Let's play two: Tigers, Indians set for doubleheader

Baseball Betting Lines

07/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers get two cracks at the last-place Cleveland Indians today, as the AL Central squads hookup for a doubleheader at Progressive Field.

On Friday, Andy Marte and Austin Kearns each hit a two-run homer, leading the Indians in an 8-2 rout of the Tigers to begin a four-game series.

Travis Hafner and Trevor Crowe both added two hits and an RBI for the Indians, who had lost five of six to end the first half of the season. Carlos Santana also drove in a run and stole a base for Cleveland, which is still 15 games back in the AL Central.

"We got some key hits, especially the one by Marte," said Cleveland manager Manny Acta. "That two-run homer was big for us, and then the cushion that was provided by Austin Kearns."

Jake Westbrook (6-5) pitched 5 2/3 effective innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk while fanning five.

Miguel Cabrera and Brennan Boesch each drove in a run for the Tigers, who have lost two straight following a five-game win streak. Austin Jackson registered a triple among two hits for Detroit, which trails Chicago by one game for the AL Central lead.

Max Scherzer (6-7), who was 4-0 in his last five starts and allowed just three runs in his previous 27 2/3 innings, yielded four runs, five hits and a season-high five walks in five frames. He struck out seven.

"We have to play better in all phases," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "We were sloppy defensively. We were sloppy on the bases. The pitching wasn't good. We didn't hit good. We didn't manage good. We didn't do anything good."

The Tigers will send Justin Verlander to the hill in today's first game. The hard throwing right-hander has been hot of late, winning three straight and six of his last seven starts. On July 9th, Verlander gave up two earned runs and eight hits over 5 1/3 innings of a 7-3 win over Minnesota.

Verlander is just 9-10 with a 5.39 ERA in 21 career starts versus the Indians, but he has won his last five decisions against them. He yielded three runs and fanned nine in six innings of a 6-4 triumph at Progressive Field on May 8th.

Detroit brought back Rick Porcello from Triple-A Toledo to start the second game. The young right-hander last made an appearance for the Tigers on June 19th, when he gave up five runs - four earned - in 5 1/3 innings of a 6-5 loss to Arizona.

Porcello has never lost to Cleveland in six career starts, posting a 4-0 record and a 2.55 ERA. In two appearances versus Cleveland this season, Porcello is 1-0, allowing five earned runs over 10 1/3 innings.

Fausto Carmona gets the nod for the Indians in the first game and he has put together three straight quality starts. On July 9th, the right-hander surrendered two earned runs over 6 2/3 innings of a 9-3 triumph at Tampa Bay.

In 13 lifetime starts against the Tigers, Carmona is 6-3 with a 3.34 ERA. He, however, is 0-2 in his past five appearances against them. On June 2nd, Carmona gave up just two earned runs over eight innings against Detroit, but was the on short end of a 3-0 decision.

Mitch Talbot toes the rubber in the nightcap for the Indians and he has fallen in two straight and four of his last five starts. In his most recent appearance on July 7th, the rookie right-hander permitted four earned runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 4-3 loss at Texas.

This is Talbot's fourth career appearance against the Tigers and he is 1-1 with a 9.49 ERA against them. He is 1-1 with a 7.20 ERA in two starts versus Detroit this season.

The Tigers split a two-game set in Cleveland in May, but they are 8-4 there since the start of last season, while going 20-7 overall in the last 27 meetings.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch

Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.

Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.

"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs.