Yanks, Tigers play two in Detroit

Baseball Betting Lines

05/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After an unscheduled day off, the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers will pull double duty with a day-night twinbill beginning this afternoon at Comerica Park.

The second test of this four-game series, slated for Tuesday, was postponed due to rain and will be made up as the opener of today's doubleheader, with a pair of struggling pitchers set to go head-to-head in the Yankees' Javier Vazquez and Detroit youngster Rick Porcello.

New York has been beaten in four of Vazquez's five starts to begin 2010, however, with the offseason acquisition having compiled a disappointing 1-3 record and a woeful 9.78 earned run average thus far. He posted a 15-8 mark with a 2.87 ERA in 32 starts for the Atlanta Braves in 2009, finishing fourth in voting for last year's National League Cy Young Award.

Vazquez has been given some additional time to work out his problems, as he hasn't pitched since being roughed up for five runs on seven hits while walking four batters in a three-inning stint against the Chicago White Sox on May 1. The right-hander was spared another loss, however, when his team rallied later in the game to erase an early deficit.

The 33-year-old also allowed three homers to the White Sox and has served up eight long balls in just 23 innings of work this season.

A trip to the Comerica Park mound may not bode well for Vazquez's chances of turning things around, as he's 2-5 with a 6.09 ERA over seven career starts in the Motor City. Overall against the Tigers, the veteran hurler is 6-7 with a 4.50 ERA in 13 appearances.

Porcello also enters this assignment in a rut, having surrendered five runs or more while going 1-3 over his last four starts. The 21-year-old's woes continued in a loss at Minnesota this past Wednesday, in which he was tagged for five runs (3 earned) and walked four batters over a 5 1/3-inning stretch that actually lowered his season ERA to 7.50.

The former first-round draft pick is 2-0 in three Comerica Park starts this season, but has pitched to a 5.51 ERA over those outings while allowing 23 hits in 16 1/3 innings. In his most recent home appearance, Porcello permitted five runs on eight hits through 5 1/3 frames in a win over the Angels on April 30.

Porcello was also hit hard when facing the Yankees at Comerica on April 29 of last season, with New York battering the right-hander for six runs on six hits over 3 2/3 innings in an 8-6 verdict.

While both Vazquez and Porcello have had their troubles, the Yankees' Phil Hughes has been on quite a roll since the beginning of this season. The talented right-hander has ripped off four consecutive winning decisions to start the year and currently ranks second among AL pitchers with a 1.69 ERA, having allowed two runs or fewer in each of his first five appearances.

Hughes followed up seven shutout innings in a May 2 victory over the White Sox by firing seven frames of two-run ball to help New York defeat the rival Boston Red Sox Friday at Fenway Park. He struck out seven while walking just one and did not give up a homer for the fourth straight start.

The 23-year-old is 2-2 with a 5.30 ERA in five lifetime meetings with Detroit, three of which have come in a starting role. Both of those wins took place last season, with Hughes combining for nine scoreless innings in his three games pitched in the series.

The Yankees will be attempting to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season this afternoon. After being dealt a 9-3 defeat by the Red Sox on Sunday, New York was on the wrong end of a 5-4 decision in Monday's opener.

Brennan Boesch led the way for Detroit with two hits and three RBI, while Miguel Cabrera went 2-for-3 with two runs scored to help the Tigers snap a string of five straight losses to the Yankees and win for only the second time in their last six overall tilts.

"We've had a little road trip here that we didn't win as many games as we like, and now we come back home and get that first win against a ball club like the Yankees," said Boesch. "It's a big win. It was a team win, it was a battle all night."

Eddie Bonine (3-0) made a big contribution as well, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of emergency starter Brad Thomas to pick up the victory. Thomas worked the first three innings and allowed two runs filling in for Dontrelle Willis, who was scratched prior to the game due to an illness.

Johnny Damon, facing his former team for the first time since departing the Yankees for Detroit as a free agent during the offseason, chipped in a solo homer in the win.

New York's Sergio Mitre (0-1) was making a substitute start as well, with Andy Pettitte forced to miss a turn in the Yankees' rotation due to inflammation in his throwing elbow. He was reached for four runs (3 earned) in 4 1/3 frames to take the loss.

Mark Teixeira had a two-run homer for New York, the first baseman's fourth in the last three games, with ex-Tiger Marcus Thames adding an RBI single on the evening.

Teixeira is 0-for-12 lifetime against Jeremy Bonderman, who gets the call for the Tigers in tonight's second game. The oft-injured righty was last in action Friday at Cleveland, where he was torched for six runs on seven hits before exiting after only 2 2/3 innings. Those poor numbers were erased, however, when heavy rains forced the contest to be stopped before it became official.

Bonderman had registered a no-decision in each of his three prior starts and is 1-1 with a 5.74 ERA in five games this season. He's performed well in his two Comerica Park appearances, however, allowing a scant three runs (two earned) over an 11-inning span while netting a win and a no-decision.

The 27-year-old is just 3-7 with a 5.55 ERA over 12 encounters (11 starts) with New York, but hasn't faced the Bronx Bombers since 2008.

Prior to Monday's loss, the Yankees had won four of their past five games with the Tigers held in Detroit.

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Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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