AL West: A's won't go down without a fight

Baseball Betting Lines

07/20/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When it comes to predicting the American League West in recent years, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have done their best to eliminate any uncertainty by monopolizing the division for the past few seasons.

Last year, the Halos won the West by a 10-game margin. In 2008, the cushion was a whopping 21 games. The year before, six games. Although a lot can happen over the next couple of months, this year's race is shaking out quite differently.

There are the Texas Rangers (54-39), perched atop the division standings with a five-game cushion, and a newly acquired ace in former Cy Young winner Cliff Lee. The Angels (50-45) have battled some key injuries, but they've captured five of the last six AL West titles and are once again in the hunt.

While the Angels and Rangers currently hold the top two spots, the Oakland Athletics (46-47) have joined the hunt to make it a three-team race. It's worth noting that Oakland is the team that broke up the Angels' string by winning the AL West crown in 2006.

Make no mistake, with an eight-game deficit to make up, the A's have their work cut out for them. But there is certainly hope in the Bay Area, and that hope has been fostered by the team's season-high five-game win streak, which came to a halt Monday night against Boston.

Oakland's recent surge has somewhat changed the landscape in the division -- or at least, sent a message to Texas and L.A. that the A's don't plan on bowing out of contention any time soon. As of Monday, they sat at .500 for the first time since June 15.

"Everyone's hitting and we're putting it all together," said Vin Mazzaro, who pitched 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball in Sunday's 9-6 win over Kansas City. "We're doing great, making great plays. We're on a good streak right now going to face Boston. Going in with a lot of confidence and playing good is the key."

However, the road is about to get much tougher for the A's. On tap through the next few weeks are series with Boston (53-40), Chicago (51-41), Texas and then Chicago again. Chicago and Texas currently lead their respective divisions, while Boston is in the playoff hunt in the ultra-competitive AL East. That daunting stretch winds through the July 31 trade deadline.

In other words, we'll know by then whether Oakland is a contender or not. How the team navigates these next few series will ultimately impact general manager Billy Beane's decision to be a buyer, seller, or neither at the trade deadline.

The A's need a power hitter like BP needs its oil well cap to work. Their 61 home runs on the season is the second-lowest mark in the American League. Then again, the recipe for run production may be as simple as stealing more bases.

According to the Oakland Tribune, the A's are 32-15 in games when they steal a base, and 14-32 in games when they do not. They rank fifth in the AL with 72 stolen bases, and their 80-percent success rate leads the majors.

ANGELS EYEING TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

The Oakland Athletics aren't alone in their upcoming stretch against some of the toughest opponents the American League has to offer. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will play their next dozen games against the Yankees, Red Sox and Rangers.

In addition, they'll be a bit shorthanded with starting pitcher Scott Kazmir being placed on the disabled list with left shoulder fatigue following Sunday's 2-1 loss to Seattle. Granted, Kazmir has struggled mightily in his first season in Anaheim, posting a 6.92 ERA to go along with a 7-9 record. He was in line to start Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, but that turn will now go to either Sean O'Sullivan or Trevor Bell, both of whom were on their way from Triple-A Salt Lake. As of Tuesday morning, no announcement had been made.

In the meantime, all eyes are on general manager Tony Reagins to swing a deal to improve the ballclub before the trade deadline. Reagins' task is to bridge the five-game gap from the first-place Rangers, who have a payroll of about $50 million less than the Angels. Ideally, he would like to find another big bat in the middle of the lineup to replace injured first baseman Kendry Morales.

"It would be nice if we could go get another Kendry Morales - get that same stroke - that would be great," All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter told the OC Register. "If nothing happens, then all of us have to do it. I have faith in this team and this franchise. We can still do this."

HUNTER THE UNHERALDED STAR OF THE RANGERS' ROTATION

Over the past couple of weeks, any mention of the Texas Rangers' starting rotation has pretty much started and ended with new addition Cliff Lee. However, right-hander Tommy Hunter has been as big a sparkplug as any to the team's pitching staff.

Hunter, in only his second big league season, is the first Texas starter to begin a season 6-0 since Esteban Loaiza in 1999. He'll try to improve to 7-0 when he takes the hill Tuesday night opposite Tigers' starter Armando Galarraga.

Since being called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City in early-June, Hunter has held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in all but one of his eight starts, with the lone exception being an injury-shortened outing June 14 at Florida. He has already set a team record by winning five straight home starts to begin the season.

"The more opportunities he gets to pitch he just gains more confidence," second baseman Ian Kinsler recently said of his 24-year-old teammate. "He attacks the zone with all his pitches. When he's doing that, he's keeping hitters off-balance. That's basically what it comes down to. He's not scared and he trusts his stuff."

MARINERS HAVEN'T CAPITALIZED ON CLOSE GAMES

At 21 games below .500 entering Tuesday, obviously not a whole lot has gone according to plan for the Seattle Mariners. Most notably, the offense has remained in slumber mode since the very beginning of the season.

However, a closer look at the numbers outlines an ongoing issue: and that is, an inability to come through in tight situations. Entering Tuesday, the Mariners have had 47 of their 93 games -- or, exactly half -- decided by two runs or fewer. Monday's 6-1 setback to the Chicago White Sox broke a string of three straight one-run games for Seattle.

In those 47 games, the Mariners have a record of 20-27. In general, that has been the result of an offense that consistently struggles to come up with timely hits. But lately, an increasing amount of baserunning blunders have further hindered Seattle's run production. For manager Don Wakamatsu, the concern is that veteran players are making mental mistakes. In the 10th inning of Sunday's game, Ichiro Suzuki got himself caught in a rundown between second and third base, taking the potential go-ahead run off the basepath.

"Once it happens, the veteran players know it's a mistake, but yeah, we address it in our pregame meetings," Wakamatsu said. "We know it is something we have talked about for the last couple of months. One mistake can cost us a ballgame, and we don't have any room to do that."

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.

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Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.

“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”

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