Kennedy hopes for solid return as Yanks wrap set with Rays

Baseball Betting Lines

05/15/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ian Kennedy will try to make the most of a second chance when the struggling young pitcher gets the starting assignment for the New York Yankees in this afternoon's finale of a four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays from Tropicana Field.

Kennedy began the season in the Yankee rotation but was demoted to the minors on May 4 after recording a dismal 8.37 earned run average in seven starts and continuously struggling with his command, as evidenced by the rookies 20 walks in 23 2/3 innings. The righty's stay in Triple-A turned out to be a short one after his replacement, Kei Igawa, was bombed for six runs and 11 hits in just three innings during New Yorks 6-5 loss at Detroit on Friday.

The 23-year-old delivered a gem in his first start for Triple-A Scranton- Wilkes Barre on May 6, when Kennedy yielded just one hit and struck out eight without a walk over 7 1/3 shutout innings.

Kennedy did oppose the Rays twice prior to his banishment and held Tampa to three runs over six innings in a no-decision at Tropicana Field on April 14, the ex-USC standout's best major-league outing this season. He was also tagged for six runs over just 2 1/3 innings in a loss to the Rays at Yankee Stadium on April 4.

Kennedy takes the mound one day after old pro Mike Mussina handcuffed Tampa Bay to help the Yankees avenge a pair of defeats to the upstart Rays in the first two matchups of this set. The 39-year-old allowed just one run and five hits over 6 1/3 effective innings as New York came through with a 2-1 victory that ended Tampa's club-record 11-game home win streak.

Robinson Cano led the Yankees offensively with a 4-for-4 performance that included an RBI single which gave the Bronx Bombers a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning. Bobby Abreu later delivered a run-scoring double for New York, which had lost five of its last seven games prior to Wednesday's win.

Mussina (6-3) outdueled James Shields (4-3), who held the Yankees to a pair of runs and six hits before exiting with one out in the top of the eighth.

The Rays, who had won six in a row overall coming in, received two hits and an RBI out of Dioner Navarro on the evening. Akinori Iwamura finished 0-for-3 for Tampa Bay and saw an 11-game hit streak come to an end.

Armed with a new contract extension, Scott Kazmir makes his third start following a one-month stint on the disabled list for Tampa Bay this afternoon.

The hard-throwing southpaw missed all of April with a strained left elbow and struggled in his return to action on May 4, when Kazmir was touched for four runs (3 earned) and walked three in just four innings in a loss at Boston. He improved greatly in his second appearance, limiting the Angels to a mere three hits and fanning six through six shutout frames in the Rays' 2-0 triumph on Saturday.

The Rays announced on Wednesday that Kazmir has agreed to a four-year pact that guarantees the 24-year-old standout $28.5 million over the first three seasons and includes a club option for 2012. He led the American League with 239 strikeouts last season and represented Tampa Bay in the All-Star Game in 2006.

Kazmir owns a 2-3 record with a 3.00 ERA over nine career appearances against the Yankees, eight of which have been starts.

New York has won five of the eight encounters between these AL East foes so far this season and is 7-3 over its last 10 games at Tropicana Field.

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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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