posted July 1, 2008 at 18:28 in MLB Betting Trends

With a majority of the league stinking it up on the road, I thought it would be interesting to see which teams have played against the league’s standard throughout the first half of the season. The following is what was discovered….

1) Seattle Mariners (15-25) (-$1581.00) The Mariners lack of success throughout the first half of 2008 is entirely due to the fact that they can’t win a game at Safeco Park to save their lives. Twenty-five, or 49% of their 51 overall losses, have come within the not so friendly confines of their own ballpark. The M’s poor play already cost John McLaren his job, but in their first home game since his dismissal they went on to lose by a 2-0 final count to the Toronto Blue Jays. Overall, the M’s have cost MLB bettors a lofty $2074.00 on the year, but 76% of that debt has been incurred with Seattle playing the role of host. Already 17.5-games out of first in the West, Seattle’s season looks to be over at the halfway point, but keep an eye out for this club at home the rest of the way since its almost impossible to play .375 ball the rest of the way in front of your own fans.

2) San Francisco Giants (14-25) (-$1114.00) Now, here’s a club online sportsbettors have to be flabbergasted over. The Giants currently sit 11-games under .500 at 36-47, but take a guess at what their record is on the road? If you said 22-22 you’re correct! With the rest of the league struggling to win on the road, how is it that 61% of this losing ballclubs wins have come while playing the role of visitor? That’s right folks! the Giants, in terms of overall record, are leaps and bounds better away from AT&T Park than inside it. They’ve lost six straight home series, and you have to go all the way back to early May to see their last home series victory. Manager Bruce Bochy better find a way to start winning some games at home or else the turnstiles will see less and less of the boisterous Giants faithful.

3) Cleveland Indians (22-22) (-$1168.00) you’ll notice the Indians currently own a .500 home record at 22-22 overall, but the betting public only cares about the number next to the record. You know, the one glaring minus one thousand plus dollars! What that number tells us is that the Tribe has failed on many occasions throughout their home schedule as heavy priced favorites. They were installed a favorite of –160 or greater in 19 of their 44 home games this season. Of those 19, the Tribe lost 10 overall to cost its betting backers a nice chunk of their bankrolls. Their first six home games in June saw them take four of six from the Minnesota Twins and San Diego Padres, but they most recently followed that solid work up by dropping four of six to the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds. Look for this club to trim some of the fat around the deadline, so they might still be worth fading at home throughout the rest of the second half.

4) San Diego Padres (21-26) (-$1007.00) I don’t know what’s more sad. The fact that San Diego was a blown call away from advancing to the playoffs last season, or the fact that they’re 18-games under .500 (33-51) and only 9.5-games out of first place in the NL West. Regardless, the Padres are a figment of their former selves from a year ago. Their pitching staff has been littered with injuries, and that simply doesn’t bode well for a club whose success has relied upon its pitching in the past. Petco used to be a tough place to go into and win evidenced by the fact that they’re a combined 136-107 (56%) the last three seasons. They’re currently in the midst of an eight-game home losing streak, and haven’t been the victor in a Petco set since the middle of June when they took two of three from the also injury- crippled Los Angeles Dodgers.

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