Bonser tosses six strong innings as Twins blank Royals again

Baseball Betting Lines

04/12/2008 - Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boof Bonser threw six shutout innings, and Jason Kubel went 2-for-4 with a homer, as Minnesota shut out Kansas City for the second straight night, 2-0.

Bonser (1-2) scattered three hits and two walks, while striking out four for the Twins, who beat the Royals, 5-0, in the opener of this three-game series.

Minnesota, which has also won three in a row overall, took 2-of-3 from Kansas City earlier this season. The Twins' first five hitters were a combined 1- for-21 with no walks and three strikeouts, but the bottom four -- Kubel, Brendan Harris, Denard Span, and Nick Punto all had two hits each.

Brett Tomko (1-1) was solid in six innings of work, giving up two runs on six hits. He also walked one and struck out one, but the Royals went on to lose their third straight, and have scored just once in that span. Ross Gload had one of Kansas City's five singles and walked.

Tomko and Bonser met this past Sunday, with Tomko coming out the winner in the Royals' 3-1 triumph. But Bonser was more effective on Saturday, working a pair of one-two-three innings, and allowing just two base runners through the first four innings.

Kubel staked his starter to a one-run lead in the second inning, with his third homer of the season. It was an eight-pitch at-bat, and he took Tomko's final throw and lofted the ball to right field, just inside the foul pole.

The Twins added another run in the seventh, starting the inning with three consecutive singles. Span had the third, which plated Kubel, and chased Tomko from the game.

Minnesota continued to rally, and had the bases loaded after Punto bunted his way on base. But Ramon Ramirez struck out Carlos Gomez, and Ron Mahay came in to get the final two outs, ending the threat by fanning Joe Mauer.

The Twins bullpen shut down the Royals the rest of the way, with Pat Neshek setting down Kansas City in order in the eighth, and Joe Nathan getting Miguel Olivo to ground into a double play to end the game, and earn his fourth save.

Game Notes

Alberto Callaspo, Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, and Joey Gathright also singled for the Royals...Sunday's finale pits the Royals' Brian Bannister (2-0) against Minnesota's Francisco Liriano, in Liriano's season debut.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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