Boston's Smoltz tries again for win at Baltimore
Baseball Betting Lines
06/30/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John Smoltz will be attempting to atone for a shaky debut in a Boston Red Sox uniform when the star pitcher takes the mound for tonight's clash with the Baltimore Orioles from Camden Yards.
Smoltz's first major-league appearance since June 2 of last season -- and his initial one as a member of the Red Sox -- didn't turn out as planned for the veteran standout, as he was reached for five runs on seven hits before leaving after five innings of Boston's 9-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on Thursday. The 42-year-old allowed four runs in the first inning and was coming back from surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder.
"When you go through this process, everybody wants to come out and throw great," Smoltz said after the game. "But I threw so many quality pitches that I was pleased with, that I know that within a matter of a few starts, I'll be honed in where I want to be."
Smoltz, an eight-time All-Star and the 1996 National League Cy Young Award winner, signed a one-year contract with the Red Sox in January following a decorated 20-year tenure with the Atlanta Braves.
The right-hander will be facing the Orioles for the first time since 2005 and owns a 1-1 record with a 4.37 earned run average in six appearances, including three starts, lifetime against Baltimore.
Smoltz will have a tough act to follow after teammate Jon Lester's performance in the opener of this three-game series. Behind seven shutout innings from the young left-hander, the Red Sox won for the seventh time in nine games with Monday's 4-0 decision over the Orioles.
Lester (7-6) scattered five hits while fanning eight without a walk to keep his undefeated career record against Baltimore intact. He is now 8-0 with a 2.18 ERA in 10 starts against the O's.
"Maybe their lineup just fits me for some reason, I don't know," said Lester. "I don't pitch against them any different than I do any other team in the league."
J.D. Drew provided the offense for Boston by going 3-for-5 with a two-run homer. Jason Varitek added two hits, including an RBI single, for the Red Sox, who moved to 3 1/2 games ahead of the idle New York Yankees for first place in the AL East.
Baltimore starter Jason Berken (1-5) worked the first five innings and allowed all four Boston runs on eight hits.
Monday's loss was the Orioles' eighth in a row against Boston, which swept a four-game series between the teams at Fenway Park in April and has won 12 of its last 13 matchups with Baltimore.
Rich Hill draws the starting assignment for Baltimore tonight and looks to rebound from a poor outing of his own this past Thursday. The inconsistent lefty lasted just 4 1/3 innings in his team's 11-3 loss at Florida and surrendered six runs on eight hits, including a pair of homers.
Hill's season ERA currently stands at a subpar 6.03 and he's averaged fewer than five innings in his eight 2009 starts. However, the Orioles have won six of those games and he brings a personal 3-2 record into this evening's matchup.
The 29-year-old, who has never previously pitched against Boston, has allowed 11 runs (10 earned) over 7 1/3 innings in two Camden Yards starts this year.
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-ranked Dinara Safina and five-time champion and former world No. 1 Venus Williams were a pair of quarterfinal winners Tuesday at Wimbledon. The two stars will meet in a marquee semifinal here on Thursda
<< Tigers hope to regroup in Oakland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- The Detroit Tigers hope to jump-start their slumping
offense when the current American League Central leaders play the second test
of a three-game series with the host Oakland Athletics this evening.
Detroit had
<< LA's Billingsley takes on Colorado's Marquis at Chavez Ravine
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of pitchers vying to become the National League's
first 10-game winner of the season will go head-to-head when the Los Angeles
Dodgers and Colorado Rockies continue a three-game series this evening at
Dodger
<< Royals, Twins resume series in KC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- A pair of American League Central foes resume a three-game
series tonight at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium, where the host Royals will
be vying for a second straight win over the Minnesota Twins.
Kansas City received
<< Angels try to extend AL West lead over Rangers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) -- It took nearly half a season to get there, but the Los
Angeles Angels of Anaheim are back in their customary place atop the American
League West. The two-time defending division champions will try to further
distanc
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs will try to get back to the .500 mark this evening, when they resume a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Chicago ended a two-game losing streak with Monday's 3-1 win over the Pi
Indians send Lee to hill vs. White Sox >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lefty Cliff Lee goes for two straight wins over Chicago and
three straight overall when his Cleveland Indians host the White Sox tonight
in the middle game of a three-game series at Progressive Field.
The American Leag
Yankees host Mariners in the Bronx >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hard-throwing right-hander Joba Chamberlain tries again for
win No. 1 on his new home field tonight, when the New York Yankees host the
Seattle Mariners in the opener of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
Chamberlai
Rays put win streak on the line in Toronto >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays bested one of the best pitchers in the
majors last night and will try to duplicate that success Tuesday, when they
resume a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
The Rays knoc
Reds return home to face slumping D-Backs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Dan Haren looks for a measure of midseason
revenge tonight, when his Arizona Diamondbacks travel to Cincinnati for the
opener of a three-game series with the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Haren, a 16-game
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook credit cards needs.
College Football Betting Tips From a Pro
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.