World Series Over Team Catchers

Baseball Betting Lines

Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milo Hamilton, who has been the voice of the Houston Astros since 1985, announced on Wednesday that he intends to retire following the upcoming season. Hamilton will close the books on a career which spanned more than 60 years, dating back to his start in Davenport, Iowa in 1950. Prior to arriving in Houston, he presided over broadcasts for the Cardinals, Cubs, White Sox and Pirates.

 

The 84-year-old, who was named the Ford C. Frick Award winner in 1992, holds the distinction of being elected to four separate Halls of Fame: Texas Baseball (1994), Radio (2000), Texas Radio (2002) and Iowa Baseball Coaches (2011).

 

Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates won their salary arbitration case with first baseman Garrett Jones and avoided a hearing with newly-acquired third baseman Casey McGehee. Jones will earn a salary of $2.25 million for 2012 instead of the $2.5 million he had requested. It's a hefty raise from the $455,000 he was paid in 2011, when he hit .243 with 16 homers and 58 runs batted in.

 

Terms of McGehee's deal were not disclosed, but he had asked for $2.725 million through arbitration and the Pirates had offered $2.35 million.

 

Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox inked pitcher Ross Ohlendorf and first baseman Mauro Gomez to minor league deals with invitations to spring training on Thursday. Ohlendorf went 1-3 with an 8.15 earned run average in nine starts for the Pirates in 2011, a season shortened due to a lengthy stay on the disabled list thanks to a right shoulder posterior strain.

 

Gomez spent all of last season with Atlanta's Triple-A affiliate, hitting .304, clubbing 24 homers, 34 doubles and driving in 90 runs over 135 contests.

 

The BoSox extended spring training invites to the following players: pitchers Jesse Carlson, Rich Hill and Justin Thomas, Scott Atchison, Aaron Cook, Brandon Duckworth, Justin Germano, Will Inman, Doug Mathis, Vicente Padilla, Tony Pena Jr., Carlos Silva, Chorye Spoone and Alex Wilson; catchers Daniel Butler and Max St. Pierre; outfielders Alex Hassan, Josh Kroeger, Juan Carlos Linares and Jason Repko; infielders Pedro Ciriaco and Nate Spears.

 

On the other hand, Philadelphia does not have to defeat the kinds of teams the top AL clubs have to face in order to reach to the World Series. And since getting there is half the battle, the Phillies' odds are lower than all of the AL teams that might have more overall talent.

 

With the departure of NL stars such as Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder to the AL, the balance of power has shifted to the Junior Circuit. Some might say the AL was already the dominant league over the past few seasons, but key statistics prove otherwise, especially when it comes to the World Series hardware. The Cardinals come into 2012 as the reigning World Series champions after disposing the Rangers in an exciting seven- game series last October and the Giants proved best in 2011 with a five-game win over Texas.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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