08/21/2008 - San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Marlins lost shortstop Hanley Ramirez to a thumb injury in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
Ramirez singled in the top of the third inning and stole second base. As he slid into the bag, it appeared the throw hit his right hand. Ramirez had his thumb looked at briefly by the trainers and decided to stay in the game.
However, Alfredo Amezaga replaced him in the field in the bottom of the fourth.
<< Dunn, D-Backs overcome early deficit to clip Padres
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Adam Dunn hit a three-run homer and walked
twice, as the Arizona Diamondbacks held on for an 8-6 win over San Diego, in
the second of three games with the Padres.
The game was expected to be a pitcher
<< Top-notch field of 11 set for Pacific Classic
Del Mar, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eleven of the best older thoroughbreds in
training make up the field for Sunday's $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar.
The winner of the 1 1/4 mile race gains an automatic spot in the 2008
Breeder
<< Verdasco rolls; Fish advances, Karlovic falls at Pilot Pen
New Haven, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco was
an easy third-round winner, while second-seeded Croat Ivo Karlovic went by way
of the upset Wednesday at the $708,000 Pilot Pen Tennis event, a final U.S.
Open tu
<< Bocanegra's header helps USA hold off Guatemala
Guatemala City, Guatemala (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Bocanegra scored in the
68th minute to help the United States down Guatemala, 1-0 at Mateo Flores on
Wednesday in a World Cup qualifier.
The USA is now 5-0-4 against Guatemala all-
Molina's sac fly in ninth lifts Giants past Marlins >>
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bengie Molina had the game-winning
sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the San Francisco Giants
held off a late rally by the Florida Marlins to win 6-5 in the middle
install
Red Sox send Buchholz down after rough outing >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox have optioned pitcher
Clay Buchholz to Double-A Portland after the righty's latest shellacking in
Wednesday's 11-6 loss to Baltimore.
Buchholz gave up three hits and five runs whil
Gene Upshaw dead at 63 >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gene Upshaw, longtime head of the NFL player's
union and Pro Football Hall of Famer, has reportedly died at the age of 63.
NFL.com reported Thursday morning that Upshaw had succumbed to pancreatic
cancer. More
Zambrano tries to dominate Reds again in finale >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Carlos Zambrano can replicate a July
masterpiece in August when the Chicago Cubs host the Cincinnati Reds in the
finale of a three-game series today at Wrigley Field.
A 13-time winner in his career against the
Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."
When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules.
The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.
The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.
“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”
The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.
“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”
The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.
“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”
Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.
“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."
So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?
“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.
Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.
Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.
“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.
Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.
The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.
“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.
Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.
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