Giants’ Ace A Hometown Hero

With a home game against the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers tonight, the San Francisco Giants–who are 4-games back–could use some wins.

Luckily enough, last year’s Cy Young winner, Tim Lincecum, takes the mound tonight.

In Lincecum’s last 20 home starts, he is 13-7 SU and in his last eight is 6-2.

The Giants are listed at -148.

Hot MLB Betting Trends: April 2009

Hopefully you have made quite a bit of money with your baseball betting to start the 2009 season, but if you haven’t then you either aren’t playing the baseball picks offered by the experts on our site or you haven’t cashed in on the following hot trends. Let’s take a look at who has been making money for bettors this year.

Paul Maholm - If you do not follow Major League Baseball very closely you may not even know who this guy is, but Maholm is looking like a star on the rise. He’s a left-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Bucs are 4-0 in games he’s started this year. He was drafted in the first round of the 2003 draft, but in 2006 and 2007 got roughed around in the majors for an ERA of nearly 5.00. Maholm has been seeing lots of value in his games because the Pittsburgh offense is so bad, but be on the lookout for favorable matchups for Maholm the rest of the year. This guy will clean up against a left-handed batting team since lefties have two hits against him in 2009 after hitting .189 against him in 2008.

Runs in the American League - If you have blindly played the over in all of the American League games this year then you would have cashed in on 59% of your wagers. Three teams are putting up over six runs per game, while four staffs in the AL are giving up more than half a dozen a contest. I don’t know if you can expect this trend to continue the rest of the season though. Books normally have some low totals early in the year due to cold weather, but many locations are seeing above average temperatures. Plus, teams like the Angels have seen their rotations decimated due to injuries.

St. Louis Cardinals & LA Dodgers - Two teams that are really picking up the units for their backers in the early goings have been the Cardinals and the Dodgers. Both have won 13 of their first 18 games, with the Dodgers cashing tickets in 11 of 13. LA is second in the NL in runs scored and the pitching staff has done a nice job as well. The Cards are the league leaders in runs scored with both Albert Pujols and Ryan Ludwick punishing opposing pitchers. Both of these teams have the talent to keep up their solid starts all year long, but you will want to cash in before the baseball odds makers adjust.

NFL Draft – All Bets are Off

With the 2009 NFL Draft under wraps after the great spectacle at New York Radio City Music Hall, attention now turns to mini-camps and possible trade speculation.

None of the big-name veterans changed teams over the weekend – unless you count Ellis Hobbs being traded from the New England Patriots to the Philadelphia Eagles for a pair of Fifth Rounders – but there was still plenty of drama all around.

Of course, a draft can never be properly evaluated 48 hours after it’s over – let alone 48 weeks for that matter, but some teams displayed some deft maneuvering in moving up and down the draft board and in snapping up highly-ranked prospects who fit a key need.

Let’s look at the teams that qualify as movers and shakers in this year’s NFL draft:

New York Jets

Emphasizing quality over quality, the Jets traded with the Cleveland Browns to move up to pick #5, where they snapped up Mark Sanchez to be their franchise quarterback of the future. Eat that Dan Snyder! On Day 2, the Jets also traded up to take running back Shonn Greene with the first pick of Round 3. Coupled with their strong Free Agent class of 2008, the Jets addressed their two key areas of need in this draft. However, they did not address their need for a wide receiver and time will tell how they address that. Perhaps a trade of next year’s draft picks for one of the available veteran wideouts is in order.

New England Patriots

The Patriots, who always find themselves on the Movers & Shakers list emphasized continuity over quality or quantity. Their biggest splash was a Safety, Patrick Chung out of Oregon, who should fit their system well. However, they locked up two additional second-round picks in the 2010 draft and that is a major coup for the team, setting them up nicely for next year’s richer draft class.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles were involved in the most draft-day trades, trading both up and down, to find the players they wanted. They were surprised to see Jeremy Maclin sitting there at #19, and traded up a couple spots (giving up a 6^th-rounder to do so) and plucked him. They were expecting Knowshon Moreno to be there, but he was surprisingly taken at #12 by the Denver Broncos. Getting LeSean McCoy in the 2^nd round made up for that, and both Maclin and McCoy will add some serious punch to their offense, joining Brian Westbrook, DeSean Jackson and Kevin Curtis. The Eagles also picked up a sleepr in Tight End Cornelius Ingram, who could be a monster on the gridiron if his surgically-repaired knee holds up.

CC Looking For Wins SU

CC Sabathia hasn’t exactly been putting up the numbers the New York Yankees envisioned when they signed the southpaw in the offseason but the season is still young.

With a record of 1-1 and an ERA of 4.81, Sabathia will take the mound against the Detroit Tigers tonight.

Sabathia is 8-3 lifetime against the Tigers and 7-3-1 on the Over/Under.

The Yanks are -120 for tonight’s game and the Total is set at 9.5.

Hamels Leaves Brewers Game

After giving up a 2-run HR, Philadelphia Phillies SP Cole Hamels took a line drive in his left shoulder and was subsequently taken out of the game in the fourth, reports ESPN.

The move was done for precautionary reasons and the Phillies are playing the Milwaukee Brewers, down 5-0 at the top of the sixth inning.

Tick-tock – Detroit is on the Clock

NFL Draft overview for sports bettors.

The NFL Draft has become a big day for TV over the last few years, and it has also become a popular event for sports betting. The NFL odds have been up for a while at many online sportsbooks and sports bettors have been taking their shots who they think will go to which teams.

Seven rounds, 256 picks. Yes, the flurry of the NFL draft is upon us this week and as owners, coaches and scouts from all 32 teams crowd into their respective ‘war rooms’ to finalize plans, sportsbettors can rejoice in having the luxury of sitting back and watching the plot unfold.

It’s a nervous time for NFL teams right now and the mood may seem especially tense for those involved with any one of the 11 franchises that finished the 2008 regular season with a sub-.500 record. For the 20 clubs that missed out on the post-season there is plenty of room for improvement, too, and if you are even still receiving a paycheck from the Detroit Lions organization it must be tough getting oxygen with the noose so tightly collared around your neck.

In the Motor City there is not a lot of margin for error as the club enters the 2009 campaign but then again, it would be difficult for the team to do worse than the 0-16 record posted in 2008.

Detroit has technically been on the clock since December 21 when New Orleans mashed in a 42-7 thumping to close out the home season for the Lions, guaranteeing that even the pitiful St. Louis Rams (2-14) would finish with a better record. Detroit will more than likely take a quarterback with its first pick but there are stirrings that the team is also considering the services of top-rated offensive tackle Jason Smith out of Baylor to protect the backside of the crusty, old QB that finished the season in silver and blue.

Check out all the NFL draft odds and the NFL future odds at SPORTSBETTING.com and enjoy the big draft day.

Yanks-BoSox 2009

Another chapter of professional sports’ most storied rivalries goes tonight as the New York Yankees make a visit to Fenway to play the Boston Red Sox.

Joba Chamberlain goes for the Yanks, Jon Lester goes for the BoSox.

The Yanks might be listed at +128 for tonight’s game but in their last 10 trips to Beantown are 6-4 SU and on the Under–tonight’s Total is set at 9.

Yanks Still Getting Settled In New Home

The New York Yankees haven’t been hot in their new park going 2-2 thus far and begin a series against the Oakland Athletics tonight.

Andy Pettitte takes the mound for the Yanks and hasn’t done well against the A’s going 2-6 in the last eight and 4-8 on the Over/Under in his last 12 Oakland tilts.

The Yanks are -200 and the Total is set at 9.5.
For more Check here

Baseball Betting Success Keys

With its wager-friendly dime line and the inability of bookmakers to influence the outcome of games through a pointspread, baseball betting may be a player's best bet.

That's certainly true statistically where Nevada bet takers have realized a far smaller profit (and even an occasional loss) booking baseball than they have accepting wagers on football or basketball.

The sophisticated player can enhance his odds even more if he's willing to analyze the five core factors that most influence Major League Baseball betting lines:

Pitching: No one player in any team sport has as much influence on the betting line as a starting pitcher has in baseball. In fact, a starting hurler is so important to the line that the player's name very often is listed next to the team. The old adage that "good pitching stops good hitting" has resonated with oddsmakers to the point where a quality pitcher on a good team is almost never an underdog, especially at home. So don't expect to see a "plus" with the Yankees' CC Sabathia, the Red Sox's Josh Beckett, the Mets' Johan Santana, the Diamondbacks' Brandon Webb (currently on the disabled list), the Blue Jays' Roy Halladay or the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano, very often. And even on those rare occasions when these starting pitchers are not the wagering choice--for instance, when Toronto visits New York or Boston--a top pitcher such as Halladay would be less of an underdog, maybe +140 (bet $100 to win $140), where almost any other pitcher would be +180 or more.

Left/Right: Managers still platoon certain players, trying to get as many left-handed hitters against right-handed pitching (and vice versa) as possible but nearly every Major League Baseball team lineup has a performance preference. For example, the Yankees, with lefty hitters Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu (now with the Angels) and Robinson Canoe in the starting lineup last year, hit 19 points higher (.277 to .258) against right-handed pitching than they did against left-handed pitching. The Yankees' rival, the Red Sox, were just the opposite, hitting 19 points higher against left-handers than right-handers. Boston also enjoyed a slugging percentage that was 57 points higher against southpaws. Florida (+28 against right-handers), Kansas City (+26 versus left-handers) and the NY Mets (+19 against right-handers) are three more teams that had significantly different batting averages, depending on whether the team faced right or left-handed pitching.


Day/Night: In general, batters see the ball better in the unaltered light of day than at night so you can expect slightly more runs in day games than in night games. Obviously, this has an impact on over/under totals. Also, like the left/right factor, some teams are better in day games than night games. The Royals, for example, had an ROI (return on investment) of +21.5 perfect in day games last season but the Indians were -24.5 percent in daylight.



Surface: Some teams, usually because of their pitching, are more suited to slower grass fields than slicker, faster fields made of Astroturf and other artificial surfaces. A sinker ball pitcher who keeps the ball low and induces a lot of ground balls, such as the Yankees' Chien-Ming Wang, will have more success on natural grass whereas a team that makes contact and does not strike out a lot, such as the Twins and Angels, will produce more hits on synthetic surfaces.



Home/Away: Just about every team is better at home than on the road, especially at the plate. In fact, not a single American League team had a higher batting average away than at home and only four National League teams, Florida, Milwaukee, San Diego and San Francisco, were better hitters on the road than at home last season. Bookmakers know this as well but sometimes confidence in the home team can be misplaced and a team that has one or more of the previously discussed factors working in its favor can be an excellent bet, particularly at a robust price.



Knowledge of these five keys could unlock the door to baseball betting success.



Visit for more Sports Betting information.

ULM baseball drops series opener at Middle Tennessee; doubleheader scheduled today

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.—Middle Tennessee pounded out 21 hits and scored in six different innings to take the Sun Belt Conference series opener 13-3 from ULM Friday night at Reese Smith Field.

The Warhawks pulled within 4-3 with a run in the top of the fourth inning, but hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded to end the frame. MTSU (25-10, 14-5 Sun Belt) took advantage of the opening scoring nine runs over the next four frames to put the game out of reach.

ULM (22-14, 11-8) had 11 hits on the night led by a 3-for-4 performance by Perry Smith, who upped his batting average to .400 on the season. Boomer Blanchard, Matt Laird and Jordy Poche each went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Bryce Brentz (4-2) did it at the plate and on the mound for the Blue Raiders. He struck out nine batters over eight innings to pick up the win, while going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a home run. Eight of the nine MTSU starters recorded multiple hits on the night.

Don Williams (4-1) lost for the first time this season allowing eight runs on 13 hits over four innings of work.

Due to the threat of impending inclement weather, the teams will now play a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 4 p.m. The first game will be a battle of southpaws as the Warhawks will send Justin Anderson (5-1, 4.79 ERA) to the mound and MTSU will counter with Kenneth Roberts (4-2, 3.94). In the finale, ULM will send righty Jordy Poche (2-2, 5.53) to the bump, while MTSU will give the ball to left-hander Brett Wilson (3-1, 4.68).

Both games will be broadcast live in the Monroe area on 1680 AM and worldwide on the internet at ulmathletics.com.

Doc Has Right Prescription For Jays

The surprising Toronto Blue Jays are the leaders of the AL East 10 games into the 2009 MLB season with a record of 7-3.

The Jays play Game 4 of 4 in Minnesota against the Twins and send Roy Halladay to the mound.

Dating back to 2001, Halladay is 4-1 under the Metrodome.

Toronto is listed at -136 for tonight’s game. For more...

BoSox’s Beckett Suspended

Speaking of Boston in the AL East cellar, the Red Sox will have to re-organize their rotation now, after word came down that starter Josh Beckett has been suspended for six games after aiming a pitch at the L.A. Angels’ Bobby Abreu.

According to ESPN, the suspension will begin tonight unless Beckett appeals.For more info check here

LSU is No. 1 in baseball polls

BATON ROUGE -- LSU moved to No. 1 in the latest Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls after taking its ninth straight SEC series with a pair of wins at Alabama.

Also, junior outfielder Blake Dean was named the SEC's player of the week.

The Tigers (26-9 overall, 10-5 SEC) haven’t lost a conference series since April 2008 when Georgia took two-of-three from LSU in Baton Rouge.

LSU was No. 2 in the Baseball American poll while checking in at No. 4 in the Collegiate Baseball poll a week ago.

It's the first time since March 2 that LSU is atop the polls.

Toronto Blue Jays Off to Best Start in Major League Baseball

The Toronto Blue Jays are on top of the American League East with a 5-1 record.
The Blue Jays are hot and they are enjoying a run that has them in first place in the East, first place in the American League, and ahead of everybody in the National League, too.

Toronto entered this season without great expectations. The most optimistic Blue Jay watchers are predicting 85 wins this season. The Jays are off to one of its best starts this decade.

With a win over the Indians on Saturday, the Blue Jays improved to 5-1, the best since 2001, when they started with an identical record.

If Toronto wins on Sunday to complete a three-game series sweep over Cleveland, the Jays would move to a 6-1 mark for the first time since 1994.

The Jays have two rookies in the rotation and another starter who missed rookie status by just 15 innings. Their closer owns an ERA of 21.60.


The Jays are averaging seven runs per game, have scored 42 times in six games, have 66 hits, and nine home runs.

It took them eight games to score their 43rd and nine games to get that many hits last year.

The Jays did not spend half a billion dollars on a few players, like the New York Yankees, who now sit in third place in the East, behind both Baltimore and Toronto. Read More

Hands way off the panic button

Young starters prompt speculation, frustration and hope

Well, it's official: Oliver Perez stinks and the Mets are done.

They just don't have the pitching.

In the past few days, I've had countless discussions with smart baseball fans who think the Mets' shaky rotation will prevent them from competing in their division. The starting pitchers after Johan Santana, riddled with question marks when Dan Graziano and Sam Borden debated their merits on this site a couple of weeks ago, have since been relabeled an all-out disaster.

Mike Pelfrey, for one, will fall victim to the Verducci Effect. Nevermind that he, as a 6-foot-7 beast of a Kansan who throws very few breaking balls, doesn't profile as the typical Year-After casualty, or that there's plenty of evidence to counter the phenomenon's very existence. Verducci said he's at risk. Heck, I said he's "no safe bet". And his Wednesday start was bad. So write him off. Read More

Baseball payrolls drop by $47 million

NEW YORK (AP) — The recession has hit baseball salaries.

Teams cut payrolls for their active rosters and disabled lists by $47 million from opening day in 2008 to the first day of this season, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. That comes out to a drop of 1.7 percent.

"Clubs were cautious all winter with regards to the economy and were concerned the economy might have an impact on club revenue," said Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer. "The spending reflected that for many clubs."

The drop is the first since 2004 and just the second since the 1994-95 strike.

Looking at payroll team by team, 16 of the 30 major league clubs cut payroll. Among those who lowered spending — the mighty New York Yankees.

While the Yankees led the major leagues with a $201.4 million payroll, they trimmed salaries by $7.6 million from the start of last season. The difference is that while they added high-priced free agents CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira, they also let Jason Giambi, Bobby Abreu and Carl Pavano leave, watched Mike Mussina retire and more than halved pitcher Andy Pettitte's guaranteed pay.

Others cut more, led by San Diego ($30.9 million), the Chicago White Sox ($25.1 million), Detroit ($23.6 million) and Seattle ($19.1 million).

The 14 who increased salaries were led by AL champion Tampa Bay ($19.5 million), the Chicago Cubs ($16.5 million), Florida ($15.0 million), and World Series champion Philadelphia ($14.7 million). More information

White Sox Opening Day: Baseball is back and we're OK with that

It's said there's no such thing as a bad day of fishing. That extends to a day at the ballpark, which we were fortunate enough to experience Tuesday afternoon.

Baseball is back. Thank God, baseball is back.

Since the sport last left us in October, a Sox fan became the nation's first African-American president, the economy spiraled further out of control and a Kevin James movie has become the highest grossing film so far of 2009.

It's certainly been an emotional few months. To say it's good to be have baseball back in our lives is like saying Jim Thome's eighth-inning, three-run home run was "neat." The return of baseball to Chicago is everything we deserve after enduring brutal wind-chill factors, freezing rain and ousted governors.
But that's not to say everything went smoothly at the Cell Tuesday afternoon.

As we took our seats in right-centerfield just in time to hear Chicago natives Matthew Santos and Lupe Fiasco provide an acoustic rendition of their hit song "Superstar," we quickly realized that not all U.S. Cellular employees were operating at mid-season form. It was amusing to see the Sox' promotional staff tackle their first between-inning segments with mixed levels of comfort. A beer vendor serving our section even went so far as to shush one beverage-seeker who dared draw his attention while he was handing someone else a brew. By mid-April these guys should have all the kinks worked out. Read more

Wet Sox Delayed

It looks like the Sox aren’t ready.

The Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox will have their Opening Day games delayed due to rain and snow respectively.

The BoSox were scheduled to play the Tampa Bay Rays and will, hopefully, play tomorrow.

The ChiSox play the Kansas City Royals and will also pick up tomorrow, weather permitting of course.For more information check here

MLB Propositions 2009

Opening Day in Major League Baseball is quickly approaching and the sportsbetting.com is starting to gear up for a great 2009!

One of the best wagers that online bettors can place is on baseball propositions where getting odds on good teams, or in this case good pitchers, in proposition bets can really increase the yearly bankroll.

Let’s take a look at some of the best proposition bets available to gamblers in the pitching category.

Check out the MLB section for more.

Major League Baseball 2K9

If "Major League Baseball 2K9" (rated E, $60 on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, $50 on Wii) were a baseball player, it wouldn't be San Francisco Giants ace and cover athlete Tim Lincecum. It'd be the Oakland's Gio Gonzalez, a blue-chip prospect with a repertoire of filthy pitches, cursed with an inability to locate any of them inside the strike zone consistently.

The pitching controls, which require you to move the right thumbstick in a two-part motion corresponding with the type of pitch you want to throw, are a revelation. When I first saw that, to throw a curve with a right-handed pitcher, I needed to press the thumbstick down and to the left, then roll it counter-clockwise, I thought, "Gimmick!" But
after a few innings, the controls became second nature, and I found myself wondering why no one thought of this sooner.

The hitting controls, in which you rock back on the thumbstick, then push toward the pitcher to shift your batter's weight as the pitch arrives, are similarly intuitive. The timing is trickier to master than the pitching, because every pitcher throws at slightly different speeds and has a slightly different windup, but my experience with past "MLB 2K" titles served me well here. Sure, it's more challenging than just pressing "A" to swing the bat, but it's also a lot more fun once you get the hang of it.

As much of a joy as hitting and pitching are in 2K's game, it's plagued by problems the series has struggled with since "Major League Baseball 2K6" hit the 360 shortly after launch: an overabundance of home runs and woefully buggy fielding. After four years of homer mania, I'm convinced 2K prefers the MLB of 1998 and 2001, when Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and others bashed home runs with extreme prejudice. And though I'm a fan of pitchers' duels and great defense, I've come to grips with it.

The fielding in "2K9," though, is a nadir for the series. How bad is it? First baseman are often totally disinterested in touching the bag for an out after hauling in a throw from a fellow infielder. The throw could be perfectly on line and arrive plenty early, but some unseen problem, maybe involving poor collision detection, means that far too many routine plays at first result in a throwing error charged to an infielder and an extra baserunner to deal with. Likewise, outfielders often play like Lucy in the "Peanuts" cartoons, failing to stick up their gloves to catch pop flies that land harmlessly next to them and roll to the wall for a triple. In one game, my squad made five errors, at least four of which were attributable to these two glitches.

Lastly, the catcher often seems unaware of runners about to cross the plate. I was able to execute a triple steal twice in the same game because Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit simply stood upright and held onto the ball after receiving pitches, allowing whatever runner was on third to slide harmlessly into the plate. He didn't even bend over and half-heartedly reach for the guy.

The inclusion of a playoff mode is similarly half-baked. Yes, it's great to skip the regular season and go straight to the postseason, but why force players to use last year's playoff brackets for a game called "MLB 2K9?" If my die-hard Royals fan friend Steve wants to live the dream and pit Kansas City against the Yankees in the postseason, he should be able to. The decision to force players to use last year's playoff brackets is more galling once you choose your team and begin play, only to realize that you're playing last season's playoff games with current rosters. Want to defy history and pitch the Brewers to
the World Series using Vallejo native CC Sabathia's golden (and beefy) arm? Too bad. He was a Brewer last year. He's on the Yankees now.

Another feature, using 2K Beats to set players' at-bat music similarly falls flat. Once I navigate to the screen that allows me to set playlists for individual players, I get an error message telling me, "You must have soundtracks saved to your Xbox 360 in order to customize events." I'm not sure what that means, but I have 100 or so music tracks saved to my 360's hard drive. Why can't I use those? Sadly, the game's manual doesn't mention this feature at all. I looked for help in "2K9's" online frequently asked questions page, but the page contained no questions, let alone answers.

My last gripe about the game is its alleged abilities to provide updated scores for real-life sporting events. The supposedly "live" scores don't update while you're playing. If the Warriors are down 76-74 to the Utah Jazz in the third quarter when the first pitch is thrown, they'll still be down 76-74 in the 14th inning if your game goes extras. What's more, I played "2K9" extensively during the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and none of these scores appeared in the ticker, even though I'd set "show NCAAB items" to "on." When I tried to check the scores, it just said, "There are no games available for this sport." On the first day of college basketball's big event? Inexcusable. Similarly, why can't I see spring training scores and stats?

I can only guess as to whether so many of "2K9's" features feel half-finished because Visual Concepts' programmers were distracted by having to develop this game and "MLB Front Office Manager," which released in February, simultaneously. If that's the case, hopefully they'll can the sub-par "Front Office Manager" next year, roll its features into "MLB 2K10" and make a better core game.

Ordinarily, I'd be willing to forgive some of these shortcomings, revel in the brilliant pitching and hitting controls and say, "2K'll get 'em next year." But, like Pittsburgh Pirates fans, gamers are surely tired of shelling out $60 each year, only to be let down again. If you're gaming on a Sony console, lean toward "The Show," which I'll review next week. If you're on the 360 or Wii, see if you can score "2K9" at a discount.

Bettors cash in on baseball's winning hand

Spring is in the air and a sports bettor’s fancy next week turns to baseball.

Although, the game is the least bet of the three major sports, it has held its own in Nevada sports books in recent years, and its followers are the most dedicated of all sports bettors.

Last year, about $522 million was bet on baseball in the state’s sports books, less than half the $1.2 billion bet on football, and a third less than the $740 million bet on basketball. Yet, the amount has increased 13 percent over the last four years, despite the slumping economy.

But most important to bettors, the house edge was only 4.5 percent, meaning 95.5 percent of every bet was returned to players.

The house edge or "hold" on baseball is less than any other sport, much to the delight of bettors and the dismay of bookies.

"It’s the only sport where I consistently win," said Franklin Purdy, a 55-year bettor who favors the "locals" casinos in Las Vegas. "I’m a bit of a statistics freak, and the game can be beaten if you invest the time and effort."

Indeed, baseball is a statistician’s heaven. No other sport is so deeply entrenched in an endless stream of stats, such as ERAs, on-base percentages, team averages, strike-outs to walks ratios, to name a few.

"One of the beauties of the game is you can miss it on TV but get a thorough recap from the box score," Purdy said. "And with games scheduled virtually every day, it’s impossible to watch every contest."

Purdy acknowledges the game might not be as exciting or emotional as football or basketball, but from a betting standpoint, teams more closely follow form, unlike, say, football.

"It’s the only sport where the defense controls the ball, with no time clocks or freak plays or whistle-happy referees to make a farce of the outcome," Purdy said. "As a result, you can count on favorites winning more than 60 percent of the time."

The sheer volume of games – nearly 2,500 over the course of the season – ensures plenty of action for players.

Moreover, bettors don’t have to deal with a point spread. The money-line or odds bets means picking the winning team equates to a winning bet.

The money line is a decimal equivalent of betting odds. For instance, if a team has odds of 2-1, its money line equivalent would be +200. In either case a bet of $1 wins $2 for a total return of $3.

Conversely, a team with odds of 1-2 has a money line of –200, which would pay $1 for every $2 bet, also for a return of $3.

Other examples of the relationship between odds and the money line include: a team with 8-5 odds has a money line of +160, while one at odds of 5-8 would be –160; teams at 9-5 are +180, while those at 5-9 would be –180.

Sharp-eyed readers with a talent for math by now realize that the money line is simply a decimal expression of the odds ratio. That is, odds of 8-5 means you win 8 for every 5 bet, and that ratio, 8:5, equates to a decimal equivalent of 1.60 (or 1.6 to 1). The converse, however, odds of 5-8 is expressed as a negative –160, rather than the actual decimal equivalent of 5:8, or 0.625.

Obviously, betting favorites with less than even money odds can be expensive. In fact, it’s possible to win two out of three such bets and simply break even.

Thus, there are legions of baseball bettors who either bet underdogs (with a "plus" money line), or lower priced favorites, whose money lines are less than –150.

Following guidelines such as the favorite/underdog money line rule is an example of the plethora of trends that baseball bettors embrace.

Home underdogs, first-time starters, pitching rematches, returning from layoffs, road favorites off a loss – these are just a few of the dozens of trends that help shape baseball betting decisions.

"One of the best trends is catching a team on a winning or losing streak," Purdy said. "At any given point in the season, you’ll find at least one time in the midst of a 10-game streak … that’s a lot of winning bets if you can get in on it early."

That’s the key – identifying a winning trend and betting on it.

In the end, Purdy says baseball is a good arena to exercise handicapping and betting talents.

"If you can control yourself and ignore ridiculous hype and other influences, baseball can be your most profitable sport of choice," he said. "It’s proven to be mine."