Baseball Betting Opportunities in the Off-Season

The World Series is now over and most baseball fans have moved over to other sports during the long and cold winter off-season. As a baseball bettor you may be wondering how to spend this time to assist in your handicapping of the upcoming season. The following is a guide to what to pay attention to in the off-season so you can become a profitable bettor when the players return to the field next Spring.

Outright World Series Championship Betting

As soon as the World Series is settled, bookmakers everywhere put up their numbers for the next year’s champion. It is usually a foregone conclusion that the current champions will be a short price as well as any of the teams that made it to the postseason. One way to make money in this long term future bet is to pick a team that had a legitimate shot in the playoffs but just couldn’t cut it due to bad luck or injury. Another angle is to seek out teams that had a tough schedule or played in a division that was more competitive on average. For example, the National League East in 2012 was very competitive so the teams in that division should have better form going into 2013. Check the odds board each week as the numbers will change throughout the winter. A team that is going for 15/1 today may drift up to 20/1 in two weeks time. If you have a hunch about that team, jump on it when the odds go up to earn a larger profit.

San Francisco Giants Make Matt Cain Filthy Rich

Matt Cain has been handed the largest deal for a right-handed pitcher in the history of baseball.

The San Francisco Giants agreed on Monday to a $127.5 million, six-year contract with Cain, who wanted to remain in the Bay Area, where his career began. He had this to say about his choice to stick around:

"This is a decision that was made pretty simple for [my wife and I]. It was a process and it was a negotiation. It was good for my family and I to go through all of that, to be able to know this is probably going to be our lifetime as a Giant, that’s pretty cool for us."

Carlos Quentin Needs Knee Surgery

Carlos Quentin is expected to be sidelined 4-6 weeks after he has arthroscopic knee surgery this Monday. Bummer.

The San Diego Padres outfielder, acquired in a trade with the Chicago White Sox on New Year's Eve, began experiencing inflammation in his right knee shortly after reporting to spring training. However, even with a bum knee, Quentin batted .533 with a homer and four RBI in 15 at-bats this spring.

Baseball Madness: From the Depths of the Cactus League

Kevin Rehberg is the Owner/Managing Editor of WestSide Culture, a site dedicated to life, beer, business and sports on the West Coast. Check it out at http://westsideculture.com. Or don't. Either way.

Ahh multitasking. Streaming March Madness on my iPhone, watching the D'backs rout the Cubs and sipping a Sierra Nevada. Tough day at the office. In fact let's get another beer and take this efficiency to another level.

Speaking of sweet gigs, how does one go about getting a job like Manny Ramirez? $500k this season to babysit Yoenis Cespedes, and not even for a full season? Just 2/3 of the year and some Spring Ball. Manny's kickin' back, keeping tabs on the little guy (Cespedes at 210 lbs is not little) and downing some women's estrogen pills. Hey, it's good being an Oakland A. Well, except for that whole paying for soda in the clubhouse thing.

If the regular season is anything like the craziness of this Spring, we are in for a special treat. The Oakland A's at 10-3 have the Cactus League's best record (who would've thunk it?). We already knew the Giants could pitch, but now they can hit. (Royals kicking themselves over that Melky Cabrera trade). Troy Tulowitzki is suddenly an actor. (Probably for the better since the Rockies are terrible). C.J. Wilson gets pitching tips from Kate Upton. (I would too). And Yu Darvish is human. (Maybe).

3 things I'm hoping to see before the A's and Mariners head to Japan: #1) Jurickson Profar and or Mike Trout in action. #2) Trevor Bauer win a starting job in Arizona. #3) Andrew "Cash Money" Cashner hit 104 on the radar gun. He's already done 103. What's another 1MPH, Cash? Rear back and fire it in there. Who cares if you drill someone in the ribs? If your GM, Josh Byrnes, has a problem with it, you have him email me.

[WestSide Culture]

Philadelphia Phillies Release Dontrelle Willis

Well, they gave him a shot.

The Philadelphia Phillies have officially released Dontrelle Willis Friday morning, announcing the move via Twitter very plainly.

The 30-year-old lefty signed a non-guaranteed contract with the team back in December worth $850,000 over one year with the hopes of competing for a spot in the bullpen this spring. This in itself may have been hard for him to swallow after spending all nine of his big league seasons as a starter.

Unfortunately, in three appearances this spring, Willis allowed five earned runs on five hits with four walks in just 2.2 innings. Yikes. The good news is he will receive $139,000 in severance pay.

So what happened to the D-Train? Remember when he was kinda awesome? The 2003 National League Rookie of the Year made two All-Star appearances with the Florida Marlins and even finished second in the NL Cy Young Award voting in 2005. Those were the days cause it's pretty much been downhill from there. He tried a career revival back in 2010 with the Cincinnati Reds too, after lasting just 33 days with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but I think it's safe to say it's over buddy.

Who knows, maybe he didn't take enough protein supplements or something. Hopefully this whole ordeal doesn't trigger his anxiety disorder again... There's always Mexican baseball. Or coaching little league. Those who can't do, teach!

[USA Today]

Who's Crazier: Ozzie Guillen or Bobby Valentine?

Ozzie Guillen is up to his old shenanigans and Bobby Valentine has been told what's up.

Guillen was ejected from Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Boston Red Sox for what else but arguing a call. Then, as the new Miami Marlins skipper exited the field, opposing manager Valentine gave him a sarcastic wave adios and said, "See ya." This exchange (although Ozzie totally missed it) is hopefully a nice foreshadowing of what this season has in store for us regarding these two. Not that they'll see each other much.

Troy Tulowitzki Takes his Wrist Guards Very Seriously

If there's one thing we've learned about Troy Tulowitzki from this MLB Fan Cave video, it's that he could always fall back on acting if the whole baseball things doesn't pan out.

[MLB Fan Cave]

Road Trip: Welcome to the Cactus League

Kevin Rehberg is the Owner/Managing Editor of WestSide Culture, a site dedicated to life, beer, business and sports on the West Coast. Check it out at http://westsideculture.com. Or don't. Either way.

I grew up in Arizona a Cubs fan, rooting for Ryne Sandberg while attending Giants Spring Training games. In 1998 I became a D'Backs fan when baseball expanded to the Valley. Now I spend my time in San Diego emailing Josh Byrnes bi-weekly, requesting he hire me as his Assistant GM. I remind him that we have Starbucks and baseball as a common bond, and even that we both lived in AZ at the same time. (He has yet to respond).

Chad Billingsley Gets Extension from Dodgers

Chad Billingsley and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a four-year contract worth roughly $41.3 million.

The 26-year-old righty, who avoided arbitration at the beginning of the year with a temporary one-year contract, will see an additional $35 million over the final three seasons of his existing deal. Not bad.

Billingsley will be the second pitcher in the Dodgers rotation behind Clayton Kershaw, making his season debut Friday evening against the San Francisco Giants.

Over 160 career games, Billingsley is 59-41 with a 3.55 ERA. More impressive: he's made at least 31 starts and tossed at a minimum 191.2 innings in each of the past three seasons. Workhorse!

Maybe he'll use that determination and longevity to get the Dodger Blue back into the postseason.

[Los Angeles Times]

Josh Hamilton: Lookin' Good, Good Lookin'

Remember that old school Spike Lee joint with Michael Jordan for Nike? "Is it the shoes, Michael? It's gotta be the shoes."

Majestic's new promo is something along the same lines, just not as hip. It's gotta be the spankin' new Majestic batting practice jersey.

Way to Go, Placido Polanco

Placido Polanco has re-injured his surgically repaired left elbow.

The Philadelphia Phillies third baseman hyper-extended his elbow on a swing in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. Ouch. He attempted to play some defense in the bottom half of the inning, but was replaced by Wilson Valdez in the second.

"It’s just a day-to-day thing I think. When I’ve had it before, I never stopped playing. But since I had surgery, they took me out."

Sad News for Minor League Manager Luis Salazar

I've tried to imagine today what it would be like to actually lose an eye. I would likely lose my mind.

This is why I have a tremendous amount of admiration for the bravery of Luis Salazar, the Atlanta Braves minor league manager who was nailed in the face by a line drive during a Spring Training game on March 9. He ended up losing his left eye.

Salazr, 54, was leaning against the railing on the top step of the dugout during a game between the Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals when Brian McCann fouled one in his direction. Salazar was unable to get out of the way, falling head-first back into the dugout.

A Moment of Silence for Victims of the Japan Tsunami

As news of a horrific earthquake and tsunami on the Northeast shores of Japan rolled in late this morning, our prayers were with the victims and survivors of this terrible tragedy, while our thoughts moved toward Japanese players in their Spring Training camps in Florida and Arizona.

Hideki Matsui and Ryota Igarashi were awake all night, watching the devastation and praying for the victims and survivors in their faraway homeland. Meanwhile, Daisuke Matsuzaka reached his parents safely in Tokyo, but was unable to get in touch with his grandmother.

Boston Red Sox reliever Hideki Okajima had this to say:

"It’s a tough situation. You can’t control nature, but when something like this happens, you really realize the power of nature."

Matsui shared the same sentiment:

"I am deeply concerned and affected by what is happening in Japan. I pray for the safety of all the people that have been affected and continue to be affected by this disaster."

Well, This Sucks

Brewers fans will have to wait a few weeks after the season starts before they get to see their new ace Zack Greinke take the mound. The new addition to the team is going to start the season on the disabled list after fracturing a rib during a basketball game with buddies a few weeks ago.

Greinke was quoted as saying:

"I've been doing this for a couple of years now, and people are always saying, 'You're going to get hurt.' It finally caught up to me. I was hoping it was just bruised, but I guess its worse than that. So I guess I have to stop playing [basketball] now. I had a lot of fun while I was doing it, but it wasn't worth it."

Uh... you think?

It's About Damn Time

Welcome back to the action, Justin Morneau.

After being sidelined by a season ending concussion just before he was set to play in the All-Star game last July, Justin Morneau FINALLY played ball today. During the first half of the 2010 season, the Twins first baseman was on his way to another MVP caliber season, batting .345, hitting 18 bombs, and 56 RBI before sliding headfirst into the knee of Toronto shortstop John MacDonald.

Our Canadian Crusher played in his first game this spring in a B-squad game against the Pirates. His first at bat was nothing to write home about, other than he actually had a first at bat. But on his second trip to the plate, he cracked a bases loaded double. Welcome back, indeed.

Heads Up, Josh Beckett

Josh Beckett had a bit of a scare Monday after being nailed in the back of the head during batting practice.

According to the Boston Red Sox, their ace is experiencing mild concussion symptoms. Although he walked off the field all on his own, he was sent home to rest after being examined by trainers... because napping is exactly what a person who's just suffered a head injury should do?

He'll be held out of workouts today as well.

Beckett was shagging balls in the outfield when coaching staff assistant Ino Guerrero used a fungo bat to return a ball to the infield. Unfortunately, the ball hit Beckett instead. Good try buddy!

Coming off a disappointing 2010 season riddled with injury in which his ERA inflated to 5.78 with a 6-6 record, the last thing Beckett needs is to be sidelined with a head injury.

Get well soon!

[Boston Globe]

Adam Wainwright's Season Ends Before it Begins

Unfortunately, Adam Wainwright's 2011 season has ended before it even got a chance to begin.

The St. Louis Cardinals ace will undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow after feeling some stiffness in his arm after Monday's throwing session and learning of the severity Wednesday night.

Wainwright, 29, won 20 games for the Cardinals last season with a 2.42 ERA. He was once again runner-up for the National League Cy Young Award, this time behind winner Roy Halladay. He finished third in voting in 2009 behind winner Tim Lincecum and teammate Chris Carpenter.

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, as they say.

Play Poker Baseball to Tide You Over til the Opener

Pitchers and catchers report in just 12 days. That's a super long time huh. So what are you supposed to do with yourself in the meantime?

Of course, the Super Bowl is coming up this Sunday, which is pretty great for Pittsburgh and Green Bay fans. But what about everyone else? What are we to do to keep from dying of cabin fever?

There is a simple solution to the problem: get some buddies together and play Poker Baseball.

Sure, everyone is crazy about Texas Hold 'Em, but you can't scratch the itch of America's imaginary Pastime with that game. You could play poker online, but playing Poker Baseball with the people you love to rob is probably your best bet.

The rules for this basic 7 card stud game are fairly simple:

Sammy Gervacio: a Style All His Own

Earlier this Spring, I looked everywhere for a video of Sammy Gervacio's crazy setup before his delivery. Then I gave up.

Thanks to Walkoff Walk's Kris Liakos (who's not only funny and knowledgeable on the topic of baseball, but also one hot potato) I am now able to share with you the hilarity of this Houston Astros reliever's style. It's a shame this video isn't just a little bit longer, because he does this sweet move before every single pitch. No lie.

P.S. Feel free to ridicule Sooze's Minnesota Twins season preview on the excellent fantasy baseball site Razzball.

Do You Hit Your Mother With Those Balls??

Talk about a freak accident... Almost as random as a mascot detaching a man's retinas with a wiener, Minnesota Twins centerfielder Denard Span attacked his own mother with balls. (SO many male naughty-bits jokes can be made at the expense of this statement. I prefer to take the high road.)

During the first inning against the Yankees at their ridiculously over-the-top for spring training and the minors Spring Training park, Steinbrenner Field, Span fouled a 3-2 pitch over by the 3rd base dugout and directly into the chest of his mother, Wanda. Span immediately ran over to make sure she was OK. After the paramedics arrived and she declined to go to the hospital, Span proceeded with his at bat, only to get called out on strikes. Span ended up going 0-2 on the day, and left the game after the top of the third - presumably to go buy the biggest bouquet of apology flowers ever.