AL puts All-Star unbeaten streak on the line at Angel Stadium
Baseball Betting Lines
07/13/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League will try to stretch its unbeaten streak
to 14 games over the National League when the respective All-Star teams battle
Tuesday in the 81st edition of the Mid-Summer Classic at Angel Stadium.
This marks the first All-Star Game in Anaheim since the Big "A" played host in
1989 and the third time overall that the city has housed the event.
A pall though has been cast on the game with the news of the death of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.
With last year's 4-3 victory in St. Louis, the American League enters
tonight's affair with seven straight wins in the All-Star Game and has not
lost to the National League since 1996, collecting 12 wins during that
stretch, while battling to a 7-7 tie in the 2002 game that was called after 11
innings when both squads ran out of pitchers.
The unbeaten streak for the AL is the longest in the game's history,
surpassing the Senior Circuit's 11-game run from 1972-1982. The AL is actually
18-3-1 in the last 22 All-Star Games and has not lost since falling 6-0 at
Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium back in 1996.
Oddly enough, though, the American League only has a three-run differential
over the NL in the previous 80 contests, 339-336. However since the start of
the unbeaten streak, the AL has outscored the NL, 76-48.
The American League's last four wins have all been one-run victories.
This also marks the eighth straight year that the All-Star Game will determine
which league gets home-field advantage in the World Series. The AL, of course,
has won the previous seven contests.
"I know it only matters for the World Series, but in our home games during the
playoffs, we were 7-1, so we understand that home-field advantage is very
important to our American League club this year," said AL manager Joe Girardi.
On Monday, Girardi named Tampa Bay lefty David Price as his starter for
Tuesday night's Mid-Summer Classic, making the 24-year-old hurler the youngest
pitcher to start the game since a 23-year-old Dwight Gooden took the ball for
the National League in 1988.
"It's definitely an honor," said Price, who is the youngest AL pitcher to open
this game since 23-year-old Brett Saberhagen in 1987. "It hasn't set in yet.
I'm very happy to be here."
The top overall pick in the 2007 draft, Price is 12-4 with a 2.42 ERA and 100
strikeouts this season for the Rays. He is one of six pitchers all-time under
25 years of age to reach 12 wins, an ERA below 2.50 and 100 strikeouts heading
into the All-Star break, and the first in 25 years since Roger Clemens did so
in 1986 (15-2, 2.48 ERA, 146 strikeouts).
He is also the youngest to be leading either the AL or NL in wins and ERA
at the All-Star break since 23-year-old Scott Erickson with Minnesota in 1991
(12 wins, 1.83 ERA).
The lineup for the American League will open with Seattle right fielder Ichiro
Suzuki, who will be followed by New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and
Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who is replacing the injured Justin
Morneau of Minnesota.
Texas center fielder Josh Hamilton will bat cleanup, with his teammate and
former Angels star Vladimir Guerrero next as the designated hitter. Tampa Bay
third baseman Evan Longoria will hit sixth, followed by Minnesota catcher Joe
Mauer, Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano and Rays left fielder Carl
Crawford.
"You look at numbers and how guys have performed," said Girardi when asked how
he constructed his lineup. "We have quality RBI guys in the middle of the
lineup and speed at the top and bottom."
Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel, who will be guiding the National League for the
second straight year, tabbed Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez to be his starter.
Jimenez has had an incredible start to the 2010 season with a record of 15-1
and a 2.20 earned run average in 18 starts. He has already matched his victory
total from last year and leads the majors in wins.
"It's a huge honor for me just to be here," said Jimenez. "I'm going to
cherish the moment tomorrow. It's an honor to be in the clubhouse with all
these stars."
The 26-year-old Dominican native threw the season's first no-hitter and the
first in Rockies history on April 17 against Atlanta. He last pitched on
Thursday against St. Louis and threw eight innings in a 4-2 victory, becoming
the first National League pitcher to reach 15 wins before the All-Star break
since Greg Maddux in 1988.
"He's a very talented guy," said Manuel, who indicated that Florida ace Josh
Johnson was also considered. "We've got some real talented pitchers on the
National League squad. He's 15-1 and his record speaks for itself."
Manuel also revealed his lineup for Tuesday's contest. Florida Marlins
shortstop Hanley Ramirez will lead off for the National League and will be
followed by Atlanta second baseman Martin Prado, who is starting for the
injured Chase Utley of Philadelphia. St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols
will bat third, followed by Philadelphia's Ryan Howard, who was chosen by
Manuel as the designated hitter.
New York Mets third baseman David Wright will hit fifth, followed by Milwaukee
left fielder Ryan Braun, Dodgers center fielder Andre Ethier and Brewers'
right fielder Corey Hart, who is starting in place of injured Atlanta rookie
Jason Heyward. Yadier Molina of St. Louis will catch and bat ninth.
Next year's All-Star Game will be contested at Chase Field in Arizona.
<< Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner dies
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died
Tuesday morning. He was 80 years old.
"It is with profound sadness that the family of George M. Steinbrenner III
announces his passing," a statement from the
<< Report: Steinbrenner suffers heart attack
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has
reportedly suffered a heart attack.
According to the Tampa Tribune, emergency crews responded to Steinbrenner's
home late Monday night and took him to a hospit
<< Twins stagger into All-Star break in 3rd place
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -With a payroll swelling to nearly $100 million and a spectacular new open-air ballpark, this was supposed to be the season the Minnesota Twins took hold of the AL Central from the start and challenged the New York Yankees for the A
<< AP source: Yankees' George Steinbrenner dies at 80
NEW YORK (AP) -A person close to George Steinbrenner tells The Associated Press that the New York Yankees' owner died Tuesday morning.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet made the announcement.Copyright © 2005
<< NL All-Star Expanded Statistics
BATTERS AVG OBA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS ECatcherMolina, StL .223 .301 265 17 59 10 0 3 33 26 30 6 3 4First BasePujols, StL .308 .416 321 55 99 21 1 21 64 60 44
Pens re-sign Conner >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed
forward Chris Conner to a one-year, two-way contract.
The deal is for $550,000 at the NHL level.
Conner, 26, has spent four seasons in the NHL, the first three
Taylor pleads not guilty to rape charges >>
New City, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor has
pleaded not guilty to rape charges that were brought against him this past
May.
He pleaded not guilty at a Rockland County courthouse on Tuesday as he was
Steinbrenner's death casts pall over All-Star festivities >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If there was ever a baseball story that could steal the
spotlight from the All-Star Game, this was it.
George Steinbrenner passed away early Tuesday morning following a massive
heart
attack in his Tampa home. The longtime
AL West: Lee deal shakes up AL West >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - We know this much is true about the Texas Rangers: on
paper, they are a better ballclub than they were before Friday.
When the Rangers traded for Seattle Mariners' ace Cliff Lee, they effectively
complemented their potent
Habs sign Lapierre, two others >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens signed forward Maxim
Lapierre to a one-year contract on Tuesday, and also signed defenseman Mathieu
Carle and forward J.T. Wyman to one-year, two-way contracts.
Lapierre finished his
Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.
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.
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Bonds nearly hits HR 751, SF wins
4 and drove in
a pair of runs, and Barry Bonds nearly hit homer No. 751 as San Francisco beat
1, in the middle contest of three at AT&T Park.
6) allowed five hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings, fanning
eight and walking three.
game slide.
Bonds, who came within five homers of Hank Aaron's record on Friday, went
1 with three walks, an RBI double and scored twice. The double ...
read more
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