AL West: A's won't go down without a fight

Baseball Betting Lines

07/20/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When it comes to predicting the American League West in recent years, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have done their best to eliminate any uncertainty by monopolizing the division for the past few seasons.

Last year, the Halos won the West by a 10-game margin. In 2008, the cushion was a whopping 21 games. The year before, six games. Although a lot can happen over the next couple of months, this year's race is shaking out quite differently.

There are the Texas Rangers (54-39), perched atop the division standings with a five-game cushion, and a newly acquired ace in former Cy Young winner Cliff Lee. The Angels (50-45) have battled some key injuries, but they've captured five of the last six AL West titles and are once again in the hunt.

While the Angels and Rangers currently hold the top two spots, the Oakland Athletics (46-47) have joined the hunt to make it a three-team race. It's worth noting that Oakland is the team that broke up the Angels' string by winning the AL West crown in 2006.

Make no mistake, with an eight-game deficit to make up, the A's have their work cut out for them. But there is certainly hope in the Bay Area, and that hope has been fostered by the team's season-high five-game win streak, which came to a halt Monday night against Boston.

Oakland's recent surge has somewhat changed the landscape in the division -- or at least, sent a message to Texas and L.A. that the A's don't plan on bowing out of contention any time soon. As of Monday, they sat at .500 for the first time since June 15.

"Everyone's hitting and we're putting it all together," said Vin Mazzaro, who pitched 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball in Sunday's 9-6 win over Kansas City. "We're doing great, making great plays. We're on a good streak right now going to face Boston. Going in with a lot of confidence and playing good is the key."

However, the road is about to get much tougher for the A's. On tap through the next few weeks are series with Boston (53-40), Chicago (51-41), Texas and then Chicago again. Chicago and Texas currently lead their respective divisions, while Boston is in the playoff hunt in the ultra-competitive AL East. That daunting stretch winds through the July 31 trade deadline.

In other words, we'll know by then whether Oakland is a contender or not. How the team navigates these next few series will ultimately impact general manager Billy Beane's decision to be a buyer, seller, or neither at the trade deadline.

The A's need a power hitter like BP needs its oil well cap to work. Their 61 home runs on the season is the second-lowest mark in the American League. Then again, the recipe for run production may be as simple as stealing more bases.

According to the Oakland Tribune, the A's are 32-15 in games when they steal a base, and 14-32 in games when they do not. They rank fifth in the AL with 72 stolen bases, and their 80-percent success rate leads the majors.

ANGELS EYEING TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

The Oakland Athletics aren't alone in their upcoming stretch against some of the toughest opponents the American League has to offer. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will play their next dozen games against the Yankees, Red Sox and Rangers.

In addition, they'll be a bit shorthanded with starting pitcher Scott Kazmir being placed on the disabled list with left shoulder fatigue following Sunday's 2-1 loss to Seattle. Granted, Kazmir has struggled mightily in his first season in Anaheim, posting a 6.92 ERA to go along with a 7-9 record. He was in line to start Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, but that turn will now go to either Sean O'Sullivan or Trevor Bell, both of whom were on their way from Triple-A Salt Lake. As of Tuesday morning, no announcement had been made.

In the meantime, all eyes are on general manager Tony Reagins to swing a deal to improve the ballclub before the trade deadline. Reagins' task is to bridge the five-game gap from the first-place Rangers, who have a payroll of about $50 million less than the Angels. Ideally, he would like to find another big bat in the middle of the lineup to replace injured first baseman Kendry Morales.

"It would be nice if we could go get another Kendry Morales - get that same stroke - that would be great," All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter told the OC Register. "If nothing happens, then all of us have to do it. I have faith in this team and this franchise. We can still do this."

HUNTER THE UNHERALDED STAR OF THE RANGERS' ROTATION

Over the past couple of weeks, any mention of the Texas Rangers' starting rotation has pretty much started and ended with new addition Cliff Lee. However, right-hander Tommy Hunter has been as big a sparkplug as any to the team's pitching staff.

Hunter, in only his second big league season, is the first Texas starter to begin a season 6-0 since Esteban Loaiza in 1999. He'll try to improve to 7-0 when he takes the hill Tuesday night opposite Tigers' starter Armando Galarraga.

Since being called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City in early-June, Hunter has held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in all but one of his eight starts, with the lone exception being an injury-shortened outing June 14 at Florida. He has already set a team record by winning five straight home starts to begin the season.

"The more opportunities he gets to pitch he just gains more confidence," second baseman Ian Kinsler recently said of his 24-year-old teammate. "He attacks the zone with all his pitches. When he's doing that, he's keeping hitters off-balance. That's basically what it comes down to. He's not scared and he trusts his stuff."

MARINERS HAVEN'T CAPITALIZED ON CLOSE GAMES

At 21 games below .500 entering Tuesday, obviously not a whole lot has gone according to plan for the Seattle Mariners. Most notably, the offense has remained in slumber mode since the very beginning of the season.

However, a closer look at the numbers outlines an ongoing issue: and that is, an inability to come through in tight situations. Entering Tuesday, the Mariners have had 47 of their 93 games -- or, exactly half -- decided by two runs or fewer. Monday's 6-1 setback to the Chicago White Sox broke a string of three straight one-run games for Seattle.

In those 47 games, the Mariners have a record of 20-27. In general, that has been the result of an offense that consistently struggles to come up with timely hits. But lately, an increasing amount of baserunning blunders have further hindered Seattle's run production. For manager Don Wakamatsu, the concern is that veteran players are making mental mistakes. In the 10th inning of Sunday's game, Ichiro Suzuki got himself caught in a rundown between second and third base, taking the potential go-ahead run off the basepath.

"Once it happens, the veteran players know it's a mistake, but yeah, we address it in our pregame meetings," Wakamatsu said. "We know it is something we have talked about for the last couple of months. One mistake can cost us a ballgame, and we don't have any room to do that."

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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

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MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds

With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.

Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season.  Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money. 

This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy.  A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.

Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:

Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame)
Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma)
Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State)
Michael Bush (RB, Louisville)
Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia)
Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville)
Chris Leak (QB, Florida)
Mike Hart (RB, Michigan)
Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State)
Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame)
Drew Tate (QB, Iowa)
Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal)
Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn)
Chad Henne (QB, Michigan)
Kyle Wright (QB, Miami)
Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State)
Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama)
JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU)
Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State)
Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina)
Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech)		 5-2
7-2
7-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
18-1
18-1
20-1
30-1
35-1
35-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1
60-1

For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.