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09/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A matchup at home versus the struggling New York Mets should translate into Tommy Hanson's first victory in nearly two months, but things just haven't gone the right-hander's way as of late.
Hanson will look to halt his winless stretch at 10 straight starts this evening, when the Atlanta Braves try to make it five straight victories overall in the third contest of a four-game set with New York at Turner Field.
Hanson has several factors working in his favor tonight. First is the fact that the Mets have lost 15 of their last 21 meetings with the Braves, as well as 11 of the past 14 played between the teams at Turner Field.
Run support has also been an issue when Hanson has been on the mound, but the Braves have plated 18 runs in the first two games of this set and have scored at least seven runs in six of their last nine contests.
Still, the fact remains that Hanson hasn't won since July 3, having gone 0-5 with a 3.08 earned run average in 10 starts since. He has also lost in each of his last two starts and served up four homers and seven runs -- six earned -- in a 7-1 loss to the Marlins on Friday.
"I left some balls up to start the game," said Hanson, who is 8-10 with a 3.76 ERA this year. "I never got into a rhythm, never really got anything going."
Luck hasn't been on his side when facing the Mets this year. He is 0-1 in two starts against the club, despite a 1.69 ERA.
Hopefully Atlanta can keep swinging a hot bat for Hanson in this contest. The club certainly did that on Tuesday, when David Ross capped a seven-run fifth inning with his first career grand slam to help the Braves to a 9-2 victory.
"That was a fun game," said Ross. "Any time I can succeed and contribute to a win feels good. It's just nice that I had a good game. I have to do my part whenever I get in there."
Derrek Lee added three hits and an RBI and Jason Hayward smacked a two-run double for the Braves, who have won four straight and maintained a three-game edge over Philadelphia for first place in the National League East. Atlanta will try to win five games in a row for the first time since June 16-20.
The Braves are expected to add more offense to the lineup today as rosters expand. The team is expected to promote first baseman Freddie Freeman, the International League's Rookie of the Year who hit .319 with 18 homers and 87 RBI for Triple-A Gwinnett this year.
Jeff Francoeur and Henry Blanco each drove in a run for the Mets, who have dropped five of their last seven. Francoeur was then traded to the Rangers for infielder Joaquin Arias after the game .
Jon Niese took the loss, though five of the eight runs he allowed over 4 2/3 innings were unearned.
"It's a combination of things," said David Wright. "Obviously we don't want to make errors and you hope that when you do make an error that the pitcher can pick you up. Unfortunately, neither one of those things happened. We made the errors and couldn't stop the bleeding. When you're facing a team this good, you can't give them extra outs."
Mets shortstop Jose Reyes missed his fifth game in a row due to a right oblique injury, while teammate Angel Pagan also sat out last night due to a right wrist injury that has him day-to-day.
The good news for the Mets is that Mike Pelfrey has seemed to regain his early season form that saw him start the year 10-2. The right-hander then went winless over seven straight starts and four consecutive decisions between June 30-Aug. 4, but is 3-1 with a 1.20 ERA over his last four starts.
Pelfrey has won each of his last two starts, going eight innings in both. He held Houston to just six hits without a run on Friday, improving to 13-7 with a 3.61 ERA this year.
"Henry [Blanco] and I have gone back to the four-seam fastball," Pelfrey said in talking about his recent string of successful outings. "It's something we did earlier in the year and I've gotten back to using it again. [Friday] I was fortunate, I was pretty erratic to say the least. I felt like when it came time to, though, I made some pitches."
The 26-year-old Pelfrey is 2-2 with a 3.80 ERA in four starts versus the Braves this season.
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given this series some extra juice.
Morgan and Washington will conclude what could end u
<< Heavy-hitting Yanks continue series with A's
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Six homers in two games and four consecutive victories have
helped the New York Yankees regain sole possession of first place in the
American League East. If they want to stay there, A.J. Burnett better figure
things out in a
<< Angels take on Seattle's Vargas in series finale
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have had plenty of
difficulty producing runs as of late, and recent history says the team could
be in for a tough time again in tonight's matchup with Jason Vargas and the
Seattle
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of aces desperate for a win collide tonight in the
Bay area, as Ubaldo Jimenez leads the Colorado Rockies into the finale of a
three-game series with Tim Lincecum and the rival San Francisco Giants.
Jimenez is tied
AP Source: Big Ten will announce divisions tonight >>
A person familiar with the discussions says the Big Ten plans to announce Wednesday night how it will break up into two divisions.The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the conference hasn't released the
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Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt has
yet to decide whether Matt Leinart or Derek Anderson will be the starting
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West Virginia opens 2010 campaign against FCS foe Coastal Carolina >>
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The West Virginia Mountaineers try to prove
they are worthy of being ranked 25th in the nation as they open the 2010
season with a home date against the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina on
Saturday afternoon.
Auburn opens at home against Arkansas State >>
Auburn, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 22nd-ranked Auburn Tigers of the
Southeastern Conference kick off the 2010 season with a home game against the
Arkansas State Red Wolves of the Sun Belt Conference.
Arkansas State posted just a 4-8 record la
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.
Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.
Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.
A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.
Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.
Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.
And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.
2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win
Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1
Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1
Donald Brown (IND) 5/1
Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1
Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1
Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1
Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1
Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1
Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1
Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1
Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1
Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1
Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1
Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1
Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1
Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1
Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1
LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1
Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2
Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1
Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1
Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1
Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1
Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1
Jason Smith (STL) 40/1
Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1
Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1
Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1
Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2
Pat White (MIA) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 9/1
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