Cardinals get Westbrook from Tribe, send Ludwick to San Diego

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired pitcher Jake Westbrook from the Cleveland Indians in a three-team trade that also involves the San Diego Padres.

Along with Westbrook, St. Louis acquired cash from the Indians and minor league pitcher Nick Greenwood from San Diego. The Padres got outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the Cardinals, while the Indians received minor league pitcher Corey Kluber from the Padres.

Westbrook, who was scratched from his scheduled start Saturday against Toronto in order for the trade to be completed, will fill out the Cardinals' rotation. He is 6-7 with a 4.65 ERA in 21 starts this season, his 10th in the majors and first full year since 2007.

The 32-year-old right-hander made just five starts in 2008 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, then missed all of 2009 while recovering.

Westbrook broke into the majors in 2000 with the Yankees before being traded to Cleveland, and he had been with the Indians since. In 221 career games, 181 starts, the right-hander is 69-71 with a 4.34 ERA, and was an All-Star selection in 2004.

"We've been looking for a quality starting pitcher to add to our rotation for some time," said Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak. "Westbrook is someone we've had our eyes on for a good period of time. We also want to wish Ryan Ludwick all the best with the Padres. He did an outstanding job for us over the past 3 1/2 seasons."

Ludwick, 32, made brief major league appearances with Texas and Cleveland from 2002-05, and spent the entire 2006 season at Triple-A. But after signing with the Cardinals, he got back to the majors in 2007 and played his way into a starting role. He was named an All-Star in 2008, when he hit .299 with 37 home runs and 113 runs batted in.

In 77 games this year, Ludwick is batting .281 with a .343 on-base percentage, 11 homers and 43 RBI.

Greenwood, 22, was a 14th-round selection by the Padres in 2009. The left- hander was 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA at Single-A Fort Wayne this season, and will be assigned to Single-A Quad Cities.

Kluber, 24, went 6-6 with a 3.45 ERA in 22 games (21 starts) this year at Double-A San Antonio. San Diego selected the right-hander in the fourth round of the 2007 draft.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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