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05/25/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Year after year, the Oakland Athletics have churned out solid young pitchers from their farm system in assembly-line fashion.
This year has been no different, as Oakland's pitching staff ranks third in the American League with a combined 3.92 ERA. The starting rotation boasts an average age of 26.7 years, which is the youngest in the majors. Dallas Braden, owner of a perfect game already this season, is the second-oldest pitcher in the rotation, at just 26.
"You look in the winter at all the top-notch pitching free agents and see how few real top-notch guys are available." manager Bob Geren said in a recent interview with the team's Web site. "To be able to grow your own and see them blossom into that style of pitching is a credit to numerous people."
That development begins at the lower levels of Oakland's minor league system, where the coaches emphasize preparing the pitching prospects with the tools, and mindset, needed to make it to The Show. Once there, A's pitching coach Curt Young takes the reins and further fine-tunes those skills, closely monitoring each pitcher's progression.
Young is in his seventh season as Oakland's pitching coach. Over the past six seasons under his tutelage, the A's pitching staff has allowed the fewest home runs in the American League (909), has the lowest opponent batting average (.259) and ranks second in ERA (4.10).
Prized free agent acquisition Ben Sheets (31) saw his Oakland tenure get off to a rocky start, and things came to a head during a two-game stretch a few weeks ago when he allowed a combined 17 runs.
On Sunday, Sheets baffled the Bay Area-rival San Francisco Giants by allowing just two hits in six innings, striking out eight along the way. It marked the second straight shutout of the Giants, after 24-year-old Gio Gonzalez tossed eight scoreless innings in Saturday's 1-0 victory.
All told, A's pitchers held the Giants to just one run in sweeping the three- game series over the weekend. San Francisco was held scoreless for the final 20 innings of the series.
Since giving up those 17 runs, Sheets has allowed a total of seven runs over his last four starts, to which he credits an adjustment with his arm angle. Manager Bob Geren also pointed to Sheets developing his cut fastball and relying on his changeup more frequently. While the numbers certainly suggest the veteran right-hander has turned a corner, Sheets said he is only now starting to feel more at ease on the mound, which is evident by his increased velocity.
"I'm just feeling a lot better from start to start," he told the Oakland Tribune. "When I look back at month to month to month, I can really tell a big difference. The more you do something, the more comfortable you feel at it. It feels good, because I think I'm starting to settle in."
Thanks to Sheets and the rest of the pitching staff, the A's have won three straight to move above .500 (23-22), as they trail the division-leading Texas Rangers by just two games. Now, the A's pitchers look to keep dealing as the team embarks on a 10-game road trip through Baltimore, Detroit and Boston.
RANGERS SHUFFLE STARTING ROTATION
Rangers' manager Ron Washington has been searching for another lefty bullpen option to go along with Darren Oliver. It appears the search has ultimately landed on starter Matt Harrison, who learned he will join the bullpen upon his return from the disabled list.
Harrison, who has not made a relief appearance since 2006, began a rehab assignment in Double-A on Monday. Barring any setbacks, he could join the team in his new role as early as Friday in Minnesota. In six starts for the Rangers this season, Harrison went 1-1 with a 5.29 ERA before being shutdown with left biceps tendinitis.
"I really don't know what to expect," he told the Star-Telegram. "I talked to (Dustin) Nippert. He said it's different because every time the phone rings down there, your adrenalin gets going. It's something I'm going to have to experience firsthand, and hopefully the minor league games will help."
In other pitching news, Washington announced over the weekend that he had switched C.J. Wilson and Derek Holland in the rotation. Wilson will now pitch Saturday against the Twins, while Holland will pitch Sunday, giving him seven days off between starts. The team has two open dates this week, which opened the possibility for such a move.
After winning the first five games of their seven-game homestand, the Rangers lost consecutive games this weekend against the Chicago Cubs by identical 5-4 finals. Thus far the road has not been very kind to the Rangers, who are 18-9 at home but just 7-11 elsewhere.
PROBLEMS AT THE TOP FOR SEATTLE
The box scores show that Seattle managed just two runs over the final 22 innings of this weekend's series with the San Diego Padres. And with that, the Mariners are now just 5-16 in May and have not won a series all month long.
Chone Figgins was acquired in the offseason with the hope that he'd team up with leadoff man Ichiro Suzuki to give Seattle a formidable 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup. However, that plan hasn't quite worked out, which is just one of the many reasons Seattle (16-28) now has the second-worst record in the American League.
According to the team's Web site, Suzuki and Figgins have both reached base only 17 percent of the innings which they've batted consecutively. Of course, it's tough to fault Suzuki, who is hitting .348 and has 22 multi-hit games. Figgins, a former leadoff man with the Angels, is hitting just .195 with a team-high 42 strikeouts in the No. 2 hole.
Although Figgins doesn't blame his struggles on his new home in the lineup, one can't help but correlate the two. After all, he is a career .291 hitter and is coming off an All-Star nod last season -- which is why the team gave him $36 million over four years. Still, despite the team's well-documented offensive struggles, Figgins isn't putting any added pressure on himself. What's more, he evens claims he's been swinging the bat better lately.
"My mind-set never changes no matter where I am (in the order)," Figgins told the Seattle Times. "I think times like this show you what you're made of. I'm not the kind of guy that's going to give in. I'll never give in. I'm going to go out and keep playing.
"That's who I am. I've always been like that. Stuff never comes easy. If you can realize that and battle through the hard times you can get rewarded."
ANGELS MISSING SOME FORMER STARS
The early polls are in for the 2010 All-Star ballots, and so far the results should be of particular interest to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Among the leading vote-getters at their respective positions are the Rangers' Vladimir Guerrero and the Yankees' Mark Teixeira, two key figures of the Angels' not-so-distant past.
Teixeira, who hit .358 and had a .632 slugging percentage in 54 games with the Angels in 2008, is the leading vote-getter at first base thus far, nearly 138,000 votes ahead of Minnesota's Justin Morneau.
Guerrero, an eight-time All-Star with the Halos, has rebounded from his knee problems to hit .339 with 10 homers and 37 RBI in his first year as the Rangers' designated hitter. He leads the voting at DH with 374,333 tallies. Ironically, the Angels' new DH, Hideki Matsui, ranks second with 298,487 votes.
However, Matsui's votes can be credited more so to his reputation than to his production thus far. He was hitting just .161 in the Month of May entering Monday's series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays. With Toronto left-hander Brett Cecil on the hill for that game, Angels' manager Mike Scioscia dropped Matsui to seventh in the lineup. That change, it appears, will remain in place until Matsui picks things up at the plate.
"Against lefties right now, we want to keep Juan (Rivera) behind Kendry (Morales) so Hideki will hit behind Juan against lefties, and most likely hit higher against righties," Scioscia said. "I talked to Hideki (Monday), and I think when he starts swinging it, we'll get him in the middle of the lineup. Right now he's searching, and so against lefties we'll go with this lineup."
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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends
We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS. Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned. For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go. As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190). Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet. For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction. On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later. Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick. Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com
New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors
Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season.
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls
Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times.
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons
Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season.
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers
In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS.
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”. With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit. Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.
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