10/30/2008 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira highlight a list of 65 Major League players who filed for free agency on Thursday.
Garret Anderson, Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe, Ryan Dempster and Ben Sheets were also among the players who filed just a day after the Philadelphia Phillies won their first World Series title since 1980.
Potential free agents have until November 13 to make themselves eligible to the masses.
Though Ramirez, 36, only spent two-plus months with Los Angeles, his presence was surely felt in carrying the Dodgers to the postseason and a National League Division Series sweep of the Chicago Cubs. After a tumultuous split with the Boston Red Sox that ended with a three-team deal at the July 31 trade deadline, the outfielder belted 17 home runs and recorded 53 RBI in just 53 regular season games with the Dodgers.
Teixeira was also a mid-season acquisition of the American League Western Division champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. After being dealt from the Atlanta Braves, the 28-year-old first baseman hit .358 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI in 54 games with the Angels.
His teammate Anderson did not have his contract option picked up by the Angels after 15 seasons with the club. The 36-year-old outfielder compiled a .293 average with 15 homers and 84 RBI last year.
Varitek, a staple behind the plate of two Red Sox championships (2004, 2007), was a paltry .220 at the plate this season with 13 round-trippers and 43 RBI for Boston.
Three premiere pitching options in Lowe, Dempster and Sheets will be available to those looking for an extra arm. Lowe, in his 13th season, went 14-11 with a 3.24 earned run average last year, his fourth with the Dodgers.
Dempster had his best year in the majors in what was his 11th season and fifth with the Chicago, posting a 17-6 mark with a 2.96 ERA in 33 starts for the National League Central champion Cubs.
Sheets struggled with injuries at the tail end of the 2008 season, but he started 31 games -- his most since 2004 -- and went 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA in helping to lead the Brewers to a postseason appearance.
The St. Louis Cardinals had the most players file for free agency on Thursday with six: shortstop Cesar Izturis, catcher Jason LaRue, second baseman Felipe Lopez, and pitchers Braden Looper, Russ Springer and Ron Villone.
Other notable players filing included the Yankees' Bobby Abreu and Ivan Rodriguez, the Angels' Jon Garland, the Rangers' Hank Blalock and Milton Bradley and the Mariners' Raul Ibanez.
<< Mets ink Tatis to one-year deal
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets re-signed third
baseman/outfielder Fernando Tatis to a one-year contract Thursday. Per team
policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Tatis, the National League Comeback
<< Blues sign goaltender Holt
Peoria, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St. Louis Blues President John Davidson
announced on Thursday the club has signed goaltender Chris Holt.
Holt, 23, has played in two games with the Blues' American Hockey League
affiliate, the
<< Letzig and Jones share first at Ginn sur Mer Classic
Palm Coast, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Letzig and Kent Jones both fired
rounds of seven-under 65 on Thursday and shared first place at the Ginn sur
Mer Classic.
Ryan Palmer is alone in third place at five-under 67 at The Conservato
<< New Cowboys stadium to host 2010 NBA All-Star Game
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA announced Thursday that the 2010 All-
Star Game will be held at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
Most of the events surrounding the All-Star Game will be held at American
Airlines Ce
Lakers, Bynum agree to contract extension >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers have signed center
Andrew Bynum to a multi-year contract extension.
Terms weren't announced by the team, but the Los Angeles Times reported it's a
four-year deal worth $57.4 millio
Girardi keeps Rangers streaking with game-winner against Atlanta >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Girardi scored the game-winner with
6:27 to go in the game, and the New York Rangers defeated the Atlanta
Thrashers, 3-2, at Madison Square Garden.
Nikolai Zherdev and Markus Naslund also
Wozniak reaches quarters at Quebec City >>
Quebec City, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak reached the
quarterfinals at the $175,000 Bell Challenge after defeating American Carly
Gullickson.
The fifth-seeded Wozniak made quick work of her opponent, defeating Gul
Carter lifts Flyers past Isles in OT >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Carter's second goal of the game came
with 22.9 seconds to play in overtime as the Philadelphia Flyers downed the
New York Islanders, 3-2, at the Wachovia Center.
On the power play in the extra
Albert Pujols to be This Year's Home Run Champ Says Online Sportsbook
Barry Bonds is a 50-1 long shot to be this year's home run champ odds. The favorite to be this year's home run champ is none other than Albert Pujols, however.
Now that Barry Bonds is signed and in Giants camp, it is on to his pursuit of all of sports most prestigious records: the all-time home run mark. Bonds sits just 21 homers shy of tying Hank Aaron for the career mark at 755. Word out of Giants’ camp is that Bonds is the healthiest he has been in a few years. Bonds is just two seasons removed from his injury riddled 2005 campaign where he played in only 14 games and hit only 5 home runs. He did come back last year and had a solid season hitting .270 with 26 bombs. All eyes will be on Bonds this spring and summer not only because of his home run chase but his highly publicized steroid abuse allegations. If and when Bonds breaks the record, he surely will not get the positive attention one should for breaking a record that was once thought of as “unbreakable”. Despite Bonds decent season last year, he is just 50-1 at MySportsbook.com to lead the MLB in long balls this season.
Not surprisingly, the favorites to go deep the most times this season are Albert Pujols 5-1, Ryan Howard 6-1, David Ortiz 8-1 and Alex Rodriguez 12-1. With 49 homers, Pujols finished second in the National League behind Howard (58). Pujols is considered the favorite due to the consistent power numbers that he has posted since breaking into the league in 2001. Also one must consider the fact that he played in 16 fewer games then Howard did due to an injury. Howard smashed 58 homers in his first complete season of big league play en route to the National League MVP odds award. He silenced his critics by successfully hitting left-handed pitching. Howard also displayed the ability to use his power to the opposite field. Two attributes which should keep Howard amongst the league leaders in long balls for years to come. From the American League representatives, David Ortiz leads the field. Ortiz was second in the majors last year with 54 home runs. Except for 1999 when he only played in 10 games, Ortiz has improved on his home run numbers each year he has been in the majors (1997).
Be sure to log onto online sports betting site MySportsbook.com to check out the odds for who will lead the MLB in home runs this season. Below is just a sample of the players listed. With the highest credit card rates in the industry, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on baseball this summer.
World Series odds
Adam Dunn 15-1
Albert Pujols 5-1
Alex Rodriguez 12-1
Alfonso Soriano 15-1
Andruw Jones 25-1
Barry Bonds 50-1
Carlos Delgado 40-1
David Ortiz 8-1
Jermaine Dye 40-1
Ken Griffey Jr. 100-1
Lance Berkman 40-1
Manny Ramirez 20-1
Richie Sexson 40-1
Ryan Howard 6-1
Travis Hafner 20-1
Vladimir Guerrero 40-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
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