Relief Appearances From Season Cleveland

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Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics have agreed to terms with pitchers Brandon McCarthy and Joey Devine on one-year contracts for the 2012 season. McCarthy had the best season of his career with the A's last year, going 9-9 in 25 starts with a 3.32 earned run average. He set career highs in wins (9) innings pitched (170 2/3), strikeouts (123) and complete games (5).

 

Devine, a first round pick in 2005 by the Atlanta Braves, saw his first action in two years after returning from "Tommy John" surgery. In 26 games with Oakland in 2011, he held a record of 1-1 with a 3.52 ERA.

 

Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a contract for the 2012 season. Ellsbury is coming off a bounce-back season after injuries limited him to 18 games in 2010.

 

The 28-year-old finished second in the voting for the 2011 AL MVP and was named AL Comeback Player of the Year after hitting .321 while setting career- highs with 46 doubles, 32 home runs 119 runs and 105 RBI. He also led the majors with 364 total bases and 83 extra-base hits.

 

Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees have agreed to terms with pitchers Joba Chamberlain and David Robertson on one-year contracts, avoiding arbitration. Chamberlain's 2011 season was cut short due to Tommy John surgery. The burly right-hander went 2-0 with a 2.83 earned run average in 27 relief appearances before being placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 8 with a strained right flexor muscle. He had surgery a week later.

 

Robertson was an All-Star for the first time in 2011 and finished 4-0 with one save and a 1.08 ERA in a team-high 70 relief appearances. He led all AL relievers in ERA.

 

Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have agreed to terms with pitchers Jim Johnson, Darren O'Day and Dana Eveland on one-year contracts, avoiding arbitration. Johnson, 28, appeared in a career-high 69 games last season, recording a 6-5 record with nine saves and a 2.67 ERA. He finished second among AL relievers in innings pitched (91).

 

Eveland, 28, went 3-2 with a 3.03 ERA in five starts for the Dodgers last season.

 

Gorzelanny went 4-6 with a 4.03 ERA in 30 games (15 starts) last season, his first with Washington.

 

Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers announced Tuesday that catcher/designated hitter Victor Martinez recently sustained a torn ACL in his left knee. The team said Martinez, who will be re-evaluated by Dr. Richard Stedman, suffered the injury last week during his off-season conditioning. Surgery would likely sideline him for the 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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