All-Star young guns making it Year of the Pitcher

Baseball Betting Lines

07/13/2010 -

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -Tim Hudson remembers when throwing fastballs registering in the upper 80s and low 90s was considered impressive. Now, in baseball's Year of the Pitcher, that kind of speed is almost laughable.

Youngsters like Ubaldo Jimenez and Josh Johnson are routinely blasting the strike zone with severe heat, reaching near 100 mph.

``I do know the caliber of arms coming up these days are better than the '90s and early 2000s,'' said Hudson, a three-time All-Star with Atlanta who made the majors 11 years ago.

``You kind of scratch your head and you wonder what's changed? Are the pitchers better or are the hitters worse? Now a 91, 92 fastball is bottom of the barrel. Guys just have better stuff nowadays.''

Indeed, pitchers dominated the first half of the season. Roy Halladay and Dallas Braden threw perfect games three weeks apart in May. Armando Galarraga came within a blown call of matching their feats. Edwin Jackson tossed a no-hitter. Rookie Stephen Strasburg struck out 14 in his major league debut. Heck, even a Cubs pitcher got into the act, with Ted Lilly taking a no-no into the ninth a month ago.

``Right now the influx of young pitching in baseball is incredible, and not just guys with stuff - guys that know how to pitch in tough division series at a young age,'' said New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who will guide the American League team in Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Angel Stadium.

Jimenez will start for the National League, which will try to end a 13-year drought in the Midsummer Classic. He is 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA in 18 starts for Colorado. NL manager Charlie Manuel figures to get Florida ace Johnson into the game, too. He is 9-3 with a 1.70 ERA - tops in the major leagues.

He's also got Halladay and two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum in the bullpen.

``You're seeing some of the better arms in the history of the game,'' Hudson said.

The AL counters with Tampa Bay lefty David Price, who is 12-4 with a 2.42 ERA.

``There's a lot of young guys like Josh Johnson, Lincecum, me,'' Jimenez said. ``We're learning how to pitch. Every year we get better and better.''

Those young guns were a big part of why offense was down in the first half, while shutouts and strikeouts were at their high point, making for a lot of close contests.

``If you're a true baseball fan, you embrace and you enjoy pitchers' duels,'' Hudson said. ``The 1-0 games, the 2-1 games, the well-pitched games that are played without physical errors.''

So what's led to the current arms race?

Lincecum said pitchers are making improvements like never before, including throwing four types of pitches.

``Guys are just becoming perfectionists with their art,'' he said. ``That plate is our canvas and we want to hit the spots that we want to.''

Hudson believes the game's younger arms put more time into year-round preparation, whether it's working out or fine-tuning their command.

``You got guys with great stuff. You're talking about guys who are smart and guys who aren't scared,'' St. Louis ace Chris Carpenter said.

Halladay, traded from the AL's Toronto Blue Jays to the NL's Philadelphia Phillies in the offseason, believes the current trend is cyclical.

``Those things can easily turn around. It always seems like things end up being even at the end of the season,'' he said. ``To be able to see guys succeeding and pitching well, it's fun as other pitchers to watch. It's definitely more fun than seeing all the runs scored every night.''

Hudson can envision offense improving as the summer goes by.

``It may sway a little bit more toward the hitter because pitchers are going to wear down once you start getting innings under your belt,'' he said.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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