Braves seeking to bounce back in opener with Marlins

Baseball Betting Lines

08/27/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The suddenly-slumping Atlanta Braves hope to maintain a seemingly comfortable lead atop the National League East standings when they begin a three-game series versus the Florida Marlins tonight at Turner Field.

Atlanta was just swept in three games at Colorado and has lost five of its past seven contests, including Wednesday's tough 12-10 loss at Coors Field. Omar Infante hit a two-run homer, Martin Prado drove in three runs and Brian McCann finished 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored for the Braves, who blew a nine-run lead but still own a three-game edge over Philadelphia in the division.

"You could see it happening, but we've been on the other side of that, too," Braves outfielder Rick Ankiel said of squelching a 10-1 advantage. "So you know how the game works, and sometimes unfortunately those things happen."

Jair Jurrjens started for the Braves and luckily did not factor in the outcome after he allowed seven runs on nine hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings. Jonny Venters was dealt the loss for permitting four runs over 1 2/3 relief frames.

The Braves, who went 2-4 on the six-game trek, will begin a seven-game homestand tonight with Tommy Hanson on the hill. Hanson is 0-4 with a 2.40 earned run average over his last nine starts and was beaten by the Cubs at Wrigley Field his last time out on Saturday. He gave up five runs -- four earned -- and seven hits in five innings to fall to 8-9 in 26 starts.

Hanson tossed 6 2/3 innings and yielded one unearned run in a win versus Florida back on July 3. The righty is 3-0 with a 2.19 earned run average in four career starts against the Marlins.

Meanwhile, the Marlins are six games behind in the NL Wild Card race and have won seven of their last nine games to stay close. They won the final two portions of a three-game series against the New York Mets and are coming off Thursday's 11-4 victory in which Hanley Ramirez ended 3-for-5 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBI.

Logan Morrison also drove in a pair of runs and collected two hits and scored three times for Florida, which exploded for seven runs in the sixth inning.

Anibal Sanchez went the requisite five frames to grab the win after yielding four runs on nine hits and five walks.

"Sanchez didn't have his best game, but still he battled and kept us in the game," said Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez. "He didn't have the command of his fastball -- that's why he was struggling."

Chris Volstad draws the start for the Marlins tonight and is 7-9 with a 4.82 earned run average in 23 trips to the hill. Volstad has won three of his previous four decisions and beat Houston last Saturday with six innings of two-run ball in his team's 6-3 win.

Volstad, a right-hander, is just 1-2 in five career starts against Atlanta.

The Braves lead the 2010 season series with Florida by a 5-4 margin, but the Marlins have won three of the past four matchups between the two teams.

Cbaaportsline Baseball Betting News

<< Surging Astros head to Big Apple to take on Mets
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brooklyn-born righty Nelson Figueroa returns to his hometown for a starting assignment when the Houston Astros visit the New York Mets tonight to open a three-game series at Citi Field. The 36-year-old Figueroa, who's pitc

<< Indians, Royals to begin set between divisional foes
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals will pay a visit to the American League Central-rival Cleveland Indians tonight for the first of three straight games at Progressive Field. The Royals have won five of eight meetings with the Tribe t

<< Yankees invade Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams in the midst of heated playoff races will square off tonight at Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field, where the New York Yankees invade the Windy City for the first of three straight meetings with the White Sox.

<< Twins hope Baker can cook up win at Seattle
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Baker tries to win his fifth straight decision this evening when the Minnesota Twins open a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Baker was terrific in beating the Los Angeles Angels of

<< Verlander leads Tigers into second test at Toronto
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Verlander takes aim at win No. 15 this evening when the Detroit Tigers continue their four-game set at the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Verlander won for the second time in three starts on Sunday against

Dodgers ready for big series with Rockies >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of NL West foes trying to keep their postseason hopes intact collide tonight in the Rocky Mountains, where the Colorado Rockies begin a three-game series versus the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field. Colorado has

Slumping Phils to get test from Latos, Padres >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National League West-leading San Diego Padres have been pleased with how well Mat Latos has pitched this season and will send the young right-hander to the mound Friday in the opener of a three-game series versus the visi

Giants aim to maintain mastery of Diamondbacks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National League Wild Card-leading San Francisco Giants will try to continue their dominance of the division-rival Arizona Diamondbacks when the two clubs open a three-game series tonight at AT&T Park. The Giants ho

City, Juve drawn together in Europa League >>
Monaco, Monaco (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juventus and Manchester City were drawn into Group A of the UEFA Europa League on Friday, when defending champions Atletico Madrid also received a tough pairing in Group B with Bayer Leverkusen. Juventus, a

West Ham signs Nigeria striker Obinna >>
London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - West Ham acquired Nigeria striker Victor Obinna on a season-long loan deal from Inter Milan on Friday. The 23-year-old Obinna, who spent last season on loan with Spain's Malaga, is the sixth summer sign

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

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.

Numerous College Basketball teams take final big step to March Madness betting

So, what turned on the lock spigot? Well, after what felt like weeks of teams treading water and slipping back into the bubble muck, a bunch of them finally decided to say "to heck with parity" and won games that should put them into the Big Dance.

Disagree with some of these? Then here's the challenge. Take all of the "should be ins" and make a legit case that each should be ahead of the team that's a lock. Then find 10 more teams that also should be placed in the bracket ahead of that lock team. Not so easy, is it?

If you want more evidence that these locks should be good to go, check out what our research department dug up. Since the NCAA Tournament went to 64 teams in 1985, only six teams from a "big six" conference have had a record of 10-6 or better in conference play and not been selected: Colorado (2004) and Nebraska (1999) from the Big 12, Boston College and Seton Hall (both 2003) from the Big East, Indiana (2005) from the Big Ten and UCLA, which somehow went 12-6 in the Pac-10 in 1988 and still missed out. (Note: Five teams went 11-7 and didn't get in, the latest being last season's Stanford team, which had a brutal nonconference run.)

Yes, 10 conference wins doesn't always mean what it used to because of unbalanced schedules, but this season, it should be plenty good in all but the extreme cases (see: Iowa).

In a way, this is a welcome development, because this is a bubble watch, not a lock watch. We can finally be done with teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech and start really bearing down on at-large battles such as Syracuse-West Virginia and Appalachian State-Georgia Tech.

Interestingly, all the shifting of teams into lock status appears to be more administrative than impactful. The number of remaining available at-larges didn't change one iota. The only difference is that teams on the bubble now have a clearer idea of which team(s) they are competing with for those precious bids.

The Bubble Breakdown
CONFERENCE LOCKS SHOULD BE INS AT-LARGES TAKEN
(assuming no auto bid outlier)
ACC Betting Odds 6 0 5
Big East Betting Odds 5 0 4
Big Ten Betting Odds 2 2 3
Big 12 Betting Odds 3 0 2
Pac-10 Betting Odds 5 1 5
SEC Betting Odds 4 0 3
MVC Betting Odds 1 1 1
MWC Betting Odds 2 1 2
TOTAL 28 5 25

As always, I've tried to be as inclusive as possible while only including teams that would have a reasonable chance of at least being discussed if this were Selection Sunday. If your team's not on here, there's probably a good reason (or three) -- start with the RPI and SOS numbers and work your way down.

(Please remember, per selection committee criteria, that records displayed are Division I only. Next update: Feb. 28)

If you have a legitimate grievance, or just like talking bubble, send an e-mail. Polite ones with fact-based arguments have a much better chance of receiving a response. I apologize in advance if I can't get back to all of you.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Work left to do: Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech

The ACC moves to six locks as BC, Va Tech and Virginia all got their 10th ACC wins, which should be more than enough this season, and Maryland rallied past North Carolina to get the final piece the Terps needed. After that? It could end there unless FSU, Ga Tech or Clemson picks things up in a hurry.

 

Work left to do:

Clemson [19-9 (5-9), RPI: 41, SOS: 42] The Tigers are closer to locking up the collapse of the year award (in a good battle with OK State) than they are to grabbing an at-large. Clemson's been very competitive, but there's no really positive way you can spin nine losses in 11 games. They now cannot get to .500 in ACC play and still must head to Virginia Tech in the season finale (after hosting Miami). Unless the Tigers win both and/or do some serious work in the ACC tourney, they very well could be left out. There are no great nonconference wins, but ODU, App State, Miss. State, South Carolina and Georgia are all respectable W's.

Florida State [18-11 (6-9), RPI: 48, SOS: 14] The Noles got thrashed at Maryland to run their losing streak to five, but then pounded NC State at home to set the table for what likely is an elimination game at Miami. You can at least make a case for the Seminoles at 7-9 in ACC play (and some work in the ACC tourney), but 6-10 is not going to cut it. Wins at Duke and over Florida will resonate, but the computer numbers remain questionable. Beyond Florida, FSU thrashed bubble buddy Providence, but there's not a ton beyond those two games that will help. They didn't show well in big-time opportunities against Pitt and Wisconsin (before the Florida win).

Georgia Tech [18-10 (6-8), RPI: 51, SOS: 46] The Jackets beat Wake on Wednesday but couldn't get it done at UVa on Saturday, which could be a crucial loss with UNC and BC (both at home) remaining and 8-8 almost a certain need for at-large consideration. A nonconference win over Memphis helps, but the RPI and SOS are not at-large quality right now; if you combine those with a sub-.500 ACC mark, that could spell NIT for GT.

For more College Basketball betting lines go to MySportsbook.com

Additional basketball lines can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.