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08/20/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - You'll have to forgive the Minnesota Twins if they're not quite sure how to handle themselves in the role of frontrunner.
Typically around this time of year, the Twins are the ones fighting for their playoff lives. They are usually the ones doing the chasing, instead of the ones being chased.
But thanks to a seven-game win streak, the Twins have emerged from the pack and assumed control of the American League Central Division. Minnesota just took two of three from) its closest division rivals, the Chicago White Sox. Jim Thome provided a thrilling walk-off homer in the 10th inning of Tuesday's series opener. The very next night, the Twins came back again to claim a 7-6 victory and take a five-game lead in the AL Central, their largest lead this late in the season since 2004.
However, their win streak was stopped with Thursday's 11-0 blowout loss in the series finale. Still, the Twins have gone 10-5 against Chicago on the year, marking their most wins against any opponent. And a four-game division lead in late-August is nothing to sneeze at.
There are several key storylines. For example, Matt Capps has filled in at closer better than anyone could have anticipated. Since being traded to the Twins on July 30th, Capps has given up only two runs in 10 innings for a 1.80 ERA and four saves.
But more importantly, Joe Mauer is back to hitting everything in his path. The reigning AL MVP spent the first month of the season on the disabled list while rehabbing a lower back injury, but he has gotten hotter as the season has progressed. Entering Thursday's series finale, Mauer was hitting a ridiculous .442 with 15 doubles and 30 RBI in 28 games since the All-Star break.
He once again came up big Wednesday night, going 4-for-5 and blasting his first home run at Target Field. With Justin Morneau (concussion) out of the lineup since July 7th, Mauer's impact has been second to none. He is now hitting .332 on the season, a career year for most, but just a hair over his .328 career average.
WHITE SOX BITTEN BY PIRANHAS AGAIN
It was right around this time four years ago that White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen dubbed the Minnesota Twins "piranhas" for their pesky, relentless style. Earlier this month, following yet another loss to the Twins, Guillen said "they're not piranhas anymore."
Though he hasn't yet settled on a new nickname, the fact remains, Minnesota is the ultimate thorn in Guillen's side, which he hasn't been able to remove for quite some time.
The White Sox have lost 10 of 15 meetings with Minnesota before taking out their frustrations in Thursday's 11-0 triumph to avoid a sweep. But with each head-to-head loss, Chicago's postseason hopes have become increasingly fickle. Jim Thome, who was let go by Chicago in the offseason and subsequently picked up by the Twins, provided the dagger with a walk-off home run for Minnesota in Tuesday's matchup. For Guillen, it was yet another sobering reminder that the former piranhas still have Chicago's number.
"For all those people there saying it was my fault about Jim Thome, yes it's my fault," Guillen said following Tuesday's heartbreaking loss. "If those people don't like that ... I'm not afraid. I couldn't care less what people think."
CABRERA STILL SHINING FOR FADING TIGERS
Entering Friday's series opener against Cleveland, the Detroit Tigers (58-63) find themselves 12 games back in the division, thanks to three straight losses to the New York Yankees this week. The reality that the Tigers have played their way out of postseason contention seems to have settled in for manager Jim Leyland. On Wednesday night, his expletive-laden rant was captured by on- field TV microphones.
"They're going to the (expletive) playoffs," Leyland shouted at home plate umpire Eric Cooper while disputing a call, "and I'm not going anywhere."
Somewhat lost in the wake of all the turmoil is the monstrous offensive numbers being put up by Miguel Cabrera. The first baseman blasted two home runs Wednesday night, and another on Thursday to give him 31 four-baggers for the season. Not since Cecil Fielder in 1991 has a Tigers player reached 30 home runs faster.
Cabrera is now hitting .340 and has reached 30 home runs for the fourth straight season. He continues to lead the majors with 100 RBI on the year, the seventh straight year Cabrera has reached triple digits in that department.
Standing in between Cabrera and a Triple Crown are Josh Hamilton's .353 batting average and Jose Bautista's 37 home runs. Both are within reach, although Cabrera will really need to crank up the power to pass Bautista, who has held the AL lead in homers for most of the season. Still, with the way Cabrera has been swinging the bat, it's certainly not out of the question.
SORIA CONTINUES TO HOLD DOWN THE NINTH IN K.C.
Rarely does a closer get much recognition on a team that's buried in the division standings, trying only to avoid a last-place finish. In fact, rarely does a last-place team choose to hang on to a highly coveted closer, rather than auction him off to the highest bidder at the trade deadline.
But that just goes to show how much the Kansas City Royals (51-70) value their closer, Joakim Soria. Though his talents aren't exactly being put to full use by a team that entered Friday 19 games below .500, the front office sees Soria as a key cog to the team's future and would like to keep him in a Royals' uniform for as long as possible.
Despite Kansas City having one of the lowest win totals in baseball, Soria leads all major league closers with 35 saves in 37 opportunities. His 1.94 ERA also ranks among the leaders. On Wednesday, he converted his team-record 28th consecutive save despite a shaky ninth inning.
"With Jack, knock on wood, it's never been nerve-racking," manager Ned Yost told the Kansas City Star. "I've got all the confidence in the world he'll get out of it. There's going to come a time when he's going to give up a run or blow a save. But those are few and far between. Hes as close to a robot or machine as you're going to get."
The Royals lead the majors with 44 one-run games, and 15 of their last 19 games have been decided by two runs or less. One can only imagine what their win-loss total might have looked like this year without Soria around to shut the door in the ninth inning.
GAUGING THE INDIANS
That the Cleveland Indians (50-71) would finish at or near the bottom of the standings was all but a foregone conclusion to most at the outset of the season. The important thing, the front office preached, was to find steady playing time for the younger guys so the team could evaluate its assets and needs moving toward the future.
Now that the Indians are 20+ games below .500, thanks to three straight series losses to Baltimore, Seattle and Kansas City, it begs the question of where exactly do they stand in the grand scheme of things? Can we conclude anything about what's in store for 2011 and beyond?
Manager Manny Acta said on Thursday that, despite the results, he is happy with the effort he sees on the field. Just as importantly, he doesn't want those youngsters to get bogged down by the wins and losses.
"It's about making progress," Acta told his players before Thursday's game. "We have a month and a half to play, and we're in a rough stretch. Yes, we're young, but I still have the right to tell them I'm not happy with the way we've been playing the last 10 days. They have to take advantage of this opportunity. We're not going to be rebuilding forever, and this is not a September callup."
Of course, rookie phenom Carlos Santana is out for the year, costing him a few months of precious development. Mitch Talbot has battled back problems. Justin Masterson tossed six shutout innings his last time out despite throwing more balls than strikes. Matt LaPorta recently ended an 0-for-21 funk and keyed a five-run eighth inning with an RBI single after a 13-pitch at-bat.
These are the types of players the front office is evaluating for the future. And as they've shown, they are still very much a work in progress.
<< San Francisco 49ers 2010 Season Preview
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The plan?
Try nothing new at all.
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but a midweek win over Guatemala's Municipal in the CONCACAF Champions League
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ability to play a major role on a top-tier NBA team.
I'm just not sure he wants to.
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The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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