Mound Presence: A's lefty Braden faces Yankees again

Baseball Betting Lines

09/02/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oakland Athletics starter Dallas Braden won't have to worry about Alex Rodriguez running across his pitching mound this afternoon due to the slugging third baseman currently being on the disabled list.

Braden, making his first appearance against the Yankees since his verbal spat with A-Rod, will have plenty of other concerns in today's finale of a four- game series as New York's CC Sabathia aims to become baseball's first 19-game winner and extend his 20-start home unbeaten streak.

The 26-year-old Braden got the best of the Yankees at home on April 22 with six innings of two-run ball, Oakland's lone victory in nine meetings with New York this year, but his victory was overshadowed by his jawing with Rodriguez after the former MVP jogged across the pitcher's mound following a fouled-off pitch.

Braden said he felt Rodriguez violated an unwritten rule in baseball.

"You don't run across a pitcher's mound in between an inning or during a game," Braden said. "I was just dumbfounded that he would let that slip his mind. If he wants to run across the pitcher's mound, let him go run laps in the bullpen."

Braden and Rodriguez won't rematch tonight as the New York third baseman has been on the DL since Aug. 21 due to a strained left calf.

"He just told me to get off his mound," Rodriguez said. "It was a little surprising, I never quite heard that, especially from a guy that has a handful of wins in his career."

Perhaps motivated by Rodriguez's comments, Braden threw a perfect game three starts after the Yankees win versus the Rays on May 9. He hurled his second career shutout and fifth complete game of the season last time out on Friday in Texas, a four-hitter in which he did not walk a batter.

The left-hander improved to 3-1 over his last four starts and is 9-9 with a 3.28 earned run average this year. Braden, though, is just 1-1 with a 5.87 ERA in five games versus the Yankees, two starts.

Braden will find it tough to pick up a win at Yankee Stadium today given that Sabathia hasn't lost on his home mound in over a year. He is 15-0 with a 2.17 ERA over his 20-game home unbeaten streak that dates back to July 18, 2009 and is the longest for a New York pitcher since Ron Guidry posted 16 straight winning decisions at home in 1985-86.

The 30-year-old Sabathia has won his last five starts overall, but was a little off in his last win at the White Sox on Saturday as he allowed five runs over seven innings in a 12-9 triumph. The left-hander still became baseball's first 18-game winner and has a 3.14 ERA on the season.

After losing to Braden back in April, Sabathia struck out 10 batters over 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball to best hosting Oakland on July 6. He improved to 6-8 with a 5.36 ERA in 20 career starts against the A's.

While Braden is starting opposite one of the top pitchers in baseball, he also has to deal with a red-hot Mark Teixeira, who is 8-for-10 in this series with two homers and seven RBI. New York's first baseman had three hits and three RBI in last night's 4-3 victory, helping A.J. Burnett earn his first victory since July 28.

"It is a good win for me, but my numbers are not important. I'm trying to get some good momentum in this last month," said Burnett after allowing three runs over six innings.

New York's fifth straight win -- its longest since a seven-game run from July 3-9 -- maintained a one-game lead over the Rays at the top of the American League East standings.

Brett Anderson took the loss for Oakland despite allowing a single earned run and eight hits in six innings. However, it was the lefty's throwing error that ultimately led to three Yankee runs in the second.

Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a two-run homer in the setback, which dropped Oakland to 4-5 on a 10-game road trip and 9 1/2 games behind AL West-leading Texas.

New York has won six in a row over Oakland and has won 19 of the past 22 meetings between the clubs.

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NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

You can find these lines and all of the NFL betting lines , so be sure to login and get your wagers down before kickoff!

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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?

Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite.  Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight.  With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites.  As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).

Midwest

#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler

The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April.  Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT.  After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games.  Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season.  As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers.  Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS).  Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field.  With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.

#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV

As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year.  If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season.  As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well.  This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons.  Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late.  There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games.  It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.

East

#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown

“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season.  Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU.  They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games.  With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field.  Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense.  Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc.  The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range.  Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.

#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC

The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country.  Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times.  Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter.  UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen.  UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS.  An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games.  This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS.  USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types.  An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough.  USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS.  They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12.  When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.

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 this sportsbook “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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