Canadian MLB Report: Votto powering Reds' hot start

Baseball Betting Lines

05/25/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A strong start to the season from Joey Votto has helped the Cincinnati Reds sit atop the National League Central division standings through the first 45 games of the season. The Reds tied the St. Louis Cardinals for the division lead after a 7-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates Monday night.

Through weekend play, Votto was hitting .307 with 10 homers, 33 runs batted in and a .406 on-base percentage. He ranks in the top 10 in the NL in home runs, on-base percentage, and walks. The 26-year-old is leading the Reds in all four of the above categories, in turn cementing himself as the centerpiece of the franchise.

Votto has also made a habit this year of delivering in the clutch. He is batting .356 with runners in scoring position, firmly entrenching himself as the No. 3 hitter in the Reds' order.

Cincinnati's second-round draft pick in 2002 will be in line for a big payday when his current contract runs out, as he continues to emerge into one of the league's elite first basemen.

SURGING

Jason Bay: All Bay needed was a new calendar month or, perhaps, more time to get used to the new environs of Citi Field. Either way, the month of May has been much more pleasant to Bay than his first in a Mets uniform. Bay has recorded a hit in 15 of his last 17 games, a stretch that included an 11-game hit streak. Bay, who is currently hitting .350 in May, has raised his team- leading average to .307.

The three-time All-Star also helped propel the Mets to a series victory over their cross-town rivals, the New York Yankees, in interleague play this past weekend. Bay went 7-for-10 in the three-game set, amassing four extra base hits along the way, including two home runs in the series finale Sunday night.

Mark Teahen: The White Sox starting third baseman extended his hit streak to seven games after going 3-for-4 with three RBI Monday night against the Cleveland Indians. Teahen is in year one of a three-year deal he signed with Chicago in the offseason, after spending the first five seasons of his career with the Kansas City Royals. During the streak, Teahen has seen his batting average rise by 30 points and is currently batting .248 with two homers and 11 RBI through 40 games.

A MAJOR RETURN

Jeff Francis: Francis followed up his solid 2010 debut with another strong start this past weekend, winning his first MLB game since 2008. The southpaw has allowed only one run in 13.1 innings of work to start the season. The 29- year-old is well on his way to a successful comeback, as he attempts to ease the load staff ace Ubaldo Jimenez has been carrying and help the Rockies reach the postseason for the third time in four years.

George Kottaras: Kottaras has assumed the role of starting catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers since Gregg Zaun was placed on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder. The Scarborough, Ont. native has shown some pop over 49 at bats this season, as nine of his 12 hits have gone for extra bases, including three homers and 11 RBI. Despite hitting .245, Kottaras is sporting a .443 OBP.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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