Struggling Tigers in need of deadline help

Baseball Betting Lines

07/22/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the MLB non-waiver trade deadline fast approaching and the post-all-star break blues in full effect, the Detroit Tigers have some serious soul-searching to do before July 31st.

Heading into the Mid-Summer Classic, the Tigers were a half-game back in the American League Central and locked into a dogfight with the surging Chicago White Sox, who had reeled off eight-straight wins leading up to the break.

But after dropping four straight to the lowly Cleveland Indians and surrendering the next two games to the AL-West leading Texas Rangers and falling 3.5 games back in the division, a crumbling economy wasn't the only concern in Motown.

To make matters worse, a resurgent Brandon Inge, who hit .287 in June and .326 in July, was sent to the disabled list with a broken hand that will keep him sidelined for at least four weeks.

Inge's misfortune comes less than a month after flame-throwing reliever Joel Zumaya endured a season-ending elbow injury - further crippling Detroit's postseason aspirations.

If the Tigers hope to avoid a mid-season meltdown similar to years' past, it might be necessary for owner Mike Ilitch to open his wallet and seek out quality replacements for Detroit's fallen soldiers.

With an estimated $50 million coming off the payroll next season, the Tigers are in prime position to acquire the necessary talent for a late-season playoff push.

Detroit is in desperate need of help on the mound and in the middle infield. Fortunately, there seem to be many names available who could be of major interest to a fledgling franchise.

It has been speculated that the Tigers, along with the Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants and Chicago White Sox could have interest in AL home-run king Jose Bautista.

The Jays slugger could fill the void at third base and bring some much-needed pop to a floundering offense while helping insulate triple-crown threat Miguel Cabrera.

Other names that have been mentioned as possible trade bait include Cleveland's Jhonny Peralta, Baltimore's Ty Wigginton, Seattle's Jose Lopez and Chicago Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot.

Despite Inge's injury and the bottom-of-the-lineup struggles for the Tigers, pitching help still reigns supreme.

With the loss of Zumaya and the lack of consistency throughout the starting rotation, there are plenty of stop-gap solutions available for hire.

Arms such as Ted Lilly, Ben Sheets, Michael Wuertz, David Aardsma and Dan Haren have all been mentioned as potential targets that could help balance out a bullpen or rotation in need of a hired gun.

But after the failed experiments of Jarrod Washburn and Aubrey Huff a year ago, one has to wonder if the Tigers will be fated to similar circumstances this time around.

Regardless of history, it's evident the Tigers cannot rely on a sturdy, yet inexperienced core of youngsters to bring them back to the postseason for the first time since 2006.

Super rookies Brennan Boesch and Austin Jackson have been a welcome addition this season, but relying on two new starters along with third-base fill-in Don Kelly could spell disaster for Detroit down the stretch.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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