Astros down Cubs

Baseball Betting Lines

04/10/2007 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Sampson hurled five shutout innings, and Luke Scott drove in three runs as Houston downed Chicago, 4-2, in the middle contest of a three-game set at Wrigley Field.

Sampson (1-0) surrendered just three hits, while walking one and fanning three for the Astros, who also won the series opener 5-3. Rick White and Chad Qualls followed with an inning of scoreless relief apiece before Dan Wheeler ran into trouble in the ninth.

Down 4-0, Jacque Jones gave the Cubs some hope when he greeted Wheeler by ripping an opposite field double and scoring on Derrek Lee's ensuing single. The flame throwing right-hander settled down a bit and fanned Aramis Ramirez but Cliff Floyd grounded a hard single past the right side of the infield to bring up the tying run.

Wheeler caught Michael Barrett looking but Mark DeRosa grounded a single up the middle to make it a 4-2 game. Pinch hitter Matt Murton then entered with the game on the line and quickly fell behind 0-2 before popping up to end the contest.

Scott finished 1-for-4 with a two-run double for Houston, while Carlos Lee was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

Derrek Lee was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI for the Cubs, who lost their third straight contest.

Jason Marquis (0-1) started on the hill and allowed four runs -- three earned -- on four hits in five innings to pick up the loss.

The Astros jumped on Marquis with a three-spot in the first. Morgan Ensberg started things with a one-out double to left, moved to third on Lance Berkman's single and scored when Carlos Lee rapped a single to right. Scott then capped the frame with his two-run double.

Houston tacked on another run in the fifth thanks to some sloppy play from the Cubs. Craig Biggio reached on a Cesar Izturis fielding error and moved up a base on Ensberg's slow chopper to short. Marquis magnified his troubles by issuing consecutive walks to Berkman and Carlos Lee to load the bases. Biggio finally crossed the plate on Scott's ground ball to second.

Game Notes

Marquis, who joined Chicago this offseason after signing a three-year deal with the club, is 7-5 in 20 games against Houston...Izturis had three errors in the game.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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