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09/03/2010 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Diamondbacks purchased the contract of 15-season veteran Mike Hampton on Friday from Triple-A Reno.
Hampton was signed by the club on August 21 after making 21 starts for Houston last season, going 7-10 with a 5.30 ERA.
He has compiled a 148-115 record with a 4.07 earned run average over 409 games, 355 as a starter, during his career with the Mariners, Astros, Mets, Rockies and Braves.
Seattle selected Hampton in the sixth round of the 1990 draft and he broke into the major leagues with the Mariners three years later.
He was a 22-game winner in 1999 with Houston and a two-time All-Star who did not pitch during the 2006-07 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Additionally, the Diamondbacks recalled pitcher Zach Kroenke from Reno. He went 7-3 with two saves and a 3.51 ERA in 40 games -- nine starts -- in the minors. He has yet to appear in a major league game.
<< Granderson, Yanks win seventh straight
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Curtis Granderson doubled twice and drove in
three runs, as New York beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-3, in the opener of a
three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
Brett Gardner hit an RBI triple and scored
<< Rapids not taking Chivas for granted
Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids will continue their
playoff push on Saturday when they host Western Conference cellar-dwellars,
Chivas USA at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Colorado enters the weekend in fifth p
<< SEC, Nashville agree to multi-year deal to host hoops tournament
Birmingham, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Southeastern Conference and the
Nashville Sports Council agreed to play the SEC men's basketball tournament at
Bridgestone Arena in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
The event will now be held at the arena
<< L.A. wants better effort against Chicago
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Landon Donovan and manager Bruce Arena both
agreed after last week's loss to the Kansas City Wizards that the Los Angeles
Galaxy were "outcompeted."
Davy Arnaud had a goal and an assist to lead K.C. to a 2
DeWitt, Soriano both homer as Cubs top Mets >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake DeWitt's three-run homer in the sixth
provided the difference, and the Cubs began a weekend series against the Mets
with a 7-6 victory at Wrigley Field.
DeWitt hit his fourth home run in just 30 game
Houston tries to build momentum against San Jose >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoff hopes of the Houston Dynamo
continue to slip away as the club gets set to host the San Jose Earthquakes on
Sunday at Robertson Stadium.
Houston snapped a 10-game winless skid with a 4-3 wi
Marlins recall Leroux, Cousins >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins announced Friday the recall
of pitcher Chris Leroux and outfielder Scott Cousins from Triple-A New
Orleans.
Leroux has spent parts of 2010 and 2009 with the Marlins, pitching in 19 t
White Sox activate Thornton from DL >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox have activated reliever
Matt Thornton from the 15-day disabled list.
Thornton had been on the DL since August 18 with left elbow inflammation. He
is 3-4 with a 2.66 earned run average
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(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).
The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.
"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.
"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."
When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:
CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.
DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.
PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.
You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.
"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."
Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.
(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)
Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."
But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."
Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."
Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."
All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.
In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.
"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."
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