Cardinals sign P Linebrink

Baseball Betting Lines

02/10/2012 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have signed pitcher Scott Linebrink to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

Linebrink pitched for Atlanta last season and went 4-4 with a 3.64 earned run average in 64 games out of the bullpen.

The 35-year-old right-hander is 42-31 with a 3.51 ERA over his 12 seasons in the majors. He has pitched in 607 games with San Francisco, Houston, San Diego, Milwaukee, the Chicago White Sox and Atlanta.

Bettingxpress Baseball Betting News

<< Barcelona hopes to heap pressure on Madrid
Navarra, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Barcelona, by its high standards, is sailing in chartered La Liga territory this season. The Catalans have exhibited a certain level of dominance in Spain's top flight over the past few seasons, claiming thr

<< Pavin grabs early lead in Boca Raton
Boca Raton, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Corey Pavin fired an eight-under 64 Friday to grab a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the Allianz Championship. Pavin, the 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup captain, is in his third season on the Champions Tour,

<< Orioles ink veteran P Ayala
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles signed veteran reliever Luis Ayala to a one-year contract on Friday. The right-hander's deal includes a club option for 2013. Ayala, 34, is familiar with the American Leagu

<< 49ers extend GM Baalke
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Francisco 49ers have extended the contract of general manager Trent Baalke through 2016. 49ers president and CEO Jed York announced the move via his Twitter account on Friday. Baalke, who was

<< Royals sign 12 players to one-year deals
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sean O'Sullivan and Blake Wood have agreed to terms on one-year contracts with the Kansas City Royals. The pitchers were just two of 12 players to sign a contract with the Royals for the upcoming season

Berdych, Stepanek give Czechs 2-0 lead >>
Ostrava, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 7 Tomas Berdych and countryman Radek Stepanek gave the Czech Republic a 2-0 lead in Friday's opening singles rubbers against visiting Italy. Bolstered by a 90 percent first-

Jackets place Lebda, Methot on IR >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets placed defensemen Brett Lebda and Marc Methot on injured reserve Friday. Lebda was signed by Columbus on January 19, and has picked up one goal in five games since. M

Wi leads by 3 at Pebble Beach; Tiger falls six back >>
Pebble Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlie Wi carded a three-under 69 on Friday at Pebble Beach to take a three-stroke lead after two rounds of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Wi, who was one of three first-round leaders, finis

NHL fines Lightning F Moore >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National Hockey League fined Tampa Bay Lightning forward Dominic Moore $2,500 on Friday. The fine stems from an interference play to New Your Rangers forward Ruslan Fedotenko on Thursday. The in

Hawaii reinstates Wiseman >>
Honolulu, HI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Hawaii announced on Friday that sophomore forward Trevor Wiseman has been reinstated to the team. Wiseman was suspended indefinitely by the team on Monday and missed the Rainbow Warr

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.

Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional sports lines can be found at: www.Sportsbooks.com

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards.