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07/24/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay has had a hard time winning in Cleveland. Hopefully its ace can turn things around, as the Rays send David Price to the mound this evening trying to stop the Cleveland Indians' incredible 18-game home winning streak against them in the second test of a three-game series at Progressive Field.
Cleveland continued its home mastery of the Rays in the opener of this set on Friday, as Fausto Carmona allowed just one unearned run in five strong innings, helping the Tribe to a 3-1 win in a rain-shortened, seven-inning affair.
The winning streak is the longest active stretch by one team over another at a particular stadium, and the Rays haven't won in Cleveland since September 28, 2005.
Carmona (10-7) won for the third straight start by allowing just one hit and one walk while fanning seven for the Indians, who have won seven of eight to begin the second half.
Trevor Crowe had two hits, including a solo homer, while Asdrubal Cabrera recorded three hits in the victory. Tony Sipp notched his first career save for pitching a hitless sixth and seventh.
Jeff Niemann (8-3) yielded two runs on five hits and three walks in five innings to receive the loss for the Rays, who are 3-4 on their nine-game road trip. John Jaso drove in the lone run in defeat.
Price, who is enjoying a breakout season, will look to rebound from his previous outing in which he was hammered by the New York Yankees for seven runs on seven hits and four walks in five innings, dropping him to 12-5, while raising his earned run average to 2.84.
It was the third loss in the last five starts for Price, but it was the first time since May 23rd that the Vanderbilt product surrendered more than three earned runs in a matchup.
The lackluster effort against New York could be due to the long break in between outings, but regardless, the setback dropped Price to just 6-4 in 10 road starts on the year.
Price beat the Indians the last time he faced them, yielding just an unearned run in six innings.
Taking the mound for the Indians will be Mitch Talbot, who has one victory in his last seven starts, and is winless in his last three outings. The last time Talbot was in action the right-hander tossed six strong innings, allowing just one run on six hits in five innings.
The Tribe eventually won that game by a 2-1 margin, but Talbot did not factor in the decision.
Talbot, who is just 3-4 in nine home starts this season with a 5.07 earned run average, will be making his first career start against Tampa.
<< Tigers, Blue Jays try again in Detroit
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Miguel Cabrera's primary goal is to help the Detroit Tigers
capture an American League Central title. Still, one would think the
possibility of becoming baseball's first Triple Crown winner in 43 years has
got to cross the Al
<< Pelfrey hopes for a rebound in LA
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Pelfrey hopes to bounce back from the shortest start
of his career this evening when the New York Mets continue their four-game set
with the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
Pelfrey could not make it out of the
<< Phils take their swings against Jimenez
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Less than 24 hours after facing a former Cy Young Award
winner, the Colorado Rockies march out their own 2010 candidate when they face
the Philadelphia Phillies in the second of four games at Citizens Bank Park.
The Philli
<< White Sox try to stay hot in Oakland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With Detroit and Minnesota nipping at their heels the
Chicago White Sox will try to keep their small lead in the AL Central when
they take on the Oakland Athletics this afternoon at the Coliseum.
One of the biggest reasons
Bumgarner takes aim at fourth straight win at Chase Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Madison Bumgarner shoots for his fourth straight win this
evening when the San Francisco Giants continue their four-game set against the
Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Bumgarner has been sensational over his winning
Oswalt toes the hill for Astros against Reds >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran right-hander Rot Oswalt makes what could be one of
the last starts of his Houston career tonight when the Astros meet the
Cincinnati Reds in the middle test of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.
Oswalt, a Hou
Twins send Baker to hill in Baltimore >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Struggling to keep pace with the White Sox and Tigers in
the AL Central, the Twins will try to solve their road woes when Minnesota
battles the Baltimore Orioles in the third installment of a four-game set this
evening at Cam
Red Sox shoot for third straight win against battling M's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox try to make it three straight wins this
evening when they continue their four-game set against the Seattle Mariners at
Safeco Field.
The Red Sox will turn to Jon Lester to keep them in the win column, as
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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