Braves hope to keep fading playoff hopes alive versus Nats

Baseball Betting Lines

09/08/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta gave its fans some excitement in yesterday's game with John Smoltz's no-hit bid. That excitement could be gone by season's end, however. The Braves will try to strengthen their fading playoff chances tonight when they play the middle portion of a three-game series with the Washington Nationals at Turner Field.

Smoltz threw seven no-hit innings in Friday's 7-1 victory over the Nationals, but allowed a hit to Ronnie Belliard to open the eighth inning, ending his historic bid and evening.

It was the closest Smoltz has come to a no-hitter since April 30, 1999, when he tossed a one-hitter against Cincinnati. It also would've been the second no-no in the majors in less than a week, after Clay Buchholz became the 16th Red Sox pitcher and first rookie in club history to toss a no- hitter last Saturday.

Chipper Jones had three hits, including a three-run homer, and scored three runs for Atlanta, which has won three of its last four games and sits 4 1/2 games behind San Diego in the National League wild card race. The Braves are also a distant 7 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading New York Mets.

The Braves activated shortstop Edgar Renteria from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game, though he didn't play in the contest. Renteria had been sidelined because of a sprained right ankle.

Joel Hanrahan (4-3) allowed five runs -- four earned -- on four hits in just 3 1/3 innings in the loss for the Nationals, who committed a season-high five errors, including three by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.

Ryan Church had a pinch-hit RBI, as the Nationals saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.

Matt Chico will try to start another one and get his first victory since July 31 in the process when he starts tonight for Washington. The left-hander has gone 0-1 in four starts since, though he was very good in his last start on Sunday. Chico held the Giants to one run on four hits over seven frames, but didn't factor into the decision of his team's 2-1 victory.

Chico, who is 5-7 with a 4.78 earned run average this year, has made three career starts against the Braves and is 2-1 with a 2.87 ERA against them. He bested the club when he faced them on May 17.

Tonight's starter for Atlanta, Chuck James, is winless in his last four starts and has dropped back-to-back games. He took the loss on August 16 against the Giants before getting handed a defeat on Saturday versus the Mets. The left- hander allowed three runs on five hits in five innings against New York, falling to 9-10 with a 4.27 ERA.

James is 2-2 with a 4.13 ERA in six career starts versus Washington.

Atlanta holds an 8-5 edge over Washington this season and has won six of seven at Turner 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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