Games Brewers Claim Claim With Mets

Baseball Betting Lines

The major-league record holder for saves in a single season (62), Rodriguez had a 6-2 record with a 2.64 ERA and 23 saves last season, serving mainly as an eighth-inning man with Milwaukee.

 

Milwaukee still has three players in arbitration: RHP Shaun Marcum and relievers Kameron Loe and Jose Veras.

 

Villanueva spent his first five seasons with Milwaukee and owns a career mark of 26-28 in 263 appearances, 40 of which have been starts. His career ERA sits at 4.28 and he has added six saves in 17 opportunities out of the bullpen.

 

The 29-year-old Michigan native appeared in just 44 games last season and batted only .232 with seven runs batted in. He is a career .253 hitter with eight homers and 86 runs batted in over 327 games in parts of five major league seasons.

 

His 14 wins gave him at least 10 wins in five straight seasons, making him the first Phillies pitcher to do so since Hall of Famer Steve Carlton's 13-year streak from 1972-84.

 

An NLCS and World Series MVP for the Phillies in 2008, Hamels has spent his entire six-year career in Philadelphia and has posted a 74-54 mark to go along with a 3.39 ERA. He's also the Phils' all-time leader in postseason wins with seven.

 

Valdez will earn $930,000, plus incentives, after batting .249 in 99 games last season. He also hit .370 with runners in scoring position.

 

Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to a one-year deal with pitcher Jeff Karstens, thus avoiding arbitration. Karstens finished 2011 with a 9-9 record and a 3.38 earned run average, the best of his career, in 30 games -- 26 starts-- for the Pirates.

 

Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers have named former infielder Craig Counsell as a special assistant to the general manager. Counsell wrapped up a 16-year big league career in 2011 with the Brewers, for whom he played his final five seasons. He batted .178 in 107 games last year.

 

Counsell was a .255 career hitter in 1,624 games for the Brewers, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Marlins and Rockies. He won a World Series in 1997 with Florida, scoring the winning run in Game 7 against Cleveland, and was also a key member of Arizona's 2001 World Series title team, earning NLCS MVP honors that postseason.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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