Orioles try to stay hot, solve Sabathia in opener with Yanks

Baseball Betting Lines

05/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After the second worst start in team history the Baltimore Orioles seem to have turned the corner. Tonight, though, they will have their work cut out for them, as they face CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees in the first of three games at Yankee Stadium.

Sabathia has owned the Orioles since he lost to them in his Yankee debut, beating them five straight times while pitching to a 1.91 earned run average. He beat them his last time out on Wednesday, holding the O's to three runs and 11 hits in 7 2/3 innings to up his record to 3-1 to go along with a 3.12 ERA.

For his career Sabathia is an impressive 10-1 against Baltimore with a 2.62 ERA in 15 starts.

The Yankees took two of three over the weekend from the Chicago White Sox, as they exploded in a 12-3 rout to cap the series on Sunday. Brett Gardner, Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher homered to back seven shutout innings from Phil Hughes, helping New York to its fourth win in five chances.

Mark Teixeira went 4-for-5 with a two-run double and a pair of runs scored in the lopsided victory. He is now 6-for-9 in May after finishing April with a .136 batting average.

"It was good to see everyone contribute today," said Yankee manager Joe Girardi. "That's a great sign."

Hughes (3-0), coming off a no-decision on Tuesday at Baltimore, limited the White Sox to four hits with a walk and six strikeouts. He has yielded just 10 hits and four runs in 25 innings over four starts this season.

"He threw some really good changeups, his curveball was good, his fastball was good, his cutter was good," Girardi stated about Hughes. "He's been really good and we felt good about him coming out of spring training. He's doing everything you could ask."

Baltimore, meanwhile, completed a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox over the weekend, taking the finale 3-2 in 10 innings. The O's picked up the win on Sunday when Ty Wigginton doubled home Nick Markakis, who had moved into scoring position on a wild pickoff attempt from Boston closer Johnathan Papelbon.

"It was just a tremendous weekend, a lot of fight in the team," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "Sometimes you come to the ballpark and you don't know what you're going to get. Today when I walked through the clubhouse I felt we were going to win."

Markakis had two hits and two runs scored for the Orioles, who entered the series with just four wins in their first 22 games.

Tonight, the O's turn to right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, who was hammered by the Yankees on Wednesday. Guthrie surrendered seven runs (six earned) and six hits in just 4 2/3 innings of that one, dropping him to 3-7 lifetime versus the Yanks to go along with a 5.21 ERA in 13 games (12 starts).

He is 0-3 on the year with a 4.70 ERA. However, before his last start he had yet to allow more than three runs in any of his four outings.

The Yankees took two of three from the Orioles at Camden Yards last week after winning 13 of the 18 matchups between the teams last season. Baltimore was just 2-7 in the Bronx a year ago.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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