Morneau healthy and carrying Twins

Baseball Betting Lines

05/07/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - American League pitchers and a nagging back haven't been able to slow down Justin Morneau, and Joe Mauer's heel injury likely won't either.

The first baseman's production didn't suffer last season while Mauer missed the entire first month, a span in which Morneau hit .318 with five homers and 18 RBI.

Had he not been derailed for the last 21 games of the season due to a stress fracture in his lower back, the slugger would have likely matched career-highs in a number of offensive categories.

Mauer's following typically overshadows the fact there are two superstars playing in Minnesota.

Morneau, the 2006 AL MVP, has averaged a .292-30-118 stat line over the past four years, and has been an absolute RBI machine during that time.

His 470 total RBI from '06-'09 are the fourth most in the majors, trailing only Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez.

That is quite exquisite company, given that all of the above are former MVPs.

Morneau, who has the best on-base percentage in the MLB entering weekend play, has paced the Twins to start the season. He hit .347 with five homers and 17 RBI in the month of April.

It appears the native of New Westminster, B.C. is well on his way to another monster season. Despite plenty of talent at the corner position, Morneau remains one of the game's most consistent sources of power in that realm.

The Twins are currently sitting in first place and enjoying the confines of a new ballpark where, ironically, Morneau has yet to homer. Suffice it to say, however, that before long Morneau will be making Target Field his launching pad.

HOT START

With Lou Piniella's decision to send Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen, the title of "staff ace" was claimed by Ryan Dempster.

And Dempster has been nothing short of his usual self in that role; durable and consistent.

Dating back to last season, Dempster has thrown at least six innings in 18 of his past 19 starts.

As Zambrano can now attest, Dempster has seen his role switch between the rotation and bullpen throughout his career.

He compiled 87 saves as the Cubs closer from 2005-2007 and has gone 28-15 as a starter the past two seasons, logging 200 plus innings in both.

Dempster has continued to throw superbly to start this season. The right- hander has held opposing teams to three runs or fewer in five of his six starts and is sporting a 2.95 ERA and 1.03 WHIP.

He ranks in the top 10 in strikeouts, innings pitched and WHIP among National League starting pitchers.

THE BIG CHILL

One player who's not enjoying a change in scenery is New York Mets outfielder Jason Bay.

Bay, who signed with the Mets in the offseason, struggled to find any consistency during his first month in the Big Apple. New York signed the 31- year-old to big money in the hopes it would get the same bat that went for 30 home runs and 100 RBI in four of the last five seasons.

But entering weekend play, Bay was hitting just .238 with 1 homer and 9 RBI. The month of May hasn't been too kind to the slugger either, as Bay is coming off a recent six-game road trip in which he went 3-for-23 and collected just one extra-base hit.

CANADIAN MLB RUNDOWN

Joey Votto: Ranks among the top 10 leaders in the NL in walks and OBP. Votto is known to be a pure hitter with plenty of power but he also added the running component to his game this season. He has already attempted more steals than last year and matched his total output with four swipes on the season.

Rich Harden: The right-hander has allowed the most free passes in the AL this season but is coming off his best start as a Texas Ranger. Harden lasted seven innings against his former team, Oakland, to earn his second victory of the season. He allowed two hits, no runs and struck out nine, while issuing no walks.

Blake Hawksworth: The second-year reliever started the year where he left off last season. On May 1, Hawksworth had an impressive streak of 20 2-3 innings without allowing an earned run snapped (dating back to last year). In his '09 rookie campaign, he appeared in 30 games, and went 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA and 1.10 WHIP.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.