When betting major league baseball it is very wise to pay attention to the numbers, as teams and players seem to own certain pitchers or clubs, but also struggled mightily against others. We warned you at the start of the year about Johnson for the Yankees.

Randy Johnson is 5-2 through seven starts. But that’s not as good as it looks.

Facing a Tampa lineup missing Jorge Cantu, Aubrey Huff and Julio Lugo, Johnson gave up five runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings Thursday night, letting the Devil Rays stay in the game until the Yankees finally broke it open for a 10-5 victory.

Such games have become routine. In his previous start, against Toronto on Saturday, Johnson allowed six runs on six hits in five innings. The Yankees bailed him out by scoring 17 runs.

That method may work now. It won’t in October.

“Right now he’s not as good as he’s going to be,” manager Joe Torre said of Johnson, 42. “Let’s put it this way: We don’t have any concerns. … This is just normal pitching stuff.”

Johnson has allowed 19 earned runs in his last 23 innings, bumping his ERA to 5.02. But he is 5-2 because the Yankees have averaged just over nine runs over his seven starts.

The divorce of long time mates Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox and former pitching coach Lee Mazzone, has made life miserable for both of their teams. The Braves avoided dropping to 10 games behind in the National League East when they broke a four-game losing streak Sunday by beating the New York Mets 13-3. Still, the nine-game deficit beginning the day was the Braves’ largest since Aug. 11, 1993.

That was the third year of their unprecedented string of 14 division crowns (there was no champion in the strike-shortened 1994 season). The streak remains alive but appears in jeopardy with the Mets’ emergence.

Baltimore starter Bruce Chen gave homers to Kevin Mench and Mark Teixeira in his last start against Texas and Chen was battered for 11 hits and eight runs (seven earned) in four innings as he fell to 0-4. RHP Jim Brower, who ended the week ahead of all relievers with the most earned runs allowed at 14, the most walks with 11 and most hits allowed with 17. Their new pitching coach is Mazzone.

The Boston Red Sox team slugging percentage of .409 entering April 28, is ranked 22nd in baseball. The Red Sox finished in the top two in slugging each of the past three seasons. Few teams succeed while digging themselves holes, and the 2006 Red Sox have proved no exception to that trend. For that reason, the fact that Boston had been outscored by its opponents by a 25-13 margin in first innings prior to Wednesday raised something of a red flag.

The Sox own just a 5-9 mark when their opponents score first, something that has now happened in exactly half of the team’s games. It is a pattern that the team is eager to reverse.

With Thursday’s 7-4 win, the Sox now have an 11-3 record when they score first. If the recent awakening of the Boston bats (20 runs during the first three games of a homestand) points to more such nights, then the team might be able to breathe a bit easier.

RHP Bobby Jenks of the Chicago White Sox continued silencing the critics who jumped on him in spring training, saving his ninth game in nine opportunities Thursday. His velocity on his fastball is still on the rise, but the impressive thing with Jenks has been his other pitches, especially his curveball. The Sox swept the two-game series against the Mariners and in doing so won their 10th consecutive home game, tying a franchise record. They have won 19 of 23 overall, becoming the first team in the majors to reach 20 wins.

Since getting swept in the 2000 American League Division Series against the Mariners, the Sox are now 8-17 at Safeco Field.

The Indians’ inconsistent pitching staff cost the team another game Thursday, as Cleveland lost 12-4 at Oakland. Starter Jason Johnson (2-2) lasted just two innings and gave up seven runs.

Johnson had a 1.83 ERA after his first three starts, but his ERA in the last three starts is 9.64. That’s the kind of inconsistency that has plagued the Indians in the first five weeks of the season.

Equally distressing to the Indians is that Johnson has averaged less than five innings per start in his last three starts. Not pitching deep into games has been a problem for Indians starting pitchers since the beginning of the season, and the two innings Johnson pitched Thursday was a reminder of that shortcoming. Because of the starters’ inability to consistently pitch six or seven innings, the bullpen has been overworked. The result has been that the pitching overall has been wildly inconsistent.

That lack of consistency has sabotaged a terrific start to the season offensively. The Indians are at or near the top of the league in most offensive categories, but yet they are just one game over .500 (15-14).

The Indians failed to hit a double Thursday, snapping a streak in which they had at least one double in 43 consecutive games, dating to last year.

RHP Jason Johnson’s career record against Oakland fell to 1-8 after he was roughed up Thursday.

RHP Jake Westbrook, who will start Friday night in Seattle, has a 9.17 career ERA in eight appearances, six starts, against the Mariners.
C Victor Martinez has reached base in 43 consecutive games, dating to last year. That’s the longest such streak in the majors since Jim Edmonds reached in 47 straight games from June to August 2004.

DH Travis Hafner has homered in his last four games. In his last four games, Hafner is hitting .389 (7-for-18) with four home runs and 13 RBIs.

When RHP Carlos Silva surrendered a two-out, fourth-inning walk to former teammate 1B Doug Mientkiewicz on Thursday night, it snapped a streak by Twins pitchers of more than 3 1/2 games without allowing a walk. The first walk of the homestand (four games in) ended a 33-inning streak that spanned 133 plate appearances.

The Twins’ 1-0 loss to the Royals on Thursday night was their first 1-0 loss since the same team handed them one at Kansas City last Aug. 31 beating the Twins with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning after the Twins failed to score despite 13 hits and a walk.

The Twins have been shut out four times already this season, including three times in their past seven games. This after they thought they improved the lowest-scoring lineup in the AL in 2005 which didn’t get shut out until May 9 last year and was shut out only four times until Aug. 26. The 2005 Twins were shut out 10 times all season.

CF Tori Hunter’s infield single in the fifth inning Thursday was the 34th of the season for the Twins, who entered the day tied with Baltimore for the major league lead.

Bob Acton

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Homeowner loans are loans that are given to homeowners against the security of their house. They are Secured Loans and can result in the repossession of the house if not repaid. When you are in a need for money, a homeowner loan can help you to release the capital that is tied up in your house. It is a better option than selling your house because with rising property prices, it will be difficult for you to buy a new house.

If you have taken out a Homeowner Loan and the value of your house increases, you can take out a home equity loan against this increased value. A Homeowner Loan can be used to buy a second house. There are several other uses of a homeowner loan. You can use it to finance your business. It can fulfill both short term and long term business needs. A homeowner loan can also be used to consolidate your debt. Since it is a low rate Secured Loan, it is ideal in repaying high rate unsecured loans and unpaid credit card bills. It can also be used for home improvement. Here, it will act as a double edged sword. On one hand, it will help you renovate your house and on the other hand, it will increase the value of the house.

There are several benefits of homeowner loans. Just like any other Secured Loans a homeowner loan carries a low rate of interest. Because it carries less risk for lenders, they offer low rates of interest and flexible repayment terms. The loan period can be adjusted in accordance with your requirements and financial position. By spreading your loan repayment over a long period of time, the amount of your monthly payments can be reduced.

A homeowner loan is a boon for people with a bad credit history. Lenders ask for a security before they grant a bad credit loan. A secured loan reduces the risk for the lender. A homeowner loan is ideal for those who have a bad credit score because it carries a low rate of interest. With so many benefits, there is every reason to take out a homeowner loan when you are in a need for money.

About The Author:

The author is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. He has done his masters in Business Administration
and is currently assisting Loans11 as a finance specialist.

For more information please visit http://www.loans11.co.uk

Buying a set of clubs is like taking a shot in the dark even if you are a professional golfer, let alone the beginners. Golfers are a brand conscious society and choosing from Yones, Taylor made, Titleist, Adams, Callaway, Wilson, Spaulding, King Cobra, Ping or Mizuno becomes a little difficult and confusing.

Most golfers tend to buy what the others are buying. Buying a set of golf clubs is a little technical, and you should always buy them on their merits and suitability, rather than copying someone else’s purchase.

Uses of each club and knowing what each kind does would not only help in making a good choice but will also go a long way in improving your game. Right lie and shaft flex are also important factors in making the decision. Flex is the flexibility of the club. Powerful swingers should use less flex and beginners and less powerful swingers should use more flex.

If you are a beginner to the game, it is best that you stick to the basic set of clubs – the irons, wedges, drivers and putter. Each of these clubs is designed to increase and improve your swinging speed and will help correct your game.

Using the right club will facilitate in learning the game faster. The basic consideration in choosing you set of clubs is your basic ability level – low handicap, mid handicap or high handicap?

Low handicap: Score less than ten strokes over par..!

Recommended clubs: More than 1 fairway wood, driver, lower irons, more than 3 wedges, pitching wedge, sand wedge, lob/approach wedge.

Mid handicap: Golfers in the 11-20 handicap bracket..!

Recommended clubs: Fairway woods (7 and 9 required), driver, irons (3 and 9), more than 3 wedges, pitching wedge, sand wedge, lob/approach wedge.

High handicap: New gamers..!

Recommended clubs: 3 wood for tee off, 7 and 9 woods, more than 3 wedges, pitching wedge, sand wedge, lob/approach wedge.

Although drivers and woods are regarded to be the most important clubs in any golfer’s bag, a hybrid is found most commonly today. Many golfers prefer the Taylormade Rescue mid hybrid club which generates clubhead speed. The hybrid club has a lower centre of gravity thus facilitating good control and accuracy.

After you have the understanding and logic of why and when to use a particular club, many other consideration enter the picture before a club can be purchased. Trying out rented clubs can be useful to make the right decision. Buying second hand clubs, while beginning the game, may also prove effective and save costs.

Please visit my site to find out more tips on improving your golf swing

Some of the most successful package introductions have come from people who knew nothing about package design. How can that make sense? Designers are creative. They get paid to design packaging, which may or may not necessarily be what the customer wants or needs. Good designers keep up with the latest design trends and technologies. What’s hot and what is not in might be the perfect answer to a package design. But what if it is not?

We all get caught up in established rules and parameters. You can’t do this because of the way it needs to be manufactured or if it’s this product it has to be packaged this way or in this particular material. Or the concept the designer has in mind is the latest rage in package innovation so it will work for this product and any product too. But let’s think laterally about design for a minute.

Do you continually challenge stereotypes? Why does a particular product need to be a certain shape? Is the product in a particular package because it’s always been done that way before? In my recent survey about packaging products for female buyers there were dramatic differences between what packaging designers and packaging professionals perceived as important and what the perception of its importance to consumers or the ultimate end user.

One package design characteristic I asked about particularly was shape. Designers were drawn to it. They believed, as do most packaging professionals, that shape was an important component of package design. Designers see a dramatic new shape and are immediately impressed with the creativity of it.

However, the customer wasn’t as intrigued by the shape as by the functionality of the package. They believe, “Make it work for me first, then worry about how pretty it looks.” Don’t think like a package designer think like a customer.

Consider this during the design process: who do you expect to use the product and how? If it’s women, the 80% purchaser or influencer of purchasing decisions, what is really going to impress them? Hint: its not necessarily design.

My survey results demonstrate that convenience and ease of use and storage were particularly important to women. After all, the woman does most of the shopping and in most cases puts the products away. Isn’t this a logical conclusion to designing what women want in their packaged goods? Think about what makes it easy to use the product.

Consider the age factor too. Ergonomics and ease of opening were rated highly by both groups of survey recipients. Products designed for specific age groups need to work for that group and not just look pretty on the shelf. Spend time scouring the isles when working on new products. Don’t just focus on the category you design.

Look for features and innovations that can cross boundaries. Look at emerging trends. Don’t just look at cosmetics and toiletries either. Go to multiple types of shopping outlets and don’t forget to use the Internet. A recent example is the complete reworking of power tools. They are now produced in female friendly colors. It has created a whole new brand category.

Put yourself in the buyer’s position. It helps if you can get different perspectives too. Not everyone will view the same packaging attributes with the same opinions. Cross a spectrum of potential buyers with a few targeted questions. Don’t be surprised by the answers.

One last point, just because it’s highly publicized or advertised doesn’t mean it works. Consider all the celebrity endorsements and money spent courting high profiles figures. It is designer this or designer that. The most surprising outcome of my survey was that a staggering 89% of women would not be induced to buy a product because of a celebrity endorsement.

So put on your thinking caps designers and start thinking like a customer.

Got packaging problems? I can help. I teach people how to package products consumers will buy. I make it easy to answer your problems with email and voice consultation. Get advice from the top expert in consumer packaging. To order the report Design Your Packaging For The Ultimate Target Audience – Boomers email the Packaging Diva @ PackagingDiva@aol.com