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Blue Jays' Anthopoulos building on youthBaseball Betting Lines07/16/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - When your pockets aren't deep and you live in the American League East, you need to do things a little differently. With a new general manager in town, it seems as though the Toronto Blue Jays have finally come to understand that motto. It's been less than one year since Alex Anthopoulos replaced J.P Ricciardi as GM of the Blue Jays and he's looked anything but a man in his early 30's in his first year on the job. Although their record may not indicate it at 44-45, Anthopoulos has brought an optimism of hope back to the club despite playing in a division that features the three best teams in the American League. The task left for him was not easy either, as he had the responsibility of unloading the franchise's greatest pitcher, Roy Halladay. Anthopoulos took over with a vision that, at this point, most Torontonians can probably feel comfortable trusting after living through eight years of Ricciardi's five-year plan. Nobody said it would be easy, especially when the Jays have to look up to AL East behemoths New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, but Anthopoulos has executed his plan well. He's building through youth and high-ceiling, high-potential types of players. A few of those pieces were already in place, but the new GM has done a solid job supplementing the existing talent. A look at some of the key moves made by Anthopoulos: Anthopoulos stepped into a tough spot - despite being the assistant GM before taking over the role - as he would become the man responsible for trading away the best player on the roster. He went to work quickly, landing the Jays three very good prospects in starting pitcher Kyle Drabek, catcher Travis d'Arnaud and outfielder Michael Taylor from the Philadelphia Phillies. Taylor was immediately shipped to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Brett Wallace, the future first basemen of the Jays who already has played for three organizations during his brief span in the minor leagues. While it's impossible to replace Halladay's arm and work ethic, but this type of return could prove to be a success for years to come. All three players made their respective minor league All-Star games this season, and Wallace and Drabek are on a fast track to the majors. Wallace did not participate in the Pacific Coast League's All-Star Game (Triple-A) due to a wrist injury, but his teammate Jarrett Hoffpauir, someone Anthopoulos also snatched up in the offseason, took his spot. Hoffpauir has seen a little bit of time this season, appearing with the big club in nine games. The youth movement continued by way of the draft this past June, as Anthopoulos selected a little bit of everything, starting with a polished college arm and continuing with some high-potential prospects and homegrown talent. He made a point of targeting pitching, using his first four picks to select right-handers Deck McGuire, Aaron Sanchez, Noah Syndergaard and Asher Wojciechowski as well as capitalizing on Canadian-born talent. The most intriguing of which is Ontario-native Marcus Knecht, who batted .472 with 16 homers at Connors State College last year. As much as Anthopoulos has concentrated on a youth movement, the team entered the season with several holes still to fill. Although his offseason signings didn't appear to be significant at the time, even the most optimistic of supporters couldn't have foreseen the production the Jays gotten from their additions. Catcher John Buck is enjoying his finest season and fresh off his first All-Star game, shortstop Alex Gonzalez is on his way to a career year and Kevin Gregg, despite being shaky at times, has converted 20-of-23 save opportunities. Gonzalez, who hit 17 home runs and drove in 50 runs in the first half, was never part of the long-term plan, which is why his trade to the Atlanta Braves came as no surprise. The five-player deal was essentially a swap for shortstops, where the Braves were more concerned with the now and the Jays for the future, as they are willing to let Yunel Escobar play through his current struggles. Although he's having a down year, the 27-year-old still has plenty of upside and is coming off a fine 2009 season, when he hit .299 with 14 homers and 76 RBIs - the later numbers career highs. If Escobar, who is hitting .238 with no home runs, doesn't bounce back, the Jays also have Cuban Adeiny Hechavarria, an offseason acquisition who is currently playing in the minor leagues but projects to be the shortstop of the future. The biggest steals for the Jays have come in the form of outfielder Fred Lewis and starting pitcher Brandon Morrow. Lewis was acquired from the San Francisco Giants at the beginning of the season and has turned out to be a complete success. The 29-year-old is batting .276, leading the team with 10 stolen bases and has become a fan favorite in Toronto. Morrow, on the other hand, has finally found a role, as he's not only firmly entrenched in the Jays' rotation, he's quite possibly the future ace of the staff. He still needs to string together more consistency, but has shown flashes of dominance during his first year as a Blue Jay. He came over to Toronto in an offseason trade with Seattle. There's a lot of hope for the Blue Jays moving forward, with Anthopoulos steering the ship into a deep pool of youth. Toronto already has a surplus of young players thriving in the big leagues, led by a rotation whose oldest member is 28-year-old Shaun Marcum. It goes without saying that Anthopoulos has done an exceptional job and has the Jays heading in a positive direction. For the fans, this team has become a breath of fresh of air. This truly is a new era for Blue Jays baseball.
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Sportsbooks to bet on footballRecently 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. El Duque expected to throw Tuesday PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday. Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine. El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year. MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle. New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele. Notes: Mets manager Willie Randolph is excited about two new utility players he could have on his bench: Damion Easley and David Newhan. ''Their value is really all over the place,'' Randolph said. Easley can play anywhere in the infield and could be used as an emergency outfielder, though Randolph said he would prefer to keep the veteran in the infield. Newhan, meanwhile, can play second base, third or any outfield position for the Mets. ''I love versatility,'' Randolph said. ''I love guys that can give me options when I need them to step in.'' Additional baseball lines and World Series odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards. |
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