Fielder joins Tigers with nine-year deal
Baseball Betting Lines
01/26/2012 -
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers and Prince Fielder have put
the finishing touches on a nine-year contract.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but multiple reports earlier this week
indicated the pact for the former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman to be worth
$214 million.
"Prince Fielder is one of the premier offensive players in the game of
baseball and we are extremely excited to add an All-Star-caliber player like
him to our lineup," said Tigers president, CEO and general manager Dave
Dombrowski. "The addition of Prince is a testament to the organization's
continued commitment to fielding a championship club."
The Tigers are coming off an American League Central title from 2011, their
first division crown in 24 years, and lured one of the biggest available free
agents to Detroit. He is familiar with the city, as his father, Cecil, played
for the Tigers from 1990-96.
In 998 big league games, all with the Brewers, the 27-year-old Fielder has
clubbed 230 homers and driven in 656 runs. He finished third in the voting for
the National League Most Valuable Player last year after batting .299 with 38
homers and 120 RBI.
A three-time All-Star and career .282 hitter, Fielder has missed just one game
in the past three seasons.
The Tigers were trying to add another quality bat after Victor Martinez went
down with a torn knee ligament that could cost him the entire 2012 season.
However, a first baseman was not considered a need with Miguel Cabrera already
there. The AL's batting champion from a year ago will reportedly make the
switch to third base, a position he played with the Marlins, to accommodate
the new acquisition.
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Bolton acquires U.S., New York defender Ream >>
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Betting the NFL preseason
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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