Sport books had the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers adding starting pitchers to their staffs. The Cardinals signed Brad Penny while the Brewers signed Randy Wolf. Both pitchers could impact odds at many an Internet sportsbook next season.
Sport books saw the St. Louis Cardinals win the National League Central last year with a very good pitching staff. St. Louis is hoping the addition of Penny will make it even better. Penny was signed to a one-year contract for $7.5 million, with about $1.5 million in performances bonuses. Penny was up and down last season as sport books numbers show. He was 11-9 with a 4.88 ERA in 30 starts for Boston and San Francisco last Internet sportsbook season. Penny is a favorite of St. Louis manager Tony La Russa and that is one reason he signed with the Cardinals instead of coming back to the Giants. “Whenever a guy faces you and you’re not happy when he gets announced, you always think, ‘Boy, it would be nice to get him on your side,'” La Russa said. “So I’m going back to the Marlin days of spring training, that season and ever since. He’s a guy that we thought would be a real good starter for our side.”
St. Louis has two excellent starters in Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright who impact results at sport books but they have some questions beyond those two. Joel Pineiro, Todd Wellemeyer and John Smoltz are all free agents. “Brad Penny has long been a pitcher of interest to us and we are thrilled to have him,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said, “By teaming Brad with our Cy Young finalists Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, in addition to Kyle Lohse, we feel that our pitching staff will continue to be a key cornerstone for the ballclub.”
Sport books had Penny as an All-Star in 2006 and 2007. He was hurt by injuries the last couple of years but he did pitch well down the stretch as sport books stats showed. He was 4-1 with a 2.59 ERA in six starts for San Francisco to end the Internet sportsbook baseball season.
Another pitcher that could impact odds at the sport books is Randy Wolf. He was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday. It is reportedly a three-year deal worth almost $30 million. Wolf was 11-7 with a 3.23 ERA last year for the Dodgers as Internet sportsbook fans have seen.