Cleveland's Carmona takes on Royals shooting for 17th win

Baseball Betting Lines

09/15/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fausto Carmona goes for win No. 17 this evening when the Cleveland Indians continue their three-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Jacobs Field.

Carmona has been a pleasant surprise for the AL Central-leading Indians this season, going 16-8 with a 3.20 earned run average, just one year after finishing 1-10 with a 5.42 ERA.

The 23-year-old righty won his second straight start on Monday against the Chicago White Sox, as he allowed one earned run and three hits in seven innings.

Carmona has beaten the Royals twice already this season and is 2-0 against them in his young career with a 3.77 ERA in six games, four of which have been starts.

Kansas City will counter with right-hander Zack Greinke, who is 6-5 this season with a save and a 3.99 ERA. After three scoreless outings in his three starts since re-joining the rotation, Greinke was roughed up by the New York Yankees on Sunday for three runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings, but did not factor in the decision of his team's 6-3 loss.

Greinke has faced the Indians 14 times (nine starts) and is 3-5 against them with a 4.39 ERA.

In the first game of this set on Friday, Casey Blake hit a game-ending home run in the bottom of the ninth, as the Indians rallied from three back for a 5-4 win. Franklin Gutierrez started the comeback with a two-run homer in the seventh and Victor Martinez added a solo shot in the eighth for Cleveland, which remained in firm control of the AL Central by 5 1/2 games with the win.

Blake led off the home-half of the ninth and turned on a David Riske (1-4) offering, depositing it over the left-field wall before being mobbed by his teammates at home. It was the 12th time this season that Cleveland won in its final at-bat at home.

With the win, the Indians improved to 16-4 in their last 20 games overall with their eighth win in nine home contests. They have 45 victories at Jacobs Field, their most since finishing 48-33 in 2000.

C.C. Sabathia set a new career high with 13 strikeouts, but allowed four runs over seven innings. The bullpen was lights out from there, with Joe Borowski (4-5) picking up the win after a scoreless ninth.

Brian Bannister allowed just one run on two hits over six frames for the Royals, who have dropped eight of nine. Bannister's bullpen failed him, however. Mark Grudzielanek had two RBI in defeat.

The Indians have taken eight of their 13 meetings with the Royals this season, including five of seven encounters held at Jacobs Field. Kansas City is just 4-12 in Cleveland since the start of the 2006 season.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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

Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Mastercard needs.