Brewers responding after no-no

Baseball Betting Lines

06/21/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sometimes, before you can begin the road of recovery, you need to first hit rock bottom. Over dramatic, yes, but that moment may have happened for the Milwaukee Brewers over a week ago.

Milwaukee had just 10 wins in its last 29 games before getting no-hit by Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers on June 12. That embarrassing setback dropped the Brewers to 34-30 on the season, but luckily still good for a 5 1/2-game lead over Chicago and St. Louis for first place in the NL Central.

Since then however, the Brew Crew has gone 7-1 to push their mark back up to 41-31. Milwaukee has won three straight series and is 10 games over .500 for the first time since late May.

The club has also seen its lead in the division stretch to 7 1/2 games over the Cardinals.

The Brewers wrapped a recent nine-game road trip 5-4 on Sunday before kicking off a nine-game homestand the following day. The franchise had lost three of the first four games on the trek, including the no-hitter, but then ripped off four straight wins, two at Detroit and another two in Minnesota.

"We're on a bit of a roll right now, which is nice," Brewers manager Ned Yost said after his team bested the Twins 5-2 on Saturday.

Milwaukee then closed out the trip with a 10-9 loss to the Twins before sweeping the Giants in three games to begin its homestand.

The series was an interesting one to say the least because it featured an appearance by Barry Bonds, who is chasing Hank Aaron's home run record of 755. Aaron, of course, spent the majority of his career in Milwaukee, first with the then Milwaukee Braves before ending his it with the Brewers.

Yost admitted on his club's official Web site that Bonds' visit was an event.

"But it's not because of any other factor than he's a great player," Yost told the site. "We look at him like we look at every team's great player."

However, Bonds and the Giants left Milwaukee disappointed. Not only did the club fail to win a game, but Bonds went just 1-for-6 without a homer.

HALL'S HOT

Bill Hall is finding his hitting stroke.

Hall burst on the scene with a 35-home run campaign a year ago, but had just six home runs and a .250 average after an 0-for-4 day on June 8 at Texas.

Since the, Hall has had a hit in eight of 10 games, lifting his average to .270. In one of those games, Verlander's no-hitter, Hall walked three times in three plate appearances.

Hall also has a pair of home runs in his recent stretch, including a grand slam in the series finale against the Giants on Wednesday. The slam highlighted a five-RBI day for the center fielder.

"Billy has really been putting together some really good at-bats for a stretch now," said Yost after the game. "He is fighting off good pitches and has been hammering what he can handle."

SUPPAN IS NOT

Jeff Suppan continues to struggle since his start to the season. The right- hander is 0-2 over his last three starts and has allowed 18 runs (17 earned) over that stretch.

He was hammered for nine runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings of a no-decision against Minnesota on Sunday.

WOUNDED BREWERS

J.J. Hardy left Wednesday's game against the Giants in the third inning because of tightness in his lower back. He had missed the previous game because of tightness in his left hip.

Starting pitcher Chris Capuano was a late scratch from his scheduled start last Wednesday against Detroit and then landed on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left groin.

He joins Corey Koskie (post-concussion syndrome) and pitcher Elmer Dessens (strained right shoulder) on Milwaukee's 15-day DL.

Rickie Weeks came off the disabled list on Monday and has gone 4-for-11 since, with all four of his hits being doubles. Weeks was serving as the leadoff hitter before being sidelined with soreness in his right wrist, but has been batting eighth since his return.

UP NEXT

The Brewers continue their homestand with a visit by Kansas City. The Brewers' Jeff Suppan (7-7, 4.69 ERA) counters Jorge De La Rosa (4-7, 5.23) in game one on Friday, followed by Dave Bush (4-6, 5.48) versus Brian Bannister (4-3, 3.21). Rookie Yovani Gallardo (1-0, 4.26) toes the rubber in the finale on Sunday against Odalis Perez (4-7, 6.06).

Houston will then visit Milwaukee to close out the residency.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.


Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.