Playoff Pickups
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09/10/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's playoff time in the world of fantasy baseball and if your lineup needs a little boost because some of your veterans haven't performed up to par, then you should be scouring the waiver wire.
Fortunately, I've done some of the legwork for you and here are a few names who could help.
We'll begin on the offensive side of the ball.
Ike Davis, 1B, New York Mets (19% owned) - Davis came up to the Mets in mid- April with a lot of fanfare and began his career with a bang. But as scouts and pitchers saw him for a second time, they began to figure him out. Davis began to struggle in July, batting just .214, but still produced some power. Then in August his power all but disappeared. He has apparently made the necessary adjustments because he hitting .385 in September with three home runs.
Danny Espinosa, 2B, Washington (4% owned) - In the seven games since he's been called up to the Nationals, Espinosa has swung a hot bat. In 22 at-bats, he has nine hits, three of them home runs and knocked in 10. In the minors he also showed speed along with power (25 SB, 22 HR) so he appears to have the ability to help you in multiple categories.
J.J. Hardy, SS, Minnesota (10% owned) - Hardy has been hot over the past week, batting .444 with an OPS of 1.167. Although he's been hitting near the bottom of the Twins' lineup, he's still been getting opportunities to drive in runs. If you just lost Jimmy Rollins (day-to-day with a hamstring) and can't afford even a couple of missed days, Hardy might fill the void.
Pat Burrell, OF, San Francisco (11% owned) - The very streaky Burrell appears to be starting one of those hot streaks. He's hit homers in his last two games and for the week is batting .385 with an OPS of 1.633.
Russell Branyan, 1B, Seattle (10% owned) - Branyan has eight homers in the last three weeks including four in the last seven games. He'll never help you in batting average or stolen bases, but if a couple home runs will put you over the top, he's your man.
Now to the pitching staff, where a bunch of youngsters, and one "old guy" are getting the job done.
Rick Porcello, Detroit (39% owned) - After a great rookie year and a disastrous sophomore campaign in which he was sent down to the minors, Porcello appears to have righted the ship. In his last four starts his ERA is 2.48 and his WHIP is a minuscule 0.62. He isn't striking out a lot of hitters (16 in 29 innings), but he's picked up four wins.
Jeremy Guthrie, Baltimore (13% owned) - Guthrie is the oldest of the five recommended pitchers at 31 years. Despite a mediocre won-loss record this season, Guthrie hasn't pitched badly. In his last two starts, both victories, he's got an ERA of 1.17 and a WHIP of 0.78. One more win will tie his career best.
Brett Myers, Houston (65% owned) - Although the Houston Astros have struggled this season, Myers has pitched very well. He's 11-7 with an ERA of 2.91 and a WHIP of 1.21. Over his past four starts, three wins, he's been even better with an ERA of 1.67, a WHIP of 1.15 and 27 strikeouts in 27 innings. It's hard to explain why he isn't owned and started in more leagues, but don't hesitate to put him in your lineup.
Gio Gonzalez, Oakland (59% owned) - Two years ago, when Gonzalez first arrived in the majors, I had him on my roster. He didn't do much for me then and unfortunately I wasn't patient enough to wait for him to mature. Well it appears that he's finally "arrived." He's 14-8 this year with an ERA of 3.16, a WHIP of 1.26 and 153 K's in 179.2 innings. Over the past four games he's 4-0 with a 1.75 ERA and a WHIP of 1.05. He shouldn't be available in 41% of all leagues, but he is and that's a lucky thing for you. Take advantage of the situation and make the pickup.
Chris Narveson, Milwaukee (3% owned) - The 28-year-old lefty has been pretty good in his last two outings, yielding three earned runs and striking out 15 in 13.1 innings against Cincinnati and St. Louis. He's pitching the best he has all season.
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Bills have placed linebacker Kawika Mitchell on injured reserve because of a foot injury and signed veteran linebacker Akin Ayodele to fill the roster spot. Mitchell was hurt in practice on
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The battle for National League West supremacy between the
San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres resumes this evening with the second
installment of a four-game series from Petco Park.
The Giants drew first blood with T
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies have once again caught fire in
September to get themselves back into the postseason races. Tonight they'll go
for an eighth straight win when they open a three-game set with the Arizona
Diamondbacks at Co
<< Carpenter aims to pitch Cards past slumping Braves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Cardinals co-ace Chris Carpenter has recorded 16
wins in a season only twice in his career, He'll be looking to reach that mark
again tonight in the second installment of a four-game series against the
Atlanta Brave
<< Phils seek offensive breakout in latest visit to Mets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Back on top in the NL East for the first time in more than
three months, the Philadelphia Phillies return to the venue where runs have
been scarce this evening in the opener of a three-game set against the rival
New York Mets
Normal, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defensive back Bo Flowers, an Illinois transfer, was cleared by the NCAA to compete immediately for the Illinois State Redbirds, the team's athletic department announced. Flowers, a graduate student at Illinois
United braces for hostile Everton crowd >>
Liverpool, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manchester United has had plenty of
success against Everton at Goodison Park over the years, but United manager
Sir Alex Ferguson never looks forward to making the trip.
"It's always a nightmar
Villanova football considering a move to the Big East >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Villanova is reportedly evaluating the
prospect of moving up to the highest level of college football.
The Philadelphia Daily News reports that the reigning Football Championship
Subdivision champio
Lille hopes for spark in derby match with Lens >>
Lens, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With four successive draws to start the Ligue
1 season, Lille's Ludovic Obraniak is hoping that Saturday's derby match with
Lens at the Felix-Bollaert Stadium will be enough to help his team raise its
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Gaming: Ride the Sun Belt train for another week >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After the first Five-Star play of the
season proved victorious (Arkansas State plus the points at Auburn), let's roll
with another Sun Belt Conference squad, this time against a Big East foe.
Florida Int
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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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