Diamondbacks agree to terms with Cruz, Julio
Baseball Betting Lines
01/13/2007 -
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to terms with
pitchers Juan Cruz and Jorge Julio on one-year contracts on Friday. Per team
policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
The 28-year-old Cruz went 5-6 last season with a 4.18 earned run average in 31
appearances. He also made a career-high 15 starts last year.
Julio, 27, went 2-4 with 16 saves last season with Arizona and the New York Mets. In 62 games with both clubs, Julio had a 4.23 ERA.
The Diamondbacks acquired Julio on May 24, 2006 in exchange for Orlando
Hernandez.
<< Report: Giants and Dolphins to play in London
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants and Miami Dolphins will
reportedly play a regular season game during the 2007 season at London's
Wembley Stadium.
According to a report in the New York Daily News, the NFL is expe
<< Capitals extend goaltender Johnson
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Capitals have signed
goaltender Brent Johnson to a two-year contract extension, locking him up
through the 2008-2009 season, the team announced on Friday.
Johnson was acquired
<< Riley has successful hip surgery
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miami Heat announced that head coach Pat
Riley underwent successful hip surgery on Thursday, just over a week removed
from going under the knife to have three large pieces of cartilage removed
from hi
<< Tulsa hires Graham
Tulsa, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Tulsa has hired former Rice
University head coach Todd Graham to become their head coach, the school
announced on Friday.
Graham, a former Tulsa assistant, returns to the Golden
<< Portland's Jack injured in car accident
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Trail Blazers guard Jarrett Jack
suffered a concussion in a car accident on Friday and will miss tonight's game
against Sacramento.
Jack was involved in an automobile accident outside the t
All-American linebacker Connor to return to PSU for senior year >>
State College, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Penn State's "other" All-American
linebacker, outside backer Dan Connor, will spurn this year's NFL Draft and
return for his senior year in 2007, the junior announced Friday through the
school.
Oklahoma's Longar suspended for two games >>
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Oklahoma center Longar Longar
was suspended two games by the Big 12 conference on Friday for elbowing a
Texas Tech player last week.
Texas Tech's Esmir Rizvic's eye socket was fractur
Sixers end slide with win over Bucks >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Green scored 30 points and Andre
Iguodala poured in 26 as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks,
110-97.
Kyle Korver scored 17 for the 76ers, playing in their first game since waiv
Vokoun, Predators blank Blue Jackets >>
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Vokoun made 22 saves to record his
second shutout of the season, as the Nashville Predators blanked the Columbus
Blue Jackets, 2-0, at Gaylord Entertainment Center
Vokoun, who picked up his 18th
Devils edge Thrashers >>
East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Gomez and Sergei Brylin's third-
period tallies lifted the New Jersey Devils to a 2-1 win over the Atlanta
Thrashers at Continental Airlines Arena.
Brian Gionta, Brian Rafalski, Travis Za
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. online football betting Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.
Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.
El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.
MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds.
Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.
New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.
Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.''
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