Reds' Griffey gets one final swing at reaching 600 in Philly

Baseball Betting Lines

06/05/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - General soreness has been keeping Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. out of the starting lineup during this four-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies. Griffey may get another chance for his 600th career home run in today's finale of the set from Citizens Bank Park.

Griffey did not play in Monday's series-opening 5-4 loss to the Phillies to catch up on some rest, then was walked in his only appearance at the plate during a 3-2 setback on Tuesday. He then walked again as a pinch-hitter in Wednesday's 2-0 victory for the Reds, who ended a two-game slide and won for the sixth time in nine tries.

Griffey is just one home run shy of becoming the sixth player to reach the 600-homer club, which is currently occupied by Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa. The sweet-swinging future Hall-of-Famer has played in 38 games (132 at-bats) against Philadelphia and owns just four home runs. Griffey has also homered just twice in 55 plate appearances at hitter- friendly Citizens Bank Park.

Joey Votto broke up Brett Myers' no-hit bid last night with an RBI double in the seventh inning and knocked in another run in the ninth to lead the Reds. Starting pitcher Edinson Volquez fanned eight batters and allowed only two hits over seven innings. He has yet to allow more than two earned runs in any of his 12 starts this season, and his season ERA dropped to 1.32.

The Reds are 1-2 on an eight-game road trip through Philadelphia and Florida and 10-21 away from home this season.

Cincinnati youngster Homer Bailey will be called up from Triple-A Louisville in time to start against the Phillies today. Bailey, who has yet to make an appearance in the big leagues this season, went 4-4 with a 4.15 earned run average in 12 starts with Louisville.

Bailey, the seventh overall pick by the Reds in 2004, appeared in nine games for the Reds last season and compiled a 4-2 mark with a 5.76 earned run average. The right-hander faced the Phillies on June 26 at Citizens Bank Park, allowing six runs and six hits in just 1 2/3 innings of work.

Philadelphia had a three-game winning streak stopped on Wednesday and lost for just the second time over its last 10 contests. Myers pitched 6 2/3 innings of no-hit ball, but took the loss despite allowing only one run and one hit in 7 1/3 frames. He struck out eight batters.

Ryan Howard and Geoff Jenkins had the only Philadelphia hits in the loss, as the National League East-leading Phillies fell to 7-2 on their 10-game homestand. The Phils are 1 1/2 games ahead of Florida in the division standings and 20-13 at home in 2008.

The Phillies will hand the ball to Cole Hamels on Thursday, and he is 5-4 with a 3.73 earned run average in 12 starts this season. Hamels was 3-0 in a six- start stretch before his last outing on Saturday versus Florida, when he was reached for seven runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 7-3 setback.

The left-hander, who has allowed six or more runs in each of his last two starts, is 3-3 in seven home starts this season. Hamels will face Cincinnati for the second time this season, having won an April 7 performance at Great American Ball Park. He gave up two runs -- one earned -- in seven innings during a 5-3 victory.

In three career starts against the Reds, Hamels is 2-0 with an 0.86 ERA.

Philadelphia leads the 2008 season series with Cincinnati by a 4-3 count. The Phils are 16-10 against the Reds since the start of the 2005 campaign.

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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.