Myers opposes red-hot Hudson in the desert

Baseball Betting Lines

09/03/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Trade deadline pick-up Daniel Hudson can continue a sterling National League debut tonight when the Arizona Diamondbacks host the Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game series at Chase Field.

A 23-year-old from Lynchburg, Va., Hudson was acquired in a late July deal that sent veteran pitcher Edwin Jackson to the Chicago White Sox. He's since made six starts for Arizona, winning four times and allowing three runs or less in each outing.

Hudson was on the mound for seven innings in his last outing on Aug. 28, when he allowed four hits and two runs in the Diamondbacks' 11-3 win at San Francisco. The Old Dominion University product has pitched at least seven in each NL outing.

Overall with Arizona, Hudson has allowed just 30 hits and nine runs in 43 2/3 innings with 42 strikeouts. In three starts with Chicago before the trade, he'd given up 17 hits and 11 runs in just 15 2/3 innings.

Hudson has never faced Houston.

For the Astros, super-consistent righty Brett Myers aims for a 28th straight start in which he's pitched at least six innings. In his first year with Houston, Myers has been a symbol of durability while notching 145 strikeouts and allowing just 174 hits in 185 innings.

He's on pace to surpass 200 innings for the second time in his career and first since 2005, when he logged 215 1/3 innings while going 13-8 with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The former first-round draft pick (12th overall, 1999) won double-digit games five times with the Phillies and reached that mark for Houston in his last start when he allowed six hits in seven scoreless innings of a 4-1 win over the New York Mets.

Myers, who is 4-7 on the road this year, got a no-decision against the Diamondbacks in Houston on May 5, when he was touched for six hits and two runs in seven innings of the Astros' 4-2 victory.

Lifetime against Arizona, he is 2-2 with a save in seven games with a 3.92 earned run average.

On Wednesday in Houston, Hunter Pence hit a three-run homer as part of a four- run fifth inning, as the Astros completed a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 5-2 win at Minute Maid Park.

Michael Bourn added a single, RBI and run scored for Houston, which has won nine of its last 11. Carlos Lee chipped in with a sacrifice fly.

Nelson Figueroa (4-2) took the win after throwing five innings. The veteran yielded two runs on six hits, walked three and struck out one. Brandon Lyon worked a perfect ninth inning to record his 11th save of the season.

In Arizona, Brandon Allen belted his first career grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Diamondbacks beat San Diego, 5-2, to complete a three-game sweep.

It was quite a 2010 debut for Allen, who was promoted from Triple-A Reno earlier Wednesday, the first day major league rosters could be expanded.

Barry Enright (6-2) gave up two runs and nine hits over seven innings for Arizona, which has won six of its last seven games. The rookie right-hander has yet to allow more than three runs in any of his 12 starts.

Arizona is 3-1 against the Astros this season.

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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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