07/03/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Indians have been playing poorly since mid- June and will try to stop a five-game losing streak tonight in the opener of a three-game series versus the Oakland Athletics at Progressive Field.
The Indians haven't won a series since winning two of three matchups versus the St. Louis Cardinals from June 12-14 and have dropped 13 of their last 15 games, including Wednesday's 6-2 setback to the Chicago White Sox. Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore were both credited with RBI for Cleveland, while starter Jeremy Sowers was rocked for five runs and 11 hits in six innings to absorb the loss.
"It's not a mystery that we're struggling," Sowers said on the team's Web site. "We've been in some games, but we just haven't found a way to get over the top. Right now, we're searching for an identity and a rhythm. For whatever reason, it's not clicking."
Cleveland, which is last in the AL Central and 1-5 on a nine-game homestand, will send rookie David Huff to the mound on Friday. Huff was 3-0 in a four- start span before losing his last outing Sunday versus Cincinnati, which reached him for seven runs -- six earned -- and nine hits in five innings of an 8-1 decision.
The left-handed Huff is 3-3 with a 6.26 earned run average in nine major league starts, and will face the Athletics for the first time.
Oakland also resides in last place in its respective division, the AL West, and owns just two wins over the last eight games. It just took two of three versus Detroit, however, and is coming off Wednesday's 5-1 victory over the Tigers behind seven strong innings from starter Dallas Braden.
Braden allowed one run on five hits and a walk and struck out three in the win, while Brad Ziegler and Andrew Bailey each tossed a scoreless inning to preserve the victory. Jack Cust and Jason Giambi each hit a two-run homer and Kurt Suzuki drove in a run for the A's, who won this series after losing five in a row.
"We've been facing good pitching all year," Cust said. "Today we went out and beat one of the best pitchers in the league [Detroit's Justin Verlander]. We've just got to take that mindset and remember that, and go into these next games against guys that are similar to him and try to have good at-bats."
The Athletics will open a nine-game road trip against the Indians, Red Sox and Rays tonight and will hand the ball to rookie Trevor Cahill this evening. Cahill dropped his last appearance in an 11-9 loss to Colorado on Saturday, as he gave up seven runs and eight hits through 3 2/3 innings. Cahill entered the contest 3-0 in his previous five trips to the mound.
The righty, who is 5-6 with a 4.23 ERA in 16 starts, has never faced Cleveland.
The Tribe took five of nine meetings with Oakland last season, including a 4-2 mark as the host. Cleveland has won nine of the last 13 matchups versus the Athletics at home.
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the Baltimore Orio
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Pineiro lost for the ninth time in his last 11 starts on Sun
Federer reaches record seventh straight Wimbledon final >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Five-time champion Roger Federer
defeated Tommy Haas in Friday's men's semifinal action at Wimbledon. The
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final on Sunday.
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Serena and Venus will decide Wimbledon champ on Saturday >>
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Williams f
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 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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