Yanks, Phils set themselves up for a rematch

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - I guess the Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians really enjoyed last year's World Series.

After the Astros paid the Philadelphia Phillies to basically take Roy Oswalt off their hands, Houston general manager Ed Wade shipped Lance Berkman to the New York Yankees for marginal prospects and will pay more than half of the $7.1 million guaranteed to him the rest of this season.

Not to be outdone, Cleveland shipped outfielder Austin Kearns to New York on Friday for a player to be named later, then right before the deadline also sent closer Kerry Wood to the Yankees with the option of either taking $500,000 or a pair of middling prospects. Of course, the Tribe will help out the "cash-strapped" Yankees this year by assuming $2.3 million of the $3.8 million left on Wood's deal.

Is Brian Cashman a ninja? How exactly is he getting these general managers to give the Yankees money?

Heading into the season I thought there was a better than average chance that we were going to be watching the same two teams as last year battle it out in the World Series. The Yankees are already the best team in baseball at the moment, and made themselves even better on Saturday.

Berkman is going to be a monster hitting in front of Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. And Wood is the ultimate security blanket for Joba Chamberlain. Injuries are always a concern with Wood, but if he is healthy this could be a huge move. And if he is not? Who cares? They got him for a song and a dance. If anything it is addition by subtraction for them, because Chan Ho Park was designated for assignment to make room for Wood on the roster.

You want to talk about depth on the Yankees? Kearns was the Cleveland Indians' two-hitter; he is now the fourth outfielder on the Yankees. Don't sleep on that move. It could turn out to be a very important under-the-radar transaction.

For the NFL fans out there who will soon be crying about losing two preseason games, enjoy the Yankees from here on out, because they will be staging a two- month long exhibition season until October.

The Phillies, on the other hand, have some work to do, especially given the fact that the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves helped themselves out immensely on Saturday with the acquisition of Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth.

Atlanta's bullpen was already as deep as any team in baseball and Ankiel, simply put, is a huge upgrade over Nate McLouth, who was sent to Triple-A earlier in the week.

With a gun to my head, though, I still think I would choose the Phillies to win the East. I am a little less sure of it now than I was this morning, but the top of that rotation is nasty. I still think the Phils are in line for their fourth straight division title.

The Phillies' biggest problem is still their bullpen. They did not address it on Saturday, and will have trouble doing so through waivers in the next month. So I guess Philadelphia just holds its breath from the seventh inning on.

Either way, though, whether they win the division or not, I think the Phillies will win the wild card. As Bill Parcells says, "All you have to do is make the tournament." And with a starting trio of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Oswalt, they will be an extremely tough out.

A lot of talk heading into Saturday surrounded Nationals slugger Adam Dunn, but in the end he stayed put, much to the chagrin of the Chicago White Sox, who did everything in their power to land him. I still think there is a chance Dunn gets moved at some point over the next month through waivers.

There was a name from trade deadlines past making the rounds early in the day, as it was being reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers were listening to offers for Manny Ramirez. I did not buy it. The Dodgers can't hit as it is; losing Ramirez wouldn't have solved anything.

Now, the Yankees and Braves weren't the only contending teams making moves prior to Saturday's non-waiver trade deadline. Let's take a look at some of the winners and losers on a busy trade deadline Saturday:

WINNERS

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Nobody was sure what to make of the Dodgers as we headed into the deadline. They needed a starting pitcher and could have used another reliever, but their finances have been a problem with the messy divorce of team owner Frank McCourt. Los Angeles, though, filled both needs by landing lefty Ted Lilly, who should thrive in a pitchers' park like Chavez Ravine; and Octavio Dotel, who will serve as Jonathan Broxton's setup man. Dotel didn't come cheap, though, as the Dodgers sent lefty James McDonald to Pittsburgh along with a terrific prospect in outfielder Andrew Lambo.

SAN DIEGO PADRES

San Diego is going for it. Pitching has easily made the Padres the biggest surprise in baseball this season, and now they have upgraded their offense over the past few days, first picking up Miguel Tejada from Baltimore, then on Saturday acquiring outfielder Ryan Ludwick from St. Louis. Tejada is an RBI machine and will fit nicely behind Adrian Gonzalez, while Ludwick adds even more pop. I can't believe it, but I think the Padres are going to win the NL West.

TEXAS RANGERS

For a team that is not sure who its owners are, Texas sure does make a lot of moves. The Rangers are the biggest winners of all. Not from a move they made Saturday, however, but for picking up Cliff Lee just before the All-Star break. He was the best player on the market and they got him. The Rangers went from team that could contend for a postseason spot, to becoming a team that could really make some noise in October. Jorge Cantu was then picked up earlier this week to provide some depth at first base and the addition of Cristian Guzman is a perfect stopgap at second base until Ian Kinsler returns.

LOSERS

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

I guess it is hard to blame the White Sox for not getting Dunn. I am not sure what else they could have done. It seems like Washington really had to be bowled over to deal him. That seemed to be the case early on, though. Why didn't Kenny Williams look elsewhere for a bat? The Ramirez stuff was never going to happen. On the bright side I do like the pickup of righty Edwin Jackson, who could thrive under very underrated pitching coach Don Cooper. They needed a big stick, though, and came up short. Last year they were able to get Alex Rios on waivers. Hopefully lighting strikes twice for fans on the South Side of Chicago.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

The Giants were in the same boat as the White Sox in looking for a bat. It wasn't Dunn they were seeking, however, but they were trying hard for Milwaukee's Corey Hart and Toronto's Jose Bautista. The Giants, though, are probably in the best position of any of the contenders to land a player through waivers.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

The Cardinals went into July with the hope of landing Oswalt or Dan Haren. They ended up with Jake Westbrook, at the expense of their offense in Ludwick. Now with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright atop their rotation, the Cardinals are already in pretty good shape. They probably could have gotten by with just rookie Jaime Garcia and the returning Kyle Lohse. Westbrook won't hurt them by any stretch, I just think they gave up too much for him.

HOUSTON ASTROS

What exactly is Ed Wade doing? I did not get the Oswalt deal on Thursday and I certainly don't understand the Berkman trade. Why are you paying these teams to take your superstars? I find it hard to believe you could not have found a better deal for Berkman than you got from the Yankees, considering you were willing to pay more than half the money he had coming to him. Not to mention they signed Brett Myers to a multi-year deal. I hope Wade is renting, not buying in Houston.

HOW WAIVER WIRE DEALS WORK

Today was technically the trade deadline, but deals can still be made through the waiver wire over the next month or so.

Here is how that works:

Any player can be put on waivers by his team, and the player does not need to be informed. Other teams then have the chance to make a claim on the player during a 47-hour window.

If the player is claimed, the team that placed him on waivers has the option of pulling him back. If the team pulls him back they can't trade him for 30 days.

If his team decides not to pull him back:

Option 1: His team can work out a trade with the team that claimed him. Any player involved in the trade who is on a 40-man roster must go through waivers first.

Option 2: His team can just dump him and his salary on the team that claimed him, receiving no player in return.

Option 3: No one claims him, and his team is free to trade him to any team.

If more than one team places a claim on a player, the winning claim is awarded based on worst record or the league the claiming team is in.

There is not a deadline at any point. There is a "playoff roster" deadline of September 1, but there's an injury loophole that has been exploited in the past.

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Super Bowl XLIV Odds

Super Bowl XLIII isn't even a week old yet and oddsmakers have already released Super Bowl XLIV odds.

Despite the Pittsburgh Steelers winning Super Bowl 43, the New England Patriots are 8/1 favorites to win Super Bowl 44.

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

With their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers became the latest NFL champion. But believe it or not, oddsmakers from online sports book MySportsbook.com don't have the Steelers the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV next season.

That honor belongs to the New England Patriots, who are 8/1 favorites to win despite not even qualify for the postseason in 2008. The Pats also have a major decision to make regarding what to do with Matt Cassel, who played well in Tom Brady's (knee surgery) absence last year but is also a free agent this offseason.

Ironically, the Steelers aren't even oddsmakers second choice to win Super Bowl 44, as the Dallas Cowboys are listed right behind the Patriots at 9/1 despite not making the playoffs themselves. Clearly oddsmakers think the public will hop back on the Cowboys' bandwagon considering the immense talent they have and the opening of a brand new stadium.

After Dallas, then comes Pittsburgh at 10/1, but they share those odds with the New York Giants, who won Super Bowl XLII. The Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers round out the top six teams at 12/1, while the Baltimore Ravens (14/1), Tennessee Titans (16/1), Carolina Panthers (18/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (18/1) complete the top 10.

The NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals got no love from oddsmakers as they were established as a 30/1 long shot to win next year's Super Bowl. They share those same odds with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – two teams that didn't even qualify for the postseason. Other long shots are the Kansas City Chiefs (100/1), Detroit Lions (100/1), St. Louis Rams (75/1) and Oakland Raiders (75/1).

To see a complete list of all the team's odds to win Super Bowl XLIV, check below.

NFL TEAM FUTURE ODDS TO WIN SUPER BOWL XLIV

New England Patriots 8/1

Dallas Cowboys 9/1

New York Giants 10/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1

Indianapolis Colts 12/1

San Diego Chargers 12/1

Baltimore Ravens 14/1

Tennessee Titans 16/1

Carolina Panthers 18/1

Philadelphia Eagles 18/1

New Orleans Saints 20/1

Atlanta Falcons 25/1

Denver Broncos 25/1

Green Bay Packers 25/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 25/1

Minnesota Vikings 25/1

New York Jets 25/1

Arizona Cardinals 30/1

Chicago BearS 30/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30/1

Buffalo Bills 35/1

Houston TexaNS 35/1

Miami Dolphins 35/1

Washington Redskins 35/1

Seattle SeahawkS 50/1

Cleveland Browns 55/1

Cincinnati Bengals 60/1

San Francisco 49ers 60/1

Oakland Raiders 75/1

St. Louis Rams 75/1

Detroit Lions 100/1

Kansas City Chiefs 100/1

Odds as of: 2/2/09

Bet Super Bowl XLIV Future Odds

To visit this online sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

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