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07/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim set their sights on a ninth straight victory over the Seattle Mariners as the two ballclubs wrap up a four-game set today at Angel Stadium.
On Saturday, Juan Rivera went 3-for-4 and hit the go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, lifting the Angels to a 7-6 victory over the Mariners.
Mike Napoli went 2-for-4 with a home run for the Angels, who had also won the first two contests of this four-game series. Kevin Frandsen and Reggie Willits each added two hits and two RBI in the victory.
"We're swinging the bats much better, but we need contributions from a lot of guys," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "We were able to pressure them early in the game, and Juan has a track record of swinging the bat well as the season goes on."
The Angels have beaten the Mariners eight consecutive times and improved to 10-2 against them this season.
Justin Smoak went 3-for-4 with a double and homer, while Jose Lopez doubled twice for Seattle, which has dropped four in a row and fell to 2-12 in July.
Neither starter received a decision. Los Angeles' Joe Saunders allowed five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in six innings, while Seattle's Ryan Rowland- Smith last just 3 1/3 frames, in which he gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits and a walk.
Jason Vargas gets the start for the Mariners today and he is hoping to build off a solid performance against the Yankees on July 8th. In that game, Vargas allowed one earned run and nine hits over seven innings of work. He did not receive a decision in the team's eventual 3-1 loss.
The left-hander has made four career appearances - three starts - versus the Angels, going 2-0 with a 2.82 ERA. He last faced them on June 6th, allowing four runs - three earned - and 10 hits in six innings. He did not factor in the decision, a 9-4 loss for the Mariners.
Countering for the Angels is Ervin Santana, who has dropped two consecutive starts. The right-hander wasn't at fault in his last appearance on July 8th, allowing just one earned run and three hits over eight innings of a 1-0 loss to the White Sox.
Santana has made 17 lifetime starts against Seattle, boasting a 7-4 record and a 4.19 ERA. He picked up the win against them on June 5th, allowing one run and seven hits in six inning of an 11-2 triumph.
<< Padres go for another sweep of Arizona
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National League West-leading San Diego Padres will
shoot for the second straight three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks
when the two division foes close out their set today at Petco Park.
San Diego has
<< Szavay wins second straight title
Prague, Czech Republic (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hungary's Agnes Szavay captured her
second consecutive tournament title with a three-set victory over crowd
favorite Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic in Sunday's final of
the Pra
<< Marlins aim for series win vs. Nationals
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marlins right-hander Alex Sanabia makes his fifth trip to a
major-league mound today, seeking to lift Florida to a series win in the
finale of a three-game set with the visiting Washington Nationals at Sun Life
Stadium
<< Cook leads Rockies into finale at Reds
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Suburban Cincinnati native Aaron Cook returns home to face
a team that's never beaten him today, when the Colorado Rockies head to Great
American Ball Park to meet the Reds in the finale of a three-game series.
The host
A's, Royals close out set in KC >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Athletics shoot for their first five-game
winning streak of the 2010 campaign, as they close up a three-game series with
the Kansas City Royals today at Kauffman Stadium.
On Saturday, Adam Rosales drove
Boston's Lester takes mound vs. Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jon Lester goes for his seventh straight home win today, as
he leads the Boston Red Sox into the finale of a four-game series with the
Texas Rangers at Fenway Park.
Lester, who tossed a perfect inning in the All-Star
Pitcher's duel on tap between Rays/Yankees >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of All-Star pitchers go head-to-head today, as David
Price and the Tampa Bay Rays conclude a three-game set with Andy Pettitte and
the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
The 24-year-old Price recently earned his
Jays hope to pin another sweep on O's >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Toronto Blue Jays gun for their third consecutive
three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles as the teams wrap up their series
today at Camden Yards.
On Saturday, Jose Bautista hit a two-run homer in the t
There is little doubt that the NFL is where the sportsbooks see the most action and also make the most loot. The NFL possesses betting friendly attributes that are unlike any of the other major sports. First off, there are relatively few teams to keep track of in comparison to college football betting or college basketball. And second, these teams play only once a week which makes staying on top of the results much easier than it is in the daily leagues such as the NBA, NHL, and MLB.
These dynamics, along with the sheer excitement of watching and wagering on football, brings more square action to the table than any of the other sports. Almost every Tom, Dick and Harry in America is an NFL expert in their own mind and that is precisely what the oddsmakers prey upon.
Understanding who bets the games is just as important as understanding which teams are playing the games. The market at times will dictate price, which in the betting world means the oddsmakers cater to the public rather than reality.
Knowing the market inside and out is the basis of our NFL handicapping model. That is, our approach to NFL handicapping is of the contrarian or value seeking variety. We will at times place a higher premium on public sentiment than on the fundamentals. This strategy dictates playing dogs and/or lesser competent teams, or teams the public wants nothing to do with. Or better yet, fading the teams the oddsmakers want you to bet on.
Along these same lines, we carry a similar notion that the first week of the NFL season presents one of the ripest opportunities for the astute gambler. This conflicts with conventional wisdom and/or handicapping lore, as most would say it is better to watch a few games and assess each team before jumping in with both feet. That’s all fine and dandy, but there are some interesting trends to exploit in Week 1 and we’d be remiss to ignore them. Let us quickly explain.
Gone are the days of dynasties, where the same core players stay intact and dominate the league year after year. Free agency and player movements can completely transform teams from one season to the next. In today’s parity-driven NFL, poor teams typically don’t stay poor for all that long and excellent teams must constantly reinvent themselves to stay on top.
The temptation might be to assume prior year results are the best indicator of who is going to cover in Week 1. To Joe Public, playoff teams from the prior season, home teams, favorites, and so one, look even more enticing than usual since there is no current season performance to judge them against. But the question begs: are the oddsmakers setting a trap?
To find the answer, we culled five years worth of Week 1 NFL data. As always, all of our analysis is done from an ATS perspective. The purpose here is to share the most important angles we unearthed and try to explain the logic behind them. So strap on your helmet, throw on your shoulder pads, and follow our lead as we expose some rare holes in the oddsmakers’ line of defense.
Home vs. Away Teams
Over the past five seasons, NFL home teams in Week 1 are just 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent). This of course implies that roadies are a 58 percent winning proposition during this time. The public at large has a tendency to overvalue home teams and this is especially true in Week 1 when there is no current season data to make predictions from. Consequently, the oddsmakers almost surely shade the home teams, by and large making road teams the choice for the value player.
Conclusion: Look long and hard at road teams first when handicapping the opening week.
Price ranges
Favorites are just 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent) in the opening week over the past five NFL seasons (Coincidentally, home teams hold the same ATS record as noted above). This means that underdogs bark at a 58 percent clip. Mid-range favorites performed the worst among our specified price ranges. In particular, favorites priced between –3 1/2 and –6 1/2 are only 8-15 ATS (35 percent) during this time.
The same basic pattern holds true when looking at home favorites (road favorites gravitate towards a 50 percent mean). Home favorites indeed are just 21-32-3 ATS (40 percent) in the first week of NFL action since 1999. Again, mid-range favorites are similarly the poorest performers when we look at home teams. Consider that home teams priced between –3 1/2 and –6 1/2 have stumbled to a 6-13 ATS (32 percent) mark in Week 1 games the past five seasons.
Conclusion: Like home teams, favorites and particularly mid-range favorites are generally overvalued in Week 1.
Playoff teams
It might surprise you to learn that playoff teams from the prior year versus non-playoff teams from the prior year are a mere 16-23-3 (41 percent) ATS in NFL Week 1 games over the past five seasons. Home teams which made the playoffs versus teams which did not make the playoffs from the prior season drop to a meager 7-14-1 ATS (33 percent) during this time.
Why are playoff teams, and in particular those at home, such bad bets the past five openers? Just as the case with home teams and with favorites, oddsmakers intentionally overprice playoff teams in the opening week to compensate for the public’s propensity to over bet them.
This theory holds true just looking at straight-up records from the past season as well. That is, home teams with winning records from the prior season vs. road teams with losing records from the prior season are just 8-13 ATS in Week 1 NFL games since 1999.
Conclusion: Playoff teams from the prior year and in particular, home playoff teams, are overvalued in Week 1 NFL games.
Scoring defense and scoring offense
Do good defenses and for that matter good offenses from the prior season fare better against the number the following year in Week 1 games? Well, sort of. Generally speaking, teams with a solid offense or defense from the prior season tend to do well in the opening week so long as they are on the road. As a host, however, the best offenses and best defenses from the prior year tend to be overvalued in Week 1.
Consider that the top five scoring defenses (i.e. points allowed) from the prior season are a nice 8-4 ATS (66 percent) on the road in NFL openers the past five seasons. Meanwhile, the top five scoring defenses from the prior season are just 3-8-2 ATS (27 percent) as a host in Week 1 during the same time period.
There is no discernable advantage or disadvantage for teams with a top five scoring offense (i.e. points scored) in Week 1 games. However, when we look at scoring offenses from the bottom up (isolating the five worst offenses from the prior season), the results are rather interesting. In particular, teams ranked in the bottom five in scoring offense from the prior season are 9-4-1 ATS (69 percent) when on the road in Week 1.
The logic is simply that the public perception is a poor scoring offensive unit from the year prior will have little chance of winning on the road in Week 1. In turn, the oddsmakers compensate for this perception and these poor offensive teams from the year prior carry extra line value on the Week 1 trail.
Conclusion: Teams with top-ranked defenses from the previous season are good bets when playing on the road, but poor bets when playing at home. Also, teams ranked among the bottom five in scoring offense from the prior season are generally a good value in their Week 1 openers, provided they are playing on the road.
Scoring margin
An exceedingly straightforward way of measuring scoring offense and scoring defense together as a whole is to look at a team's “margin." Margin is simply scoring offense minus scoring defense, which is a fairly clear-cut measure of how a team does on both sides of the ball. Typically, the higher the margin, the better the team.
In this regard, it might seem counterintuitive that teams carrying the higher margin from the prior season in week one matchups are merely 31-42-7 ATS (42 percent). Furthermore, road teams with the higher margin are 14-20-6 ATS (41 percent), while home teams with the higher margin are 17-22-1 ATS (44 percent). Once again, these results line up with the theory that better teams from the prior year are overvalued come opening day of the following season.
Conclusion: “Better” teams, which often boast a higher margin than their opponent, are overvalued the following season in NFL openers.
In sum
Oddsmakers cater NFL betting lines to match public perception and also to bait the public into poor bets. The temptation to use the prior year’s success as a buy sign for how a team will perform against the spread in Week 1 of the following season is an enormous trap.
The fact is, isolating road teams, road dogs, non-playoff teams vs. playoff teams, teams with a losing record or low margin vs. playoff teams or ones with a high margin from the previous year is where the line value resides. Quite simply, taking the road less traveled is your surest path to NFL betting profits.
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