Sanchez, Rodriguez help Astros blank Brewers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Angel Sanchez drove in two runs and Wandy Rodriguez tossed eight scoreless innings, as the Houston Astros dominated the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-0, in the second test of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.

Rodriguez (9-11) allowed five hits, struck out nine and walked one to win his third straight start. The left-hander is 6-1 over his last seven starts, allowing one earned run or fewer in five of those games.

Chris Johnson, Jeff Keppinger, Jason Michaels, and Michael Bourn each had an RBI for the Astros, who have won four in a row. First baseman Brett Wallace went 0-for-4 in his MLB debut.

Earlier Saturday, Houston traded veteran first baseman Lance Berkman and cash to the New York Yankees in exchange for pitcher Mark Melancon and infielder Jimmy Paredes.

Dave Bush (5-9) got rocked in five frames, giving up six runs on 10 hits for the Brewers, who have dropped four straight games. The right-hander fell to 1-3 in his last four starts.

After the Brewers stranded runners on the corners in the top of the first, the Astros plated two runs in the home half. Bourn walked, stole second, and scored on Sanchez's base hit. Keppinger followed with a single to put men on first and second. Hunter Pence grounded out to move the runners up a base, and a Michaels sacrifice fly made it 2-0.

Houston got three more runs off Bush in the second to build a 5-0 lead. Johnson and Jason Castro started things with consecutive singles. Bourn hit an RBI double two batters later. Sanchez's RBI groundout and Keppinger's run- scoring single capped the scoring in the frame.

Johnson's RBI double in the fifth extended the Astros' margin to six.

Rodriguez retired nine straight batters before giving up a leadoff double to Ryan Braun in the seventh. Casey McGehee struck out and Jonathan Lucroy flied out in front of Alcides Escobar's walk. Carlos Gomez, though, struck out to end the threat.

Houston reliever Tim Byrdak loaded the bases with one out in the ninth. Nelson Figueroa then took over on the hill and struck out Escobar and pinch-hitter Joe Inglett.

Game Notes

The Astros lead the season series with the Brewers, 5-3...On Thursday, Houston acquired pitcher J.A. Happ and minor leaguers Jonathan Villar and Anthony Gose from the Phillies in exchange for pitcher Roy Oswalt. The Astros then made a second deal, sending Gose to Toronto for Wallace, who had his contract purchased from Triple-A Round Rock prior to Saturday's game. Houston also transferred pitcher Felipe Paulino from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list...Johnson extended his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest by an Astros rookie since Julio Lugo's 14-game run in 2000...Milwaukee lost 5-0 in the series opener on Friday and is 0-for-19 with runners in scoring position over the first two games of this set.

Wwwworldwidegamble Baseball Betting News

<< Congi kicks Saskatchewan over Hamilton
Regina, SK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luca Congi made seven field goals and Wes Cates added two short rushing touchdowns, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders pulled away from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for a 37-24 victory at Mosaic Stadium. Congi was

<< Slowey and Twins shut down slumping Seattle
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Slowey threw eight shutout innings to outduel Seattle's Felix Hernandez and keep the Twins rolling in a 4-0 victory. Slowey (10-5) gave up three hits, struck out five and didn't walk a batter to pitc

<< Kouzmanoff, Braden help A's stop streaking White Sox
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Kouzmanoff finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle and Dallas Braden tossed a complete game to lead Oakland to a 6-2 victory over Chicago in the second installment of a three-game set. Kouzma

<< Hamilton scratched from lineup
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, the leader in the majors in batting average, was scratched from Saturday's lineup against the Angels because of patella tendinitis in his right knee. David Murphy

<< Oilers come to terms with Deslauriers
Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Goaltender Jeff Deslauriers has come to terms on a one-year contract to remain with the Edmonton Oilers. The 26-year-old Deslauriers went 16-28-4 with a 3.26 goals against average in 48 games last season. H

Cano lifts Yanks over Rays; A-Rod still stuck on 599 >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Just after Alex Rodriguez failed to club career homer No. 600, Robinson Cano belted a solo shot to right field with one out in the ninth inning, providing the New York Yankees with a 5-4 win over the Ray

Busch dominant in Nationwide win at Iowa >>
Newton, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Busch put on a dominating performance to easily win Saturday's U.S. Cellular 250 Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway. Busch led 208 of 250 laps, but fell back to seventh for a late-race restart after t

Zimmerman's homer lifts Nationals over Phillies >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Zimmerman's three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth led the Washington Nationals to a 7-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the second of a three-game set. After the Phillies took

Gonzo's HR in ninth lifts Rockies over Cubs >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Gonzalez lead-off home run in the ninth inning gave the Colorado Rockies a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs in the second of a three-game set. Gonzalez led off the bottom of the inning against Sean Ma

Browns agree to terms with Haden >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns have signed cornerback Joe Haden, the seventh overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, to a multi-year contract. No terms of the contract were released, but according to a report earli

MySportsbook features easy-to-use online betting software that’s the most reliable in the industry. If you’re looking to bet underdogs, then this Sportsbook is the place - we have the best betting lines in the business. MySportsbook is your one-stop shop for all your betting needs - sports betting, poker, casino, and horse betting . MySportsbook offers every bet type with lightning fast settlement of wagers. Take advantage of free statistical analysis - including against-the-spread and straight-up trends - in MySportsbook’s game previews section. With MySportsbook there are unlimited free deposits and payouts - and no transaction fees!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.

FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

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.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.