Thames' tie-breaking homer pushes Yanks past Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

09/04/2010 - Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Thames clubbed a two-run homer to snap a seventh-inning tie, lifting the New York Yankees to a 7-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the second of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.

Robinson Cano singled home a pair of runs in New York's season-high eighth straight victory. Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter also knocked in a run apiece as the Yankees increased their lead in the AL East to two games over Tampa Bay, which is set to play Saturday night against Baltimore.

Javier Vazquez was back in New York's starting rotation after a stint in the bullpen and was roughed up for five runs on four hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings. Joba Chamberlain (2-4) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief and Mariano Rivera worked around a two-out single in the ninth for his 29th save.

Lyle Overbay homered, doubled and drove in three runs for Toronto, which has lost three straight and five of its last six. John McDonald also connected for a two-run homer in defeat.

The Yankees snapped a 5-5 deadlock with a two-out rally in the seventh against Toronto reliever Jason Frasor (3-4). After the first two batters were retired, Cano singled and Thames followed with a blast over the wall in left-center field for his 11th home run of the season.

"Big. Huge home run," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi about Thames' homer. "Marcus has been a huge addition for us."

Kerry Wood took over for Chamberlain in the eighth and set Toronto down in order and Rivera came on in the ninth, striking out Aaron Hill to end it.

Vazquez retired the side in order in the first, but immediately ran into trouble in the second. Overbay connected for a one-out homer, his 17th of the season, and McDonald added his two-run shot off the left field foul pole to make it 3-0.

The Yankees tied it in the third. Francisco Cervelli hustled out a double with one out and Gardner drew a walk before Jeter doubled just inside the bag at third to score one run. Mark Teixeira walked to load the bases for Cano, who came through with a two-run single to center.

New York then went ahead with two in the fourth. Cervelli doubled to put two aboard for Gardner, who scored one with a grounder to shortstop. After Jeter walked, Cervelli scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-3.

Vazquez issued a two-out walk to Jose Bautista in the fifth and Vernon Wells singled. Dustin Moseley came on for the Yankees and Overbay greeted him with a double to chase home both runners.

"I was battling all day," said Vazquez, who was surprised at being lifted one out away from qualifying for a win. "It could have been a better outing, but the fact that I got taken out early...I didn't have a chance. He's still the manager and you have to respect that."

Game Notes

Bautista, the big league leader with 43 homers, was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing a called third strike...Toronto starter Mark Rzepczynski was tagged for five runs on six hits in four innings...The Yankees evened the season series at seven wins apiece...Yankees lefty Andy Pettitte, sidelined with a groin strain, threw a simulated game and reported no pain...Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez also hit during the simulated game and could be activated off the disabled list Sunday.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

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