Amid trade rumors, Myers and Lilly square off in Astros-Cubs finale

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07/21/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two pitchers rumored to be on the trading block get together this afternoon in the Windy City, where Ted Lilly and the host Chicago Cubs take on Brett Myers and the Houston Astros at Wrigley Field in the finale of a three-game set.

Lilly is 0-2 with an 8.83 earned run average in his last three starts, but pitched well enough for the win his last time out in a 4-3 victory over Philadelphia last Thursday. He struck out 10 batters, allowed three runs and issued only one walk in six innings to remain at 3-8 in 16 starts to go along with a 4.07 ERA.

The veteran left-hander, who is just 2-4 in nine home starts, has enjoyed success against rival Houston in his career. Lilly is 7-1 with a 2.49 earned run average in 10 starts against the Astros.

Myers will try to push his winning streak to three straight starts when he takes the mound Wednesday. Myers hurled eight innings of one-run ball in a 4-1 win versus St. Louis on July 10, then held Pittsburgh to a pair of runs over 7 2/3 frames of his team's 5-2 victory last Thursday from PNC Park.

The right-hander, who is 7-6 in 19 starts with a 3.35 ERA, hasn't pitched so well on the road in his first season with Houston, going 2-6 in 10 starts away from Minute Maid Park. Myers beat Chicago in a 6-3 decision back on June 6 at home, as he fired 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball.

He is 8-3 with a 2.63 ERA in 14 career games (10 starts) against the Cubs.

Trying to slow down Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez may be tough since the slugger is coming off a three-homer game in last night's 14-7 blasting of the Astros. Ramirez, who racked up seven RBI in the lopsided win, owns seven home runs and 24 RBI this month, and has hit safely in 16 of his last 20 games.

Ramirez must have been motivated by the announcement that manager Lou Piniella will step down at season's end. Geovany Soto got into the act with a home run as well, while Starlin Castro posted three hits and Derrek Lee went 2-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored.

"Watching from the bullpen and seeing the way Ramy's been swinging the bat, going all the way back to Arizona [series July 5-7], he's been seeing the ball well and he picked us up tonight," Cubs reliever Andrew Cashner said. "As soon as I got up, I thought I'd be going in and I just tried to keep it close."

Cashner tossed two innings of scoreless relief to pick up his first win in the majors and starter Ryan Dempster gave up seven runs -- four earned -- on eight hits in five innings of work for the no-decision.

The Cubs are 4-2 on their 10-game homestand and will also host St. Louis for three games at Wrigley Field. Piniella, meanwhile, is in his fourth season as Cubs manager. He guided the club to a winning record in each of his first three years, but the team is just 43-52. Piniella is the first Cubs manager in more than 70 years to post a record of .500 or better in each of his first three seasons with the team. He led the Cubs to NL Central titles in 2007 and 2008, but the team was swept in the Division Series both years.

Chicago has not won a World Series since 1908 and hasn't reached the Fall Classic since 1945.

Houston has lost three of four games and had a rough night on the mound. Starter Wesley Wright made his first career start and surrendered six runs, one of which was earned, and six hits in 4 2/3 innings in the no-decision. Brandon Lyon suffered the loss for permitting two runs in the eighth and Gary Majewski was reached for five runs in the ninth.

"I wish I could have executed a little bit better in that fifth inning and gave our team a chance to get over it and move forward, but I didn't," Wright said. "I wish I would have made a different pitch to Ramirez. I showed him the curveball a lot, and he got it up in the air and it just kept carrying."

Chris Johnson homered and finished with two RBI for the Astros, who scored four runs in the second inning and took a 6-0 lead in the fourth. Carlos Lee had two hits and an RBI in a losing outcome.

Houston has won five of eight matchups with Chicago this season, one year after the Cubs took 11 of the 17 matchups between the two clubs.

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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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