Rockies try to pin 10th straight loss on reeling Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

09/05/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres try to avoid their worst losing streak in more than 16 years this afternoon when they play the finale of their three- game series with the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park.

San Diego has been baseball's best story this season, but is mired in its worst losing streak since May of 2003 and has seen its lead atop the National League West trimmed to just two games over the San Francisco Giants.

"We have to get the confidence back," manager Bud Black said. "We have to get that swagger back."

The skid continued on Saturday, as Todd Helton and Carlos Gonzalez both knocked in two runs to help Colorado to a 6-2 win. Another loss today would give the Padres their first 10-game slide since a franchise-worst 13-game skid from May 8-21, 1994.

Troy Tulowitzki had two hits and scored two runs for the Rockies, who have won five of their last eight games to pull within 5 1/2 games of the Padres in the division.

Jason Hammel (10-7) gave up two runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Adrian Gonzalez and Nick Hundley both doubled home a run for San Diego, while Jon Garland (13-10) allowed three runs -- two earned -- on seven hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings.

"We need to turn (things) around," Hundley said. "We're a play away every single game or a hit away or a defensive play away from winning games. We're finding ways to lose instead of finding ways to win. Until we figure out how to make that one play, get that one big hit, we're going to continue to struggle."

Only two teams in baseball history have endured losing streaks of at least 10 games and still reached the postseason. The 1951 New York Giants lost 11 in a row but still won the NL pennant and the 1982 Atlanta Braves dropped 11 straight but won the NL West.

Over the course of the streak the Padres are hitting .216 with 21 runs scored, while the pitching staff has posted a 5.29 ERA. The team has also been outscored, 51-21, during the current drought.

Hoping to get the Padres back on track this afternoon will be lefty Clayton Richard, who has just one loss in his last six decisions. However, that one loss came in his last trip to the hill last Sunday against Philadelphia, which reached him for four runs (two earned) and four hits in 7 2/3 innings to drop him to 12-6 on the year to go along with a 3.50 ERA.

Richard did not get a decision the last time he faced the Rockies and is 1-1 in six starts against them with a 4.79 ERA.

Colorado, meanwhile, will pin its hopes on lefty Jorge De La Rosa, who is 5-4 with a 4.26 ERA. De La Rosa did not get a decision on Monday in San Francisco, but pitched well, surrendering a run and four hits in seven innings of his team's 2-1 win. He also struck out nine in that effort, but also walked four.

De La Rosa has faced the Padres 12 times (eight starts) and is 1-2 against them with a 5.48 ERA.

Colorado has won 10 of its 14 meetings with the Padres in 2010, including wins in six of the eight matchups in San Diego.

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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.