Mets head to Pittsburgh for makeup with Bucs
Baseball Betting Lines
07/02/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Before the New York Mets begin a critical three-game set in Philadelphia this weekend, they must first play a makeup game in the Keystone State against the Pittsburgh Pirates today at PNC Park.
Today's contest was originally supposed to be the third of a four-game set in early June, but was postponed due to rain. The Pirates won the other three matchups in the series and should they win this afternoon, would complete their first four-game sweep of the Mets - albeit in the rare variety - since September 29-October 1, 1989
New York, though, enters on a bit of a high note after right-hander Mike Pelfrey gave the team exactly what it needed on Wednesday. He tossed nearly eight shutout innings against Milwaukee to help the Mets eke out a 1-0 win and snap a five-game losing streak in the process.
Pelfrey (6-3) helped the Mets grab the victory after keeping the Brewers off the scoreboard for 7 2/3 innings. He allowed six hits, walked two and struck out six.
"Mike Pelfrey was outstanding," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "Tremendous, tremendous effort by him. Good command of all his pitches. He got the ground ball when he needed it."
Ryan Church had one of New York's five hits, walked once and drove in the game's lone run.
With Philadelphia's loss in Atlanta, New York moved within two games of the defending world champions for first place in the NL East, with Florida a half- game back of Philadelphia. New York will visit the City of Brotherly Love for a three-game series starting Friday.
Getting the call this afternoon for the Mets will be righty Tim Redding, who is 1-3 with a 6.35 earned run average. Redding was charged with the loss on Saturday against the Yankees, as he gave up five runs and six hits - including two homers - in 5 1/3 innings. The Mets, though, mustered just one hit in that contest.
Redding has faced the Pirates 11 times and is 2-2 with a 3.79 ERA in those contests.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, will pin its hopes on lefty Paul Maholm, who was roughed up by the Mets back on May 9. New York hit him for seven runs and 10 hits in five innings, dropping him to 3-2 with a 3.65 ERA in six lifetime starts against them .
Maholm, though, picked up the win on Saturday against Kansas City, as he limited the Royals to a pair of runs and five hits in seven innings to improve to 5-4 to go along with a 4.35 ERA for the season.
Pittsburgh enters tonight's tilt on the heels of dropping two of three to the Chicago Cubs, including a 4-1 setback in Wednesday's rubber match.
Pirates starter Virgil Vasquez (1-1) went six frames, allowing three runs on seven hits with three walks and two strikeouts to take the loss. He allowed two runs and four hits in six innings and recorded seven strikeouts in that game.
Brandon Moss knocked in the lone run for the Pirates with a single. Andrew McCutchen and Jason Jaramillo each had two hits for Pittsburgh, which has won five of its last eight games despite the loss.
"Wells threw a great game against us. He didn't miss his spots at all," Pirates manager John Russell said about Cubs starter Randy Wells, who held the Pirates to one run over seven innings of work.
Pittsburgh is 3-3 this season against the Mets.
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A federal judge lifted the NASCAR-imposed suspension on driver Jeremy Mayfield Wednesday, allowing him to race again, possibly as soon as this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. "This is huge for us.
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Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wednesday marked the beginning of the
NHL's free agency period, and two of the biggest players on the open market
opted to stay put.
The Vancouver Canucks re-signed forwards Daniel and Henrik
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Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees outfielder Xavier Nady will
undergo ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow next Wednesday.
The Tommy John surgical procedure will be performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum.
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<< Montreal beats Calgary in Grey Cup rematch
Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chip Cox returned a fumble 81 yards for a
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Diego,
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros shoot for a series win this afternoon over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, where the two ballclubs will wrap up a four-game set. Houston has won five of its last seven games, including two of the fir
Cubs, Brewers to begin key NL Central series >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the Chicago Cubs are going to win a third straight
National League Central title, they are going to have to pick it up
offensively. This weekend would be a good time to get it going, as they return
home for the start of a
Braves hope to break out the brooms against Phils >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves are gradually working their way up the
NL East standings and will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high
four straight games tonight in the finale of a three-game series versus the
Philadelphia
Yankees hope A-Rod stays hot in finale vs. Seattle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez is starting to heat up. Not coincidentally,
so are the New York Yankees.
The Bronx Bombers will be shooting for an eighth consecutive victory and a
series sweep of Rodriguez's original team, the Seattl
Reds, D-Backs close series in Cincy >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cincinnati Reds hope that Aaron Harang can have the
same type of outing Johnny Cueto had last night, as they wrap up a three-game
series Thursday afternoon from Great American Ball Park.
Cueto tossed six shutout inning
College Football Betting Tips From a Pro
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.