Mets give GM Minaya extension
Baseball Betting Lines
10/02/2008 -
Flushing, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets officially signed general
manager Omar Minaya to a three-year contract extension through the 2012 season
on Thursday.
The deal also contains club options for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
"I'd like to thank ownership for this continued opportunity and their trust
and confidence in me and our staff to achieve the results our organization and
fans want," said Minaya. "In failing to reach our goal of a championship,
we're already are hard at work in evaluating every aspect of our club to
improve it. We believe we are on the right track with a strong core of players
on our major league club and our minor league player development efforts."
Since taking over the Mets in 2005, Minaya has taken the team to the National
League Championship Series in 2006 and signed some marquee free agents,
including Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran. He has also added current Mets
players Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado and Endy Chavez during his tenure.
Despite going to the NLCS in 2006, the team collapsed at the end of 2007,
blowing a seven-game advantage in its last 17 games. In the following
offseason, Minaya worked a trade with the Twins for two-time Cy Young Award
winner Johan Santana.
The 2008 season did not come without controversy, however, as Minaya made the
decision to fire manager Willie Randolph, as the team was mired in third place
despite the second-highest payroll in baseball. The team promptly went on a
surge under interim manager Jerry Manuel but faltered down the stretch again
and failed to make the playoffs.
"While we've made some progress, we still have a lot of work to do," said Jeff
Wilpon, COO of the Mets. "Coming up a game short the last two seasons is
incredibly frustrating and disappointing. The entire baseball operations
staff is evaluating our shortcomings from top to bottom to see what we're
missing so that we can get into the postseason in 2009. This contract
extension reinforces our confidence in Omar's leadership in the short and
longer term."
Before coming to the Mets, Minaya was the general manager for the former
Montreal Expos from 2002-2004. Despite being owned by the other 29 major
league baseball teams and having a limited payroll, Minaya was able to lead
the team to two 83-79 records before the team moved to Washington.
After his playing career ended, Minaya served as a scout for the Texas Rangers
from 1985 until the mid-1990s, when he joined the Mets' staff. He worked
himself all the way up to assistant general manager behind Steve Phillips
before leaving in 2002 to take the GM job with Montreal.
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The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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