Orioles invite P Galarraga, others to spring training

Baseball Betting Lines

01/30/2012 - Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles signed and invited 14 non-roster players to spring training. Among those with previous major league experience are pitchers Armando Galarraga and Pat Neshek and catcher Ronny Paulino.

Galarraga went 3-4 with a 5.91 earned run average, 28 strikeouts and 22 walks in eight starts last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He also spent time with the Diamondbacks' Triple-A club in Reno.

Galarraga, 30, is most well known for pitching a perfect game with the Detroit Tigers on June 2, 2010 against the Cleveland Indians -- only it wasn't a perfect game.

On the final play of that game, Indians' shortstop Jason Donald slapped a ground ball to first base. Miguel Cabrera got off the bag, retrieved the ball and flipped it to Galarraga covering first.

Donald appeared to be out by a step at first but first base umpire Jim Joyce called Donald safe, spoiling what would have been a perfect game.

Joyce admitted after he saw the play on replay that he blew the call.

In 95 career games -- 86 starts -- Galarraga has a 26-30 mark with a 4.69 ERA, 329 strikeouts and 208 walks with Texas, Detroit and the Diamondbacks.

Neshek, 31, went 1-1 with a 4.01 ERA, 20 strikeouts and 22 walks in 25 relief appearances for the San Diego Padres last season.

Neshek, a five-year MLB veteran, boasts a 12-7 record with a 3.21 ERA, 171 strikeouts and 67 walks.

Paulino played in 78 games in 2011 with the New York Mets, posting a .268 average with two home runs and 19 runs batted in.

Over 553 games with Pittsburgh, Florida and the Mets, Paulino is a career .273 hitter with 33 home runs and 211 RBI.

Onlimesportsbook Baseball Betting News

<< Porto stunned at Gil Vicente
Lisbon, Portugal (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Porto fell five points back of league- leaders Benfica on Sunday after sustaining a surprising 3-1 defeat at Gil Vicente. The home side brought a five-match winless streak into the contest against

<< Godin helps Atletico hold off Osasuna
Navarra, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atletico Madrid climbed to seventh in La Liga on Monday after Diego Godin's first-half goal handed Atletico a 1-0 win at Osasuna. The goal arrived five minutes before halftime when a corner ki

<< Charleston Southern sets 2012 schedule
Charleston, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charleston Southern football will kick off its 2012 season at crosstown rival The Citadel and make a trip to the University of Illinois as part of an 11-game schedule announced on Monday. The Buccaneers, fro

<< Rangers give Washington 2-year extension
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ron Washington, the only manager in franchise history to win a postseason series, has signed a two-year contract extension with the Texas Rangers. The deal, announced Monday, runs through the 2014 season. F

<< This Week in Golf -- February 2nd through February 5th
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - PGA TOUR - WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN - TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona - The biggest party on the PGA Tour is this week in Arizona. Hundreds of thousands of fans will make their way to the des

Wizards F Blatche out with calf injury >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Wizards forward Andray Blatche is expected to miss between three and five weeks with a strained calf. Wizards coach Randy Wittman made the announcement before Monday's game against Chicago. Bla

Brewers ink OF Patterson >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers signed veteran outfielder Corey Patterson to a minor league deal on Monday. He did not receive an invitation to spring training and will begin the 2012 season with Milwaukee'

Raiders introduce Allen as head coach >>
Alameda, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie called two people after he interviewed Dennis Allen for the open head coach position in Oakland: his wife and owner Mark Davis. "They could feel the excitement I had,

Nyjer Morgan to practice with NHL's Sharks >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Nyjer Morgan, who once played junior hockey but chose a career in professional baseball instead, will lace up his skates once again with the NHL's San Jose Sharks. The Sharks said

Report: Flood agrees to coach Rutgers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Flood has reportedly agreed to become the permanent head football coach at Rutgers. Flood agreed to the job hours after Florida International's Mario Cristobal turned Rutgers down, The New York Times reported Mo

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.