05/11/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second consecutive matchup the Los Angeles of Anaheim will send an undefeated pitcher to the hill, as Ervin Santana will try to shut down the Tampa Bay Rays in the finale of a three-game set at Tropicana Field.
Last night Joe Saunders put his 6-0 ledger on the line against the Rays, and today Santana will do the same. Santana has been remarkable since the beginning of the season, winning six of his seven starts, while posting an outstanding 2.02 ERA.
The 25-year-old put forth his best performance this past Monday in a 4-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Santana tossed a complete game shutout against an inferior KC squad, scattering just four hits, while striking out nine batters and walking none.
The young hurler has been tremendous on the road thus far, recording a 2.54 ERA, while winning all four of his outings away from home.
In his career against the Rays, the right-hander has struggled, posting a mediocre 3-3 mark to go along with a lackluster 5.94 ERA.
The Rays will send their own surprise hurler to the hill this afternoon in hopes of keeping Tampa in the win column. Andy Sonnanstine has done an impressive job in the early going, and is currently 5-1 with a 4.63 ERA.
The right-hander has won his last four starts, including a 5-4 decision over the Blue Jays this past Tuesday. In the victory, the 25-year-old tossed six innings, surrendering just four runs on 10 hits, while striking out two batters.
On Saturday, Scott Kazmir tossed six effective innings and outdueled the previously unbeaten Joe Saunders helping the Rays to a 2-0 triumph over the Angels.
Kazmir (1-1) rebounded nicely in his second start of the season since coming off the disabled list, allowing just three hits. He did walk three but struck out six helping the Rays set a franchise-record with their eighth consecutive home win. Tampa won its third straight overall including shutouts in the last two. Troy Percival earned his eighth save of the year after a perfect ninth.
Kazmir was rattled in his season debut against Boston this past Sunday when he surrendered four runs -- three earned -- on six hits and three walks. Kazmir did strike out five batters, but lasted only four innings and took the loss.
Carl Crawford had a hit, two walks, a stolen base and scored the Rays' second run. Akinori Iwamura had three hits and scored a run and Jason Bartlett added two hits for Tampa.
Saunders (6-1) settled down after a rough start after walking four in the first two frames. He tossed six innings allowing one run on four hits, and also walked four and struck out three while collecting his first loss of the season. Los Angeles dropped its third straight contest after winning four straight.
Gary Matthews Jr. had a double and two walks and Erick Aybar added a double for Los Angeles.
LA won six of eight from the Rays last season and is 13-6 against them since the start of the 2006 season.
<< Pens host Flyers in Game 2 of East finals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to take a 2-0 lead in the
best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals tonight, when they host the rival
Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 at Mellon Arena.
The second-seeded Penguins, champions of t
<< O's aim for sweep of KC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles will try to pull off a very tough
task, as they go for a four-game road sweep over the Kansas City Royals this
afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.
For the Orioles, they will rest their chances for a
<< Floyd leads Pale Hose at Seattle
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Seattle Mariners will have a tough task ahead of them,
as they will have to battle the red hot Gavin Floyd and the Chicago White Sox
in the finale of a three-game set at Safeco Field.
Floyd was at the top of his ga
<< Big Unit takes on Cubs at Wrigley
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Johnson will try to keep his perfect record against
the Cubs intact this afternoon, when the Arizona Diamondbacks wrap up a three-
game series at Chicago's historic Wrigley Field.
Johnson, who is 2-1 with a 5.06
Pettitte leads Yankees against Tigers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees will try to inch their way up the AL
East standings when they take on the Detroit Tigers today in the finale of a
three-game set at Comerica Park.
Andy Pettitte will try to get back into the win c
Boston takes on Minnesota at Metrodome >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League's top team, the Boston Red Sox, will
take the field this evening in hopes of winning the third test of a four-game
set against the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome.
Tim Wakefield will take the hill toni
Djokovic tops Wawrinka to Rome final >>
Rome, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic rallied to
beat Swiss star Stanislas Wawrinka to win the $3.5 million Italian Masters on
Sunday.
Djokovic, who disposed of world No. 1 Roger Federer in the quarterfin
A's activate Harden from DL to start against Texas >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics activated oft-injured
pitcher Rich Harden from the 15-day disabled list Sunday, in time to start the
team's series finale with the Texas Rangers.
Harden was placed on the DL for the si
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 sportsbook 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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