Posts Tagged ‘Atlanta Braves’

2010 MLB Playoff Series Lines & 2010 World Series Odds

October 26th, 2010 by Adam Markowitz (Bankroll Sports Columnist) | Posted in MLB Baseball   2 Comments »

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Complete List of World Series Lines Can Be Found Below

The World Series comes down to the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers! Here at Bankroll Sports, we’ll be updating the World Series odds from a ton of sportsbooks, and we’ll keep updating our World Series schedule.

The Rangers are the slight favorite to cash in on the Fall Classic, and the reason for that is because LHP Cliff Lee is likely to be able to pitch in Game 1, Game 5, and in relief in Game 7 if necessary. Texas has also had a fantastic offense in this postseason and has had a ton of batters hit at least .300. Speed has also killed both the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays so far in the playoffs. The Rangers have been making a ton of deer antlers in the dugout, especially for the 15 stolen bases in 11 games.

The Giants have a fantastic pitching staff though, and should not be messed with. RHP Matt Cain has yet to give up a run in the playoffs, and RHP Tim Lincecum already has a shutout, a win over Philadelphia Phillies’ RHP Roy Halladay, and a hold to his credit in this postseason. The only problem is that the offense has been iffy at best, as there are only two men, C Buster Posey and OF Cody Ross, that are hitting at least .300 for the playoffs.

Pitching Probables for the World Series

Game 1: Wednesday, October 27th, 2010, 7:57 ET: Cliff Lee (L) @ Tim Lincecum (R)
Game 2: Thursday, October 28th, 2010, 7:57 ET: CJ Wilson (L) @ Matt Cain (R)
Game 3: Saturday, October 30th, 2010, 6:57 ET: Jonathan Sanchez (L) @ Colby Lewis (R)
Game 4: Sunday, October 31st, 2010, 8:20 ET: Madison Bumgarner (L) @ Tommy Hunter (R)
Game 5 (if necessary): Monday, November 1st, 2010, 7:57 ET: Tim Lincecum (R) @ Cliff Lee (L)
Game 6 (if necessary): Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010, 7:57 ET: CJ Wilson (L) @ Matt Cain (R)
Game 7 (if necessary): Thursday, November 4th, 2010, 7:57 ET: Colby Lewis (R) @ Jonathan Sanchez (L)


Current 2010 World Series Odds @ Bodog Sportsbook (as of 10/26/10):
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Texas Rangers (-145) vs. San Francisco Giants

Latest Odds To Win The 2010 World Series @ 5 Dimes Sportsbook (as of 10/26/10):
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Texas Rangers (-136) vs. San Francisco Giants

Latest Odds To Win The 2010 World Series @ Oddsmaker Sportsbook (as of 10/26/10):
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Texas Rangers (-150) vs. San Francisco Giants

Current 2010 World Series Odds @ BetUS Sportsbook (as of 10/26/10):
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Texas Rangers (-145) @ San Francisco Giants

2010 MLB Trade Deadline Report Cards

August 2nd, 2010 by Adam Markowitz (Bankroll Sports Columnist) | Posted in MLB Baseball   Comments Off on 2010 MLB Trade Deadline Report Cards
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The MLB non-waiver trade deadline came and went on Saturday at 4:00 PM, and though there was a flurry of action right before the wire, several teams were left out in the cold in their quest to better themselves for the rest of this season. Check out how we graded the teams in the hunt for October at Bankroll Sports!

Atlanta Braves: The only move the Braves made during this trade season was picking up SS Alex Gonzalez from the Toronto Blue Jays. How has that move worked out so far? Gonzalez is batting .259 with six extra base hits, one homers, and three RBIs in 15 games with Atlanta. The man he was traded for, SS Yunel Escobar is batting .323 with three dingers and nine RBIs. We won’t mention the two prospects that the Braves gave up in this deal as well. Oops. Look out from behind Atlanta, as the pack is coming to get you in the NL East. Final Grade: D-

Philadelphia Phillies: Give some props to the Phils for going out and getting their man in RHP Roy Oswalt. This is clearly a sign that the boys from the City of Brotherly Love are going for gold once again in the National League. However, this could be a case of too little, too late. The Phils are 3.5 games out of the Wild Card in the race in the NL and are 2.5 back of the Braves. Giving up LHP JA Happ and some prospects to take on all that payroll is risky, but the move worked last year with LHP Cliff Lee. It could work again this year. We love the guts, but aren’t so sure it will be worth the glory. Final Grade: B-

New York Mets: The Mets badly needed to add at least 1-2 starting pitchers at the trade deadline and missed out on everyone. At 6.5 games out from the NL East race and 7.5 back with a trillion teams to hop in the NL Wild Card, the season appears to be over in the Big Apple. GM Omar Minaya badly needed to make a move and failed miserably. Final Grade: F

St. Louis Cardinals: The brass of the Cardinals made a bold move by giving up OF Ryan Ludwick and some minor league prospect talent to get RHP Jake Westbrook from the Cleveland Indians. We aren’t so sure about bringing in a guy who didn’t pitch at all last season and is only 6-7 with a 4.65 ERA this year, but Westbrook does bring some valuable experience. He could be a great fourth pitcher in the postseason behind Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Jamie Wright. Final Grade: B

Cincinnati Reds: The Reds really didn’t do much at the trade deadline, and they really didn’t seem all that active on the phones either. There’s a reason for that. Though Cincinnati is in position to make the playoffs now, it is also in a spot to be able to make a run at a number of NL Central titles in the future and everyone knows it. There was no reason to tinker with what was going on. Final Grade: A

San Diego Padres: Hats off to the Padres for getting this trade deadline exactly right. The pitching staff as a whole needed no tweaking whatsoever, as this has been arguably the most consistent unit 1-12 in the majors all season long. A bat would come in handy though in the NL West race, and that’s exactly what San Diego got with OF Ryan Ludwick. Ludwick has all sorts of pop in his bat and has already blasted 11 homers in 77 games this season. Look for him to help boost an offense that struggles at times. Picking up SS/3B Miguel Tejada brings a veteran leader into a very young clubhouse. The Padres are clearly going for glory this year and we love it. Final Grade: A

Los Angeles Dodgers : Someone was going to be trading for Chicago’s LHP Ted Lilly, but at least the Dodgers didn’t give up the farm to get him. Giving up on Blake Dewitt might come back to bit LA in the butt, but at least it acquired handy utility man Ryan Theriot in this deal as well. The Dodgers are 6.5 games behind the playoff chase, but this should at least help a bit in the quest to get back in it. Adding OF Scott Podsednik and RHP Octavio Dotel might help as well. This might not be enough to get the job done, though. Final Grade: B+

Colorado Rockies: Shame on you, Colorado. The Rockies badly needed to go out and find a bat for the middle of the lineup and they failed to do so. Is this a sign on giving up on the season? Didn’t we learn anything last year from the hunt for Rocktober??? Final Grade: F

San Francisco Giants: San Fran had plenty of chances to go out and get a bat in the outfield to improve the team, but the Giants felt the need to stand pat instead. We can’t blame them. This is probably the best chance the team has had to win in years, and the squad has a nice chemistry. 61 wins is tied for the NL lead. Final Grade: B

New York Yankees: The Bronx Bombers added three key pieces to the puzzle on the final hours before the trade deadline, picking up OFs Lance Berkman and Austin Kearns as well as reliever Kerry Wood. Leave it up to GM Brian Cashman to make the moves to make the Yankees win now, but the future seemed to be mortgaged just a bit by giving up a slew of prospects. Final Grade: B-

Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays badly needed a bat, but instead, GM Andrew Freidman elected to go with a bullpen arm instead. He clearly bought RHP Chad Qualls at a cheap price, as his ERA was over 8.00 with Arizona this year. Two seasons ago, the team made a similar move by picking up RHP Chad Bradford at the deadline, and he helped pitch Tampa Bay to the World Series. Could this be the same sort of situation? We’re not ones to doubt the cash strapped Rays. Final Grade: B

Boston Red Sox: If the Red Sox thought they were buyers at the trade deadline, why didn’t they take a chance at giving up some of their pitching in the minors for a quality bat? If they thought they were sellers, why not try to move some of these older pieces to the puzzle that aren’t going to be used in the future? We’re certainly puzzled at the fact that there was no activity in Beantown at the gun. Final Grade: D

Chicago White Sox: They needed a bat, but the White Sox grabbed a great arm instead in the form of RHP Edwin Jackson. Jackson will step into the rotation in the place of RHP Jake Peavy, who has been shut down for the year. With postseason experience, Jackson might be just the man to help pitch the Pale Hose into the second season in spite of the fact that he has had a miserable year. Being back in the AL should help where he thrived with Detroit and Tampa Bay the last two seasons. Final Grade: B+

Minnesota Twins: Yikes. Giving up on the best catching prospect in baseball for Matt Capps? We understand that Capps has had a good season as the Nationals closer, but do the Twinkies really need him? This is a troubling and puzzling move for Minnesota, which didn’t help out its situations in the outfield or in the starting rotation either. Final Grade: F

Detroit Tigers: GM Dave Dombrowski must have thought his Tigers were out of it, as they are currently seven games back in the AL Central. He’s probably right. Final Grade: C

Texas Rangers: The AL West race was probably all but over the day that LHP Cliff Lee was inked by the Rangers. As a team in bankruptcy, Texas certainly did a heck of a job making moves at the trade deadline, bolstering an offense as well that was already potent. With an eight game pad in the AL West, we have to give this team the best grade of any team at the deadline. Final Grade: A+

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Ok, so the Halos are probably out of the playoff race, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have a great trade deadline. Picking up RHP Dan Haren from the dismal Diamondbacks was a great move to make, not just for this season, but for the future. Haren is young and is still a great arm at the front end of any rotation. Giving up on a Sabermetric nightmare in LHP Joe Saunders was a very small price to pay. Final Grade: A

2009 National League East Preview

March 1st, 2009 by Rodney James (Bankroll Sports Contributor) | Posted in MLB Baseball   1 Comment »

The National League East Division looks to once again be set for a competitive race from start to finish. Last season, the divisional race came down to the last few games, only to see the Philadelphia Phillies win the division, and go on to not only win the National League crown, but also World Series Champions. The National League East is the only division in Baseball to see four of its teams in the World Series since the Wild Card came into play. Year after year the NL East continues to be put a rank below due to being part of the Junior Circuit, but in 2009 with some teams revamping their rosters, the NL East looks to put a group of teams together that could rival any other division in Baseball.

atlanta bravesThe Atlanta Braves from their Orlando Florida facility are still trying to figure out what happened to them in the free agent period, in which they were linked with numerous big names. Despite losing some of the names they were targeting(A.J. Burnett, Rafael Furcal), they were able to ink some quality players to fill the gaps. The Braves signed Derek Lowe and picked up Javier Vazquez in a trade from Chicago. Those two pitchers will look to anchor the Atlanta pitching staff, which lost John Smoltz to Boston in free agency. Tim Hudson will continue to be the staff ace, and with Atlanta continuing as suitors for the services of Jake Peavy, Atlanta’s rotation could be a force to reckon with. Youngster Tommy Hanson may get an opportunity to slide into Bobby Cox’s rotation. Hanson dominated the Arizona Fall League going 5-0 with a 0.63 era. Hanson is just 22 years old and has a mid 90’s fastball, along with a solid change-up. Offensively, the Braves will look to Jeff Francoeur to pick up his numbers from 2008. Francoeur appears to be the every day starting right fielder with Matt Diaz and Brandon Jones battling it out this spring for left field. Neither Diaz or Jones had a spectacular 2008 season, so Atlanta hopes for breakout seasons from both of these youngsters. Kelly Johnson will be the starting second basemen, and while he has a solid bat in the line-up, his defensive presence at second base is just marginal. Chipper Jones had an excellent 2008 season winning the batting title by hitting .364 with 22 homeruns and 75rbi’s. The 36 year old Jones will start his 16th full season in the major leagues as the starting third basemen once again for Atlanta.

florida marlinsThe Florida Marlins will look to improve upon their 84-77 record of 2008. The Marlins, as they train in Jupiter Florida appeared to have gotten younger over the off-season. Being one of the youngest teams in baseball in 2008, it would seem difficult to become even younger, but Florida did just that. Florida dealt away Scott Olsen, Josh Willingham, and Mike Jacobs. They picked up youngsters such as Emilio Bonifacio, but he may have to play a new position to get quality time as a starter in 2009. Dan Uggla mans second base(same position as Bonifacio) for the Marlins. Of course the offense begins and ends with star shortstop Hanley Ramirez. Florida locked Ramirez up for six years and $70 million. The Marlins do not plan to add to their payroll, which will mean cutting ties with Dan Uggla, when that time comes. Cameron Maybin will look to get his opportunity to become a starting outfielder in the major leagues. Maybin is 22 years old. He will most likely be the lead-off batter for the Marlins, but that seems to be a lot of pressure put on a kid that has played in just 32 games in the big leagues. In the pitching department, Josh Johnson has turned into a staff ace, and will fight for 20 wins in 2009, with Ricky Nolasco coming in at #2. The rest of the staff is very young and inexperienced. The bullpen lost Kevin Gregg to Chicago, and will  now turn to Matt Lindstrom to close out games. Scott Proctor, Leo Nunez and Logan Kensing also appear to be fighting for late inning roles out of the bullpen. 

New York MetsThe New York Mets appeared to have the best off-season in the division. A year after winning 89 games, but coming up short in both the division and the wildcard, New York made quite the splash in the free agent department. The Mets signed Francisco Rodriguez to nail down games, and also J.J. Putz, who appears to be thrown into the set-up man roll for New York. The Mets training facility in Port St. Lucie sure got a new look Mets bullpen, as during the off season they dumped seven members of that pen. Joe Smith, Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoeneweis were among the crew not re-signed by New York. The Mets picked up Freddie  Garcia and Tim Redding to go along with a rotation with Johan Santana and John Maine at the top and Oliver Perez as a solid lefty. Santana’s health may be an issue early in the season as he is dealing with coming off knee surgery on his left knee. Rookie Fernando Martinez may get an opportunity to be in the starting lineup, as an outfielder, as New York was not able to pick up Manny Ramirez or Bobby Abreu in the off-season. The Mets will have to go with Martinez, or they could settle with anyone of the following: Fernando Tatis, Nick Evans or Daniel Murphy. The question for New York is, can guys such as Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran, along with Jose Reyes and David Wright stay healthy enough, and be productive enough for an entire 162 game slate?

philadelphia philliesThings are a little more upbeat in 2009 at the Phillies complex in Clearwater Florida. But the jubilation will quickly turn to business as the Philadelphia Phillies under Charlie Manual will look to repeat their 2008 World Championship. Philadelphia did not make a huge splash in the free agent market, but two moves they did make may prove to be very keen, as they locked up both Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels to long term deals. With Howard in the line-up and Hamels at the front of the rotation, Philadelphia should continue to stay, at the least, very competitive. Now add in Chase Utley,  the age-less Jamie Moyer and Brad Lidge and you are once again looking at a championship caliber ball club. The Phillies did not re-sign Pat Burrell, and instead signed Raul Ibanez to a three year deal. Chan Ho Park was added to help Hamels and Moyer out in the rotation. Joe Blanton and Brett Myers will hold the three-four positions within the rotation, with youngsters such as J.A. Happ and Kyle Kendrick battling with Park for the final spot. The Phillies have three major league ready catchers in Carlos Ruiz, Chris Coste and Ronny Paulino, but they all may take a back seat to youngster Lou Marson. Marson is a 22 year old that hit .308 for Team USA during the 2008 Olympics. Utley may miss a portion of the start of the season, after having off season hip surgery. Marcus Giles was signed to a minor league contract and may see time at second base to keep Utley’s position warm. J.C Romero will serve a 50 game suspension to start the season, which will inevitably hurt the back end of the bullpen. Finding a serviceable left hander may not be an easy task for the defending champs.

washington nationalsThe Washington Nationals open up their spring training slate in Viera Florida coming off a 59-102 season in 2008. The Nationals signed Adam Dunn to a two year $20 million contract. Dunn will look to be the Nationals most dangerous hitter in their lineup. Dunn has hit 40+ homeruns in five straight seasons. Washington also picked up Daniel Cabrera and Scott Olsen. Both of these pitchers have loads of talent, but also are unproven. They also both have a shot at being the staff ace, after last seasons ace Tim Redding left the team. Redding won 10 games for Washington in 2008. Jordan Zimmerman, a 22 year old starting pitcher may get an opportunity to get some starts for the Nationals. The Washington front office would like to see Zimmerman remain at AAA for one more season, but injuries and lack of production may force their hand earlier than desired. The outfield is a bit of a log jam for Washington. Five guys appear to be battling for three positions. Willie Harris, Lastings Milledge and Austin Kearns got the majority of time last season, but if Willingham is healthy, he will see a great deal of time. Elijah Dukes has talent, but it has yet to convert to quality numbers at the professional level. Willie Harris has the advantage of being very versatile, and could possibly move to another position, such as second, short or third.

Who will win the National League East in 2009?

  • Atlanta Braves (36%, 39 Votes)
  • New York Mets (29%, 31 Votes)
  • Philadelphia Phillies (22%, 24 Votes)
  • Florida Marlins (10%, 11 Votes)
  • Washington Nationals (3%, 3 Votes)

Total Voters: 108