Ramirez, White Sox slam Tigers, force Tuesday playoff with Twins
Baseball Betting Lines
09/29/2008 -
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alexei Ramirez slugged a grand slam to break a
tie in the sixth inning and Chicago steamrolled Detroit, 8-2, in a make-up
contest from U.S. Cellular Field.
The extra tilt was necessary after the clubs' September 13 game was postponed
due to rain. As a result, the White Sox came into action trailing the AL
Central-leading Twins by a half-game.
Jermaine Dye knocked in a pair while A.J. Pierzynski collected two hits and
drove in a run for the White Sox (88-74), who will host Minnesota for a one-
game playoff Tuesday to determine the division winner. Whoever comes away
victorious will face the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays beginning Thursday.
Chicago is expected to send John Danks to the hill facing Minnesota's Nick
Blackburn for a 7:30 p.m. (et) start.
"Tomorrow will be just like today," said Pierzynski. "We win or go home. It's
that simple and I am glad we are playing here."
Gavin Floyd (17-8) pitched admirably on three days' rest. He allowed five hits
and two runs -- one earned -- over six innings, fanning eight with a pair of
walks to earn his first win since September 16.
Ryan Raburn picked up a pair of hits and scored a run for the Tigers (74-88),
who ended the season by dropping eight of their final 11 contests. Brandon
Inge drove in a run with a double.
Gary Sheffield, in his quest to reach 500 career home runs, finished 0-for-3
with a strikeout. He was also hit by a pitch.
Armando Galarraga (13-7) absorbed the loss, charged with a run and a pair of
wild pitches without retiring a batter. Freddy Garcia lasted five-plus innings
before leaving due to stiffness in his pitching shoulder, charged with two
hits and two runs with three strikeouts and as many walks.
Miguel Cabrera stroked a one-out double in the sixth. After Marcus Thames
lined out, Floyd threw wild to first on a dribbler from Raburn,
allowing Cabrera to score for a 2-1 Detroit edge. Inge was given a free pass
but Dusty Ryan fanned to keep it a one-run game.
Dewayne Wise walked to lead off the home half and stole second, but Garcia was
pulled for Galarraga. His wild pitch with Dye at the plate moved Wise to
third, and a second straight wild offering -- a ball four -- tied the game.
Bobby Seay came in and another wild pitch moved Dye to second, but Jim
Thome struck out.
Paul Konerko was walked intentionally, and Ken Griffey drew a walk to load the
bases which brought on Gary Glover. Ramirez took his first pitch deep into the
left-center seats to give Chicago a 6-2 lead.
"Before the at-bat I told him to be patient, and he said he would get the runs
in," said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. "I guess he did, he wasn't scared.
He's the same guy day-in, day-out."
It was the fourth grand slam of the season for the young Cuban, a major-league
rookie record.
Pierzynski followed with a double, then Juan Uribe grounded out and Orlando
Cabrera lined out to conclude the rally.
Matt Thornton and Octavio Dotel combined to hold the Tigers in the seventh,
and Scott Linebrink hurled a scoreless eighth.
In the home half, Ramirez singled and stole second with two outs, then scored
on Pierzynski's double for a 7-2 game. Raburn's fielding error on a Uribe
grounder allowed the eighth Chicago run to cross the plate.
D.J. Carrasco fanned a pair while retiring the side in order to lock up the
win.
"We wanted to win this game," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "The walk to
Griffey before the home run killed us."
Garcia ran into trouble in the first, walking Cabrera and Wise then allowing
an RBI single from Dye. Thome fanned, then Konerko lined to left and Griffey
grounded out.
Floyd did not allow a hit until a Magglio Ordonez single to start the fourth,
but he worked out of the jam with a fly out and double play.
Detroit countered in the fifth. Raburn singled, stole second and scored as
Inge blasted a double high off the wall in left. Ryan singled and Raburn
stopped at third, but Floyd got Ramon Santiago and Curtis Granderson to strike
out before retiring Sheffield on a force.
Game Notes
The start of the game was delayed three hours, four minutes by rain and
lasted only 10 minutes longer...Chicago won 12 of the 18 meetings this
season, including seven of nine on the South Side...For Ramirez, the blast was
his 21st home run of the season...In addition, the slam was Chicago's 12th of
the year, setting a new team record...Floyd improved to 4-0 this year against
the Tigers...Floyd was dealt to the White Sox after the 2006 season in a
deal which saw Garcia head to Philly.
<< Tigers' hurler Garcia leaves game
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Freddy Garcia
left Monday's 8-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox in the sixth inning with
stiffness in his right shoulder.
Garcia started the frame by walking Chicago's D
<< Padres retain Black, but not bench coach Colbert
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres announced Monday that
manager Bud Black and the majority of his coaching staff will return in 2009,
with the exception of bench coach Craig Colbert.
"We have the confidence and tru
<< Jets release punter for second time in two weeks
Hempstead, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets released punter Ben Graham
on Monday, the second time in two weeks the club has cut the former Australian
Rules Football player loose.
The 34-year-old Graham was cut after a bad game in a
<< Pfund resigns as Heat GM
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat began training camp with a shake
up in the front office, as general manager Randy Pfund resigned in the midst
of a major rebuilding project in South Beach.
Pfund oversaw a NBA-worst club that
<< NFL Inactives (Monday, September 29, 2008)
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players
for tonight's NFL game.
BALTIMORE RAVENS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS, 8:30 P.M. (ET)
Ravens - 3rd QB Troy Smith, CB Samari Rolle, S Dawan Landry, CB Evan Oglesby,
Steelers' Mendenhall leaves game with shoulder injury >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard
Mendenhall left his first career start, a Monday night game against the
Baltimore Ravens, early in the third quarter with a left shoulder injury.
Mendenha
Report: Penguins' D Gonchar out until March >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will reportedly miss
defenseman Sergei Gonchar until March as he recovers from surgery following a
dislocated left shoulder.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Monday night
Steelers edge Ravens in bruising OT affair >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Reed's 46-yard field goal in overtime
gave Pittsburgh a 23-20 victory over Baltimore in a black-and-blue AFC North
battle at Heinz Field.
Ben Roethlisberger battled a sore throwing hand to comple
Steelers' Mendenhall fractures shoulder, will be placed on IR >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard
Mendenhall left his first career start, a Monday night game against the
Baltimore Ravens, early in the third quarter with what eventually was
diagnos
Cashman to remain with Yankees through 2011 >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees announced Tuesday that
they have reached an agreement with Brian Cashman to remain in his role as
senior vice president and general manager through the 2011 season.
Cashman's curre
Sportsbooks to bet on football
Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.
He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.
"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.
He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.
Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.
Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.
Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.
Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.
With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.
Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).
And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)
The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.
While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.
Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.
One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.
Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.
What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.
That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2.
MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.
"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.
"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."
So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.
In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.
MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.
The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.
Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.
MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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