AL Central: White Sox well equipped in arms race

Baseball Betting Lines

08/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the Chicago White Sox front office targeted former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy to headline the rotation, the hope was that they'd finally have enough starting pitching to get back to the postseason and make a World Series push.

When Peavy was lost for the season last month after suffering a detached muscle in his back, it was obviously a big blow to that whole plan. But upon further review, all hope may not be lost in Chicago. In fact, the White Sox are positioned pretty well as we head down the backstretch.

They entered Friday one game behind the division-leading Twins after dropping this week's head-to-head series against Minnesota. Those two are neck and neck atop the American League Central standings, 9 1/2 games ahead of third-place Detroit. The White Sox and Twins will tangle again next week in Minnesota for a three-game set.

When asked what will separate the two teams in the weeks ahead, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen didn't hesitate.

"It's going to come down to pitching," he said. "That's it. If we pitch better (than the Twins), we'll be right there."

In terms of starting pitching, Chicago is actually in pretty good shape, even without Peavy. Gavin Floyd entered Thursday's start with a 5-1 record and a Major League-low 1.13 ERA since July 5th. John Danks picked up his team- leading 12th win on Wednesday night. Edwin Jackson has a 1.38 ERA with 13 strikeouts and only two walks in his two starts since being acquired near the trade deadline. Freddy Garcia and Mark Buehrle both have 10 wins.

Danks' victory Wednesday night gave Chicago's starters an impressive 32-13 record and a 2.83 ERA in a 58-game span. In 35 of those games, the starters held the opposition to two runs or less. Asked by the Chicago Tribune if he thought the White Sox' pitching staff was as good as any team in the American League, Buehrle gave his endorsement.

"You can say yes and no," he said. "I would argue with people if they said no. But there are other teams that have great pitching staffs. I think starters, the bullpen, 1 through 12, we'll match up with a lot of people."

Just a couple of months ago, these White Sox were abandoned and left for dead, 9 1/2 games out of first place. Since then, no team in baseball has compiled a better record. Just don't tell that to a Minnesota team that has made a habit of saving its best play for late in the season.

The Twins and White Sox have already provided plenty of intrigue in their head-to-head battles. And it doesn't appear either team is ready to step aside without a fight, which should make for some very entertaining baseball as we approach the season's final month.

PRESSURE CATCHING UP TO CABRERA, TIGERS?

With each passing day, the Detroit Tigers are headed closer and closer toward an early offseason. The Tigers' July slide has stretched into August, where they've gone 3-8 thus far for the month. As a result, they entered Friday 9 1/2 games off the pace in the division.

Miguel Cabrera, a frontrunner for AL MVP through the first half of the season, has come back down to Earth. Although he still boasts a Major League-high 93 RBI, Cabrera has been laboring through an extended funk at the plate.

"I need to work on my swing more," said Cabrera, who has gone nine games without driving in a run. "The way I'm swinging right now is embarrassing.

"When you put pressure on yourself is when you make mistakes, like, 'I have to do this. I have to do this.' It's not going to happen."

That sentiment was shared by manager Jim Leyland, who told the Detroit Free Press that he sees hitters "muscling up and squeezing the bat so hard, they're not relaxed."

Relaxing will be easier said than done with the upcoming stretch. The Tigers will hit the road for their next seven games, beginning Friday night with a weekend series in Chicago, followed by a four-game set against the New York Yankees next week.

TWINS ONCE AGAIN GET THE BETTER OF SOX

The easiest way to make up ground in a pennant race is always to be sure and beat the team you are chasing. The Minnesota Twins seem to understand that concept loud and clear, as they just overtook Chicago for first place in the AL Central by taking two of three from the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

In fact, the Twins have not lost a series to the White Sox all season long. Entering this week's head-to-head matchup, the White Sox had won 20 of their last 22 home games. Then, along come the Twins, who claimed two of the three meetings in matter-of-fact fashion. The psychological impact of that cannot be understated. Chicago has been trying for months to fend off the Twins, but like a pest, they just won't go away.

Jason Kubel downplayed the importance of taking over first place, but didn't downplay the importance of beating Chicago.

"It's Aug. 12; it doesn't mean anything until the end of the season," Kubel told the Minnesota Star Tribune after Thursday night's 6-1 victory. "As long as we keep beating the White Sox, in case there is an extra game, we'll be all right."

GOMEZ A BRIGHT SPOT FOR INDIANS' ROTATION

Buried in the standings and with their rookie phenom lost for the season, there hasn't been a whole lot for the Cleveland Indians to look forward to lately.

Enter starting pitcher Jeanmar Gomez, who has done everything the team has asked of him since his Triple-A callup, and then some. Thursday night against Baltimore, the 22-year-old right-hander allowed just one run in six innings to improve to 3-0 in four big league appearances. He didn't issue a single walk and his ERA now stands at 1.54, which is the lowest in club history through four starts.

Still, if the Indians' front office people had their druthers, Gomez would still be in the minors.

"For his age, his composure is above-average," manager Manny Acta said. "One thing is to have three good pitches and to be able to command them, and another is composure, and he has that. He's mature beyond his age. He's able to slow things down. He hasn't been intimidated by anything up here so far. There are times out there when he looks like he's probably better off down there developing, but he's pitched well four times for us now.

"He just continues to go out there and pitch without fear. From what we've learned about him, he's not going to back down if a team hits him around. That's not the kind of guy that he is."

ROYALS' SLIDE CONTINUES

The Kansas City Royals have lost five straight and eight of their last 10. They are now 18 games below .500 and are one game behind Cleveland in the battle for the basement in the AL Central.

Pitchers Luke Hochevar, Gil Meche, Brian Bannister and Robinson Tejeda are all injured. Outfielder David DeJesus and third baseman Josh Fields are also injured and on extended absences. Center fielder Rick Ankiel was recently traded, right-hander Kyle Farnsworth and left fielder Scott Podsednik.

In other words, there isn't a whole lot to cheer for right now in Kansas City. In another roster move on Friday, the team sent leading run producer Jose Guillen to the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later, according to the Kansas City Star. The Royals also sent cash to the Giants to defray a portion of the $3.4 million remaining on Guillen's $36 million salary.

Guillen, 34, had been designated for assignment nine days earlier. At the time, he was leading the team with 16 homers and 62 RBI.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.

Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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