Price isn't right for Rays; Rangers score 12 in rout

Baseball Betting Lines

07/04/2009 - Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andruw Jones' three-run homer in the first inning set the tone, as Texas went on to dismantle the Rays, 12-4, in the middle installment of a three-game series.

Jones doubled in another run and Michael Young added a three-run double in the second inning for the Rangers, who have strung together four straight wins. Taylor Teagarden and Nelson Cruz each had two RBI, while David Murphy finished a home run shy of the cycle.

Derek Holland (2-5) gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings of work.

Dioner Navarro clubbed a three-run homer and Jason Bartlett also went deep for Tampa Bay, which has dropped three in a row on the heels of a season-high, seven-game win streak.

Hard-throwing David Price (2-3) couldn't make it out of the second inning, surrendering six runs on three hits and five walks while recording just four outs. The former No. 1 overall pick saw his earned run average balloon from 3.93 to 5.21.

Lance Cormier was charged with three runs in three innings of relief.

Texas jumped out to an early advantage against the erratic southpaw, pushing three runs across in both of the first two innings.

After striking out Ian Kinsler to open the bottom of the first, Price issued consecutive walks before Jones crushed a pitch to left-center for a three-run bomb.

Bartlett's solo blast put Tampa Bay on the board in the top of the second, but the Rangers struck back in the home half.

Once again, Price retired the leadoff batter on strikes, then incurred similar control problems, walking Elvis Andrus and Kinsler following a one-out double by Teagarden. Young stepped in and drove a pitch to the wall in center field, clearing the bases for a 6-1 Texas lead.

Tampa Bay had men on the corners with one away in the third. Holland, though, got Evan Longoria to ground into an inning-ending double play to foil the rally.

Teagarden's sacrifice fly widened the lead to six runs through three frames, and despite the large cushion, Holland allowed the Rays to creep back in the fifth.

Bartlett singled to start the inning and Gabe Kapler ripped a double down the left-field line to put two men in scoring position for Navarro, who lined a 1-2 fastball over the left-field wall, shrinking the deficit to 7-4.

The Rangers, however, got two runs back in the bottom of the fifth, one coming on Cruz's team-leading 20th homer of the season. Murphy tripled to deep center and scored when Teagarden stroked a base hit up the middle off Chad Bradford and past the drawn-in infield.

Texas reached double-digits in the sixth on Jones' RBI double, and tacked on two more runs in the eighth on run-scoring singles by Hank Blalock and Cruz.

Game Notes

Tampa Bay left fielder Carl Crawford has hit safely in 12 straight games...Texas is 5-3 on its nine-game homestand...Marlon Byrd scored three times for the Rangers.

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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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