Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks have now won six in a row after a four-game sweep of the two-time defending champions from Los Angeles, and the 122-86 finish of Game 4 in Dallas was one of the most surprising NBA scores that anyone could have thought of. After coming back from 16 points down in Game 1 in Dallas, the Mavericks really looked confident in themselves, and they controlled each game after that, but a 36-point trouncing? They also goaded the Lakers into a couple of cheap fouls which took the shine off of Phil Jackson’s last game (for now) as coach, and the Mavericks can take a lot of pride in being the team that took down the most recent edition of the Los Angeles empire. Now, the Mavericks can rest for a few days as they wait for the Oklahoma City-Memphis series to wrap up, and J.J. Barea would love to have those days as he suffered wrist and rib injuries when Andrew Bynum took him out in mid-air in the fourth quarter of Game 4.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have dropped seven of their last 10, and they had lost four straight series. The New York Yankees took two of three in Texas, and they had split the first two games against the Athletics before Wednesday’s finale was postponed. MLB betting players will now see the American League West as a three-horse race between Los Angeles, Texas and Oakland, and none of those teams have looked impressive lately, which means they could be battling with Seattle at some point, although that may be a stretch. The Angels will be in town this weekend for a three-game set, and they’ll be looking to increase the lead in the West, but the Rangers just have to find a level of consistency before they go on the road, starting with a trip to Chicago to face the White Sox. One of the main problems Texas has injuries to their starters: Alexi Ogando is out with a blister, although he shouldn’t miss a start, if any, and Tommy Hunter is out for a couple weeks because of an ailing groin. Scott Feldman (knee) and Brandon Webb (shoulder) are both getting ready to throw in the minors, but the Rangers need to get back to full strength in the rotation to boost their online sports betting odds.

So what does Cliff Lee going to the Philadelphia Phillies mean for the Texas Rangers? It is not as bad for the Rangers as you think.

Since the Rangers didn’t give a monster contract to Cliff Lee, there will now be enough money to keep the current roster in tact. The Rangers could add another starting pitcher by trading prospects or sign one of the free agent pitchers left on the market. The Cliff Lee deal would have been great for the next couple of years, but the last 2-3 years of the deal he would most likely be on the decline. So money wise the deal would have been worth it in the short-term, but a burden to the Rangers in the long-term.

Talk has moved on to the possible trade options: Zach Grienke, current Kansas City Royals ace and Matt Garza of the Tampa Bay Rays who is more of a number 2 guy. Either of these moves will probably cost the Rangers part of the long-term future, just like the Cliff Lee deal would. Both of the Rays and Royals will ask for too much, and for this reason I think that Jon Daniels will end up targeting the free agent market for starting pitchers with an upside that can be had at a decent price.

Who is still out there?
Here is a list of the free agent starting pitchers that are left on the market (minus Kevin Millwood and Rich Harden). A few of these guys were hurt last year so their numbers are a little off or non existent.

• Carl Pavano – 2010 (17 – 11) 3.75ERA
• Brad Penny – 2010 (3 – 4) 3.23ERA
• Chris Young – 2010 (2 – 0) 0.90ERA
• Brandon Webb – 2010 Injured
• Bruce Chen – 2010 (12 – 7) 4.17ERA
• Justin Durchscherer – 2010 (2 – 1) 2.89ERA
• Chris Capuano – 2010 (4-4) 3.95ERA
• Jeff Francis – 2010 (4-6) 5.00ERA

For the price that the Rangers would have forked over for Cliff Lee, the Rangers can probably get a two of these starting pitchers and a veteran first baseman. Rookie 1B Mitch Moreland looked good in the playoffs, but so did Chris Davis a few seasons ago. A veteran first baseman could DH if either Moreland and/or Davis play well next year. Former Cubs 1B Derrek Lee is a good locker room guy that can still hit.

Would it have been bad ass if Cliff Lee and his ninja pitching skills signed with Texas? Oh yes it would have been. However I think that the Rangers can still salvage this offseason and keep the farm system in tact with a few free agent signings.

Image Credit: http://blog.prorumors.com/
Sources:Yahoo! Free Agent Tracker

Dallas Cowboys

Where to even start? The Cowboys are now 1-6 after an awful 35-17 loss at home against Jacksonville, and Jaguars quarterback David Garrard said that the Cowboys didn’t even look into the game. No one has answers, but you have to think that Wade Phillips’ time is almost up in Dallas (you could probably find decent odds on that prop if you’re betting on NFL lines). How far can they go with Jon Kitna? They’ll find out soon since Tony Romo is likely gone for the year. There hasn’t been an implosion of a team like this in, well, it’s hard to even think of one. It gets no better for the Cowboys, who head to Lambeau Field to face Green Bay on Sunday night.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers’ bats were silent in their five-game loss to San Francisco in the World Series, hitting an anemic .190 against the Giants. Possibly more surprising was that ace Cliff Lee was beaten twice by San Francisco counterpart Tim Lincecum, and although he pitched far better in Game 5 than he did in Game 1, when he didn’t make it out of the fifth inning, that performance must leave a bad taste in the mouth of Lee (and MLB betting players who wagered on the Rangers). Now, the Rangers have a couple of major decisions to make in the offseason. Will they bring back Vladdy Guerrero, as they declined his option but are hoping to re-sign him at a cheaper price? The bigger question is Lee, who is a free agent and will command $20 million a year. Can the Rangers afford to keep him? Can they afford to let him go?

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks have won three of their first four of the gate in the NBA season, rolling over Charlotte before a one-point loss to Memphis, with both games coming at home. The next games were on the road and the Mavericks passed their tests with flying colors, romping to a win over the Los Angeles Clippers before edging Denver in a one-point win on Wednesday. The usual suspects are leading the way as Dirk Nowitki has averaged 26.5 points and 9.8 rebounds, while Jason Terry has 17.5 points, and Caron Butler isn’t far behind with 16.5 points. Jason Kidd is still steering the team with 11.8 assists. The Mavericks are off to a great start, but it’s going to take some more convincing of the sportsbooks if they want to boost their betting odds this year.

Rangers at Rays Game 5 Preview
Cliff Lee and David Price will take the mound in a game 5. If this sounds familiar, it should these two faced each other in game 1 of the Rangers-Rays playoff series. Cliff Lee looked dominant for the Rangers in game 1, and David Price didn’t impress. Don’t expect this to be a Rangers blowout again. The Rays seem to have it figured out on offense and the Rangers are looking sloppy in the field, which should make for a close game.

ALDS Game 5 Preview: Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays TV Game Information
Rangers-Rays Day/Date: Tuesday – October 12th 2010
Rangers-Rays TV Time: 7:00 PM Central Time
Rangers-Rays TV First Pitch: 7:07 PM Central Time
Rangers-Rays Location: Tropicana Field
Rangers-Rays TV Channel: TBS

Cliff Lee will be on the hill for the local nine as they go up against their first non-Yankees playoff opponent ever. The Tampa Bay Rays posted the best record in the American League this year (96-66), but it was only six games better than the record of our favorite claw-wielding players.

It really is a shame that this playoff series is going to be banished to the middle of the afternoon. This should be a VERY exciting, tense, no-no-no-no-YES, oh-my-god-how-did-he-do-THAT series between two of the most exciting teams in Major League Baseball. So how do the Texas Rangers stack up against their opponents from the Sunshine State? Hit the jump like you’ve got seven at a blackjack table to find out.

Lineup: It appears that Evan Longoria has overcome his quadricep injury (or will in time for Wednesday) and will be back in his cleanup spot for Tampa Bay. That should be an advantage for the Rangers, although it seems more so like that will be a wash considering Josh Hamilton is coming off a longer injury as well. Still, both offenses are pretty similar in that they are focused on only a couple of players. Crawford and Longoria are the heart of the Rays offense, while Cruz and Hamilton fill those positions for the Rangers.

What will be key will be how the rest of the lineups perform. Can the Rangers get good production out of Ian Kinsler, Vladimir Guerrero and Michael Young? What will Carlos Pena do? Can the Rangers contain Ben Zobrist? How many baserunning plays will affect these games? Can Bengie Molina avoid hitting into too many double plays? Will Elvis Andrus have his Ozzie Smith moment? Call me crazy, but I think the Rangers have a couple more weapons than the Rays do.

Slight Edge: Rangers

Uniforms: The Rays do have nice baby-blue uniforms that they wear as alternates, although they have ugly dark blue ones they wear on the road as well. I expect the red uniforms out for the home games for the Rangers, although I still have a tough time getting over the fact that they don’t have a uniform that says ‘Rangers’. The deciding factor here is that Tampa Bay can’t decide on what exactly they are. Are they Rays of the sun? Are they Rays of the sea? Make a decision.

Edge: Rangers

Pitching: The starting pitching matchups for all four of these games all could favor the Texas Rangers. At the very least, they certainly are a far cry from the days of Rick Helling and Esteban Loaiza starting playoff games in the late ’90s.

Here are the matchups (Ranger pitcher listed first):

Game 1 – Cliff Lee vs. David Price

Game 2 – C.J. Wilson vs. James Shields

Game 3 – Colby Lewis vs. Matt Garza

Game 4 – Tommy Hunter vs. Wade Davis

Game 5 – Cliff Lee vs. David Price

Those are really competitive matchups. The Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays certainly are close in the starting pitching department.

At the end of the game, the Texas Rangers are going to have their hands full with the Rays’ three-headed bullpen monster of Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour and former Ranger Joaquin Benoit. I understand that Benoit was talented and had a couple of good years for the Rangers, but it’s still a little hard for me to get over the fact that Joaquin Benoit is a major contributor for one of the best teams in the American League.

The Rangers’ bullpen is no slouch either, however, with Neftali Feliz looking like a lockdown closer considering he’s only blown one save since June 1. Darren O’Day, Darren Oliver and Alexi Ogando have been key cogs at the back end as well.

All in all, the pitching staffs are just as even as the lineups. The Rangers trailed the Rays in team ERA by only .15 this year (3.78 to 3.93), trailed in team strikeouts by only 8, but also permitted 73 more walks. Not a good sign against the team with the most walks in baseball.

Starting Pitching Edge: Rangers

Bullpen Edge: Rays

Ballpark/Fan Experience: Ha.

Massive Edge: Rangers

Defense: The Rays are a VERY good defensive team. Extremely athletic and talented at just about every position. The Rangers would be better off defensively with Borbon in center, Hamilton in left and Cruz in right against righties, but that’s not going to fly against lefties. We all know about Michael Young’s struggles at third, but Elvis and Ian are quite good as a double-play combo. The biggest question for the Texas Rangers will be how do they control the Rays’ running game? If the Rays don’t completely run rampant on the bases, it will be a success.

Edge: Rays

Notable fans/celebrity power: Not a ton between the two teams, so I think it has to come down to Nolan Ryan vs. Dick Vitale. And, I mean, come on.

Edge: Rangers

FINAL CALL: This is going to be a tough series for both teams. It’s far from out of the question that the winner of this series could win the World Series. The offenses are very similar and very good – the matchups earlier this year featured a lot of offense. The bullpens are both good, although the absence of Francisco tips the scales towards Tampa Bay. The starting pitching favors the Texas Rangers, especially considering Cliff Lee is the kind of pitcher that gives the Rays fits (i.e. left-handed and pounds the strike zone).

**Groundbreaking point coming**

The team that wins will be the team that makes the fewest mistakes. As long as the Rangers don’t give away outs and make the Tampa Bay Rays hit their way on, they should be able to win a playoff series for the first time in franchise history.

The pick? Rangers in four.

It’s Time.

Cliff Lee pic: http://bookieboss.com/blog/?paged=3

Cliff Lee takes the mound first for the Rangers and will look to build on 2 consecutive wins in which he surrendered only 2 ER over 16 innings of work. This marks the first time Lee has strung together consecutive wins as a Ranger, following a dismal August in which he went 1-4 with a 6.35 ERA. In his only appearance as a Ranger against Oakland, Lee went 8.0 innings, allowing 1 ER while striking out 6 in collecting his 10th win of the season. Lee will be opposed by lefty Dallas Braden, who has pitched well against Texas this season despite his 1-2 mark.

Though the Rangers are closing in on clinching the division and the #3 AL playoff seed, their first round opponent is still uncertain as the Yankees and Rays continue to battle in the AL East. Coming into Thursday’s season finale between the two teams, the Yankees lead the Rays by 1.5 games. Due to MLB playoff seeding rules which prohibit the Rays and Yankees from meeting in the divisional round, the Rangers will travel to meet the eventual division winner. After clinching the AL Central on Tuesday, the Twins have secured home field advantage over the Wild Card winner.

With the playoffs looming, the question for Rangers fans becomes, who would you rather face in the playoffs? The Rangers were a respectable (4-4) against the mighty Yanks, including a recent 3 game sweep in Arlington. An August sweep by the Rays in Tampa Bay left the Rangers with a (2-4) mark against the Rays on the season. Stay tuned.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys begin their regular season at FedEx Field, where they’ll take on a revamped Washington team. The Cowboys were 3-2 in the preseason, but the offense didn’t look sharp at all, and owner Jerry Jones is looking for them to pick up as the Cowboys aim to be the first team in NFL history to play in the Super Bowl when their stadium is hosting it. Rookie receiver Dez Bryant, who NCAA football betting players will remember from his time at Oklahoma State before he was suspended, will be ready after sitting out the preseason with an ankle sprain. Bryant was supposed to challenge Roy Williams for the other spot opposite Miles Austin, but he’s behind in game action now, so look for the Cowboys to bring him along slowly. The Cowboys are actually a 3.5-point favorite on the road on Sunday night, and they’ve won three in a row against the Redskins, including two on the road.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers’ MLB betting odds are going downhill slowly as they had lost five in a row ahead of Wednesday’s game in Toronto, and even though they have a healthy seven-game lead in the American League West, that’s about the only thing that is healthy in Texas. Josh Hamilton has a rib injury that will sideline him indefinitely, and the Rangers are just hoping that their Triple Crown threat will be back for the postseason. Ace Cliff Lee had been struggling anyway, but he has a bad back and had to miss his last start. This doesn’t leave the Rangers in a very good position as they look to shake out of their slump, but they’re going to have to figure something out because after they finish their four-game set in Toronto (of which they lost the first two games), the Rangers then head home to take on the New York Yankees, who have baseball’s best record. The Rangers are hoping that Lee will be ready for the series finale on Sunday, but he’s penciled in. Next week, the Rangers have a quick two-game set at home with the Detroit, and a day off after the Yankees’ series is just what they need. If the Rangers have any more serious injuries, you’ll see their online sports betting odds fall very quickly.

Texas Rangers

If the Rangers were an NCAA football betting option, they would likely be Boise State, a team who is far ahead of anyone else in their conference.   The Rangers are coming off a tough week in which they faced two teams from their division on the road,  first dropping two of three in Los Angeles to the Angels, and they had split the first two games of their three-game set in Seattle with the Mariners before Thursday night’s finale.  David Murphy had a solid week, hitting .286 with a pair of homers and six RBIs in six games, while Vladdy Guerrero hit just .217 and knocked one out, but he drove in a team-high eight runs during the week.  As for the pitchers, Rich Harden returned from the disabled list to have his best performance in two-plus months in a win over the Angels, but that was probably the highlight of the week as the starting pitching struggled.  Tommy Hunter was hammered for the first time this year, taking his first loss, and it’ll be a test of the 24-year-old’s strength to see if he can bounce back.  Now, heading into Thursday’s game, the Rangers have an eight-game lead over the Angels, and a nine-game lead over the Athletics, who will host the Rangers this weekend in a three-game set.  Texas will be looking to avenge a series loss in Oakland from back in early May. The Rangers will then head to New York to face the Yankees in a possible playoff preview, and Texas was swept at the new Yankee Stadium in June.

Dallas Cowboys

NFL betting players have seen Dez Bryant cause quite the stir in his first camp, first with his “I’m not carrying pads” fiasco, and now the wideout may have to miss the entire preseason with a high ankle sprain.  Owner Jerry Jones questioned whether Bryant should have been practicing that late in the practice, but he backed off his comments and is leaving the coaching to Wade Phillips (for now, anyway).  Another rookie, linebacker Sean Lee, is battling a quadriceps injury, so the Cowboys are just trying to get to the preseason with no more ailments.  Bryant is obviously the more important loss as the Cowboys were trying to get him as many reps as possible, and he even signed a contract to get to camp on time.  This is just bad luck, and online betting players will be hoping that is all for the Cowboys this year.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers will be aiming to take the rubber match of their three-game set with Oakland at home, wrapping up a week in which they took three of four against the Los Angeles Angels at home last weekend.  Michael Young went deep three times for the Rangers last week, hitting .318 with four RBIs, while Nelson Cruz batted .417 with a pair of homers and four RBIs.  If the Rangers can continue to prove that their lineup isn’t just Josh Hamilton and Vladdy Guerrero, who struggled last week, their MLB betting odds will improve.  Cliff Lee continues to be a monster for the Rangers, going 1-0 in two starts last year, tossing 17.1 innings, and he struck out 17 batters….without walking a single one.  Neftali Feliz was perfect in three save opportunities for the Rangers, who have another important week coming up.  The Rangers head out on the road for a nine-game trip with teams from the West, beginning with a three-game set in Los Angeles against the Angels this weekend, following by a visit to Seattle, Lee’s former team. If they can manage to at least split their six games in the next week, the Rangers should be sitting pretty in the West.

Dallas Cowboys

NCAA football betting players know that Dez Bryant had a tough time at Oklahoma State, missing virtually all of last year because he lied to NCAA investigators about a meeting with Deion Sanders, and it’s things like these that caused him to slip in the draft (some folks call them “character issues”.  Then, Bryant made a fuss earlier this week when he refused to carry the pads of Roy Williams, who many people feel Bryant will replace in the starting lineup.  Bryant then said he wasn’t aware of the tradition that has been going on not only in the NFL, but in most professional sports, for years.  Rookies, no matter how highly touted or where they were drafted, are usually counted on carry pads, buy dinners, and be generally subservient to the veterans, and it’s not like they were trying to tape him to goalposts or anything.  Of course, the media took and made way too big of an issue, but Bryant is going to have to learn to be more humble and realize that he’s part of a team now.  Little things like that can mess with a team’s online betting odds.

The most recent move by the Rangers was trading catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to the Boston Red Sox for right hand pitcher Roman Mendez, first baseman Chris McGuiness, a player to be named later and cash considerations. The move was done because they were disappointed in Saltalamacchia’s performance, but it was also done to bulk up their roster as they make a serious run for the post-season.

Getting to the post season in Major League Baseball is probably more difficult than other professional sports such as the NHL or the NBA, so making deals that help a team in short-term is commonly accepted. However; are the Rangers hurting themselves in the long-run by parting with a catcher who has the potential to be one of the best in the league? Will this move join the list of regrettable trades made by the Texas Rangers?

Saltalamacchia was part of one of the greatest trades in recent Rangers history: The Mark Teixeira Trade. Mark Teixeira is one of the greatest players in the game today, but in Texas he was unhappy. He was loathed by fans, his team mates, and radio talk show hosts. He even turned down an eight year $140 million contract. So the Rangers cut bait and traded him to the Atlanta Braves for players that included Elvis Andrus, Netali Feliz, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. I do not have to explain how these players have impacted the Rangers. The team’s current record and competitiveness explains it enough.

Saltalamacchia was a great player in Atlanta and has had some great moments here in Texas. Despite the accolades, Saltalamacchia’s stint with the Rangers has been difficult at best. Since arriving in Texas, he has lost and regained the starting catcher position, been sent down to the minors on several occasions, but most importantly he has spent most of his time on the disabled list (DL). This season he has only played two games for the Rangers and has spent the rest of the season on the DL or in Triple A Oklahoma.

It’s understandable that the Rangers were tired of the inconsistency, but when he did play Saltalamacchia showed signs of potential. His career averages runs like this: 23 home runs, 94 RBIs, and a batting average of .251. Although those numbers are middle of the road, Saltalamacchia has a lot of intangibles that do not show up in the box scores. He is an excellent defenseman, a leader in the club house and is clutch when you need him.
Not only does he have potential, he deserved an honest chance to develop it. Although he has been hurt most of the last two seasons and has supposedly kept injuries to himself, he really deserved the chance to play an entire season with the Rangers. In this author’s opinion, the Rangers should have given their investment a little more time to grow before cutting their losses.

You do not need to look too far into the past to see how the Rangers parted with future investments too early. Most notable is White Sox Pitcher John Danks and Giants Ace Barry Zito. There are many other examples, but the list is long and we would be here all day. Although it’s hard to say if Saltalamacchia is going to turn out like these players, the Rangers will be kicking themselves in the teeth if he does.

Another concern is who the Rangers plan to fill at the catcher position. Bengie Molina has done a great job this season for the Rangers, but he is 36 years old. How many years does he really have left? Gerald Laird had a lot of potential too, but he has moved on to bigger and better things in Detroit. Parting with Saltalamacchia might leave a huge hole at catcher for the next couple of seasons when they are ripe to be contenders. We can only hope there are some great prospects coming up through the farm system.

In the end, the Rangers have to make moves that they think will get them to the post season. If they really thought Saltalamacchia wasn’t their answer at catcher then they had to make the move. I just hope it doesn’t turn out to be a bad one.