Karstens goes for Yanks against Orioles

Baseball Betting Lines

08/14/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Youngster Jeff Karstens tries again for his first win of 2007 tonight when the New York Yankees host the Baltimore Orioles in game two of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.

The right-hander, who'll turn 25 next month, has split time between starting and relieving in four outings this season, the last coming on Aug. 8 when he allowed three hits and two earned runs in New York's 15-4 loss to Toronto.

Karstens reached the majors for the first time last season, making eight appearances - six starts - while going 2-1 with a 3.80 earned run average in 42 2/3 innings.

He's faced Baltimore once in relief, allowing a hit and a run in five innings with two walks and three strikeouts.

Dominican right-hander Daniel Cabrera looks for his third win in five starts for the Orioles.

The 26-year-old, who won nine games last season in 26 starts, earned his eighth victory of 2007 in start No. 24 when he beat Tampa Bay, 3-1, on Aug. 3. He dropped a 13-8 decision to Seattle in his last time out, however, allowing eight hits and seven runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Cabrera is 2-4 in 10 lifetime starts against the Yankees, including a no-decision on June 28 during which he allowed six hits and four runs in 6 1/3 innings of an 8-7 New York triumph.

The 6-foot-7, 258-pounder is 3-6 in 10 road starts this season, with a 4.18 ERA in 64 2/3 innings.

On Monday, Derek Jeter picked up Mariano Rivera, hitting a slow roller in the perfect spot to score Melky Cabrera with the winning run in the ninth, as the Yankees took a frantic 7-6 victory over Baltimore.

The top of the ninth provided a rarity -- Rivera's first blown save since April 20. Melvin Mora led off with a single and moved to second on Ramon Hernandez's slow grounder. Tike Redman then slapped a single to center, and Mora rounded third hard trying to tie the game.

Cabrera was up to the challenge, throwing a perfect strike to Jorge Posada in time to nab Mora for the second out. However, the next play at the plate wasn't as kind to the Yankees.

Brian Roberts followed with a soft fly ball that found real estate right in front of Bobby Abreu in right. Redman rounded third and Abreu's throw was just up the line and slightly high, allowing the runner to score the tying run.

The Yankees answered right back.

Cabrera was plunked by a pitch with one out and advanced to third on pinch- hitter Jason Giambi's single. Jeter then lined the first pitch off Chad Bradford's glove and toward second, hit just slowly enough to allow Cabrera to beat the throw home.

Abreu hit his 12th homer, Wilson Betemit added a two-run shot and Cabrera's hit streak reached 18 games in the victory, New York's fourth straight. The Yankees stayed four games behind Boston in the American League East and tied with Seattle for the top spot in the wild card race.

Rivera (3-3) got the win despite reeling off 19 straight saves prior to Monday's blown save. Chien-Ming Wang started for the Yankees and gave up five runs on eight hits with one walk and two strikeouts over six-plus frames.

Corey Patterson homered and scored twice while Redman finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Bradford (1-5) took the loss, and Jeremy Guthrie started on the mound, but only lasted 4 2/3 frames. Guthrie surrendered six runs on nine hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

The Orioles have enjoyed good success against the Bronx Bombers this season, having taken six of the 10 games played between the AL East rivals in 2007. Baltimore won two of three encounters at Yankee Stadium in early April.

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FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.