Athletics begin home set with Rays

Baseball Betting Lines

04/24/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling teams begin a three-game series tonight at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum, where the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays will try to end their slump against an Athletics club that's lost four games in a row.

Tampa Bay won 97 times during the regular season in last year's turnaround campaign, but Joe Maddon's squad has yet to recapture the magic so far in 2009. The Rays have lost seven of their last nine games and currently stand at the bottom of the AL East with a 6-10 record.

The Rays have scored three runs or fewer in each of their last seven defeats, and their offensive struggles continued in yesterday's 1-0 loss at Seattle. Tampa Bay managed just four singles off Mariners starter Felix Hernandez and two relievers on the afternoon.

James Shields (2-2) did come through with a gem on the mound for the Rays, yielding one run and just four hits while walking one over 7 1/3 outstanding innings in a hard-luck loss. The right-hander's only run allowed came on a leadoff homer by Ichiro Suzuki in the bottom of the first.

Tampa hopes to break out in its first-ever encounter with A's rookie Trevor Cahill, who takes a fourth stab at attempting to earn his first major league victory. The 21-year-old has recorded a loss and two no-decisions through his initial three outings, but has allowed two earned runs or less in each of those starts.

Cahill worked around five walks in a 5 1/3-inning no-decision at Toronto last Saturday, holding the Blue Jays to just two runs. The highly-regarded right- hander was even better his previous time out, when he permitted only one run and two hits through seven frames of a 1-0 home loss to Seattle on April 12.

Oakland had a much-needed day off on Thursday after participating in a 14- inning marathon at Yankee Stadium the previous day. The A's came up on the short end of a 9-7 decision in that game, with New York's Melky Cabrera providing the winning margin with a two-run homer with one out in the final frame.

The Athletics tied the contest at 7-7 with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, but managed just three hits against the Yankee bullpen the rest of the way. Matt Holliday finished 2-for-6 and delivered the tying single in the seventh, while Kurt Suzuki hit a three-run homer earlier on and also collected a pair of hits for Oakland.

Dan Giese (2-2) was dealt the loss after giving up Cabrera's blast in a 2 1/3- inning stint. Oakland starter Brett Anderson worked the first 5 1/3 innings and surrendered five runs on nine hits, three of which were home runs.

The rested A's will take their swings tonight off Scott Kazmir, who pitched the Rays to wins in each of his first two starts of 2009 but turned in a clunker his last time out.

Against the White Sox this past Saturday, Kazmir was reached for six runs and served up a pair of homers in just four innings of his team's 8-3 loss to Chicago. The hard-throwing lefty's control was off all game long, as he issued six walks and threw just 54-of-92 pitches for strikes.

Kazmir did not walk a single batter in his previous start, a 15-5 home rout of the Yankees on April 13 in which he tossed 6 2/3 innings of three-run ball.

The 25-year-old Texan has had very good success when facing Oakland in the past, having amassed a 6-2 record with a 2.70 ERA over 11 career starts against the Athletics. Kazmir allowed only three runs in 19 innings over three starts versus Oakland in 2008, posting a 2-1 mark in those games.

Tampa Bay went 6-3 against the A's a year ago and won four of the six meetings held at the Coliseum.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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