Red Sox send Dice-K to the mound against O's

Baseball Betting Lines

09/08/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Daisuke Matsuzaka tries to win back-to-back starts for the first time in nearly three months this evening when the Boston Red Sox continue their four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

Matsuzaka picked up the win on Monday against Toronto, despite a poor performance. The Japanese superstar surrendered seven runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. but improved to 14-11 nonetheless to go along with a 4.11 earned run average.

Over his last four starts Dice-K has not been particularly sharp, going just 1-3 with a 7.61 ERA.

Tonight's assignment will be the 29th start of the year for Matsuzaka, a total he reached only once in eight seasons in Japan. He is also on pace to go over 200 innings for the first time in his career.

Matsuzaka received a no-decision in his only other start against the O's, giving up a run and four hits in seven innings of a 6-5 loss back on August 10.

Baltimore will counter with Jon Leicester, who will be making his second major league start. Leicester, whose other start came with the Chicago Cubs last season, has appeared in five games out of the bullpen this year and is 0-1 with a 12.60 ERA. Three of his outings this year and his lone decision has come against the Red Sox, who have managed seven runs in 3 1/3 innings off of Leicester.

In the second game of this set on Friday, Jon Lester scattered four hits over seven scoreless innings to help Boston to a 4-0 win. Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek and Coco Crisp drove in a run each for the AL East-leading Red Sox, who have won six of seven.

Lester (4-0) retired 11 batters in a row and 12 of the last 13 he faced from the fourth through the seventh. The young left-hander fanned four and walked two and needed just 98 pitches to record his third win in as many starts.

O's starter Daniel Cabrera (9-15) took the loss and was charged with three runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings before being ejected after throwing at second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Jay Payton had two hits for the Orioles, who have lost three in a row and 15 of their last 17.

Baltimore has also now lost a franchise record 11 consecutive games at home, tying the franchise mark last set in September 1987.

Boston has won 11 of its 16 matchups with the Orioles this season and is 36-16 in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign. The Red Sox have also had success in Baltimore, where they have won in 15 of their last 19 visits.

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP

With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.

There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.

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Betting the NFL preseason

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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