Big Papi wins Home Run Derby

Baseball Betting Lines

07/12/2010 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz won the 2010 Home Run Derby, beating Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, 11-5, in the final round Monday at Angel Stadium.

Ortiz, who was in the derby from 2004-06, became the first Red Sox player to win the competition. Ortiz hit eight homers in the first round and 13 more in round two before tying the record for most homers in a last round. Bobby Abreu had that many in 2005 when he won with a record total of 41 long balls hit at Detroit's Comerica Park.

It was a slow start to the regular season for Ortiz, who had one home run in April, but he has 18 at the All-Star break. His 32 homers at the derby are third-most all-time, behind Abreu and Josh Hamilton, who hit 35 in 2008.

Ramirez was also on target with nine in round one and 12 more the ensuing round, but he belted just five in the final round.

After his sixth out, Ortiz arrived at home plate and gave Ramirez a drink, wiped his forehead and encouraged the 26-year-old, but he hit just one more homer.

Each batter was given 10 outs in every round of the competition, which is held in advance of Tuesday's All-Star Game.

Milwaukee right fielder Corey Hart hit the most home runs in the first round with 13, but then had to wait nearly 1 1/2 hours for his turn in the second round and was shut out. Because the homers from the first and second rounds were totaled to determine the final two participants, Hart was eliminated.

Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who has 22 homers at the All-Star break, barely made it out of the first round with seven homers and added just five to that total in round two.

St. Louis' Matt Holliday (5), the Yankees' Nick Swisher (4), Toronto's Vernon Wells (2) and Arizona's Chris Young (1) didn't make it out of the first round. Holliday, though, had the distinction of hitting the longest homer of the night at 497 feet.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

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