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Cards send a message in CincinnatiBaseball Betting Lines08/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the St. Louis Cardinals manage to hold on and win their second straight National League Central title, they may very well point to Tuesday as being the turning point in their season. And, they will have Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips to thank for that. Phillips took an under the radar race and put it on the national stage with these comments to a Reds writer: "I'd play against these guys with one leg. We have to beat these guys. I hate the Cardinals. All they do is b--ch and moan about everything, all of them, they're little b---es, all of 'em. "I really hate the Cardinals. Compared to the Cardinals, I love the Chicago Cubs. Let me make this clear: I hate the Cardinals." Of course, his comments came with his Reds two games ahead in the standings and shortly before the two teams engaged in an important three-game set at Great American Ball Park. St. Louis may not have been aware of Phillips' remarks before the start of Monday night's opener, but rest assured the Cards were well aware of them heading into Tuesday's tilt when a full-fledged brawl with Phillips as the catalyst broke out before a pitch was even thrown. As if the comments weren't enough motivation for the Cardinals, the brawl seemed to energize Tony La Russa's club, who rolled to an 8-4 win that night, before completing the three-game sweep with a 6-1 win on Wednesday to move one game ahead of the Reds in the division with a little over a month and half to play. For those keeping score, the Reds were outscored 21-8 in the series and managed a whopping nine hits in 19 2/3 innings off three St. Louis starters. "It certainly added fuel to our fire, when you've got guys opening their mouth saying stupid stuff," said St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright, who won Wednesday's finale. "But we only use that in a positive way. It's very unprofessional to fire back. Just go out there and win the game on the field, not off the field. That's what we did this series." Well done Mr. Phillips. I have to admit I am tired of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. We needed some bad blood elsewhere in the league. A St. Louis-Cincinnati rivalry is good for baseball, especially since it looks like they are going to be trading places with each other atop the Central standings from here on out. It's obvious the two managers despise each other. La Russa and Dusty Baker have had run-ins in the past. Tensions within the division is a good thing. By the way make sure to mark September 4-6 on your calendars as these two teams will meet again for the final time in the regular season in a three-game series at Busch Stadium. The Reds have not finished above .500 since 2000 and have not played in the postseason since five years before that. There was no need to rattle the Cardinals' cage. Now is this sweep going to be the death knell to the Reds' postseason hopes? No not by a long shot. In fact when it is all said and done I think they are going to wind up winning the wild card in the National League. Take a look at the schedules the rest of the way. The loser of the Central battle most certainly has the upper hand, considering the majority of their schedule the rest of the way comes against their own division, featuring the likes of the Houstons, Pittsburghs and Milwaukees of the world. Not to mention games against Arizona and Colorado. Now, of course, the Cardinals play essentially the same teams down the stretch, so neither team really has an advantage in that regard. Bottom line is both teams are still in pretty good shape to reach the postseason. To Phillips' credit he stood behind his words and even his teammates were kind of behind him, chalking it up to "Brandon being Brandon". I understand what he was trying to do, but it may have backfired on him, as it appears to have fired up the wrong team.
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Betting the NFL preseasonRule 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. 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