Giants, Marlins ready for clash between scorching teams

Baseball Betting Lines

07/26/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the hottest teams in baseball square off this evening when the San Francisco Giants welcome the Florida Marlins to town for the start of a four-game series at AT&T Park.

San Francisco has won four straight and 14 of its last 17 to move within three games of the San Diego Padres in the National League West while claiming the Wild Card lead, 1 1/2 games in front of Cincinnati.

Rookie Buster Posey has been the fuel behind the Giants' recent surge, as he enters tonight's tilt riding an 18-game hitting streak, the second-longest in team history behind Willie McCovey's 22-gamer.

Posey continued to roll on Sunday, going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and an RBI in the Giants' 3-2, 10-inning win over Arizona to complete a four-game sweep. He also needs one more RBI to move past Jim Ray Hart, who set a team rookie record with 24 RBI in one month in 1964.

"I'm seeing the ball well. That's my approach, try to see the ball and get the barrel on it. Keep it simple," a humble Posey said.

San Francisco may be able to keep rolling tonight, as scheduled starter Barry Zito is a perfect 5-0 lifetime against the Marlins. He beat them earlier in the year by allowing one run in seven innings and has pitched to a 2.15 earned run average in his six starts against Florida.

Zito, who is 8-5 with a 3.45 ERA, suffered a hard-luck loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, as he allowed two runs in 7 1/3 innings of the 2-0 setback.

Florida, meanwhile, sliced into Atlanta's lead in the National League East this weekend by taking two of three from the Braves and has won seven of its last nine to get back to .500. In Sunday's rubber match, Wes Helms hit a run- scoring single in the bottom of the 11th inning, lifting the Marlins to a 5-4 win.

Helms ended with two hits, three RBI, and a run scored for the Marlins, who have not been over .500 since they were 28-27 on June 3.

Chris Volstad, who was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans prior to the game, lasted six frames for Florida in the start, allowing three runs on five hits. Jorge Sosa (2-2) pitched a scoreless two innings of relief to record the win.

Getting the call for the Marlins tonight will be righty Ricky Nolasco, who is 10-7 with a 4.50 ERA. Nolasco improved to 5-1 over his last six starts with a win over Colorado on Wednesday. He gave up two runs and four hits in eight innings of that one, as he moved past A.J. Burnett for second all-time in franchise history with 50 wins.

Nolasco is just 1-2 in three starts against the Giants, despite a 2.05 ERA.

San Francisco swept a three-game set from the Marlins earlier in the year and has won five of the last six meetings in the series.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on college football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.