Super Bowl betting enthusiasts looking for a way to make a good profit once the football season concludes this weekend, should look no further then the baseball diamond. Spread out over eight months and 162 games, if you start out slow, you can usually finish up strongly by the time the playoffs roll around. One of the best ways to handicap baseball is to look at trends for each team. Each team plays 162 games, which combining all 30 teams, works out to 4,860 games. Meaning to say, bookie software can be used to read up on both short and long-term trends for each team. Here is a guide to help you determine which trend works best for you.
For all intents and purposes, handicapping short and long term trends for every baseball team would take up way more time then you may have. Instead, you should pick four or five teams, and handicap their trends. What we like to do is look at how a team has faired short term, meaning during the current season, and long term, meaning a two to three year window prior to the current season. Most baseball teams stay together as core players for both fielders and catchers for this time frame. In other words, if a pitcher struggles in 2009, they may be able to bounce back in 2011 and the same can be said for NFL scores fielders.
Two betting systems that are used quite often in association with trends, are betting on favorites when the opposition left three or few runners on base in their previous game, as well as betting on any home underdog, when its starter lost its last start while the line was less than +150. In both systems, the bettor can see that a profit can be made. Essentially, in the first system looking at three of fewer runners on base in the previous game, the system has a record of 247 -134. Meanwhile, the home dog less than +150 coming off a starter’s loss, has a record of 81-78.
When it comes to gambling on the MLB, one of the most important yet overlooked advantages the bettor has on the sportsbook, is the listed pitcher. You can tell a lot on how a team will fair, when you see whom they are going up against. For example, if the New York Yankees face the Philadelphia Phillies and the pitchers are AJ Burnett v Cliff Lee, chances are, 90 percent of the sports betting action will be on the Phillies to win the game. Today, we’ll examine the importance of the listed pitcher.
Sportsbooks don’t allow bettors to wager contingent on which pitcher starts the game, otherwise, bettors would always have their money redeemed, when the ace of a team is scratched from a start and the fifth starter takes their place. Instead, bookie software sites, allow two different wagers to be made on a baseball game. On the one hand, a bettor can make a qualifier bet, and then they can make an action bet. A qualifier bet is one in which the bet is contingent on the probable or listed starter starting the game. If the listed starter is scratched at the last minute such as five minutes before game time, the bet is canceled and the bettor’s money is refunded.
The starting pitcher has as much of an outcome on the game as a quarterback in a football game. Meaning to say, if your bet is listed with Burnett v Lee and you end up getting Burnett v Moyer making his debut after Tommy John Surgery, your wager is affected significantly. On the other hand, the action bet means that no matter whom the starting pitcher is, your bet is in effect. Meaning, if you bet on the Phillies because Lee was listed as the starter, but Moyer ended up starting, your bet is still in effect.
MLB fans from across North America were chomping at the bit the last few weeks for some news to come out about their favorite sport. This week, they no longer had to wait, as several teams made major shake ups to their organizations. Here is the latest bookie software offseason news.
The Miami Marlins are hoping to become the biggest fish in the sea this coming season. Miami was finally able to put pen to paper on a six year $100 million deal with oft-injured former New York Mets short stop Jose Reyes. As a result, questions are now beginning to circulate as to whether or not current short stop Hanley Ramirez will be moved either to third base or traded away all together, to land a pitcher.
If the Marlins can keep both Ramirez and sign a few members to the pitching staff that will turn the team around quickly. Speaking of the pitching staff, the Miami Marlins are in the hunt for a starter, after signing former San Diego Padre closer Heath Bell to a mammoth three-year $31 million contract. Just having Reyes and Bell alone could be the veteran moves the Marlins need to turn their franchise around.
Another team making major moves this week, in fact today, was sports betting juggernaut the Toronto Blue jays. The lone Canadian franchise in the MLB, shocked everyone, when they traded star pitching prospect Nestor Molina to the Chicago White Sox, for former Blue Jays short stop turned closer Sergio Santos. This trade came as a huge surprise, as for weeks, its been speculated that Toronto would either sign a free agent closer such as the aforementioned Heath Bell, or trade with the Oakland Athletics for their closer Andrew Bailey. Santos is an interesting commodity, as he’s only really had one full season in the MLB, which was this past one, where he had 30 saves in 36 opportunities.
MLB Stadiums, Sports December 6th 2011
It has been a quiet two weeks in the MLB world since the St. Louis Cardinals shocked the Texas Rangers as World Series Champions. So far the only news has been the lack of news on the free agency front. However, with that in mind, sports betting enthusiasts know, that in the next couple of weeks talks should heat up. Here is the latest offseason news in the world of baseball.
The Toronto Blue Jays are already making a ton of headlines prior to the start of the winter meetings set for the beginning of December. As it stands right now, the Blue Jays are in the hunt for several marquee talents to shore up their offense and pitching. Rumors are currently circulating, that the Blue Jays may be interested in Hanley Ramirez from the Florida Marlins as a second baseman.
Ramirez had a horrid campaign in 2011 and now appears to be expendable. The Marlins, and new manager Ozzie Guillen are looking at signing former New York Mets short stop Jose Reyes to take over for Ramirez. If Reyes does sign with the Mets, look for Toronto to make an attempt to grab Ramirez from Florida.
Another interesting aspect of the Toronto Blue Jays offseason is that they are in the hunt for a top closer. Over the last two seasons, the Jays have led the price per head MLB in blown saves. Meaning to say, with three marquee closers on the market and several closers open for trades, the Jays should find their man before the start of spring training.
Some names that have come out in the Jays bullpen search include Jonathan Papelbon from Boston, Heath Bell from San Diego and Joe Nathan from Minnesota. In all likelihood, the Jays will be looking to trade for a closer. One name that keeps popping up is Andrew Bailey from Oakland. The Jays have traded the most with Oakland in the two teams history, so a deal could be worked out.
The Texas Rangers took a three games to two lead in the Breeders Cup betting World Series last night with a four to two victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Barring a collapse of giant proportions, the Rangers should defeat the Cardinals in six games and win their first ever bookie software World Series title. However, if we have learned anything about the Cardinals this season, it is that they are never out until their final out. Here is an update on the World Series.
Texas has come to play this year, as they attempt to fully ratify the demons of a year ago. Last season, the big criticism surrounding the Rangers, was that their offense wasn’t deep enough, as once you got past Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Hamilton, the rest of the Rangers offense was silent during the 2010 MLB playoffs. With that in mind, the Rangers went out and acquired Mike Napoli through trade and Adrian Beltre as a free agent signings. As a result, the Rangers find themselves within a victory of the franchise’s first ever World Series.
On paper, despite the odds being in their favor, not very many people were willing to take Texas in a series over St. Louis. The way Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has been depicted by the media, one would believe that the 1920s New York Yankees could not defeat the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. That being said, this series has come down to a battle of the bullpens, with Texas winning the battle so far.
St. Louis bullpen has carried the club all throughout the playoffs, but ultimately, they appear to be running out of gas. The main difference between Texas and St. Louis pitching staffs is that Texas starters have averaged five innings, while the Cardinals starters have managed to go only three innings, except for Chris Carpenter.
Then there were four, with the MLB playoffs moving on to the League Championship stages, bettors are having a tough time deciding who they believe will win the World Series this season. The four remaining bookie software teams include the Texas Rangers taking on the Detroit Tigers, and the Milwaukee Brewers taking on the St. Louis Cardinals. So far, neither series has been dominated by pitching, as all four teams offenses have looked unstoppable for stretches in the four games they have combined to play. Today we will be looking at the sports betting odds for the four World Series entrants.
After making it to the dance but getting rejected by the San Francisco Giants, the Texas Rangers open up the 2011 League Championship round, as eight to one favorites to win the World Series this year. After coming so close but then falling off, the Rangers are hungrier then ever to show that last season was not a fluke. Led by an offense that includes Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, Adrian Beltre, and Mike Napoli, the Rangers have looked dominant in back to back victories over the Tigers. By all accounts, if things continue the way they have gone, the Rangers could sweep.
Speaking of the Detroit Tigers, led by an impressive pitching staff, it appears as though the Tigers have run out of gas this past weekend. After cruising into the playoffs, the Tigers went through a grueling five game series with the New York Yankees before facing a well rested Texas Rangers squad. Detroit are 30 to one dogs to win the World Series.
The St. Louis Cardinals are a 20 to one favorite to win the World Series despite entering the playoffs as a Wild Card. St. Louis veteran lineup has shown that tenacity needed to win big games, as they stole the first round victory from the Philadelphia Phillies. Any time you take out the team known as the “best in history” you deserve good odds. The Cardinals opponents on the other hand, the Milwaukee Brewers are 100 to one dogs, because they haven’t been to the dance since 1982 and can only win at home.
The one mistake that the MLB betting oddsmakers seem incapable of getting past is the fact that over the years they consistently underrate the importance of pitching on a potential World Series team. That was certainly the case a year ago when the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies were among the favorites to win the World Series, even though the Phillies had little to bank on beyond Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels and the Yankees little beyond CC Sabathia. Fortunately for the ones that make the odds, the Phillies helped them this year with the addition of Cliff Lee and the development of Vance Worley as a legitimate starting option, two things that have helped them to the best record in the majors and the best World Series odds at 5/2. Philadelphia is the closest thing to a lock to make the World Series as a team has been in years, but beyond the best pitching staff in baseball there are some serious question marks.
The Boston Red Sox were the consensus World Series sports betting favorites before the season started, and they are still the favorites to represent the American League at 7/2 odds, just better than the Yankees which come in at 9/2. The problem with both teams is a lack of pitching depth that could be exposed. The Red Sox have Josh Beckett and Jon Lester and little else in their rotation, although the offense could be strong enough to bail them out. The same cannot be said about New York, which other than Sabathia are still dull in the rotation, and even their ace has struggled against some of the top teams including a 0-4 record against Boston.
It seems to happen every MLB betting season, a team that is picked to push for a division title falls way short and ends up being the biggest flop in the majors for that given season. Usually it is a significant amount of injuries that holds teams back, while inconsistencies among the top stars on a team can also play a major role in their decline, or even both. This year it is the Chicago White Sox that have been the biggest flops in the majors, and mostly because injuries have had so little to do with their lack of success so far.
The defending AL Central division champion Minnesota Twins have been buried in the standings the first half of the sports betting season, but that is mostly due to the unbelievable amount of man games lost. With stars like Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau spending most of the season on the DL along with a variety of other key contributors, the Twins have showed flashes but haven’t been nearly consistent enough to make a run. The White Sox on the other hand have a ton of talent on paper, but simply haven’t performed. The pitching staff has done well to rank in the top half of the majors, but the order has been horrible and is 17th in runs scored. It is fitting that the biggest flop so far this season also has the biggest bust in Adam Dunn, who signed a massive contract with the White Sox and simply hasn’t delivered so far. Despite nine home runs, Dunn is batting just .160, which is not that much worse than Alex Rios’ .213 mark. With big contracts Chicago will have a hard time moving either one, so the White Sox will have to figure this one out on their own.
While they remain a betting long shot to win it all in 2011, the Cincinnati Reds appear on the verge of becoming one of the top contenders to go all the way in the National League. It may be hard to commit to a team that ranks fourth in their division and are battling in the same league as the powerhouse Philadelphia Phillies, but at 25-1 odds the Reds could be the upset pick of the year.
Cincinnati is looking up at the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Pirates in a stacked NL Central, but just one year removed from a division title they may not be that far away from repeating. The Reds have been inconsistent all year when it comes to a pitching staff that has been plagued by injuries, but the third-ranked offense in the league remains a threat on any given night and if their arms can get it together for a decent stretch they could get in to the MLB betting postseason. MVP Joey Votto leads a strong cast of hitters, and once they are there anything can happen. With Mike Leake emerging as one of the bright spots on their staff, and if Bronson Arroyo and Travis Wood can get their ERA down and perform with more consistency, Cincinnati could very well become one of the underdogs to go all the way and surprise with a World Series celebration in 2011.
When the consensus MLB betting pick to win this year’s World Series started the year off with consecutive sweeps through their first two series’, people were quick to criticize them as being overrated. The Boston Red Sox had broken the bank to bring in a couple of key offensive pieces in Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, and the moves didn’t seem to make a big difference early on as they struggled through the month of April. The pitching staff didn’t even perform at the same level as they had last season, and that left the Red Sox at the bottom of the division looking up and needing to find a way to break out. But after both Gonzalez and Crawford picked up their level of play, and in the former’s case to the point that they are now in contention for a possible MVP award, the pitching staff got it together and the Red Sox have now won nine of their past ten and are at the top of the American League East.
Boston’s depth is really beginning to show, and if they keep performing at this level the Bruins won’t be the only team from the city making that type of championship sports betting news. Gonzalez is batting .347 on the season and paced the team with 60 RBI through his first 66 games, while even David Ortiz is getting into the act with a .321 average and 17 home runs. With former MVP Dustin Pedroia continuing to work his way back up and Jacoby Ellsbury consistently producing, the offense is getting the job done in front of a pitching staff that has long ranked as one of the best in the baseball. The Red Sox are finally reaching their potential, and now that they are it is unlikely they will slow down anytime soon.
