the scoreless deadlock.
Hernandez yielded just three hits and struck out eight in his seven-inning stint, with Haren scattering eight hits and also fanning eight hitters before leaving after seven frames.
"We had [Hernandez] on the ropes a couple times and couldn't get some early runs, which definitely could've made a difference in that game," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "He made some pitches to get out of jams and got some double play balls."
The Angels' bats have also been silenced pretty well in the team's previous encounters with Vargas this season. The Seattle lefty has posted a 1.71 earned run average in three 2010 starts against the Halos, earning a win in one and a no-decision in the two others.
Vargas hasn't been on top of his game lately, however. After winning three straight starts to begin the month of August, the California native was tagged for seven runs in 6 1/3 innings in a road loss to the New York Yankees on August 21. He struggled again in Friday's home assignment against Minnesota, with the Twins putting up five runs (four earned) in Vargas' six innings of work to pin a second straight defeat on the hurler.
The 27-year-old has still had more good than bad starts at Safeco Field this year, as he brings an impressive 7-3 mark with a 2.48 ERA in 14 home outings into tonight's tilt.
Rookie Trevor Bell gets the call for Anaheim for this evening's rubber match and comes in off an encouraging showing on Friday, albeit in a losing cause. The right-hander held Baltimore to two runs and six hits over a career-best seven innings, but was victimized by his team's sputtering offense in a 3-1 setback.
Bell has pitched primarily out of the bullpen this season and has amassed a 1-4 record with a 5.07 ERA in 23 total appearances. In his five games as a starter, the 23-year-old is 0-3 with a 5.33 ERA.
This will be Bell's sixth career meeting with Seattle, with the first five all coming in relief. He's allowed just one run and four hits while striking out seven Mariners over a combined 7 1/3 innings.
The Angels had taken nine of their last 10 bouts with the Mariners prior to last night's result and are 11-4 against Seattle this season. Anaheim has prevailed in five of the seven games played in Safeco Field between the teams in 2010.
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
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.
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