Astros add Figueroa among host of moves

Baseball Betting Lines

07/21/2010 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Houston Astros have claimed pitcher Nelson Figueroa off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies.

The team also claimed infielder Anderson Hernandez off waivers from the Cleveland Indians. To make room on the roster for both players, Houston has designated pitchers Gary Majewski and Polin Trinidad for assignment.

Figueroa was designated for assignment by the Phillies on July 15 after making 13 appearances, including one start, during two different stints with the team. The veteran right-hander was 2-1 with one save and a 3.46 earned run average.

Over the course of eight seasons with Arizona, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, the New York Mets and Philadelphia, he is 15-29 with a 4.47 ERA and a pair of saves.

Hernandez, who was designated for assignment on July 18, batted .246 with two runs batted in over 22 games for the Tribe this season. He has spent parts of six seasons in the big leagues with the Yankees, Nationals and Indians and is a .245 hitter with four home runs and 59 RBI.

Majewski made two relief appearances for Houston since joining the team on Monday and gave up five runs in two innings.

Trinidad has spent all season at Triple-A Round Rock and is 3-6 with a 4.55 ERA in 19 outings, 16 as a starter.

Houston has 10 days to trade, release or assign outright the contracts of Majewski and Trinidad.

The Astros also announced that right-handed pitcher Casey Daigle has cleared waivers and has accepted his assignment to Round Rock. He had been designated for assignment on Monday.

The team also optioned infielder Oswaldo Navarro to Round Rock.

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Betting Sports

The most popular sports to bet on are NFL and college football along with NBA and NCAA basketball. There are multiple betting opportunities within those sports, beginning with the basic wager on a game’s outcome (also called betting the side). College Football Point spreads are used in both football and basketball in an attempt to even the attractiveness of each team in a match-up. ( See our article detailing how and why point spreads are made)

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Points (or Runs) Scored

Another bet across all major team sports including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey involves wagering on the amount of scoring in a game, called an Over/Under total. For example, the Over/Under total on Super Bowl XXXIX was 48, which means a bettor could wager whether there would be more or less than 48 points scored by both teams combined in the game.

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Sports gambling doesn’t end there. Betting sides and totals are the most common wagers available everywhere, but many sportsbooks also offer future bets on big upcoming events like who will win next year’s Super Bowl and what movie will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

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Types of Bets

Straight Bet

Involves one individual wager, whether it be on your team to cover the point spread, to win the game straight-up on the money line, or to go over/under the total.

Sports Betting Parlays

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay bet is much better odds than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting it is much higher.

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Adventurous bettors who enjoy betting parlays sometimes put together a series of parlays called a Round Robin . A three-team Round Robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays. For example, Joe likes teams A,B,C – with a Round Robin he has a three-teamer with ABC, and two-teamers with AB, AC, and BC.

Betting Teasers

Similar to a parlay, a teaser bet is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers, but is different in that the point spread is adjusted to your advantage on each individual wager. In exchange for the points, you get less of a return on your bet compared to a parlay. For example, a 6-point teaser would move the line on a 7-point favorite from -7 to -1, meaning the team would have to cover 6 less points. Each of the individual wagers must win or the bet is a loss.

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