07/04/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For an offense that hasn't produced many fireworks lately, a matchup with Josh Beckett might be the last thing the New York Yankees want to see right now. The Boston Red Sox ace will attempt to pitch his team to a second straight victory over the Bronx Bombers when the bitter American League East rivals continue a four-game set with an Independence Day matinee this afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Except for an 18-run outburst in a victory over Texas on Wednesday, the Yankee bats have been close to silent during the club's rough recent stretch. New York has scored three runs or less in five of its last six games and were shut out by the Red Sox' Jon Lester in last night's opener of this key series.
Lester (7-3) yielded just five hits and struck out eight in Boston's 7-0 win on Thursday, with Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Lowell each knocking in two runs to help the defending world champions stop a five-game losing streak.
The Red Sox roughed up Andy Pettitte (9-6), as the New York starter allowed six runs (5 earned) and nine hits while lasting just 4 2/3 innings.
Boston's Dustin Pedroia singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. The scrappy second baseman is batting .531 (26-for-49) during the tear.
Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera each had two hits in New York's fourth loss in its last five contests. The Yankees have mustered a total of only four runs in those four defeats.
A sudden turnaround may not be in the works with Beckett on the mound this afternoon. The hard-throwing right-hander has put together three straight strong starts and already owns a pair of wins over the Yankees this year, including an April 12 decision in the Bronx in which he tossed 6 2/3 innings of three-run ball.
Beckett has surrendered a mere four runs in 22 innings over his last three outings, although he's gone just 1-1 over that time. The 2007 All-Star held Houston to two runs over seven innings in a no-decision this past Sunday, less than a week after he gave up just two runs in eight frames during a hard-luck loss to Arizona on June 23.
For his career Beckett owns a 6-3 record with a 5.87 earned run average in 10 regular-season starts against the Yankees. The 28-year-old also had a memorable five-hit shutout at Yankee Stadium in Game 6 of the 2003 World Series that clinched a championship for the Florida Marlins.
New York will send out the struggling Darrell Rasner today for the right- hander's first taste of the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry. The unheralded hurler has cooled off considerably after an impressive beginning to the season and enters this afternoon's tilt having lost six of his last seven starts.
After winning his first three starts and posting an excellent 1.89 ERA after being promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre in early May, Rasner has gone 1-6 with a 5.68 ERA over his seven most recent mound trips. His last outing wasn't a bad one, as the Nevada product held the Mets to two runs through five innings on Sunday. He still was saddled with the loss in a 3-1 Yankees' setback.
Rasner has been tough at home this year, however. In four Yankee Stadium starts this season, the 27-year-old is 3-1 with a 2.08 ERA over 26 innings.
Boston owns a 4-2 advantage over New York in this year's season series, with the teams having split a two-game set at Yankee Stadium in mid-April. The Yankees won six of nine tests with the Red Sox as the host last year.
<< Serena, Venus prepare for Saturday's all-sister Wimbledon final
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For the third time in seven years
the mighty Williams sisters -- Serena and Venus -- will square off in an all-
American, all-sister final on the Wimbledon grass.
The sixth-seeded former world
<< Williams sisters reach Wimbledon doubles final
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The mighty Williams sisters -- Venus
and Serena -- will play for the women's doubles championship Saturday at
Wimbledon. The American sisters, of course, will also decide the singles
victor
<< Jagr to play in Russia
Moscow, Russia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Russian hockey team Avangard Omsk
announced it has signed former New York Rangers star Jaromir Jagr on Friday.
The team confirmed the deal on its Web site, but did not disclose
financ
<< Report: Paul agrees to three-year deal with Hornets
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Orleans Hornets star point guard
Chris Paul has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the club,
according to a report on Thursday from the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
The deal ha
Federer reaches sixth Wimbledon final >>
Wimbledon, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Roger Federer, seeking a
sixth straight title here, was an easy semifinal winner Friday at Wimbledon.
The reigning five-time champion from Switzerland extended his Wimbledon
winning streak
Red-hot Twins hope to keep rolling versus Indians >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins hope to keep their recent hot streak
going tonight, when the resurgent club begins a three-game home series against
a Cleveland Indians squad desperate to end a five-game slide.
Minnesota has amassed an
Edmonds returns to St. Louis, as Cubs take on Cardinals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Zambrano returns from the disabled list this evening
when the Chicago Cubs open a key three-game series with the St. Louis
Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Zambrano's return, though, will likely be overshadowed by Jim Ed
Rockies host Marlins shooting for fourth straight win >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies try to match their longest winning
streak of the season this evening when they play the second of four games
against the Florida Marlins at Coors Field.
Colorado won its third straight game in the open
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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