If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
4-STAR TAMPA BAY over New York - Get ready for the talk to start this week. "What's wrong with the Yankees." Well it's nothing other than they ran into a really good Tampa Bay team loaded with starting pitching. That matchup is what creates the value here as you know what Jeremy Hellickson brings to the table when he takes the mound. Phil Hughes has the ability to match him but is also a major question mark. At home at basically even money, we are happy to see what he has to offer.
These teams have fared very differently when trying to close out series. The Yankees are 3-9 since September 07, 2011 and it is the last game of the series for a net profit of $940 when playing against. Also, the Rays are 20-7 since June 08, 2011 and it is the last game of the series after playing in a night game for a net profit of $1142. What we really like about this is the killer instinct which Tampa Bay has shown as they look to bury the Yankees to 0-3 here. The Rays went 8-0 (2.9 rpg) last season when going for a three game sweep. Yesterday, Tampa Bay won the second straight high scorer, 8-6. After 6.1 solid innings from David Price it took five more pitchers to close the way with a dicey ninth inning. The Rays are 36-9 since April 26, 2008 at home after a win in which they used 5+ pitchers in a night game for a net profit of $2285. SPORTSBOOK BREAKERS PREDICTION: TAMPA BAY 5, New York 2
5-unit Play Take #965 San Francisco Giants (-125) over Arizona Diamondbacks (4:10pm ET) The Arizona Diamondbacks go for the sweep today against the San Francisco Giants after winning two tight games on Friday and Saturday. These teams are pretty evenly matched and it should be a good race in the National League West all season long. I know it's early, but this is the first important game for the Giants as they don't want to get off to an 0-3 start against their chief division rival. They have the right guy on the mound to turn things around in Matt Cain. The 27-year old just signed the richest contract for a right-handed pitcher ever and now he gets his chance to prove that he is worth it. He had an excellent spring and looks like he is completely locked in already. It will be hard to repeat his season last year when he posted a 2.88 ERA, but he's entering his prime and has all of the tools. The Giants are also going to score a lot more runs this season with Buster Posey back for an entire season and the arrival of rookie Brandon Belt. Their offense last year was record-breaking bad and this year they take a huge leap forward to being a middle-of-the-pack type offense. The Diamondbacks had a great surprise season last year but they're not going to sneak up on anybody this time around. They got career years from a few guys last year and you can't count on that again. Josh Collmenter pitches for the D-Backs today and he has had a rocky spring. He has been experiencing some forearm tightness and it's translated into poor results on the mound. He had a gaudy 9.95 ERA in Spring Training and only struck out six batters in 19 innings. He has extra pressure on him to perform because phenom Trevor Bauer is waiting in the wings in the minor leagues, and he can be brought up at any moment. I would be surprised if Collmenter lasts past the fifth inning today, as the Giants lineup is no longer a joke. Take San Francisco and Matt Cain at a gift of a price for our Game of the Week.
2-unit Play Take #973 New York Yankees (-105) over Tampa Bay Rays (1:40pm ET)
The New York Yankees are also in danger of getting swept today in Tampa Bay against the Rays.I don't think the Yankees are panicking yet, but I think they're starting to realize that the Rays have a team that may be put together better than their own. It's a gut check game and manager Joe Girardi is going to do whatever he can to avoid the heat in New York by winning this one. Phil Hughes pitches for the Yankees today and he has been impressive in this return to the rotation. He's always had the talent and determination, but injuries have plagued him. I think he'll make the best of his opportunity and show everyone why he was so highly touted at one point. There's been nothing wrong with the Yankees bats as they've scored six runs in each of the first two games and we should continue to see that all season. There's not a single easy out in the entire lineup and they make the opposing pitcher earn it in every at bat. Tampa Bay counters with Jeremy Hellickson. The right-hander will be 25 years old today as he heads into this second full season. With the kind of season Hellickson put together last year, I would be surprised if he didn't have a sophomore slump of some sort in 2012. Last year he was 13-10 with a 2.95 ERA and 1.15 WHIP en route to AL Rookie of the Year honors. Now that the league has seen him a couple of times, he will need to adjust a bit to continue to produce at a high level. He has already showed some signs of trouble in the spring and it's going to be tough to get it all together against the Yankees lineup. The Bronx Bombers will put the pressure on Hellickson early on and if they can hold a lead into the 7th inning, I like our chances with the best bullpen in baseball. Take the Yankees as a live underdog as they look to avoid the sweep today.
3-Unit Play. Take #955 Philadelphia (-130) over Pittsburgh (1:30 p.m., Sunday, April 8)
The Phillies lost in extra innings yesterday. But I think that they are going to win this series. Vance Worley has won 17 of his last 22 starts and the Phillies are 13-3 when he starts as a favorite. The Phils have won five of six in this series and I don't think that they are going to drop two of three to start the year.
2-Unit Play. Take #965 San Francisco (-120) over Arizona (4 p.m., Sunday, April 8)
The Giants lost two close games in the first two games of the year. They don't want to start off 0-3. And they have Matt Cain on the hill today. The Giants are 7-2 in his last nine starts against Arizona and I think he will have a big performance. Josh Collmenter struggled this spring for the D-Backs. I think those struggles are going to continue into the season. San Francisco takes the cash.
NBA
2.5-Unit Play. Take #707 Detroit (+12.5) over Miami (6 p.m., Sunday, April 8)
1.5-Unit Play. Take 'Under' 186 Chicago at New York Knicks (1 p.m., Sunday, April 8)
5-Unit Play. #967. Take Boston Red Sox +110 over Detroit Tigers (Sunday @ 1:05pm est).
Nice opportunity for us to take the Red Sox here and why not. They come off getting hammered yesterday by a score of 10-0 which I'm not sure does not sit well with any major league ballclub nevertheless a team that has such a proudful history like the Red Sox. This team was shutout and taking Salty out of the lineup and inserting Shoppach will go a long way today and combine that with the best Road pitcher in the Majors in Buccholz over the last 3 seasons gets the ball. Bucc has a .731 winning percentage which is the best in the majors over the last several years on the road and he is 1-1 with a 2.58era against the Tigers lifetime. Combine that with Scherzer who is 0-2 with a 9.45 era lifetime against the Red Sox and it makes for a decent underdog price for us to step-out today with. The Red Sox are 9-1 when Buccholz is a road underdog such as today and the Red Sox are 12-3 when Buccholz starts on the road against a team with a winning record such as today. Basically Clay Buccholz gets up to pitch on the road, and better teams on the road in particular and of course, the Red Sox pitchers will be able to see a few more pitches to hit today with Scherzer who they have had success against.
3 Unit Play Take # 955 Philadelphia -128 over Pittsburgh (1:35pm est):
I know all the talk coming out this spring is about how the Philadelphia Phillies are overrated, injured and old going into this year. Though I agree with some of that I do think it's getting a little hand now and has actually helped to create some value backing them for the time being. This is still a team that won over 100 games last season (102 overall and five more than the next closest team in baseball) and made it's followers over 12 units of profit along the way backing them. Keep in mind they did all this also with the pressure of having to win a large amount of games, placed on them by just about every single member of the media. Bottom line this is still one of the very best teams in all of baseball and even with a slight slip up they are a mid 90's win team overall, which should put them right in the middle for the best record in all of baseball again.
On the mound they go with Vance Worley in this one. Worley was a big surprise last year for a Phillies staff littered with Hall-Of- Fame pitchers on it. The Phillies backed Worley the last four times he pitched as a road favorite by getting the win last season and were a rock solid 7-1 with him on the hill the last eight times he was in this role. Even more impressive then that was the Phillies went 17-5 in Worley's last 22 starts overall, a win percentage much higher than in the games not pitched by Worley. Reports out of spring training are Worley has looked solid again, striking out batters at a higher than normal rate for him despite the fact he did get hit hard in his final outing of the exhibition season.
Big reason also for the play here is betting against Pirates starter James McDonald. The Pirates were a very ugly 18-41 to end last season and still have a long way to go to back to respectability. It seems with the Astros being so bad most have forgot just awful Pittsburgh still are also. They have won just one of McDonald's last seven starts and as a team are just 7-21 the game following a win in their previous contest. McDonald has been working on a new delivery all spring and the word is he is a mess right now and wasn't very good to begin with, the exact type of guy the Phillies need to help them break out of their season slump to start the year.
This price is just way too low here. All the Phillies and Worley do is win games. Philadelphia is 25-10 their last 35 games favored on the road and rarely are ever priced this low against a team as bad as the Pirates. Take Philadelphia here in this one.
Matt Rivers
Sunday's Selections ...
200,000♦ Road Warrior Lock is the Chicago Bulls
100,000♦ Bonus Best Bet on the Atlanta Braves with Mike Minor listed
Comment