Cardinals From Verlander Series

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Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs agreed to terms on non-guaranteed split contracts with pitchers Andy Sonnanstine and Manny Corpas on Monday. Both contracts were for the 2012 season.

 

In 2011 Sonnanstine made 15 appearances -- four starts -- with the Rays and posted an 0-2 record with a 5.55 ERA.

 

Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Prince Fielder no closer to finding a home and no other news in sight, Major League Baseball appears to be officially closed for business until 2012. So, of course, there is no better time than now to reflect on the top stories of the past year. Without further ado and in no particular order, here are the top stories from the past year:

 

If you told fans in St. Louis back in the beginning of August that their team would be the ones left standing at the end of the season, they'd probably say you were nuts. The Cards found themselves 10 1/2 games out of a playoff spot in late August only to go 23-8 down the stretch and secured the wild card spot on the final day of the regular season.

 

After falling behind 3-2 in that set, the Cards were down to their last strike twice in Game 6, but rallied for an extra-inning win to force a seventh game. The Cardinals didn't need any late-inning heroics in that one, though, as series MVP David Freese's two-run double in the first inning set the stage for the team's second title in six years.

 

The 67-year-old skipper goes out as the third winningest manager in major league history with 2,728 victories for the White Sox (1979-1986), Athletics (1986-1995) and Cardinals (1996-present). Only Connie Mack has managed more games than the 5,097 La Russa has skippered.

 

PUJOLS TAKES THE MONEY AND RUNS TO ANAHEIM

 

But some people were skeptical of the reports that the Cardinals had, in fact, gone to 10 years. And let's be honest -- if they had, what was all the fuss? If that were the case, the deal should have been locked up a couple of days ago.

 

As for Pujols? Well, his legacy takes a hit. You always think more of players who stay in one place rather than those who move on, especially those who do it for money. Plus, St. Louis is one of those special franchises where it just means more to stay there your whole career.

 

He'll never be mentioned alongside Stan Musial again, that's for sure.

 

You knew coming into the season that New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter's run to 3,000 hits was going to get a lot of play. HBO announced along the way that it would be putting out a documentary entailing the Yankee captain's pursuit and that was just the tip of the iceberg of endless coverage that was actually delayed when the 37-year-old was sidelined with a calf injury six hits shy.

 

JUSTIN VERLANDER'S INCREDIBLE SEASON

 

Verlander was sensational this season for the Tigers. as he became the 12th hurler in the last 50 years to win pitching's Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (24), ERA (2.40) and strikeouts (250). He was the first AL pitcher to accomplish the feat since Johan Santana in '06 and the first Tigers hurler to do it since Hal Newhouser in 1945.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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