Aoki Leads Schierholtz Down Rodriguez

Baseball Betting Lines

Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates have avoided arbitration with Evan Meek, signing the reliever to a one-year contract. Meek endured a forgettable 2011 campaign as injuries limited him to only 24 games.

 

The 28-year-old right-hander was coming off an All-Star season in which he posted a 2.14 earned run average in a career-high 70 appearances.

 

Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins agreed on Tuesday to one-year contracts with left-handed pitchers Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins, avoiding arbitration. Liriano, 29, posted a 9-10 record with a 5.09 earned run average, 112 strikeouts and 75 walks in a disappointing 2011 for the Twins in which they finished last in the American League Central Division with a 63-99 mark.

 

In six seasons with Minnesota, Liriano is 47-42 with 679 strikeouts, 269 walks and a 4.19 ERA.

 

Perkins, a St. Paul native, posted a 4-4 record with a 2.48 ERA, 65 strikeouts and 21 walks for his hometown team last season. Perkins has spent his entire five-year major league career with the Twins and has a 23-16 record in 145 games -- 44 starts -- with 224 strikeouts and 100 walks.

 

San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants have avoided arbitration with Nate Schierholtz, signing the outfielder to a one- year contract. Schierholtz hit .278 with nine home runs and 41 RBI in 115 games with the Giants last season.

 

Volquez, a 28-year-old righty hurler, was acquired in a five-player trade which sent Mat Latos to Cincinnati. He rose to prominence in 2008, going 17-6 with a 3.21 ERA in his first year with the Reds. Last season, he went 5-7 with a 5.71 ERA.

 

Hundley, 28, hit a career-high .288 with nine home runs, 29 RBI and 34 runs scored in 82 games for the Padres last season. He batted .367 over the final 37 games of 2011 after returning from right elbow surgery in early August.

 

Headley, 27, posted a career-best .289 average in 113 games for the Padres last season. The switch-hitter added 44 RBI and 43 runs scored and hit .352 against lefties -- the second-highest mark among qualifying NL players.

 

Thatcher, a 30-year-old lefty reliever, appeared in just 18 games for the Padres last year after undergoing shoulder surgery in May. He has posted a 4-6 record with a 3.36 ERA in 182 career relief appearances over parts of five seasons with the Padres.

 

Baker, who turns 31 on January 20, was acquired from the Marlins this offseason in exchange for pitcher Wade LeBlanc. The career .271 hitter missed most of the 2011 campaign due to surgery on his right elbow.

Wwwbostonherald Baseball Betting Blog

<< Blue Jays At Season Home

<< Season Sparks Pirates For Month

<< Last Season Pineiro Crush Claim Into Mets

<< Runner-up Joins Wozniacki From Murray

<< Stosur Boosts Open In Round

Blind Luck Havre Disable Edge At Luck >>

FCS Players Leaves Defensive Against Stars >>

ST. John Recalls PPG On Michigan >>

Jrue Holiday Boosts Points In Percent >>

Rebounds Joins Season From Blazers >>

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.

MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect

LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.

Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.

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