A-Rod's quest for 500 returns to the Bronx

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees have been temporarily cooled off and will begin a six-game homestand with the first of three meetings against the Chicago White Sox this evening in the Bronx.

New York had ripped off six straight wins before dropping the finale of a four-game series with Kansas City and the first two contests of a three-game set against Baltimore. The Yankees, though, salvaged the finale with the Orioles by recording a 10-6 win Sunday at Camden Yards.

Johnny Damon went 3-for-5 with two RBI and four runs scored, while Rodriguez went 0-for-2 and was walked three times.

Rodriguez is still one home run shy of 500 for his career. The 32-year-old is trying to become the youngest player in history to reach that milestone.

Melky Cabrera also had a three-hit day and scored two runs with an RBI for the Yankees, who are four games off the AL wild card lead and eight games behind Boston for the top spot in the American League East division. Starter Chien-Ming Wang yielded nine hits and three runs in six innings for the win.

Taking the ball for the Yankees tonight will be Mike Mussina, who is 5-7 with a 4.77 ERA in 17 starts this season. Mussina was 0-2 in a three-start stretch before earning the win over the Royals on Wednesday, surrendering one run and six hits over 5 2/3 innings of a 7-1 victory.

The right-hander, who is 3-4 in eight starts at Yankee Stadium this season, is 15-16 with four complete games and a 4.63 earned run average in 36 career starts against the White Sox. Mussina is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in two starts against Chicago this season.

Meanwhile, the White Sox have lost six of 11 contests and had a three-game winning streak come to an end with Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in the finale of a three-game series at U.S. Cellular Field.

Chicago's Javier Vazquez was reached for five hits and four runs -- two earned -- with five strikeouts and three walks in 7 2/3 innings to suffer the loss. Vazquez took a two-hit shutout into the eighth inning before his outing took a turn for the worse.

Jermaine Dye, who has been the subject of recent trade rumors, homered in the loss for Chicago, which is 12 games off the pace in the American League wild card standings.

Struggling starter Jose Contreras will toe the rubber for the Pale Hose this evening and owns a 5-13 record with a 6.22 ERA in 20 starts this season. Contreras has lost six straight starts and has a 9.41 ERA over that span since his last victory on June 18 versus Florida.

The Cuban righty, who is 2-7 in 11 road starts this season, was reached for nine runs and 12 hits through 4 2/3 innings his last time out, a 13-9 loss to Detroit on Wednesday.

Contreras has lost both of his 2007 starts against the Yankees and is 2-3 with a 2.50 ERA in five career outings against them.

New York is 4-3 against the White Sox this season and 8-5 over the previous 13 encounters between the teams.

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.