Report: Astros have deal in place to send Oswalt to Phillies

Baseball Betting Lines

07/29/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros reportedly have a deal in place to send starting pitcher Roy Oswalt to the Philadelphia Phillies.

FOX 26 in Houston reports the only thing standing in the way is for the right- hander to waive his no-trade clause. Sources have told the TV station the teams have agreed on the amount of money Houston would take back in the deal and the teams have reached an accord on which players the Phillies would send the Astros.

Oswalt is owed approximately $5 million for the remainder of this season. He's due to make $16 million next season and there is a club option of $16 million in 2012 or a $2 million buyout.

The 32-year-old Oswalt, who has only pitched for Houston over his 10-year career, is 6-12 with a 3.42 ERA this season. He's lost his last two starts, but has received little run support from his team. In fact, the Astros have scored two runs or less each of the last six times he's pitched.

With 143 wins, Oswalt is one victory shy of matching Joe Niekro as the all- time leader in Astros franchise history.

If the three-time All-Star lands in Philadelphia, it would give the surging Phillies a powerful 1-2-3 punch in the rotation, led by Roy Halladay and followed by Cole Hamels.

The Phillies have won a season-best seven games in a row and are 3 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East standings. The Astros are well out of the playoff race at 42-59.

Bettingxpress Baseball Betting News

<< Body of missing Lorenzen Wright found
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The body of Lorenzen Wright, who had been missing since last week, has been found by law enforcement officials. According to The Commercial Appeal, the body of Wright, a former Memphis basketball s

<< Jones homers twice as Pirates down Rockies
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Garrett Jones homered twice as part of a four- hit night and drove in three runs as the Pirates overcame an early injury to pitcher Ross Ohlendorf to beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-2, at Coors Field. Neil Walk

<< Cardinals edge Mets in 13 innings
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Albert Pujols drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the top of the 13th inning, as the St. Louis Cardinals snuck past the New York Mets, 8-7, in the second test of a three-game series from Citi Field.

<< Yankees rough up Carmona, Tribe
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Teixeira and Brett Gardner each had two hits and two runs batted in, as the New York Yankees roughed up Fausto Carmona in an 8-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Robinson Cano doubled and slugged

<< White Sox edge Mariners for 10th straight home win
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rios singled home the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Chicago White Sox came away with a 6-5 victory over Seattle in the third test of a four-game series at U.S. Cellular Field.

Richard shines as Padres down Dodgers >>
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jerry Hairston Jr. drove in three runs and Clayton Richard was solid in six innings on the mound, as the San Diego Padres took down the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-1, in the middle installment of a three- game se

Stosur into quarterfinals in Stanford >>
Stanford, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur moved into the quarterfinals at the $700,000 Bank of the West Classic tennis event with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over American qualifier Christina McHale. Stosur, who los

Pitino to face more questions in extortion case >>
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino is used to answering questions from reporters.On Thursday, Pitino faces questions unlike anything he's answered at a press conference.Pitino will retake the stand in the trial of woman ac

Querrey reaches quarters in LA >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Sam Querrey needed three sets to beat South African Kevin Anderson in the second round of the $700,000 Farmers Classic tennis event. Querrey, the second seed, outlasted Anderson, 7-6 (1

Giants' Wilson fined >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco Giants reliever Brian Wilson has reportedly been fined $1,000 by the league for wearing all- orange shoes against the Marlins on Tuesday. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Wilson

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)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .

Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.