Fassero retires after 16 major league seasons

Baseball Betting Lines

02/09/2007 -

Jeff Fassero is retiring from baseball after winning 121 games over 16 major league seasons.

The 44-year-old lefty, cut by the San Francisco Giants in May, worked out for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Feb. 2.

``I thought I threw really well. I guess they didn't they think so,'' Fassero said Friday during a telephone interview. ``They were the ones that showed the most interest.''

Fassero, who lives in Paradise Valley, Ariz., had started working out in August and throwing in November.

``Probably the best shape I've been in the last few years,'' he said.

He finished 121-124 with a 4.11 ERA and 25 saves in 242 starts and 478 relief appearances for Montreal, Seattle, Texas, Boston, the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis, Colorado, Arizona and San Francisco. He was originally signed by the Cardinals, who selected him on the 22nd round of the 1984 amateur draft.

Fassero was 3-0 in the postseason, getting one victory for Seattle against Baltimore in the 1997 AL division series and two wins for St. Louis vs. Arizona in the 2002 NL division series.

``You're never going to be satisfied. I can live with it,'' Fassero said. ``I got to do what I wanted to do growing up for 20 years, counting minor leagues and big leagues.''

He spent his first six major league seasons with the Montreal Expos.

``I made some great friends up there that I still keep in contact with,'' he said. ``The teams up there, we had a lot of fun. Being in another country, we were all together, all the time.''

Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Wwimustlotto Baseball Betting News

<< Devils closing in on Sabres
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -Unlike a year ago, the New Jersey Devils aren't waiting until the end of the season to make a playoff run.They're rolling right now, with wins in 15 of 20 games, and points in all but two.With two months left in the regul

<< Shelby Metcalf, former Texas A&M coach, dies at 76
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -Shelby Metcalf, whose homespun humor often overshadowed his penchant for winning basketball games at Texas A&M, died after a long illness. He was 76.Metcalf died Thursday at a College Station hospital, the university sai

<< Hank Bauer dead at 84
NEW YORK (AP) -Hank Bauer, the hard-nosed ex-Marine who returned to baseball after being wounded during World War II and went on to become a cornerstone of the New York Yankees dynasty of the 1950s, died Friday. He was 84.Bauer died of cancer in Sha

<< Grizzlies sign guard to 10-day contract
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -Guard Lorinza Harrington signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, who released him before the start of this season.Harrington, 6-fooot-4, was scheduled to be in uniform for Friday night's game with Minnesota.He repla

<< Wisconsin gives Bielema 5-year, $7.5 million contract
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema was rewarded Friday for his highly successful first season with a new five-year, $7.5 million contract.The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved an amended contract on Frid

Wizards seek to downplay hype as Arenas aims for 50-point game against Portland >>
WASHINGTON (AP) -Perhaps the Washington Wizards are showing the effects of a little too much Gilbertology. Two days before what Gilbert Arenas has proclaimed will be his next 50-point game, no one wanted to say much about it.``I'm not going to comme

Park and Mets near deal >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Chan Ho Park is joining the expanding list of pitchers trying to earn spots in the New York Mets' rotation.Park and the Mets reached a preliminary agreement on a $600,000, one-year contract, giving the team another option for its star

Park and Mets reach deal >>
NEW YORK (AP) -Chan Ho Park is joining the expanding list of pitchers trying to earn spots in the New York Mets' rotation.Park and the Mets agreed Friday to a $600,000, one-year contract, giving the team another option for its starting rotation head

Iwamura eager to get started with Devil Rays >>
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -Akinori Iwamura stepped up to the podium, took a deep breath and smiled.The last time the five-time Japanese League All-Star remembered feeling so nervous, his country was facing the United States on the way to winning the

Sabres' Connolly skating again; return uncertain >>
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -Tim Connolly is free of his headaches, but not of some questions.The Buffalo Sabres center still couldn't say Friday when he would be ready to return after sustaining the second serious concussion of his career 10 months ago.``Th

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com