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Surging Blue Jays to face sliding RoyalsBaseball Betting Lines07/19/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays try to make it four straight wins when they open a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals this evening at Kauffman Stadium. The Jays battered the woeful Baltimore Orioles this past weekend, taking all three games of the set at Camden Yards and outscoring the O's, 17-5. On Sunday, Yunel Escobar hit his first-career grand slam as the Blue Jays dominated Baltimore, 10-1. Escobar, who was acquired from the Braves on Wednesday as part of a five-player deal, went 3-for-4 with five RBI and two runs scored for the Blue Jays, who have taken all nine matchups with Baltimore this year. John Buck had three hits, drove in two runs, and scored once for the Blue Jays, who have homered in a season-high 11 straight games. They lead the majors with 140 home runs. Shaun Marcum (8-4), who was activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game, gave up one run on nine hits in a five-inning start. The right- hander also fanned four batters and walked zero in the victory. The Blue Jays will try to stay hot tonight behind the left arm of Brett Cecil, who is 8-5 with a 3.97 ERA. Cecil won his final start before the break, holding the Minnesota Twins to a run and four hits in seven innings on July 8. Cecil has never faced the Royals. Hoping to slow down the Jays' power bats tonight will be righty Kyle Davies, who is 4-6 with a 5.57 ERA but winless in his last seven outings. Davies did not get a decision on July 7 in Seattle, as the Mariners managed three runs and four hits in six innings of KC's 7-3 win. Davies lost to the Jays back on April 20 and is 1-2 lifetime against them with a 5.03 ERA in three starts. Kansas City enters tonight's opener having lost six straight following a three-game sweep at the hands of the Oakland Athletics that culminated with a 9-6 setback on Sunday. Brian Bannister (7-8) went 6 1/3 frames in the start for Kansas City, giving up five runs on six hits. He also walked a season-high six batters and struck out two in the loss. "I was about 12 strikes short of where I needed to be today out there," Bannister said afterward. "I couldn't get them to chase. The pitches weren't good pitches or they were good pitches and they just didn't swing. I got behind way too much." Kansas City, which scored in only four of its 27 innings against the A's, is now 18-24 at home on the year, the second-worst mark in the league behind the Orioles. Toronto took two of three from the Royals earlier in the season.
<< Rays try to get back on track in Baltimore
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wade Davis could be pitching for his spot in the rotation when the Tampa Bay Rays open a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles this evening at Camden Yards. Davis struggled in the first half, going 6-9 with a 4.6
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Kennison retires as a Chief >>
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Long-time Kansas City wide receiver Eddie Kennison signed a contract Monday to announce his retirement as a member of the Chiefs. Kennison spent seven of his 13 NFL seasons with the Chiefs, catch
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Sportsbooks to bet on footballRecently 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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