Rays lefty Price goes for 12th win in Twin Cities

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07/02/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Once the owners of the best record in baseball, the Rays haven't won three straight games since early June. Joe Maddon's ballclub has to like its chances of reaching that mark tonight, when David Price goes for his 12th victory of the season in Tampa Bay's continuation of a four-game series with the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

Price set a new career high when he became the first American League pitcher to reach 11 wins with his defeat of Arizona on Saturday. Winning for the fourth time in five starts, the 24-year-old held the Diamondbacks to just a pair of runs on seven hits over eight innings while matching a career high with 11 strikeouts.

"That's what he's capable of doing. That's what he's going to look like as he matures and understands what he's doing out there," said Maddon. "You're going to see that a lot more often. He's been good ... but this is what he can look like."

The left-hander leads the AL with a 2.44 ERA and is 6-2 with a 2.88 ERA in eight road starts. He is also 1-0 versus the Twins with a 1.42 ERA in two games (one start) and will try to pitch the Rays to their first winning streak of three games since June 6-9.

After taking the finale of a two-game set from Boston on Wednesday, Tampa Bay won its second straight for the first time since its aforementioned three-game run thanks to Thursday's 5-4 victory over Minnesota in 10 innings.

Carl Crawford had four hits and scored the game-tying run for the Rays in the ninth on Evan Longoria's double before Willy Aybar plated Reid Brignac with an RBI single in the 10th inning. Rafael Soriano then locked down his 19th save with a perfect 10th inning.

"These are the kind of wins I really like," Maddon said. "I also love extra inning victories on the road. I think that really demonstrates a lot of character within your group."

Delmon Young homered, his first since June 13, and knocked in two runs for the Twins, who had a two-game win streak snapped and lost for the seventh time in 10 games. Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel had an RBI apiece in defeat as Minnesota is just one game up on Detroit for first place in the AL Central.

The Twins will hope Scott Baker can get on track tonight as the righty has lost two straight and three of his last four starts to fall to 6-7 on the season with a 4.97 ERA.

Baker has allowed 16 runs in his three setbacks, but also threw seven shutout innings in a win over the Rockies on June 16. However, the 28-year-old matched a season high with six runs allowed and set a new season high with 11 hits over 4 1/3 frames in a loss to the Mets on Sunday.

"Baker couldn't put a hitter away today, just couldn't get his breaking ball down and missed on a couple of sliders that were just hanging there," manager Rod Gardenhire said.

Baker is 1-2 with a 5.30 ERA versus the Rays and will look to slow down Crawford, who is 3-for-7 with a homer versus Baker lifetime. Crawford has a pair of four-hit games in his last three contests and three over his last 10 games played.

These two clubs have split their six-game series in each of the last two years, with the Rays losing two of three at Minnesota a season ago.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract

Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.

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After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."

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