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06/15/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Conventional wisdom suggests it was only a matter of time before the Texas Rangers' offense really got going.
After all, this was an offense that ranked second in the American League in home runs last year, and that was before adding eight-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero in the offseason. Having won five of their last six games entering Tuesday's off day, the Rangers are no doubt starting to live up to the hype.
And make no mistake, it is the offense that has been the catalyst during the team's recent surge, having averaged 8.3 runs in their nine victories this month. On the season, the Rangers' .277 team batting average ranks third in the majors. They rank fifth overall in runs (321), hits (601) and RBI (303).
Third baseman Michael Young is one hit away from tying former catcher Ivan Rodriguez as the club's all-time leading hitter. Young now has 1,746 base knocks, thanks to his current eight-game hitting streak. Over the last four games, Young has gone 9-for-21.
However, Young isn't the only one swinging a red-hot bat at the moment. In fact, Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero and Julio Borbon all currently have hitting streaks of at least 10 games.
Hamilton is 15-for-37 (.405) during his 10-game hit streak, and that includes home runs in four of the last five games. On the season, he is now hitting .309 with 15 homers and 46 RBI.
Guerrero has hit safely in 11 straight games, posting a .348 average (16- for-46) in that time frame. Borbon also has an 11-game hit streak, during which he is hitting .474 (18-for-38) to raise his average from .233 to .285.
In addition, shortstop Elvis Andrus is having a breakout year, as evidenced by the fact that he ranks second among American League shortstops behind the Yankees' Derek Jeter. The second-year player is sporting a .295 batting average to go along with 19 RBI and 18 stolen bases.
A hot June has pushed Hamilton into the All-Star conversation, as the Rangers' left fielder is hitting .412 with six homers and 19 RBI in 13 games this month. According to the most recent polls, he trails teammate Nelson Cruz by 87,000 votes for the third outfield spot on the American League roster. Cruz has been out since late-May with a torn hamstring, which has certainly helped Hamilton in his bid for a third consecutive All-Star start.
He has also been helped by a different approach in pre-game batting practice. Like Mark McGwire of the mid-90s, Hamilton has become known for putting on a show of mammoth home runs in BP. But lately, he has changed his mind set in that regard.
"(Batting practice) is not for a show," Hamilton said. "It's for working on things. Things you do in the cage carry over into batting practice. And then it's trying to work on the same things in batting practice. And then, when the game comes along, just go up there and hit it. Trust yourself."
Of course, that's not the only adjustment that has helped Hamilton. Swing- wise, he has eliminated the toe-tap and is working on keeping his weight on his back leg to generate more power. Lineup-wise, he is hitting .385 since being switched from third to fifth in the lineup, behind cleanup hitter Guerrero.
Thanks in no small part to the middle of the order, Texas (35-28) entered Wednesday with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for first place in the AL West.
A'S GET OFF TO ROCKY START IN INTERLEAGUE PLAY
Over the weekend, the Oakland Athletics (32-33) were swept in a three-game set by their friends across the bay, the San Francisco Giants. The sweep dropped the A's below .500 for the first time since May 21, and also put them four games behind division-leading Texas.
For the most part, they'll want to put that series behind them. In the three games against San Francisco, the A's committed four errors and stranded 27 baserunners (4-for-32 RISP). Struggling utility player Jake Fox, who was sporting a .214 batting average since being acquired from the Cubs in a five- player deal in December, was designated for assignment following Sunday's 6-2 loss.
Oakland continues its interleague stretch Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs, who have endured their own struggles of late. It marks Oakland's first trip to Chicago's Wrigley Field since 2004, the only other time these two teams met in the regular season.
ANGELS' AYBAR DAY-TO-DAY AFTER COLLISION
During the second inning of Monday's 12-2 loss to Milwaukee, Angels shortstop Erick Aybar hyper-extended his left knee after bearing the brunt of a hard slide at second base. Aybar had to be helped off the field by team trainers, however the good news is his injury is listed as day-to-day.
Considering the Angels have already lost first baseman Kendry Morales for the season, an extended absence from their leadoff man and shortstop would have presented quite a hurdle. Thankfully for the Angels, it appears they've dodged a bullet.
"It looked bad when it happened," manager Mike Scioscia told The Orange County Register after the game. "But after the game it was examined. Everything sets up much better right now. He's walking around a little. We're relieved to see him walking around in this clubhouse. Hopefully, it'll be a little strain and he won't be out for too long."
Aybar had been heating up at the plate of late, batting .393 over his previous 14 games. He had a four-game multi-hit streak entering Sunday. Thanks in part to Aybar's hot bat, the Angels (36-31) are 10-4 in the month of June as they trail the Rangers by just one game.
MARINERS CONTINUE TO FREEFALL
Since winning the first three games of June, the Seattle Mariners (24-40) have gone an abysmal 2-9 to fall further out of contention in the AL West. And with each passing road trip, the Mariners dig themselves a deeper hole.
They are now just 9-23 away from home, and their current 10-game trek concludes when they wrap up a three-game set in St. Louis on Wednesday. Seattle entered Tuesday 11 1/2 games back in the division after opening the Cardinals series with a 9-3 setback on Monday night.
The team will get a much needed rest on Thursday, which wraps up a grueling stretch of 20 games in 20 days. Despite the Mariners' ongoing offensive struggles, manager Don Wakamatsu decided to cancel batting practice prior to Monday's series opener with his team arriving in town at midnight on Sunday night.
"We've worked extremely hard and taken a lot of extra batting practice to try to get this offense going," Wakamatsu said. "You start to see where some of these guys, physically, are getting pretty exhausted. We knew there was going to be quite a bit of humidity (in St. Louis), and add the time change and it's very difficult."
On Saturday night, veterans Cliff Lee, Milton Bradley and Chone Figgins called a players-only meeting following the team's 7-1 loss to the San Diego Padres. That loss was Seattle's fifth straight and eighth in its last nine outings. The meeting seemed to pay immediate dividends with a 4-2 win at San Diego on Sunday. But Monday in St. Louis, it was back to the loss column for the fading Mariners.
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MySportsbook.com : Fortune Favors Favorites in March Madness betting?
Just like Day 1 of the “Sweet 16”, Friday’s games are chock full of some of the nation’s elite. Unlike Thursday’s games, there is a little bit more of a “Cinderella” feel as #7 seed UNLV and #6 seed Vanderbilt will attempt to move on to the Elite Eight. With powerhouses Florida, UNC and Georgetown looking to continue their momentum against lesser known teams, it isn’t surprising that once again the “betting public” is backing most of the favorites. As the early coin rolls in, 56% of Sportsbook.com bettors prefer Georgetown (-7.5) as they take on Vanderbilt; 84% of the early money is backing Oregon (-3) as they square off against UNLV; and a slight majority (52%) of the early cash is on Florida (-10.5) against Butler as the Gators continue their quest for another National Title. The only favorite the public don’t seem confident in is UNC, as 59% of the cash is backing the underdog Trojans (+8).
Midwest
#1 Florida vs. #5 Butler
The defending National Champs have been on a mission since last April. Joakim Noah and Al Horford turned down millions of dollars for one reason, to REPEAT. After a late season hiccup which saw them lose three out of four, the Gators have won six straight by an average of 20.3 points. More importantly, they covered in five of those six games. Behind their stymie defense that yields only 56.9 PPG, Butler has been a very pleasant surprise this season. As their 20-11 ATS record will indicate, “surprise teams” like Butler are often good bets for gamblers. Playing in an average conference, Butler wasn’t and underdog too often but when they were, they covered (6-0 ATS). Butler’s defense will have its hands full against a Gators offense which averages 80.1 PPG on an amazing 52.9% shooting from the field. With Florida’s tournament experience over the last few years, it isn’t surprising that they are 5-1 ATS this season, 20-4 ATS over the last three seasons and 38-20 since 1997 in tournament action.
#3 Oregon vs. #7 UNLV
As a #7 seed, UNLV is the closest thing to a “Cinderella” we have this year. If you bet on UNLV this season with any regularity, you most likely cashed in. Behind their guard oriented attack, the Rebels are an impressive 20-11 ATS this season. As an underdog they covered in 8 out of their ten games which isn’t surprising since they are 52-30 ATS as a ‘dog since 1997. The Rebels have been a consistent cover during the month of March as well. This March they are 6-0 ATS, 11-3 ATS over the last three seasons and 24-11 since 1997. Their impressive ATS trends don’t end there; versus teams with a winning record they are 15-6 ATS this season and 41-21 over the last three seasons. Although Oregon hasn’t been as generous to gamblers as UNLV this season, they have been covering consistently as of late. There is no question that they are playing their best ball of the season having won their last 8 straight up (SU) by an average of 14.5 points. Not surprising they covered in 7 of those games. It is interesting to note how similar these teams are in regards to scoring and scoring defense. UNLV averages 75 PPG while giving up 66.5 PPG and Oregon scores 75.8 PPG while yielding 65.5 PPG.
East
#6 Vanderbilt vs. #2 Georgetown
“Hoya Paranoia” is officially back! After a decent start, Georgetown has rolled through the second half of the season. Over their last 18 games, they are 17-1 SU. They have definitely improved ATS as the season has progressed as well. After opening the season 1-4-1 ATS, the Hoyas have covered 78.3% of their games. With their great interior play of Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas as a team shoot 50.5% from the field. Like the Georgetown teams from years ago, they also excel on defense. Hoya opponents averaged only 56.8 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the field and an extremely low 30.4% from beyond the arc. The last stat could be of some concern to Vanderbilt considering they shoot 37.7% from long-range. Ranking second to last in the SEC in rebounding margin, Vanderbilt will have its work cut out for them against the Hoya trees. As far as covering is concerned, Vanderbilt has been almost a “sure thing” (7-1 ATS) versus good defensive teams that allow less than 64 PPG.
#1 UNC vs. # 5 USC
The Tar Heels are as talented and as deep as any team in the country. Going ten deep and chock full of HS All-Americans, UNC averages 86.1 PPG and scored 100+ seven times. Led by All-American forward, Tyler Hansbrough (18.6 PPG 7.9 RPG) UNC has a very balanced attack which can kill you on the inside as well as on the perimeter. UNC only real concern is their youth as eight of their rotation players are either sophomores or freshmen. UNC was a reliable cover this season going 20-13 ATS. An intriguing covering trend for the Tar Heels in recent years has been how they fared after non-conference games. This season they are 11-3 ATS after non-conference games and over the last three seasons they are 31-13 ATS. USC is also a pretty deep team which is loaded with swingman types. An match-up to keep an eye on will be freshman forward Taj Gibson (12.1 PPG, 8.6 RPG) as he squares off against the AA Hansbrough. USC has been a covering machine this season achieving a 21-10 record ATS. They have thrived in the underdog role, having covered 10 out of 12. When playing a team with a winning record, the Trojans are an incredible 20-6 ATS. Keep in mind, USC dedicated their season to former star to Ryan Francis who passed away before the season so as they get closer to the ultimate goal, emotion could definitely be on their side.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at this sportsbook “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards
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