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09/05/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to avoid a series sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins, the Texas Rangers may have the right pitcher on the mound today to accomplish that goal.
C.J. Wilson will attempt to register his eighth consecutive winning decision when he gets the call for Texas in Sunday's finale of this three-game series between division leaders from Target Field. The converted reliever has been nothing short of sensational since the All-Star break, having amassed a 7-0 record and a 1.99 earned run average over nine second-half starts, while limiting the opposition to a .196 batting average.
Wilson has posted a 0.90 ERA in winning each of his last four outings, including a 4-3 decision over the Twins on August 25 in which he surrendered three runs (two earned) in six innings. The left-hander backed up that effort by firing 7 2/3 shutout frames to best Kansas City on Monday, with the Royals mustering a mere two hits off of him.
The 29-year-old hasn't lost since July 11, but was dealt a defeat at Target Field back in May after being reached for five runs in six innings. For his career, Wilson is 1-2 with a 3.34 in 19 games against Minnesota, all but two of which have been in relief.
Wilson will also be trying to give the Rangers an elusive first-ever victory at first-year Target Field. After being swept in a three-game set in Minneapolis from May 28-30, Texas has dropped the first two tests of this series and was handed a 12-4 loss to the AL Central front-running Twins yesterday.
Jim Thome socked a pair of home runs, including a milestone three-run shot in the fourth inning, and finished with four RBI in Saturday's rout, while Matt Tolbert knocked in a career-high five runs and tripled twice for Minnesota. J.J. Hardy also had a big day at the plate for the Twins, with the shortstop going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Thome's two long balls give the veteran slugger 584 over the course of his outstanding career and moved him past Mark McGwire for ninth place on baseball's all-time list for that category. The 40-year-old is now two homers shy of matching Hall of Famer Frank Robinson for seventh place.
"It's very humbling, but the main goal is where we're at as a team," said Thome when asked about passing McGwire. "If you can do something to help the team win as a group, it's about that. It's not about an individual."
The Twins did receive a strong individual performance from pitcher Carl Pavano (16-10) in prevailing for the seventh time in their last nine games. The capable starter threw the first eight innings on Saturday and allowed three runs on eight hits to earn his 16th win of the season.
Texas' Colby Lewis (9-12) wasn't nearly as effective, permitting a whopping nine runs on eight hits before exiting after only 3 2/3 innings.
The Rangers have now lost five of their past seven contests following Saturday's result. Although the club still holds an eight-game advantage on Oakland for first place in the AL West, it fell 3 1/2 games back of the Twins in the league standings, which could factor into playoff positioning in the future.
"We got to play better," said second baseman Ian Kinsler, who went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in yesterday's setback. "[Saturday] was a rough game. We've kind of done this the whole year, and we know we just have to play better."
Minnesota also owns a 3 1/2-game lead on the second-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central and will send Nick Blackburn to the hill for today's finale. The right-hander had initially been slated to pitch Friday's opener, but was pushed back after being forced into relief during a 13-inning clash with Detroit on Thursday.
Blackburn took the loss in that game after serving up a go-ahead homer to Gerald Laird in his lone inning of work, but was fantastic in his most recent starting assignment. That came in Seattle on August 28, with the 28-year-old allowing only two hits and coming one out away from earning his first career shutout.
This will Blackburn's third start since returning from a near month-long stint in the minors, with his first coming against the Rangers in Arlington on August 23. He gave up three runs over a solid seven innings that night, but didn't get any offensive support in a 4-0 loss.
The Oklahoma native is 0-2 with a 4.26 ERA over three career encounters with Texas, which took three of four meetings from the Twins at Rangers Ballpark last month.
<< A's try to break out the brooms on Angels
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim haven't been swept in a
series of at least three games by the Oakland Athletics in more than six
years, partly due to the success Ervin Santana has produced against the team's
American League
<< Cubs, Mets conclude series at Wrigley
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs try to continue their resurgence under
interim manager Mike Quade this afternoon when they go for a sweep in their
three-game series with the New York Mets at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs improved to 8-3 under
<< Red-hot Phils attempt season sweep of Brewers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies shoot for their sixth straight
win and try to complete season sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon
at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies, who also swept the Brewers in a three-game set back
<< Cellar-dwellers wrap up set at PNC Park
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling one-win pitchers square off today at
PNC Park when the host Pittsburgh Pirates and visiting Washington Nationals
meet in the rubber game of a three-game weekend series.
The Nationals dropped Friday's o
Rockies try to pin 10th straight loss on reeling Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres try to avoid their worst losing streak
in more than 16 years this afternoon when they play the finale of their three-
game series with the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park.
San Diego has been baseball's
Happ goes for Astros in the desert >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newly-minted Astro lefty J.A. Happ can make it five wins in
seven decisions with Houston today when they visit Chase Field to close out a
three-game weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Arizona won Friday's opener
Reds, Cards close big series in St. Louis >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It is starting to appear as if the Cincinnati Reds are
headed towards their first National League Central title since 1995.
Today, they try to put even more distance between themselves and the St. Louis
Cardinals, as they
King Felix goes for M's in series capper with Tribe >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Felix Hernandez will attempt to atone for a recent loss to
the Cleveland Indians and help the Seattle Mariners earn a split of a four-
game series with that above-mentioned opponent when the ace pitcher toes the
rubber this a
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.
Academy Award Betting Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
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