05/13/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pegged to finish last in the AL West even before catchers and pitchers reported to Spring Training, the Oakland Athletics have stuck it to their naysayers so far with a healthy mix of pitching and clutch hitting.
The Athletics lead the majors with a 3.29 earned run average and are hitting over .300 with runners in scoring position -- two achievements any manager would be satisfied with. Oakland has won five of seven games and put the breaks on a brief two-game skid with a victory over Texas in the finale of a three-game weekend series. Thanks to Sunday's convincing 12-6 pounding of the Rangers in Arlington, the A's are all alone atop the AL West at a half game ahead of the LA Angels of Anaheim.
Oakland (23-16) is also ranked within the top 10 in the majors in runs scored (187), RBI (487) and on-base percentage (.340). Much of the success at the plate can be attributed to journeyman Emil Brown, who leads the ballclub in batting average (.283), runs batted in (33) and runs scored (22). Brown is sporting a .311 batting average with 14 hits in 45 at-bats over his last 10 contests.
Brown also has five multi-hit games during that span. He hasn't struck out in a game since May 2 versus the Texas Rangers at McAfee Coliseum.
Oakland's starters have done just enough to keep the team above the .500 mark, and got Rich Harden back after a stint on the disabled list. Harden was placed on the DL in mid-April with a strained right shoulder, marking his sixth trip to the disabled list over the previous four years. Harden, who made two rehab starts at the minor league level, returned to action on Sunday against Texas, yielding five runs and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings for the no decision.
Harden is 1-0 with a 3.68 ERA in three starts this season. Meanwhile, Justin Duchscherer is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in four starts this season, and has won two straight starts. Dana Eveland sports a 3-3 mark and a 3.23 earned run average in eight starts, while Greg Smith has been solid with a 2-2 ledger and a 3.00 ERA after seven trips to the mound. Chad Gaudin is 3-2 in seven games (six starts) with a 3.55 earned run average, though Joe Blanton has seen better days. Blanton is only 2-5 in nine starts with a 3.82 ERA, the highest among the regular starters.
CHAVEZ EXPECTED TO START REHAB ASSIGNMENT
Oakland Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez is expected to make a rehab assignment, most likely at Triple-A Sacramento.
Chavez, who is on the 60-day DL after offseason back surgery, fielded ground balls on Saturday to get his body back into playing shape. He is eligible to come off of the disabled list later this month, but manager Bob Geren is not anticipating a return that soon.
The Los Angeles native played in 90 games last year and batted .240 with 15 homers and 46 RBI. During the seven years prior to last season, Chavez averaged more than 20 homers a year with no less than 125 games played.
WHO'S HOT
Designated hitter/left fielder Jack Cust, who had a team-high 26 home runs and 82 RBI in 2007, is batting .415 with three homers, six runs batted in and four multi-hit games over his last 13 contests.
WHO'S NOT
Oakland shortstop Bobby Crosby is sporting just a .183 batting average with just six RBI in his previous 19 games after hitting .313 with 15 runs batted in through his first 20 contests.
ON DECK
The A's are 1-2 on a nine-game road trip against the Rangers, Indians and Braves, and own an 11-7 mark as the guest in 2008.
They will kick off a three-game series with Cleveland from Progressive Field on Tuesday, before visiting the Braves for three more contests at Turner Field on May 16-18.
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Aft
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While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
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