Rockies try to pin 10th straight loss on reeling Padres

Baseball Betting Lines

09/05/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Diego Padres try to avoid their worst losing streak in more than 16 years this afternoon when they play the finale of their three- game series with the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park.

San Diego has been baseball's best story this season, but is mired in its worst losing streak since May of 2003 and has seen its lead atop the National League West trimmed to just two games over the San Francisco Giants.

"We have to get the confidence back," manager Bud Black said. "We have to get that swagger back."

The skid continued on Saturday, as Todd Helton and Carlos Gonzalez both knocked in two runs to help Colorado to a 6-2 win. Another loss today would give the Padres their first 10-game slide since a franchise-worst 13-game skid from May 8-21, 1994.

Troy Tulowitzki had two hits and scored two runs for the Rockies, who have won five of their last eight games to pull within 5 1/2 games of the Padres in the division.

Jason Hammel (10-7) gave up two runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Adrian Gonzalez and Nick Hundley both doubled home a run for San Diego, while Jon Garland (13-10) allowed three runs -- two earned -- on seven hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings.

"We need to turn (things) around," Hundley said. "We're a play away every single game or a hit away or a defensive play away from winning games. We're finding ways to lose instead of finding ways to win. Until we figure out how to make that one play, get that one big hit, we're going to continue to struggle."

Only two teams in baseball history have endured losing streaks of at least 10 games and still reached the postseason. The 1951 New York Giants lost 11 in a row but still won the NL pennant and the 1982 Atlanta Braves dropped 11 straight but won the NL West.

Over the course of the streak the Padres are hitting .216 with 21 runs scored, while the pitching staff has posted a 5.29 ERA. The team has also been outscored, 51-21, during the current drought.

Hoping to get the Padres back on track this afternoon will be lefty Clayton Richard, who has just one loss in his last six decisions. However, that one loss came in his last trip to the hill last Sunday against Philadelphia, which reached him for four runs (two earned) and four hits in 7 2/3 innings to drop him to 12-6 on the year to go along with a 3.50 ERA.

Richard did not get a decision the last time he faced the Rockies and is 1-1 in six starts against them with a 4.79 ERA.

Colorado, meanwhile, will pin its hopes on lefty Jorge De La Rosa, who is 5-4 with a 4.26 ERA. De La Rosa did not get a decision on Monday in San Francisco, but pitched well, surrendering a run and four hits in seven innings of his team's 2-1 win. He also struck out nine in that effort, but also walked four.

De La Rosa has faced the Padres 12 times (eight starts) and is 1-2 against them with a 5.48 ERA.

Colorado has won 10 of its 14 meetings with the Padres in 2010, including wins in six of the eight matchups in San Diego.

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College Football Betting Tips From a Pro

While the NFL is the sport wagered on the heaviest, college football betting lines has become more and more popular as people realize it’s a game that can be beat. The NCAA football season gets longer each year with the addition of numerous bowl games and with that comes more opportunities for more money in your pocket, if handled correctly.

Betting on college football is not the same as with the NFL, so make sure you separate the two. Because of the vast number of teams, the parity between college football programs is slight and thus, you are going to see some high numbers in the NCAA. Teams favored by more than 40 points are not uncommon especially early in the season when teams playing their non-conference schedules.

The best advice when trying to tackle these enormous spreads and is to just stay away. A team that is favored by 40 points is favored by that many for a reason while teams getting 40 points are bad enough that they shouldn’t be touched. Set yourself a spread limit. Getting rid of these games will cut down on the number of contests that you need to handicap while staying away from backdoor or front-door covers.

What is a backdoor and front-door cover you ask? A backdoor cover is a team that is getting beat by more than the spread, but scores late to get within that number thus covering the spread. A front-door cover is just the opposite where the favorite scores late and covers the number they are favored by.

These front-door and backdoor covers are common when second and third string players enter games in college football and it can be the worst nightmare for some bettors. These players can also be your best friend, but ask any bettor and he will give you more instances on losing in this situation than winning. It just seems to work out that way even though everything evens out in the end.

College football betting has some of the softest lines of any sport and it’s being able to find these lines that will make you a successful college football handicapper. The NFL and NBA have the tightest lines around and while those sports can be beat by looking at situations and systems, college football doesn’t quite work that way. It’s much more manual, but when done correctly, it’s much more gratifying as well.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of college football means looking at the many stats in order to beat the number. As opposed to pro football, college football is less dependent on situations and angles and more on certain statistics. Rushing offense and defense, pass efficiency offense and defense and turnover margins are huge. These are vital in the NFL, but even more so when it comes to college football.

Being able to run the ball in college football has always been a key factor in the overall success of a team. The same adage also goes for teams who have the ability to stop the run. Putting these two factors together can produce some positive results in a team’s record both straight up and against the spread. These numbers show huge differences in teams and the spread may not take those into effect, which is where the value comes into play.

Passing yardage numbers both for and against can be a misinterpreted statistic. However, pass efficiency has always been one of the best ways to look at a teams’ passing game ability both offensively and defensively. But is it really a true indication of how they perform? I wouldn’t say so since they are raw passing numbers with nothing else taken into consideration.

I use pass efficiency ratings when doing my handicapping but I adjust my numbers based on a number of factors including power ratings, strength of schedules, personnel and injuries. This gives a much better picture of a team’s ability to pass effectively and also being able to defend the pass. Tweaking pass efficiency stats instead of raw passing yards is the key.

Turnovers are the single most frustrating, and at times the most gratifying, aspect of a college football lines, mostly because they are so unpredictable. They are part of the game and most of the time nothing can be done to control them. However, turnovers are contagious and they can carry over from game to game and season to season.

It’s important to know how to forecast these unforeseen events and how to use them to your advantage. You can find ways to give yourself an edge by looking at past histories of teams and coaches and how they have fared in turnover wars in the past. Instead of turnovers hurting you at the wrong times, find ways to use them to your advantage.

As you can see, college football handicapping is very labor intensive and isn’t just based on where teams are ranked in the AP and coaches polls. Experience, coaching and match-ups are all important since unlike the NFL, college teams turn over much more often with new personnel at most positions every single year. Keeping current on this information is vital.

Betting NCAA football can be lucrative if done correctly, but more importantly, it’s just plain enjoyable because it can be beat. College football is one of the best sports to watch with some of the best rivalries taking place in all of sports. The only downfall is that a championship isn’t decided on the field but on a computer-based system that is the Bowl Championship Series. That will change someday and we will all be better off for it.

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