AL West: Not too late for A's to make playoff push

Baseball Betting Lines

08/24/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With eight weeks to play in the regular season, the Oakland Athletics have yet to bow out of the race in the American League West.

After taking the first two games of a four-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland lost a pair of one-run games this weekend to settle for a series split. Still, the A's (61-62) entered Tuesday in second place in the AL West, 8 1/2 games behind first-place Texas.

Mathematically speaking, the A's are still very much in contention.

Realistically speaking, they face quite an uphill battle to erase the deficit from a team that seemingly plugged every hole it had at the trade deadline. The wild card is not a viable route to the postseason, thanks to the continued high-stakes battle for AL East supremacy between the Yankees and Rays.

Nevertheless, October baseball is not out of the question for the A's. However, it's imperative they take advantage of every opportunity presented to them to gain some ground. So far, they haven't been able to capitalize on that last part.

So far in the month of August, the Rangers have sputtered along with an 8-11 record entering Monday's series opener against the AL Central-leading Twins. Still, the 8 1/2 games separating the Rangers and A's is the same margin that separated those two at the end of July.

"Everybody's going to have their missteps, and we're going to falter but by no means do we feel like we're ready to roll over," Dallas Braden told the Oakland Tribune following Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Rays.

They'll have another chance to close the gap this week when they begin a three-game series against the last-place Cleveland Indians Tuesday night. Following that series, the A's will head to Texas for a three-game set with the Rangers. After that, they'll take on the Yankees in the Bronx.

Certainly, Oakland has an opportunity to impact its own destiny during the upcoming trip. That said, playing 10 road games in 10 days -- with a pair of stops against first-place teams -- is not a very forgiving stretch. Then again, it also helps having your All-Star closer back from injury.

Andrew Bailey, out since July 20th with a strained muscle in his rib cage, was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list on Sunday. In 38 appearances this season, he has converted 20-of-23 save opportunities while posting a 1.56 ERA.

During Bailey's absence, manager Bob Geren relied on relievers Michael Wuertz, Craig Breslow and Jerry Blevins to close out games. Bailey's return should have a domino effect on those guys, who can go back to focusing on their normal bullpen roles.

"These guys definitely picked me up while I was gone," Bailey said. "It's been a group effort. It's always been like that down there. It's not easy closing out games, but it just shows that a lot of guys on our team can do it."

RANGERS RELYING ON PITCHING DOWN THE STRETCH

Despite a few notable injuries to their potent lineup throughout the season, the Texas Rangers still rank second in the AL in team batting average (.275), fourth in runs (609) and sixth in slugging average (.422). But if it weren't for their pitching, the Rangers likely wouldn't be enjoying the largest division lead in all of baseball at the moment.

It was the pitching that shined in Monday's showdown with the Twins, an intriguing matchup of division leaders. Rich Harden was activated from the disabled list prior to Monday's game, and he went on to pitch 6 2/3 innings of no-hit ball that required 111 pitches. Relievers Matt Harrison and Darren O'Day kept the no-hit bid intact until the ninth inning, when closer Neftali Feliz allowed a single to Joe Mauer. That hit spoiled what would have been the first combined no-hitter in club history. Still, the result was a 4-0 win for Texas.

"At times, when we have struggled to score runs, we have still been in games because our pitching staff has kept us there," Rangers owner and president and Nolan Ryan told the Star-Telegram. "And that's how you win games."

Few teams across the league can match the Rangers' blend of hitting and pitching. With All-Stars sprinkled up and down the lineup, it's easy to dismiss the team's pitching as secondary to its success. But with a staff 3.89 ERA that ranks fourth in the AL, the Rangers pitchers have made it clear they are a vital piece to what the team hopes to accomplish this season.

WHO'S ON FIRST FOR ANGELS?

Angels manager Mike Scioscia has been on a season-long quest to find someone to replace injured starter Kendry Morales at first base. On Monday, he penciled Juan Rivera in at first base for the first time in his career. It also marked the tenth different player Scioscia has used at first base this season. However, he figured there would be quite a bit of shuffling when Morales went down on May 29th.

"If you're asking me if the possibility was that we could go through a bunch of first baseman, the answer is 'Sure,'" Scioscia told the OC Register. "We knew that. You could run through 15 first basemen when you lose a guy like Kendry."

To his credit, Rivera looked pretty comfortable there on Monday, making a run- saving play in the first inning while going 2-for-4 at the plate. He had started taking grounders there recently and also played some first base during Spring Training. With Scioscia shuffling the outfield earlier this month, playing time has been sparse for Rivera, who is hitting .260 with 12 homers and 44 RBI in 98 games this season.

"It's an opportunity to get some more at-bats, that's the way I see it," Rivera said through a translator. "I'm happy that they at least presented that option."

HINDSIGHT IS 20/20 FOR SEATTLE

It didn't take long this season to find out that the Seattle Mariners, a chic contender pick entering the year, were not truly ready to take that next step.

The front office took a hack for the fences, and ultimately missed. The Cliff Lee era in Seattle was short-lived. Shelling out $36 million to Chone Figgins hasn't paid off. Neither did giving extensive playing time to aging veterans. Given how things have played out, general manager Jack Zduriencik would no doubt like to have former No. 1 pick Brandon Morrow back instead of the bullpen help he got from Toronto in the offseason.

The Morrow and Lee deals cost the team some prospects, although at the moment it looks like the Mariners may have gotten a better return for Lee than what they originally gave up to get him. Justin Smoak will figure into the team's future plans at first base. Other prospects like Dustin Ackley, Mauricio Robles and Michael Pineda are also poised to contribute soon.

In hindsight, it's easy to argue the team could have waited another year, developed some prospects, and then made a move to challenge for a postseason bid. As it turned out, Zduriencik probably played his hand a year too early. But for a fan base that hasn't witnessed a playoff game in eight years, it's tough to fault him for trying.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

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