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**Udog** · 07-14-2014, 06:46 AM

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

-- David Price is 4-0, 1.41 in his last four starts; if the Rays want to trade him, the tab keeps going up.

-- Padres lost three of four in Dodger Stadium this weekend; they scored one run in the three losses. How does their hitting coach keep his job?

-- Orioles are 9-20 when they don't hit a home run, 43-22 when they do.

-- Brian Harman won Quad Cities Open, 6th Georgia alum to win this year.

-- One quick way to improve Home Run Derby on TV; get rid of Chris Berman.

-- If baseball playoffs started today:
NL-- Wash/Atl, Milwaukee-Dodgers. Wild Card: Giants/Wash-Atl loser
AL-- Baltimore-Detroit-Oakland. Wild Card: Angels-Seattle

**********

Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Wrapping up a sports weekend..........

13) Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey both hit grand slams Sunday, first time ever a pitcher/catcher on same team hit grand slams in same game. Hard to believe it never happened before, but it hadn't. It was also the first time insce 1995 a team hit two grand slams in same game but only scored eight runs in the game.

12) Giants were shut out in Ryan Vogelsong's last three starts; in his last four, they were outscored 12-1.

11) Guys on TV were talking about the 1971 All-Star Game Sunday; the first six hitters in the NL lineup are all in the Hall of Fame now-- and they lost!!!

10) Damn I feel old; David Thompson turned 60 this weekend. If he had played during the ESPN era, Thompson highlights would be everywhere now, he was way better in college than Michael Jordan was. Thompson scored over 13,000 points in the pros, but his best days were at NC State- they won the '74 national title.

9) Detroit Pistons fortified their lineup by signing DJ Augustin/Caron Butler; with Stan Van Gundy in charge, you know Detroit will improve.

8) Cavaliers hit the lottery getting Lebron James back, but now he is playing for a rookie NBA coach, albeit one with a lot of international experience. Wondering if the one-year opt out is just in case he doesn't like playing for the guy.

7) I'm watching the Twins play in Coors Field Sunday; you have to have fast OFs in Denver, since the outfield is so spacious. In other words, you cannot play Josh Willingham in left field without getting hurt by it.

6) Giancarlo Stanton leads the NL in intentional walks; know who is second? Try Ruben Tejada of the Mets, with nine. Hard to believe, but he bats 8th, just ahead of the pitcher, which is why. Guess it is still hard to believe.

5) Mets rested Daniel Murphy the day before his four-day vacation, when he goes to his first All-Star Game. Not sure how this makes sense, resting him before he has four days off, but thats modern baseball. Mets are playing better, by the way.

4) Brock Holt was 5-6 Sunday, Red Sox won 11-0 in Houston; Holt played college ball in Houston at Rice-- he was 10-15 in the three-game series against the Astros. Kid can play any position-- he's hitting .327.

3) Good TV during the day on ESPNU this week, SEC media days for the football coaches. Good theater, you get to see/hear coaches away from the field. Best one is usually Steve Spurrier; think he is on Tuesday.

2) One person who was supposed to be there this week but won't be is Auburn QB Nick Marshall, who had some off-field problems last week and was scratched from his appearance. Year #2 at Auburn is going to be challenging for Gus Malzahn.

1) We're at the All-Star break, I'm a little braindead. Am heading to Las Vegas later this week for summer vacation-- watch some basketball and relax. Its tough work, but someone has to do it.

**Udog** · 07-14-2014, 06:48 AM

Keselowski completes New Hampshire weekend sweep

LOUDON, N.H. -- For Brad Keselowski, it's beginning to look an awful lot like 2012 when everything went right on the way to a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title.

Keselowski led 138 of the last 232 laps to win Sunday's Camping World RV Sales 301 for his third Sprint Cup victory of the season. He held off Kyle Busch on the final restart and pulled away to win by three-quarters of a second in a green-white-checker finish.

"I'm not thinking of anything else right now (other) than how thankful I am to have a team and a car that is clicking well," Keselowski said from Victory Lane. "It's every driver's dream.

"I think, in a lot of ways, we're stronger than (2012). I don't think we've had this much speed before. I feel like I'm in a really strong rhythm right now. I think some of last year's struggles put me in a spot to work harder and become a better race car driver. I think we're combining all those things and we're seeing the fruits of that labor -- with more to come."

Keselowski, 30, captured his first Sprint Cup championship in 2012 on the strength of five victories and 23 top-10 finishes in 36 starts. After failing to qualify for the Chase last season, he's produced 10 top-10 performances in 19 races this season.

"We were fast last year at this time but we weren't executing," said Keselowski, who also won Saturday's Sta-Green 200 Nationwide Series race and had dominated the speed charts during Saturday's Sprint Cup practice sessions. "This year we're executing and we have a lot of momentum. It really feels like we have hit our stride.

"At the same time, we have a lot of potential still left in our team. Everybody is going to turn it up a notch when the Chase comes and we know that. You've got to have a good horse and we had that today. (But) we know we have to have another gear to grab to be able to run for a championship. I think we're close but I want to keep pushing."

Presuming they attempt to qualify for the next seven races, Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (10th) became the first two drivers to clinch spots in the Chase thanks to their showings on Sunday.

"I'm proud of our team for that," Earnhardt said. "Hopefully we can improve before we come back here (for the second race of the Chase). That was the hardest I've ever worked for a 10th-place finish. We (were) off all weekend -- a real frustrating weekend to be honest."

Keselowski seemed to be in cruise control, leading Denny Hamlin by 2.91 seconds with four laps remaining. But Justin Allgaier spun and struck the wall, bringing out the race's seventh caution flag and necessitating the fifth green-white-checker finish of the 2014 season and juggling the field.

As soon as the yellow flag came out, Hamlin headed to the pits for a splash of gas and settled for eighth place. Jeff Gordon, who had been running third, ran his Hendrick Chevrolet out of gas and was relegated to 26th place. Kevin Harvick started second alongside Keselowski but ran out of fuel on the restart.

"We had what I thought was the second-best car," Hamlin said. "I had to save fuel and couldn't push it. I would have liked to have seen if we could have raced with the (No.) 2, but he obviously had a very dominant car."

The fuel situation left Busch and Clint Bowyer as the only drivers with a real shot at Keselowski in the final two laps.

In the end, neither had anything for Keselowski.

"I don't think anybody did," said Busch, whose Joe Gibbs Toyota was strong enough to sit on the pole and lead 62 laps.

"We made a gusty call at the end to stay out and see if we could make it on fuel. We barely made it -- ran out right at the start-finish. All in all, a decent day to be coming home second."

Bowyer, who led 36 laps after leading a total of 12 in the previous 12 Cup events, faded to sixth behind rookie Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman.

Keselowski's power was evident when crew chief Paul Wolfe opted to give up the lead and take four tires when the race's second caution came on Lap 113. It took Keselowski 13 laps to drive from 10th place to third and 10 more laps for him to get to the rear bumper of the leader, Kenseth. Throughout the race, Wolfe opted for fresh tires over track position.

"I really was not sure how that was going to work out and unfold," Wolfe said. "Seeing that, I felt pretty good about the strength of our car and what Brad was able to do moving through traffic."

Team owner Roger Penske also liked what he was seeing.

"Paul made great calls today," he said. "Watching Brad -- and I got to see it from up on top -- I can tell you there was nobody that could beat him. It was just great execution from everybody."

Keselowski became the 13th different winner in the last 13 Cup races at New Hampshire, tying a record set at Texas Motor Speedway. Busch has now finished second at New Hampshire in three consecutive races.

**Udog** · 07-14-2014, 06:48 AM

Logano upset after crash with Shepherd ended promising day

LOUDON, N.H. -- Perhaps the only driver with a chance to prevent Brad Keselowski from winning Sunday's Camping World RV Sales 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano.

Logano was one of nine drivers to lead the race and was running second when his quest was ended by a crash on Lap 213 with Morgan Shepherd.

It was the kind of incident that occurs all the time in NASCAR, one car getting into the back of another. But this one came with a twist.

Logano, age 24, was a contender to win the race and remains a contender to advance in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Shepherd, 72, is the oldest driver to compete at NASCAR's highest level. Breaking into Sprint Cup in 1970, he's notched 168 top-10 finishes but not a one since 1997. His last win came in 1993.

This was just the second race this season for Shepherd, who did not race Cup from 2007-12, and his Thunder Coal Chevrolet posed a threat only as a rolling roadblock, struggling at times to maintain minimum speed.

"I got taken out by the slowest car out there," said Logano, visibly upset after the crash. "You would think there would be some courtesy to the leaders. It is just dumb that it happened. I feel like that's stuff that shouldn't happen at this level of racing."

Logano went on to say that if a driver can't "control his stuff," he "shouldn't be out there. He suggested that NASCAR might consider requiring drivers to pass a test.

NASCAR's vice president of competition Robin Pemberton defended Shepherd's right to be on the track, competing against some drivers who are more than a half-century his junior.

"Morgan Shepherd has always been approved (to drive)," Pemberton said. "He's been approved for decades. Under our situation here, you take a physical at the beginning of the year. You pass your physical. You pass inspections with your car, you qualify for the race and you run the event. So, he met everything he needed to meet.

"Joey was half-kidding (about requiring a test). I understand that. Nobody wants to be (taken) out of a race because of an accident."

Pemberton called Sunday's incident "an accident" that "could happen to anybody."

"Those things happen," Pemberton said. "(Shepherd) was above the minimum speed. He pulled over to let Joey go by. That's a responsibility for all competitors. Everybody has a responsibility to lay off each other."

Asked if his age should be a barrier to competition, Shepherd responded with a question.

"Was that the only wreck out there?" he asked. "OK. That answers that.

"It was nobody's fault. Maybe he didn't realize how wicked-loose I was. I was having to tip-toe through the corner. It's one of those deals that my car wasn't driving real good. Whenever he drove down in the corner, he was close to me and it pulled my car around."

Roger Penske seemed very willing to give Shepherd a pass.

"Morgan's a good friend of everyone in the garage area. He's a good friend of mine," Penske said. "We've tried to support him.

"I told Joey, 'Look, you can't go back and fix it.' When Brad came up on (Shepherd) later in the race, he slowed down to let everybody by him.

"The great thing about the sport (is) that if you want to tee it up here and bring your car and have a team, we let them run. So, I don't feel bad about it other than the fact that Joey got knocked out. He was running second at that time and, obviously, at that point you say, 'damn,' but at the end of the day we've got to move on."

Jimmie Johnson exits early

A week after completing just 20 laps at Daytona, Jimmie Johnson suffered a pair of early flat tires, the second of which resulted in a race-ending crash. Johnson completed only 11 laps and recorded a second consecutive 42nd-place finish.

Johnson refused to believe that lower-than-advised air pressure might have led to his tire failures.

"I'm not sure what caused it," he said. "I'm sure there will be a lot of speculation and, I'm sure, finger-pointing back to the team or our team. But we saw some issues here, especially with the particular tire the last couple of days. We will try to dig in and learn more. But I can promise you one thing: It wasn't due to low left-rear tire pressure."

Johnson did not rule out the possibility that damage to his car from the first flat might have caused a rub that led to the second tire failing.

The early exit hurt Johnson in multiple ways. New Hampshire is the second race of the Chase and the No. 48 team, which slipped to fifth in points, now has a limited notebook. "It would have been nice to get a race in here before we come back for the second one," Johnson said. "It's definitely a setback, missing out on track time."

Ford keeps rolling

Keselowski gave Ford its fourth consecutive Cup victory, something that the manufacturer has not enjoyed since 2001. Ford's eight trips to Victory Lane this season are the most since it had 11 wins in 2008.

Keselowski, who won at Kentucky Speedway on June 28, has won twice during the four-race streak. Carl Edwards (Sonoma) and Aric Almirola (Daytona) have accounted for the other wins.

Fuel shortage

Jeff Gordon remained the Sprint Cup points leader despite running out of gas during the final caution and finishing 26th. His lead dwindled to 12 points in front of teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"I felt very confident we could finish third until that caution came out," Gordon said. "We knew we were very close. That (fuel) pickup is on the right side, so I was scuffing my tires. I think if we had (stayed) green we would have been fine. Under caution, it wouldn't pick up the amount of fuel that was in there."

Chasing the Chase

Matt Kenseth finished fourth, Ryan Newman fifth, Clint Bowyer sixth, Austin Dillon 14th and Paul Menard 19th to remain positioned to make the Chase field without a victory this season.

Greg Biffle, the first driver on the outside looking in at this point, battled through early tire issues to finish 16th and remain five points behind Dillon for the final Chase spot. Kasey Kahne (11th) is just four points behind Biffle.

**Udog** · 07-14-2014, 06:49 AM

Sizing up the sluggers and odds for the 2014 MLB Home Run Derby

Monday marks a dark, dark day in sports betting.

The World Cup is over, football season is still more than a month away, and with the MLB on hiatus for the All-Star break, the only thing to wager on is how many balls some guys can hit over a fence. Hell, the WNBA and MLS aren’t even around to save us.

Better make the most of this.

The MLB All-Star Home Run Derby steps up to the plate Monday night, wowing baseball fans for a few rounds before Chris Berman’s voice eats through our brain like a parasitic worm. But, like sprinkling bacon bits on a boring salad, throwing down some coin on who can hit the most home runs makes the Home Run Derby tolerable. And there’s always the mute button for Boomer.

Here’s a look at the field and their odds to win the 2014 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby:

Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins (+250)

Stanton is the overall favorite to win the derby, coming in with 21 home runs on the year, however he hasn’t gone yard since June 26. On top of that, the Marlins’ are currently shopping their slugger which could have Stanton focused more on his future than the derby.

Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers (+450)

This is strictly a popularity contest here. Puig opened at +550 to win the derby and has been bet up to the second overall choice. The bat-flipping phenom has just 12 dingers and just one home run in his last 43 at-bats this month.

Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays (+500)

“Joey Bats” is the captain for the American League squad and brings 17 long balls to Target Field. Bautista actually rocked a home run in his last stop in Minnesota back on April 17, but hasn’t posted a HR since July 2.

Yoenis Cespedes, Oakland Athletics (+500)

The defending Home Run Derby champ is being offered at favorable odds but there hasn’t been a back-to-back derby winner since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1998 and 1999. Cespedes comes in ice cold, not registering a hit in four straight games with seven strikeouts as of Sunday. He cashed in at +600, hitting 32 total home runs in 2013.

Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies (+650)

The National League captain leads the NL with 21 round trippers – 14 of those coming in the hitter-friendly thin air of Coors Field. Tulo won’t have that pop in Minnesota but does have three home runs in his last three games, as of Sunday. All of which were at home.

Josh Donaldson, Oakland Athletics (+1,000)

The A’s better hope the derby doesn’t wreak havoc on Donaldson and Cespedes’ swings like it has with some contestants in the past. Donaldson has 20 home runs and also put one over the fence at Target Field this year, back on April 10.

Brian Dozier, Minnesota Twins (+1,200)

There is no doubt Dozier will have the home crowd behind him Monday night. Have you seen this Twins fan’s back hair Dozier jersey? *Insert dry heave here* The second baseman has 16 home runs – nine of those coming inside Target Field.

Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds (+1,200)

Frazier upped his home run total to 18 with a bomb against the Pirates Saturday night – his first homer since June 22. His brother - Charlie Frazier – is going to be tossing to him during the Derby. Charlie is a former Triple-A player who throws batting practice for his local ball club.

Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles (+1,200)

The Baltimore slugger has just 16 home runs on the year and got into the derby field because teammate Nelson Cruz passed on the invite from Bautista. Hopefully Cruz and Orioles slugger Chris Davis passed along some pointers.

Justin Morneau, Colorado Rockies (+1,500)

It’s a homecoming for the former Minnesota star. Much like Tulowitzki, Morneau has benefited from the live balls in Coors Field, hitting eight of his 13 home runs at home. He won the 2008 Home Run Derby with 22 total dingers at +320 – even though Josh Hamilton hit 35 total HRs but ran out of steam in the final.

**Udog** · 07-14-2014, 08:46 AM

Orioles midseason report: On top and trending upward

BALTIMORE -- With a season-best, four-game lead in the American League East at the All-Star break, the Baltimore Orioles are optimistic about their chances of playing October baseball.

The Orioles dealt with a number of hurdles in the first half, but they overcame most of them and landed on their feet. That is why they are the team to beat in the division.

The troubles came in many different forms, starting with the loss of All-Star catcher Matt Wieters for the season due to Tommy John surgery, a devastating blow. However, rookie Caleb Joseph and veteran Nick Hundley are pairing up to give the Orioles adequate cover behind the plate.

Right-hander Tommy Hunter couldn't do the job as closer, but left-hander Zach Britton stepped right in and was solid.

First baseman Chris Davis is stuck in a long slump that dropped his average to .199 at the break, but designated hitter/left fielder Nelson Cruz picked up the slack. Cruz, signed to a one-year deal late in the offseason, has 28 homers and 74 RBIs at the break, second in the majors in both categories.

Third baseman Manny Machado missed the first month due to knee surgery, then started slowly. However, he is on a tear of late, hitting as he did last year and moving his average up to .270.

Also on the plus side, left fielder/DH Steve Pearce came out of nowhere for a career half-season with 11 homers and 31 RBIs plus a .316 average at the break.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said his team isn't making playoff plans just yet and knows there is lots of work left to be done, which he is looking forward to.

"We may be in first place right now, but we still feel like we're hunting something, as opposed to somebody (hunting) us," Showalter said. "There's a lot of unknowns. It's going to be quite a journey. It's not going to be boring."

The Orioles began posting better results when the rotation settled down in early June. The starters pitched effectively over the past month, taking a lot of pressure off the bullpen. Showalter is juggling something of a six-man rotation, which gives the team extra depth, and it worked well in recent days.

The Orioles could have a chance to pull away from the rest of the division, especially because so many of their rivals are riddled with injuries.

Showalter also said he knows how well the other teams in the division played in stretches during recent seasons. The Tampa Bay Rays went 19-9 heading into the break, and if they decide not to trade left-hander David Price, they still could be a force in the second half. The Toronto Blue Jays led the division for much of the first half, and the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox can never be counted out to their deep pockets.

Still, there is no question that the Orioles are very happy with where they are right now. Not many expected them to even be in first, much less hold a four-game lead.

"We wanted to kind of control our own destiny," Davis said. "We're definitely in the driver's seat right now, and hopefully we can keep it going."

**Udog** · 07-14-2014, 08:48 AM

Yankees midseason report: Treading water won't cut it

For the New York Yankees, another non-playoff season appears to be a strong possibility.

At least it does if the offense cannot pick it up consistently to support a pitching staff missing 80 percent of its projected rotation while using rookie starting pitchers in 45 games.

The fact that the Yankees are within striking distance in the American League East is because that while they've treaded water, no one ahead of them has become consistently hot.

However, no team can rely on that factor and eventually the Yankees will have to develop a hot streak. It will have to be one that goes beyond last month's four-game winning streak and stretch of 10 wins in 14 games.

If that is going to happen, the Yankees will need to hit better than a team that barely hits over .250 and improve on their struggles in many clutch situations.

That means Brian McCann will have to do better than the .239 average he has produced so far. It also means than when Carlos Beltran returns he will need to do better than the underwhelming .216 average.

To achieve all of that, the Yankees will also have to play better at home. They have won 18 of their first 41 home games, start the second half with an 11-game homestand and play a major league-leading 40 home games after the break.

Getting all those components to click is their mission and if the Yankees are going to be a playoff team, it must happen.

"It's a little surprising," hitting coach Kevin Long said. "Certainly you expect some of these guys in this lineup to perform and at the end of the day, at the end of the year you hope that those numbers are going to be where they should. I can tell you they're doing everything in their power to try and correct it and I'm doing everything in my power to try to correct it and we're just going to stay at it. There's no simple plan. The work is positive and we're working in the right direction. It's just been tough."

**Udog** · 07-14-2014, 08:49 AM

Blue Jays midseason report: Contenders or pretenders?

The Toronto Blue Jays had a brilliant May, going 21-9. The American League East is surprisingly weak.

They are two reasons that Toronto is still in serious contention for its first postseason appearance since 1993, in the pre-wild card era, when they won the World Series championship for the second year in a row.

After surging through May and winning their first five games in June to go to 38-24 and stand atop the AL East, the Blue Jays have sputtered at 11-23, including a 2-8 trip to lead into the All-Star break. Yet, surprisingly, they will return to competition within striking distance of first in the division. But first they must play much better than they have.

Their starting pitching, which lacks depth, must continue to be better than expected. The bullpen, a major disappointment, must make better use of the fastball instead of hanging sliders in situations in which even a good breaking pitch doesn't make sense. The hitters must find a way to solve left-handed pitching. The players must eliminate as many as possible of the silly mistakes that have infested their play.

"We've been within striking distance in a lot of games but we just haven't played good enough, that's the bottom line," right fielder Jose Bautista said. "I haven't played good enough and other guys, if you ask them, they'll probably tell you that they haven't played good enough. We haven't done what we did earlier on and that's why we've lost some of these games."

There have been injuries that have put such players as third baseman Brett Lawrie, first baseman Edwin Encarnacion and designated hitter Adam Lind on the disabled list. The Blue Jays plucked outfielder Nolan Reimold from the Baltimore Orioles on waivers, but after a quick start, he suffered a strained calf that put him on the DL. That's the way things have been going, but the slide started before the injuries.

There has been a tendency to blame recruits from Triple-A Buffalo for some of the mistakes. But the Blue Jays were playing well in May when center fielder Colby Rasmus was on the DL with a hamstring injury and Anthony Gose and Kevin Pillar platooned in his place. Gose made some vital catches Rasmus likely would not have made.

There were just too many examples of careless play from players who are supposed to be stars. Shortstop Jose Reyes has made some astonishing throwing errors. He also has let some ground balls get past him and, in one case, between his legs. He says he has a bit of a sore shoulder, but his footwork also could use some work on his throws.

Catcher Dioner Navarro, who was lauded early for his game calling, seems to have a tendency to call too many breaking balls when fastballs would be better.

Despite all this, the Blue Jays have a chance. And Bautista does not feel it is necessary to make a big trade to fortify the team.

"It would definitely help but I don't think it's a must," he said. "I don't think it's the only way we can become contenders. ...We managed to get up to first place and stay there for a while. We can definitely get back there. We just have to play the good baseball that we."

**Udog** · 07-14-2014, 08:52 AM

Rays midseason report: Murphy's law in first half

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The first half had been nothing short of an abject disappointment for the Tampa Bay Rays, picked by many to contend for the American League pennant and selected by others to at least play in, possibly even win, the World Series.

The Rays fell victim to what executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has repeatedly called an "imperfect storm" in the season's first couple months, with the starting pitching not performing up to its capabilities, the lineup failing to produce runs at its expected level and even the usually reliable defense showing cracks in the armor.

In short, everything that could go wrong went wrong for the Rays.

But lately, they've seemingly turned it around. Will it be enough?

The Rays have kept their hopes alive for the second half with a 20-11 record since June 11. But to make up for the ground they lost in the first 97 games, the Rays have to be on top of their game the rest of the way. They believe it's possible if they fully play up to their potential, however.

"We knew that we were capable of it. It just wasn't happening. We knew it couldn't last forever. It just lasted longer than we expected," Rays second baseman/right fielder Ben Zobrist said. "Now that it's going well, we can't look at the past and focus on that. We're just going to focus on the games that we have left and the fact that we're still close enough, within striking distance of the division."

"There's no letting up right now," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "We have to keep winning series, there's no doubt."

The Rays enter the break with a 44-53 record, almost 10 games behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. It's a winnable division with no one dominant team, which plays in the Rays' favor, but it's still going to be a steep uphill climb. In reality, it may be impossible.

It might become even more difficult if the Rays lose their ace.

Left-hander David Price has been the subject of intense speculation since last year's July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, and the Rays' dreadful start only intensified those rumors. His $14 million salary is high for Tampa Bay's low-budget operation, and he's only going to get more expensive in 2015, his final year of arbitration. Tampa Bay built its current roster primarily through shrewd trades, and Friedman undoubtedly recognizes the kind of haul he might get for a young star like Price, a former AL Cy Young Award winner who says he's pitching better than ever.

So, the biggest question for the Rays as they head into the All-Star break is the future of their ace. Will they deal him? What will they get? Can they contend without him?

That all remains to be seen. For now, the Rays will keep fighting to stay alive in the AL East, refusing to believe a playoff berth is out of the question until they are mathematically eliminated.

"You've got to believe that we're going to have a really good rest of the year here as far as the way that we've been playing for the last three or four weeks here going into the break," Zobrist said. "I definitely believe this team is capable of coming back."

**Udog** · 07-14-2014, 10:35 AM

CFL

Week 4

Under cashing for bettors in early season games

In Week 3 of the CFL season, the Under went 3-1 for bettors and has improved the season-to-date record to 4-8 O/U. That mark is good enough for a winning percentage of 66.67 percent for bettors.

The Edmonton Eskimos and B.C. Lions lead the way with 0-3 O/U records while the Calgary Stampeders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats are each 0-2 O/U.

Week 4 gets underway Thursday as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the aforementioned Eskimos.

**Udog** · 07-14-2014, 12:45 PM

MLB

Monday, July 14

Find out who bettors like to be Home Run King

With the World Cup now behind us and Major League Baseball in Midsummer Classic mode, Monday is all about the annual Home Run Derby.

Minnesota's Target Field is the site for this season's All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. The park has seen 70 homers in 43 games thus far in the 2014 season with an average true distance of 391.8.

According to Michael Stewart of CarbonSports.ag, bettors are backing a pair of National League sluggers from the list of participants.

"We have seen really good action so far on this years derby," Stewart tells Covers. "With Giancarlo Stanton seeing the majority of the action with 24 percent (5-2), Yasiel Puig at 17 percent (9-2), Jose Bautista at 11 percent (5-1) and defending champion Yoenis Cespedes 12 percent (5-1)."

Wainwright may be NL starter in the All-Star Game

We’ll know who the All-Star Game starting pitchers are, at the latest, early this afternoon when the managers meet the press. But there is some suggestion that Mike Matheny may call his own guy’s number and have Adam Wainwright make the start.

Rick Hummel reports that Matheny and Wainwright are both saying things which suggest that Wainwright is ready to go. He pitched on Saturday, is feeling good, Tuesday is the day he’d throw a side session, etc. He also suggests that Matheny has already made his decision and told Wainwright about it even if it isn’t public and that Wainwright offered a coy smile about it.

Of course, Clayton Kershaw is the better pitcher and he hasn’t pitched since Thursday. So perhaps there is still time for Matheny to change his mind and make, you know, the better choice.

**RS170** · 07-14-2014, 02:29 PM

Hey U-dog ---Texas has now given up 97 runs since July 1--blindly betting Tex opponents on the -2.5 RL everyday, you would be 10-3 now.

**Udog** · 07-14-2014, 04:18 PM

Originally posted by RS170 View Post

Hey U-dog ---Texas has now given up 97 runs since July 1--blindly betting Tex opponents on the -2.5 RL everyday, you would be 10-3 now.

Wow! I knew they were slumping badly but 97 runs in 14 days is ridiculous! I was betting the slump in the last series when I rode the Angels even though Texas has owned the series in Arlington. It turned out to be a pretty good play. It'll be interesting to see if their slump continues after the break.

Thanks, RS!

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Monday's Trends and Indexes - 7/14 (MLB, WNBA, CFL, Misc.)

Monday's Trends and Indexes - 7/14 (MLB, WNBA, CFL, Misc.)

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