AL West: Angels hoping to make up ground

Baseball Betting Lines

05/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As we near the quarter-post of the Major League Baseball season, it's usually a good tipping point to separate the contenders from the pretenders.

Although some may start slow, the true contenders won't be held down for long. Likewise, some of the weaker teams who start out hot will eventually come back down to Earth.

Fortunately for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (18-22), the American League West is still anybody's division. And entering play Monday, they had gained three games on first-place Texas in a span of three days. They were able to do so thanks to a three-game sweep over the Oakland Athletics at home this past weekend. Equally as important as the ground they made up, was the revival of a starting rotation that has been anything but consistent.

On Friday, Joe Saunders tossed a four-hit shutout to outlast A's starter Dallas Braden and pick up his second win of the season. In Sunday's series finale, Joel Piniero also pitched a four-hit shutout to lead the Angels to another 4-0 win. And in between those gems, Ervin Santana allowed only two earned runs in six innings during Saturday's 12-3 rout, striking out six along the way.

Now, the team will try to solve its road woes as it embarks on a seven-game road trip this week, with stops in Texas, Chicago and St. Louis. But so far that trip has started with more of the same -- a 4-3 loss to former slugger Vladimir Guerrero and the Texas Rangers on Monday night.

Guerrero went 2-for-4 in his first game against his former squad. On the season, the 35-year-old designated hitter is batting .340 with 31 RBI -- both figures which are among the Major League leaders. Of course, had he put up those kinds of numbers last year in Anaheim, he likely would've received a suitable offer to stay put.

"I wasn't healthy (last year)," Guerrero told The Orange County Register. "Unfortunately, I had no time to work out on my knees and shoulder because I had surgery the year before. It was a struggle."

Without question, if the Angels are to tackle their problems on the road during this trip, the starting rotation must continue to deliver. At the very least, things are headed in the right direction.

Through the first 30 games of the season, the Angels starters had combined for a robust 5.59 ERA. In the 10 games since, they've posted a 2.03 ERA.

All told, the Angels entered Tuesday just 3 1/2 games off the pace in the division.

RANGERS ENJOYING HOME COOKING

Of all the AL West squads, the Angels aren't alone in their struggles on the road (6-11). Oakland is just 5-13 away from home, while the Texas Rangers are 7-11 in opposing ballparks. However, the difference is that Oakland and Texas are both 14-7 at home.

With Monday's 4-3 win over L.A., the Rangers improved to 7-1 at home so far in the month of May. Meanwhile, they've lost their last five road games. Texas will continue its homestand with another tilt against Angels tonight, followed by a two-game set with Baltimore and then a three-game interleague series with the Chicago Cubs this weekend.

Considering none of those teams are above .500, the Rangers could be in line to create some separation in the division if they continue to take care of business at home.

A'S ROTATION FACING A POTENTIALLY HUGE LOSS IN DUCHSCHERER

A's right-hander Justin Duchscherer has seen his promising career become sidetracked by both physical and mental ailments, and the latest setback is threatening his 2010 season.

Duchscherer, who missed all of last season after undergoing elbow surgery and later fighting clinical depression, will find out this week if he needs season-ending hip surgery. In a report on the team's website, Duchscherer said that he has a femoroacetabular impingement, caused by the hip ball and socket rubbing together and creating friction. He'll soon meet with orthopedist Thomas Byrd in Nashville to determine whether he'll need surgery. The recovery timetable for such a procedure is generally 4-6 months.

Duchscherer had been scheduled to return from the disabled list and start Saturday's game against the Angels, but he wound up being a game-time scratch. By Sunday, he was back on the disabled list.

"My goal is to try to do whatever I can so that I can pitch this year, and then at the end of the season have it addressed," Duchscherer said. "But sometimes what we want and what actually happens doesn't coincide."

Through five starts this season, he had gone 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA before his bothersome hip landed him on the DL May 7.

STILL NO SIGNS OF LIFE FOR M'S OFFENSE

By now, it's looking more and more likely that the Seattle Mariners' (14-24) offense may never recover from its early-season slump, which is reaching historic proportions. Seattle continues to rank at the bottom of the league in virtually every offensive category.

Remarkably, the team has been held scoreless during the first three innings of every game since May 1, which is a span of 10 games. Let that stat marinate for a second -- it's basically the equivalent of letting the other team bat and playing only defense until the fourth inning.

So with that, the onus becomes even greater on the starting rotation to put up as many zeroes as possible. Cliff Lee has certainly done his part, having posted a 2.08 ERA with 25 strikeouts and only one walk in his four starts. Doug Fister (3-1, 1.72) and Jason Vargas (3-2, 2.93) have also impressed. Felix Hernandez had allowed 13 runs over his previous two starts, before holding Baltimore to one run over seven innings last Thursday.

The Mariners are hoping he can build on that when he opposes Ben Sheets tonight in Oakland. If not, and the offense continues to stumble, things are bound to get ugly quick in Seattle.

Wwwone-and-only Baseball Betting News

<< Quentin, White Sox take down Tigers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Quentin went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored as the Chicago White Sox took a 6-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in an abbreviated two-game series. Juan Pierre had two RBI and two runs scored wh

<< U.S. splits singles matches with Spain
Dusseldorf, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The United States and Spain split a pair of singles matches Tuesday at the ATP World Team Championship, a final clay-court French Open tune-up. Robby Ginepri was called on by the U.S. to

<< Snow Chief dies from heart attack
Paso Robles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champion thoroughbred Snow Chief has died at the age of 27 from an apparent heart attack. The 1986 Preakness Stakes winner died on Saturday at Eagle Oak Ranch. Snow Chief was bred and co-owned by C

<< Razzano moves on in Strasbourg
Strasbourg, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded French crowd favorite Virginie Razzano highlighted Tuesday's opening-round winners at the $220,000 Strasbourg International, a final French Open tune-up. Razzano held off Taipei's Ka

<< Blue Jays homer four times in rout of Twins
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Hill smacked a three-run home run as the Toronto Blue Jays dominated the Minnesota Twins, 11-2, to split a two-game set. Lyle Overbay went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and three RBI, Vernon

Cudicini signs one-year deal with Tottenham >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Chelsea goalie Carlo Cudicini has signed a new one-year contract with Tottenham. The Italian has been sidelined for the last six months after being involved in a motorbike accident which resu

Onyewu to play one year at AC Milan for free >>
Milan, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - AC Milan has handed United States defender Oguchi Onyewu a one-year contract extension after he agreed to play for them for free. The 29-year-old made just one appearance for the Rossoneri this season b

Cologne releases midfielder Maniche >>
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cologne has released veteran midfielder Maniche following a disappointing Bundesliga season. The RheinEnergieStadion outfit flirted with relegation before finally finishing 13th in the final ta

Votto, Reds use ninth-inning rally to down slumping Brewers >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joey Votto capped a ninth-inning rally with a game-winning single off the wall in right field, and the Reds scored three times off embattled Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman to take a 5-4 win and earn a short t

World Cup 2010 Preview: Germans eye fourth title >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joachim Loew inherited Germany's coaching job just days after the 2006 World Cup ended, and ex-manager Juergen Klinsmann left his former assistant four newly-unearthed stars. Philipp Lahm, Per Mertesacker

Sportsbooks to bet on football

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 football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.