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07/11/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of last-place teams start up a three-game series tonight at Nationals Park, where the Houston Astros make their first appearance at the new venue to take on the struggling Washington Nationals.
Houston enters the nation's capital with a 42-50 overall record, the worst among National League Central clubs, and has lost seven of nine games to begin the month of July. Washington is in even worse shape, having compiled a poor 35-58 mark thus far, and heads into this set having dropped seven of its last eight matchups.
The Astros do come in on a positive note, however, as the team avoided a three-game sweep in Pittsburgh with Wednesday's 6-4 decision over the Pirates. Kaz Matsui, in his first game back from a stint on the disabled list, had an RBI double for Houston during a two-run seventh inning that snapped a 4-4 deadlock.
Geoff Blum belted a three-run homer in the first inning for the Astros, while both Ty Wigginton and Michael Bourn finished 2-for-5 with a run scored. Matsui, who had been sidelined with a strained right hamstring, also collected a pair of hits on the evening.
Brian Moehler (5-4) notched the win after working the first six innings and allowing four runs on seven hits. Chris Sampson followed with two scoreless frames in front of closer Jose Valverde, who shut the Pirates out in the ninth to record his 23rd save of the year.
Houston is 2-4 thus far on a nine-game road trip and 20-29 as the visitor this season.
The Astros hope to be buoyed by tonight's return of ace Roy Oswalt. The standout right-hander missed his last turn in the rotation due to a strained left hip and a nerve problem in his lower back, injuries that forced him to exit a June 30 start against Los Angeles after six innings.
Oswalt was terrific before leaving that game, as he limited the Dodgers to one run on six hits and racked up nine strikeouts to lead the Astros to a 4-1 win. The 30-year-old did throw a bullpen session on Tuesday and came through without any setbacks.
The three-time All-Star is 3-1 with a 2.63 earned run average in nine games (7 starts) against the Washington/Montreal franchise. Oswalt faced the Nationals in Houston on May 7 and permitted three runs while striking out nine in a seven-inning no-decision.
Oswalt will be opposed tonight by former teammate Tim Redding. The Washington right-hander began his pro career in the Houston organization and pitched four seasons with the Astros from 2001-04.
Redding is now in his second season with the Nationals and has posted a 6-3 record with a respectable 4.06 ERA through 19 starts this year. He has not received a decision in any of his last nine outings, but Washington has gone 7-2 in those nine Redding starts.
The 30-year-old pitched well enough to win this past Saturday in Cincinnati, where he held the Reds to one run on eight hits over six innings. It marked the third time in his last five starts that Redding has surrendered two runs or less.
Redding faced the Astros twice last season, producing a win and a loss while yielding just three runs over a span of 14 innings.
After snapping a six-game losing streak with Wednesday's 5-0 home win over Arizona, the Nationals failed to sustain the momentum in last night's series finale with the Diamondbacks. Stephen Drew hit a go-ahead RBI double in the top of the 11th inning and Arizona tacked on another run later in the frame to come away with a 7-5 decision.
Washington extended the game by scoring in both the bottom of the ninth and 10th innings. The Diamondbacks put up three runs in the top of the 10th to grab a 5-2 lead, but a Willie Harris single and Austin Kearns' two-run double drew the Nationals back even.
The Nats sent the game into extras when Arizona third baseman Mark Reynolds misplayed a ball off the bat of Kearns, which allowed two runners to cross the plate.
Kearns ended with three RBI in the loss, while Nationals All-Star Cristian Guzman finished 3-for-5 with a run scored.
Luis Ayala (1-5) was dealt a defeat after giving up two runs on three hits in the top of the 11th. Washington starter Jason Bergmann permitted only two runs on six hits over the first seven innings.
Houston won two of three matchups with the Nats at Minute Maid Park back in May, but Washington is 9-4 in its last 13 clashes against the Astros. Houston has also lost five of its last six in D.C.
<< Tigers have crept back into picture in AL Central
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While much of the attention in the American League Central
has been pointed in the direction of the surging Chicago White Sox and
Minnesota Twins, the third-place team should definitely not be overlooked.
Thanks in large p
<< Marlins try to reel in another win over Dodgers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins, despite being within striking distance
of first place in the National League East, are hoping a shuffling of their
rotation can help get them over the top. Chris Volstad makes his first major
league
<< Mets try to keep momentum going against Rox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets and Colorado Rockies have each had first
halves that can be classified as disappointing. However, both teams have been
playing like playoff contenders as of late.
The Mets will attempt to extend their s
<< Gallagher to make A's debut in key series opener with Angels
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics insisted they weren't giving up on
this season when the team dealt Rich Harden to Chicago earlier this week. Sean
Gallagher faces the tough task of replacing Harden in the rotation tonight in
the At
Wawrinka reaches semis; Youzhny exits Gstaad >>
Gstaad, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Swiss crowd favorite
Stanislas Wawrinka secured a spot in the semifinals, while third-seeded
Russian Mikhail Youzhny came up a quarterfinal loser Friday at the clay-court
Swiss O
Rose expected to undergo MRI for ailing knee >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose has tendinitis
in his right knee and the Chicago Tribune says the rookie will undergo an MRI
exam.
Rose, the first overall pick in last month's draft, missed the Bulls' fina
Crouch seals return to Portsmouth >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England international Peter Crouch has
returned to Portsmouth for a second spell after completing his transfer from
Liverpool to Fratton Park.
The 27-year-old spent one season with Pompey six years
Csaba takes charge at Hearts >>
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hearts have ended a lengthy search for
a new manager after confirming the appointment of Laszlo Csaba.
The Edinburgh club had been without a full-time manager since the decision to
part company with A
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard 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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