Cubs look ahead after Piniella says he will retire

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2010 -

CHICAGO (AP) -Just like a long line of predecessors, Lou Piniella thought he could lead the Chicago Cubs to that elusive championship and end a drought that dates to 1908.

Barring an epic turnaround, he can forget about that.

General manager Jim Hendry will get another shot, though.

New owner Tom Ricketts made that clear Tuesday, saying there won't be a change at the top after Piniella announced he's retiring at the end of the season and ending a long, colorful career.

``Jim is our general manager, full stock,'' Ricketts said. ``He will be leading the effort to find our new manager for next year and will be our general manager going into next year.''

Hendry, the GM since 2002, has come under scrutiny amid mounting losses the past two seasons. Big contracts to players such as Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano - not to mention signing Milton Bradley, who got banished late last season and ultimately traded to Seattle - have only added to the criticism.

Even so, Ricketts is counting on Hendry to lead the team out of the wilderness.

``I said at our opening press conference that Day 1 was Square 1 for everyone in the organization,'' Ricketts said. ``I think from that day going forward, we had a very good offseason. I think Jim delivered on bringing in some players who contributed a lot this season. And we had a good offseason, no question.

``I think the second thing that I've seen the last eight months that gives me 100 percent confidence in Jim is that we have a good organization,'' he continued. ``The way that you win consistently in baseball is to draft well, to develop players well and to bring those players up to the major leagues to give you flexibility in your payroll and trades. I think we have the organization in place. I have the highest confidence in everyone in our organization, and I think that speaks well of Jim.''

Piniella sees hope for an organization that's gone more than a century without winning it all.

``Sooner or later, they'll break that barn door down and win a world championship,'' he said.

That was the plan when Chicago hired Piniella after the 2006 season. The Cubs won the NL Central in 2007 and 2008 before things fell apart, but without a title, Ricketts said no era could be viewed as a success.

``Our goal is to win a World Series,'' he said. ``Our goal is to put a team on the field that can win the World Series every year. I can't envision an era without that and still calling it a success.''

Now, they're trying to pick themselves up while Piniella plans to move on after 18 years in the majors as a player and another 22 as a manager.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi, the man Piniella beat for this job, has an expiring contract. So does the Los Angeles Dodgers' Joe Torre.

Bob Brenly, who managed Arizona to a championship in 2001 and interviewed with the Cubs four years ago, is in the team's broadcast booth.

Bench coach Alan Trammell and pitching coach Larry Rothschild have both managed in the majors.

There's a popular choice at Triple-A Iowa, where Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is managing, and Hendry said the former MVP is in the running.

``He's done a very good job in the system the last four years,'' Hendry said. ``I have a lot of respect for the way he's handled himself. A Hall of Fame player working in the minor leagues, he deserves to be a candidate.''

Sandberg is interested.

``I need to focus on what I'm doing here in Des Moines with these players and what my job is right now,'' he said. ``If the time came, if I was considered for that job in Chicago, I think that'd be a terrific thing just to be considered. The whole goal of any minor leaguer is to get to the major leagues, and I think that includes coaches and managers like myself.''

The 66-year-old Piniella, who made five trips to the World Series in his career and has three championship rings, is 1,827-1,691 overall and 308-271 with the Cubs after Tuesday's 14-7 win over Houston. He trailed only Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox and Torre in victories among active managers.

``Lou is an emotional guy and I know he's been frustrated because they reached the postseason and it looked like they were going to do it on a regular basis,'' Torre said.

Known for his dirt-kicking tirades, Piniella had mellowed with Chicago. He made it clear Tuesday he was tired of the daily grind but didn't rule out consulting for the Cubs or another team.

Piniella began managing in 1986 with the Yankees and lasted three years, including a stint as general manager. He managed the Reds from 1990-92, leading them to a World Series championship in his first season. He also got national attention during his time there for a clubhouse wrestling match with reliever Rob Dibble, who downplayed the incident and said ``we've been family ever since.''

After Cincinnati, Piniella had a long run in Seattle, where his teams won at least 90 games four times and 116 in 2001.

Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, who played for Piniella with the Mariners, called him ``a Hall of Fame manager and a great player.''

Woody Woodward, who hired Piniella when he was Seattle's GM, said, ``He came out here and made believers out of the Northwest.''

Now, after three tough years in Tampa Bay and two in Chicago after a good start, Piniella's career will likely end on a disappointing note.

``Everybody knows he's not going to let up,'' All-Star outfielder Marlon Byrd said. ``It's Lou Piniella. Have you seen one year where he's let up in his playing career or his managing career?''

---

AP Sports Writers Luke Meredith in Des Moines, Iowa, Howie Rumberg in New York, Beth Harris in Los Angeles, Gregg Bell in Seattle and Joe Kay in Cincinnati contributed to this report.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends

We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS.  Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned.  For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go.  As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190).  Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.   By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet.  For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction.  On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later.  Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick.  Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com

New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors

Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
 New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season. 
 
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls

Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times. 
 
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons

Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season. 
 
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS. 
 
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”.  With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit.  Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.

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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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