Slumping Cubs attempt to even things with D-Backs
Baseball Betting Lines
07/22/2008 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A battle of division leaders will resume tonight at
Arizona's Chase Field, where the Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs continue a
three-game series.
The Diamondbacks won for the second time in three games by posting a 2-0
victory over the Cubs in the opener of this set behind the left arm of
starting pitcher Randy Johnson. Johnson allowed just two hits over seven
shutout innings while striking out four and walking one to move to 13-0
lifetime against the Cubs.
Chad Qualls worked out of trouble in the ninth to pick up his second save of
the season.
Alex Romero hit a solo home run and Stephen Drew added an RBI triple for
Arizona, which has only three wins in its last seven contests and remains tied
with the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the National League West standings.
Arizona will rest its hopes on starter Yusmeiro Petit Tuesday evening, and he
is 0-1 with a 3.06 ERA in nine games (1 start) this season. Petit is taking
the place of Micah Owings in the rotation. Owings pitched an inning of relief
on Monday.
Petit last pitched on Friday versus the Dodgers in an 8-7 loss, recording a
no-decision after allowing a solo home run in three innings of work. The
right-hander is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in three career games, two of which have
been starts, against the Cubs.
Chicago is currently two games ahead of both St. Louis and Milwaukee in the NL
Central, but has lost four of its last five games to lose ground in the
division standings. In Monday's loss to the D'Backs, Reed Johnson and Jim
Edmonds had the only two hits for the Cubs.
The setback ruined an excellent performance from newcomer Rich Harden, who
hurled seven innings of one-run, one-hit ball while striking out 10 batters
despite absorbing the loss. Bob Howry allowed a run in relief.
Taking the hill for the Cubs tonight will be Jason Marquis, who is winless
over his past three trips to the hill (0-2). Marquis did not factor in the
outcome of a 3-1 win over San Francisco in July 11 his last time out, although
he allowed just three hits over seven shutout frames.
Marquis, who is 6-5 with a 4.44 ERA in 17 starts in 2008, owns a 2-4 record in
nine career appearances (8 starts) versus Arizona.
Chicago swept a three-game set against Arizona at Wrigley Field in May to
avenge the Diamondbacks' disposing of the Cubs in last October's National
League Division Series, in which Arizona took all three matchups.
The D'Backs won two of three from Chicago at Chase Field last year.
<< Mets, Phillies to start up key divisional set
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - First place in the National League East division will be up
for grabs when the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies square off tonight
in the opener of a crucial three-game series from Shea Stadium.
The Mets have rece
<< Run-happy Tigers take on KC again
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers try to follow up an incredible offensive
outburst when they play the second of three games against the Kansas City
Royals tonight at Kauffman Stadium.
On Monday, Miguel Cabrera had a 5-for-6 game
<< Peavy to try to pitch Padres past Reds once again
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Diego ace Jake Peavy looks to stay perfect against
Cincinnati when his Padres visit the Reds tonight for the second of three
early week games at Great American Ball Park.
The 28-year-old right-hander, a 19-
<< Marlins resume series with Braves
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lanky right-hander Rick Vanden Hurk makes his third start
of the season tonight, when the Florida Marlins host the Atlanta Braves in the
middle contest of a three-game series at Dolphin Stadium.
The 23-year-old, who st
<< Buehrle leads Pale Hose versus Rangers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark Buehrle faces Texas for the first time since no-
hitting it last season, as the Chicago White Sox continue their three-game
series with the Rangers at U.S. Cellular Field.
Buehrle, who no-hit the Rangers o
Angels, Indians resume matchup of hot teams >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jered Weaver will try to pitch the LA Angels of Anaheim
back into the win column tonight, when the current American League West
leaders resume a three-game series versus the Cleveland Indians at Angel
Stadium
Zimmerman's expected return highlights Nats-Giants tilt >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals are expected to get a big lift in
their lineup tonight, when they open a three-game series against the San
Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
The Nationals have been without third baseman
Marcum returns from DL to face O's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lefty Garrett Olson will try to reverse the result of his
last matchup with Toronto tonight, when the Baltimore Orioles host the Blue
Jays in the second test of a four-game series at Camden Yards.
Olson, who reached the
Dice-K tries to keep Red Sox on winning track in Seattle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester pitched the Boston Red Sox to a much-needed
victory on Monday. Daisuke Matsuzaka will try to give the defending world
champions a similar effort on the mound in tonight's second test of a three-
game series with
Pirates target back-to-back wins in Houston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Pirates hope to build off Monday's much-
needed victory over the Houston Astros when the two National League Central
members resume a three-game set tonight at Minute Maid Park.
The Pirates appeared headed
Who Makes the Sportsbook Betting Lines?
Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC) is the world’s premier oddsmaking company and the most respected authority on making the lines. Mike Seba is a Senior Oddsmaker at LVSC and has been making lines for the last six years. In our extended interview, Seba explained that there are 4-5 oddsmakers assigned to make lines for each of the major sports (pro & college football and basketball; MLB, NHL, boxing, golf). Each of these oddsmakers bring unique opinions, strengths and weaknesses to the process. Oddsmakers at LVSC are professional sports junkies who love what they do and would probably do it for nothing if you asked them, but they do get paid for it. By necessity their approach is very research-oriented and concise, since with millions of dollars at risk there is little margin for error.
“You either have a passion for it or you don’t,” Seba said.
“The #1 thing for us is to make a line for each game that creates good two-way action. We do this by drawing from past experiences and applying them to current situations. People think it’s much more complicated, but it’s not. “
What are the Football Betting Lines Trying to Accomplish?
There is a common misconception that point spreads represent the oddsmakers’ prediction of how many points the favorite will win by. That is not the case at all – their intent is NOT to evenly split the ATS result between the teams; rather, their goal is to attract equal betting action on both sides. Stated another way, they want to create a line that half the people find appealing to bet one way while the other half find it appealing to bet the other way (known as ‘dividing the action’).
Divided action means the sportsbook is guaranteed a profit on the game because of the fee charged to the bettor (called juice or vig – typically $11 bet to win $10).
How the Opening Line Is Made
The opening line is the first line created by the oddsmakers, which is then sent out to sportsbooks. Of course there is an entire method to the madness on how the opening line is created. Seba explained that it all starts with each oddsmaker creating a line on each game based upon their own personal approach. This usually includes having up-to-date power ratings on each team.
Power ratings are the oddsmaker’s value of each team and are used as a guide to calculate a "preliminary" pointspread on an upcoming game. The power ratings are adjusted after each game a team plays. Examples of non-game factors that would require an adjustment to a team's power rating are key player injuries and player trades.
Once a game’s power rating based pointspread is determined, the oddsmaker will make adjustments to that line after considering each team's most recent games played and previous games played against that opponent. Also, adjustments are made after reading each team’s local newspapers to get a sense of what the coaches & players are thinking going into the game.
Since the oddsmaker’s ultimate goal is equally dividing the sports betting action, public perception and sportsbook betting patterns must be taken into account. For example, the public might have heavy betting interest week after week on a popular college football betting team such as USC. If an oddsmaker comes up with a preliminary line of USC -7, then an adjustment up to -7.5 or -8 would be made in response to the public’s expected USC bias.
The last step in the line-making process for each oddsmaker is taking one final look to determine whether or not the line "feels right." This is where common sense and past experience with how games are bet enters into the picture.
A round-table discussion among the 4-5 oddsmakers involved in making the line for each sport is then conducted and a consensus line is decided upon by the Odds Director before it is released to the sportsbooks. Of the 4-5 oddsmakers, generally the 2 most respected opinions are weighed more heavily by the Odds Director before he decides on the final line.
Once the opening line is released by LVSC, the individual sportsbooks decide if they want to make any adjustments before offering it to the public. Reasons for such adjustments include:
Experts working for the individual books having a strong opinion on the game
Individual books having players who consistently bet with certain tendencies (such as an extreme bias toward favorites or toward a certain popular team like USC)
The purpose of these adjustments, like all line adjustments, is to more equally divide the betting action.
Once betting begins, sportsbooks can adjust the line at any time. In doing so they attempt to make more attractive the team that is getting less action. By moving the line, sportsbooks can influence how the public bets on a particular game.
For example, if the pointspread on a game is 7 and most of the money is coming in on the underdog (taking the +7), sportsbooks will then move the number down to 6 ½ to try and attract money on the favorite.
Moving the line is the oddsmaker's effort to balance betting action, and often times such moves can have a major impact on a bettor’s decision. Oddsmakers can also change the line depending on various event-related factors such as player injuries or weather. Obviously, if the line comes out a week ahead of the event (which is the case in football), there is much that could happen during the week leading up to the event that could affect the line. Oddsmakers have to determine if any changes are necessary and send out an "adjusted line."
“The main objective is that our clients get equal action on both sides,” Seba said. “We’re not trying to pick the team that covers the spread, we’re trying to make it a coin flip, a tough decision (for the bettor). If we’ve done that, we’ve done our job.”
To visit this internet sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your sports betting needs and World Series odds.
The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.
Bet NFL Sports Lines
Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.
Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.
A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.
Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.
Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.
And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.
2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win
Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1
Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1
Donald Brown (IND) 5/1
Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1
Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1
Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1
Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1
Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1
Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1
Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1
Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1
Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1
Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1
Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1
Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1
Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1
Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1
LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1
Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2
Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1
Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1
Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1
Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1
Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1
Jason Smith (STL) 40/1
Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1
Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1
Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1
Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2
Pat White (MIA) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 9/1
Betting Line
To visit this sports betting site go to BettingExpress.com for all your football betting lines needs.
For sports betting with credit cards site go to BettingExpress.com as well.
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
read more
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