Prado, Braves rough up Hamels, Phillies
Baseball Betting Lines
07/01/2009 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Prado was at it again, scoring three runs and driving in two more runs after a four-RBI evening on Tuesday, as Atlanta poured it on Philadelphia, 11-1, at Turner Field.
Gregor Blanco scored twice, Chipper Jones drove in three runs, Brian McCann knocked in two and Matt Diaz hit a two-run home run for Atlanta, winners of three straight. Jair Jurrjens (6-6), who suffered from a lack of run support in June, turned over to a new month by coming within eight outs of a no- hitter.
Paul Bako broke up the no-hitter with two outs in the seventh, slicing a single into right field. Jurrjens finished the frame, allowing one run on just the one hit to go along with six strikeouts and four walks.
Cole Hamels (4-5) continued a frustrating campaign, surrendering seven runs on nine hits with two walks and one strikeout over four-plus frames. Last season's World Series MVP has given up 11 earned runs over his last 8 2/3 frames.
Greg Dobbs drove in the lone Phillies run with a sacrifice fly, and Jimmy Rollins is now hitless in his last 27 official at-bats. The Phillies have lost the first two games of this series and now sit just a half-game in front of fast-charging Florida in the mediocre National League East.
Hamels was hurt by the bottom of the order in the third and the two men who have suddenly found their strokes in this series -- Blanco and Prado. The pitcher Jurrjens blooped a single to right with one out, then Blanco hit a ball that deflected off Hamels' leg for an infield base hit. Prado followed with a sharp double past Dobbs in left, scoring both runners.
Jones continued the onslaught with a base hit to center, scoring Prado for the 3-0 lead. The Phillies got one back without a hit in the fourth, as Jayson Werth walked with one out, moved up two bases on a wild pickoff throw from Jurrjens and scored on Dobbs' sacrifice fly to left.
Atlanta opened the floodgates in a sixth-run fifth. Blanco and Prado were at it again with a walk and single, and Jones doubled them both home with a sinking liner into open space in left-center field. McCann then roped an RBI single to right, ending Hamels night in favor of Tyler Walker. He fared no better, giving up a two-run opposite field homer to Diaz and the first career home run for Diory Hernandez, whose shot made the score 9-1.
The Braves added two more in the eighth on run-scoring singles by pinch-hitter Yunel Escobar and McCann, respectively.
Game Notes
Jurrjens had not won since May 29th, losing his last four decisions...Hamels has not posted a victory since June 4th...Rollins is now batting .205...Hamels' ERA now sits at 4.98...Attendance: 25,212.
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ramon Castro hit a go-ahead three-run homer in a four-run sixth inning, and Jose Contreras pitched eight strong frames as the Chicago White Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians with a
<< A-Rod's homer pushes Yankees past M's, to seventh straight win
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez continued his recent power surge,
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York Yankees to their seventh straight victory, 4-2, over the Seattle
Mariner
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Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward
Brian Gionta to a five-year contract and defenseman Hal Gill to a two-year
deal, the team announced Wednesday.
Financial terms of both deals were not release
<< Flames sign Sjostrom
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Calgary Flames signed forward Fredrik
Sjostrom, the club announced on Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
Sjostrom, who was an original first round pick (11th overall) of the P
<< Rangers give long-term deal to Gaborik
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers made a big splash on the
first day of free agency, inking free agent forward Marian Gaborik to a five-
year contract.
TSN Canada is reporting the deal is worth $7.5 million yearly.
Ga
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrek Lee belted a two-run home run and Randy Wells tossed seven innings of one-run ball to lead the Chicago Cubs past the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1, in the rubber match of a three-game set at PNC Park.
Butler/Georgetown, Indiana/Pittsburgh comprise Jimmy V Classic >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Butler will face Georgetown, and Indiana will
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This will be the debut for Georgetown and
Cueto, Reds blank D'Backs >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnny Cueto tossed six shutout innings and
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Arizona, 1-0, in the second of three games with the Diamondbacks.
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Ottawa brings back Neil >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Ottawa Senators announced on Wednesday that
they have re-signed right-winger Chris Neil to a four-year contract worth a
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Braden, A's take series from Detroit >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Braden threw seven strong innings, and
Jack Cust and Jason Giambi each hit a two-run homer, as the Oakland Athletics
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Braden (6-7) al
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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