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05/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Injuries to a number of key regulars have rendered the Atlanta Braves' offense punchless over the last few games, a trend the slumping club would like to end in this afternoon's divisional showdown with the National League East-leading Philadelphia Phillies from Citizens Bank Park.
After failing to record a hit off Washington's Scott Olsen until the eighth inning of Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Nationals, the Braves' bats were stymied by Phillies' graybeard Jamie Moyer in last night's opener of this three-game series. The 47-year-old spun a dazzling two-hitter to become the oldest player in major league history to throw a shutout in Philadelphia's 7-0 triumph.
Moyer (4-2) struck out five without a walk and needed only 105 pitches to record the 10th shutout of his long and storied career. At 47 years and 170 days old, the veteran lefty broke Hall of Famer Phil Niekro's mark of being the eldest pitcher to blank the opposition over nine innings. Niekro was 46 years and 188 days of age when he threw his final shutout.
"Outstanding control and command on both sides of the plate," said Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel about Moyer. "He says if he can put the ball where he wants to do he can get them out, and that was a great example of it right there. [The Braves] hit a few balls hard but not very many, he was just that good."
Jayson Werth gave Moyer all the support he would need with a three-run homer in the third inning, with Raul Ibanez and Wilson Valdez each delivering two- RBI singles in the fifth to stake the Phils to a 7-0 advantage.
All seven runs came against Braves starter Derek Lowe (4-3), who was tagged for 11 hits in a five-inning stint.
Atlanta has now lost 10 of its last 11 on the road and fell to 4-13 as the visitor this season, tied with Baltimore for the worst record in the majors.
The Braves did play Friday's test without rookie sensation Jason Heyward (strained groin) and All-Star catcher Brian McCann (eye problems) and were forced to place shortstop Yunel Escobar on the disabled list with a groin injury earlier in the week. McCann is expected to return to the lineup for this afternoon's contest, while Heyward, the team's leader with eight homers and 26 RBI, is considered day-to-day.
Atlanta has also had to deal with injuries on the pitching end, with valued starter Jair Jurrjens recently sent to the 15-day DL after injuring his hamstring in an April 29 outing at St. Louis. As a result, Kris Medlen will make his initial start of the season this afternoon in Jurrjens' place.
Medlen has pitched exclusively in middle relief for the Braves this year and compiled a 1-1 record with a 2.55 earned run average in 12 appearances out of the pen. The sophomore right-hander struggled when used as a starter as a rookie last year, going 1-2 with a poor 6.38 ERA in four starts and walking 11 batters in only 18 1/3 innings of work.
This will be Medlen's first-ever start against the Phillies, but he's faced them twice already in relief this season and seven times over the past two years. The 24-year-old has recorded a 6.75 ERA lifetime versus Philadelphia and allowed two runs in 2 1/3 innings during his two previous matchups in this series in 2010.
Joe Blanton makes his second start of the year for Philadelphia this afternoon, having spent the season's first month on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. The stocky right-hander pitched well for the most part in Monday's debut, despite being saddled with a loss against St. Louis.
Blanton held the Cardinals to one run over the first six innings but faltered in the seventh, when he was charged with three more runs allowed and failed to finish out the frame. For the game, the 29-year-old gave up 10 hits over 6 2/3 innings and struck out four while walking one.
The University of Kentucky product is no stranger to the Braves, having made five starts against Atlanta a year ago. Blanton was 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA in those tests, with the lone win coming at Citizens Bank Park on August 30 by virtue of yielding just one run and three hits over seven innings.
Philadelphia puts a streak of four straight wins on the line today and has gone 6-2 thus far on a 10-game homestand. The two-time defending NL champs will be without their dugout leader this afternoon, however, as Manuel will miss the game due to a personal matter. He's expected to be back behind the bench for Sunday's finale.
Atlanta lost two of three to the Phillies at Turner Field last month, but did win five of the nine 2009 encounters between the teams held in Philadelphia.
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Corey Perry and Kris Russell al
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.
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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