Betting Systems - The Role Of Stress At Season S End

The end of the season signals many stressors for fans and athletes alike. Specifically, teams vying for playoff positioning are most under stress to perform well and execute game plans (and of course, to win games). As such, oddsmakers often shade their lines, making the other side quite juicy and valuable.

Teams who are jockeying for playoff positioning often suffer from stiffness (both literally and figuratively). Such teams do not play loose and the pressure of it all sometimes even leads them to lose their games. When a playoff-bound team plays a non-playoff-bound team, the latter usually covers the game (if not win the game straight up). This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that the non-playoff-bound team will play loose—they have literally nothing to lose. As such, these types of teams often take more risk and often play more successfully. The team that is gunning for a victory often falls short because of stress. They try their best to win, but because of pressure, some teams simply crumble. It takes a special team to handle such stresses—teams who overcome such stressors are those filled with veteran players and great coaches.

The aftermath of an arduous end of season set of games may seep into the post season. In other words, if a team is overextended and plays its heart out at the tail end of the season, such a team may not have enough gas left to go into the playoffs. A great example of this is the 2003-04 Anaheim Angels. This team was chasing their divisional rivals, the Oakland Atheltics for the last playoff spot. Anaheim managed to win 7 of its last 9 games to make the playoffs (including beating the A’s), but such an effort drained the batteries of the Angels. They eventually got swept by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the playoffs. This example shows the draining effect of such a push at the end of the season.

In closing, the end of a season is a very tumultuous one for playoff bound teams. The manager needs to manage his team effectively without burning them out.