Sabathia remains unbeated with Milwaukee, tops Padres
Baseball Betting Lines
08/14/2008 -
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - CC Sabathia threw seven effective innings and
Corey Hart went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in to help Milwaukee tie a
season high with its eighth consecutive win, a 7-1 victory over San Diego.
The Brewers also won eight in a row from July 13-24, and matched the feat
thanks in part to a solid outing from Sabathia (7-0), who gave up nine hits
but only one run, and struck out eight. Sabathia remained unbeaten since being
traded to the Brewers in early July, and is 10-0 is his last 13 starts.
Prince Fielder homered for the second straight game and walked twice, while
Sabathia added an RBI in the win.
Josh Banks (3-5) took the loss after surrendering all seven runs on five hits
and six walks in 4 1/3 frames. Banks hadn't lost a start since July 6, but was
1-0 with three no-decisions in the four starts since.
Nick Hundley had the only RBI for San Diego, while Scott Hairston and Brian
Giles each collected two hits. The Padres have lost the first two contests of
this three-game set.
Milwaukee took an early edge as Fielder hit his 28th homer of the season to
lead off the second inning. Hart followed with a single, but was caught
stealing, before Craig Counsell and Mike Cameron walked. Jason Kendall then
singled in a run, and Sabathia plated another with a ground out to short.
The Padres made it a 3-1 game in the fourth when, with runners on the corners,
Hundley grounded the ball to shortstop, allowing Chase Headley to score.
But the Brewers got that run back, and much more, in the next frame. J.J.
Hardy walked with one out, and Gabe Kapler reached on an infield single. Both
runners advanced on Kevin Kouzmanoff's throwing error.
Fielder was intentionally walked, loading the bases for Hart, who tripled to
left field, plating three runs. That ended Banks' day as Justin Hampson came
on to pitch. Counsell lofted a fly ball to center that got Hart home,
increasing the Brewers' lead to 7-1.
Sabathia almost let the Padres back in the game in the home half. Three
straight singles loaded the bases with none out before Kouzmanoff popped out,
Adrian Gonzalez fanned and Headley grounded out to end the threat.
David Riske worked a scoreless eighth inning for Milwaukee, despite walking
two batters, and Guillermo Mota worked around a one-out walk to finish the
game.
Game Notes
The Brewers have outscored opponents 49-12 during their eight-game win
streak...Milwaukee placed third baseman Russell Branyan on the 15-day disabled
list, retroactive to August 12, on Wednesday. Branyan, who is suffering from a
right oblique strain, has appeared in 48 games this season and is batting .252
with 12 home runs and 20 runs driven in. To take his place on the roster, the
team recalled outfielder Laynce Nix from Triple-A Nashville...On Wednesday the
Padres claimed pitcher Brian Falkenborg off outright waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
<< Zobrist, Rays edge A's
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Zobrist hit the go-ahead RBI double in the
seventh and the Rays took the second test of their three-game series against
the Athletics, 3-2, at McAfee Coliseum.
Andy Sonnanstine (12-6) threw his third
<< Izturis leaves after injuring thumb
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim shortstop Maicer
Izturis left Wednesday's contest against the Seattle Mariners in the top of
the ninth with an injury to his thumb.
Yuniesky Betancourt hit a grounder towards
<< Oklahoma City
Acquired forward Joe Smith from Cleveland and forward Desmond Mason from Milwaukee in exchange for forward Adrian Griffin and guard Luke Ridnour.
<< The San Jose Earthquakes
Waived defender/midfielder Amir Lowery.
<< Blazers' G Roy to undergo surgery
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will
have arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday to repair a tear in the meniscus of
his left knee, the club announced Wednesday.
An MRI taken Tuesday revealed the tear
Im in front at Montreal Open >>
Ile Bizard, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daniel Im fired an eight-under 63 on
Thursday to take the first-round lead of the Montreal Open at The Champions
Course at Saint-Raphael Golf Club.
George Bradford is alone in second place at six-
May leads Xerox Classic >>
Rochester, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bob May, who lost the 2000 PGA Championship
in a playoff to Tiger Woods, posted a six-under 64 on Thursday to take the
first-round lead of the Xerox Classic.
Dave Schultz is alone in second place at fi
Giants' Rowand leaves game with back tightness >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - San Francisco Giants center fielder Aaron
Rowand left Thursday's game against the Astros in the second inning with
tightness in his lower back. He is day-to-day with the injury.
Rowand batted and f
Cubs' Ramirez leaves game >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez
left Thursday's game against the Atlanta Braves with a left hip contusion.
Ramirez scored from second on a double by Geovany Soto in the fifth inning and
grimaced
Owners approve change at top for Giants >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Major League Baseball owners unanimously
voted on Thursday to approve Bill Neukom as the new majority owner for the San
Francisco Giants.
Giants managing general partner Peter Magowan announced his p
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.
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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