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04/30/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians' first-year pitching coach Tim Belcher has been around the block.
A 14-year pitcher in the big leagues, Belcher's 2,442 career innings are the most of any active pitching coach in Major League Baseball. And although this is Belcher's first year as Cleveland's pitching coach, he has spent the last eight years in the organization as a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations.
With all of the roster turnover during the past two seasons, Cleveland's average age is now only 27 years old. While the lineup continues to be a work in progress, the pitching staff will have to shoulder much of the load.
That's where Belcher comes in. As a pitcher for the Dodgers, he compiled seven seasons of 200+ innings pitched, even leading the National League with 10 complete games in 1989. Under his tutelage, Cleveland's starters rank fifth in the American League with a combined 3.98 ERA. That has helped to atone for an offense that ranks 12th in the AL with a .238 team batting average.
Angels' manager Mike Scioscia recently said of his former Los Angeles Dodgers teammate, "I think (Belcher) can help pitchers get through a pitch count barrier and be more efficient with their pitches."
That has certainly rubbed off on 26-year-old rookie Mitch Talbot, who has allowed just two earned runs (0.84) over his last three starts, a span of 21 1/3 innings. His 2.05 ERA is bound to climb at some point, particularly for a pitcher who has fanned only seven batters through four starts. But Belcher points to the youngster's wide array of pitches -- which includes a sinker, cutter, changeup and slider -- as the main reason Talbot has been able to keep hitters off balance.
"He's been good about staying with what's working and knowing what the game plan calls for," Belcher told the team's website. "He's not one of those guys that thinks he has to throw every pitch to every hitter."
Meanwhile, Fausto Carmona has spent the last few seasons trying to rediscover his form of 2007, when he burst onto the scene with 19 wins. Now, a more confident and mechanically sound Carmona brings a 2.96 ERA into tonight's start against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field, in which he'll try to improve to 4-0.
Carmona credits an adjustment to the first-base side of the mound, which he tried during the Dominican Winter League, as a big reason for his early-season success. He's also been relying on his slider a lot more and his changeup a lot less.
"Pitching on the right-hand side of the rubber did not help him at all," manager Manny Acta said. "He was pitching everybody the same way, sinking it in to righties and away to lefties. He had success with it in 2007, but the league adjusted to him."
Elsewhere in the rotation, Justin Masterson is 0-3 with a 5.68 ERA thus far. However, he does have a team-high 24 strikeouts through 19 innings. On Wednesday against the Angels, starter Jake Westbrook was cruising along through five innings, aiming for his first win in two years after Tommy John surgery sidetracked his career. But he allowed a game-tying three-run homer to Torii Hunter in the sixth inning, and the Angels went on to win.
Losing steam in the middle innings has been a problem for Westbrook so far this season, though he isn't blaming his physical condition.
"I'm tired of being part of the problem," Westbrook said. "I feel good about where I am. I'm just not getting the job done. Hopefully I can find a way to put up zeroes when we need them."
ROYALS BACK IN FAMILIAR TERRITORY
Having lost three straight, the Kansas City Royals (8-14) are back in the basement of the AL Central standings, six games back of division-leading Minnesota. Last night, they kicked off an 11-game road trip in Tampa with an 11-1 loss to the Rays, who have now won 14 of their last 16.
So much for a fresh start.
But while the wins and losses -- and the impending road swing -- don't inspire a whole lot of confidence, there is reason for optimism. Consider, even with last night's ugly loss, the Royals still lead the American League with a .302 team batting average on the road. The catalyst has been Scott Podsednik, who leads all AL hitters with a .484 (15-for-31) average in road games. However, it's now up to the pitching staff to hold up their end of the deal.
Starting pitcher Luke Hochevar entered Thursday's tilt with an unblemished record, but he left with a black eye. All told, he allowed 11 hits and a career-high nine earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings against the red-hot Rays.
At the moment, Zack Greinke is the only sure thing on the starting rotation, though he has only an 0-2 record to show for his 2.56 ERA. With three more games on tap in Tampa, followed by two series against the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers, Kansas City will need some other guys to step up. If not, things could turn real ugly by mid-May.
TWINS' PITCHING LOOKING TO STAY SHARP
Minnesota finally lost its first series of the season this week, dropping two of three at Detroit. Still, entering tonight's series opener with Cleveland, the Twins (14-8) have allowed the fourth-fewest runs in the American League. And now they'll be facing the Indians, who have struggled mightily at the plate thus far.
They'll be doing so without Nick Blackburn (1-1, 6.85), who was due to start tonight but went home for family reasons. Manager Ron Gardenhire will now give the ball to Kevin Slowey (2-2, 3.42), who will be starting on regular rest. Given how things have gone for those two, the switch would appear to be a good thing. The resurgent Francisco Liriano (3-0, 0.93) is slated to pitch Sunday's series finale, while Saturday's starter has not yet been announced.
The Twins will also welcome offensive stalwarts Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau back to the lineup tonight, as both had the day off in Thursday's 3-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers. It marked the first time since May 2006 that both Mauer and Morneau were given the same day off. Considering the outcome, don't expect it to happen again anytime soon.
NOBODY HAS BEEN ABLE TO COOL TIGERS' CABRERA
As the Detroit Tigers prepare for one of Major League Baseball's most notorious road teams in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, they'll once again look to Miguel Cabrera to ignite the offense.
Entering tonight's series opener, Cabrera leads the majors with 25 RBI and ranks second with 10 doubles. Despite going hitless on Wednesday and Thursday, he is still batting .330 while boasting a .419 on-base percentage.
Without question, he has been one of the main reasons why Detroit (13-10) is within 1 1/2 games of the division-leading Twins. Earlier this week, Cabrera hit a go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth inning to help the Tigers knock off Texas, 8-6.
At the very least, his hot start has cooled offseason concerns around the Motor City, which stemmed from his alcohol-related domestic violence arrest on the eve of last season's one-game playoff with the Twins for the AL's final playoff spot. Considering his $20 million price tag for this season, Cabrera would've been under a great deal of pressure had he gotten off to a poor start.
QUESTIONS AT THE TOP FOR GUILLEN, WHITE SOX
When your leadoff man is hitting .200 and the team is 9-13, changes are bound to be made.
Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen will do just that, after watching newly-acquired leadoff man Juan Pierre go 1-for-16 over the last four games .
"He ain't playing (Friday night)," Guillen told the Chicago Tribune after an 0-for-5 night from Pierre on Thursday. "I don't know if he's putting a lot of pressure on himself or trying to do too much, but I'll try and give him a breather."
Guillen added that he'd consider moving Pierre to either the No. 9 spot of the No. 2 spot in the lineup. That of course leaves the question, who bats first?
The primary options -- at least right now -- are Omar Vizquel, Gordon Beckham or Mark Teahen. But each comes with his own question marks. Vizquel is 43. Guillen indicated he prefers Beckham lower in the lineup to drive in runs. Teahen ranks third on the team with a .379 on-base percentage, but he doesn't have a ton of speed and seems to feel most comfortable batting fifth.
<< Rachel Alexandra loses to Unrivaled Belle in La Troienne
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the second time in as many starts this
year, reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra has lost on the racetrack,
this time to Unrivaled Belle in Friday's $400,000 La Troienne at Churchill
Downs.
<< Knaus, Gustafson extend contracts with Hendrick
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs Chad Knaus
and Alan Gustafson confirmed on Friday their contract extensions with the
racing organization.
Knaus, who has guided four-time defending Sprint Cup Series
<< Dallas needs to build confidence against Revs
Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman thinks his
team just needs some confidence, but there's only one way to get that.
"Right now we're not getting the results and results build confidence." the FC
Dallas coach
<< Report: New Hofstra coach charged with DWI
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hofstra University has reportedly suspended
head men's basketball coach Tim Welsh without pay following an arrest early
Friday morning.
According to the New York Daily News, the 49-year-old Welsh was fo
Phillies' Madson lands on DL >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies have placed
reliever Ryan Madson on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right great
toe.
The move is retroactive to April 29 and comes on the heels of Brad Lidge's
Nerves get best of Jets rookie RB McKnight >>
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) -New York Jets running back Joe McKnight, the team's fourth-round draft pick, has had a rough first rookie minicamp practice. He dropped a few passes, vomited on the field and had both calves cramp up.McKnight, drafted out of
Royals activate 2B Getz from DL >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals on Friday
activated second baseman Chris Getz from the 15-day disabled list and optioned
pitcher Victor Marte to Triple-A Omaha.
Getz had been sidelined since April 15 w
Chivas wants to take next step against Chicago >>
Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chivas USA coach Martin Vasquez intended to
build his new team around the offense, and in two of the last three games, his
plan has worked well.
Chivas defeated Red Bull New York 2-0 on April 10 for its fir
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"
A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."
Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.
In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.
"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."
Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.
But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"
Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.
This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.
Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.
In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.
No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.
And that's all any bettor can ask for.
To visit this sports book go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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