Ludwick leads Cards past Brewers

Baseball Betting Lines

08/27/2008 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Ludwick finished 3-for-4 with two runs batted in, as St. Louis used a four-run eighth inning to upend Milwaukee, 5-3, and earn a split in the two-game set with the Brewers.

Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina each had two hits, while Aaron Miles drove in the go-ahead run for the Cardinals, who have won four of six. St. Louis also moved within 3 1/2 games of first-place Milwaukee in the NL Wild Card standings.

Adam Wainwright allowed three runs -- two earned -- on eight hits in a six- inning start for the Cardinals, but didn't factor into the decision. Ryan Franklin (5-5) threw a scoreless eighth to earn the win.

David Riske (1-2) took the loss for the Brewers after giving up three runs in the eighth. Starter Manny Parra was solid in six-plus innings, as he gave up one run on six hits and struck out seven for Milwaukee, whose five-game win streak ended.

The Brewers also fell to six games back of the Chicago Cubs for first in the NL Central.

Mike Cameron and Jason Kendall each finished with two hits and an RBI, while J.J. Hardy had three hits and drove in a run for the Brewers.

The Cardinals trailed by two heading into the bottom of the eighth, but got a rally started when Pujols hit a lead off double off Riske. Ludwick followed with another double to plate the run, and Troy Glaus singled to tie the game.

After Riske got Molina to ground out, Brian Shouse came on in relief to face pinch-hitter Miles with Glaus on third. Miles sent a grounder to shortstop, but Glaus slid under the tag as Hardy went home with the throw.

Braden Looper sacrificed Miles to second with a bunt and Felipe Lopez singled to center to bring another run home for a 5-3 lead.

Chris Perez entered for the Cardinals in the ninth and gave up a one-out double to Hardy. However, he struck out Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder to end the game and notch his sixth save.

Hardy's RBI single in the third inning plated Kendall, who had singled, went to second on an error and advanced to third on a bunt. In the fourth, consecutive doubles from Corey Hart and Cameron gave the Brewers another run. A ground out put Cameron on third base for Kendall, whose single made it 3-0, Milwaukee.

Ludwick hammered a two-out pitch from Parra in the sixth for a solo homer to bring St. Louis within two.

Game Notes

Milwaukee left 10 runners on base, while the Cardinals stranded eight...On Wednesday, St. Louis purchased the contract of first baseman Josh Phelps from Triple-A Memphis, and optioned pitcher Jaime Garcia to Memphis....Phelps was 1-for-1 in a pinch-hit appearance on Wednesday...The Cardinals also transferred pitcher Mark Mulder to the 60-day disabled list on Wednesday.

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Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

"Barry's going to play in 2007," Jeff Borris of Beverly Hills Sports Council told the Times on Tuesday. "I've had many discussions with Barry and he's going to play. My intentions are to see to it he's in a big-league uniform next season. Those are my marching orders."

Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

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Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

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