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07/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It appears as though the Atlanta Braves got tired of waiting for Yunel Escobar.
The Braves dealt the 27-year-old shortstop to the Blue Jays on Wednesday in a five-player trade that sent 33-year-old Alex Gonzalez to the Braves. Atlanta also shipped 25-year-old pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes to Toronto for the shortstop while getting back a pair of minor league players in the deal as well.
Escobar was a second-round pick of the Braves in 2005 and showed flashes of being a solid player for Atlanta. He hit .299 last season with 14 homers and 76 RBI, but was batting only .238 in 2010 with 19 RBI and zero home runs this year before the trade and has before taken heat due to his inability to mature and grow on the field. Escobar has at times looked lazy on defense and was prone to making mental mistakes.
Currently the owners of first place in the National League East, the Braves decided to part ways with a young talent in exchange for a veteran presence at short in Gonzalez as they look to make a playoff run in manager Bobby Cox's final season before retirement.
"We have been looking at ways to strengthen our club offensively and Alex Gonzalez is a proven veteran player who gives us added power," said Braves general manager Frank Wren. "He is a winner and a solid offensive presence in the lineup as well as a quality defensive shortstop."
A member of the 2003 Florida Marlins championship club, Gonzalez was hitting .259 this year with 17 home runs and 50 RBI with the Blue Jays. His trade to the Braves marks his fifth different team since making his debut in 1998. The right-handed hitter has also played with the Marlins, Red Sox and Reds in addition to the Blue Jays.
Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk in his Atlanta debut on Thursday, a 2-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
MARLINS: RAMIREZ, JOHNSON SHINE AT ALL-STAR GAME
They may have some ground to make up if they want to compete for a playoff spot, but that didn't stop some of the Florida Marlins from making a name for themselves at this past week's All-Star Game.
The Marlins have a pair of representatives in Anaheim in shortstop Hanley Ramirez and pitcher Josh Johnson. Ramirez was voted in to start at short for the Mid-Summer classic, but his biggest impact came at Monday's Home Run Derby.
Ramirez had 13 homers at the break, but belted a total of 26 during the event. The 26-year-old made it to the finals, but hit just five in the final round to finish second behind Boston's David Ortiz.
"The most important thing tonight is that we were all rooting for each other," Ramirez told MLB.com. "Nobody was rooting for himself. We had fun."
It was then Johnson's turn to shine during Tuesday's game. Though given serious consideration to start, Johnson entered the game in the third inning after Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez threw the first two frames. The right-handed Johnson didn't allow a hit in his two innings of work, striking out two while throwing 18 of his 29 pitches for strikes.
Considered a contender for this year's NL Cy Young Award, Johnson went 9-3 in the first half and led the majors with a 1.70 earned run average while striking out 123 batters over 122 innings.
NATIONALS: CLOSER HELPS CAP NL ALL-STAR VICTORY
The rule in major league baseball has always been that every team must be represented at the annual All-Star Game. That means even last-place clubs that are 11 games under .500 at the break get represented at the Mid-Summer Classic, which is why Nationals closer Matt Capps found himself among baseball's elite in Anaheim this week.
Capps earned the All-Star nod over teammates Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn, who both could have made a case to serve as Washington's representative, but don't think Capps wasn't worthy either. The 26-year-old is tied for third in the NL with 23 saves and is just four shy of matching the 27 he posted last season with Pittsburgh.
In his first year with the Nationals, Capps is 3-3 with a 3.18 earned run average in 41 games. He has also been charged with four blown saves, but was credited with the win in Tuesday's 3-1 victory over the American League. The right-hander faced just one batter, but struck out Boston's David Ortiz to end the sixth inning with a runner on first base.
"It feels pretty good," Capps told MLB.com after the game. "I just came in to face one hitter. The guys did a great job of putting some runs up later. ... It worked out well, I'm very pleased with it, excited about it."
There was some rumblings out there, mostly by the media, that starter Stephen Strasburg should have been named to the All-Star roster. While the soon-to-be 22-year-old has lived up to his epic hype so far, going 3-2 with a 2.32 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings, the bottom line is that the phenom has made just seven major league starts.
His time to run with the All-Stars will come soon enough.
PHILLIES: HOWARD GETTING HOT
While the Philadelphia Phillies' offense continues to run warm and cool, All- Star first baseman Ryan Howard is doing his best to stay at one temperature: hot.
Howard hit a pair of two-run homers in Thursday's loss to the Chicago Cubs, giving him a National League-leading 69 runs batted in heading into play on Friday as well as 19 homers and a .298 batting average. The left-handed slugger is on pace for his highest season average since a .313 clip during his 2006 MVP season.
The 30-year-old has driven in 14 runs over his last 10 games, belting four homers in that span.
Howard could use some help though. While the Phillies continue to play without second baseman Chase Utley (right thumb) and third baseman Placido Polanco (left elbow), outfielder Shane Victorino is hitting just .252 while shortstop Jimmy Rollins has a current average of .248.
Polanco, who was hitting .318 before going on the disabled list, could return before the end of this weekend.
"He might be," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told Philadelphia's website on Thursday. "We'll see. He might join us in a couple days -- hopefully will. We'll see how it goes."
METS: BELTRAN RETURNS
The New York Mets know they need a little something extra if they are to catch the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
Enter Carlos Beltran.
The 33-year-old returned to center field on Thursday versus the Giants, his first major league game this season. Offseason knee surgery caused Beltran to miss all of spring training and the first half of this season.
Beltran didn't have it easy in his return as he faced two-time defending NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, who threw a six-hit shutout versus the Mets. Beltran went 1-for-4 in the 2-0 loss and was also thrown out trying to steal second.
"I thought he had some good at-bats, for the first time facing a major league pitcher of that stature," said Mets manager Jerry Manuel.
A five-time All-Star, Beltran was limited to just 81 games last year due to injury, but hit .325 with 10 homers with 48 RBI. In 161 games in 2008, he batted .284 with 27 homers and 112 RBI.
A healthy Beltran should take some pressure off teammates David Wright and rookie Ike Davis. Beltran hit between the two on Thursday, with Davis shifting down to the fifth spot, while Jason Bay hit sixth.
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The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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