Braves promote Minor, option Kawakami

Baseball Betting Lines

08/07/2010 - Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves purchased the contract of highly-touted left-hander Mike Minor from Triple-A Gwinnett Saturday and optioned pitcher Kenshin Kawakami to the minors.

Minor, the Braves' No. 1 pick (seventh overall) in the 2009 draft out of Vanderbilt, will get the starting assignment Monday to open a three-game series in Houston. He'll be making his major league debut in place of the injured Kris Medlen, who landed on the disabled list Thursday with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

The 22-year-old Minor is 4-1 with a 1.89 earned run average in six starts since being promoted to Gwinnett from Double-A Rome. In a combined 21 starts this season, he is 6-7 with a 3.44 ERA while holding opponents to a .217 average. Minor has 146 strikeouts compared with 46 walks in 120 1/3 innings.

It remains to be seen whether he will stick with the big league club, as Medlen is trying to avoid Tommy John Surgery with rest and rehabilitation. Medlen took over the fifth starters spot for Kawakami earlier this season and the Japanese right-hander's demotion is seen as a way for him to get stretched out for a possible return to the rotation.

Kawakami made 15 starts for Atlanta before dropping out of the rotation following a June 26 outing against the Tigers where he picked up his first win of 2010. He's made just one relief appearance since then and holds a 4.75 ERA and 1-9 record.

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Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value

If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture.  Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).

For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot.  The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.

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"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.

Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash.  Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win. 

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