Yankees welcome Damon, Tigers to the Bronx

Baseball Betting Lines

08/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johnny Damon returns to the Bronx for the first time since leaving as a free agent, as the New York Yankees welcome the Detroit Tigers to Yankee Stadium.

After spending four years with the hated Boston Red Sox, Damon managed to win the Bronx faithful over in his four years with the Yankees and, of course, was a big part of last year's World Series championship. Damon, though, opted to leave this offseason, signing a one-year, $8 million deal with the Tigers.

"I think he'll get a warm ovation," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I think Johnny will have a smile on his face, and it'll be good to see Johnny. I think it'll be enjoyable, the first time he's come back. I always thought Johnny had a good relationship with the fans. Johnny's a very warm human being. I think that people really appreciated him."

The Yankees have not skipped a beat without Damon, as they enter tonight's opener with a one-game lead in the American League East over the Tampa Bay Rays. However, they split a four-game series over the weekend with the Kansas City Royals and were baffled by Bryan Bullington in Sunday's finale.

New York managed just two hits off of Bullington in the 1-0 decision with the right-hander earning the first big league win of his career.

A.J. Burnett (9-10) went the distance for New York, allowing four hits and a run in his first complete game of the season. He walked three, struck out six and added a tough-luck loss to his 3-8 ledger over the last 13 starts.

Hoping for a little more run support tonight will be righty Javier Vazquez, who is 9-8 and winless in his last three starts. Vazquez luckily escaped without a loss on Wednesday in Texas, as he surrendered six runs in 4 1/3 innings of his team's 7-6 come-from-behind win.

Since getting his earned run average down to a season-low 4.45 back on July 10, Vazquez has allowed 20 runs in his five subsequent outings to raise it back to 4.90.

Vazquez lost to the Tigers back on May 12 and is 6-8 lifetime against them with a 4.36 ERA in 14 starts.

Detroit, meanwhile, took two of three from the Chicago White Sox over the weekend and pulled out a 13-8 win in Sunday's finale at U.S. Cellular Field. Damon had two hits, two RBI and scored twice, while Jhonny Peralta hit two homers and drove in three for the Tigers, who have won three of four.

Ryan Raburn homered for the third time in four games, and Miguel Cabrera added a solo shot -- his 27th of the season -- in the win.

"We know the White Sox are tough, especially with their pitching staff, but we were able to get some big hits today," Damon said. "It's about time."

Brad Thomas (5-1) took the win for tossing a perfect seventh inning. Tigers starter Armando Galarraga worked five innings and yielded four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits with a pair of walks and five strikeouts. He has not won a game since beating the New York Mets on June 24.

Getting the call for the Tigers this evening will be righty Max Scherzer, who is 7-9 with a 4.03 ERA. Scherzer was charged with the loss on Tuesday against Tampa Bay, despite giving up two runs (one earned) and four hits in seven innings. He has allowed just four earned runs in his last three starts, but is 0-1 in that span.

This will be his first-ever start against the Yankees.

Scherzer, of course, was part of the deal that landed outfielder Curtis Granderson in the Bronx. Granderson did not play against the Tigers earlier in the year when Detroit took two of three from the Yanks at Comerica Park.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.