Nationals send Capps to Twins for Ramos

Baseball Betting Lines

07/29/2010 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals have traded closer Matt Capps to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for highly regarded catcher prospect Wilson Ramos.

Additionally the Nationals will also receive minor league pitcher Joe Testa, while Washington will send an undisclosed amount of cash to Minnesota.

Capps was in his first season with the Nationals and had a 3-3 record with a 2.80 earned-run average and 25 saves in 46 appearances. He joined Washington as a free agent after five seasons in Pittsburgh and has a 22-22 career record with a 3.50 ERA and 92 saves in parts of six seasons.

Ramos was one of the top-rated prospects in the Minnesota system, but was blocked by reigning AL MVP Joe Mauer. While Mauer was briefly injured, Ramos went 8-for-27 in a short seven-game stint in the majors this season.

The 22-year-old Ramos is batting .241 with five homers and 30 RBI in 71 games with Triple-A Rochester this season.

Testa, 24, is 2-5 with a 5.50 ERA in 36 games for Single-A Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain this season.

Wwweworldcasino Baseball Betting News

<< After Oswalt acquisition, Phillies win eighth straight
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wilson Valdez helped Philadelphia celebrate its acquisition of pitcher Roy Oswalt with a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning, as the Phillies completed a three-game sweep and won

<< Sharks sign D Demers to two-year extension
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks signed defenseman Jason Demers to a two-year contract extension on Thursday. The 22-year-old Demers finished fourth among NHL rookie defenseman with 21 points (four goals, 17 assis

<< Salazar, Padres take series from Dodgers
San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pinch-hitter Oscar Salazar singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the San Diego Padres posted a 3-2 victory over Los Angeles in the rubber match of a three-game series at Petco P

<< Jets place McKnight on active non-football injury list
Florham Park, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Jets placed running back and 2010 draft pick Joe McKnight on the active non-football injury list Thursday after he failed a conditioning test. McKnight, who was taken by the Jets in the

<< Bowditch, Thompson share lead in Nebraska
Omaha, NE (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Bowditch and Kyle Thompson fired rounds of eight-under 63 Thursday to share the lead after one round of the Cox Classic. Bowditch claimed his lone tour win in his homeland of Australia at the 2005 Jacob

Cobourne, Als crush Argonauts >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Avon Cobourne racked up 231 total yards and scored a pair of rushing touchdowns ,as the Montreal Alouettes trounced the Toronto Argonauts, 41-10, at McGill Stadium. Cobourne rushed for 115 yards on 20 ca

Castro leads home run parade as ChiSox extended home win streak >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ramon Castro homered twice and Juan Pierre stroked a two-run double, as the Chicago White Sox beat Seattle, 9-5, to sweep a four-game series and extend their home winning streak to 11 games. Paul Konerko

Eagles sign top pick DE Graham >>
Bethlehem, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles have inked top pick defensive end Brandon Graham to a five-year contract. He is expected to be available for the team's afternoon practice on Friday. Financial terms were not disc

A-Rod homereless but still helps Yanks crush Tribe in Cleveland >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Rodriguez didn't hit his 600th career home run, but drove in three runs while both Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson added two RBI as the New York Yankees used a late burst of offense to down Clevela

Young, Teagarden help Rangers beat A's >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Michael Young finished 4-for-4 with three runs scored, and Taylor Teagarden hit a two-run homer, as the Texas Rangers defeated the Oakland Athletics, 7-4, in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

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

Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.