Jeter Era Pound Claim On Cleveland

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Tampa, meanwhile, will hand the ball to rookie Jeremy Hellickson, who has lost his last four starts. Hellickson's latest defeat came on Monday against Cincinnati, which reached him four runs (three earned) and eight hits in six innings, dropping him to 7-7 to go along with a 3.18 ERA.

 

This will be his first-ever start against the Cards.

 

Jeff Niemann (3-4) tossed six-plus innings, allowing one run on nine hits and a walk while fanning five, as the Rays posted their sixth win in nine games.

 

Johnny Damon finished 4-for-4 and his single in the first inning was the 2,655th hit of his career, moving him ahead of Ted Williams into sole possession of 71st on the all-time hit list.

 

Lance Berkman homered for the Cardinals' lone run as they saw their four-game win streak stopped.

 

Jeter's replacement, Eduardo Nunez finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and a solo homer, while Curtis Granderson added a solo shot for the Yankees, who improved to 14-3 since their captain went on the disabled list with a calf injury.

 

"Nunie has played well, but Derek is our shortstop," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi when asked if Nunez, who has gone 7-for-8 in the series, might threaten Jeter's job. "He's been here for a long, long time and he's still a great player."

 

Activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the contest after suffering a left hamstring strain, Colon (6-3) yielded five hits while fanning six to win his fourth straight start.

 

"He's kind of surprised us all year long," Girardi added. "We weren't sure what we were going to get out of him in spring training, but he pitched well from then, and that's what he did today."

 

Getting the call for the Yankees this afternoon will be right-hander Freddy Garcia, who has won his last two starts. Garcia defeated the Milwaukee Brewers his last time out, as he allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings to run his record to 7-6 while lowering his earned run average to 3.28.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.