Managerial madness and analyzing the division races

Baseball Betting Lines

08/16/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I thought it was time to mention one of my favorite and most frequently used baseball terms. It's called the "managerial muff". This applies to situations where major league managers make mind- boggling and extremely stupid decisions that make you shake your head in disbelief.

Such is the case with the recent lineups of Angels manager Mike Scioscia. I always thought that your power guys were supposed to bat in the middle of the lineup, but Scioscia doesn't seem to subscribe to that theory,

Unless he's picking his lineups out of a hat, how do you have Maicer Izturis (,249 BA, .312 OBP, .368 SLG) batting as high as third in the order and as many as four spots ahead of Mike Napoli (19 HR, .481 SLG), the Angels' leading home run hitter who's also second on the team in slugging percentage.

The biggest bonehead move came on Sunday against Toronto's talented lefty Ricky Romero. Scioscia batted the switch-hitting Izturis ahead of Napoli despite some statistics that suggest the move exhibits a blatant lack of judgment.

Here are the pertinent numbers for both players versus lefty pitchers this season, ones that the Angels manager may have wanted to take into consideration in constructing his lineup for the game.

Izturis .250 BA/.333 SLG, Napoli .343 BA/.636 SLG

Sure enough, Napoli homered off Romero for the Angels' lone run while Izturis went 0-3. At least Scioscia doesn't have to worry about these blunders affecting the division race, with the Angels 8 1/2 games back (10 in the loss column) of the first-place Rangers.

The AL West is the only division that's not up for grabs. Let's break down how the rest of the races are shaping up.

AL East: I thought after the All Star break the Yankees would have a more comfortable lead over the Rays at this point, but Tampa refuses to go away, sitting just one game back of the first-place Bronx Bombers.

The Yanks took a big hit when they lost their second-best starter, Andy Pettitte, to a groin injury on July 18, and are still unsure when he'll return. They also haven't been helped by the up-and-down performances of last year's number two starter AJ Burnett (9-10, 4.66 ERA), and Javier Vazquez is starting to trot out his disappearing act again (6.43 ERA over his last five starts).

The Rays, meanwhile, have had to deal with even more injuries, with two of their starting pitchers currently on the DL (Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis) along with their top home run hitter, Carlos Pena. One of the holes in the rotation has been filled extremely well by rookie Jeremy Hellickson. The 23-year old righty has been tremendous in all three of his starts, putting up a 3-0 mark with a 1.35 ERA, 0.60 WHIP and an amazing .135 batting-average-against.

I think this race will go down to the wire with the Yankees having a slight edge because of the better lineup. However, one caveat is that if Pettitte comes back and doesn't return to form, I like the Rays to come out on top.

By the way, for the Fenway Faithful, your team hasn't been mentioned here because you have only two reliable starting pitchers and a very unreliable closer.

AL Central: The White Sox were able to make the long climb back into the race on the strength of their starting rotation. They'll have to continue to pitch at a high level to win the division because their offense is not in the Twins' league.

I didn't think Minnesota's rotation was good enough to keep them in contention despite having the far superior lineup, but that's changed with the emergence of Brian Duensing. Since becoming a starter on July 28, he's gone 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA. Overall, he's 6-1 with a 2.00 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP.

The other area that will play a key role in the race is the bullpen. Closer Bobby Jenks, who is suffering from back spasms, has made manager Ozzie Guillen suffer way too much this season with his 4.97 ERA. Set-up man JJ Putz was moved into the injured Jenks' role and proceeded to lose consecutive games to the Tigers on Saturday and Sunday. The Twins, meanwhile, strengthened their pen by acquiring All-Star closer Matt Capps from the Nationals before the trade deadline. He's allowed just one earned run in nine games since the deal.

Minnesota currently holds a three-game lead over the Sox. I think they have enough starting pitching to go along with their edge both offensively and in the bullpen to be able to repeat as Central Division champs.

NL East: The Phillies have stayed within striking distance of the first-place Braves despite the absence of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. They hope to have Utley back in the lineup on Tuesday and Howard later in the week.

During their absence the Phils made a huge addition to their rotation with the acquisition of Roy Oswalt. The former Houston ace now gives Philadelphia a strong trio joining Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels.

While the Phillies bolstered their staff with the Oswalt trade, the Braves suffered a big loss when Kris Medlen (6-2, 3.98 ERA) went down with a season- ending elbow injury that will require Tommy John surgery. Six days later, Chipper Jones was lost for the rest of the year with a torn ACL.

With Philadelphia getting healthy and Atlanta losing two key players, you have to like the Phillies' chances to win a fourth straight division title.

NL Central: The Reds have the better lineup and the Cardinals the superior pitching. St. Louis has three pitchers in the top ten in ERA with Adam Wainwright ranking first, Jamie Garcia seventh and Chris Carpenter ninth. The Reds have two question marks in their rotation with rookie Mike Leake struggling and fifth starter Aaron Harang on the DL, but the latter will eventually return to the mound with his 5.02 ERA.

The Cardinals lineup got weaker with the trade of Ryan Ludwick, but I have to go with the team that possesses those two horses at the top of the rotation (Carpenter and Wainwright) to come out on top.

NL West: The Giants have the household names on their staff, but the Padres lead the National League in ERA. San Francisco also has the two-time Cy Young winner in Tim Lincecum, but it's the Padres' 22-year old Mat Latos (12-5, 2.32 ERA) who has been the best starter among these two division contenders. Lincecum is actually looking mortal this season and is really struggling lately, going 3-5 with a 4.88 ERA over his last ten starts.

I thought if the Padres could add some pop to their lineup at the trade deadline, they would be the team to beat in the West, and they did just that by acquiring the aforementioned Ludwick. He's paid immediate dividends, with three home runs and seven RBI in his first 13 games with San Diego.

With enough offense to support a solid rotation and one of the game's best bullpens, the Padres should be able to stay on top the rest of the way.

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MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.

NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.

Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.

Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
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Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&amp;M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6

For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com