Can Pedro save the Mets' season?

Baseball Betting Lines

06/03/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manager Willie Randolph has one more ace up his sleeve if he is to save his job as the New York Mets' skipper: Pedro Martinez.

Martinez is set to return from the disabled list on Tuesday and face the San Francisco Giants. It will be his first start since straining his left hamstring in his first outing of the season on April 1 against Florida.

The right-hander lasted just 3 1/3 innings versus the Marlins, allowing four runs on four hits without a decision. It was his shortest start since a 2 2/3- frame effort on September 27, 2006.

Heading into play on Tuesday, the Mets find themselves fourth in the National League East, 4 1/2 games behind the front-running Phillies. At 28-28 and with a payroll exceeding $137 million, it is obvious New York is underachieving thus far.

It has been a season filled with turbulence so far for the Mets. Randolph has done little to draw attention away from his club with a series of odd and just plain stupid comments about the way his team is being perceived by outsiders and the media. That led to rumors about his job security. And while he recently got a vote of confidence from the front office, it did not come with a guarantee he would last all season.

Enter Martinez. Is the eight-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner enough to save the Mets' season? Is that too much to ask of his 36- year-old right arm? Can he help loosen the team's clubhouse?

"I have a feeling Pedro will stay healthy and be a big part of our success," Randolph told New York's official Web site. "I predict he'll be with us the rest of the year."

Bottom line is, Martinez's return can't hurt. As long as he can stay healthy (not a guarantee) and pitch even remotely close to the form he was once capable of, he can team with two-time unanimous AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana to form a dominating duo.

Also, a solid Pedro will take the pressure off of the reliable John Maine and still-growing Mike Pelfrey. In addition, it would shorten the Mets' needs at pitching. With Martinez back in the fold, New York might want to add just one middle-of-the-rotation guy to possibly replace a struggling Oliver Perez, whose inconsistency this year has to be driving the Mets' front office crazy.

And let's not forget that Martinez is on a mission of his own. The pending free agent needs to figure out if his body is capable of pitching past this year's contract, whether it be in New York or somewhere else. After all, Martinez missed all but five starts last year while recovering from rotator cuff surgery performed on October 5, 2006.

"If my arm is gone, or I have the same thing that I had done a year ago, I'll hang 'em," Martinez told the Mets' site on Friday. "I'm not going to go through rehab again. But if I'm healthy -- I said it clear, if I'm healthy -- I'd like to play for two or three more years."

SANTANA GETS NO. 100; PEREZ STRUGGLING

Speaking of Santana, the phenomenal left-hander picked up the 100th win of his career on Sunday when he bested the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 29-year-old held them to a run and six hits over 7 2/3 innings while improving to 7-3 this year and 100-47 in his career.

"I felt good tonight (Sunday)," Santana said. "Everything was working out pretty good. It always helps when you get the lead and put runs on the board. My teammates did a pretty good job of putting the ball in play and scoring runs."

The victory was just the latest accolade in Santana's career. He is a three- time All-Star and has a Gold Glove on his resume. He has also struck out 1,452 batters over 1,390 1/3 career innings.

Santana's victory was part of a solid run by the Mets, who had won five of six before Monday's setback in San Francisco.

That winning run was halted by Perez, who was horrid on Monday. Perez gave up six runs while recording just an out versus the Giants, marking the second time this year he failed to make it past the second inning.

At 4-4 with a 5.70 ERA, Perez needs to find his consistency or risk falling out of New York's rotation in what is a contract year for the left-hander.

WHO IS HOT

Jose Reyes has reached base in 33 straight games dating back to April 27. That run is tied for the longest in franchise history with Darryl Strawberry, who accomplished the feat from April 25-June 1, 1987.

Reyes also has a 18-game hitting streak in the works and he is hitting .329 (26-for-79) in that span with 14 runs scored, five doubles, five homers and 12 RBI.

Scott Schoeneweis has allowed just one run in his last 18 1/3 innings, good for a 0.49 ERA. He hasn't allowed a run in 22 of his 25 appearances this season.

WHO IS NOT

Perez is 0-1 over his last three starts with an 11.92 ERA in that span. He has walked 14 batters over his last three outings.

UP NEXT

The Mets play the second contest of their three-game set with the Giants Tuesday night. Martinez is countered by San Francisco's Barry Zito (1-8, 5.53 ERA). In Wednesday's finale, Maine (5-4, 3.66) takes on Matt Cain (2-3, 4.38).

New York continues its trip on the west coast with four against the Padres. Pelfrey (2-6, 4.98) starts Thursday's opener against Josh Banks (2-0, 0.00). Santana (7-3, 3.20) pitches on Friday, followed by Perez and then Martinez in Sunday's finale.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.