It sure was awesome seeing those NFL uniforms on the field for the first time over the weekend and the Rams back in Los Angeles.
There’s no denying the power pro football has over most of us, and seeing all those odds on the board made any of the games a major attraction at Vegas sportsbooks.
People just love betting football, but let’s be careful not to forget about baseball where the games are meaningful and just starting to get intense with only seven weeks to go until the postseason begins.
Even with the MLB teams that are out of contention there are still a few starting pitchers – such as Cincinnati’s Dan Straily (+10.7 units) – that are dealing as if they’re in a pennant race.
The sportsbooks have been waiting for the preseason to start to take away some of their daily risk on baseball. The more you bet from your bankroll on preseason games where there is a 20-cent split on the spread, fixed odds on parlay pay charts and choosing sides that are featuring second and third strong players deciding your fate, the more the books love it. They want baseball risk to be limited with its 10-cent lines, true parlay payouts and hot pitchers.
Don’t let the books off the hook just yet. Keep firing away in MLB action. I have friends who love betting the preseason and say they do well with it because of the QB rotations and coaching tendencies.
In the first week of action it looked like a bunch of randomness with exception to Denver’s sick defense shutting out the Bears, 22-0, and Mike Zimmer’s Vikings winning again in the preseason to make him 9-1 in exhibitions as a head coach.
With baseball we’ve got some pitchers that get after it every game and have been piling up lots of money for bettors that have simply been riding them each time out.
Baltimore’s Chris Tillman doesn’t have the metrics to be considered for the AL Cy Young Award, but all the guy does is win and he’s carried the Orioles on his back all year. The O’s have won 20 of his 25 starts for +15.6 units of profit and because he doesn’t have the metrics like a Clayton Kershaw or Cole Hamels, he’s relatively cheap each time out. No starter has earned more money than him.
Detroit has won 16 of Michael Fulmer’s 19 starts and he has the metrics to compare with the best, but yet he’s still underpriced by about 25 cents each time out. His pitcher rating the sportsbooks have been using on him is similar to Tampa Bay’s Drew Smyly. If you’ve been betting Fulmer every time out you’re up +15.4 units.
The Blue Jays have won J.A. Happ’s last 11 starts – all by two runs or more – and 18 of 23 to reward his backers at +11.8 units.
The Royals have won nine straight behind Danny Duffy and 14 of 17 overall, giving him +11.7 units of profit, and because the Royals team rating has plunged, he’s
Twitter: @MicahRoberts7