5-7-09

[Mr. IWS]

Ness

My 20* Getaway Day Game of the Month is on the Ari D'backs at 3:35 ET. The D'backs and Padres squared off last night in the first of a two-game set in Petco Park. The matchup featured two of the worst batting averages in the major leagues. Arizona was last at .226 and the Padres were third-worst at .239. John Garland and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, as the D'backs snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 win. Peavy pitched well (7 IP / 4 hits / 2 ERs) but the Padres fell for the seventh time in eight games and the 13th time in their last 16. The D'backs have needed a pitcher or two to "come up big" for them with Webb lost to the DL in early April and Jon Garland has done a credible job (he's now 3-1 and the team has won FIVE of his six starts). However, "the real man" has been Dan Haren. Haren opened the 2009 season allowing just four ERs over his first three starts (19 innings), posting a 1.89 ERA. However, the D'backs scored a grand total of just one run in those three starts, as he fell to 0-3. He's been even better in his last three outings, going 24 innings while allowing just 13 hits and three ERs (1.13 ERA), striking out 30 and allowing just four walks. The D'backs haven't exactly "torn the cover off the ball" but Haren has evened his record at 3-3 for the year. He's allowed opponents to bat only a meager .167 (best MLB) and he has 47 strikeouts against only seven walks over 43 innings. He could very easily be 6-0 and probably DESERVES to be. The Padre lineup shouldn't offer too much of a challenge for him. Haren went 3-1 with a 3.18 ERA in five starts against San Diego last season (team was 3-2) and he's 3-1 with 2.70 ERA in seven career starts vs them (teams are 5-2). San Diego gives the ball to Chris Young, who is 2-1 with a 4.81 ERA in six starts (team is 3-3). He's had four excellent starts this season (27 IP / 3 ERs / ERA of 1.00 / team 2-2) and two horrific starts (6.2 IP / 16 hits / 15 ERs / 20.25 ERA / team 1-1). While he's always pitched well at Petco, he hasn't fared well in his career vs the D'backs, especially lately. Young is 1-3 with 4.42 ERA in eight career starts vs the D'backs (team is 2-6), going 0-3 with a 5.28 ERA in six starts against them since 2007. He last beat Arizona back in August of 2006. Getaway Day Game of the Month 20* Ari D'backs.

Good Luck...Larry

[Mr. IWS]

Re: 5-7-09

BURNS MLB

Baseball (MLB)

OAKLAND

Game: Texas Rangers vs. Oakland Athletics Game Time: 5/7/2009 3:35:00 PM Prediction: Oakland Athletics Reason: I'm playing on OAKLAND. I successfully played on Texas the last time that McCarthy started. McCarthy pitched well and earned the victory (although he pitched only five innings due to a rain delay) and that began the Rangers' current 5-game winning streak. While McCarthy was on the mound when the Rangers began their winning streak, I also expect him to be the pitcher which sees that streak come to an end. While I do believe that McCarthy has some talent, we can't ignore the fact that he has really struggled vs. Oakland. In fact, he's got a 0-2 record with a terrible 9.39 ERA in four appearances (two starts) vs. the A's. As a starter, he's 0-2 with a 18.00 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP! The Rangers lost those two games by a combined score of 23-7. It's also worth noting that McCarthy has a 5.73 ERA and 1.818 WHIP on the road this season. Opposing hitters are batting .341 against him in those games, compared to just .207 at home. Additionally, he's got a 6.30 ERA during the afternoon, compared to a 3.71 mark when pitching underneath the lights. Opposing hitters are batting .226 against him at night but .325 during the day. Note that he was 2-5 with a 5.54 ERA when pitching in the day in 2007 (3-7, 5.43 ERA on the road) and 0-1 with a 10.13 ERA in last season's lone daytime start. In other words, he hasn't proven that he can "get it done" during the afternoon. Trevor Cahill goes for the A's and his numbers (0-2, 4.50 ERA) aren't anything to write home about either. A closer look at his stats show that he's coming off a great game (1 run, 6 complete innings) and that he's actually allowed two earned runs or less in four of his five starts. His ERA is relatively high, only due to one poor outing vs. the Rays, the defending AL Champs. While McCarthy has really struggled vs. Oakland, Cahill will have the advantage of facing Texas for the first time. While the Rangers still have the better hitting club, they don't hit as well on the road. Additionally, even though the early numbers don't support it, the Oakland lineup is arguably a little better than its been in the past. One area where the A's have a definite advantage is in the bullpen. Both bullpens performed well yesterday, so these numbers will be slightly improved now. However, entering the series, the Rangers' relievers had a combined 5.96 ERA. That includes an awful 6.25 ERA and 1.958 WHIP on the road. Conversely, the A's entered the series with a 2.76 ERA out of the bullpen, including a stellar 2.51 ERA and 1.093 WHIP, here at Oakland. I expect the A's to snap their skid this afternoon and I won't be surprised if Cahill earns his victory along the way. *Annihilator

[Mr. IWS]

Re: 5-7-09

BURNS NBA

Basketball (NBA)

ATLANTA

Game: Atlanta Hawks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Game Time: 5/7/2009 8:05:00 PM Prediction: Atlanta Hawks Reason: I'm taking the points with ATLANTA. It would be pretty easy to make a case for the Cavaliers. After all, they've been on a very impressive playoff run and they've been outstanding at home all season long. I typically see things a little differently than most though. That said, I expect the Cavs to face their toughest test of the playoffs tonight. While the Cavs are obviously a very strong team, I believe that the Hawks are also better than most believe them to be. Remember, this is a team which took the Celtics to seven games last year. They've got plenty of talent and they know how to play defense. Note that they're an excellent 4-1 SU/ATS the last five times that they were trailing in a playoff series. The only time that they were in that situation this season, they responded with an 81-71 outright victory (Game 4) at Miami. Even with the Game 1 result, six of the last eight meetings (and three of the last four) between these teams have been decided by single digits. Look for the Hawks to play much better, bouncing back and improving to 8-4-1 ATS the last 13 times that they were coming off a game in which they scored 85 points or less. *Main Event

[Mr. IWS]

Re: 5-7-09

BIG AL's DAYTIME MLB ROADKILL WINNER (4-1 THIS YR)
At 3:35pm our selection is on the Oakland Athletics over the Texas Rangers

[Mr. IWS]

Re: 5-7-09

Burns
9*Hawks
7*A's
6*Redwings

[Mr. IWS]

Re: 5-7-09

ROOT

CC----------------------------Atlanta Hawks
Mill----------------------------Chi White Sox
Insiders----------------------NY Mets

[Mr. IWS]

Re: 5-7-09

Al

Cubs over

Hawks

Athletics

[Mr. IWS]

Re: 5-7-09

Ness

My 15* play is on the Cle Cavs at 8:05 ET. The Cavs went 66-16 in the regular season, one game better than the LA Lakers. LeBron (28.4-7.6-7.2) was the league MVP and led an offense that averaged 100.3 PPG and finished as the league's second-best three-point shooting team (39.3 percent). Defense, however, has been the key to Cleveland's success all year and it's continued in the postseason. The Cavs ranked first in PPG allowed (91.4), second in opponents FG percentage (43.1) and first in opponents three-point percentage (33.3). Cleveland was a spectacular 39-2 SU and home (28-13 ATS) during the regular season. LeBron (32.4-11.0-6.6) has improved on his play in the postseason, leading the team in scoring in each of the five games. Guards Williams (16.0-4.6 APG) and West (11.8-4.0-5.0) have been superb, with the rest of the team just "doing what's necessary." The Cavs are 5-0 SU and ATS in the postseason, scoring 94.6 PPG, while allowing just 76.8 PPG, which is almost 15 PPG less than in the regular season (quite amazing). The Hawks were just 16-25 SU on the road during the regular season and are 1-3 in the postseason, away from Atlanta. The team's Game 4 win in Miami (81-71) was Atlanta's first road postseason win in nearly 12 years, a stretch spanning 13 games. The Hawks have since lost Game 6 at Miami 98-72 and Game 1 here in Cleveland, 99-72 (shot 40.1 percent in the two games). Consider the fact that Atlanta's averaged a woeful 75.8 PPG in its four road playoff games so far. Making matters worse, the Hawks kept center Al Horford out of practice on Wednesday with a sore right ankle. Head coach Mike Woodson was quoted as saying that Horford had "some fatigue" in his ankle and would be a "game-time decision for Thursday's Game 2" as to whether he plays or not. Horford had just seven points and seven rebounds in Games 3 and 4 in Miami, then missed Game 6 altogether. In Game 1 of this series, he had four points nad eight rebounds in 25 1/2 minutes. Small forward Marvin Williams has played in just four of Atlanta's eight playoff games, averaging 5.5 PPG and 1.2 RPG (played about 13 minutes in Game 1, scoring one point and grabbing two rebounds). I'm not convinced a fully healthy Atlanta team with be worth a shot tonight but I want no part of this Hawks team in Game 2, against the defensively overwhelming Cavs. 15* Cle Cavs.

My 20* Getaway Day Game of the Month is on the Ari D'backs at 3:35 ET. The D'backs and Padres squared off last night in the first of a two-game set in Petco Park. The matchup featured two of the worst batting averages in the major leagues. Arizona was last at .226 and the Padres were third-worst at .239. John Garland and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, as the D'backs snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 win. Peavy pitched well (7 IP / 4 hits / 2 ERs) but the Padres fell for the seventh time in eight games and the 13th time in their last 16. The D'backs have needed a pitcher or two to "come up big" for them with Webb lost to the DL in early April and Jon Garland has done a credible job (he's now 3-1 and the team has won FIVE of his six starts). However, "the real man" has been Dan Haren. Haren opened the 2009 season allowing just four ERs over his first three starts (19 innings), posting a 1.89 ERA. However, the D'backs scored a grand total of just one run in those three starts, as he fell to 0-3. He's been even better in his last three outings, going 24 innings while allowing just 13 hits and three ERs (1.13 ERA), striking out 30 and allowing just four walks. The D'backs haven't exactly "torn the cover off the ball" but Haren has evened his record at 3-3 for the year. He's allowed opponents to bat only a meager .167 (best MLB) and he has 47 strikeouts against only seven walks over 43 innings. He could very easily be 6-0 and probably DESERVES to be. The Padre lineup shouldn't offer too much of a challenge for him. Haren went 3-1 with a 3.18 ERA in five starts against San Diego last season (team was 3-2) and he's 3-1 with 2.70 ERA in seven career starts vs them (teams are 5-2). San Diego gives the ball to Chris Young, who is 2-1 with a 4.81 ERA in six starts (team is 3-3). He's had four excellent starts this season (27 IP / 3 ERs / ERA of 1.00 / team 2-2) and two horrific starts (6.2 IP / 16 hits / 15 ERs / 20.25 ERA / team 1-1). While he's always pitched well at Petco, he hasn't fared well in his career vs the D'backs, especially lately. Young is 1-3 with 4.42 ERA in eight career starts vs the D'backs (team is 2-6), going 0-3 with a 5.28 ERA in six starts against them since 2007. He last beat Arizona back in August of 2006. Getaway Day Game of the Month 20* Ari D'backs.

Good Luck...Larry