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06/08/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim kicked off the month of June by winning five of their first six games. The Angels began the winning streak by taking three out of four games from the Baltimore Orioles, with their lone loss of that set coming on May 31.
Anaheim followed up the series win by taking two out of three games from the Minnesota Twins. The back-to-back series victories propelled the Angels to a 38-23 record, giving them a 5 1/2-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the American League West standings.
At this point in the season Anaheim is a force to be reckon with at home. Anaheim is 24-9 at Angels Stadium and has not lost a home series since dropping two out of three games to the Chicago White Sox between May 4-6. Anaheim has also been consistent on the road thus far, posting a 14-14 road ledger.
Anaheim recently finished off a seven-game homestand with a series win over the Twins. The Angels dominated the series, outscoring Minnesota 26-12 over the three game set. Monday night's 16-3 win set the tone for the series, as the Angels collected a season high 23 hits in the victory.
Five Angels collected three or more hits on the night, led by Gary Matthews Jr., who went 4-for-5 with five RBI and a run scored. Orlando Cabrera also had a big night, going 4-for-5 with two RBI and four runs scored. Starter Jered Weaver captured his fourth win in five starts, holding the Twins to just one run on five hits through seven innings.
Tuesday night brought more of the same for Anaheim, as it fought its way to a 5-1 victory. Right-hander Kelvim Escobar won his fifth straight start, throwing a three-hit complete game victory. The Angels put together another big night at the plate, collecting 10 hits in the win. Cabrera led the way again, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The Angels could not make it three in a row on Wednesday, as starter John Lackey was touched for six runs, four earned, over seven innings. The loss prevented Lackey from becoming the first pitcher in the majors to reach 10 wins this season.
LACKEY CONTINUES TO SHINE
Lackey has always been a consistent pitcher throughout his six-year Major League career. Over the years the right-hander has become known for his slow starts and strong second-half finishes. However, all that has changed this season, as Lackey has gotten off to a tremendous start.
The Angels ace is 9-4 with a 2.60 ERA in 13 starts this season. Although he has been effective before the All-Star break in previous seasons, the right- hander is just 37-30 lifetime in games pitched prior to the All-Star game. However, Lackey has been outstanding in the second-half, posting an impressive 32-23 ledger following the All-Star break.
A few more wins and Lackey is all but guaranteed a spot on the American League roster in this year's All-Star game. The trip would be the first for the right-hander, who is looking forward to the opportunity.
"If it happens, it'd be great," Lackey said. "It's definitely something I'd like to do in my career, although my focus is on making the playoffs.
Lackey's emergence into the Angels starring role began five years ago as a rookie. Lackey started perhaps the biggest game in franchise history when he took the mound for game seven of the 2002 World Series. His performance that night laid the foundation for things to come. However, it has been Lackey's work ethic and ability to adjust over the years that has separated him from the rest.
"You've got to keep adding to your game -- especially in our division with only four teams," he said. "For example, I started throwing the two-seamer away from righties. The more options you can put in your game, the more they have to think about. I haven't invented any new pitches, but I'll use the variety I have at any time."
BOOTCHECK ADDING QAULITY TO ANGELS BULLPEN
Right-hander Chris Bootcheck is a perfect example of how everything seems to be going right for the Angels this season. The 28-year-old reliever has become a solid option for Anaheim out of the bullpen. Although he has spent most of his professional career circulating through the minors, Bootcheck may have finally found a permanent home in Anaheim.
The right-hander has put together quite a stat line so far this season, posting a 1-0 record with a 3.80 ERA in 14 appearances. However, it is not Bootcheck's numbers that mean so much to the Angels, but yet the role he will play in the latter parts of the season. Bootcheck has proven to be a valuable asset as a multiple-inning reliever, pitching two or more innings seven times this season.
With Anaheim holding a 5 1/2-game lead in the AL West, it must begin to slowly prepare itself for possible postseason play. As history has shown, the team with the most reliable pitching staff is usually to team left standing in the end. The Angels already have an outstanding starting rotation and perhaps the AL's best closer in Francisco Rodriguez. Bootcheck may be the final piece to the World Series puzzle.
Manager Mike Scioscia has acknowledged Bootcheck's role and knows just how important the reliever will be as the season wears on.
"Right now, the role Boot has doesn't get as much credit as other roles on the staff," Scioscia said. "But it's certainly important to us. He's pitching himself into a better role, doing a terrific job.
"It's tough to sit six, seven days and come in. But his command and control enable him to do that. He's pitching far beyond, throwing very consistently. We certainly see an expanded role for him going forward."
INJURY NEWS
Outfielder Garret Anderson has finally returned to the Angels lineup after missing more than a month of action with a hip injury. Anderson was activated for Sunday's game against Baltimore, making his first start since April 27th.
Anderson's activation forced the club to option pitcher Joe Saunders to the minors.
WHO'S HOT
Outfielder Vladimir Guerrero continues to crush the baseball, batting .348 with 12 home runs and 51 RBI on the season. Guerrero has gone 15-for-37 at the plate over his last 10 games, knocking in 11 runs in the process.
Escobar has been exceptional this season, posting a 7-3 record in 11 starts. The right-hander has won six of his last eight starts, striking out 37 batters in the process.
WHO'S NOT
Second baseman Erick Aybar has struggled at the plate over the past two weeks, going just 5-for-27 in his last 10 games. Aybar is the only soft spot in the Angels line-up at this point, hitting just .246 on the year.
Reliever Darren Oliver has struggled as of late, surrendering three runs on four hits over his last three innings. The southpaw's recent setback has vaulted his ERA to 7.31 on the year.
ON DECK
The Angels will go on the road this weekend for a three game set against the St. Louis Cardinals. Bartolo Colon (5-2, 5.44) will face off against Kip Wells (2-10, 6.40) in Friday night's opener. Ervin Santana (4-6, 5.32) and Braden Looper (6-4, 3.72) will take the mound on Saturday, before Weaver (5-3, 3.88) and Todd Wellemeyer (1-1, 7.26) close out the Sunday's series finale.
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My fellow Americans, as tempting as it may be to don the coat and HD-ready tie in order to deliver this State of the Game address before the cameras, I know better. As Brad Paisley sings on his latest album, "I'm so much cooler online."
The ideas for this annual essay to kick off the MySportsbook.com college football betting preview flowed like frat-house beer, which is to say they were cheap and spilled all over the floor. The 2007 season will be better than 2007, if only because there will be more of it. A year ago, the NCAA Football Rules Committee made two rule changes in the interest of speeding up the game. These changes went over like Kobe burgers at a vegan banquet.
To its credit, the rules committee rectified its mistakes. This season the clock once again will start when a kickoff is received, rather than when it is kicked, and the clock will not start so quickly on a change of possession.
However, kickoffs have been moved back five yards, to the 30, which will force more returns. (Thus forcing the clock to run. Clever, huh?) Special teams might decide a lot of games, because coaching strategy will come straight out of another new Paisley lyric (almost), I'd like to check you for kicks.
Paisley sings with a twang, which is why he's appropriate for this college football season. The sun coming up over the 2007 college football betting lines season rises from the south. It's a Southern football world. As the Southeastern Conference begins its 75th year, the power shift is noticeable.
Eight-figure budgets, glamorous settings -- and that's just for the head coaches. The SEC has four coaches who have won national championships -- the greatest aggregation of coaching know-how since Eddie Robinson dined alone.
Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer have given lie to the idea that a conference championship game is too daunting a hurdle on the road to No. 1. In six of the past 10 seasons, the national champions played and won a conference championship game -- three of the six (Tennessee, 1998; LSU, 2003; Florida, 2007) from the SEC.
There will be more of the same this season, if the preseason prognostications are correct. Six SEC teams are in the preseason coaches' poll, more than from any other conference. Only one conference has talent so deep that a team with 15 returning starters, including the best quarterback in the league, from an eight-win season is considered an afterthought. That may speak more to Kentucky's losing legacy than to the wisdom of the predictions, but there you have it. And seriously, keep an eye on Wildcats QB Andre' Woodson.
The reach of the South extends all the way to No. 1. Take a look at the team that is a consensus pick to win the national championship. The quarterback is from Shreveport. The best wide receiver is from Nashville. The top recruit is from New Orleans.
So what's the campus doing in Los Angeles? Hey, it is the University of Southern California.
USC lost two Pacific-10 Conference games a year ago, the first time that had happened in five seasons, and university officials withstood the urge to form blue-ribbon panels to unearth the cause of such a disaster. Instead, the Trojans gathered themselves and routed Michigan, 32-18, in the Rose Bowl.
USC's losses at Oregon State and at UCLA last year should have given pause to those who question the Pac-10's football prowess (such as, without naming names, L.M. from Baton Rouge). The league only got deeper this season; Dennis Erickson is taking over an Arizona State team that never quite got out of its own way under his predecessor, Dirk Koetter.
Erickson will resume his quest to become the first coach to win a national championship at two schools. Both he and Spurrier, now in his third season at South Carolina, returned to college football at schools with lower profiles than where they won their titles.
That isn't the case for the third coach looking for the national championship double. You may have missed this, but NASA reported the astronauts on the space shuttle last spring made contact with what can only be described as beings from another galaxy.
The leader of the aliens said, "We come in peace," followed by, "So how do you think Nick Saban will do at Alabama?"
The public is reacting to the new Crimson Tide coach as if he is the Barry Bonds of college football -- beloved at home for what his fans believe he is going to do, hated on the road for his intimidating attitude and for what his detractors believe he did (bend NCAA recruiting rules). I made this comparison from the dais at a charity dinner in Mobile, Ala., last month, and the chill that washed over me didn't come from the air conditioning.
Saban will attempt to prove that he can remake in Tuscaloosa what he built in Baton Rouge, much like another member of the national championship fraternity. Bobby Bowden is attempting to remake at Florida State what he built at, um, Florida State. Bowden rebuilt his offensive staff, bringing in four new coaches led by Saban's former offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, to jump-start an offense that has been dead for a couple of years.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to show new signs of life, too. That is said with no disrespect toward last season's champion, Wake Forest, which provided one of the best story lines of 2007. The Demon Deacons begin this season in their customary position, overshadowed by the Virginia Techs, Miamis and Florida States.
It's not that Wake will find it difficult to duplicate its success in 2007 as much as the feeling that success engendered. Surprising success is the narcotic of sport. It never feels quite so euphoric the next time. Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese has figured this out. He refers to 2007, when a league looked down upon by fans and foes alike took three undefeated teams into November, as "Cinderella."
The fairy tale may be over, but the Big East has four genuine Heisman Trophy candidates in Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, West Virginia tailback Steve Slaton and quarterback Pat White, and Rutgers tailback Ray Rice. Rutgers, as did Wake Forest and, of course, Boise State, proved last season that the have-nots in college football occasionally have quite a lot.
The Broncos' rousing 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl has raised the profile of all schools in conferences that don't get automatic BCS bids. This season, TCU and Hawaii are the preseason favorites to burst through the BCS doors and earn an at-large bid. The Warriors return 14 starters from an 11-3 team, including quarterback Colt Brennan.
Brennan not only broke the single-season record with 58 touchdown passes in 2007, but he also led Division I-A in passing efficiency (186.0). The senior is expected to contend for the Heisman Trophy, and neither his success nor the rise of his team should come as any surprise in the 2007 season.
After all, Hawaii is the southernmost team in the country.
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