AL puts All-Star unbeaten streak on the line at Angel Stadium

Baseball Betting Lines

07/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The American League will try to stretch its unbeaten streak to 14 games over the National League when the respective All-Star teams battle Tuesday in the 81st edition of the Mid-Summer Classic at Angel Stadium.

This marks the first All-Star Game in Anaheim since the Big "A" played host in 1989 and the third time overall that the city has housed the event.

A pall though has been cast on the game with the news of the death of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

With last year's 4-3 victory in St. Louis, the American League enters tonight's affair with seven straight wins in the All-Star Game and has not lost to the National League since 1996, collecting 12 wins during that stretch, while battling to a 7-7 tie in the 2002 game that was called after 11 innings when both squads ran out of pitchers.

The unbeaten streak for the AL is the longest in the game's history, surpassing the Senior Circuit's 11-game run from 1972-1982. The AL is actually 18-3-1 in the last 22 All-Star Games and has not lost since falling 6-0 at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium back in 1996.

Oddly enough, though, the American League only has a three-run differential over the NL in the previous 80 contests, 339-336. However since the start of the unbeaten streak, the AL has outscored the NL, 76-48.

The American League's last four wins have all been one-run victories.

This also marks the eighth straight year that the All-Star Game will determine which league gets home-field advantage in the World Series. The AL, of course, has won the previous seven contests.

"I know it only matters for the World Series, but in our home games during the playoffs, we were 7-1, so we understand that home-field advantage is very important to our American League club this year," said AL manager Joe Girardi.

On Monday, Girardi named Tampa Bay lefty David Price as his starter for Tuesday night's Mid-Summer Classic, making the 24-year-old hurler the youngest pitcher to start the game since a 23-year-old Dwight Gooden took the ball for the National League in 1988.

"It's definitely an honor," said Price, who is the youngest AL pitcher to open this game since 23-year-old Brett Saberhagen in 1987. "It hasn't set in yet. I'm very happy to be here."

The top overall pick in the 2007 draft, Price is 12-4 with a 2.42 ERA and 100 strikeouts this season for the Rays. He is one of six pitchers all-time under 25 years of age to reach 12 wins, an ERA below 2.50 and 100 strikeouts heading into the All-Star break, and the first in 25 years since Roger Clemens did so in 1986 (15-2, 2.48 ERA, 146 strikeouts).

He is also the youngest to be leading either the AL or NL in wins and ERA at the All-Star break since 23-year-old Scott Erickson with Minnesota in 1991 (12 wins, 1.83 ERA).

The lineup for the American League will open with Seattle right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, who will be followed by New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who is replacing the injured Justin Morneau of Minnesota.

Texas center fielder Josh Hamilton will bat cleanup, with his teammate and former Angels star Vladimir Guerrero next as the designated hitter. Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria will hit sixth, followed by Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer, Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano and Rays left fielder Carl Crawford.

"You look at numbers and how guys have performed," said Girardi when asked how he constructed his lineup. "We have quality RBI guys in the middle of the lineup and speed at the top and bottom."

Philadelphia's Charlie Manuel, who will be guiding the National League for the second straight year, tabbed Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez to be his starter. Jimenez has had an incredible start to the 2010 season with a record of 15-1 and a 2.20 earned run average in 18 starts. He has already matched his victory total from last year and leads the majors in wins.

"It's a huge honor for me just to be here," said Jimenez. "I'm going to cherish the moment tomorrow. It's an honor to be in the clubhouse with all these stars."

The 26-year-old Dominican native threw the season's first no-hitter and the first in Rockies history on April 17 against Atlanta. He last pitched on Thursday against St. Louis and threw eight innings in a 4-2 victory, becoming the first National League pitcher to reach 15 wins before the All-Star break since Greg Maddux in 1988.

"He's a very talented guy," said Manuel, who indicated that Florida ace Josh Johnson was also considered. "We've got some real talented pitchers on the National League squad. He's 15-1 and his record speaks for itself."

Manuel also revealed his lineup for Tuesday's contest. Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez will lead off for the National League and will be followed by Atlanta second baseman Martin Prado, who is starting for the injured Chase Utley of Philadelphia. St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols will bat third, followed by Philadelphia's Ryan Howard, who was chosen by Manuel as the designated hitter.

New York Mets third baseman David Wright will hit fifth, followed by Milwaukee left fielder Ryan Braun, Dodgers center fielder Andre Ethier and Brewers' right fielder Corey Hart, who is starting in place of injured Atlanta rookie Jason Heyward. Yadier Molina of St. Louis will catch and bat ninth.

Next year's All-Star Game will be contested at Chase Field in Arizona.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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