Friday's List of 13 (+3)

outlaw420 · Posted: Jul 02 2010 12:17 pm Post subject: Friday's List of 13 (+3)

Our weekly look at the National league

16) Pirates-- Coming into Thursday's games, prospect Pedro Alvarez was 1 for 29 when he had two strikes in count, 6-17 in his other at-bats. Can be a dicey thing, trying to decide if a kid needs to go back to AAA, or if he can work out his problems at the big league level.

15) Arizona-- Fired manager Hinch Thursday, begging the question, why the hell did they ever hire him? He had zero managerial experience. From what you read, if you like reading between the lines, this could quicken a return to the rotation for Brandon Webb, who wasn't a happy guy when the Snakes fired the previous manager, Bob Melvin.

14) Astros-- Why would anyone want Roger Clemens pitching in a Home Run Derby? He threw in the Texas League derby this week, but you just know the guy is wacky enough to deck someone who hits one out, and is so competitive that he's not going to be happy serving up meatballs, even to his own kid. Not surprisingly, very few balls left the yard.

13) Cubs-- Cubs allowed five runs in a three-game series vs a Pirate team that had lost 17 consecutive road games, and still lost two of three, then they lost 3-2 at home Thursday to a kid making his first big league start. Cubs have eight guys making $12M+; notice I didn't say earning $12M.

12) Nationals-- I tied my fantasy game last week because Carl Crawford missed the last four games (lost total bases by 2) so I didn't play CC this week, since he was hurt. He's 8-16 this week. That noise you hear is my head banging against the wall.

11) Brewers-- Prince Fielder has knocked in only 18 of 236 baserunners so far this year (7.6%). Here's how he's done up to this season.......
2009-- Drove in 95 of 507 baserunners (18.7%)
2008-- Drove in 68 of 431 baserunners (15.8%)
2007-- Drove in 69 of 409 baserunners (16.9%)
2006-- Drove in 53 of 394 baserunners (13.5%)
2005-- Drove in 8 of 41 baserunners (19.5%)

You'd figure Fielder to have a better second half, no?

10) Marlins-- They bring up 20-year old prospect Stanton without having him play in AAA, then they fire the manager so they can bring in a bigger name, but Bobby Valentine's demands aren't met, so now they're stuck for the rest of the year with a neophyte manager who has three coaches that have never been in the big leagues before. What a debacle.

9) Giants-- Lost six games in a row, scoring total of 12 runs; they're 1-7 in last eight games, losing last seven times Pat Burrell started, winning when he sat out a game. With Bengie Molina gone, they're now using a rookie catcher to handle their excellent starting pitchers. A disappointing team.

8) Rockies-- Have nothing on Colorado, so I'll let you know that Seattle is 14-13 when either Lee (7-4) or Hernandez (7-9) starts, 19-32 when any of their other pitchers start. Shouldn't they just sign Cliff Lee? Then again, the Indians and Phillies should have signed him, too.

7) Phillies-- Utley is out eight weeks, Polanco is on DL; they're 3-7 in last ten starts by Halladay, after they won six of his first seven outings. Phils starting pitchers have thrown 485 innings, 2nd-most in NL, How long can they expect 47-year old Jamie Moyer to carry their staff?

6) Dodgers-- If LA contends deep into the summer, they'll look at the HR Casey Blake hit in 8th inning Monday night as a huge turning point in this season. Dodgers had blown a 6-2 lead in 9th inning Sunday, had lost eight of last ten games, but Blake's HR propelled them to sweep of the Giants.

5) Cardinals-- Holliday has never knocked in less than 16% of baserunners in his career; when last we checked, 130 PA ago, he was at a woeful 9.7%, but has it up to 12% now, so he figures to have a strong second half.

4) Mets-- So now Reyes is hurt again, tweaking his back on the artificial turf in San Juan; someone educate me on why the Mets agreed to play in a minor league stadium, then not get an off day before they played the next series, in Washington? The three games in San Juan were their only three games this season on artificial turf.

3) Reds-- When Cincy beat Roy Halladay Wednesday, it was its first win in nine games when they gave Aaron Harang less than six runs. Dusty has the Redlegs in first place despite a bullpen that ranks 23rd in big leagues in ERA. Reds are T1 in runs scored at home, 25th on the road.

2) Padres-- San Diego has 3.26 ERA on road, 0.18 better than anyone else in big leagues. In an unrelated matter, did you know the AD at Georgia is paid $550,000 a year? Never heard of the guy, until he got nailed for DUI this week in a car with a 28-year old who.......isn't his wife. Whoops.

1) Braves-- 28-8 at home, have still played five less games at home than on road. With Jurrjens back in rotation, Atlanta poised for a big run with All-Star break just ten days away. They'll need a healthy Heyward after the break in order to hold off challengers in NL East.

outlaw420 · Posted: Jul 02 2010 12:17 pm Post subject:

Friday's six-pack

The six announcing crews I most enjoy listening to on Major League Extra Innings package........(Note: For whatever reason, announcers for the Padres are almost never on the package, so can't include them, but it would be excellent to hear the great Dick Enberg call a game.)

6) Dan Orsillo/Jerry Remy, Red Sox-- They seem to genuinely like each other; better on road, away from parade of charities that sometimes make Boston home telecasts seem like a telethon.

5) Darin Sutton/Mark Grace, Arizona-- Grace is a classic; he's brought his kids into the booth, has handicapped NFL games during a dull game. He has fun working. Too bad the Snakes are so horrible.

4) Dick Bremer/Bert Blyleven, Twins-- Still mystified why Blyleven is not in Hall of Fame, but thats another story for another day.

3) Glenn Kuiper/Ray Fosse, A's-- Getting run over by Pete Rose in '70 All-Star Game was best thing for Fosse; he got traded to Oakland, won two World Series rings as a player, still works for them behind mike.

2) Gary Cohen/Ron Darling, Mets-- Mets divide their telecasts, with a 3-man booth for bigger games. Not a big fan of Keith Hernandez, who is the third member of team. Darling is baseball's best analyst.

1) Duane Kuiper/Mike Krukow, Giants-- Like hanging out with bunch of buddies watching a game together. To me, the best pairing.

Honoroable mention: Tom Grieve is an excellent analyst, one of the best but Rangers' play-by-play guy is so annoying, its like listening to some 5-year old doing a game, so they didn't make this list.

outlaw420 · Posted: Jul 02 2010 12:18 pm Post subject:

Daily Sports Roundup: July 2

Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Twins play host to the Rays, the Marlins meet the Braves, and the Netherlands and Brazil do battle in World Cup quarterfinal action.

Chasing the World Cup . . .

The quarterfinal round of the World Cup gets underway on Friday, with Netherlands vs. Brazil and Uruguay vs. Ghana. Brazil blanked Chile 3-0 in the Round of 16 on Monday, and they're listed as the -120 favorites against the Dutch (+330), with draw odds of +240. The Netherlands are coming off a 2-1 win over Slovakia. Uruguay knocked off South Korea 2-1 in their Round of 16 matchup last Saturday, and they're favored at EVEN odds over Ghana (+285), with draw odds of +220. Ghana reached the World Cup's quarterfinal round by getting past the United States by a score of 2-1.

Meeting up on the diamond . . .

The American League schedule for Friday has Toronto at the Yankees, Oakland at Cleveland, Seattle at Detroit, Baltimore at Boston, the White Sox at Texas, Kansas City at the Angels, and Tampa Bay at Minnesota. The Rays are expected to go with David Price (11-3, 2.44 ERA) in that last matchup, with the Twins countering with Scott Baker (6-7, 4.97 ERA). Lefthander Price beat the Diamondbacks last time out, allowing just two earned runs over eight innings while fanning 11 batters. Righthander Baker will be looking to bounce back from an ugly outing against the Mets in his most recent trip to the mound in which he surrendered six earned runs on 11 hits over just 4 1-3 innings.

Meanwhile, the National League on Friday offers up Cincinnati at the Cubs, Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, the Mets at Washington, San Francisco at Colorado, Milwaukee at St. Louis, the Dodgers at Arizona, Houston at San Diego, and Florida at Atlanta. Josh Johnson (8-3, 1.83 ERA) is slated to pitch for the Marlins on Friday against the Braves' Kris Medlen (5-1, 3.15 ERA). Righthander Johnson took a rare loss last time out against the Padres despite giving up just two earned runs on five hits over eight innings of work. Righthander Medlen shut down the Tigers for a victory last time out, surrendering only one earned run on six hits over 6 2-3 innings in that game.

Rounding out the Roundup . . .

As well, the opening week of the Canadian Football League season continues on Friday with Hamilton at Winnipeg. Oddsmakers have the Tiger-Cats sitting as the 2-point road favorites for Friday night's game, with the contest's total posted at 51 points.

outlaw420 · Posted: Jul 02 2010 12:18 pm Post subject:

Bettors' best friend: Friday's wagering tips

Line off the board

Reds at Cubs – The total for the game has not been released due to the uncertainty of wind speed and direction at Wrigley Field.

Lines to keep an eye on

Orioles at Red Sox – The home squad opened as a hefty -240 favorite but that number is available as low as -215 on a few betting boards.

White Sox at Rangers – Texas has been red hot and surfaced as -185 chalk in this affair but a few shops are offering -170.

Hamilton at Winnipeg – The total for this game opened at 52 but sharp money has moved it to 50.5.

Weather report
(Forecasts are extracted from Weather.com the night before the game.)

White Sox at Rangers – The forecast calls for a 10 mph wind to blow in from left field and there is a 50-60 percent chance of rain throughout the game.

Giants at Rockies – A 30 percent chance of rain is in the forecast.

Who’s hot

The Indians have won five games in a row.

The Netherlands is unbeaten in its last 23 soccer matches.

Arizona (AFL) is 4-0 SU and ATS in its last four games.

Who’s not

The Blue Jays have lost five in a row and 9-of-11.

Utah (AFL) has dropped seven straight games, going 1-6 ATS during that stretch.

The UNDER is 10-1 in the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last 11 season openers.

Key stat

67-36 – Detroit-opponent run differential in Tigers last 11 home games. The Tigers won 10 of those 11 games and only two of those wins came by one run.

Injury that shouldn’t be overlooked

The Baltimore Orioles placed designated hitter Luke Scott on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring. Scott was injured during his home run trot in Wednesday's game against Oakland Athletics. It was the 12th homer of the season for Scott, who is batting .274. The Orioles called up third baseman Josh Bell to take Scott's place on the roster.

Notable quotable

"We know the Netherlands are a very difficult team to play against. Their football is actually very similar to South American football. They don't try to stay defending and rely on long balls. They have technical quality and we will need to be ready for that."

-- Brazil head coach Dunga said of the Netherlands gameplan.

Tips and notes

- Edwin Jackson and Arizona will be a popular bet on Friday coming off of his no-hitter against the Rays last Friday. After throwing 149 pitches in that spectacular outing, manager A.J. Hinch decided to give Jackson extra rest. This will be the first time all season Jackson will be pitching on six days’ rest. While the additional day was likely needed for recuperation, throwing a starter off of his normal four- or five-day routine can sometimes have a negative effect. Bettors should keep in mind that Jackson was insanely wild during his no-hitter, walking eight hitters in it and 14 over his last three games. A good team like the Dodgers will not let him get away with control problems.

- After being one of the surprise team the first three months of the season, Toronto is starting to fall into form. The Jays have dropped five straight and nine of their last 11, scoring two runs or fewer during that stretch. Manager Cito Gaston had this to say after his team got swept in Cleveland and failed to hit a home run, “Terrible, awful, we played terrible." Toronto faces a travel challenge on Friday. The two-hour flight from Cleveland to New York isn’t bad but the Jays have to turn around and play in a 1:05 p.m. start less than 24 hours later. With its recent woes Toronto names are being tossed around in the rumor trade mill and the Jays could quickly become a “play against” team.

- Attention bettors! Get on the A.J. Burnett fade train immediately! The mighty Yankees are rarely going to be underdogs despite Burnett’s recent struggles and are laying -155 Friday. Burnett has lost five consecutive starts and faders turned a 7.86 unit profit over that stretch. Burnett thinks he is tipping his pitches, has said that he doesn’t “feel like himself” and is “quite frustrated” and is also dealing with the recent death of his grandfather. This is a guy that you don’t want to get behind right now and if you don’t like the opposition, an OVER wager might be worth a look.

outlaw420 · Posted: Jul 02 2010 12:18 pm Post subject:

On July 2 in Baseball History...

1903 - Pitcher Jack Doscher, making his debut with the Chicago Cubs, is the first son of a former major-league player to also play in the major leagues. His father, Herm, was a third base with Troy, Chicago, and Cleveland before the turn of the century.

1941 - Joe DiMaggio extends his consecutive-game hitting streak to 45 by hitting a home run off Boston's Dick Newsome, surpassing Willie Keeler's all-time record.

1950 - Bob Feller, wins his 200th major-league game, a 5-3 Cleveland win over Detroit in the second game of a doubleheader split.

1951 - Bill Veeck gets the necessary 75 percent of outstanding stock on the last day of his option to buy the St. Louis Browns from Bill and Charlie DeWitt.

1963 - At 12:31 A.M. in San Francisco, Willie Mays homers off Warren Spahn in the bottom of the 16th inning to give Juan Marichal a 1-0 victory in the National League's longest game ended by a home run.

1970 - Detroit's Joe Niekro no-hits the Yankees until Horace Clarke singles in the ninth inning as the Tigers win 5-0. This is the third time in the month that Clarke has broken up a no-hitter, having spoiled bids by Kansas City's Jim Rooker (June 4) and Boston's Sonny Siebert (June 19).

1986 - After 14 wins, Roger Clemens suffer his first loss as Toronto scores three times in the eighth inning to down Boston 4-2. Clemens was one game short of the American League record for consecutive wins at the start of a season.

1987 - Jim Eisenreich, making a comeback after being forced out of the major leagues by a nervous disorder in 1984, hits his first Major League home run since 1982 to lead the Royals to a 10-3 win over his former club, the Twins.

outlaw420 · Posted: Jul 02 2010 12:19 pm Post subject:

Thursday's List of 13: What I'm looking for in July.........
July's going to be a busy month; here is some stuff I'm looking for......

13) Sometimes it seems like the NBA's offseason is more interesting than the regular season-- this offseason it definitely feels that way. What free agents will go where? Will the new owner of the Nets make a big splash? Will the Knicks finally improve?

12) The biggest unanswered question of course, is where will Lebron be playing next winter? Cleveland? Chicago? New York? Newark? Miami?

11) If the Heat re-sign Dwyane Wade, then somehow sign both James and either Bosh/Stoudemire, does that mean Pat Riley will suddenly feel like coaching again? Frank from Sacramento thinks thats going to happen.

10) Then there's the baseball trading deadline, which is July 31; Cliff Lee is the X-factor there. Where he winds up could determine who makes the playoffs. Seattle could keep Lee and pocket two draft picks next winter, after he bolts as a free agent, but chances are someone will cough up one or two decent prospects for a chance at a championship.

9) Baseball's regular season has almost become two seasons; the first half we find out who the contenders are, then we divide up into the sellers and buyers at the trade deadline. The White Sox' recent hot streak keeps them in the contender column. Oakland's June swoon could make them sellers.

Cool

When Carlos Beltran comes back from his knee injury, what will the Mets do with their four outfielders? Its a nice problem to have, for a club that looks more like a contender every day. If Omar Minaya can pull the trigger on a good deadline deal, it could put the Mets over the top.

7) Will the Angels add a first baseman? Will Texas add a catcher? Will the disappointing Cubs dump salary? Do the Pirates even have someone the contenders would want? Will the A's sell of Ben Sheets? Stay tuned.......
Rangers traded for Benjie Molina late Wednesday night.

6) Eldrick Woods is a 7-2 favorite to win British Open at St Andrews; its going to be fun to watch in the middle of the night from Las Vegas, where I think the telecasts will start at 4am Vegas time. What will the British press be like? If Eldrick doesn't win in July, when will he win again?

5) Speaking of Mr Woods, rumor has him paying $750 million as part of his divorce settlement. Two words: Hush money. Dude had a pre-nup and is still paying through the nose, all to keep the former nanny from heaping more public humiliation on Eldrick by writing a book/doing talk shows.

4) Sometime in July, the NCAA will announce how the extra games in the Field of 68 will be handled. Am thinking it'll involve the four lowest-rated teams playing each other, and the last four at-large teams playing a couple games too, leading into the best weekend of the sports year.

3) I'm going to be at Rio for last five days of World Series of Poker, and I'll be taking in the NBA Summer League at UNLV. Good stuff. I'm told it gets a little warm in the desert in July. Excellent. Actually, August 1, 1986 was first time I was ever in Vegas. Was 112 when I pulled into town, but it was a dry 112. Won't be much walking around outside on this trip.

For $25, you can go to UNLV and watch four summer league games in one with some of the best younger players in the league. Am looking forward to seeing Blake Griffin play, after missing last year with a bum knee.

2) Hope to catch up with some old friends and make some new ones when the horse racing season starts in Saratoga. For six weeks, our area becomes bigtime fun, the summer place to be, as the commercials used to say. You want a fun summer day? Go to the races on a Friday, then go out at night in Saratoga; in upstate New York, it doesn't get much better.

1) Once I get back from the desert, it'll be time to dive head-first into the football season. Training camps will be started and college ball will only be five weeks away. July has a lot of stuff in it; NBA, baseball and then the start of football. It'll be a lot of activity stuffed into 31 days.

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