Rangers open second half at Fenway

Baseball Betting Lines

07/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers enter the season's second half in good position to end an 11-year playoff drought. The Boston Red Sox, on the other hand, still have some work to do in order to secure a fourth consecutive trip to the postseason.

The banged-up Red Sox resume that quest with tonight's opener of a four-game series with the American League West leading Rangers, who'll be entering Fenway Park seeking to end a surprising four-game losing streak.

Texas went into the All-Star break holding a 4 1/2-game advantage on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for first place in the AL West, but certainly didn't end its first half on a positive note. The Rangers lost four straight meetings at home to lowly Baltimore, which currently owns the majors' worst overall record at 29-59, and managed a mere two runs over the final two games of the series.

After mustering just four hits in a 6-1 loss on Saturday that spoiled the debut of newly-acquired ace Cliff Lee, Texas' powerful lineup was shut down once again in Sunday's 4-1 setback to the Orioles, with Baltimore rookie Jake Arrieta delivering 6 1/3 effective innings to nail down the win.

"[Baltimore's] young guys are hungry and they're swinging the bats well," said Rangers starter C.J. Wilson (7-5). The left-hander took the loss in Sunday's contest after surrendering three runs and issuing five walks in a shaky 4 2/3- inning stint.

All-Star Ian Kinsler's solo home run provided the lone scoring for the Rangers, who'll try to bounce back tonight behind the still-unbeaten Tommy Hunter.

Hunter has been terrific since being called up from the minors to join the Texas rotation in early June. The husky right-hander has gone 5-0 with an excellent 2.34 ERA in seven starts following the promotion, allowing two earned runs or fewer in all but one of those games, and the Rangers are 6-1 so far when he's taken the mound.

The 24-year-old was touched for three runs in a six-inning no-decision against Baltimore last Thursday, but did register a season-best seven strikeouts in the effort. Hunter did give up a pair of home runs in the start after permitting just one long ball over his first six outings of the year.

Hunter has faced the Red Sox twice previously and delivered six innings of one-run ball to beat them in Arlington last season. His lone career start at Fenway Park was a disaster, though, as the University of Alabama product was battered for nine runs and seven hits before exiting after 1 2/3 innings of a loss on August 14, 2008.

Boston currently sits three games behind Tampa Bay for the lead in the AL Wild Card standings and is five back of the rival New York Yankees in the race for the AL East's top spot. The Red Sox lost ground to both teams after dropping five of their final seven tests prior to the break, with a rash of key injuries taking their toll on Terry Francona's squad.

The Red Sox presently have a unbelievable 11 players on the disabled list, including three (catcher Victor Martinez, second baseman Dustin Pedroia, starting pitcher Clay Buchholz) who were named to this year's AL All-Star team. Starting pitcher Josh Beckett, outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and longtime catcher Jason Varitek are also notable members on the shelf.

Boston did take two of three matchups from Toronto to close out its first half and earned the series win via a 3-2 verdict in Sunday's finale, with Darnell McDonald and David Ortiz both homering to back six solid innings out of Daisuke Matsuzaka.

McDonald broke a scoreless tie with a two-run blast off Blue Jays starter Jesse Litsch in the top of the sixth inning, and Ortiz followed with his 18th homer of the season for the eventual deciding run. The Red Sox did not have a hit off Litsch until Marco Scutaro doubled in front of McDonald's go-ahead shot.

"We needed it," Francona told the Red Sox' official site of McDonald's homer. "And then to have David following up. It looked like a breaking ball up and he took a gorgeous swing. To that point we hadn't done anything -- that was big."

Matsuzaka (6-3) took a shutout into the seventh inning but was removed after giving up a two-run homer to Aaron Hill with none out in the frame. Daniel Bard took over and tossed two scoreless innings before closer Jonathan Papelbon finished off the win by keeping Toronto off the board in the ninth.

Ortiz continued his power surge by winning Monday's Home Run Derby and represented the Red Sox, along with third baseman Adrian Beltre and ace pitcher Jon Lester, in the AL's 3-1 loss in the All-Star Game. Lester worked a scoreless sixth inning in his first-ever appearance in the Midsummer Classic.

With Lester having pitched on Tuesday and Buchholz still sidelined, Francona will turn to Tim Wakefield to start tonight's opener. The veteran knuckleballer will be attempting to improve upon a rather poor first half in which he posted an unwanted 3-7 record and a 5.22 ERA in 18 games (14 starts).

Wakefield had a rough time in his most recent assignment, a July 7 loss at Tampa Bay in which he was tagged for six runs and walked six batters in 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander was sharp his previous time out, though, holding Baltimore to two runs over eight frames in leading the Red Sox to a 3-2 win on July 2.

The 43-year-old did allow six runs and walked five in a six-inning no-decision against the Rangers at Fenway Park back on April 20, and has historically struggled versus Texas throughout his career. In 34 lifetime meetings (27 starts) with tonight's opponent, Wakefield is just 10-15 with a 6.09 ERA.

Wakefield, who's given up 15 homers in 100 innings pitched for the year, will be taking on a formidable Texas lineup that ranks third in the AL in runs scored. The unit is anchored by outfielder Josh Hamilton and designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero, both of whom started for the AL in Tuesday's All-Star Game. Kinsler and shortstop Elvis Andrus also participated as reserve, with Lee and closer Neftali Feliz rounding out the Rangers' six-man contingent.

These two teams squared off in Boston from April 20-22, with the Red Sox winning two of the three clashes. The Rangers have lost in 11 of their past 14 visits to Fenway Park.

Nettazi Baseball Betting News

<< Giants, Lincecum welcome a returning Beltran to the Bay Area
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Lincecum didn't help the National League break its lengthy losing streak in the All-Star Game, but the New York Mets may have wished he had. The rested two-time NL Cy Young Award honoree will take the mound when the Sa

<< Szavay stays hot; Dulgheru pulls out in Prague
Prague, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last week's Budapest titlist Agnes Szavay was among Thursday's second-round winners, while second-seeded Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania pulled out of the draw at the $220,000 Prague Open te

<< Angels hope to get second half off to good start vs. Mariners
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No team was happier to see the All-Star break than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Hopefully recharged, the Angels get their second half started with the opener of a four-game set with the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium

<< White Sox put win streak on the line versus rival Twins
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An eight-game winning streak propelled the Chicago White Sox to the top of the American League Central at the All-Star break. Tonight, they put that streak on the line against a division foe, as they open a four- game set wit

<< Pierce makes it official, re-signs with Celtics
BOSTON (AP) -The Boston Celtics have re-signed captain Paul Pierce.The club made the official announcement Thursday, six days after a team official said it had reached an agreement to keep the star forward.The Boston Herald had reported that the con

First-place Braves open second half against Brewers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves have done everything possible in this season's first half to potentially make Bobby Cox's last year as manager a special one. Seeking to give their manager one more championship before he retires at sea

Phillies head to Chicago riding win streak >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies had an up-and-down first half, and it was no different for the club over the season's final week before the All-Star break. They do come out of the hiatus with some momentum, and the Phillies will

Top hurlers to clash in Dodgers-Cardinals opener >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw pitched well enough to be an All-Star, but ultimately did not join four of his teammates in Anaheim for the Mid-Summer Classic. Despite the snub, Kershaw will look to get his sec

Blue Jackets re-sign Sesito >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have re-signed forward Tom Sesito to a one-year contract. Financial terms of the two-way deal were not disclosed. Sesito appeared in three games for the Blue Jackets last se

Celtic for life: Pierce inks deal with Boston >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics and forward Paul Pierce have reached an agreement on a new contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Boston Herald reported last week the two sides agreed to a deal for four y

Sportsbooks to bet on football

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 football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.