05/09/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former Cy Young Award winners square off this evening at Progressive Field when C.C. Sabathia and the Cleveland Indians welcome Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays to town for the start of a four-game series.
Sabathia, though, is not pitching like the AL's reigning Cy Young winner, going just 1-5 with a 7.51 earned run average through his first seven starts. After two solid outings, Sabathia was shaky in his last trip to the hill on Saturday against Kansas City, as he was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs and 10 hits in 6 1/3 frames.
He had surrendered just a run over his previous two starts, spanning 14 innings.
Sabathia has faced the Jays nine times, going 6-3 against them with a 3.71 ERA.
Halladay, the AL's top pitcher in 2003, has been tremendous in the early going for the Jays, even though his record may indicate otherwise. Halladay improved to 3-4 on Sunday against Chicago, as he allowed three runs (one earned) and three hits in 7 1/3 frames to lower his ERA to 3.00.
It was the first time in five starts that Halladay did not go the distance, but it was only his second win in that span.
Halladay has had success against the Tribe over the course of his career, posting a perfect 5-0 mark to go along with a 3.77 ERA in 10 games, nine of which have been starts.
Toronto enters this series on a down note after dropping two of three to the Tampa Bay Rays, including an 8-3 setback in 13 innings in Thursday's rubber match at Rogers Centre.
Vernon Wells had tied the game for the Jays in the bottom of the ninth with a home run, but Shawn Camp (0-1) served up a grand slam to Dioner Navarro as part of the Rays' five-run 13th to take the loss.
Toronto, though, has still won six of its last eight games and will be beginning a 10-game road trip tonight. The Jays are 7-10 away from home this season.
Cleveland also comes into tonight's opener on a losing note after being denied a sweep in their three-game series with the New York Yankees, falling 6-3 in Thursday's finale at Yankee Stadium.
Paul Byrd (1-3), whose only victory this season came against the Yankees, allowed five runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings for the Indians, who were attempting their first three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium since April 7-9, 1989.
Casey Blake roped a two-run double, while Franklin Gutierrez tallied two hits and scored a run in the setback.
Cleveland won four of six from the Jays last season and is 12-6 in the series since the start of the 2005 campaign. Toronto has also lost 12 of its last 13 in Cleveland.
<< Keystone Clash: Pens host Flyers in Game 1 of East finals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of cross-state rivals will begin the Eastern
Conference finals tonight, as the second-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins host the
sixth-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series at
Mellon Arena.
What
<< Jazz need a win in Game 3 versus Lakers
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz resume their Western
Conference semifinal series tonight at EnergySolutions Arena, as the clubs
square off in Game 3 of the set.
Game 4 of this best-of-seven series is scheduled for Su
<< White Sox start trip at Safeco
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox start up a 10-game road trip with
tonight's visit to Seattle's Safeco Field, where the club will begin a three-
game series with the badly-struggling Seattle Mariners.
Seattle has dropped eight of it
<< D'Backs, Cubs start series at Wrigley
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of playoff hopefuls get together for a three-game
series that begins this afternoon at Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs
host the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first meeting between the teams since
last year's Natio
Reds, Mets open series at Shea >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Belisle tries to help the Cincinnati Reds string back-
to-back wins together this evening when they open a three-game series with the
New York Mets at Shea Stadium.
Belisle lost for the second time in his three star
Dodgers open series with Astros in LA >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Dodgers try to get back on the winning
track this evening when they begin a three-game series with the Houston Astros
at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles enters this series on the heels of getting routed b
Braves take hot streak into Pittsburgh >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Braves will try to stay unbeaten this month as
they open a seven-game road trip with tonight's first of four straight games
against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Atlanta is coming off a perfect six
Marlins try to keep up season success against Nats >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NL East-leading Florida Marlins will try to extend
their current winning streak to a season-high five games tonight, when they
begin a seven-game road trip with the first of three straight meetings with
Washing
Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
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Eastern Conference Playoff Betting Trends
We all know by now that the “public” loves to put their money on the FAVORITES and the OVERS. Just by taking a quick glance at Sportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends” it appears as is this tendency will continue as far as the Eastern Conference games are concerned. For the inaugural games of the first round, 69% of the early money is on Toronto -4.5; 59% of bettors prefer Chicago -4.5; 84% are backing Detroit -9; and 56% think Cleveland -11.5 is the way to go. As far as TOTALS are concerned, the only UNDER the “public” is backing is the Cleveland/ Washington game in which 83% are pounding the UNDER (190). Remember, there is no better way to predict a possible line change than by monitoring MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By determining who the “public” is backing, you can get the most ideal line for your bet. For example, if you are siding with the public you better place your bet before the line moves in the wrong direction. On the other side of the coin, if you prefer the team that the “public” is betting against; you might be able to get and extra ½ or even more by placing your bet a bit later. Under the “Betting Trends” section, Sportsbook.com also provides plenty of statistical data and trends in order for the bettor to make the most informed pick. Below are some extremely important trends for the first round opponents of the Eastern Conference match-ups, more can be found at MySportsbook.com
New Jersey Nets vs. Toronto Raptors
Toronto was the most reliable covering team this season with a 48-33-1 ATS record but covered the OVER only 41.5% of the time.
The last 20 times these teams have played, the TOTAL has gone UNDER 16 times.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Toronto is 33-19 ATS including 17-9 at home.
New Jersey has covered four games in a row while Toronto has failed to cover their last four games.
When playing a team with a winning record during the second half of the season, New Jersey was just 5-13 ATS this season.
After scoring 105 points or more, Toronto has covered the OVER only 28% of the time this season.
Miami Heat @ Chicago Bulls
Miami has failed to cover their last 7 games whereas Chicago has covered 6 out of their last 8 games.
Miami has covered the UNDER in four of their last five games whereas Chicago has covered the UNDER in five out of their last six.
When playing on Saturdays, Miami covered 80% of their games this season.
Away from home, Chicago is just 16-25 ATS this season.
At home, Miami covered the UNDER about 66% of the time whereas Chicago covered the UNDER about 61% of the time.
The last 13 times these teams have played each other, Chicago has covered 9 times.
In Miami’s last 11 road games, the UNDER covered 9 times.
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons
Detroit has covered 5 out of their last 6 games.
Away from home, Detroit is 28-13 ATS but just 14-26-1 ATS at home.
At home, Orlando covered the UNDER 64% of the time while Detroit covered the UNDER in 63% of their away games.
The last five times these teams have played in Detroit, the OVER covered each time.
Versus Eastern Conference teams, Detroit is 8-17-1 ATS at home but 17-9 ATS away.
Detroit covered the spread 5 out of the last 6 times they played Orlando.
After a Division game, Orlando covered the UNDER 87% of the time this season.
Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers
In a home game where the TOTAL is between 190 and 194.5 points, Cleveland is 9-1 ATS this season.
Washington has covered the UNDER in their last 6 games and in 8 of their last 9 games.
The last 6 times these teams have played each other, the UNDER covered each time.
When playing on 3 or more days of rest, Washington is just 18-37 ATS since 1996.
Since 1996, Washington is 28-16 ATS versus Cleveland including 11-5 over the last 3 seasons.
In their last 7 road games, Washington is 6-1 ATS.
Versus Eastern Conference teams at home, Washington is just 6-18-2 ATS.
For even more betting trends for not just the NBA but for all of the major sports, log on to Sportsbook.com and click on “Trends”. With only two months left in the NBA betting season it is important to be as well informed as possible in order to maximize your profit. Also for all of you poker players, check out MySportsbook.com’s “WSOP Low Bid Auction”. You could be on your way to Vegas to play against the world’s best poker players for under a buck.
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