Royals slow out of the gate
Baseball Betting Lines
04/20/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though even the most diehard of Kansas City Royals fans certainly were not picking their team to win the American League Central this year, a 4-11 start was probably not what most had in mind either.
After all, the organization brought in righthander Gil Meche to top off the rotation, and youngsters like Alex Gordon and Mark Teahen were ready to step into the spotlight. Still, the Royals are hitting just .228 as a team while the pitchers are sporting a combined 4.55 ERA. And it doesn't take a calculator to illustrate that a team giving up more runs than it scores is destined to lose games.
The season started off with a bang, as Kansas City cruised to a 7-1 victory over the Red Sox on Opening Day. But the fun stopped right about there for the Royals. In fact, Wednesday's 4-3 extra-innings road win over the Detroit Tigers snapped a six-game skid for Kansas City. Catcher John Buck blasted the deciding homer in the 10th inning of that game to put the Royals back in the win column.
Also in that game, Meche turned in another solid performance by churning out eight innings without giving up an earned run. It was his third quality start in four outings this season.
Prior to Wednesday, however, Kansas City had not been able to get the offense and defense in sync. The Royals scored only one run in five of their eleven losses. And they've given up at least six runs on eight occasions.
Of course, it should be noted that the Royals' schedule in the month of April is not exactly favorable. The Orioles and Mariners are the only opponents who had losing records in 2006 that the Royals will face this month. The bumpy road only continues for Kansas City, as the team follows up its off day with a five-game homestand against the Twins and White Sox, followed by a five-game road trip to Minnesota and then all the way up to Seattle.
Manager Buddy Bell must find a way to get some consistency from his young team, or the Royals could very well bury themselves deep in a division no one wants to be buried in -- and it's only April. Then again, the players could rally behind Buck's late-inning heroics and grab hold of some momentum in the coming days and weeks to pull themselves afloat.
WELCOME TO THE BIG LEAGUES
Few prospects broke into the league this year with as much raw talent as Gordon, who Bell inserted as the team's starting third baseman at the outset of the season. Gordon is a five-tool player with tons of promise, having dominated at each stage along the way in his young baseball career. But his first few weeks in The Show have not been all peaches and cream, as evidenced by his pedestrian .125 batting average through 48 at-bats.
Part of the problem has been a lack of patience working the count and finding pitches to hit, as Gordon has drawn only one walk. He began the season batting in the fifth spot in the lineup, but he has driven in only two runs and has since been moved to sixth. He has yet to record a multi-hit game and has just one hit at Kauffman Stadium, where the Royals' faithful are left waiting while Gordon gets his feet wet in the majors.
Gordon, who hit .325 with 29 homers and 101 RBI in Double-A Wichita last year, is not about to get down on himself and pack it in.
"You can't really focus too much on the past," he said. "If you dwell on the past too much, you're just going to bring up negative stuff. Right now, we've just got to forget about what's happened and stay positive."
MECHE HOLDING UP HIS END OF THE DEAL
Take away his April 7th start against the Tigers, in which he gave up six runs and was charged with a loss, and Meche has been as advertised. Currently, he sports a 1-1 record with a 2.22 ERA in four starts. He dazzled in the opener against Boston, allowing one earned run in 7 1/3 innings. And he has not allowed an earned run in the two starts since the loss to Detroit, albeit both were no decisions.
Still, Meche did what was sorely needed of him Wednesday on the road against the Tigers, pitching deep into the game and giving his team a chance to end its six-game skid. Though he was not credited with the win, Meche did his part by tossing 111 pitches and striking out six over eight innings.
"Going to sleep (Tuesday) night, (the streak) was on my mind," Meche told the Kansas City Star. "We need to start winning, plain and simple. If that's what they paid me to come here and do, that's my job. I've got to be as consistent as I can. Going up against (Detroit's Jeremy) Bonderman, I knew it would be tough."
WHO'S HOT
With just about the whole Royals' lineup getting off to a sluggish start, David DeJesus has been like a shining star. He has logged the most at-bats on the team and is hitting .339 with three homers and 12 runs scored.
WHO'S NOT
Gordon, and anybody else in the lineup not named DeJesus.
A LOOK AHEAD
When Kansas City picks up at home against the Twins this weekend, Bell will send out Odalis Perez (0-2, 9.26), Zack Greinke (1-2, 3.95) and Jorge De La Rosa (1-1, 4.34). Minnesota will counter with Sidney Ponson (1-1, 8.18), Boof Bonser (0-1, 6.89) and Ramon Ortiz (3-0, 2.05).
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING
NCAA Football BettingMany fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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