Winds of change surround Brewers-Astros clash

Baseball Betting Lines

07/31/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Things sure are changing in the Astros' clubhouse in a hurry, but that hasn't stopped the club from putting together a little win streak.

Having already traded one face of the franchise, Houston appears on the verge of shipping out another before tonight's continuation of a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers at Minute Maid Park.

With the Astros 13 1/2 games off the pace in the National League Central, the club has become sellers at this year's trade deadline. They already shipped starting pitcher Roy Oswalt to the Phillies on Thursday and are rumored to have a deal in the works today to send Lance Berkman to the New York Yankees.

Berkman is expected to become the Yankees' full-time designated hitter after batting .245 in 85 games this season with 13 homers and 49 RBI following knee surgery in March.

"If you decide to leave a place you've grown up and call home, that's very difficult," Berkman told Houston's website on Friday. "This is a tremendous organization, and they've given me an opportunity to not only play in the big leagues, but they kept me around. It would be very tough to leave a place as comfortable with as I am here."

Berkman was not in the lineup on Friday, but J.A. Happ was. One of the players acquired from the Phillies on Thursday for Oswalt, the young left-hander threw six scoreless innings in his Houston debut, helping his club to a 5-0 victory.

Happ gave up just two hits and struck out six to earn the win, the Astros' third in a row that is one shy of their season high.

"I'm sure there was a lot of anxiety and nerves throwing for the first part of it," Astros manager Brad Mills said of Happ. "We saw a guy that knows how to pitch."

Houston's look to the future has opened up playing time for guys like Chris Johnson, who had one of three Astros homers last night. Jason Michaels and Jeff Keppinger also went deep while Johnson extended his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by an Astros rookie since Julio Lugo's 14-game run in 2000.

Brewers starter Manny Parra couldn't keep up with Happ, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings. Happ's performance did not catch Milwaukee manager Ken Macha by surprise either.

"I voted for him for Rookie of the Year last year," Macha said of Happ. "He's got a good arm. I thought we were just a little too aggressive and went out of the zone a little bit tonight."

Milwaukee finished with just four hits, none from Corey Hart, who went 0-for-3 with a walk in his return to the lineup after missing six games due to a sore right thumb and wrist.

Hart and company will be looking to slow down Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez, who is on an impressive run that has seen him win two straight and five of his last six starts while allowing one run or less in four of those games.

The left-hander beat the Reds on Sunday with seven scoreless innings of one- hit, two-walk ball while striking out seven and moving to 8-11 on the season with a 4.80 earned run average.

Rodriguez, 31, beat the Brewers on June 30 with seven innings of one-run ball and is 6-6 versus them lifetime with a 4.48 ERA.

Brewers starter Dave Bush snapped a two-start skid on Sunday with a win over Washington, allowing three runs -- two earned -- on six hits over six innings to improve to 5-8 on the season with a 4.27 ERA. It was an encouraging outing for the right-hander after he gave up 10 runs, five earned, over four innings of a loss to Pittsburgh in his previous outing.

Bush has pitched well versus the Astros in his career, going 6-2 with a 3.23 ERA in 15 games, 13 of those starts. The 30-year-old did lose to them on June 30, but allowed two runs over six innings.

The Brewers and Astros split six games in Milwaukee earlier this year.

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American Idol Betting Season 6 Strategies  

It's that time of year folks.  Betting on American Idol Season 9.  And we have plenty of American Idol Season 6 strategies appearing below.  With the Top 24 finalists revealed, online gambling sites will be offering betting odds on each of them, including MySportsbook.com.

No other “event” has been growing as fast as wagering on American Idol. It has turned into a huge betting event with reasonably high limits and all sorts of profit-making potential for sharp bettors. Last year, MySportsbook.com experienced unprecedented traffic as a result of the American Idol betting craze.

Every week there will be odds to win American Idol, various elimination props and contestant versus contestant match-ups at the MySportsbook.com website.

Whether a fan of America’s top-rated show or watching only because of a wife or girlfriend, here are some of basic strategies to use when betting American Idol.

Odds to Win

There are a few things to consider when looking for the right win bet. First off, remember that this bet is for the long haul. Many people make the mistake of picking the performer who sang the best the previous week. This strategy leads to an underlay situation – betting a price, which is less than what it should be.

All Idol contestants struggle at some point in the competition, so you should always look for value. In last year’s competition alone, two performers who had some of the best performances early in the series were subsequently bet down to low prices - Lisa Tucker and Ace Young. After just a few weeks, Tucker had already been eliminated, while Young quickly became a huge long shot to win America’s largest talent search.

A better strategy is to look for performers who don’t necessarily get the praise from the judges, but show flashes of the talent necessary to go the distance.

Another important thing to remember when betting any contestant to win is the demographic breakdown of the voters, the viewing public and potential future CD purchasers. Unlike sporting events, American Idol is not decided on the field of play – it’s decided by the American public under the guiding influence of the shows producers.

Understand that the great state of Alabama has a mighty edge when it comes to American Idol. 

Therefore, to be successful betting on American Idol, put any personal opinions or prejudices aside and think like the majority of the voting public. Remember that the typical voter is young, female and quite often, Southern.

If a contestant cannot appeal to this demographic, no matter how much talent he or she possesses, they’ll struggle for votes. Looks, demeanor and charisma are extremely important. And it’s no coincidence that every Idol winner so far has hailed from a Southern state.

Elimination Props

Every week MySportsbook.com anticipates offering a prop on who’ll be eliminated from the show each Wednesday night. A suggestion to handicap this is to gauge an overall feel for who’s the least popular contestant left in the competition. Generally the least popular performers have recently appeared in the bottom three and will have been the target of repeated criticism from the judges.

Last year, resources included dialidol.com and votefortheworst.com. Dialidol.com measures the volume of each contestant’s voting line. While by no means a perfect science, it does give a good indication of who is generating votes and who isn’t. Meanwhile, votefortheworst.com is a site that attempts to build support for the worst competitor to keep them in the competition for ‘entertainment’ value. The site has a proven track record of keeping performers around who most feel should have been voted off a long time ago.

Contestant vs. Contestant Match-ups

The best strategy for doing well on match-ups is to assess how close either of the contestants is to being eliminated. If neither is expected to be voted off of the show in the coming weeks, the value is almost always on the underdog. If both are expecting an imminent exit in the near future, the favorite in the match-up might offer value.

Watch for American Idol betting odds on each of the contestants shortly and good luck with these American Idol betting strategies.

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Since the late 1990's, MySportsbook.com has been an online sportsbook / poker room / casino that focuses on quality.. MySportsbook caters to the experienced sports fan who values reliability and accuracy, with great attention to detail. MySportsbook's success over the past 3 years has made them the envy of the sports gambling industry. There are hundreds of sites appearing all over the Internet claiming to be the next best sportsbook online, each one is trying to use the same marketing techniques as MySportsbook originated.

If you want to try the most stylish and reliable type of online sportsbook, go with MySportsbook. Most online sportsbooks give you live odds and plenty of games and events to bet on, at MySportsbook they'll give you that and more. While perfection may be a lofty goal, MySportsbook attempts to achieve that goal. All sorts of ways to bet on football, football betting, Super Bowl betting lines.

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