05/10/2008 - (Baseball Betting) - The NL East-leading Florida Marlins will try to extend their season-high winning streak to six games tonight, when they resume a seven-game road trip with the second of three straight meetings with Washington at Nationals Park.
Florida has won five in a row, including Friday's 7-3 victory over the Nats in the opener of the series. Luis Gonzalez had a three-run double and Ricky Nolasco pitched six strong innings to lead the way.
Nolasco, who was winless in his last four outings, allowed four hits and a run, while walking two and striking out six. Jorge Cantu had a pair of hits for the Marlins, who are 6-1 so far against the Nationals this season, with a 4-0 record at Nationals Park.
The Marlins are one game ahead of Philadelphia in the division standings, and will also visit Cincinnati for four games on the swing.
Andrew Miller will handle pitching duties for the Marlins on Saturday, and he is 2-2 with a 7.96 ERA in seven starts this season.
Miller is unbeaten over his last four starts (2-0), recording a win over San Diego on May 4 with six innings of two-run ball.
The lefty squared off with Washington on April 18 this season and did not factor in the outcome of a 6-4 loss. Miller was reached for three runs and six hits in five innings of work. He is 0-0 with a 9.72 earned run average in two career starts against the Nats.
Washington has dropped three of its last four games, as Cristian Guzman and Nick Johnson each had two hits and an RBI in defeat. They had won six of their previous seven home contests before Friday's contest.
Starter Tim Redding absorbed the loss after allowing four hits and six runs -- five earned -- over 5 1/3 innings of work.
Nationals pitcher Mike O'Connor gets the nod tonight, and is 1-0 with a 6.35 ERA in four relief appearances this season.
O'Connor has recorded back-to-back no decisions, including Wednesday's performance during a 4-3 loss at Houston. He pitched just one innings and surrendered one hit and walked a batter.
The young left-hander is 0-1 with a 14.21 ERA in two career starts against the Marlins.
<< Yankees send Rasner to hill against Tigers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees pitcher Darrell Rasner will make his
second start of the season this afternoon, when he takes the hill in the
second contest of a three-game set with the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
Rasner
<< Jays, Tribe continue set in Cleveland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Currently sitting at the bottom of the AL East Division,
the Toronto Blue Jays will try to grab a victory this evening, when they take
on the Cleveland Indians in the second meeting of a four-game series at
Progres
<< Angels' Saunders tries to stay hot in Tampa
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Saunders will try to continue his dominating efforts
for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim tonight, when they battle the Tampa Bay
Rays in the second contest of a three-game stint at Tropicana Field.
Saunders has
<< Rangers, A's resume series in Arlington
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers will try to continue their hot play when
they take on the Oakland Athletics this evening in the middle matchup of a
three-game set at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
In order for the Rangers to ext
Report: Marlins sign Ramirez to long-term deal >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins have reportedly
agreed to a long-term contract with star shortstop Hanley Ramirez.
According to the Miami Herald, the deal will be for six years and worth up to
$70 million, bu
Yankees place P Albaladejo on DL with elbow injury >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees placed righthanded
pitcher Jonathan Albaladejo on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday with an
elbow injury.
The 25-year-old was pulled in the sixth inning of the team's 6-5 lo
Report: D'Antoni accepts offer to coach Knicks >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike D'Antoni will reportedly bring his
run-and-gun coaching style to the "Big Apple" next season.
The Boston Globe reported on its website Saturday that D'Antoni, who was
granted permission by t
Wolfsburg blasts 10-man Stuttgart >>
Wolfsburg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcelinho scored in the 16th minute to
give Wolfsburg an early lead and, after Stuttgart went down a man in the 18th,
the hosts rolled to a 4-0 win in the German Bundesliga on Saturday.
Wolfsburg pulle
While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.
Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.
The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.
What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.
These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.
College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.
Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.
Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.
Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.
I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.
Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.
It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.
As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.
Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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