Place Your Bets: Showdown at Shea

The Mets are finally playing like the highly paid team that they are. Plus, golf and Olympics betting

July 21, 2008

By Jason Brough
Bodog Nation Contributing Writer

The month of June ended on a low note for the New York Mets. It was a 7-1 loss in St. Louis that led interim manager Jerry Manuel to admit his team "didn't do too much of anything right" in the game. They "didn't do too much defensively" and they "didn't do much offensively."

In fact, the Mets hadn't done much all season, closing out the month with a 40-42 record. Sure, they were only 3.5 games back of the NL East-leading Phillies, but they'd still woefully underachieved for a side whose payroll is approaching $138 million. In all of Major League Baseball, only the crosstown Yankees ($209 million) spend more on player salaries, and that failure to translate money into wins cost manager Willie Randolph his job on June 16.

As June turned to July, however, the Mets finally started to live up to expectations. They went into the All-Star break as winners of nine in a row and made it 10 straight before dropping a pair to the Reds on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday in Cincinnati, it was back to their winning ways with a 7-5, extra-inning triumph.

A quick glance of the standings on Monday morning sees the Mets and Phillies deadlocked in first at 53-46. That's compelling, because on Tuesday, New York welcomes those same Phillies to Shea Stadium for a key three-game set.

One of the many symbols of New York's underachieving ways in the first half of the season will be on the hill for the first game against Philadelphia's newly acquired Joe Blanton (5-12, 4.96). That symbol would be two-time Cy Young award winner Johan Santana (8-7, 3.10 ERA), he of the six year, $137.5 million contract that makes him the highest-paid pitcher of all time.

According to Santana, he's doing his best. (AP Images)

Less than a month ago, on June 28, Santana lost his third straight decision (against the Yankees no less) to fall to an extremely ordinary 7-7. Not that the lefty was pitching poorly; he was 0-4 in his last five outings with a respectable 2.53 ERA. Still, you have to think that fans just wanted wins, not comments that threw his teammates under the bus, inadvertently or not. "I'm doing my job," he said. "I'm giving my best effort out there. Every time I go out there I'm giving my team a chance to win. Other than that, there's nothing I can do."

Santana ended his losing streak on July 9 with a win over San Francisco, but last Thursday saw more frustration: his worst outing of the season. Even though the Mets won the game 10-8, the Reds lit up the ace for five earned runs on six hits, including two homers. All the damage came in the fourth inning, after which Santana called it a night having thrown just 92 pitches.

"It was one of those days where whatever you do doesn't go the way you want," Santana said.

As for the Phillies, they've picked a most inopportune time to lose seven of 12, especially considering the never-say-die Florida Marlins (52-46) have also picked it up and sit just a half-game back of the co-NL East leaders.

The Open the New Era Forgot

Mr. Runner-Up: Jack Nicklaus. (AP Images)

Its list of winners reads like a Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony: Tommy Armour, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Lee Trevino, Greg Norman, Curtis Strange, Tiger Woods and many more. Jack Nicklaus made it even more famous by never winning it, earning runner-up status a torturous seven times.

Indeed, the Canadian Open, which is over 100 years old, has a history richer than almost any other non-major on the PGA Tour, yet a combination of unfortunate scheduling (this year, it's the week after the British Open) and a plethora of new, richer options for players has pushed the venerable competition onto the putting green for most of the world's best. In other words, you consider it, but only if you've got time.

Furyk is the favorite at 7/1 odds. (AP Images)

Defending champion Jim Furyk is the 7/1 favorite to win this year's edition, followed by Anthony Kim at 10/1. After that, it's two Canadians, Mike Weir (14/1) and Stephen Ames (16/1). The last Canuck to win his country's open was Pat Fletcher, way back in 1954. But both Weir (T39) and Ames (T7) are coming off solid performances at Royal Birkdale. Not to mention, the last time the Canadian Open was held at Glen Abbey, as it will be this year, Weir lost in a playoff to Vijay Singh.

Home Country Advantage for Summer Games

The Beijing Olympics are just a few weeks away and oddsmakers seem to think that the host nation will have a good time of it in the smog. China is getting 2/5 odds to win the most gold medals, followed by the United States at 13/8 and Russia, which is well back at 25/1. The over/under for American medals has been set at 92.5. As for the glory event, American Tyson Gay is the 5/4 favorite to win the 100 meters event on the track.

TOP PHOTO: New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana will face the Phillies this week. (AP Images)