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08/16/2008 - San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamie Moyer was masterful through seven frames of shutout ball and Pat Burrell hit the game-winning home run, as Philadelphia edged San Diego 1-0 in the opener of a three-game set from PETCO Park.
Moyer (11-7) allowed just three hits and two walks with two strikeouts to earn a much-needed win for Philadelphia. The veteran lefty has surrendered three runs or less in each of his last 13 trips to the mound. He is the first Phillie to accomplish the feat since 1967, when Chris Short put together a streak of 23 consecutive quality starts.
"I felt like I had command of pretty much everything tonight," Moyer said. "I was able to get some quick outs and keep the pitch count down."
Greg Maddux (6-9) equaled Moyer's effort over seven innings, giving up just the Burrell homer -- one of five hits -- with no walks and four strikeouts. The crafty right-hander fell short of gaining his fourth straight victory following a career-high 14 starts without one.
Philadelphia began this seven-game swing with a two-game edge on rival New York for first place in the NL-East, but the club now finds itself one game back of the Mets on the heels of a four-game sweep by the Dodgers. The Mets, meanwhile, own a four-game winning streak.
San Diego continued its season-long struggle dropping three of the last four to settle at 47-75, good for the second-worst record in the NL.
Moyer and Maddux were dealing from the outset with six innings of shutout ball. The Phillies moved a runner to third with one away in the second while the Padres did the same with two away in the sixth, but both came up empty.
"That was a pitching clinic," Padres manager Bud Black said. "That's two guys who really know the game. Two tremendous students of the game."
Philadelphia scored the game's first and only run on a Burrell solo home run to left-center in the seventh.
Philadelphia threatened again in the eighth as San Diego trotted out three different pitchers in relief of Maddux to foil an inning that started with Jayson Werth reaching on an error and Jimmy Rollins following with a single. Wilfredo Ledezma was key in getting Chase Utley and Ryan Howard swinging to escape unscathed.
Ryan Madson entered in the eighth and recorded the first two outs before Scott Hairston laced a single to left. J.C. Romero took over and got Brian Giles to ground out, ending the inning.
Brad Lidge closed it out for his 29th save in as many opportunities this season by getting Kevin Kouzmanoff to line out to center and then retiring both Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Headley on strikes.
Game Notes
Philadelphia leads the season series 3-1 and took four of seven matchups from San Diego last season including three of four at PETCO. Overall, the Phillies are 12-3 in their last 15 trips to San Diego...Maddux remains one win shy of tying Roger Clemens for eighth on the all-time list with 354 wins while Moyer moved into a tie for 51st place on the all-time wins list with 241, matching Herb Pennock...Lidge has converted 32 consecutive save opportunities dating back to last season.
<< Reds sign top pick Alonso
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds signed their
first-round draft pick from 2008, first baseman Yonder Alonso, on Friday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cincinnati had until midnight (et) Friday to
<< Giants sign top pick C Posey
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have signed catcher
Buster Posey, the fifth overall selection in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.
Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Posey was one of the best
<< Smoak on the water, Rangers sign first-round selection
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers signed first baseman
Justin Smoak, the 11th overall pick in the 2008 draft, just prior to the
midnight (et) deadline on Friday. No financial terms were disclosed, per club
policy.
<< Sizzling del Potro reaches Legg Mason semis, Roddick falls
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red-hot Argentine Juan Martin del Potro
was a quarterfinal winner Friday at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a U.S. Open
tune-up, while top-seeded Andy Roddick, the defending champion, was bounced
from th
Billingsley, red-hot Dodgers win fifth straight >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chad Billingsley threw seven solid innings,
and Casey Blake hit a two-run home run, as the Los Angeles Dodgers topped
Milwaukee, 5-3, in the first of three games with the Brewers.
Billingsley (12-9) g
Pirates ink second overall pick Alvarez >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to terms
with third baseman Pedro Alvarez, the second overall selection in the 2008
June Draft, prior to Friday's midnight (et) signing deadline.
Alvarez batted .317
Hamburg rallies to draw Bayern in Bundesliga opener >>
Munich, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Bayern Munich players Paolo Guerrero
and Piotr Trochowski each scored to help Hamburg rally from a two-goal deficit
against their old club in a 2-2 tie at Allianz Arena on Friday, spoiling Jurgen
Klin
Tottenham's Berbatov hands in transfer request >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov is
reported to have handed in a transfer request in a bid to force through a move
to Manchester United.
The 27-year-old Bulgaria international is rumored to be
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
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