A's, Tigers wrap four-game set in Detroit

Baseball Betting Lines

08/13/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Right-hander Chad Durbin returns to the starting rotation for the Detroit Tigers tonight when they host the Oakland Athletics in the finale of a four-game set at Comerica Park.

Durbin, a 29-year-old who was drafted in the third round by the Kansas City Royals in 1996, has made 15 starts and 12 appearances out of the bullpen this season. He was exclusively used in relief between mid-June and early August, then lasted 4 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay in a start on August 8.

He's pitched twice against the Athletics in relief during 2007, combining to toss 2 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing one hit and striking out three. In his career, Durbin is 2-2 in eight appearances -- six starts -- against Oakland and has allowed 25 earned runs in 33 innings.

Slumping right-hander Chad Gaudin goes for the Athletics in search of his first win since July 5.

The 24-year-old New Orleans native was 8-3 after a 3-2 defeat of Seattle, but has since gone 0-5 in six starts since, allowing at least four earned runs in each outing.

He was touched for eight hits and seven runs in five innings en route to an 8-6 loss in Texas in his last start on Tuesday.

This will be Gaudin's first lifetime start against the Tigers. He's made five career relief appearances against them and is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in seven innings, allowing four hits and a run.

On Sunday, Magglio Ordonez blasted two home runs off Dallas Braden in an eight-run second inning as Detroit downed Oakland, 11-6.

Ordonez became just the second player in Tigers history to go deep twice in the same inning, joining the legendary Al Kaline, who belted two homers in the sixth inning of an April 17, 1955 affair against Kansas City. Ordonez is a gaudy 8-for-12 in the series with three homers and eight RBI.

Brandon Inge finished 1-for-3 with two RBI for the Tigers, who won their second straight and leapfrogged over Cleveland to take first place in the AL Central by one-half game. The Indians fell to the New York Yankees, 5-3, Sunday.

Nate Robertson (7-9) allowed four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings to earn the win.

Marco Scutaro was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and a pair of run-scoring doubles for the Athletics, who have lost three of their last five games. Mark Ellis and Dan Johnson added an RBI apiece.

Braden (1-7) was rocked for eight runs on seven hits in just 1 2/3 innings en route to the loss.

These teams have split six encounters so far in 2007. Detroit won five of nine regular-season game against Oakland last season, then swept the A's in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series in October.

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Barry Bonds Watch: Giants Slugger Says He'll Be Back

With only 21 home runs standing between him and Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds is indeed planning on coming back for more in 2007. At least, that's what his agent told the Los Angeles Times.

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Contract negotiations could get started as early as next week. Let's see which team has the deeper pockets. Will MLB baseball betting lines despite allegations of steroid use? Bet On It at www.MySportsbook.com .

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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.

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