11/13/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies hired former Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo to their coaching staff on Thursday.
Perlozzo has not yet been assigned a specific coaching position, though the club said he will handle infield instruction. Philadelphia is already without two coaches from the 2008 season -- third base coach Steve Smith, who was fired last week, and bench coach Jimy Williams, who told the club he will not return for 2009.
Perlozzo spent last season as Seattle's third base coach, and previously was with Baltimore for 12 seasons. He filled roles as third base coach (1996-2000), bench coach (2001-05) and manager (2005-07). During Perlozzo's stint as manager, the Orioles went 122-164. In his only full season as manager, 2006, Baltimore went 70-92.
Perlozzo was also the third base coach for Seattle from 1993-95, as well as Cincinnati (1990-92) and the Mets (1987-89).
"I've known Sammy for a long time and I couldn't be happier to add someone with his experience to our coaching staff," said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.
Perlozzo, 57, played in only 12 MLB games in parts of two seasons for Minnesota and San Diego, but spent the 1980 season in Japan playing for the Yakult Swallows -- the same season Manuel hit 48 home runs for the Kintetsu Buffaloes.
<< Cubs acquire Gregg from Marlins
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs acquired reliever Kevin Gregg
from the Florida Marlins on Thursday in exchange for minor league pitcher Jose
Ceda.
The right-handed Gregg made 72 appearances for the Marlins last season
<< Alouettes lead CFL offensive All-Stars
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Alouettes had five players listed
on the CFL's offensive All-Star team, which was announced Thursday.
Quarterback Anthony Calvillo, receivers Ben Cahoon and Jamel Richardson,
center Bryan C
<< Newcastle coach Kinnear apologizes to referee
Newcastle, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Newcastle interim coach Joe Kinnear has
apologized for his verbal outburst at referee Martin Atkinson's performance in
the 2-1 defeat at Fulham.
Kinnear was upset at Atkinson's decision to allow play
<< Lee captures AL Cy Young
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Indians left-hander Cliff Lee has
been named the American League Cy Young Award winner by members of the
Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Lee placed first on 24 of 28 ballots cast
Yankees get Swisher from White Sox for three players >>
Bronx, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Yankees announced on Thursday that
they have acquired Nick Swisher and pitcher Kanekoa Texeira from the Chicago
White Sox in exchange for infielder Wilson Betemit and two minor league
hurlers
Celtic coach Strachan mum on Zaluska rumors >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has refused
to confirm reports that he wants to sign goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska from Dundee
United.
The Poland shot-stopper has been linked with a move to Parkhead wit
A-Rod nabs 10th Silver Slugger; half of winners new >>
Louisville, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex
Rodriguez picked up his 10th Silver Slugger Award on Thursday, highlighting a
relatively new cast of players to receive the honor given to the top
offensi
Lam leads stars in Singapore >>
Singapore (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chih Bing Lam posted a four-under 67 on Thursday
to steal the spotlight from many of the big names and move in front during the
first round of the Singapore Open.
"It just feels good to be here, I guess I playe
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 sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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