Cubs ship Lilly and Theriot to Dodgers

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs have traded pitcher Ted Lilly and infielder Ryan Theriot to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for infielder Blake DeWitt and a pair of minor league pitching prospects.

Chicago also sent cash considerations to the Dodgers and picked up right- handers Kyle Smit and Brett Wallach from LA.

Lilly had been rumored to be on the trading block all week leading up to Saturday's deadline. He is just 3-8 with a 3.69 earned run average in 18 starts this season, but has been a double-digit winner in each of the last seven years.

The 34-year-old lefty was 47-34 with a 3.70 ERA in four seasons with the Cubs and has also pitched for Toronto, Oakland, the New York Yankees and Montreal. He owns a career record of 106-92 with a 4.21 ERA in 298 games, all but 25 of which have been starts.

"We've been looking to improve our rotation and with Ted, we feel like we've got a very good group of starting pitchers for the stretch run," said Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti. "Ryan is versatile and can help us in the middle of the diamond as a nice complement to our existing infielders."

Theriot had spent his entire six-year career with the Cubs and this year was batting .284 with one homer and 21 runs batted in through 96 games. The 30- year-old Louisiana native is a career .287 hitter with 15 homers and 174 RBI in 609 games.

DeWitt was in his third season with the Dodgers. In 82 games this season, he was batting .270 with a homer and 30 runs batted in. After hitting .264 in 117 games as a rookie in 2008, he struggled and spent most of 2009 in the minors. In 31 games with the Dodgers last year, the 24-year-old batted a mere .204.

"Of all the times I've had to tell a player he was traded, this was one of the toughest telling Blake DeWitt," Colletti added. "His professionalism, his passion and who he is made doing this one of the toughest moves I've made."

Smit has split this season at Single-A and Double-A. The 22-year-old is 5-3 with six saves and a 2.35 ERA in a combined 37 appearances.

Wallach, the 21-year-old son of former major leaguer Tim Wallach, was 6-0 with a 3.72 ERA in 17 starts for Single-A Great Lakes this season.

Wwwteleport Baseball Betting News

<< Redskins' Haynesworth has swollen knee, sits out again
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth did not practice for a third straight day, though this time because of a swollen knee. Haynesworth was held out of practice Thursday and Friday

<< Sharks re-sign Setoguchi
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks have re-signed restricted free agent forward Devin Setoguchi to a one-year contract. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed. Setoguchi, 23, posted 20 goals and 16 assists i

<< Cardinals get Westbrook from Tribe, send Ludwick to San Diego
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired pitcher Jake Westbrook from the Cleveland Indians in a three-team trade that also involves the San Diego Padres. Along with Westbrook, St. Louis acquired cash fr

<< Yankees and Astros finalize deal for Berkman
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees and Houston Astros have finalized a trade for first baseman Lance Berkman. Berkman and cash considerations will head to the Yankees in exchange for pitcher Mark Melancon and minor le

<< Diamondbacks and Pirates make trade
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired outfielder Ryan Church, infielder Bobby Crosby and pitcher D.J. Carrasco from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for catcher Chris Snyder, infielder Pedro Ciriaco

Former UNM asst. coach sues current coach, regents >>
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -A former assistant football coach at the University of New Mexico has filed a civil rights lawsuit stemming from an altercation involving coach Mike Locksley.J.B. Gerald filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in Albu

Prado has fractured pinky >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Braves second baseman Martin Prado has a broken right pinky finger and could miss only a week. Prado was hurt during Friday's win against Cincinnati while sliding head-first into home plate on Jaso

Veteran WR Patten announces retirement >>
Foxboro, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Patten will not play a 13th NFL season in 2010, instead announcing his retirement as a member of the New England Patriots on Saturday. Patten played for the Patriots from 2001-04, during which tim

New York waives forward Wolyniec >>
Secaucus, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Red Bull New York waived forward John Wolyniec on Friday night. Wolyniec played in four regular season matches, including two starts, for New York this season. He also recorded four goals in four Lamar Hunt U

Starace, Ferrero reach Umag final >>
Umag, Croatia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fourth-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero and Italian Potito Starace will contest the final at the clay-court Croatia Open after winning their respective semifinal matches Saturday. Ferrero, a former world No.

Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.