05/15/2008 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Laffey threw seven solid innings and the Indians continued their mastery on the mound until holding on in the ninth during a 4-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics to complete a three-game sweep.
Jhonny Peralta homered and scored three times for Cleveland, which has allowed just six runs in its last seven games. Ben Francisco had three hits and an RBI for the Indians, who outscored the A's, 10-2, during the series.
Cleveland starting pitchers had gone 44 1/3 consecutive innings without giving up a run until Laffey's throwing error scored Bobby Crosby in the second. It was the first run allowed by the Indians since the sixth inning of last Friday's game against Toronto. That marked the longest streak by an Indians staff since the 1948 squad went 47 frames without giving up a run.
Laffey (2-2) allowed five hits and an unearned run, while walking one and logging six strikeouts. Jensen Lewis worked around a single to Rajai Davis in the eighth before Rafael Betancourt had trouble in the ninth. Masahide Kobayashi escaped a jam in the ninth to get his second save.
During Cleveland's 6-1 homestand, Indians starting pitchers gave up just two runs, including one earned. The starters went 6-0 with a 0.16 ERA during that span.
Because of Laffey's error, Cleveland starters haven't given up an earned run in the last 50 1/3 innings.
Greg Smith (2-3) was charged with the loss after surrendering seven hits and three runs over 4 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old lefty walked three and had seven strikeouts.
The Indians barely held on in the ninth. Jack Cust and Crosby singled with one out, and Jack Hannahan walked to load the bases. Kobayashi's wild pitch then made it 4-2, but he struck out pinch-hitters Mike Sweeney and Ryan Sweeney to end the game.
Peralta legged out an infield hit with one out in the first and scored later in the inning on Ryan Garko's double down the right field line.
Crosby and Hannahan singled to begin the second, and after Donnie Murphy struck out, Rob Bowen hit a weak grounder toward the mound. Laffey charged the ball, but threw wide of first baseman Garko with the ball sailing into right field. With runners at the corners later in the frame, Davis was caught stealing to end the inning.
The Indians regained the lead at 3-1 in the third. Grady Sizemore was hit by a pitch and Peralta walked before Francisco singled to left for an RBI. One out later, Travis Hafner singled to center to drive in Peralta.
Peralta led off the seventh with a homer to left off Santiago Casilla. Immediately after giving up the homer, Casilla was seen shaking his right arm in discomfort, and was removed from the game in favor of Chad Gaudin.
Game Notes
The A's play at Atlanta for three games this weekend, while the Indians are in Cincinnati...The 44 1/3 inning streak was the longest since the 1974 Baltimore Orioles starters went 54 frames of scoreless ball...Laffey hasn't allowed an earned run in his last 21 innings (3 starts).
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tennis lifestyle at only 25 years of age.
Much like Bjorn Borg in the early 1980s,
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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.
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 sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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