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09/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Ramirez returns to one of his old stomping grounds in a new uniform when the former Boston star leads the Chicago White Sox into Fenway Park for a key three-game series with the Red Sox that begins tonight.
Ramirez spent eight memorable seasons with the Red Sox and played a big part in the franchise's World Series titles in both 2004 and 2007. The veteran slugger's tenure with the organization did not end well, however, with Ramirez often at odds with management over his contract and various other issues, and Boston traded the 12-time All-Star to the Los Angeles Dodgers midway through the 2008 campaign.
The 38-year-old had been recently placed on waivers by the Dodgers after the team fell further back in the National League playoff race, with the White Sox putting in a successful claim for the outfielder on August 30. Ramirez made his Chicago debut Wednesday in Cleveland, going 1-for-3 with a strikeout in his new club's 6-4 victory.
The White Sox trailed 4-1 after seven innings before scoring four times in the eighth to forge ahead, with Paul Konerko's three-run homer off Justin Germano giving Chicago a 5-4 advantage. Alexei Ramirez hit a solo homer earlier in the frame to begin the comeback.
Tony Pena (4-2) was credited with the win after throwing three innings in relief of starter Freddy Garcia, who was removed after the bottom of the fourth due to back spasms. Rookie Chris Sale picked up his first career save with a scoreless ninth.
Ramirez knocked in two runs on the day and Alex Rios also homered for Chicago, which swept the three-game set with the Indians and closed within 3 1/2 games of Minnesota for first place in the American League Central.
"It's nice, it's needed," Konerko said of the sweep. "Minnesota you always have to assume is going to win their games. The only time we can control what they're going to do is when we play them. We just have to assume they're going to win."
Ramirez will be playing in Fenway for the second time with the opposing team since his acrimonious departure two years ago, having done so with the Dodgers between June 18-20. He went 5-for-12 with a home run over the course of that three-game set.
The former AL batting champion and his new teammates will face a tough test in the opener, with Boston sending Cy Young Award candidate Clay Buchholz to the hill this evening. The All-Star hurler sports a 15-5 record along with a stellar 2.21 earned run average -- tops in the majors at the moment -- and enters this outing carrying a seven-start unbeaten streak.
Buchholz is 5-0 with a 1.07 ERA during that undefeated stretch and has permitted one run or less in all but one of those appearances. The right- hander was stuck with a no-decision in Boston's 3-2 loss at Tampa Bay last Saturday, but still held the Rays to two runs -- one earned -- and just four hits over 7 1/3 effective innings.
The 26-year-old, who hasn't taken a loss since July 21 at Oakland, has not fared well in previous matchups with the White Sox, however. Buchholz was pounded for seven runs in just 4 2/3 innings by Chicago last season at Fenway Park, and surrendered five runs and seven hits over three frames in a setback at U.S. Cellular Field back in 2008.
Boston returns home after going 3-3 on a six-game road trip through Tampa Bay and Baltimore, closing out the swing with a pair of victories over the lowly Orioles. The Red Sox scored five second-inning runs en route to a 6-4 triumph in last night's finale, with David Ortiz's two-RBI single highlighting the uprising.
"We got after them early," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "David's two- out hit was huge."
Adrian Beltre had a solo homer and Ryan Kalish added an RBI double during the big second inning, while Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-4) pitched into the bottom of the sixth to notch his ninth win of the season. The Japanese star was touched for four runs over 5 2/3 frames, but struck out six while walking just one batter.
Jonathan Papelbon encountered some trouble in the ninth, allowing two Baltimore runners to reach base with one out, but the Boston closer settled down to strike out the game's final two hitters and record his 35th save.
The win moved the Red Sox within 6 1/2 games of idle Tampa Bay for the lead in the AL Wild Card standings.
Boston will take its swings tonight off John Danks, who'll be seeking to rebound from a poor performance against the New York Yankees in his most recent start. The Chicago lefty was battered for eight runs and served up three homers in just 4 1/3 innings versus the Bronx Bombers, falling to 12-9 on the season with the loss.
Danks also hasn't had much success when taking on the Red Sox in the past, having compiled a 1-4 record and a 5.08 ERA over five lifetime starts in this series. He did best the Red Sox at Fenway Park last season, however, after allowing just two runs and fanning six over six innings.
Tonight's game marks the first meeting between these teams this season. The Red Sox and White Sox split eight contests in 2009, with Boston taking three of the four held at Fenway Park.
<< A's seeking to get back on track against Angels
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics are coming off a beating in the Bronx
and are back in the Bay Area to kick off a nine-game homestand starting with
Friday's opener of a three-game series versus the Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim.
The
<< Rockies visit Padres for clash of slumping contenders
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Colorado Rockies are going to return to the
postseason, they need to turn it around soon. This weekend would be a good
start, as they begin a three-game series against the National League West-
leading San Diego Padres
<< Playoff-hopeful Phils return home to battle Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Philadelphia Phillies All-Star second baseman Chase Utley
recorded just four runs batted in during August. At the pace Utley's at so far
in September, his RBI total for the month will be astronomical.
Utley and the Nationa
<< Rays hope Garza can stay hot against O's
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays need all the wins they can get if the
team is going to capture home-field advantage throughout the upcoming American
League playoffs. With Matt Garza on the mound against the Baltimore Orioles,
the po
Cubs, Mets kick off set at Wrigley Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs will try to continue their strong play
under interim manager Mike Quade this afternoon when they open a three-game
series against the New York Mets at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs are 6-3 since Lou Pin
NL East-leading Braves send Kawakami to hill in Florida >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kenshin Kawakami returns to the Atlanta Braves this
evening, as they try to hold onto their dwindling advantage in the National
League East in the opener of a three-game set against the Florida Marlins at
Sun Lif
First-place teams collide as Rangers visit Twins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Texas Rangers appear to be headed to their first
American League West title since 1999, the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins
still have some work to do.
The two division leaders will square off tonight in the o
JoePa, Royster on verge of milestones >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's a milestone in itself that Penn State
icon Joe Paterno is still coaching in the twilight of his years. So it comes
as no surprise that the bespectacled legend is approaching 400 career wins.
His tra
Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.
As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.
The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.
Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).
But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.
Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.
Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:
Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1
Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2
New York Giants - 9 - 2
Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).
Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.
So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.
And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.
They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.
Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.
But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.
Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.
Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.
Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.
Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?
Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.
In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.
Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.
Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.
The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.
The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.
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