Cardinals get Westbrook from Tribe, send Ludwick to San Diego

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired pitcher Jake Westbrook from the Cleveland Indians in a three-team trade that also involves the San Diego Padres.

Along with Westbrook, St. Louis acquired cash from the Indians and minor league pitcher Nick Greenwood from San Diego. The Padres got outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the Cardinals, while the Indians received minor league pitcher Corey Kluber from the Padres.

Westbrook, who was scratched from his scheduled start Saturday against Toronto in order for the trade to be completed, will fill out the Cardinals' rotation. He is 6-7 with a 4.65 ERA in 21 starts this season, his 10th in the majors and first full year since 2007.

The 32-year-old right-hander made just five starts in 2008 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, then missed all of 2009 while recovering.

Westbrook broke into the majors in 2000 with the Yankees before being traded to Cleveland, and he had been with the Indians since. In 221 career games, 181 starts, the right-hander is 69-71 with a 4.34 ERA, and was an All-Star selection in 2004.

"We've been looking for a quality starting pitcher to add to our rotation for some time," said Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak. "Westbrook is someone we've had our eyes on for a good period of time. We also want to wish Ryan Ludwick all the best with the Padres. He did an outstanding job for us over the past 3 1/2 seasons."

Ludwick, 32, made brief major league appearances with Texas and Cleveland from 2002-05, and spent the entire 2006 season at Triple-A. But after signing with the Cardinals, he got back to the majors in 2007 and played his way into a starting role. He was named an All-Star in 2008, when he hit .299 with 37 home runs and 113 runs batted in.

In 77 games this year, Ludwick is batting .281 with a .343 on-base percentage, 11 homers and 43 RBI.

Greenwood, 22, was a 14th-round selection by the Padres in 2009. The left- hander was 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA at Single-A Fort Wayne this season, and will be assigned to Single-A Quad Cities.

Kluber, 24, went 6-6 with a 3.45 ERA in 22 games (21 starts) this year at Double-A San Antonio. San Diego selected the right-hander in the fourth round of the 2007 draft.

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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)

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