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Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
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tom freese
tex rangersComment
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Sportswagers NFL Season Total: Steelers
Season Win Total
Pittsburgh Steelers under 9 +110
The Steelers have not only been a perennial playoff team since 1970, they are also one of the most popular teams in the NFL because of their stability, outstanding pedigree and more playoff appearances and regular seasons wins than any other team over the past 43 years. Even today, a generation later, images endure of those great Steelers teams from the 1970s. Terry Bradshaw connecting with receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. The Steel Curtain of Joe Greene, Ernie Holmes, Dwight White and L.C. Greenwood holding the high-powered Minnesota Vikings offense to 119 total yards in Super Bowl IX. Franco Harris making the “Immaculate Reception.” All those legendary players, plus more recent stars such as Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu, deserve credit for the Steelers’ record six Super Bowl championships but so does the Rooney family, for creating one of the NFL’s model franchises. The best sign of that leadership is stability in the coaching ranks — the Steelers have had only three coaches, Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin, since 1970 and that’s precisely where we will start.
Art Rooney simply doesn’t have his dad’s touch. Much as Steelers fans loved the Chief, he didn’t have a green thumb for producing winning football teams. Dan was the magic for this franchise and although Art II has been running the team for years on paper, Dan was still overseeing the operation until he took the ambassadorship. Things have deteriorated since Art II has been completely in charge. Art II and Mike Tomlin have a knack for choosing players in the draft that are china dolls, ready to be broken. The Steelers offensive line is in serious trouble. Mike Adams is awful with no end in sight. Mike Pouncey is grossly overrated and Marcus Gilbert is overwhelmingly unremarkable. There’s no veteran depth there, either. Tomlin has dismantled a pretty good O-line. Max Starks starts in San Diego, Willie Colon starts with the Jets and Doug Legursky starts in Buffalo. Getting rid of seasoned veterans is never a good idea, at least not without having suitable replacements and without a strong O-Line, Ben Roethisberger turns into a mediocre QB at best. The Steelers defense may be decent but they will be on the field more than ever because of an offense that has very little. This team got old right before our eyes and the sad part is the Steelers didn’t do a great job of bringing in younger players. Pittsburgh has little team speed, no bruising running backs, a lack of talent in the receiving corps, where there just is no replacing Mike Wallace and again, a brutal offensive line. The Steelers are in a stronger division, top to bottom and their talent level has deteriorated.
Let’s keep in mind that the Steelers defense feasted two years in a row on some really bad teams. They had the easiest strength of schedule for any playoff team in 2011. The team lived an illusion in 2011 and the illusion became reality in 2012. In 2013, Pittsburgh is worse but their schedule is not. Looking over the Steelers schedule, we see two likely wins, in Week 6 against the Jets, although that game is in New York and in Week 10 at home against the Bills. Other than that, there are no gimmes. The last seven games of the season see the Steelers playing Detroit, at Cleveland, at Baltimore, Miami, Cincinnati, at Green Bay and finally closing out the season at home versus the Brownies. The first four games see the Steelers playing Tennessee, at Cincinnati, Chicago and at Minnesota. Pittsburgh will not win all of those, that’s for certain and it would not surprise one bit to see them get off to a 1-3 start or even a 0-4 start. Additionally, this is all predicated on a healthy roster but these aging players will not play 16 games, as Troy Polamalu and Big Ben get injured every season for a number of games. It says here that the Steelers have little to no chance of winning 10 games and going over this number. We’re suggesting that the Steelers end up going 6-10, 7-9 or 8-8 because this team in in total decay but the number does not reflect that. Pittsburgh’s pedigree and popularity has this total at nine. Its talent level should have it at 7 and that allows us to take full advantage of a bad number.Comment
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Sportswagers MLB
Today's Free Picks for Aug 26, 2013
San Diego @ ARIZONA
San Diego +117 over ARIZONA
The Diamondbacks are coming off an exhausting series against the Phillies that left the rotation in shambles and that took a toll on every player in that dugout. Saturday’s marathon 19-inning game that lasted close to seven hours was followed up by an early afternoon game yesterday in which the D-Backs lost 9-5. Yesterday ended a 10-game road swing for the Snakes and they figure to be just as exhausted today as they were yesterday after Saturday’s grueling marathon. Since coming off the DL, Brandon McCarthy has started four games and the D-Backs have lost them all by scores of 10-7, 6-2, 4-1 and 4-0. McCarthy’s longest outing over that span was 5.2 innings and his ERA over that same stretch is 6.98. In two of those starts he didn’t make it out of the fifth inning. McCarthy’s strikeout rate is weak with just 55 K’s in 86 innings. At home he has one win in seven starts with a BAA of .297. McCarthy took a scary line drive off his head last September that ended his season. He was average then and he’s been worse since. The impact of three DL stints in two years for the same shoulder may afford McCarthy less margin for error. This is a guy to avoid, especially when spotting a tag.
You would be hard pressed to find a pitcher in the majors that has pitched better than San Diego’s Tyson Ross over the past month. Since re-joining the starting rotation on July 23, Ross has pitched 40 innings and has 42 K’s with just 12 walks issued, a 0.90 WHIP, a 2.10 ERA and an elite groundball rate of 58%. As a prospect in the Oakland system and even as a starter with the A's, Tyson Ross had the fastball and heavy sinker to excel as a big leaguer. What always seemed to be his downfall was a lack of control and shaky command but Ross has finally appeared to figure things out. He has emerged with his top-tier strikeout groundball levels. As a pooch against an exhausted Arizona squad and a struggling Brandon McCarthy, Ross is as live as they come.
Our Pick
San Diego +117 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.34)
San Francisco @ COLORADO
COLORADO -1½ +132 over San Francisco
Barry Zito had a respectable first month of the season in terms of results but his skills were brutal then, just like they are now. He survived on luck in April but it’s been all downhill from there. In August, Zito's been working primarily out of the bullpen but now he's back in the rotation and we can only be thankful, as it allows us to fade this stiff a few more times before his contract runs out at the end of this year. He’ll never pitch again in the majors after this season because his skills are a train wreck out there. Zito's last start was a predictable disaster against the Red Sox in which he lasted 3.2 innings and allowed six earned runs. That was at pitcher friendly AT&T Park. On the road this season, Barry Zito is 0-7 with an ERA of 9.45 and that’s over nine starts and 11 road appearances. The Rockies are a different team at home, where they are first in the NL in several key offensive categories that include team batting average (.282), runs scored (329) and OPS (.790). Zito’s BAA on the road is .404 and there is only one way this outing can turn out for him and it’s not good.
After showing some promise last season, Juan Nicasio has taken a step back this year. He's brought his ERA down, but his skills are worse. That said, he is a different pitcher at home where he has thrown 54 innings with 48/18 K/BB, 6 HR allowed and 3.95 ERA. However, this wager has nothing to do with backing Nicasio and everything to do with fading the worst starting pitcher in the major leagues. If Zito were in the minors, he’d be the worst starting pitcher there too.
Our Pick
COLORADO -1½ +132 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 2.64)
N.Y. Yankees @ TORONTO
TORONTO/N.Y. Yankees over 9 +107
Phil Hughes is an interesting subject. Here’s a guy that has a rough 5.79 ERA and 1.36 WHIP at Yankee Stadium compared to a nifty 3.67 ERA and 1.21 WHIP on the road. What’s so interesting about that is Hughes’ skills at Yankee Stadium have actually been better than they’ve been on the road. Those home and away numbers, according to his xERA, which is a true measure of skills, should actually be reversed. What we can expect from Hughes down the stretch is regression on the road to match his numbers at home. Over his last five starts covering 23 innings, Hughes has a 1.87 WHIP and a 7.43 ERA. Hughes has also allowed an alarming 23 jacks over 131 innings this season and that spells trouble at this venue. In two starts here since 2012, Hughes has posted an ERA of 12.46.
The Blue Jays are playing for nothing. They’ve had a miserable year and were just swept in a four-game set in New York for their 12th loss of the season versus the Yankees in 13 attempts. The Blue Jays are sick of losing to this visitor. The only gratification they can get from this lost season is a strong showing in this series in an attempt to make life just as miserable for the Yankees. The Blue Jays will leave nothing on the table in this series and they have the bats to do some serious damage, even without Jose Bautista. They will score some runs in this series and they are not likely to be fooled by Phil Hughes. Then there’s R.A. Dickey. Dickey cannot keep the ball in the yard at the Rogers Center. In just 82.1 innings at home, Dickey has allowed 19 bombs. The Yankees are sure to go deep once or twice in this game, just like every other opponent has against Dickey this year. The Blue Jays are actually a tempting proposition today, spotting 1½-runs and taking back +180. However, one, three run jack by the Yanks and that makes the 1½-runs difficult to overcome. These two pitchers today both can’t keep the ball in the park. Both also have an atrocious history here and nothing suggests this one will be any different.Comment
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Mitch Wilson
Dog Of The Day: YankeesComment
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Jimmy Boyd 8/26 & Updated Records
5* (MLB) Detroit Tigers ML -164
4* (MLB) Tampa Bay Rays ML -119
3* (MLB) Colorado Rockies ML -157
MLB TOTAL 165-164 -23 Units
26-23
44-42
95-99
PRESEASON NFL TOTAL 5-4 +2 Units
0-0
0-0
5-4
AUGUST TOTAL 32-28 +10 Units
7-3
4-4
21-21Comment
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rbi sports
astrosComment
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Bookieshunter
3* Rangers
2* Under 9 Yankees/BJays
1* Over 8 Athletics/TigersComment
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Dr. Ed Meyer MLB Money Line Mon, 08/26/13 - 8:10 PM
double-dime bet - 965 HOU (+141) vs 966 CWS
MTi's FORECAST: HOUSTON 3 Chicago 1Comment
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9xSports
(MLB) 9:40PM ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS-120Comment
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TMC Sports Advisors
Dodgers -1.5 -120
Astros/Chicago Under 8.5
Rockies -140
Oakland/Detroit Over 8.5
Free Pick
Padres +110Comment
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Betting First Look with Marco D'Angelo
NFL
ST LOUIS RAMS SEASON WIN TOTAL
UNDER 7.5Comment
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Bob Balfe
NEW YORK YANKEES +105
(Hughes/Dickey)
The Yankees are not crushing teams with their bats, but they are winning playoff like low scoring games Toronto is not really hitting the ball well themselves so in a close game you have to favor New York in this spot. These are key games for them to win if they want to have a shot at the postseason. Take New York.Comment
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Bankroll Sports
Free Pick
2* Astros/White Sox - Over 8.5Comment
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Betting Line Moves
Toronto -110 FHComment
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