McLouth, Pirates slip by Reds

Baseball Betting Lines

04/12/2008 - Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nate McLouth was 2-for-5, knocked in the game-winning run and scored a run as the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3, at PNC Park.

Xavier Nady went 2-for-4 with a run scored and one knocked in for the Pirates, who have taken the first two games of the series after getting swept by the Cubs April 7-10. Doug Mientkiewicz had a double and scored a run.

Pirates starter Ian Snell (2-0) got the win by going 6 1/3 innings while giving up three runs on nine hits while fanning two. Matt Capps earned his third save by giving up only one hit while working the ninth.

Joey Votto was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for the Reds, who have dropped two straight after a two-game win streak. Jeff Keppinger had a 3-for-5 day with an RBI, but stranded four runners. Ken Griffey, Jr. and Brandon Phillips each had two hits. Adam Dunn went 0-for-5.

Bronson Arroyo went five innings and gave up three runs -- two earned -- on six hits for a no decision. Mike Lincoln (0-1) got the loss in giving up a run on two hits in two innings of work.

Lincoln replaced Arroyo on the mound in the sixth and Brian Bixler connected on his first career hit, a single to second base, and moved to second on Snell's sacrifice bunt. McLouth followed with a line drive to center that scored Bixler and put the Bucs up 4-3.

Capps came in for the ninth and surrendered a single to Griffey, though he got Phillips to ground into a double play and Dunn to ground out to end the game.

During the home half of the second inning, Nady led off with a single and Mientkiewicz followed suit, but Votto committed a throwing error that put runners on second and third. Ronny Paulino followed with a single to right field that scored both runners and gave the Pirates an early 2-0 lead.

Votto began Cincy's portion of the fifth with a single, and Arroyo clubbed another single, but Bixler botched the throw and it was first and third with one out. Patterson followed with an RBI groundout and it was a one-run game with a man on first with two outs. Corey Patterson stole second and a Keppinger RBI single knotted the game at two.

McLouth and Freddy Sanchez led off the fifth with back-to-back singles, and a Nady single scored McLouth and gave the Pirates a 3-2 advantage.

The Reds bounced back in the sixth as Phillips crushed a double to left field and an Edwin Encarnacion single made it first and third. Votto continued the rally with an RBI single that evened things up at three.

Game Notes

The clubs will finish the series Sunday afternoon, as Reds rookie sensation Johnny Cueto (1-0) takes the mound against Tom Gorzelanny (0-1)...Attendance was 18,096...The Reds will begin a three-game set in Chicago against the Cubs on Tuesday. The Pirates will begin a three-game series at the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

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.

NFL Betting Lines

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Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds

Will he or won't he?  Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.

Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.

"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."

Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.

Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.

But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.

Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback.  It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.

Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1


Atlanta Falcons 50-1


Baltimore Ravens 15-1


Buffalo Bills 50-1


Carolina Panthers 18-1


Chicago Bears 10-1


Cincinnati Bengals 15-1


Cleveland Browns 100-1


Dallas Cowboys 15-1


Denver Broncos 15-1


Detroit Lions 100-1


Green Bay Packers 50-1


Houston Texans 100-1


Indianapolis Colts 6-1


Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1


Kansas City Chiefs 30-1


Miami Dolphins 40-1


Minnesota Vikings 75-1


New England Patriots 10-1


New Orleans Saints 18-1


New York Giants 20-1


New York Jets 30-1


Oakland Raiders 100-1


Philadelphia Eagles 18-1


Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1


Saint Louis Rams 60-1


San Diego Chargers 6-1


San Francisco 49ers 75-1


Seattle Seahawks 20-1


Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1


Tennessee Titans 40-1


Washington Redskins 50-1

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