Prince goes to Detroit for a king's ransom

Baseball Betting Lines

01/24/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Say what you want about super agent Scott Boras, but in the end he always gets his man his money.

The latest example came on Tuesday when Prince Fielder, who some suggested over the weekend may have to settle for a one-year deal, agreed to a monster nine-year, $214 million deal with the Detroit Tigers, a team never mentioned in any kind of talks for the slugger, but one that was always close to his heart.

Detroit, of course, was home for six-plus years to Prince's father Cecil, who swatted 51 home runs for the Tigers in 1990. As a kid, Prince actually hit the ball out of Tiger Stadium when, according to most, father and son were inseparable.

The relationship between the two has soured since and some had even speculated this offseason that the younger Fielder wouldn't even entertain offers from any team his father once played for.

Nine-figure contracts, though, change a lot of people's minds and mend a lot of relationships. The deal is actually the most expensive handed out this late in the process, plus the fourth richest in baseball history behind Alex Rodriguez' two deals and the one Albert Pujols signed earlier this offseason.

Give credit to Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski and owner Mike Illitch for being so aggressive in the pursuit of Prince Fielder following the devastating news last week that designated hitter Victor Martinez would be lost for the season with a torn ACL.

Also never invite Dombrowski to your poker game. Just last week at the team's winter caravan after the Martinez news broke Dombrowski said Fielder was "probably not a good fit".

Washington had been rumored to be the front runner all along with teams like Texas and Seattle lurking, but in the end it was a team out of nowhere that emerged, similar to the way Philadelphia plucked Cliff Lee last offseason.

Fielder was terrific this past season for the National League Central champion Milwaukee Brewers, belting 38 home runs with 120 RBI. He's also never hurt. Last year he was the only player in the majors to play in all 162 games and despite his bulky presence, he has averaged 160 games in his six full seasons in the league.

It also creates a nice little dilemma for Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who now must decide who to pencil in at first base, Fielder or Miguel Cabrera.

How many managers wouldn't mind losing sleep over that little quandary, huh?

Leyland could also toy with the idea of moving Cabrera back across the diamond to third base, but he wasn't exactly Brooks Robinson when he played there for the Marlins and may actually be a bit to bulky to handle it these days anyway.

Either way they will both be in the lineup every day, meaning teams in the American League Central should probably be thanking their lucky stars that there is an extra wild card team this season.

Wwwwinneronline Baseball Betting News

<< Arlington Million XXX on for August
Arlington Heights, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 30th running of the Arlington Million has been scheduled for Saturday, August 18. The 1 1/4-mile turf stakes is the centerpiece of Arlington Park's annual race meet. Won in 2011 by Cape Blanc

<< Report: Tigers win Prince Fielder sweepstakes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers have reportedly reeled in the biggest remaining free agent on the market: Prince Fielder. Multiple media outlets are reporting the first baseman agreed to a nine-year, $214 million contract with the

<< Milwaukee's Bennett named MISL Player of Week
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Wave forward Ian Bennett was named the Major Indoor Soccer League's Player of the Week on Tuesday for Week 12. Bennett recorded 15 points in three games as the Wave maintained their lead in the MISL Ce

<< PSG's Pastore to miss 3-4 weeks
Paris, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PSG playmaker Javier Pastore suffered a thigh muscle tear in Friday's Coupe de France win over Sable-sur-Sarthe and will be out of action three to four weeks, the French club said Tuesday. Pastore, 22, was t

<< A's agree to terms on one-year deal with Colon
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics agreed to terms on a one- year contract with pitcher Bartolo Colon on Tuesday. After not pitching in the majors in 2010, the 38-year-old former Cy Young winner returned last season w

Giants, Lincecum reach 2-year deal >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Giants and two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum have reached a verbal agreement on a two-year contract, avoiding arbitration. The San Francisco Chronicle reported the deal on Tuesday

Cincinnati extends Jones for three years >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Head football coach Butch Jones received a three-year contract extension from Cincinnati on Tuesday. The extension runs through the 2017 season. "I have tremendous faith in Coach Jones and his ability

La Russa to manage 2012 NL All-Star team >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The retired Tony La Russa will serve as the manager of the National League All-Star team for the 2012 Midsummer Classic at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on July 10th. The longtime manager of the St. Lo

Bobcats' Augustin to miss 4 games >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlotte Bobcats guard D.J. Augustin will miss four games due to an inflammatory condition of the sesmoid bones that lie in the flexor tendons on his right big toe. Augustin was seen by Charlotte orthoped

Rays bring back Pena >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays signed first baseman Carlos Pena to a one-year, $7.25 million contract on Tuesday. Pena, 33, played for the Rays from 2007-10 before joining the Chicago Cubs last season. He bat

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.

For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com

For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.


Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.