ChiSox grind out win against Tribe
Baseball Betting Lines
09/04/2008 -
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alexei Ramirez hit a two-run home run as the
Chicago White Sox avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Indians with a 4-2 win at Progressive Field.
Orlando Cabrera drove in a run while Nick Swisher hit a solo home run for the
White Sox, who had dropped five of six coming into the game.
Javier Vazquez (11-12) worked six innings and gave up two runs on five hits
with a walk and five strikeouts for Chicago, which moved a game ahead of
Minnesota for first place in the AL Central. The Twins were 5-4 losers in 11
innings at Toronto Wednesday night.
Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run double while Jeremy Sowers (2-8) was handed the
loss for giving up four runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings of work for the
Indians, who have lost four of their last six.
Neither team had a baserunner until Asdrubal Cabrera walked with two outs in
the bottom of the third. He was subsequently caught stealing to end the
inning.
Chicago threatened in the fourth when its first two batters reached base.
Sowers, though, got Jermaine Dye to pop out to second, Paul Konerko to look at
strike three and Ramirez to ground out.
The White Sox did get on the board in the fifth. Swisher led off the
frame with a blast that went well over the wall in left field, his 23rd homer
of the season. Josh Fields later hit a one-out single and moved to second on a
groundout from Toby Hall. Cabrera then doubled for a 2-0 lead.
The Indians got their first hit of the game with one out in the fifth on a
single from Shin-Soo Choo. Ryan Garko followed with a single to put men on the
corners, but Sal Fasano struck out and Andy Marte hit into a fielder's choice
to end the inning.
In the sixth, Ramirez golfed a pitch over the wall, which also plated Dye, in
left field for a 4-0 lead.
Cleveland cut its deficit in half in the sixth. Cabrera led off with a single
and moved to third as Grady Sizemore followed with a double. The next two
batters recorded outs, but Peralta came through with a double to right that
brought home both runners and made it a 4-2 contest.
The Indians threatened in the eighth as they had runners at the corners with
one out, but Bobby Jenks relieved Matt Thornton, who got the final out of the
seventh, and induced a double play from Garko to end the threat.
Jenks stayed in to begin the ninth and gave up a lead off single to Jamey
Carroll, but induced a ground ball double play from Kelly Shoppach and struck
out Cabrera to pick up his 28th save of the season.
Game Notes
The White Sox were without third baseman Joe Crede, left fielder Carlos
Quentin and center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. for the game. None of the players
are expected to miss significant time, with Quentin and Griffey expected to
play on Friday when the team opens a three-game series against the
Angles...Cleveland hits the road for a three-game set in Kansas City starting
on Friday...Swisher set a career-high in home runs...Choo has an eight-game
hitting streak and has reached base safely in 24 straight...Chicago has won 10
of 15 against Cleveland this season.
<< Around FCS: Week 2 - Top 25 Predictions
Philadelphia (The Sportsbook Betting Lines) -
SATURDAYS TOP-25 GAMES
Jacksonville (1-0) at No.1 Appalachian State (0-1) 3:30 p.m.
Appalachian State will look to rebound after their trip into the Bayou,
evacuating in time to avoid Hurricane Gustav
<< Nats win slugfest against Phils
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ronnie Belliard had the go-ahead RBI
single in the eighth and Cristian Guzman hit a bases-clearing, three-run
double to put the game out of reach as the Nationals notched a 9-7 victory
over t
<< Cubs' Zambrano to miss next start
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano will miss
his next scheduled start Sunday against Cincinnati after meeting with the
team's orthopedic specialist Wednesday.
Manager Lou Piniella announced the decis
<< "Thunder" in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma City's NBA team will be called
the Thunder.
The franchise formally revealed the nickname and logo at an afternoon press
conference on Wednesday.
"The bold, traditional lettering and shiel
<< NCAA denies final appeal of Cincinnati QB Ben Mauk
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - University of Cincinnati quarterback Ben
Mauk had his request for reconsideration on his original waiver for a sixth
year of eligibility denied for the final time by the NCAA on Wednesday.
The NCAA re
BoSox rally late to edge O's >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Cora scored the game-winning run in the
ninth to help the Boston Red Sox to a 5-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles to
complete a three-game sweep at Fenway Park.
In the ninth, Cora led off with a si
The brothers LaRoche lead the Bucs past the Reds >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brothers Adam and Andy LaRoche each had RBI
singles in the eighth inning to boost Pittsburgh to a 6-5 victory over the
Cincinnati Reds.
Adam LaRoche, who ended an 0-for-16 slump, drove in two runs,
Blue Jays edge Twins in extras >>
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - John McDonald's hit in the bottom of the 11th
inning sent Toronto past Minnesota, 5-4, in the middle contest of a three-game
set from Rogers Centre.
Eddie Guardado (3-4) allowed a leadoff double to Scott Role
Wolf leads 'Stros to eighth straight and sweep of Cubs >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Randy Wolf threw his eighth career shutout,
guiding Houston to its eighth straight win and a three-game sweep of the
Chicago Cubs with a 4-0 triumph Wednesday night.
Wolf (9-11) scattered six hits and
Church's grand slam lifts Mets over Brewers >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Church set the tone with a grand
slam in the first inning and New York went on to beat Milwaukee, 9-2, to
complete a three-game sweep at Miller Park.
Brian Schneider added a solo homer fo
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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