In betting baseball, most sports bettors ignore to consider the bullpen when making their bets. Although they make up 1/3 of the game, people for some reason do not readily consider the bullpen as part of their bet. In this article, the author hopes to elucidate the importance of the bullpen and several tips in betting baseball.
The bullpen comes into the game usually at the 6th inning mark (or later if the starting pitcher is doing well). The main job of the ‘pen’ is to take care of the lead, or if the team is loosing, to prevent any more scoring from happening. A good pen is invaluable, a bad pen is nothing to write home about. Teams who go far and deep into the playoffs are those teams that have solid bullpens.
Good starting pitchers who have a solid bullpen to back them will have better records than those who have a sub par pen. If an excellent pitcher who has a 1.00 ERA (earned run average) is backed by a bad bullpen, such a pitcher will almost always lose games. Therefore it is necessary to isolate teams with excellent bullpens.
In terms of betting, if two teams with excellent bullpens face each other, the under will be a good bet. This under bet will become stronger if both teams are struggling offensively. Good pitching and bad hitting is a good formula for a solid under bet. Bettors beware though. If a line looks too easy, it probably is (although in baseball tricky lines are less apparent than in the other sports of football, basketball, and hockey).
On the contrary bad bullpens are conducive to overs. Betting on the over in games that feature bad bullpens can be quite lucrative. If both teams have sub par bullpens and have excellent offensive prowess, then the over bet can be quite profitable. The totals line might be high, but is warranted in this situation.
On a side note, perennially good bullpens include the Angels, the A’s, the Twins, et cetera.
In closing, the bullpen is one angle most bettors ignore; but if used in part of the capping process, betting on the better bullpen in a contest will show profits in the long term.