Brewers battle for first place in NL Central

Baseball Betting Lines

04/20/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers entered the 2007 season with high expectations with the acquisitions of a few key players.

The team acquired veteran catcher Johnny Estrada and starter Claudio Vargas in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Brewers also added free agent pitcher Jeff Suppan, who should help add depth in the rotation should ace Ben Sheets go down with an injury.

The team, though, will still rely on Sheets to be their workhorse.

"He has a chance to be in the upper tier of National League starting pitchers," explained manager Ned Yost, "Personally, I believe top five. But like anyone else on the team, he has to go out and do it. It's time for all of us to stand up and produce."

In the first 15 games of the early season the Brew Crew are 9-6, good enough to lead the Central Division by a half game over the Houston Astros.

For the most part the starting pitching has been pretty steady, while closer Francisco Cordero is a perfect five-for-five in save opportunities.

Meanwhile, the offense is paced by Rickie Weeks, who is leading the team in home runs and stolen bases. The platoon of Kevin Mench and Geoff Jenkins seems to be working as both are hitting over .300 for the season.

Most recently the Brewers swept a short two game series against the Pirates, in doing so Yost won his 300th game as the Brewers skipper.

"The win means more than the 300," said Yost, after the game. "It's always a good sign when you're not playing your best baseball but you're still winning baseball games."

WHO'S HOT

Weeks leads the team in home runs with four and also leads the team with three stolen bases. Mench, despite not playing everyday, has compiled a .405 batting average and is tied for the team lead in doubles with five.

As for the pitchers, Chris Capuano is 2-0 in three starts with a 2.81 ERA and has recorded 15 strikeouts. Also Vargas is 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA and has punched out 22 batters in just 13 innings. Finally Cordero has been stellar as he has converted on all five save opportunities and is sporting a perfect 0.00 ERA in seven full innings of work.

WHO"S NOT

The platoon at third base is not working. Both Tony Graffanino (.226) and Craig Counsel (.233) are struggling offensively. Sheets who started out 1-0 has dropped his last two starts and is sporting a 5.85 ERA.

OTHER NOTES

Disgruntled relief pitcher Jose Capellan finally reported to Triple-A and will soon be re-joining the club. Hopefully for the Brewers all of the hard feelings towards management for optioning him to the minors will pass. Having him in the pen will give Yost another solid option.

UP NEXT

Milwaukee will host the Houston Astros in an early battle for control of the NL Central. In the first gameSheets (1-2, 5.85 ERA) will face newly promoted Matt Albers (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Sheets went 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA last season against the Astros.

In the second game, Capuano (2-0, 2.81 ERA) will face Wandy Rodriguez (0-1, 2.77 ERA). Capuano is coming off of two impressive performances, while Rodriguez is carrying a seven-game losing streak that dates back to July of last season.

Finally in the series finale, Dave Bush (1-1, 5.82 ERA) will go head-to-head with ace Roy Oswalt (3-0, 2.89 ERA). Bush was 2-0 with a 2.17 ERA last year against Houston. As for Oswalt, he is pitching extremely well so far, as he held the Florida Marlins to one run in 6 1/3 innings of work.

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MySportsbook.com week 1 NFL lines


Now that the 2008 NFL schedule is finally out, it is only matter-of-course for lines on “Week 1” to follow.  Of course MySportsbook.com is the first to churn out odds for the NFL’s inaugural week for the upcoming season.   Expect a lot of fireworks the first Thursday night of the season as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts face off against the surprise of the 2008 season, the New Orleans Saints.  These teams were ranked #1 and #3 in the NFL respectively a season ago so a high scoring affair could be in order.  As of now, the Colts will be giving 6 points to the Saints; keep in mind the Saints were one of the better road teams last season going 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS.  The first Monday night of the season will again provide a “double feature”. Coming off a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to get back to playoffs and improve their public image as they take on the AFC North favorite Baltimore Ravens.  The second game features a couple of teams that haven’t had too much success recently but each could make some noise if the NFC is as weak as it was last year as the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals. The most interesting game of the opening week will feature the NFC champion Bears as they hit the road to take on the NFL’s top team during last year’s regular season, the San Diego Chargers.

MySportsbook.com Week 1 odds:

Saints +6 @ Colts -6

Falcons @ Vikings (pick ‘em)

Panthers @ Rams (pick ‘em)

Broncos -3.5 @ Bills +3.5

Chiefs -1 @ Texans +1

Dolphins +3 @ Redskins -3

Patriots -5 @ Jets +5

Eagles -3.5 @ Packers +3.5

Steelers -4 @ Browns +4

Titans +6 @ Jaguars -6

Bears +6 @ Chargers -6

Lions +3 @ Raiders -3

Bucs +6.5 @ Seahawks -6.5

Giants +4 @ Cowboys -4

Ravens +3 @ Bengals -3

Cardinals +3 @ 49ers -3

 Super Bowl line (2008)

NFC +6.5 vs. AFC -6.5

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