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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In hindsight, perhaps Boston starter John Lackey should have pitched around Raul Ibanez. The Philadelphia left fielder clubbed a tiebreaking, solo home run in the seventh inning, and the Phillies edged the Red Sox, 2-1, in the middle test of a three-game interleague series at Citizens Bank Park.
He didn't toss a shutout like teammate Cliff Lee did in Tuesday's opener, but Vance Worley (3-1) limited the vaunted Boston offense to one run and five hits over a career-high seven innings.
Zimmermann (5-7) threw his first career complete game in a losing effort. The third-year starter gave up four hits and one walk in his 11th straight quality start, but an unearned run in the fourth inning cost the Nationals the game.
Washington came into the series winners in 13 of 15 overall, but fell back below .500 (40-41) following Davey Johnson's first series as manager.
But on Wednesday he resembled the pitcher who threw to a 1.72 earned run average over his first 10 starts, retiring the first 10 bitters he faced and setting down nine in a row after plunking Jerry Hairston Jr. with one out in the fifth inning.
Game Notes
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A.J. Pierzynski's sacrifice fly in the ninth brought home the game-winner as the Chicago White Sox took a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies in the second of a three-game set. Huston Street (0-2) was on the mound to start the inning, Carlos Qunetin led off with a single and moved to third on a Paul Konerko single. After Alexei Ramirez swung at a pitch in the dirt to strikeout, Pierzysnki hit a short fly ball to right.
Sergio Santos then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to lock down his 16th save of the season.
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pinch-hitter Aramis Ramirez singled in Tony Campana with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Chicago Cubs a 2-1 win over the Giants, snapping San Francisco's season-high seven- game winning streak. Cubs starter Ryan Dempster retired 20 straight batters until the ninth inning, but was lifted after surrendering a leadoff double to left-center off the bat of Pat Burrell. Carlos Marmol couldn't close the door on the win, as Emmanuel Burriss bounced a one-out, RBI single into center field. Campana's throw home was off line and Burriss raced to second.
Dempster, who threw 83 pitches, outdueled two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum in what turned out to be a great mound matchup. Dempster allowed three hits and fanned six without walking a batter. Lincecum had nine strikeouts over his seven innings.
The Cubs broke through in the seventh when Carlos Pena led off with a double to right and Blake DeWitt followed with an RBI single to right.
This was Dempster's 100th victory in a starting role...The Cubs activated infielder Darwin Barney from the 15-day disabled list and granted pitcher Doug Davis his unconditional release Wednesday. Barney, who had been out with a left knee sprain he suffered June 13 against Milwaukee, went 1-for-4.
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Johnson Acquires Ludwick Down Royals
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Win Hits Edge Disable In Carpenter
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Mariners Right- Salvage Name From Pitches
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
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NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.
Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.
There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.
Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.
The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
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