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09/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Apparently, winning four straight games just isn't the Washington Nationals' thing.
After failing to win more than three games in a row for the seventh time this season, Washington instead seeks a series victory over the New York Mets in today's finale of a three-game set at Nationals Park.
The Nationals were stifled in their attempt to win a fourth straight game by Mets starter Dillon Gee, who was making his major league debut in the place of the injured Johan Santana (pectoral strain). The 24-year-old was outstanding, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning before eventually yielding one run on two hits over seven frames.
Gee also drove in a run for the Mets, who got a three-run homer from Ike Davis to win for just the third time in nine contests on a 10-game road trip that wraps up this afternoon.
"That's been the joke with me all season in Triple-A. I think I had 20- something [at-bats] and not one hit, so it was nice to get one here," Gee said.
New York picked up the win despite third baseman David Wright being a late scratch due to a bruised left finger suffered during a stolen-base attempt on Monday. The former All-Star is day-to-day, while teammate Jose Reyes sat out his 11th consecutive game because of a right oblique strain.
Willie Harris' leadoff homer in the sixth frame spoiled Gee's no-hit bid and represented the lone run for the Nationals. Cuban Yuneski Maya, also making his MLB debut, allowed four runs over five innings to take the loss, though he did retire 11 of the final 12 batters he faced.
"The third inning, fourth inning, fifth inning, he got much better location with his breaking ball and pitched effectively a little more," said Nationals manager Jim Riggleman of Maya. "He just got better as it went along."
Today's finale will feature a pair of 35-year-olds in the Mets' R.A. Dickey and Livan Hernandez of the Nats, and both hurlers are coming off rough outings.
Dickey has allowed 13 runs over his last three starts and a season-high seven of those came in Friday's loss in Chicago, the knuckleballer's first setback since Aug. 8. Dickey fell to 9-6 with a 2.91 earned run average on the season.
The right-hander owns a pair of no-decisions against Washington this year despite allowing only two earned runs in 13 frames of work, and is 0-1 with a 4.86 ERA lifetime against the Nationals.
Hernandez, meanwhile, is 1-2 over his last three starts and has yielded 20 runs over that time. Pitching on Friday for the first time since signing a one-year contract extension on Aug. 29, the righty was drilled for eight runs -- tying a season high -- over just 4 1/3 innings of work.
Hernandez, who is 9-10 with a 3.81 ERA this year, has performed well versus the Mets this year, going 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA in three starts. The veteran has faced the club 35 times in his career and is 12-13 with a 4.29 ERA.
The Nationals have won eight of 14 versus the Mets this year, with the teams splitting eight games in Washington.
<< Lions seek second straight upset in clash with Argos
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a huge upset win against the
Montreal Alouettes, the British Columbia Lions shoot for back-to-back
victories for the first time in 2010 as they entertain the Toronto Argonauts
on Saturday afternoon at
<< Familiar foes do battle in Winnipeg
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in as many weeks the
Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers find themselves pitted
against each other on the gridiron, this time at Canad Inns Stadium on Sunday
afternoon.
<< Als seek return to win column in clash with Tiger-Cats
Hamilton, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes continue to compete
without the services of quarterback Anthony Calvillo as the team challenges
the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this weekend at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
Calvillo, who suffered a chest
<< A's hope to build a win streak versus Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At seven games off the pace in the American League West
Division, time is running out on the Oakland Athletics and their hopes for a
postseason berth. The A's will try to get a winning streak going tonight in
the finale of a
Orioles aim for rare sweep of Yanks in the Bronx >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have been the worst team in the
American League all season. Today, though, the Orioles will have a chance to
do something against the best team in baseball that they haven't done in more
than 2
Injury-riddled White Sox resume set in Detroit >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Injuries are starting to pile up for the Chicago White Sox.
Today, the short-handed White Sox will continue their push towards the
postseason, as they play the third installment of a four-game series against
the
Angels try to avoid rare sweep at hands of Indians >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Angels haven't been swept by Cleveland at home in more
than a decade. They'll try to avoid that distinction tonight in the finale of
a three-game series from the Big A.
Anaheim was previously swept in this series from
Astros, Cubs wrap set at Wrigley Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have to be thinking about returning home
for an extended period of time. But first they have to take care of business
in the Windy City, as the Astros shoot for a series win over the Chicago Cubs
tonight in
Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.
After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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