NL Pitcher Gets All-Star Snub

Baseball Betting Lines

07/12/2010 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - For those of you still wrapped up in Strasburg- mania, I have to regretfully inform you that he's not the pitcher referred to in the above headline. As impressive as the Nationals' rookie has been, and as much as I love his stuff, you just can't make the All-Star game with seven starts under your belt.

The pitcher who got the snub and has fallen under the national radar for most of the season happens to pitch in the same city where Strasburg made his name in college - San Diego. The Padres' surprising run to the top of the National League West has been helped in great part by the right arm of twenty- two year old Mat Latos. His mid-90's fastball, which explodes through the zone to complement a plus curveball and slider, has made him awfully tough to hit. After struggling in April, Latos has been nothing less than dominant, putting up a 1.44 ERA over his last thirteen starts.

When you compare his numbers to Tim Lincecum and Yovani Gallardo, two of the pitchers who were named to the National League squad, it's clear that Latos deserved the nod.

Latos......10-4...2.45 ERA...0.97 WHIP....193 BAA

Lincecum....9-4...3.16 ERA...1.29 WHIP....232 BAA

Gallardo....8-4...2.58 ERA...1.26 WHIP....224 BAA

There's no doubt that Lincecum, with his back-to-back Cy Young awards, is the more attractive selection for the mid-summer classic. But, based on the numbers Latos was obviously the more deserving choice.

SECOND-HALF OUTLOOK

AL EAST: The Yankees are primed to eventually pull away from the Rays and Red Sox. Boston has too many injuries and not enough production from the back end of its rotation. And speaking of starting pitching, Tampa is not getting the kind of production from James Shields, Matt Garza, and Wade Davis it needs to stay in contention. The Rays must pitch well to stay within striking distance of the Yankees, because their offense is nowhere near as good as New York's is.

AL CENTRAL: I think this will eventually turn into a two-team race between the Tigers and White Sox. Outside of Carl Pavano, the Twins don't have a reliable starter at this point. The White Sox suffered a tough blow by losing Jake Peavy for the season, but Gavin Floyd, John Danks, Mark Buehrle, and Freddy Garcia give Chicago the best rotation in the division. The Tigers' lineup, led by triple-crown threat Miguel Cabrera and rookie sensation Brennan Boesch, is a big reason why they trail the Sox by just a half game, but there are major question marks in the starting rotation after Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman and Max Scherzer.

AL WEST: The Rangers were clearly better than the Angels before the acquisition of Cliff Lee, and following his addition should run away the with the division.

NL EAST: The Braves' pitching staff sets Atlanta apart from the rest of the division. With quality throughout the starting rotation and Billy Wagner in the pen to close games, the Braves have a decided advantage over the Phillies and Mets. After Roy Halladay, Philadelphia doesn't have a reliable starter, while the Mets are banking on a lot of unproven arms and have to have concerns over Mike Pelfrey's recent struggles.

NL CENTRAL: The Reds have been one of the major surprises this season as they take a one game lead over the highly-favored Cardinals into the break. I think whatever team gets the better pitching at the back end of its rotation will end up on top.

NL WEST: It's a four-team race heading into the second half. The Padres are atop the division on the strength of great starting pitching and a very strong bullpen, headed by All-Star closer Heath Bell. If San Diego's pitching holds up, I have to give them the edge in the division, although it wouldn't hurt to add a quality bat to its anemic lineup. The Rockies should provide the stiffest competition, but it's hard to imagine Ubaldo Jimenez duplicating his first-half performance after the break.

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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.