McDonald plays role of sage for young Blue Jays

Baseball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 -

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) -Becoming a coach isn't on John McDonald's radar just yet, but while he's playing he enjoys being a mentor to his fellow Toronto Blue Jays infielders.

``I would hope the younger players would use a player like me as a source of knowledge,'' said the 35-year-old McDonald, primarily a shortstop who has spent parts of 11 major league seasons between Cleveland and Toronto, plus a cup of coffee with Detroit.

He was mentored in Cleveland by 14-time Gold Glove shortstop Omar Vizquel.

``I feel like I've got a lot of knowledge to give back to younger players. You want to not necessarily be a coach on the field, but I would encourage and all the younger infielders to ask as many questions as they can,'' McDonald said.

He has appeared in more than 100 games in only two seasons and isn't often a starter but, manager Cito Gaston said Friday, ``Mac is almost a perfect citizen on this club. A few times last year he almost had me crying because I hadn't played him in so long.

``He'd come in and assure me, `Don't worry about it. I'm OK.' You don't get people around like that a lot. Sometimes they're so upset they're not playing and they don't want to cooperate. He's the opposite of that,'' Gaston said.

When his contract expired after last season, McDonald became a free agent and didn't know whether the Blue Jays would want him back - and although he might have had the opportunity to play on a team more likely to contend for the playoffs, he wasn't certain he wanted to go anywhere else.

``If I go to one of those other teams my playing time could be significantly decreased, or not,'' he said. ``It all depends on injuries (to players) in front of me and how well I play.''

The Blue Jays wanted him back, offering a two-year contract which would give him 10 years of service in the majors.

``I never thought I would get there,'' McDonald said. ``I'm playing well beyond the years that I thought I'd be playing. I think it's great for me and I think it's great for a lot of the younger players. I can talk about thing's that I've learned from players that played 10 years ago.''

This is, he acknowledged, a rebuilding year, particularly with pitching ace Roy Halladay traded to Philadelphia in December.

``These kids, I want to be able to make them better players and come and take my job. I want them to get as good as they can get, and if they're good enough to become everyday players, then that's great for the organization.''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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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.