Angels fighting to keep hold of first place

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have done everything they can to separate themselves from the rest of the American League West. The Angels finished up the first half of the season with a Major League-best 53 wins and have since gone 3-3 to start the second half of the season.

However, they have not been able to slow down the red-hot Seattle Mariners, who are now just two games behind LA in the AL West standings. The Angels have dominated at home thus far, posting a 31-14 record. They have also had success on the road with a solid 25-24 record away from Angel Stadium. The next two weeks will be crucial for Anaheim, as it will face off against some of the AL's best in Minnesota, Oakland and Detroit. Those three series will lead up to a very important three-game set versus Seattle.

The Angels began the second half of the season on fire taking two out of three games from the lowly Texas Rangers. However, Anaheim failed to take advantage of another bottom feeder in Tampa Bay, dropping two out of three to the Devil Rays.

Tuesday night's opener was the most disappointing loss of the series for the Angels, as they were dominated in an 8-3 setback. Starter Ervin Santana put together another disappointing performance, allowing seven runs on 14 hits through six innings. The Angels were active at the plate, collecting 10 hits on the night, but still managed to leave seven runners on base.

Wednesday proved to be more of the same for the Angels, as they were hammered 7-2. Right-hander Bartolo Colon was solid in the loss, surrendering three runs on five hits through five innings. Reliever Dustin Moseley let the game slip away in the sixth, allowing four runs on four hits to put the game out of reach. The Angels were stifled at the plate, managing just six hits in the loss.

Anaheim finally turned things around in Thursday's finale, capturing a 3-0 win. Starter Kelvim Escobar led his team to victory, limiting the Devil Rays to nine hits through 7 2/3 scoreless innings. Escobar set the tone for closer Francisco Rodriguez who came on in the ninth to nail down his 25th save of the season. Anaheim gave their pitching staff plenty of support, compiling 10 hits in the win. Left fielder Garrett Anderson led the way, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Following the game manager Mike Scioscia praised Escobar for his outstanding performance this season.

"He's been on the money this whole season," Scioscia said. "So I think it goes past the last couple of games he's pitched. Along with [12-game winner] John Lackey, I'd hate to see where we'd be without these guys.

"I think [Escobar's] confidence is high, he's getting a little bit of support to match what he can do on the mound, and it's leading to some wins for him and that's good to see."

SANTANA'S STRUGGLES LAND HIM IN MINORS

It seems as if Scioscia and the rest of the Angels brass have given Santana more than enough time to turn things around. Following Wednesday's loss, the 24-year old right-hander was sent to Triple-A Salt Lake where he will remain until he proves that he is ready to return to the majors. The decision must have been a difficult one for the Angels, as Santana proved to be one of the brightest young talents in baseball just a year ago. In 2006 Santana went 16-6 with a 4.28 ERA in 33 starts. Anaheim had high expectations for the young hurler this season, expecting him to develop into a strong number two starter.

However, that was not the case as Santana has compiled a disappointing 5-11 record with a 6.22 ERA in 19 starts. Anaheim had hoped that the All-Star break would give Santana sufficient time to refocus on his mechanics. Although that did not come to fruition, as the right-hander fell apart during Wednesday night's loss, surrendering 14 hits in what resulted in his fourth straight defeat. During the four-game slide Santana has compiled an 11.64 ERA and showed signs of frustration on the mound.

Scioscia now feels that Santana needs some minor league work before he can turn things around at the professional level.

"It was a move that became more and more apparent as Ervin was struggling from start to start and not moving forward," Scioscia said. "Looking at certainly the last six or seven starts, he's been having trouble bringing some things to the game that he needs to. He's been working extremely hard -- and nobody feels it any more than Ervin -- but for him to move forward, we're going to have to take this half-step backward."

Santana was optioned to make room for catcher Mike Napoli, who was activated from the disabled list on Wednesday. The Angels are confident that by sending Santana to the minors he will be able to work on some of the mechanics that have made him ineffective this season.

"It's tough to make adjustments at the Major League level," Scioscia said. "I don't think he's that far off, but that gap that's there is important, and he needs to bridge it.

"I think Ervin's going to make the adjustments and get into the groove that he was, and I expect him back here."

As for Napoli he rejoins the team after being sent to the DL on July 2nd with an ankle injury. Napoli could give the Angels a spark at the plate, as he was hitting .243 with 29 RBI at the time of his injury. Napoli was available for Thursday's game, but is not expected to play until this weekend's series with the Minnesota Twins.

INJURY NEWS

Howie Kendrick has been sent back to the disabled list for the second time this season. The second baseman has already missed more than a month of action with a broken middle finger on his left hand. This time around he is expected to miss at least 15 days with a broken index finger on the same hand.

Minor league standout Brandon Wood was called up to replace Kendrick and will serve as a utility infielder for the time being. Wood is making his second trip the majors this season after a short stint in late April. The rookie has tore through the minors, holding team records in doubles (53) and total bases (370).

WHO'S HOT

Starter John Lackey picked up where he left off before the All-Star break, winning his first start since play resumed. Lackey's win over the Texas Rangers on July 14th gave him 12 wins on the season. The right-hander has been lights out this year, compiling a 12-5 record with a 2.98 ERA over 19 starts.

WHO'S NOT

Bartolo Colon is having trouble finding his groove, going 0-3 over his last five starts. The right-hander is just 2-5 in his last 10 appearances and has walked 22 batters during that time. Colon has not shown the consistency that made him a Cy Young Award winner in 2005. He is 6-5 on the year with a disappointing 6.38 ERA

ON DECK

The Angels will travel to Minnesota this weekend for a three-game set against the Twins from the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Friday night's matchup will feature Lackey (12-5, 2.98) and Carlos Silva (7-10, 4.55). Saturday night's contest will be a showdown between Jered Weaver (6-5, 3.36) and Boof Bonser (5-6, 4.68) before Joe Saunders (3-0, 2.97) and Matt Garza (1-1, 0.00) square off in Sunday's finale.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards

NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams

NFL Betting

It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.

We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.

Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.

Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.

Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.

NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.

The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Wagering

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.