Blue Jays' draft pick Diedrick proving his worth

Baseball Betting Lines

08/09/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - About the only thing bigger than Philip Diedrick's heart is his smile.

Diedrick's infectious grin and mild-mannered approach to life are attributes that serve him well in life and on the diamond.

If only pitchers saw the softer side of him.

The Philip Diedrick that pitchers see is much more relentless, a menacing left-handed power hitter with an imposing presence at the plate whose preference is to make pitchers pay on his terms.

Never was that more apparent than last month at the 2010 International Baseball Federation World Junior Baseball Championship in Thunder Bay, Ont., when Diedrick's first-inning heroics held up as the difference for Canada against reigning and two-time defending champion South Korea.

A day after losing to Cuba in a heart-breaking 3-0 loss in front of a sellout crowd, Diedrick picked his team up in the biggest way.

South Korea, desperate not to get in a hole early to a team it was supposed to beat, brought in a left-handed pitcher just two batters into the game with left-handed hitters waiting on deck.

As Diedrick described it, "They were trying to work the percentages against us."

Good thing Diedrick's a better baseball player than he is a mathematician.

Down 2-1 in the count with the bases loaded and two outs, Canada's designated hitter watched a fastball settle into the middle of the plate for a strike as if to grant it immunity for flying over restricted air space. His odds just got worse.

But Diedrick wasn't so kind to the next pitch or the law of percentages, drilling it the other way over the left field fence to give Canada a 4-0 lead they would ultimately hold onto in a 5-4 edging of the gold-medal favorite Koreans.

"It was the biggest game of my career so far," he said of the grand slam. "It felt amazing."

While most players, especially ones his age, would have buckled under the pressure of playing for their home country in front of a sellout crowd with family cheering them on from their seats behind home plate, Diedrick relished the opportunity.

"It was one of the best moments of my life knowing that I got the chance to represent my country," said Diedrick, recalling the day he learned he was selected to the national team. "One day I can be in the same sentence as Sidney Crosby or Justin Morneau, and all those other guys who get to represent their country. Not just at the senior level, but at the junior level."

As for being in the same sentence as Morneau, he concedes it's a tall order. Despite being selected in the 45th round by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2010 MLB Draft, the 6-1, 202-pound outfielder has yet to be offered a contract by the big league club.

In the meantime, he knows it's all about that hard work and preparation his mother preached to him as a child.

"I always just tried to do my best to make my mom proud. And my grandma, the value she instilled in my mom, and the values that my mom instills in me, helps me to be who I am."

These days being him, isn't so bad.

When asked if he recalls the day he found out he was drafted by a Major League Baseball team, Diedrick flashed his trademark smile.

"I was actually staying at home following it on the Internet and then when they called my name, I was in shock," he said. "My coach called me, and then I was like, 'Okay, it really happened.' It was amazing."

If Diedrick isn't signed by the mid-August deadline, he'll attend Bossier Parish College in Louisiana this fall, where he'll get a chance to show scouts and evaluators south of the border the type of raw power and plate presence he turned heads with at the Worlds.

"He's going to be a good hitter going forward," said Greg Hamilton, head coach and director of Baseball Canada's national teams. "He's a big strong kid and he's not a one-dimensional kind of guy. He will go the other way a little bit for you as well."

"I thought he had a real nice tournament."

Nice to Canada, brutally unforgiving to opposing teams.

Diedrick finished the tournament 14-for-31 (.452) with a team-leading 10 RBI in eight games, garnering a nod as IBAF first-team designated hitter all-star for his accomplishments.

But the Ajax, Ont. native's rise to success on the diamond is relatively new to him.

He said it wasn't until a breakout performance at last year's Canada Cup - a collection of the country's best seventeen and eighteen-year-olds under one national tournament - that he caught the attention of Hamilton, who was in the process of assembling the juniors' summer tour roster.

"Since then, we went to Disney [Team Canada's spring training facility] two times. I went to Dominican Republic, and I was just getting better and better and kept getting the call back from Greg saying, 'Come on other trips.'

A few home runs later and Diedrick was joining the junior national team and playing against the best 18-and-under baseball players in the world.

"It lets you know where you compare on a world stage," said Diedrick. "In Canada, you know you're one of the top 20 players and then when you go and play against the U.S. or other countries, you can see where you stack up."

For someone who's been playing for "five or six years now," Diedrick stacks up pretty good against a plethora of talent destined for the major leagues.

He smiles when asked what the response has been from his friends since his dissension through the ranks of amateur baseball.

"They always just ask me when are the season tickets coming," he said with a laugh. "I just tell them 'In time, I will get there.'"

His mother told him to "always finish what you start." Now that he has the directions to get there, it's all about executing.

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NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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