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Pujols eyes unprecedented record, but is it meaningful?Baseball Betting Lines08/27/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The greatness of Albert Pujols has been well documented within the world of baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals slugger has been turning heads since his rookie season in 2001, compiling three Most Valuable Player awards and a World Series title along the way. But what could become his greatest individual accomplishment and potentially one of the ultimate achievements in baseball history, has gone relatively unnoticed. Pujols has a legitimate shot to not only become the first player to win the Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 but, in the process, could become the first player in major league history to lead his league in average, home runs, runs batted in, hits, runs, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS (on-base plus slugging). Yastrzemski, Frank Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams and Ty Cobb are some of the all-time greats who have a Triple Crown to their name and Pujols could soon join the elite company. What's more impressive, is that he could finish the year with a more dominating season than any of those legends had during their Triple Crown year. Pujols is no stranger to records, as he is already the fastest player to reach 300 career homers, third youngest to reach 400, is second all-time on the Cardinals career home run list and is the only player in history to record at least 30 home runs in each of his first 10 seasons. The 2001 Rookie of the Year is a nine-time all-star who has been the recipient of five silver sluggers and one gold glove award (2006). The native of the Dominican Republic has gone .300-30-100 plus in every big league season. Pujols' mark of .314 in 2002 was the lowest of his career. He's a rare power hitter in that he is actually a contact hitter first and foremost, yet can also hit the long ball with the best of them. Pujols is a career .332 hitter who has only led his league in home runs once - hitting 47 in 2009 - but has never hit less than 32 in a season. His career-best came in 2006 when he went deep 49 times. What solidifies his ability to be a .300-plus power hitter is his knack for avoiding strikeouts. Players that hit home runs at the rate Pujols does are supposed to strike out a lot more than he does. Minus his rookie year where he struck out 93 times and walked on 69 occasions, he's never struck out more than he has walked or whiffed more than 100 times in a season. The Cardinals first basemen should be approaching 600 career home runs around the same age (35) Alex Rodriguez was, giving him, just like Rodriguez, a very good shot at eclipsing the all-time mark currently held by Barry Bonds at 762. Yet Bonds and Rodriguez, who are among only seven players to reach the 600- career home run mark, have both had their names tied to performance-enhancing drugs. Pujols has joined the likes of Ken Griffey Jr. and Jim Thome as players who have put up sensational home run numbers in the wrong era. None of these three have been linked to PED's but they are on the verge of joining Bonds, A-Rod and Sammy Sosa in a group whose membership is still very much exclusive. Griffey amassed 630 career home runs, while Thome is at 581. Barring injuries, Thome and Pujols will reach 600 and expand that list to nine. Manny Ramirez, whose total of 554 is good for 14th on the all-time list will likely join this club as well; one in which that has increasingly become designated for "roiders". This means that seven of the 10 players destined to reach the milestone will have started their careers post-1985, assuming Thome, Pujols and Ramirez all get there. There have been more players admitted into this club in the past 25 years than in every other season before that combined. And none of them have been celebrated in the way baseball fans did so for the only other three to accomplish the sacred feat in Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. Things have changed nowadays in baseball, as every record, at least from an offensive standpoint and more specifically home runs, gets scrutinized to such a degree that the accomplishment loses its appeal regardless of if it was done clean' or not. Perhaps the numbers of Pujols and Thome can be celebrated the way they should be. It's arguably the most exciting part about the game and because of what is now known as the 'steroid era', fans are hesitant to embrace these sluggers. We are watching a player that in our lifetime may go from the best that there is to the best that there ever was. Embrace the ride while it lasts because despite what the past few decades may suggest, these types of players don't come around very often.
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MySportsbook.com refunds all bets on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay from NFL week one. (September 14) – Week one of NFL action saw three teams go scoreless for the first time since 1977. Another four were unable to get a touchdown and almost half of the underdogs covered the spread. Those three teams saved bettors at MySportsbook.com from losing out completely, thanks to the company’s unique NFL Shutout Rule -- which ensures that if the team you backed goes scoreless, your wager is refunded. Sportsbook refunded tens of thousands of dollars to customers who bet on Oakland, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, the three teams that stunk up the field so badly that their fans and backers never had a chance to get up from their couches and cheer. In the spirit of the low scoring start to the season, odds makers at the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino have set odds on how many total shutouts there will be this season. MySportsbook.com has posted updated sports betting lines for week two of the season. Ben Roethlisberger’s health status is still questionable, so Willie Parker will try to lead Pittsburgh again as they travel to Jacksonville as a one point favorite. After beating up on his little brother last week, Peyton Manning will look to lead the Colts to victory against Houston. Indianapolis is a whopping 13.5 favorite in the match-up. Seattle, last year’s highest scoring team, showed the power of their defense with their gritty 9-6 win in Motown over the ravenous Lions. They take their act back home to the comforts of Qwest Field where they will face the resurgent Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are favored by a touchdown. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year AwardsOddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite. Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award. Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1. Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award. Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1. All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY. A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks. For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided. 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1 Ron Brace (NE) 25/1 Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1 Darius Butler (NE) 40/1 Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1 Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1 Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1 Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1 Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1 Larry English (SD) 15/1 Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1 Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1 Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1 Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1 James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1 Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1 Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1 Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1 Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1 Roy Miller (TB) 20/1 Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1 Fili Moala (IND) 30/1 Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1 Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1 B J Raji (GB) 7/1 Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1 Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1 David Verkune (CLE) 20/1 Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1 Field (Any Other Player) 6/1 To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. |
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