Carpenter deals as Cardinals double up Astros

Baseball Betting Lines

08/04/2010 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Carpenter worked 7 1/3 innings and Albert Pujols went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run to help the St. Louis Cardinals to an 8-4 win over the Houston Astros in the finale of a three-game set.

Carpenter (12-3) gave up two runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts and added an RBI at the plate for the Cardinals, who had dropped the first two games of the set while giving up 27 runs. Felipe Lopez scored twice and drove in a run in the win.

J.A. Happ (2-1) lasted just one-plus innings in the start as he was tagged for seven runs on six hits with three walks for the Astros, who had a season-high seven-game winning streak snapped. Chris Johnson belted a two-run homer in the loss.

The Cardinals jumped on top in the first inning to the tune of four runs. With men on second and third, Matt Holliday singled to scored Lopez. Allen Craig and Yadier Molina followed with back-to-back RBI singles and, after Brendan Ryan flied out, Carpenter helped his own cause with an RBI single for a 4-0 lead.

Houston got two back in the second as Brett Wallace worked a one-out walk and Johnson followed with a shot to center to make it a 4-2 game.

However, St. Louis got those runs back and one more in the second as back-to- back walks from Lopez and Colby Rasmus were followed by a homer from Pujols to make it a 7-2 game.

Carpenter held the Astros in check until departing with one out and a man on first in the eighth. Kyle McClellan then took the mound and got Hunter Pence to hit into a fielder's choice and Carlos Lee to strike out.

Lopez made it an 8-2 game in the eighth with his RBI single that scored Ryan.

Jason Castro punched an RBI triple in the ninth and came home when Geoff Blum followed with a pinch-hit single to make it an 8-4 game. Ryan Franklin, though, got Jason Bourgeois to fly out and end the game.

Game Notes

St. Louis begins a three-game set in Florida on Friday...Houston starts a three-game series in Milwaukee on Friday...Despite the loss, Houston has won seven of the 12 games against St. Louis this season...Carpenter improved to 7-4 over 16 games against the Astros while Happ dropped to 0-2 against St. Louis.

Nikkansport Baseball Betting News

<< Pie, Matusz lead Orioles past struggling Angels
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Felix Pie went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs, as the Baltimore Orioles held off the Angels, 9-7, in the second test of a three-game set at Camden Yards. Luke Scott hit a two-run homer for the Oriol

<< Marte, Masterson pace Tribe over Red Sox
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andy Marte hit a three-run homer as part of a five-run seventh inning as Cleveland pounded Boston, 9-1, in the third installment of a four-game series at Fenway Park. Jayson Nix added a solo homer an

<< McCann and Braves use long ball to down Mets
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brian McCann homered and drove in three runs and Chipper Jones and Melky Cabrera also left the yard to lead Atlanta to a 8-3 win over New York in the rubber match of a three-game set. McCann finished 3-

<< Dodgers' Martin lands on DL
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers placed catcher Russell Martin on the 15-day disabled list with a right hip labral tear. Martin hyperextended his leg in the second inning of Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Padre

<< Jackson hurls successful ChiSox debut, downs Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edwin Jackson navigated his way through some early trouble to pitch seven-plus innings against his former club, as the Chicago White Sox defeated Detroit, 4-1, in the third installment of a four- game se

Young, Twins beat Rays in extras >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Delmon Young drove in the game-winning run in the 13th inning as the Minnesota Twins took a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the third of a four-game set. Scott Baker gave up just three hits an

Brown helps Phils get past Florida >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Domonic Brown drove in three runs and Kyle Kendrick pitched six effective frames, as Philadelphia surged past Florida, 7-2, in the second installment of a three-game set at Sun Life Stadium. Despite a

Padilla flirts with no-hitter, shuts down Padres >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vicente Padilla, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, tossed the fourth shutout of his career, as the Los Angeles Dodgers blasted the San Diego Padres, 9-0, in the third test of a four game se

Berdych advances; Querrey ousted in DC >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Tomas Berdych was a second-round winner on Wednesday, while American Sam Querrey was ousted from the $1.402 million Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a hardcourt U.S. Open Series event. Berdych, wh

Dunn homers twice as Nats down D-Backs >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Dunn hit a pair of home runs to pace the Washington Nationals to a 7-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the third of four games at Chase Field. Dunn finished with three hits and four RBI in

FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.