07/08/2008 - Chicago, IL (Baseball Betting) - The Chicago Cubs have acquired pitchers Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, infielder Eric Patterson and catcher Josh Donaldson.
Harden has been the ace of the Athletics staff this season, compiling a 5-1 record with a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts. He has 92 strikeouts in only 77 innings, and has allowed only five home runs in 2008.
The oft-injured 26-year-old righty has not made 30 starts in a season since making 31 in 2004. He made only 16 combined starts in 2006 and 2007 while suffering from back and arm issues.
Harden sports career numbers of 36-19 with a 3.42 ERA in 97 appearances in parts of six seasons, all with Oakland. He has been placed on the disabled list at least once a year since 2005.
The trade comes in the wake of the Brewers acquisition of CC Sabathia from Indians, and Harden will join pitchers Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster to give the Cubs one of the most formidable rotations in the National League.
Gaudin also joins the Cubs as a versatile pitcher who can either start or come out of the bullpen, doing both this year for the Athletics. He has a 5-3 record this season with a 3.59 ERA in 26 appearances, including six starts.
The 25-year-old has gone 24-23 with a 4.33 ERA in six seasons with Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Oakland. He was used primarily as a starter in 2007, making 34 starts and going 11-13 with a 4.43 ERA.
Gallagher has split the last two seasons between the Cubs and Triple-A Iowa. The 22-year-old is 3-4 with a 4.45 ERA this season in 12 games, including 10 starts. He was originally a fifth round pick by Chicago in the 2006 Draft.
Murton, 26, has spent parts of four seasons with Chicago, batting .250 with two doubles and six runs batted in after being called up from Iowa after Alfonso Soriano was injured. His best campaign came in 2006 when he hit .297 with 13 homers and 62 RBI in 144 games. He was acquired by the Cubs in a four-team trade in 2004 that involved shortstop Nomar Garciaparra.
Patterson, 25, was an eighth round selection by the Cubs in the 2004 Draft and has also split the 2008 season between the major league club and Iowa. In three stints with Chicago this season, he hit .237 with one home run and seven RBI.
Donaldson batted .217 with six homers and 23 RBI in 63 games for Single-A Peoria this season. The 22-year-old catcher was a second round selection by the Cubs in the 2007 Draft.
<< Blues sign Bernier to offer sheet
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues signed free agent
forward Steve Bernier Tuesday to an offer sheet worth $2.5 million for next
season.
Bernier spent last season with the Sharks and Sabres, tallying 16 goals and
<< Isner drops Hall of Fame opener
Newport, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Towering American John Isner was among
Tuesday's opening-round losers at the $385,000 Hall of Fame Tennis
Championships.
The 6-foot-9 fifth-seeded Isner succumbed to fellow American Jes
<< Braves sign P Tavarez
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves signed pitcher
Julian Tavarez for the remainder of the season Tuesday, hoping to bolster a
banged up bullpen.
Tavarez, 35, is with his third team this season, having be
<< Loewen placed on DL for second time in 2008
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles placed pitcher Adam
Loewen on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a re-injury of the stress
fracture in his left elbow.
The left-handed, 24-year-old left Sunday's game agai
Tribe move Elarton to DL >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians transferred Scott
Elarton to the 15-day disabled list with a non-baseball medical condition.
The right-hander was originally placed on the restricted list June 30 after
informin
Rezai, Wickmayer exit Palermo >>
Palermo, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai
and sixth-seeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer were among the first-round losers
Tuesday at the Palermo International tennis tournament.
Paraguay's Rossana De Los
Knicks sign top pick Gallinari >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Knicks signed forward Danilo
Gallinari on Tuesday. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Gallinari was selected by New York with the sixth overall selection in the
2008
Report: Magic ink G Pietrus >>
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic have reportedly reached a
verbal agreement with former Golden State Warriors guard Mickael Pietrus on a
multi-year contract, general manager Otis Smith confirmed to the Florida Today
newspap
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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