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07/04/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The finale of a three-game set at Progressive Field will take place this afternoon when the Cleveland Indians host the Oakland Athletics.
Taking the hill for the Indians will be Fausto Carmona, who has won three of his last four outings. The last time Carmona was on the bump, the right-hander led the Indians past Toronto, 5-4.
Carmona threw a little over six innings in the victory, surrendering four runs -- three earned -- on six hits and three walks.
It was the third home win on the year in eight starts at Progressive Field for Carmona, who has a mediocre 3.69 earned run average in front of a home crowd this season.
Earlier this season Carmona held the Athletics to just one run on seven hits in 7 1/3 innings of work. In his career against Oakland, Carmona is 3-3, but has a terrible 5.87 earned run average.
The Athletics will turn to Vin Mazzaro, who notched his third victory on the season in his last outing. In the 4-2 victory over Baltimore, the righty tossed six solid innings, allowing just one run on three hits and six walks.
It was the second road win on the season for Mazzaro, who has a 4.43 earned run average in games on the road.
This will be the second-ever start for the New Jersey native against Cleveland. In his only other start against the Tribe, Mazzaro was punished for five runs on 10 hits in just six innings.
On Saturday, Matt LaPorta bounced a base hit back through the middle to chase home the winning run in the 10th, as Cleveland captured a 5-4 win against Oakland.
Travis Hafner lined a double into the right-center gap with one out in the 10th, stayed put on an intentional walk and was then replaced by pinch- runner Anderson Hernandez, who scored on the hit by LaPorta, who ended with three hits and a pair of RBI.
Jayson Nix added a two-run homer for the Indians, whose season-high, five-game winning streak was broken in the opener of this three-game set Friday.
Cliff Pennington went 3-for-4 with a two-run triple and scored twice for Oakland, which had won six of seven coming in. Craig Breslow (3-2) took the loss.
Tony Sipp (1-2) got Adam Rosales to ground out to end the top of the 10th with a runner on third.
Clay Mortensen worked six innings in place of scheduled starter Dallas Braden, fanning seven with two walks while yielding four runs (three earned) on six hits in his 2010 debut. Braden hit the 15-day disabled list Saturday with tightness in his pitching elbow. He has failed to pick up a win since hurling his perfect game way back on May 9th versus the Rays
<< Red Sox hope to break the brooms out on O's
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston will try to complete the three-game sweep over
Baltimore when the Red Sox host the Orioles this afternoon in the series
finale at Fenway Park.
Taking the hill for the Red Sox will be John Lackey, who has won five of
<< Mason ties European Senior Tour wins record
Bad Ragaz, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Englishman Carl Mason posted a two-
under 68, including a hole-in-one, Sunday to win the Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors
Open by two strokes.
The victory was Mason's 23rd on the European Senior Tour, w
<< Ikeda cruises to three-shot win in Japan
Mie, Japan (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yuta Ikeda managed just a one-over 73 Sunday,
but it was more than enough to win the Toshin Golf Tournament at Toshin Lake
Wood Golf Club.
Ikeda finished the tournament at 17-under-par 271 for his fifth
<< Harvick prevails in Daytona wreck-fest
Daytona Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Harvick won his second consecutive
restrictor-plate race by taking Saturday's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona
International Speedway.
Harvick, the current points leader, survived a rash of l
Yanks celebrate Steinbrenner's birthday in finale with Jays >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Today's finale between the Yankees and Blue Jays will be an
extra special matchup, as the Bronx Bombers will be celebrating the 80th
birthday of owner George Steinbrenner.
In a tribute to Steinbrenner the team will display
Hudson, Nolasco square off at Turner Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Veteran right-hander Tim Hudson takes the mound with a
series sweep in sight today when the Atlanta Braves host the Florida Marlins
in the finale of a three-game Independence Day weekend series at Turner Field.
The Braves
Mets, Nats close four-game set in DC >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hisanori Takahashi may be fighting for his rotation spot
this afternoon when the New York Mets and Washington Nationals close out a
four-game set at Nationals Park.
Takahashi at times has looked brilliant, but has also had
Reds hope Leake gets on track in finale against Cubs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Slumping rookie right-hander Mike Leake aims for a first
win in nearly a month today when the Cincinnati Reds vie for a series win in
the finale of a four-game matchup with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
The Reds, who
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.
Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.
Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.
So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.
In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.
For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.
The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.
The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.
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