05/10/2008 - (Baseball Betting) - Johan Santana gets the nod for the New York Mets tonight, when he takes on the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of a doubleheader at Shea Stadium.
Friday's opener of a three-game series between the Reds and Mets was postponed due to rain.
Santana is 3-2 with a 2.91 ERA in seven starts this season, and is 2-0 over the past four trips to the mound. In his most recent performance on Sunday at Arizona, Santana did not factor in the outcome of a 5-2 win after giving up one run and six hits in six innings of work.
The talented lefty is 0-0 with a 6.14 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against Cincinnati.
Santana will be opposed in game one by Cincinnati right-hander Matt Belisle. Belisle lost for the second time in his three starts this season last Saturday against Atlanta, as the Braves managed two runs and eight hits off of him in 5 1/3 innings.
The 27-year-old right-hander, who is pitching to a 6.91 ERA this season, has yet to record a decision in three games against the Mets, but has pitched to a 3.86 earned run average in those outings.
Florida native Bronson Arroyo goes for the Reds in the nightcap and will try to shake off his worst start of 2008, in which he was raked for seven hits and seven runs while just recording four outs in a 14-7 loss to Atlanta on Sunday.
Previously, the Key West native had earned his first win of the season, allowing six hits and three runs in six innings while beating the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3, on April 28.
Arroyo, who was 0-3 with two no-decisions before that win, is 2-2 in five career starts against the Mets.
He's allowed 35 hits and 17 earned runs in 35 2/3 innings, walking eight batters and striking out 22.
New York counters in the second game with Mike Pelfrey, who is winless in his last three starts. Pelfrey lost his second straight last Saturday in Arizona, as he allowed five runs and nine hits in five innings to fall to 2-2, while raising his ERA to 5.27.
Pelfrey is 1-0 in his career against the Reds with a 3.68 ERA in two games (one start).
Cincinnati enters tonight's opener on the heels of an impressive offensive showing. The Reds belted seven home runs in a 9-0 win on Wednesday over the Chicago Cubs at Great American Ball Park.
Joey Votto matched a team record with three of the blasts, while Adam Dunn, Paul Bako, Jerry Hairston and Brandon Phillips added homers for the Reds, who also received seven shutout innings from Edinson Volquez to win for just the second time in their last eight games.
The seven homers were two shy of the club's single-game record of nine, set on September 4, 1999 at Philadelphia.
The New York Mets also enter tonight's fray following an impressive offensive showing of their own.
On Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, Raul Casanova finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored as New York crushed Los Angeles, 12-1, in the finale of a three-game set.
Luis Castillo and David Wright also drove in a pair of runs while Ryan Church homered and scored three times for the Mets, who salvaged a game in the series and finished one run off their season-high set April 2 in a 13-0 win over Florida.
The Mets won five of their seven meetings with the Reds last season and have won eight of their last 11 in the series.
<< Padres' Maddux goes for win No. 350 vs. Rockies
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greg Maddux will try again for career win No. 350 when he
leads the San Diego Padres tonight in the second test of a three-game series
versus the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park.
Maddux has lost two straight starts and
<< Phillies take on slumping Giants again
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmy Rollins' return to the Philadelphia lineup sparked
his team to victory. Today, Rollins and the Phillies will resume their road
trip out west with the second installment of a three-game series against the
San Fra
<< Astros continue trek at Los Angeles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros opened their 10-game road trip on a good
note, and will try to stay on track tonight in the second test of a three-game
series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine.
The Astros, who have won s
<< Dempster leads Cubs vs. D'Backs
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Ryan Dempster will try to rebound from his
first loss of 2008 today, when the Chicago Cubs entertain the Arizona
Diamondbacks again in the middle contest of a three-game weekend series at
Wrigley
Red Wings aim for 2-0 lead against visiting Stars >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Detroit Red Wings will try to take a two
games to none lead in the Western Conference finals tonight, when they welcome
the Dallas Stars for Game 2 at Joe Louis Arena.
The Red Wings came out with a strong pe
Roddick, Stepanek retire, sending Djokovic, Wawrinka to Rome final >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic and Swiss
Stanislas Wawrinka advanced to the final of the $3.5 million Italian Masters
Saturday after both their semifinal opponents retired.
Sixth-seeded American Andy
Carlisle gets four-year deal to coach Mavs >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rick Carlisle has come to terms on a four-year
contract to become head coach of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks website posted a story late Friday night that confirmed the
signing, which is expected
Red-hot Marlins fish for another win at Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NL East-leading Florida Marlins will try to extend
their season-high winning streak to six games tonight, when they resume a
seven-game road trip with the second of three straight meetings with
Washing
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.
Right behind the Gators are the 5th ranked UNC Tar Heels at 9-2. The Heels (21-3, 7-2) are absolutely loaded with top notch talent and are as deep as any team in the country. A concern for the Tar Heels might be inexperience. Of their top four scorers/ minute earners, three are freshmen and the other is a sophomore. The rest of the regular season, the Tar Heels play only one team that is currently ranked (Duke). Their remaining opponents do combine for an impressive 107-58 record though.
Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.
Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.
Arizona 20-1
Butler 20-1
Duke 30-1
Florida 7-2
Georgetown 30-1
Indiana 35-1
Kansas 15-1
Marquette 25-1
Maryland 40-1
Memphis 50-1
Nevada 50-1
UNC 9-2
OSU 8-1
Oregon 30-1
Pittsburgh 15-1
Texas 30-1
Texas A&M 18-1
UCLA 6-1
Wisconsin 10-1
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook betting needs.
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