Angels sign Isringhausen to minor league deal

Baseball Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have agreed to terms on a minor league contract with veteran right-handed reliever Jason Isringhausen.

The 39-year-old Isringhausen appeared in 53 games last season for the New York Mets and was 3-3 with a 4.05 earned run average and 44 strikeouts.

Over 15 seasons in the majors with the Mets, Athletics, Cardinals and Rays, he has posted a 48-53 record with 300 saves and a 3.62 ERA in 674 games -- including 52 starts.

Nflstake Baseball Betting News

<< Rosenbach named Montana's offensive coordinator
Missoula, MT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former NFL quarterback Timm Rosenbach has been named offensive coordinator at the University of Montana, Grizzlies head coach Robin Pflugrad announced Wednesday. Rosenbach, 45, also will serve as Montana's qua

<< Alabama A&M to retire Mathis' jersey
Normal, AL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alabama A&M will retire the college jersey of Indianapolis Colts defensive end Robert Mathis in a ceremony on March 3. Mathis' No. 55 will be retired at halftime of Alabama A&M's annual spring game. M

<< Donald out, Woods survives at Match Play
Marana, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top overall seed and defending champion Luke Donald was eliminated Wednesday in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Donald drew no ordinary No. 64 seed. Ernie Els, who only made

<< Royals C Pina leaves workout with knee injury
Surprise, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City Royals catcher Manny Pina injured his right knee during Wednesday's workout. Pina was catching when he caught his spikes and "tweaked" the knee, according to manager Ned Yost. The extent of the i

<< Durant added to 3-point contest
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant has been added to the 3-point contest for this weekend's All-Star Game festivities in Orlando. Durant will take the spot of Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson, who wi

Notre Dame downs WVU, sets school record >>
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jerian Grant scored 20 points and the 20th- ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish set a school record for most consecutive Big East wins with a 71-44 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers. Scott Martin a

No. 23 Indiana rolls over NC Central >>
Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cody Zeller scored 17 points and Victor Oladipo netted 16 as No. 23 Indiana rolled over NC Central, 75-56, at Assembly Hall. Will Sheehey added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Derek Elsto

No. 2 Syracuse tops USF for 8th straight win >>
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scoop Jardine scored 15 points, C.J. Fair had 13 and No. 2 Syracuse had to overcome a slow start, then hold on to beat South Florida, 56-48, on Wednesday night. Kris Joseph added 12 points and nine rebounds fo

Blue Jackets activate Sanford from IR >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Blue Columbus Jackets activated backup goaltender Curtis Sanford from injured reserve on Wednesday. Sanford hasn't played since February 8 due to a lower-body injury suffered in a game against the Dal

No. 22 Temple edges La Salle in OT >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Khalif Wyatt netted 25 points while Micheal Eric added a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds as No. 22 Temple edged La Salle in overtime, 80-79, to win its 11th consecutive game. Earl Pe

Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.