05/14/2008 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jered Weaver threw seven innings of one-hit ball, and Mike Napoli's sacrifice fly drove in the winning run, as the Los Angeles Angels earned a 2-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Weaver actually had a no-hitter through four frames, but had thrown more than 70 pitches in the span and ended up with a no-decision. He struck out six and walked two. Scot Shields (2-0) threw a scoreless eighth and got the win.
Robb Quinlan went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Garret Anderson added a pair of hits for the Angels, who have won the first two games of this four-game set.
John Danks scattered seven hits in 6 1/3 innings for Chicago, which has lost three in a row and 10 of 14. Octavio Dotel (1-2) bailed out Danks by getting the last two outs of the seventh with the bases loaded, but gave up one single to lead off the eighth inning and was on the hook for the loss.
Carlos Quentin, A.J. Pierzynski and Joe Crede had the White Sox's three hits.
The Angels had a tremendous opportunity to put up some runs in the seventh inning. Quinlan and Juan Rivera hit consecutive one-out singles, and Danks walked Gary Matthews to load the bases.
But Dotel came out of the bullpen and struck out Erick Aybar for the second out, and fanned Vladimir Guerrero on a breaking ball off the plate to end the threat.
However, the Angels were in a similar situation in the eighth, and took advantage. Torii Hunter led off with a single, and Anderson followed by looping the ball to right field.
Anderson jogged slowly to first base, as it appeared Jermaine Dye might make the catch. But Dye didn't get a good enough jump, and couldn't get to the ball, which bounced off the tip of his glove and foot and rolled to the right field line.
The play allowed Hunter to advance to third, and Napoli brought him in with a sacrifice fly. Anderson went to second and later scored on a Quinlan single for a 2-0 Angels lead.
Francisco Rodriguez came on to close out the game, and worked around a Quentin double to earn his 16th save of the season.
Weaver stifled the Chicago offense early, allowing just two baserunners -- on a pair of walks -- in the first four innings. He allowed a leadoff single to Pierzynski in the fifth, but worked out of the inning from there, and threw perfect sixth and seventh innings.
Meanwhile, the Angels had at least one baserunner in each of the first six innings, but none of them advanced past second base.
Game Notes
With the win, the Angels took the lead in the all-time series between the clubs, at 327-326...LA stranded 10 runners...Wednesday's matchup features Chicago's Jose Contreras and the Angels' John Lackey, who is expected to make his first start of the season.
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Tuesday NHL Playoff Summary >>
Pittsburgh 2 0 2-4Philadelphia 1 0 0-1First Period-1, Pittsburgh, Whitney 1 (Crosby, Gonchar), 5:03 (pp). 2, Pittsburgh, Hossa 7 (Crosby), 7:41. 3, Philadelphia, Umberger 10 (Prospal, Briere), 10:59. Penalties-Hatcher, Phi (hooking), 3:33; Kennedy
Tuesday's NHL Playoff Sum >>
Pittsburgh 2 0 2-4Philadelphia 1 0 0-1First Period-1, Pittsburgh, Whitney 1 (Crosby, Gonchar), 5:03 (pp). 2, Pittsburgh, Hossa 7 (Crosby), 7:41. 3, Philadelphia, Umberger 10 (Prospal, Briere), 10:59.Second Period-None.Third Period-4, Pittsburgh, M
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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