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Callaspo may bat third in Royals lineupBaseball Betting Lines03/27/2010 - SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) -Alberto Callaspo may start the season batting third for the Kansas City Royals. Alex Gordon's broken right thumb opened up third base for Callaspo, and his offense in spring training and last season thrust him into the middle of the Royals' lineup. Callaspo hit .300 with 41 doubles, eight triples and 11 home runs last season with 73 RBIs, while playing mostly second base. Manager Trey Hillman used him in the third slot only twice. Callaspo hit mostly fifth or seventh for the Royals. Hillman wants Callaspo, who is leading the Cactus League with a .458 batting average, in the heart of the order when the Royals open the season April 5 against the Detroit Tigers. ``I like Callaspo in a position to drive runs in,'' Hillman said. ``I don't like waiting to the sixth or seventh slot to get his bat back up there because of the slugging and the on-base percentage, the batting average, the whole package, so I'm going to look at him three.'' With Callaspo inserted into the third slot, that caused more changes at the top of the order. Speedy outfielder Scott Podsednik, whom the Royals signed as a free agent in January, was slated to bat leadoff. David DeJesus, who batted first 95 games last season, was scheduled to hit third. In Hillman's revised lineup, DeJesus leads off and Podsednik hits second. ``That's pretty cool,'' DeJesus said. ``That's where I've had a lot of success, batting first, and Scott's had a lot of success batting second. It seems like AC (Callaspo) gets a hit every time up at the plate or hits it hard. Whatever the lineup, we'll get it done.'' Podsednik stole 30 bases last year and his 266 career steals rank fifth among active players. ``I think Pod is more of prototypical leadoff guy because of his stolen base totals,'' Hillman said. ``But you can't argue with what history has told of David's numbers in the leadoff slot and what his numbers aren't in the No. 2 slot, although it's a much smaller sample. ``I really want to try to stay away from guys getting mental. I honestly don't want to put David in the No. 2 slot. I think he would slot there just fine, but he doesn't have a (positive) history there. He's going to read about it and hear about it. I don't think that's a good combination.'' Billy Butler, who hit .301 with 21 home runs and 51 doubles last season, will bat cleanup. ``Billy's extremely important because of our lack of run production last year,'' Hillman said. ``Billy sitting in the middle of the order is going to be huge for us.'' Hillman said Rick Ankiel and Jose Guillen would ``fluctuate'' in the fifth and sixth slots. Ankiel is scheduled to return to the lineup Saturday as the designated hitter after being out since March 11 because of a sore right ankle. Chris Getz and Jason Kendall, who were spring training candidates to hit second, and Yuniesky Betancourt will hit in the bottom third of the order.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team. Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team. "I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success." Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate. Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns. But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches. Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips. Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date. To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs. |
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