09/08/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmy Rollins went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, an RBI and three stolen bases, as Philadelphia inched closer to the Mets in the National League East race with an 8-6 victory over Florida at Citizens Bank Park.
After a magical individual September sparked the Phillies to the division title last season, Rollins continued his steady play of late in a season filled with injury and frustration.
"He swung the bat good, very active on the bases. He played a very good game," said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel of his shortstop.
Last season's NL MVP moved into a tie for fourth place in the stolen base department in club history, sliding safely past Larry Bowa. Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer and Ryan Howard finished 2-for-4 with two RBI for the Phillies, who have won three of four and to move within 1 1/2 games of idle New York.
Joe Blanton (2-0) received his second decision as a Phillie, giving up four runs on five hits with three walks and one strikeout over five frames. Brad Lidge navigated some shaky waters -- putting the tying run on base -- for his 35th save in as many chances.
Mike Jacobs and Cody Ross each hit two-run homers for the Marlins, who have lost three straight. Anibal Sanchez (2-4) was waxed for five runs on five hits over 1 2/3 frames, his shortest career outing.
The Phillies came out of the gates strong with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Rollins hooked a single into the hole on the left side, stole second and moved to third when an errant throw on the steal attempt found its way into center field. Chase Utley drove the shortstop home with a single almost identical in nature and Howard drove a double into right-center, plating the hard-charging second baseman.
Blanton's control problems reared their ugly head in the top of the second frame. He walked Jacobs and Dan Uggla before Josh Willingham cued a base hit over Rollins' head and into left field. John Baker hit a long sacrifice fly and Uggla -- running on contact -- scored on Alfredo Amezaga's chopper to Howard at first.
Philadelphia answered right back with a two-spot in the home half of the frame. Matt Stairs walked and Carlos Ruiz belted a belt-high fastball off the very top of the padding on the left-field wall for a double. Blanton then helped himself with a sacrifice fly to right, and Rollins followed with a run- scoring single to right. Howard greeted new hurler Mark Hendrickson with a single off the pitcher's leg and back through the middle, plating Rollins for a 5-2 edge.
Jacobs hit a low-and-in fastball deep into the right-center field seats for a two-run home run in the third to trim the deficit.
Werth gave the Phillies some breathing room in the bottom of the seventh frame, belting a line-drive three-run shot to dead center field for an 8-4 advantage. Shane Victorino walked, Utley was hit by a pitch and Howard replaced Utley with a force out prior to Werth's long drive off Joe Nelson.
Florida fought back against J.C. Romero in the top of the eighth frame. Ross hit a two-run pinch-hit homer following a walk to make the score 8-6.
Pinch-hitter Dallas McPherson doubled with one out in the ninth and Hanley Ramirez followed with an infield hit. Lidge came back to fan Wes Helms and Jorge Cantu to end the game.
Game Notes
Blanton notched his first career RBI...The Phillies are 54-19 when Rollins scores at least one run...Utley was hit by a pitch for the 25th time this season, tying the club record he set last season...Werth's home run was his 22nd of the season...Jacobs clubbed his 31st long ball and Ross hit his 20th home run.
<< Red Sox set MLB record with 456th straight sellout
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox broke the Major League
Baseball record for consecutive sellouts by filling Fenway Park for the 456th
straight time Monday when they played the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays.
Boston's
<< Tampa Bay's Upton leaves game
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tampa Bay Rays outfielder B.J. Upton left
Monday's game against Boston due to a strained left quadriceps muscle.
Upton, who is considered day-to-day, was injured while running to first base
on a groundo
<< Richmond reveals basketball violations
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Richmond revealed violations
within its men's and women's basketball programs on Monday, indicating there
were illegal text messages and phone calls to prospective student-athletes.
NCAA r
<< Fabulous Federer: Swiss great wins fifth straight U.S. Open title
Flushing Meadows, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Swiss superstar Roger Federer
defeated Scotland's Andy Murray in Monday's men's final at the U.S. Open to
become the first man in the Open Era to capture the event five straight years.
The
Rodgers leads Pack over Vikes as post-Favre era starts >>
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Rodgers helped put the ghosts of Brett
Favre behind the Green Bay faithful, at least for another week, by leading the
Packers over Minnesota, 24-19, in the season-opener for both teams at Lambeau
Field.
Sheffield's two homers help Tigers blast A's >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gary Sheffield hit a pair of home runs,
including a grand slam, which was the 250,000th home run in MLB history, as
the Detroit Tigers outlasted the Oakland Athletics, 14-8, to open a three-game
set.
Streaking Astros edge Pirates >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alberto Arias' spot start went as well as
Houston's overall record as of late, and Mark Saccomanno hit a home run on the
first pitch he saw in the big leagues, as the red-hot Astros downed
Pittsbu
Jets ink veteran K Feely >>
Hempstead, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets have reportedly signed
veteran kicker Jay Feely.
According to Newsday, Feely, 32, will replace the injured Mike Nugent, who
hurt his right thigh on a kickoff in the Jets' 20-14 victory in Mi
Brandon Roy Favorite to Win 2007 NBA Rookie of the Year
Portland TrailBlazer’s guard, Brandon Roy, is MySportsbook.com’s overwhelming favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year odds.
Despite missing 20 games due to an injury earlier this season, Roy has definitely put up the best numbers of his 1st year peers. In 32 games, Roy is averaging 15.3 PPG, 4.2 boards and 3.5 assists in over 33 minutes of play per game. While most rookies breakdown as the season progresses (see Morrison), Roy is only getting stronger as his playing time and scoring average has increased each month.
With 30 or so games left in the regular season, Roy isn’t a lock for the award by any means. Other rookies are putting together some pretty impressive campaigns and a few could give Roy a run for the award with increased playing time. Heading the list is first pick, Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors. Even though he has started only two games all season, Bargnani is averaging 10.3 PPPG while shooting 35% from deep.
Randy Foye of the Minnesota Timberwolves could be set to give Roy the best competition NBA Rookie of the Year betting lines. With the benching of Mike James, Foye looks like he could be the starter in the T-Wolves backcourt for the rest of the season. So far, Foye has averaged 9 PPG and 2.4 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. With his new role of starter, Foye’s numbers will definitely increase. In his first game as the new starting guard this past Sunday, Foye had 10 points; five rebounds and 8 assists. More importantly, he logged 34 minutes of playing time; his third highest run of the season.
Adam Morrison, of the Charlotte Bobcats, was the favorite early on in the season after averaging 15+ PPG through the first month of the season. Ever since his torrid start, Morrison’s point production has declined each month. This really isn’t surprising, considering at 6’8” he only weighs 205 lbs. Obviously he will need to hit the weights big time during the off-season in order to keep from breaking down in the future.
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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