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| March 21, 2007 HOME - SPORTS NEWS MLB PLAYOFFS SPORT NEWS
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS- (associated press): braves maay have new left fielder. Ryan Langerhans and Chipper Jones have an agreement when they meet for offseason hunting trips: No baseball talk.Langerhans says he's glad Jones broke that rule this offseason. Jones and All-Star catcher Brian McCann each have used a foot-tapping timing device as a key for hitting success with the Atlanta Braves. Jones suggested Langerhans, who hit .241 last season, might try the same move as he competes for the starting job in left field. The chat with Jones convinced Langerhans, who says he received the same advice from McCann late last season. I was talking with McCann about it because I wasn't staying back on the ball, Langerhans said. Then I talked to Chipper about it when we were hunting, even though we try not to talk about baseball when we're out there. newbodog.com has listed the Braves at +300 to win the 2007 NL East Division title. Langerhans practiced the tap step through the winter so he'd be ready to put the timing mechanism to use in spring training. So far, so good. Langerhans has a .378 average and two homers as he competes with Matt Diaz and Craig Wilson to play in left field. He looks good to me, Braves manager Bobby Cox said. He's hit the ball hard. The left-handed hitting Langerhans briefly lifts his right foot in the batter's box and then sets it back down, thereby keeping his momentum from moving forward too quickly. I think it helps him to stay back, hitting coach Terry Pendleton said. Basically, it's the same thing (Jones and McCann) do to make sure they keep their weight back. Wilson, a right-handed hitter, could platoon with left-handed hitting rookie Scott Thorman at first base. That could leave Langerhans and Diaz with most of the playing time in left. Diaz hit .327 last season and earned the majority of the starts late in the year as Langerhans slumped to .207 in August and .238 the rest of the way. Diaz committed four errors but played better defensively than some expected. Langerhans hit .232 against right-handers and .308 against left-handers last season. Overall, he had seven homers and 28 RBIs in 326 at-bats - but he thinks the new tap could add more pop to his swing. I've noticed I'm driving the ball this spring, he said. Last year I felt I was slapping the ball. Before I think I'd get all my weight on my front foot. That little step is getting me back on my back foot. Left field may not be Langerhans' permanent home. If Andruw Jones leaves after this season, when he is eligible for free agency, Langerhans could replace Jones in center. I try not to think about it because I'd like to see Andruw stay with us, Langerhans said. He's obviously the top center fielder in the game. I've always taken pride in my defense. I try to get better and Andruw is a guy who has helped me with that.FREE MLB PICKS: (associated press): pettitte out. Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte is expected to miss his scheduled start Friday because of back spasms. I don't anticipate it being a major problem, Yankees manager Joe Torre said Tuesday. He just got a little tightness. It seems to be pretty straightforward. Pettitte first experienced the back problems while working out Monday, and his scheduled bullpen session Tuesday was canceled. Torre said that Pettitte should be ready for the start of the season if he is able to make a final spring training start next week. Pettitte and Chien-Ming Wang are under consideration to start the April 2 opener against Tampa Bay. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FREE PICKS- (associated press): dodgers extend managers contract. Manager Grady Little's 2008 option was exercised Tuesday by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who added a 2009 team option to his deal. Grady has shown invaluable leadership and proven that he understands what it takes to win, Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said. We have established a very strong relationship in a short amount of time, and I'm very pleased to know that he'll continue to play an integral role in the future of this organization. The 57-year-old Little guided the Dodgers to an 88-74 record last season in his first year as their manager. Los Angeles won the NL wild card, then lost three straight to the New York Mets. Little managed the Boston Red Sox in 2002-03, going 188-136. His career winning percentage of .568 is the best among current big league managers, and the second-best among all managers who have managed 400 games since 1970, trailing only Baltimore's Earl Weaver (.583). Last season was the start of some very good things for the Dodgers and their fans, Little said. I look forward to even bigger and better things in the future. Little, the 25th manager in Dodgers history, finished fourth in the NL Manager of the Year voting. FREE MLB PICKS- (associated press): astascio sent to minors. Pedro Astacio is trying to work his way back to the Washington Nationals. Released by the team after going 5-5 in 2006, Astacio agreed Tuesday to a minor league contract with the Nationals. The 37-year-old right-hander missed the first three months of last season with a right forearm strain, which also forced him from his final start of the year. He had a 5.98 ERA in 90 1-3 innings. He won a career-best 17 games for Colorado in 1999, but hasn't managed more than 12 wins in a season since. MLB FREE PICKS- (associated press): mariners slugger sent to minors. Cha Seung Baek was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday by the Seattle Mariners. He was 0-2 in four spring-training appearances, allowing 10 earned runs and three homers in nine innings. Baek was 4-1 with a 3.67 ERA in six starts with the Mariners last year after being called up on Aug. 22 from Tacoma, where he was 12-4 with a 3.00 ERA in 24 starts. Seattle's rotation likely will include right-handers Felix Hernandez, Miguel Batista and Jeff Weaver, and lefties Horacio Ramirez and Jarrod Washburn.Seattle also optioned left-hander Ryan Feierabend to Tacoma, and sent right-hander Renee Cortez to its minor league camp.MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS: (associated press): david wells dealing with diabetes. Padres left-hander David Wells has Type 2 diabetes, which the team says is controllable. It's something he'll have to manage and something we'll have to help him manage, chief executive officer Sandy Alderson said Monday. It's not unprecedented by any means. Wells was diagnosed two weeks ago, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in Monday's editions. Asked if he feels less energy at times, Wells said: It depends. He declined further comment on Monday. Manager Bud Black said Wells needs to meet with doctors. From what I've been told, it'll be manageable, Black said. The 43-year-old old signed a one-year contract in January to return to his hometown Padres as the No. 5 starter. The 6-foot-3, 248-pound Wells has often battled his weight, and was scratched from a start late last season due to gout in his right foot. FREE MLB PICKS-(associated press): griffey jr could miss opener.Ken Griffey Jr. is running out of time to get ready for opening day. The Cincinnati Reds centerfielder has been taking batting practice, but the left wrist he broke while wrestling with his kids in December remains sore. Cincinnati manager Jerry Narron said Monday that he hoped Griffey would play this week. It is possible that he could be ready, Narron said. One thing in his favor - he has been able to see live pitching in simulated games. Griffey has taken fly balls and made throws from right field in practice. Cincinnati had planned to let Griffey play in right field during spring training, but problems with his wrist prevented that. MLB PICKS- (covers.com): rules for wagering on baseball. Moneyline sports can do a number on your bankroll and baseball is no exception. Today, we’re taking a look at five important rules that will keep your head above water. 1. Avoid heavy favorites By heavy favorites, I’m referring to teams listed at –170 or more. While these may appear to be safe bets at first glance, in reality they’re far from it. Rarely will you find a –200 favorite that isn’t overvalued. With upwards of 15 games on the MLB board just about every night, there is usually much more value to be found elsewhere. A perfect example of this rule is last year’s edition of the St. Louis Cardinals. They were heavily favored more often than not, and despite a good overall record, they had the moneyline bettor down over eight units on the season. 2. Don’t put too much weight in starting pitchers Pitchers are just one part of the baseball equation. When it comes down to it, very few starting pitchers can be relied upon consistently. Where you can find value, is looking at current team performance. Oddsmakers overvalue certain pitchers all the time, knowing that the public will bite. For example, Pedro Martinez was favored in all but one of his 20 starts last season. However, the Mets went just 11-9 in those games. Pedro dropped the cash as both a –228 and –240 fave in ’06. 3. Pay attention to the schedule Few bettors take a team's schedule into consideration when handicapping a game, but it is definitely an important factor. There are plenty of letdown spots to be found. For instance, last year the Boston Red Sox went on the road to face the lowly Devil Rays followed by a trip to Kansas City. They proceeded to drop five of six games. Were they looking ahead to series against the league-leading Tigers and AL East-leading Yankees at Fenway in the next week? Probably. Another good spot to look out for is when a team is wrapping up a disappointing or lengthy road trip. We tend to see a lackluster effort in the final installment. 4. Avoid betting against streaks While there can be value in betting against highly publicized streaks from time to time, the bottom line is you’re going against the grain, and that’s not usually a profitable decision. In most cases, you are better off waiting until a streak finishes to start siding with or fading a particular team. We saw numerous double-digit streaks last season. Whatever you do, try to avoid chasing a team on a losing streak. A long losing streak can put you in the poorhouse in a hurry. 5. Don’t rely solely on statistics There is a never-ending list of statistical categories tracked when it comes to baseball. While these numbers can be a useful tool, they can also steer you in the wrong direction in some cases. Remember, there are stats that will support either side in most matchups. Uncovering the most important ones is critical. Some categories that I put emphasis on are: starting pitchers' K/BB ratio, team bullpen ERA, and team batting average over the last 10 games. The lesson to be learned is, don’t blindly back a team based on numbers. Be sure to take a look at the fundamental and situational aspects as well.
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