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07/27/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two weeks after the Texas Rangers acquired the marquee pitcher in this year's trade market, Angels general manager Tony Reagins answered the bell on Sunday by acquiring the other top pitcher.
By trading Joe Saunders and a trio of prospects to Arizona in exchange for three-time All-Star Dan Haren, Reagins sent a message that the Angels are not willing to go quietly into the night. Right away, Haren will join Jered Weaver atop the rotation to give the Halos a very formidable one-two punch.
There is no disputing that Los Angeles is a better ballclub with Dan Haren. In Haren, L.A. gets a guy who has regularly logged 200-plus inning seasons since 2005, and who left Arizona as the NL leader with 141 strikeouts and only 29 walks. Weaver leads all Major League pitchers with 147 punchouts. But the real question is, how much better are the Angels? And is the addition of Haren enough to close the 7 1/2-game gap separating the Angels and the first-place Rangers?
To his credit, Reagins did acquire third baseman Alberto Callaspo from the Kansas City Royals last Thursday. However, while Haren does rank among the elite pitchers in the game, the fact remains he was 7-8 with a 4.60 ERA upon joining his new team, and he has given up 23 home runs on the year. And, on the same day they acquired their new starter, the Angels dropped a 6-4 decision at Rangers Ballpark. Texas took three of four in the head-to-head series to widen the margin between the division rivals. The Angels have lost six of nine meetings this season. Still, they are not conceding anything just yet.
"We still have a lot of games left against each other," Hideki Matsui said. "It's too early to quit now."
Contract-wise, Haren is locked up through 2012 with an option for 2013. His yearly salary will bump up from $8.25 million this year, to $12.75 million each of the next two seasons. His 2013 option is for $15.5 million and comes with a $3.5 million buyout.
Talent-wise, Reagins said he sees Haren as being on Lee's level.
"I would say he has that potential," Reagins said. "Cliff is obviously a dominant pitcher. Dan Haren is a dominant pitcher. We're not expecting him to be the guy. We're expecting him to do what he does -- give us quality innings and help us accomplish our goal."
Haren made his first start as an Angel Monday night against Boston, but left in the fifth inning after being hit in the right forearm by a line drive from Kevin Youkilis. After the game Haren said he was a little sore but he wasn't worried about the injury. In the meantime, the Angels will hold their breath until Tuesday's X-ray results come back. Before leaving, Haren racked up eight strikeouts and no walks in 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits.
In any case, to truly accomplish their goal of surpassing the Rangers, the Angels will need more than just Dan Haren. Specifically, they haven't found a replacement for injured first baseman Kendry Morales and his run production. And the bullpen has allowed a league-high 45 percent of its inherited runners to score.
If Reagins has proved anything in recent seasons, it's that he's not afraid to wheel and deal to improve his ballclub at the trade deadline (see Mark Teixeira, Scott Kazmir). With Saturday's trade deadline fast approaching, Reagins has said he will continue to keep an eye out for other opportunities.
A'S KEEPING PACE
While they aren't exactly nipping at the heels of the Texas Rangers, the Oakland Athletics have gotten hot enough lately to remain very much in the conversation for the AL West title. Winners of nine of their last 11, the A's (50-48) entered Tuesday tied with the Angels for second place in the division.
Beginning Tuesday night in Arlington, they'll have a shot to narrow the gap a bit more as they take on the Rangers in a three-game series. They'll meet up again in Oakland during the first week of August.
"It's just another series, but at this stage, every series is a big series," A's manager Bob Geren said of the upcoming schedule. "We'll see them again at home soon, so those are six big games right there."
Standing in Oakland's way in the series opener Tuesday night is newly-acquired ace Cliff Lee, who is coming off his first win as a Ranger. He'll oppose A's starter Gio Gonzalez, who has won three of his last four starts.
Meanwhile, All-Star closer Andrew Bailey is expected to be available Tuesday night. Bailey (1-3, 1.56 ERA, 20 saves) has not pitched for a week because of an upper back strain. In addition, outfielder Rajai Davis may return after missing three straight games with a strained hamstring. Davis and Bailey both benefited from the team's off day Monday. Starting pitcher Brett Anderson made what is expected to be his final rehab start for Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday. He could rejoin the rotation August 2 against Kansas City.
The A's will need all hands on deck, as 12 of their next 15 games come against teams that are currently in first place.
BIG STRETCH AHEAD FOR RANGERS
Already with a 7 1/2-game cushion in the AL West, the Texas Rangers can expand that margin the old-fashioned way, with some head-to-head matchups against the very teams that are chasing them.
Beginning with this past weekend's series against L.A., Texas plays 16 straight games versus division opponents. On the season, the Rangers are 17-8 against division foes, and nearly half of their final 67 games will be played against the AL West.
Manager Ron Washington said he was happy to take three of four from the Angels, but conceded there are still a lot of games left to be played. Starting pitcher Tommy Hunter, who has set a team record by winning his first eight games to start the season, said he feels pretty good about his team's chances. While the Rangers are most renowned for their potent lineup, Hunter said it's the defense that has gotten somewhat overlooked.
"We have a great infield, a fast outfield that can run down balls and a pretty good catching crew," Hunter said. "That's what it is. Look at the plays that were made behind me. It happens every time out. I'm just happy to come out and have these guys behind me. It's pretty tough to beat with those guys in there."
FIGGINS FALLOUT IN SEATTLE
If this was Chone Figgins' way of letting the organization know that he wants out of Seattle, consider the message notarized, signed, sealed and delivered. In the fifth inning of Friday night's game against Boston, manager Don Wakamatsu approached Figgins and told him that he was being benched for lack of effort on a play at second base.
Figgins took issue with the decision, confronted his manager, and had to be separated by several teammates in the dugout. In what has been a historically bad season for Seattle, Friday's mess was the boiling point.
Since then, the players and coaches alike have talked about moving on. On Saturday, Figgins sat down with Wakamatsu and general manager Jack Zduriencik to clear the air. Following their sit-down, a closed-door team meeting was held. While nobody has discussed the details of those meetings, the takeaway message had to do with accountability.
"It's more about the play," Wakamatsu told the Seattle Times. "It's not so much about the individual. There's some accountability with, not just (Figgins), but we're asking of everybody. Again, when there's tight ballgames and one or two plays affect the outcome, it seems to be more critical."
The M's went on to win two straight against Boston over the weekend, before Monday's 6-1 loss to Chicago in the opener of a seven-game road swing.
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Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Seriously.
The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.
The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.
Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."
The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts MasterCard needs.
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. World Series odds are now up as well.
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 football betting 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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