Reeling Mets hoping to end struggles in Washington
Baseball Betting Lines
05/20/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Early wildness led to a forgettable outing last time out for the New York Mets' John Maine. He'll have to get himself under control this evening if his teas hopes to snap its lengthy skid at Nationals Park.
Despite getting an inside-the-park home run from Angel Pagan, who also initiated a triple play in Wednesday's opener, the Mets will still be trying to snap a six-game road skid at Nationals Park this evening in the finale of a two-game set against Washington.
Maine is coming off his second losing start in a row Saturday versus the Florida Marlins, a game where he walked the first three batters he faced on 12 pitches. That led to a three-run inning for Florida and Maine ended up yielding six runs on seven hits and five walks over five innings in a 7-5 setback.
"That was really shocking and surprising that he couldn't find it at that point," said Mets manager Jerry Manuel about Maine's early struggles. "I felt he threw the first couple pitches close and then all of a sudden, he was nowhere near the strike zone."
The right-hander, who is 1-3 with a 6.13 earned run average this year, would probably prefer an outing like the one he turned in against Washington on May 10. Even though it resulted in defeat, the 29-year-old Maine gave up just two solo homers and seven hits over six innings in a 3-2 contest.
Maine is 8-4 with a 4.11 ERA in 14 lifetime starts versus the Nationals.
While the beginning of Maine's last start is something the Mets don't want to see again, they would like to see Pagan continue his heroics. The speedy center fielder became the first player since Philadelphia's Ted Kazanski in 1955 to have an inside-the-park homer and become part of a triple play in the same game, but New York couldn't overcome an offense that had just five hits in a 5-3 setback.
"I was just trying to play the game hard," said Pagan. "It didn't matter because we lost. So like I said, I was just trying to do my job and play hard for the team. Unfortunately, we didn't get the win. [Thursday] is another day."
New York fell to 1-6 on an eight-game road trip and is just 5-14 as the guest this season. The Mets have also lost nine of their last 11 overall and five of seven versus the Nationals in 2010. Their skid at Nationals Park dates back to last season, when they lost six of nine overall as the guest in the series.
Fernando Tatis homered on Wednesday for New York and was starting in place of third baseman David Wright, who was given the night off to rest. Wright is hitting just .120 (3-for-25) with 12 strikeouts in his last seven games and leads the majors with 55 punchouts. Wright, who has struck out in 27 of his last 57 at-bats, should return to action tonight.
Washington plated three runs in the seventh inning to go ahead on Wednesday, including a triple by Cristian Guzman that scored Nyjer Morgan. Guzman lined out to center in the fifth inning to start Pagan's triple play, while Morgan -- who was also part of the three-out play -- was unable to track down Pagan's hit to center in the fourth inning that led to the inside-the-park homer.
Slugger Adam Dunn was in Washington's starting lineup for the first time in four games due to flu-like symptoms and went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks to help the Nats snap a season-high five-game losing streak.
Luis Atilano was Maine's opponent back on May 10 and will be again for Washington tonight. The 25-year-old got a victory after throwing 5 1/3 shutout innings, working around five hits and two walks in his first appearance versus the Mets.
Atilano's fifth career start didn't go as well. He allowed three runs on four hits, two of those homers, with four walks over five innings against Colorado last Saturday. It was the 25-year-old's shortest outing of the season and left him hoping to get better.
"I was feeling better about my mechanics and my command on some pitches, but I fell behind too many batters," Atilano told Washington's website. "That's just not me. I'm going to work to get on track. I have to try not to think too much. I'm trying to be the best that I could be, so I could be successful."
Still, Atilano is 3-0 with a 3.90 ERA on the season and continues to be a surprise for the Nationals' rotation.
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NFL ODDSTop Football Betting Free Agents to Change Teams
It’s time to see how the biggest NFL free agent signings will perform for their news teams. Some will work out and could be the difference that makes a difference in the win column.
We look at the best off-season signings and if they should influence your NFL betting this season. Julius Peppers – Peppers was the biggest prize available on the 2010 NFL free agent market and the Chicago Bears opened the bank to bring his talents to the south side.
Peppers is explosive, he can get around blockers and cause quarterbacks to lose their minds. We all remember the classic Peppers game last year against the Vikings where he hounded Brett Favre into his worst game of the season. Peppers joining the Bears could be the reason Favre retired for good Tuesday morning. In addition to Peppers, the Bears added Chester Taylor to back up Matt Forte, Forte didn’t have the same intensity in 2009 compared to 2008 and bringing in Taylor will challenge Forte to bring it every game or he’ll risk losing carries to Taylor.
Betting on the Bears is a good option this season because of Julius Peppers and to a lesser extent Taylor. Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens – The Cincinnati Bengals signed two former number one wide receivers to line up with Chad Ocho Cinco. Antonio Bryant had a huge season in 2008 catching 83 passes for over 1200 yards but regressed last season. Playing for the Tampa Bay Bucs last season was a large part of the regression, everyone was bad in TB last season.
Bryant should have a bounce back season if he can win the number two spot from Terrell Owens. If Bryant wins the number 2 WR spot, it will open up a completely new set of problems for the Bengals. If Owens is forced to the bench in favor of Bryant, his attitude will create trouble for Carson Palmer and head coach Marv Lewis. If Owens is the number two receiver, it means Bryant can’t live up to his past numbers and the Bengals are still limited in the passing game. NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. 2010 football betting lines for this can be found at this top online sportsbook. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense.
NFL bettors should be wary of laying their money down on what could potentially be the biggest gong show in the league in 2010. Karlos Danby – The Miami Dolphins have a great running back tandem in Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a good young QB in Chad Henne and now the Bill Parcells regime is building a solid defense. They signed away the Arizona Cardinals top linebacker Karlos Danby. In the past two seasons, Danby has totaled 228 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. The Dolphins are the forgotten team of the AFC East with the second longest odds to win the division but with the addition of Karlos Danby and a trade for WR Brandon Marshall makes the Miami Dolphins legitimate contenders in the AFC East and in the NFL’s Eastern Conference.
The Dolphins will make NFL wagering fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.
To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs.
Betting Football
NFL Football Betting OnlineIs there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.