Boston hopes Lester can remain perfect against O's
Baseball Betting Lines
09/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox may not have had the success they've enjoyed in the past against the Baltimore Orioles this season, but Jon Lester has certainly been able to maintain his dominance over the course of this series.
The Boston ace will put his still-unbeaten record versus the Orioles on the line and try to give the Red Sox a much-needed victory in tonight's clash between the longtime American League East foes from Camden Yards.
Lester enters this evening's matchup sporting an astounding 12-0 ledger along with a 2.00 earned run average over 15 career meetings with Baltimore, and the Red Sox have come out on top in all but one of those games. The All-Star hurler has been especially masterful in this year's matchups, as he's yielded only a single run over 19 innings in three 2010 starts against the Orioles, winning twice and registering one no-decision.
The standout lefty has also been tough on most other opponents as of late, save for a horrendous start against Toronto on August 20 in which he was rocked for nine runs and eight hits in just two innings. Lester bounced back strongly in a big game at playoff contender Tampa Bay this past Friday, however, limiting the Rays to an unearned run and a mere two hits while racking up 10 strikeouts to lead Boston to a 3-1 decision.
Lester has yet to allow an earned run in any of his past three road outings -- all victories -- and improved to 8-3 with an excellent 2.27 ERA in 15 starts away from home this year with Friday's verdict.
Boston could use another top-notch performance out of its top starter after losing Tuesday's opener of this three-game series with the Orioles. The 5-2 setback dropped the Sox to eight games behind the rival New York Yankees for first place in the AL East, though they remained seven in back of the front- running Rays in the Wild Card race after Tampa fell to Toronto last night.
Luke Scott and Felix Pie each hit home runs and Baltimore received solid pitching once again to notch its fourth win in a row. The Orioles were coming off a three-game road sweep of the Angels in which the team surrendered only a single run during the entire series.
Rookie Brian Matusz (7-12) held Boston to two runs and struck out six over the first six innings to extend his personal win streak to three games, with relievers Jim Johnson, Mike Gonzalez and Koji Uehara combining for three scoreless frames to close out the contest. Uehara set down all five batters he faced to earn his fifth save of the year.
"I thought [Matusz] was good," said Boston's Jed Lowrie. "He mixed his pitches well. He executed pitches when he had to."
Scott gave Baltimore an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the second and homered off reliever Felix Doubront in the eighth for a 4-2 advantage. Pie went deep two batters later to lengthen the margin to three runs.
"Obviously it was a big eighth inning for us," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. "It felt like the ballgame was kind of riding in that area."
Lowrie finished 2-for-3 and accounted for the Red Sox' only scoring with a two-run homer against Matusz in the fifth. Starter Josh Beckett (4-4) worked seven innings for Boston, but was saddled with the loss after permitting three runs (two earned) on seven hits.
The Orioles now hold a 7-6 edge on the Red Sox in this year's season series following Tuesday's triumph, with Boston having lost five of the seven bouts that have taken place in Camden Yards. Baltimore is still just 10-29 over the last 39 games played between the teams, however.
Jake Arrieta will get his first taste of this rivalry when the rookie takes the mound for Baltimore tonight. The promising right-hander will be out to halt a string of three consecutive losing starts after winning four of seven decisions to begin his big-league tenure.
Arrieta struggled in a road defeat to the Chicago White Sox last Thursday, issuing three walks while being reached for four runs on seven hits before exiting after four innings. He was a bit better in his previous assignment, tossing 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball against Texas on August 20 despite coming out on the short end of a 2-0 decision.
The 24-year-old hopes to improve upon a 1-3 record and 5.40 ERA in seven home starts since being promoted from Triple-A Norfolk in mid-June.
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Second baseman Ia
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.
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FOOTBALL BETTING
After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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