Cabrera leads Tribe past Orioles
Baseball Betting Lines
08/12/2008 -
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Asdrubal Cabrera went 3-for-4, scored twice,
and drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as the Cleveland Indians
came back to edge the Baltimore Orioles, 7-5, in the second of a four-game
set.
Cabrera's RBI single cued a two-run eighth inning for the Indians, and made a
winner of Rafael Perez (2-2), who gave up two hits but no runs in 1 2/3
innings. Jeremy Sowers started for Cleveland and allowed four runs on six hits
in 6 1/3 innings.
Ben Francisco and Franklin Gutierrez each had two hits and an RBI for the
Indians, who won their fifth straight on the day they subtracted another key
component of last year's run to the AL Central crown.
The Indians traded starting pitcher Paul Byrd to the Red Sox on Tuesday for a
player to be named later or cash considerations. Byrd joined CC Sabathia and
Casey Blake as Indians who have been dealt away during this disappointing
campaign.
Jim Johnson (2-4) gave up two runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings to take the
loss for the Orioles. Garrett Olson surrendered five runs -- four earned -- on
nine hits in six frames, with six strikeouts and two walks for Baltimore.
Nick Markakis went 2-for-3, drove in two runs, and scored for the Orioles, who
have dropped three straight.
The Orioles scored twice in the seventh to tie the game at 5-5, but Cabrera
and the Indians pushed back in front in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Shin-Soo Choo
was beaned by Johnson, and Andy Marte bunted him over to second. Cabrera came
through with a single to center, scoring Choo, and Cabrera moved to second on
the throw to the plate.
The Cleveland shortstop eventually scored on a single by Francisco to left,
giving the Indians a two-run pad. Jensen Lewis made it stand up in the ninth,
as he fanned two in a 1-2-3 inning to pick up his second save of the season.
The O's plated two runs in the first, on an RBI single by Melvin Mora and an
Aubrey Huff sacrifice fly, but Cleveland answered with four in the home half.
Jhonny Peralta, Ryan Garko, Gutierrez, and Marte each had RBI singles as the
Indians took a 4-2 edge.
An error by Mora allowed an Indians run to score in the fourth, but Markakis'
sac fly in the fifth cut the deficit to 5-3.
Game Notes
Huff went 0-for-3, ending his 19-game hitting streak...Brian Roberts went 1-
for-3 with an RBI and a run, pushing his hitting streak to 14 games...The
five-game winning streak for the Indians equals a season-long...The Tribe left
10 runners on base.
<< Islanders name Gordon head coach
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Islanders have named reigning
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"Garth
<< Vazquez, White Sox blank Royals
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Javier Vazquez threw eight shutout innings, and
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blanked Kansas City, 9-0, in the first of three games with the Royals.
Vazquez (9-
<< Astros' Matsui leaves game with sore back
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Astros second baseman Kazuo Matsui
left Tuesday's game against the San Francisco Giants with a sore back.
He is listed as day-to-day.
Matsui went 0-for-1 before leaving following the second
<< Dickau leaves NBA for Europe
Avellino, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Clippers guard Dan Dickau has
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last season, his
<< Giants P Lincecum leaves game with injury
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum left
Tuesday's game against the Houston Astros after being struck by a line drive
in the fifth inning.
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Santana picks up win No. 10 in nation's capital >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Damion Easley was hit by a pitch in the
eighth frame, forcing in the eventual winning run, and New York's mix-match
bullpen navigated the final two frames in a 4-3 victory over Washington in the
first o
Phillips, Volquez help Reds topple Pirates >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Phillips belted a two-run homer to
lift the Cincinnati Reds over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-1, in the first
contest of a three-game set at PNC Park.
Javier Valentin added a solo shot for t
Blue Jays come back to down slumping Tigers >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Lind hit a solo home run and Vernon Wells
had a two-run double to cap a four-run seventh inning, as the Toronto Blue
Jays battled back to beat the struggling Detroit Tigers, 6-4, in the second of
a four-
Berkman's slam punctuates Astros' blowout of Giants >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lance Berkman hit a grand slam as part of an
eight-run seventh inning for Houston, which took a 12-4 win over San Francisco
in the second of four games with the Giants.
Darin Erstad had two hits, including
Ramirez, Volstad lead Marlins past Cardinals >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hanley Ramirez blasted a three-run homer to lead
the Florida Marlins over the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3, in the second game of a
four-game set at Dolphin Stadium.
Cody Ross was 2-for-2 with a run scored for
Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting
So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.
Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?
If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)
Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).
In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.
Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.
As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.
(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)
If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech
 The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.
Work left to do:
Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.
Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).
Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.
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