Angels play rubber match with Indians

Baseball Betting Lines

04/09/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Cleveland Indians wrap up what has been an exciting series so far when the clubs square off again this afternoon at Angel Stadium.

Both teams have won once during this three-game set, with each of the two previous contests having been decided in the ninth inning. The Angels pulled out a dramatic 6-4 victory on Monday when Torii Hunter belted a walkoff grand slam in his team's final at-bat, but Cleveland turned the tables with a comeback win of its own last night.

Travis Hafner smacked a two-run homer off Justin Speier in the top of the ninth to lift the Indians to a 4-3 triumph. The blast made a winner out of Cleveland starter Jake Westbrook (1-1), who held the Angels to seven hits and walked none in a sharp complete-game effort.

With the Tribe down to their final strike, Asdrubal Cabrera drew a walk on a full-count pitch to keep the inning alive. Hafner then socked the first pitch he saw from Speier over the right-field wall to put Cleveland ahead.

Speier was filling in for regular closer Francisco Rodriguez, who was unavailable after developing a sore ankle during his appearance in Monday's opener.

The Angels had grabbed a 3-2 lead in the sixth on Vladimir Guerrero's two-run homer, which followed a sacrifice fly off the bat of Gary Matthews Jr.

Cabrera added a two-run single for Cleveland, which has won two of its last three following a three-game losing streak.

Anaheim starter Ervin Santana worked the first six innings and allowed two runs on six hits while striking out five in a no decision.

The Angels are hoping for a similar effort this afternoon out of Dustin Moseley, who struggled in his first outing of 2008. Against Texas on Friday, the right-hander gave up five runs over five innings to suffer the loss in an 11-6 Anaheim setback.

Moseley does have a 2-0 record and a 3.68 earned run average in four previous appearances against Cleveland, two of which have been starts. The 29-year-old swingman held the Indians to one run and five hits through six frames during April of last season.

The Tribe counters with ex-Angel Paul Byrd, also a loser in his season debut.

Byrd lasted just 4 1/3 innings against Oakland on Friday, with the veteran getting tagged for five runs (three earned) on eight hits in Cleveland's 6-3 defeat to the A's.

The 37-year-old, who won 12 games for the Angels in 2005, is 3-1 with a 4.47 ERA in seven lifetime starts versus Anaheim. However, Byrd went 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in two matchups with the Halos last year, both of which took place at Angel Stadium.

The Angels split their 10 matchups with the Indians last year, but are 16-13 in the series since the start of the 2005 season. Cleveland, though, has won three of its last four in Anaheim.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.