In the past decade, the closer has become more expendable then in the decades previous. For all intents and purposes, managers used to set up their bullpens, so that the best pitcher, that is to say, the pitcher most certain to get the outs no matter the situation, would go on last. While the essence of a closer, still remains, diehard baseball fans would argue, that the closer doesn’t necessarily have to be the best guy anymore. This season, there has been an abundance of injuries to guys given the duty of closing out their team’s baseball games. In decades prior, betting online enthusiasts would have automatically taken the other team in a baseball game, once their team’s closer went down.

Yet, as we mentioned before, the best pitcher on your team no longer has to be the closer. What this means, is that teams built on the strength of their bullpens, can continue to win even if an injury to the ‘closer’ comes up. The reason they still have the ability to win games, is because the manager uses a variety of relievers in different situations. For example, with Brian Wilson out for the season due to injury, the San Francisco Giants are using a platoon of situational relievers to finish up games. This tells fans, that the Giants have enough depth, that a catastrophic injury such as Wilson’s will not devastate their playoff opportunities.

Simply put, you get guys on base, you increase the odds of winning then if you simply hit home runs. For example, it seems as though when the Toronto Blue Jays are winning games, they are getting guys on base but not necessarily hitting home runs. Conversely, the majority of the Toronto Blue Jays home runs have been solo shots, because of the lack of getting runners on base. But why is on base percentage an important indication of your MLB blogs success?

Essentially, the teams with the highest on base percentages are the team’s that have players that can take a pitch. Ever notice, that teams like the New York Yankees, or Texas Rangers are constantly in the upper echelon of on base percentage, but lower echelon of strikeouts? The reason for that is because the hitters understand that their role is to get on base, not necessarily crush every ball over the wall. By working the count and getting on base, your team has a better opportunity to increase the pitch count of the starting pitcher. As a result, the starting pitcher may only go four innings instead of seven innings. This then requires long relievers to come in and also increase their pitch count.

Slugging percentage essentially measures how powerful a hitter is over the course of an entire baseball season. Often abbreviated as SLG, slugging percentage is calculated by total bases over at bats. Here is how it appears.

SLG = 1B + (2 x 2B) +(3x 3B) +(4xHR) / AB

Slugging percentage equals the calculations of singles, doubles, triples and home runs divided by the amount of at bats each batter takes over the course of a season. Meaning to say, the singles, doubles, triples and home runs are all accumulated over the course of the season, then added to form one big number, which is then divided by the total at bats you have throughout the season. This number forms the slugging percentage, which tells us how often the batter is to putting the ball in play.

Along with on base percentage, which indicates how often a batter is getting on base compared to striking out, slugging percentage is used to determine the overall value of a hitter. What this then tells us, is that a batter with a high slugging percentage, is more likely to play every day because they are a threat to score runs, then someone with a lower percentage. This number is also the greater focus of managers and general managers, as a player who can produce offensively will stay up in the MLB rather then be demoted to the minors.

With 4,860 games being played all season, and 2,430 games played in the first half, how one team appears to start the year usually isn’t how they will end. Don’t believe us? Look no further then the 2011 Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates, who after the first half of the regular season, seemed to be early season favorites to win the American and National League pennants. Instead, by the All Star break, the two teams inexperience quickly caught up to them, as they dropped off the map in the second half. In fact, the Indians who at one point had a 12 game lead over the Detroit Tigers a year ago ended the season seven games back and out of the playoffs.

While the Indians and Pirates exemplify the worst possible scenario of taking a team based on early odds, there are other teams that justify their praise. For example, the Texas Rangers, the American League representative in the MLB World Series the last two seasons, got off to a slow start in April, but bounced back in May onwards. The Rangers went from being an underdog in April, to providing their fans and handicappers with good value. Unfortunately they were not able to win the World Series, but did collect on the pick to win the pennant.

Year in and year out, there are a plethora of teams with a ton of potential, that the sharp bettors get behind, believing that this year will be the year they make the playoffs. For example, the Arizona Diamondbacks came out of nowhere last season, winning 19 games in a row on two different occasions. By the end of the season, they ran out of gas as they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Nevertheless, the Diamondbacks appear to be a team that could run with the NL West title for the next five years.

This season, a team to keep an eye on, are the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates came out of nowhere last year, to have a really strong first half of the season. In fact, by the all-star break, they were looking like an excellent MLB futures wager, as they added a few veterans in hopes of hanging on and winning the division. Unfortunately, the veterans brought in brought down the team. Going into this season, the Pirates have both the core players needed for a run, and the veterans to give them depth and guidance. AJ Burnett and Erik Bedard will anchor the Pirates rotation, while the bullpen gets stronger after a year of experience.

Simply put, when a good team loses, it is not the end of the world. Unlike college football where one loss can set your favorite school’s ranking back five spots. Even the best teams in the NCAAB drop one or two games a year. For instance, the Syracuse Orange and Kentucky Wildcats, the NCAAB’s top two teams this season, share identical records of 29 and one. Despite losing only two games combined, the public never questions how good either team is. In fact, NBA trade deadline enthusiasts believe, that this year’s National Title game, is going to be between the two.

Now, where losses do become an area of concern is further on down the AP 25 rankings list. Essentially, what we as handicappers are interested in, is not only the amount of losses, but who those losses are too. For example, the Michigan Wolverines own a record of 23 and eight on the season and are ranked 11^th in the nation. Looking closer at the Wolverines losses, you will see, that three of the losses came at the hands of powerhouses Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin. This indicates, that Michigan is good enough to beat teams with similar records to them, but may not be good enough, to contend with the likes of the three powerhouses.

For those unfamiliar with teaser bets, know, that they are simply a variation of a parlay, in that your bet must include two or more teams with both teams winning for your bet to be considered a win. The variation of a typical parlay is that the teaser, allows the bettor to take control of the point spread on each game. In order for the bettor to win the bet, not only does both teams have to win, but they also have to win by the amount they put on each team in their NBA teaser. For example, a bettor may use a six-point teaser, and have one team be favored by three and one team be an underdog by three points. To win the teaser, the team favored has to win by four and the team that is placed, as the underdog has to win outright.

As we noted earlier, bettors get giddy around this time of year when it comes to using teasers, as they can find good value on college basketball games. However, just because you can find good value, does not mean that it will necessarily work in your favor. Essentially, the lines may be weaker on some games over others. Yet, that can lead to teams being overlooked and costing you money.

To hedge your bet means to wager on a series and the outcome of that series. For instance, if a bettor decides to wager on the World Series or one specific team in the March Madness tournament, to win the entire thing, you are making a hedge bet. Many believe that hedge bets do more harm then good. Essentially, you are taking a risk that the team you are buying before the series starts will win the series in 7 games. However, if they go out in four games, then you lose your wager completely.

Some bettors will make a hedge bet with the intention that they will switch sides depending on the outcome of the first game. While this tactic has prevailed to turn a nice profit for some people, it also eats away at the overall profit they could have made. In laymen’s terms, if the fans betting on the MLB team to win the World Series stuck with them after game one, they’d come out with a higher profit, then if they switched teams after the first game. For this reason, hedge bet’s are more of a head ache then a bet, as they can be quite confusing for people to understand. In our opinion, we wouldn’t recommend making a hedge bet, as there are too many variables you can’t control.

The playoffs in the NFL differ greatly from the other three major North American sports, for the simple reason, that the playoffs are single elimination. What takes roughly two months to determine a champion in basketball, baseball in hockey, only takes a month in football. What’s more, placing your bets at the start of the playoffs can net you a bigger return, then if you jump on the bandwagon at the start of the Super Bowl. In other words, the odds alter from 12 to one for a long shot, to two to one. Meaning to say, if you are a New York Giants fan, and you took the Giants at the start of the playoffs, you can be paid higher, then if you took them this week, where they a two to one underdog to win the Super Bowl.

Betting on the NFL playoffs also provides the bettor with excellent value. In essence, because there is an increase in the volume of traffic from sportsbook to sportsbook, some shops may offer lower value then others. For this reason, you could take the Giants at 30 to one to win the Super Bowl, instead of 10 to one. Meaning, that if the Giants win the Super Bowl, a $100 wager turns into $30000 instead of $1000.

Understanding key numbers can indicate to you what a bookie is attempting to do with a spread. For instance, despite knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime 29 – 23 and covering the eight and a half point spread, the Denver Broncos opened up against the New England Patriots, as a 14 point underdog. While Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow receives all of the credit for the Broncos success, the truth is, the Broncos defense is too good to lose by 14 points to the New England Patriots. The last time the two teams met, the Patriots won the game 41 – 28, which were 13 points, and one under what the spread is.

When looking at what the bookies are trying to do, they are seeing if fans and handicappers alike, will both bite on such a high number. The Patriots are a really good team, but with the momentum from a huge victory on the Broncos side, can we really believe they’ll lose by 14 points? With such a high point spread, the bookies are expecting to receive a balanced amount of money on the line for the game.