Cardinals Carries Move With Jeter

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Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs agreed to terms on non-guaranteed split contracts with pitchers Andy Sonnanstine and Manny Corpas on Monday. Both contracts were for the 2012 season.

 

Corpas missed the entire 2011 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He made 56 relief appearances in 2010, going 3-5 with a 4.62 ERA and 10 saves.

 

Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Prince Fielder no closer to finding a home and no other news in sight, Major League Baseball appears to be officially closed for business until 2012. So, of course, there is no better time than now to reflect on the top stories of the past year. Without further ado and in no particular order, here are the top stories from the past year:

 

If you told fans in St. Louis back in the beginning of August that their team would be the ones left standing at the end of the season, they'd probably say you were nuts. The Cards found themselves 10 1/2 games out of a playoff spot in late August only to go 23-8 down the stretch and secured the wild card spot on the final day of the regular season.

 

After falling behind 3-2 in that set, the Cards were down to their last strike twice in Game 6, but rallied for an extra-inning win to force a seventh game. The Cardinals didn't need any late-inning heroics in that one, though, as series MVP David Freese's two-run double in the first inning set the stage for the team's second title in six years.

 

Few people get the chance to go out as a winner, but Cardinals manager Tony La Russa did just that, as he announced his retirement from the game a mere two days after the franchise celebrated its 11th World Series title in team history.

 

PUJOLS TAKES THE MONEY AND RUNS TO ANAHEIM

 

But some people were skeptical of the reports that the Cardinals had, in fact, gone to 10 years. And let's be honest -- if they had, what was all the fuss? If that were the case, the deal should have been locked up a couple of days ago.

 

Give the Angels credit. They missed out on almost everyone last winter. They weren't going to let that happen again, and made another big move by signing pitcher C.J. Wilson to a deal worth a reported $77.5 million over five years.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.