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07/11/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - To say that things haven't exactly gone the Houston Astros' way this season would be quite an understatement.
When the general manager is getting choke-slammed by a player, and your league MVP candidate is sidelined because of pink eye, it's usually a pretty good bet the playoffs aren't at the forefront of everyone's mind. It's simply been one of those seasons for the Astros, and the light at the end of the tunnel is still months away.
Even with Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston is just 2-7 in the month of July. Houston kicked off the month with three straight losses at home to the Los Angeles Dodgers. They've followed that up by dropping two of three to both the Atlanta Braves and the Pirates, the latter of which occupied last place in the National League Central for much of the season -- until now. June wasn't much better, either. This time last month, the Astros were in the midst of a stretch in which they lost eight straight, and 12 of 14.
With the team in the nation's capital this weekend taking on the Washington Nationals, it will be a battle between last-place teams. Got your tickets? The real question facing this team is, where exactly are they headed? General manager Ed Wade has his work cut out for him to address that one. After all, the nucleus of the team, with guys like Berkman, Carlos Lee and Roy Oswalt, isn't exactly tomorrow's youth.
Granted, there are a few promising young players on the club, such as outfielder Hunter Pence and pitcher Wandy Rodriguez. But the list more or less stops there. The majority of the roster is filled with guys in their 30s. With the trade deadline nearing, the whispers have gotten louder about Roy Oswalt (7-8, 4.60) being shipped elsewhere. The team, and Oswalt, have downplayed such talks. The team's highest paid player, Miguel Tejada, who is raking in nearly $15 million this year, has been hitting around the Mendoza Line for the better part of the last two months. Not surprisingly, the team has spiraled downward ever since.
Houston has a combined salary of nearly $90 million this season, with Tejada, Oswalt, Berkman and Lee making up the lion's share of that figure. Indeed, Wade will have his hands full in order to get this team headed in the right direction. So far, his only move of significance was sending closer Brad Lidge to Philadelphia for Geoff Geary and some change. Lidge hasn't done much besides put together perhaps his best season as a pro and will be representing the National League at next week's All-Star game.
BACK TO ACTION
After getting through a bullpen session on Tuesday, Oswalt is in line to start tonight's game in Washington. The right-hander was given a numbing shot last Saturday in hopes of relieving the hip pain that has cost him two starts.
"I was a little worried at first," Oswalt said on the team's website. "I was probably throwing 70-80 percent when I first got out there. The last 20 pitches, I threw as hard as I could throw. I didn't feel anything. I wasn't as crisp as my last start, but hopefully it comes back Friday."
Miguel Tejada, who has played in nearly every game this season, was given the day off Wednesday, and with that off day, the hope is he will have his battery re-charged a bit. Second baseman Kaz Matsui came off the disabled list on Wednesday and recorded two hits.
WHO'S HOT
Ty Wigginton has picked it up with eight hits in his last five games.
WHO'S NOT
The aforementioned Tejada is in a 2-for-18 rut. Michael Bourn found himself benched for four straight games after an 0-for-19 slump, although he did respond with two hits on Wednesday.
The team last week designated reliever Oscar Villareal (1-3, 5.02 ERA, 35 appearances) for assignment. On Thursday, Villareal rejected his demotion to the minors and will become a free agent. Houston is on the hook for the remainder of his $2.85 million contract.
A LOOK AHEAD
As indicated, Oswalt will return to action tonight against Tim Redding (6-3, 4.06) and the Nationals. Rodriguez (3-3, 3.23) will take the hill Saturday opposite Collin Balester (1-1, 5.06). And on Sunday, it will be Brandon Backe (5-9, 5.07) against Odalis Perez (2-6, 3.66).
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.
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