Know all your Betting Terms

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary is one of the handiest tools to have if you write stories for a living. Within its confines are words none of us have heard of along with many that are very familiar, which we use every day. Over the last week, the dictionary has come in quite handy to describe several situations that have made life better or worse for the sports bettor.

Choke (noun) –If you happened to make series bets or individual game wagers on San Jose or Washington in hockey, you are gagging as much as the teams you placed them on. The Sharks in particular are appalling, being well known for postseason failures, which are further enhanced by having the best record during the regular season in 2008-09. Washington was supposed to be offensive juggernaut finishing third in the NHL in scoring. Thus far the mighty Caps have four goals in two games.

Elimination (n) –Calgary, Montreal, St. Louis, Columbus and the aforementioned other two NHL teams are on the brink, without a win the Stanley Cup playoffs. Less than 13 percent of the time, teams down 0-2 have come back to win series this time of year. Only twice in NHL history has a team comeback to win a series down 3-0, the last time was 33 years ago.

Opportunistic (adjective) – The Florida Marlins have set blistering pace coming out of the gate the Kentucky Derby champion would be proud of. The Marlins have four come from behind wins in first dozen played, including three in the ninth inning to tie the game or go ahead, which they eventually won. For backers of Florida, another word comes to mind in what appeared to be glum betting situations, euphoria.

Illusion (n) – As of today, Toronto, Seattle, Kansas City and Florida (to a lesser degree) are all in first place. If one could make such a wager, it would not be a great idea to bet them to be there on May 20.

Pinnacle (n) – The San Diego Padres are either right with or ahead of the Marlins for the biggest surprises in baseball to start the season. The Padres have been the second best in baseball at +7.7 units of profit; however NOBODY expects them to remain anywhere close to where they are as the season continues. They are 10th in runs allowed thanks to the entire pitching staff throwing unbelievably. Nevertheless, beyond Jake Peavy and Chris Young, the starting staff in more unknown than the cast of “Big Bang Theory”. Heath Bell has been terrific as closer, but will he be able to stay at same apex later in the season? Even the Padres radio announcers have said David Eckstein is the team MVP to start the year. That’s not good!

Luscious (adj)- Watching the Cleveland Indians this spring, it was obvious they were going to hit and score a voluminous number of runs. They hung crooked numbers on the Yankees (22) and are among the highest scoring teams early, with 9-3-1 Over record. The Tribe could be top totals play because the pitching staff looks like they can match the offense run for run.

Miscalculation- (n) The New York Yankees ownership spent 1.5 billion dollar to replicate the old Yankees Stadium visually when you walked towards your seat. They tried to gouge the public with prices and have received a fair amount of backlash. By all accounts the park is a sight to behold, but one thing the management didn’t count on was the configuration being inadequate. Granted, the Bronx Bombers and Cleveland have bountiful long ball hitters, but 20 home runs in four-game series, all of the sudden this might have been The House Ruth REALLY wanted to build. Exactly 70 percent left the yard to right field, which is the prevailing wind off the nearby Harlem River and the new joint is not equipped to curtail it.

The other problem is high priced free agents CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, along with late signee Andy Pettitte could have gone to Colorado, Philadelphia or Texas if they wanted to carry around ERA of 5. It’s early, but it is worth watching.