The Boston Bruins were a popular pick to win it all on Bodog’s NHL odds last season, but Boston struggled to score and was eventually ousted from the playoffs in humiliating fashion, coughing up a three games to none lead to the Flyers. With expectations tempered in 2010-11, can Boston make good on 14/1 Stanley Cup odds? This is its offseason update.
Shipping Phil Kessel to the Leafs last offseason proved costly for the Bruins, as they finished dead last in scoring a season ago. That problem could be rectified thanks to some strong moves this summer – one of which came directly from the Kessel trade. Boston took dynamic forward Tyler Seguin second overall, a pick it netted in the deal with Toronto.
Seguin isn’t the only new addition up front, however. Boston shipped defenseman Dennis Wideman and some picks to Florida for Nathan Horton. The forward is talented and has scored at least 20 goals in five straight seasons; with the right linemates Horton could crack the 30-goal plateau. The Bruins should now have enough scoring up front to make a drastic improvement; they’re not going to run and gun with the Washingtons of the league, but they won’t be getting shut out every other game, either.
Speaking of which, the team’s goaltending situation remains intact. Former Vezina winner Tim Thomas lost his job to rookie Tuukka Rask last year. The youngster was a tremendous bright spot and one of the main reasons Boston managed to make the playoffs despite scoring so few goals. Rask went 22-12-5 with a 1.97 GAA and, while his average will likely climb a bit this year, he should once again deliver strong nightly performances in net. Should he falter, Thomas will be waiting in the wings.
The Bruins look like legit Cup contenders this year. A few small pieces like Seguin and Horton should improve scoring, and there’s little reason to believe the team’s No. 2 ranking in fewest goals allowed will decline much, if at all. Don’t sleep on Boston in the Eastern Conference.
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With 80/1 odds to win the Stanley Cup, the Atlanta Thrashers aren’t just long shots – they’re trying to avoid the cellar this year. Can the Thrashers surprise on Bodog’s NHL odds or will 2010-11 be a lost season? This is Atlanta’s offseason update.
The Thrashers finished 35-34-13 last season – not good enough to qualify for the playoffs. The team finished a respectable 12th in goal scoring but that number is sure to drop without talented winger Ilya Kovalchuk, who was traded to New Jersey partway through the season. Maxim Afinogenov is gone, too, after signing in Russia. That leaves Nik Antropov as the team’s current leading scorer and, while he’s a serviceable player, he shouldn’t be leading the top line. A significant step back in goal scoring should be expected.
Atlanta was mostly quiet in free agency but, then again, who would want to sign with such a middling club? The Thrashers signed former Blues goalie Chris Mason to a reported two-year, $3.7 million deal, and he could steal some wins for Atlanta – something it could desperately use after finishing 25th in goals against last year. Keep an eye on youngster Ondrej Pavelec, who could also earn significant playing time after playing 42 games in 2009-10.
Atlanta at least added some bodies that know how to win, raiding the cap-challenged Chicago Blackhawks for three Stanley Cup champion players – Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien and Brent Sopel. All three are valuable role players on a contending team; unfortunately, in Atlanta, they’ll be asked to play starring roles.
Over the past few years when discussing the Thrashers, fans could say, “Well, at least they have Kovalchuk.” Not anymore. There are fewer reasons than ever to be excited about hockey in Atlanta. The best-case scenario might, after all, be finishing dead last and acquiring the top pick in the draft.
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The Colorado Rockies (+120) and San Francisco Giants (-140) are fighting for their playoff lives on Bodog’s MLB odds. Both teams trail the San Diego Padres by a fair margin in the NL West and, if they have any hopes of sneaking into the postseason, winning streaks need to start now. Colorado has won seven of its 12 meetings with the Giants this year.
The Rockies will send Esmil Rogers (2-2, 5.66 ERA) to the hill on Tuesday. Colorado won Rogers’ last start despite a brutal meltdown, when he allowed seven runs in just 1.2 innings of work. Rogers had pitched solid if unspectacularly in his three starts before that, at least giving Colorado a chance to win. The young right-hander is facing the Rockies for the third time this season (one start, one relief appearance); he’s 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in those contests.
Colorado has hit .246 with 45 runs scored in 12 games against San Fran this season. Dexter Fowler has been an on-base machine, hitting .464 with a sterling .595 OBP in eight games against the Giants. Carlos Gonzalez has had a strange season against San Fran; he leads Colorado with four homers and 10 RBIs against the Giants this season, yet is hitting below the Mendoza Line in 12 games.
The Giants will counter with Madison Bumgarner (5-4, 3.95 ERA). Like Rogers, Bumgarner was smacked around in his last outing, surrendering eight runs (seven earned) and lasting just 2.2 innings. It was the first time the lefty had allowed more than four runs in 73 innings of work this season. Bumgarner has struggled against the Rockies this year, going 0-2 with a bloated 5.73 ERA in a pair of starts.
San Francisco’s lineup has been just as punchless in this season series, hitting .237 with 48 runs scored through a dozen games against Colorado. Aubrey Huff, however, has been a revelation against the Rockies; he’s hit .391 with a team-high five homers and nine RBIs in 12 games.
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The new Arizona Cardinals depth chart released this week seemed to show what everyone was expecting: Derek Anderson was listed as the No. 1 quarterback and Matt Leinart as No. 2 – and now there are reports that Leinart may be flat-out released by the Cardinals once they have to get down to the 53-man roster. Bet on Arizona futures on Bodog’s NFL odds.
Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt says the depth chart doesn’t mean a whole lot, but he also started Anderson ahead of Leinart in the third preseason game, which is the most important one. The coach has even hinted that he might like to hold off on naming a starter and surprise the St. Louis Rams Sept. 12 for the regular-season opener. But it’s pretty clear Leinart has seen the writing on the wall, and he’s not happy about it.
“I have outplayed the competition (in) training camp and preseason,” he said. “I think my play speaks about that. For me I just have to move forward every day. I can’t worry about what I can’t control. … For me, this goes beyond the football field. You always want the best 11 guys to play and I feel I have proved that with my performance in training camp and preseason. I don’t really know what else this could probably be.”
Leinart has completed 19 of 23 passes in the preseason; Anderson is 31-for-53. But Leinart simply doesn’t have the arm strength go throw downfield as all his completions have been dinks and dunks (his longest completion is 18 yards). The Cardinals don’t want to lose youngsters Max Hall or John Skelton to waivers because another club would claim one of them. And Arizona simply can’t carry four quarterbacks. But it would also be a huge risk to have one of those inexperienced rookies as Anderson’s backup. Leinart has a base salary of $2.485 million this season and $7.36 million next season, meaning it’s unlikely he has much trade value. Whisenhunt hasn’t announced who will start the team’s final preseason game Thursday yet.
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With the terrible news that Washington’s Stephen Strasburg will likely be out until the 2012 season, the most exciting rookie pitcher in baseball tag now falls on Cincinnati lefty Aroldis Chapman, who has been called up by the Reds and will be available against the Brewers. Both Cincy and Milwaukee are at -110 on Bodog’s MLB odds for this game.
The Reds called up Chapman now because he will still be eligible to be on the team’s playoff roster, but he will be a reliever for at least the rest of this year. How electric is the Cuban’s stuff? He recently threw a 105 mph fastball while in Triple-A. Chapman is in the first year of a six-year, $30.25 million deal with the NL Central-leading Reds after defecting from Cuba in the Netherlands last year. Chapman is 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA as a reliever. He has allowed 17 hits, 12 walks and struck out 49 in 30 innings since the move to bullpen and his ERA is 0.83 over his last 20 appearances. In his past eight outings, spanning eight innings, he has struck out 15.
Cincinnati beat Milwaukee 5-4 in 10 innings Monday to open a season-high six-game lead over St. Louis in the division. The win also put the Reds a season-high 21 games over .500 at 76-55. Aaron Harang (7-6, 5.02) will make his first start for the Reds tonight since he was scratched from a July 5 start with lower back spasms. The Brewers counter with Yovani Gallardo (11-6, 3.50), who is 3-2 with a 6.27 ERA since the All-Star break.
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Newly acquired Manny Ramirez didn’t make it to Cleveland in time to play for the White Sox on Monday night against the Indians as was speculated he might (including here) but Man-Ram should be in the lineup Tuesday night for the Pale Hose, who are -140 favorites on Bodog’s MLB odds.
Ramirez was awarded to the Sox on Monday on a waiver claim from the Dodgers at a cost of about $3.8 million. Manager Ozzie Guillen said there was a chance that Ramirez might be too tired in traveling from L.A. to play tonight, but he’s expected to be in the lineup and bat fifth behind Paul Konerko. Manny has hit only eight home runs in 66 games in an injury-plagued season. He has only 13 at-bats in the second half of the season because of those injuries. And by the way, Ramirez may be forced by the White Sox to cut his trademark dreadlocks as well. He will again wear jersey No. 99.
Chicago moved to within four games of the idle Twins on Monday, beating Cleveland 10-6 in 11 innings. It was almost a very costly win as starting second baseman Gordon Beckham had to leave the game after being hit by a pitch on the hand. He was actually originally told at the hospital that it was broken, but it turns out it’s just bruised and he’s probably out until the weekend. Beckham is hitting .349 in his last 44 games. Brent Lillibridge likely will start while he’s out, and Lillibridge hit the tiebreaking homer in the 11th Monday.
The pitching matchup certainly favors Chicago tonight as it starts Edwin Jackson (2-0, 0.96) against Justin Masterson (5-12, 5.23). Jackson has fanned 34 in 28 innings since coming to Chicago and not allowing more than one earned run in any of his four starts. Masterson is 1-1 with a 4.30 ERA in three starts against the White Sox in 2010.
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