Oakland grabs hold of top spot
Baseball Betting Lines
04/20/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Over the past few seasons the Oakland A's have become known for their poor starts and electrifying finishes. However, the club hopes to start strong and finish stronger this time around, as they currently sit atop the American League West standings.
Although the A's are just 8-7 at this point, a successful April could set the pace for the remainder of the season.
After dropping three straight series to Seattle, Anaheim and the Chicago White Sox, the A's finally turned things around by taking two of three from the New York Yankees and two straight from the Anaheim Angels. Winning four out of five was crucial for Oakland, which will now play 10 straight games.
The Anaheim series was dominated by the A's pitching staff, which allowed just one run in 18 innings. Tuesday night's opener showcased righthander Chad Gaudin, who held the Angels to just one run on four hits through 7 2/3 innings. At the plate, Oakland received a three-run homer from Bobby Crosby in the fourth inning to seal the 4-1 victory.
Following the game manager Bob Geren was pleased with Gaudin's performance.
"He kept the ball down, his breaking ball was good, and he had really good movement on his fastball," Geren said. "You couldn't even tell what they were from the side [view from the dugout] until you'd look up at the scoreboard and see '88' or '89' [mph]."
Tuesday's finale was more of the same for the A's, who blanked the Angels 3-0 behind an impressive outing from righthander Dan Haren. Haren stifled Anaheim hitters, surrendering just four hits through seven shutout innings. Closer Huston Street capped Haren's performance with a two-strikeout ninth to capture his fourth save of the season. Eric Chavez supplied the runs for Oakland, going 3-for-4 with two RBI in the win.
The victory was especially sweet for Haren, who has struggled out of the gate in each of the last two seasons.
"It's not fun going home and not winning," said Haren. "I've pitched well, and I'm proud that I've been able to keep my team in the games I've started, but obviously when you get a win, it's nice to be able to go home and celebrate a little."
IT'S LONELY AT THE TOP
Leadoff man Shannon Stewart has had a tough time adjusting to his new surroundings in Oakland. Stewart came to the A's in a mid-season trade with the Minnesota Twins last season, but missed most of the year due to injury.
Heading into the season Oakland was counting on Stewart to be a consistent base runner and a "tough out" at the top of the line-up. However, that has not been the case, as he is currently batting .207 with six strikeouts and just one RBI.
Stewart is hoping that his current slump is just another result of the freakishly cold weather that has plagued much of the early baseball season. History has proven that Stewart can produce at the top of the order, as teammate Bobby Kielty pointed out.
"He's been a great leadoff hitter his whole career," Kielty said. "Those are tough to come by. If you ask me it's tough to be in the leadoff spot. You have to be mentally strong to get that many at-bats and hit well. To be able to hit .300 from the leadoff spot is pretty impressive."
Stewart, who collected 152 hits and 69 runs scored in 2005, admits that he is still adjusting to his new surrounding and the confines of the McAfee Coliseum.
"This stadium is a little weird," Stewart said. "The balls you hit don't go as good here as they do in different parks. I hit a ball [on Saturday] that I thought was at least off the wall. [Manager] Bob [Geren] said it will get better."
Despite the slow start Geren is going to stick with Stewart at the top spot of the lineup and hope that his slump passes with the weather.
EMBREE EMERGES AS LEADER
Lefthanded reliever Alan Embree has emerged as the leader of the Oakland bullpen. The crafty veteran, who came to the A's from the Padres via free agency, is sporting a 1.13 ERA in nine appearances this season. Embree is a reliable middle-releiver that will be called upon to mentor the A's young pitching staff.
Gaudin, who is just 24, has already benefited from Embree's presence.
"He's really knowledgeable about the game. He brings a lot to our table. He brings a good even keel on personality and appearance. You don't know whether he is dying out there or he's hurting or he's doing great. You watch him go about his business, and he is just a professional. I think he sets a great tone for us."
INJURY NEWS
Righthander Rich Harden can breath a sigh of relief after an MRI showed no significant damage to his right shoulder. After leaving last Sunday's game against the Yankees, it was expected that Harden would join an already long list of Oakland players on the disabled list.
Although the results of the MRI were promising from a long-term standpoint Harden will miss his scheduled start on Saturday against the Texas Rangers. He is expected to return to the rotation in time for next week's two-game set against Baltimore.
WHO'S HOT
Third baseman Eric Chavez has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games and is currently hitting .288 on the year. He leads the team with five doubles and is second in RBI with eight.
Closer Huston Street has been outstanding, converting all four of his save opportunities, while compiling a respectable 2.89 ERA.
WHO'S NOT
Shortstop Bobby Crosby has gotten off to a rough start, hitting just .186 in 13 games this season. Crosby has just four RBI and nine strikeouts on the year.
Righthander reliever Kiko Calero has been knocked around thus far, allowing four runs on nine hits in just 6 1/3 innings.
ON DECK
Oakland will travel to Texas for a three-game set with the Rangers. Joe Blanton (1-0, 4.00) and Brandon McCarthy (1-2, 7.07) will toss the opener. Joe Kennedy (0-1, 3.75) and Kameron Loe will square off on Saturday night, before Sunday's finale which features Chad Gaudin (1-0, 1.96) and Robinson Tejeda (3-1, 3.32).
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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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