Cubs place Silva on DL, recall two

Baseball Betting Lines

08/02/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs placed right-handed pitcher Carlos Silva on the 15-day disabled list on Monday, among three roster moves.

Silva is sidelined as he undergoes a cardiac evaluation after he was forced to leave Sunday's 8-7 loss to Colorado after one-third of an inning due to an irregular heart rate.

Silva received the loss despite facing just four batters, allowing two hits and two runs. He complained of difficulty breathing and was removed, and paramedics diagnosed him with the abnormal heart rate.

To fill out the roster, the club recalled right-handers Casey Coleman and Thomas Diamond from Triple-A Iowa.

The 23-year-old Coleman had a 10-7 record to go with a 4.07 earned run average in 20 starts with Iowa this year. He is the third generation of right-handed pitchers in the family to reach the majors, following grandfather Joe, who played from 1942-55 and earned All-Star honors in 1948 and father Joe, who pitched from 1965-79 and was named to the All-Star team in 1972 and 1976.

Diamond, 27, was 5-4 with a 3.16 with the Triple-A club prior to his recall. Over 60 minor league appearances -- 57 starts -- he has compiled a 28-16 mark while pitching to a 3.73 ERA.

Wwwequibase Baseball Betting News

<< BoSox place Cameron on DL
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox placed outfielder Mike Cameron on the 15-day disabled list Monday and recalled outfielder Daniel Nava from Triple-A Pawtucket. Cameron, whose move is retroactive to July 31, has been battling

<< Li, Goerges roll in Copenhagen openers
Copenhagen, Denmark (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Li Na of China and recent Bad Gastein champion Julia Goerges were a pair of first-round winners Monday at the $220,000 e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open. The world No. 11 Aussie Open semifin

<< Redskins' Haynesworth again unable to complete conditioning test
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth failed to complete a conditioning test on his third attempt Monday morning. Haynesworth has been on the sidelines for 'Skins practice since failing

<< Time to take the danger zone out of Pocono
Long Pond, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Track officials at Pocono Raceway might have breathed a sigh of relief after Elliott Sadler walked away from one of the most vicious accidents in NASCAR history, but it's now evident that safety improvements mus

<< Colts agree with first rounder Hughes
Anderson, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts have agreed to terms with defensive end Jerry Hughes, their first round draft choice. No terms of the deal were disclosed but the Indianapolis Star is reporting that it

Roush upgraded to fair condition at Mayo Clinic >>
Concord, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - NASCAR multi-team owner Jack Roush was upgraded to fair condition Sunday evening at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Roush Fenway Racing released an update on Roush's condition on Monday. The 68- year-old is r

Ducks sign veteran D Sutton >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Anaheim Ducks signed defenseman Andy Sutton to a two-year contract on Monday. Sutton, 35, split last season with the Islanders and Senators and totaled five goals and eight assists to go with 107 penalty

Castroneves penalized for post-race outburst at Edmonton >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The IZOD IndyCar Series on Tuesday handed driver Helio Castroneves a $60,000 fine and placed him on probation for the remainder of the season following his post-race altercation with officials last mo

Cardinals agree to terms with first-round pick Williams >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Arizona Cardinals and defensive tackle Dan Williams, the team's first-round pick in the 2010 draft, have agreed to terms on a five-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. Williams, the 26th o

Sabres sign defenseman Morrisonn >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Buffalo Sabres have agreed to terms with defenseman Shaone Morrisonn on a two-year contract. No terms of the deal were announced. The 27-year-old Morrisonn scored one goal and added 12 assists in

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

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