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04/22/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two unbeaten pitchers square off tonight at Baltimore's Camden Yards, where the Orioles and Chicago White Sox resume a three-game series.
Orioles ace Jeremy Guthrie is 2-0 with a 4.32 earned run average in three starts this season and is coming off a no-decision against Boston on Friday. In a 10-8 loss to the Red Sox, Guthrie was reached for eight runs -- five earned -- and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings to have a personal two-start winning streak come to an end.
The righty is winless against the White Sox in his career, going 0-2 with a 5.50 ERA in five games (3 starts).
Baltimore put the brakes on a five-game losing streak with Tuesday's 10-3 pounding of the White Sox in the opener of a nine-game homestand. Aubrey Huff clubbed a pair of two-run homers and Nick Markakis ended with four hits, three runs scored and a pair of RBI for the O's, who got three hits from Luke Scott.
Orioles starter Brad Bergesen gave up three runs -- one earned -- on four hits over 5 2/3 innings in his major league debut. Relievers Danys Baez, Chris Ray, Jim Johnson and Brian Bass took care of the Chicago batters the rest of the way.
The Orioles will also host the Rangers and Angels on this residency.
Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko and Brian Anderson each recorded an RBI for Chicago, while Alexei Ramirez was the lone White Sox player to have multiple hits with two.
Chicago starter Jose Contreras continued to struggle this season and absorbed the loss after yielding six runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings of work.
John Danks will try for a better showing for the Pale Hose tonight and is 1-0 with a microscopic 0.75 ERA in two starts this season. He did not factor in the outcome of a 2-1 loss versus Kansas City on April 9, allowing three hits over six shutout innings.
Danks then took the hill again Thursday at Tampa Bay and recorded the win with another stellar six innings of work, yielding one run and two hits during a 3-2 victory over the defending AL champions.
The bulky left-hander is 1-2 with a 5.94 earned run average through three career starts against Baltimore.
Chicago went 5-4 against Baltimore last season, with a 3-2 mark at Camden Yards.
<< Angels continue home series with Tigers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will try to win back-to-
back games for the first time this season, as they resume a three-game series
tonight with the Detroit Tigers at Angel Stadium.
Having won back-to-back America
<< Philadelphia Eagles 2009 Draft Preview (Revised)
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Eagles took care of a major offseason need last week,
when they acquired Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters from the Bills in a
package that sent the team's No. 28 overall pick to Buffalo. With that need
out of the way, Ph
<< Nats aim for sweep of Braves in DC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals will try to continue their sudden
surge this evening, as they aim for a sweep of a three-game series with the
Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park.
The Nationals began the season just 1-10, a star
<< Phils, Brewers resume set in South Philly
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time Joe Blanton faced the Brewers, he pitched the
Phillies into the NLDS. Getting the Phillies over .500 tonight would be a nice
encore.
Philadelphia sends Blanton to the hill tonight in the second game of a thr
Cards try to best Mets once again >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joel Pineiro tries to stay perfect on the season when he
toes the rubber for the St. Louis Cardinals tonight in the middle test of a
three-game series versus the New York Mets at Busch Stadium.
Pineiro opened the season on
Buffalo Bills 2009 Draft Preview (Revised) >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Bills picked up an extra first-round pick (No. 28
overall) as well as a 2009 fourth-rounder when they dealt Pro Bowl left tackle
Jason Peters to the Eagles last week, but also created a glaring need at
Peters' vacated spo
Miami Dolphins 2009 Draft Preview (Revised) >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The metamorphosis continues for Bill Parcells, Tony Sparano
and company, and as we found out last year, defense is at the heart of the
organization's transition. With cornerback Andre' Goodman and safety Renaldo
Hill now wear
Saunders to coach Wizards >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Wizards confirmed Wednesday
that Flip Saunders will become their next head coach and that he's expected to
be formally introduced at a press conference Thursday.
Several media outlets report
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.
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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