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08/25/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Wieters collected two hits and drove in two runs in support of seven strong innings from Brian Matusz, as Baltimore slowed down Chicago, 4-2, in the middle session of a three-game set.
Brian Roberts added a solo home run and Felix Pie singled twice and scored for the Orioles, who halted a two-game slide.
Matusz (6-12) received enough run support to pick up the win after allowing a lone run on just three hits, while walking one and fanning five. Koji Uehara gave up a run in the ninth but hung on to earn his second save for the visitors, who lead the season series, 4-2.
Mark Buehrle (12-10) was saddled with the loss after permitting four runs on six hits and four walks in seven innings for the White Sox, who fell four games behind front-running Minnesota in the AL Central.
Uehara took over with a 4-1 lead and set down the fist two batters before Paul Konerko singled and scored on a Carlos Quentin triple. The right-hander then struck out A.J. Pierzynski to end the game and preserve the win.
The Orioles broke up a scoreless game in the fifth when Pie walked to open the frame and scored when Weiters doubled into the left field corner. Weiters then advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a two-out single to left by Corey Patterson.
Ty Wigginton led off the sixth with a walk, moved station to station on a ground out and a Pie single and scored on Weiter's sacrifice fly to deep center to extend the visitors lead to 3-0.
Chicago got on the board in the home half on a solo home run from Gordon Beckham, who left the yard for a second straight game. However, Roberts one- out long ball in the next half inning put the Birds back on top by three.
Mike Gonzalez worked a scoreless eighth inning to get the game to Uehara.
Game Notes
The Orioles had scored two or fewer runs in 14 of Matusz's previous 25 starts before Wednesday night...Buehrle is 5-5 in his career against the Orioles in 16 games, including 14 starts...The White Sox have dropped seven of their last 10 games...Chicago's Juan Pierre went hitless in four at-bats and lost a 12- game hit streak...The White Sox were limited to five hits and their streak of 10 hits or more was brought to an end at 10 games.
<< Langley, An win in first-round match play at U.S. Amateur
University Place, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champion Byeong-Hun An and
current NCAA champion Scott Langley were both winners in first round match
play at the U.S. Amateur.
Langely, the low amateur at the U.S. Open, defeated Tim J
<< Nats' Willingham has season-ending knee surgery
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Nationals outfielder Josh
Willingham had successful knee surgery on Wednesday, which will effectively
end his 2010 season.
Willingham, who is expected to be ready for spring training,
<< Happ beats Halladay as Astros edge struggling Phillies
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Humberto Quintero's RBI single in the
seventh inning helped J.A. Happ upend his former teammates, as Houston took
another slim 3-2 victory over Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park.
Happ (4-2), who w
<< Wells powers Blue Jays past Yankees
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vernon Wells finished a double shy of hitting
for the cycle and drove in four runs to power Toronto to a 6-3 win over New
York in the last of a three-game set.
Wells finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs s
Guerrero's homer lifts Rangers over Twins >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vladimir Guerrero's 430th career home run
leading off the sixth proved to be the difference, as the Texas Rangers beat
the Twins for the third straight day, 4-3, at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
Guerre
Phillips suffers bruised right hand >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cincinnati Reds second baseman
Brandon Phillips left Wednesday's game against the Giants in the sixth
inning after getting hit by a pitch in the previous frame.
Santiago Casilla had j
Report: Nuggets to name Ujiri GM >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets are reportedly ready to name
former team scout Masai Ujiri as the new general manager.
According to The Denver Post, Ujiri, 39, was working with the team late
Wednesday to finalize con
Dodgers hold on to beat Brewers >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Loney drove in two runs and the Los
Angeles Dodgers took a 5-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in the second of a
three-game series.
Andre Ethier hit a solo home run while Matt Kemp drove in one fo
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.
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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