07/23/2008 - (Baseball Betting) - The NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs could certainly use a boost right now as they try to avoid being swept in three games by the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at Chase Field.
Chicago has lost the first two tests of this series to watch its lead in the division standings shrink to just one game over Milwaukee and two games ahead of St. Louis. In Tuesday's 9-2 setback to the Diamondbacks, Daryle Ward hit a solo home run and Mike Fontenot had the other RBI for the Cubs, who have dropped five of six.
Cubs starter Jason Marquis was saddled with the loss after permitting three runs on five hits in six innings of work.
In injury news for Lou Pin1ella's ballclub, All-Star outfielder Alfonso Soriano could make his return to the diamond this evening following a stint on the disabled lost because of broken finger. Soriano has been sidelined since June 11 because of the problem, but is getting back to form with two successful minor league rehab starts this week.
The Cubs leadoff man is batting .283 with 15 home runs and 40 RBI in 51 games this season. Chicago is 16-18 with Soriano sidelined with his current injury.
Toeing the rubber for the Cubs on Wednesday will be Ted Lilly, who is 9-6 with a 4.49 ERA in 21 starts this season. Lilly is winless in his last three trips to the hill and did not factor in the outcome of a 2-1 loss at Houston on Friday. He hurled seven innings of one-run ball in a losing effort.
Lilly will square off with Arizona for the second time this season, having already topped the D'Backs on May 9 with seven solid frames of one-run ball. He also fanned 10 batters that day to improve to 1-2 with a 2.74 ERA in five career appearances (3 starts) against Arizona.
The Diamondbacks have won three of their last four games to grab a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West standings. LA lost to Colorado on Tuesday.
Conor Jackson went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, three RBI and two runs scored to lead the charge in Tuesday's triumph. Orlando Hudson hit a solo home run, but left in the eighth inning after getting hit in the right ankle with a pitch. Stephen Drew had an RBI and scored twice in a winning cause.
Yusmeiro Petit earned the win after he gave up just one run on three hits in five innings of work for Arizona.
Doug Davis gets the nod for the D'Backs tonight and he is 3-4 with a 4.14 earned run average in 13 starts this season. Davis has just one win over his past 10 starts and did not factor in the decision of his team's 8-7 setback to the Dodgers on Friday, yielding five runs -- four earned -- in three innings.
The left-hander is 7-5 with a 3.39 earned run average in 13 career starts against the Cubs.
The D'Backs won two of three from Chicago at Chase Field last year, but the Cubs swept a three-game set from Arizona in the Windy City in May.
<< Suns sign F Barnes
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns have come to terms on a one-
year deal with free agent forward Matt Barnes.
Barnes averaged 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 73 contests last
season for the Warriors. The 28-ye
<< D'Backs crush Cubs in the desert
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Conor Jackson went 3-for-5 with a solo home
run, three runs driven in and two runs scored as the Arizona Diamondbacks
clobbered the Chicago Cubs, 9-2, in the second of a three-game set at Chase
Field.
Orla
<< Tigers pounce on Royals for third straight win
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Placido Polanco hit a solo home run and
ended with two runs driven in, while Kenny Rogers was solid in six innings to
lead the Detroit Tigers past the Kansas City Royals, 7-1, in a game that
endured
<< Molina and Giants defeat Nationals
San Francisco, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bengie Molina went 2-for-3 with two home
runs, and Barry Zito tossed six solid innings, as San Francisco topped
Washington, 6-3, in the first of three games with the Nationals.
Zito (5-12) won hi
Yanks go for perfect homestand in finale with Twins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Mussina takes aim at win No. 13 this afternoon when
the New York Yankees try and cap an unbeaten six-game homestand with a three-
game sweep of the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium.
Mussina, who is one win beh
Rays wrap up set vs. Oakland at the Trop >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays try to hang onto their lead in the
American League East this afternoon when they play the rubber match of a
three-game series with the Oakland Athletics at Tropicana Field.
Tampa had its divi
Richard makes debut for White Sox against Texas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Clayton Richard makes his major league debut this afternoon
when the Chicago White Sox play the rubber match of their three-game series
with the Texas Rangers at U.S. Cellular Field.
Richard, who started the All-Star
Report: Hawks lose Childress to Greek team >>
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks have reportedly lost the
services of swingman Josh Childress to the Greek franchise Olympiakos.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday that Childress, 25, turned
down a five
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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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