Angels hope to get second half off to good start vs. Mariners

Baseball Betting Lines

07/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - No team was happier to see the All-Star break than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Hopefully recharged, the Angels get their second half started with the opener of a four-game set with the Seattle Mariners at Angel Stadium.

The Angels headed into the break with losses in eight of their final 10 games. However, despite their struggles and injury problems, the Angels are only 4 1/2 games off the pace of the American League West-leading Texas Rangers.

Of course the Angels' hopes took a hit with the season-ending leg injury to first baseman Kendry Morales. Outfielder Torii Hunter, though, has picked up the slack in Morales' absence, belting 15 home runs and 62 RBI. However, he struggled heading into the break, managing just one hit over his final 10 at- bats.

"We know that one person is not going to fill Kendry Morales' shoes and what he brings to the team," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's the one hitter in the middle of our lineup that really makes everyone around him better. I think that speaks volume to his talents. That being said, I think that our offensive lineup -- if people can play to their capabilities -- will be deep enough for us to absorb a lot of that and to give ourselves an opportunity to score runs and support what we think is a good pitching staff."

Tonight the Angels turn to right-hander Joel Pineiro, who has gone at least six innings in each of his last nine starts and has a 6-1 record during that span. Pineiro did not get a decision in his last start before the break on Friday in Oakland, as he allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings of his team's 6-5 win.

Pineiro, who pitched the first seven years of his career in Seattle, beat the Mariners back on June 6 and is 1-1 with a 5.87 ERA in three games (one start) against them.

Seattle, meanwhile, was perhaps the American League's most disappointing team in the first half. With Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez at the top of the rotation, most people had the Mariners finishing first in the AL West. However, Lee missed the first month of the season with an abdominal injury and Seattle struggled offensively, putting itself in a hole that led to the trade of Lee to Texas right before the break.

At 35-53, the Mariners occupy last place in the West, 15 games back of the Rangers. Seattle headed into the break having lost nine of its last 11 games.

"Obviously there have been some challenges and disappointments," Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu said. "As we go forward, we feel like we need to get over some hurdles offensively."

Seattle will hand the ball tonight to righty Doug FIster, who is 3-4 with a 3.09 ERA. Fister did not get a decision the last time he pitched back on July 7 against Kansas City, but gave up just one run and six hits in six innings of his team's 7-3 loss.

Fister is 1-0 in two starts against the Angels with a 2.51 ERA.

The Angels are 7-2 against Seattle this season and have not lost a season series against the Mariners since 2003.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your NCAA college football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.