Friday, June 1, 2007 | 6:54 a.m.
One-third of the way through the major league baseball season, the sport's leading offensive players are on pace to exceed - in some cases, to trounce - the preseason expectations of oddsmakers and the betting marketplace.
The Las Vegas Hilton sports book offered a wide selection of over/unders on individual player statistics, including a sheet they called "regular season mosts" by any player.
The "overs" are looking good in baseball's key offensive categories.
Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, the major league leader with 19 home runs, is on pace to belt 60, which would be comfortably above the preseason total of over/under 51 1/2 homers by any player.
Likewise Colorado's Matt Holliday, leading the majors with 75 hits, is projected to finish with 229, smashing the preseason posted total of 220 1/2.
Jose Reyes of the Mets, with 28 stolen bases, is on pace for 89, well above the preseason figure of 62 1/2.
Detroit's Magglio Ordonez, with 26 doubles, is on pace for 81, which would smash the preseason figure of 52 1/2. It would also set an all-time record for doubles (Earl Webb, 67, 1931), so it's easy to forgive bettors and oddsmakers for failing to see that one coming. Ordonez also leads the majors in RBIs with 48 and is on pace for 149, which would surpass the preseason figure on the betting board of 146 1/2.
And Detroit's Curtis Granderson leads with 8 triples, a pace of 25, which would easily exceed the preseason total of 16 1/2.
Totals in the key pitching categories could also soar "over" the total, as Josh Beckett of the Red Sox and John Lackey of the Angels are each on pace for 24 wins (over/under 20 1/2 by any pitcher); Baltimore's Erik Bedard is on pace for 269 strikeouts (243 1/2); and Arizona's Jose Valverde is on pace for 56 saves (48 1/2).
HR odds
Besides the extensive menu of individual player over/unders posted by the Hilton, a couple of sports books offered odds on the player to lead the major leagues in home runs.
Philadelphia's Ryan Howard was an 11-2 favorite among the 48 players plus a field (all others) wager at the Palms sports book, but has managed only 9 homers so far. He was followed by Albert Pujols (6-1), who had 9 home runs heading into the Cardinals' game Thursday. David Ortiz, the third choice at 10-1, also had 9.
Rodriguez was a 13-1 shot before the season, while Prince Fielder (18 home runs, second in the majors) could have been had at 40-1 odds during spring training and Justin Morneau (16 homers, third in the majors) was on the board at 24-1. J.J. Hardy, a surprising fourth in the majors with 15 homers, was part of the field at 18-1.
College series
Oregon State, college baseball's defending champion, finished tied for sixth in the Pac-10 this season and lost six of nine to close the regular season.
The Beavers did make the postseason, but are 35-1 long shots to repeat as College World Series champions. Vanderbilt is favored at odds of 4-1, followed by Rice (9-2) and Florida State (6-1), according to odds at all Harrah's and Caesars Palace-related properties.
Regional play begins today, with super regionals set for June 8-11 and the World Series from June 15-25 at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb.
'Net ban revisited
With the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act back in the minds - and spleens - of Las Vegas gamblers as the World Series of Poker begins today at the Rio, it's a good time to revisit a clever line by handicapper Brent Crow of sportsmemo.com.
Crow cracked that "Internet shopping sites also need to be banned because you can buy 100 pairs of shoes online without leaving your home instead of actually walking into a store to do it" following the passage of the act, which was pushed through Congress by Republican leaders and signed by President Bush.
Crow was sponsored by an online sports betting site in his appearance in a Las Vegas basketball handicapping contest last year, so he's more biased than most. But he makes a point that those of us who still value individual freedom (vanishing breed though we might be) can embrace.
Zab a 'dog
Two-time world champion Zab Judah caused a stir leading to his June 9 fight against Miguel Cotto when his camp pulled a hoax by placing Yoel Judah, Zab's father and trainer, on a national teleconference for boxing reporters.
It was "shades of Clifford Irving," fight publicist Fred Sternburg said, when Yoel impersonated Zab for the entire conference call, answering questions and offering his opinions on the welterweight title bout.
He was exposed when some reporters told Lee Samuels of Top Rank Inc., which promotes Cotto and was sponsoring the call, of their suspicions that it wasn't really Zab on the line.
"I would have made a lousy contestant on 'To Tell the Truth,' " Samuels said.
Cotto is a minus-360 favorite when he puts his belt on the line against Judah (plus-280) at Madison Square Garden in New York.
"I've been saying all along that Judah was a fraud. This media conference call only confirmed it," Cotto said.
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