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08/23/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When the Chicago Cubs begin a six-game road trip with tonight's first of three straight meetings with the Washington Nationals, they won't have their manager along for the ride.
Still stunned by the abrupt retirement of Lou Piniella, Chicago heads to Nationals Park this evening seeking to win for only the second time in its last eight contests. The club hardly gave the longtime skipper a fitting sendoff on Sunday, dropping a lopsided 16-5 decision to the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field.
Piniella had announced earlier this summer that he would step down at the end of the season, but pushed the timetable up in order to attend to his ailing mother in Florida. The 66-year-old has spent the last 48 years involved in baseball as either a player, manager, or broadcaster, and won a total of 1,835 games over 23 seasons piloting five different teams.
"It's a good day to remember and it's also a good day to forget," said Piniella, who guided the 1990 Cincinnati Reds to a World Series title and is one of only five men to win at least three Manager of the Year awards, afterward. "I cried a bit after the game, it was a very emotional day cause it will be the last time I put on a uniform. My experience in baseball has been very special."
Atlanta took a 5-3 lead on Omar Infante's three-run homer off Chicago starter Randy Wells in the fourth inning, then scored 11 times over the final three frames to pull away.
Wells (5-12) was tagged for seven runs (five earned) and three homers before exiting with nobody out in the top of the seventh.
Aramis Ramirez had put the Cubs briefly ahead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third and finished 3-for-4 in Piniella's finale. Starlin Castro had a four-hit day for Chicago, while Marlon Byrd went 3-for-5 with an RBI single in the loss.
Third base coach Mike Quade will assume managerial duties for the remainder of the season and will send youngster Casey Coleman to the mound for the opener of this set. The rookie will be making his second start in the majors after appearing in four games as a long reliever.
Coleman's starting debut wasn't a success, as the right-hander was reached for three runs on six hits and issued three walks over 4 1/3 innings in a home loss to San Diego last Wednesday. The 23-year-old had performed reasonably well in that role in the minors prior to his early-August callup, compiling a 10-7 record with a 4.07 earned run average in 20 starts for Triple-A Iowa.
He could be throwing to a new battery mate on Monday, as catcher Geovany Soto appears ready to return from a stint on the disabled list due to a sprained right shoulder. The 2008 NL Rookie of the Year has not played since August 6 due to the injury.
While Coleman will be beginning a major league game for only the second time, Washington's Livan Hernandez is set for the 438th start of his lengthy career this evening. The journeyman right-hander has put together a solid season for the last-place Nationals in 2010, having registered an 8-8 record along with a solid 3.06 ERA in 25 games.
One of those victories came at the expense of the Cubs back in April, when Hernandez yielded one run over seven sharp innings in a 3-1 Nationals triumph at Wrigley Field. The effort improved the native Cuban to 11-6 with a 3.84 ERA in 21 lifetime starts against Chicago.
The 35-year-old hasn't shown any signs of wearing down in the second half, as he's delivered an excellent 2.30 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star break despite only a 2-3 record. In his most recent assignment, Hernandez limited the Braves to two runs through seven innings in a no-decision this past Wednesday.
Washington has mustered only four runs over Hernandez's past three starts, and the club also did little at the plate in Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Nationals managed just five hits against Roy Oswalt and two Philadelphia relievers in a 6-0 setback, the team's second shutout defeat of the three-game series.
"When you come [to Philadelphia] you know you're going to see a good rotation," said Washington manager Jim Riggleman. "You just have to be ready to go out there and bang out a few runs and we haven't been doing that often enough."
The Nationals went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position on Sunday and finished a six-game trip against Atlanta and Philadelphia with a 2-4 record.
Scott Olsen (3-6) started and lost yesterday's contest after surrendering four runs and nine hits over six innings of work.
The Nationals took two of three tests from the Cubs at Wrigley Field in April, but Chicago swept a four-game set between the teams in Washington last season.
<< Myers tries to derail Phils' playoff hopes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An outstanding recent stretch has the Philadelphia
Phillies in position for a possible fourth consecutive trip to the postseason.
You can bet Brett Myers will be determined to stop that roll from continuing.
Myers will fa
<< Braves turn to Hudson in opener with Rox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After two of the Atlanta Braves' young guns led the way in
a one-sided victory on Sunday, the team will turn to one of its established
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off to a good
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco Giants return home seeking to bounce
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three-game series t
<< Thrashers re-sign Little
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers have re-signed forward
Bryan Little to a multiyear contract, the team announced Monday.
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points in 2008-09
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club on Monday.
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Bears sign veteran QB Collins >>
Lake Forest, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bears added depth to the
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Caldwell joins Wigan on free transfer >>
Wigan, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wigan completed the signing of defender
Steven Caldwell on Monday on a free transfer.
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Goydos withdraws from playoffs opener >>
Paramus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Goydos has withdrawn from The Barclays.
The PGA Tour said Monday that Goydos did not give a reason for pulling out of
the tournament.
Only the top 125 players on the regular season points list made the
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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