Gee wiz! Mets hurler sparkles in MLB debut

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2010 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dillon Gee was sensational in his major league debut, carrying a no-hitter through five innings, as the New York Mets topped the Washington Nationals, 4-1.

Gee (1-0) allowed just one run on two hits in seven spectacular innings, walking three and fanning four while adding an RBI single in his first at-bat for the Mets, who came into Tuesday with six losses in eight games.

The 24-year-old rookie did his best impression of the man he replaced, Johan Santana, who had his start skipped due to a pectoral strain. Ike Davis added a three-run homer in the win.

Willie Harris' homer broke up the no-hit bid, as the Nats failed again in their attempt to win four straight games this season. Washington fell to 0-7 this season after winning three consecutive contests.

The Nationals' starter also made his major league debut, albeit a less successful one. Cuban Yuneski Maya (0-1) gave up four runs on five hits and two walks in five innings.

The Mets used one swing of the bat to jump out into the lead early. Luis Hernandez singled with one out in the first inning, and Carlos Beltran followed with another base hit. Davis put New York ahead by three with his 18th home run of the year -- a shot to right.

Gee helped his own cause in his first at-bat in the second. Ruben Tejada laced a one-out double, and Gee followed with an RBI base hit to right field for a 4-0 margin.

Meanwhile, Gee was nearly flawless. He retired the first seven batters he faced until a walk to Wilson Ramos. Another seven consecutive outs followed for the rookie, before Danny Espinosa drew a two-out walk in the fifth.

Gee carried his no-hitter into the sixth, but it was quickly spoiled by Harris' leadoff homer to left. The Nationals, though, couldn't manage any more offense in the inning.

After Gee pitched a scoreless seventh, Pedro Feliciano and Bobby Parnell combined to get through the eighth without allowing a run.

Hisanori Takahashi came on for the save and allowed singles to both Ryan Zimmerman and pinch-hitter Alberto Gonzalez to put runners on the corners with one out. Pinch-hitter Ivan Rodriguez, though, grounded into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Takahashi earned his fourth save.

Game Notes

The last time two starting pitchers both made their major league debut in the same game was Detroit's Rick Porcello and Toronto's Ricky Romero on April 4, 2009...This is the first instance of two starting pitchers making their major league debut in Washington since September 17, 1909...The Nationals lead the season series, 8-6.

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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.