6-22-11

[timbob]

New Guys!

Don’t be afraid to post services if you come across any. Anything you contribute will be appreciated, and your user reputation will grow (the green dots under your name.)

Note:

ALL PLAYS POSTED ARE UNCONFIRMED UNLESS YOU BUY THEM YOURSELF. THERE IS BAD INFO PASSED AROUND FROM TIME TO TIME, SO PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

[timbob]

HOT LINES

Wednesday's Best MLB Bets

Oakland Athletics at New York Mets (-115, 7)

Jose Reyes says he wants to spend the rest of his career in a New York Mets jersey.

Still, Mets supporters have to be at least a little concerned that he doesn’t want to talk about a contract extension until after the season is over.

Word is that he doesn’t plan to give the Mets any sort of a discount on his contract demands and he’s having a heck of a season – which only boosts his trade value.

Reyes is hitting .341 with 54 runs scored and 26 stolen bases.

"It's very difficult to predict right now what will happen in the next couple weeks," Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon told MLB.com. "That's why there's a deadline that's out there, and when that deadline approaches, I'm sure Sandy [Anderson] will have a plan that he'll present. He's very good at being persuasive at what he'd like to do."

We’ll see how that turns out before too long, but for now, we can’t see Reyes or the rest of the Mets getting to Gio Gonzalez.

PICK: Oakland


Arizona Diamondbacks at Kansas City Royals (+110, 8.5)

Say what you will about interleague play, but Wily Mo Pena certainly won’t gripe about it.

The 29-year-old slugger who has been playing in the minors since 2008 was called up by the Arizona Diamondbacks to provide some pop to their lineup from the DL spot.

Pena leads the Pacific Coast League with 21 home runs while batting .363. What’s more impressive to big league scouts is that he’s cut down his strikeouts and appears to have matured since he last played in the bigs.

"He's having quality at-bats,” Diamondbacks farm director Mike Bell told reporters. “Sure he'll swing and miss a few times, but it seems like he's becoming a more mature hitter, a more patient hitter. His walks to strikeouts are reasonable [23 to 45]. The most impressive thing is the kind of person he is. I heard that he was, but I was completely blown away by what he's done for the clubhouse environment there and the young kids."

Pena and the Diamondbacks might have their way with the struggling Jeff Francis, who owns a 6.48 ERA over the last three starts.

PICK: Arizona

[timbob]

Wednesday's Betting Tips: Marcum's Status Unknown

Who's Hot

MLB: Seattle has played under in 13 of its last 17 interleague games.

MLB: Washington had won eight of nine heading into Tuesday’s action.

MLB: Minnesota had won 14 of 16 ahead of Tuesday’s action.

Who’s Not

MLB: The Rockies are 3-13 in their last 16 games as an underdog.

MLB: Florida is 4-22 in its last 26.

Key Stat

1 – You hear a lot about the Philadelphia Phillies’ starting rotation and rightfully so, but Ryan Madson deserves a lot of credit coming out of the bullpen too. Madson has blown only one save in 16 chances (back on June 9) and hasn’t allowed a run since then. He’s working on a 2.03 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.

Injury That Shouldn’t Be Overlooked

Brandon League, Seattle Mariners: League was hit in the leg by a comebacker on Tuesday and was forced to leave the club’s 6-5 loss to the Nationals. The Mariners plan to update the closer's status Wednesday.

Game Of The Day

Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals (+135, 7.5)

Notable Quotable

"When my streak ended in Paris, it was kind of a relief as well, because it was a successful five, six months for me, but also very long and exhausting. I've played so many matches. So I needed some time to relax and I'm happy to see that I'm playing well and that I'm mentally really fresh to have more success." – Novak Djokovic following his first-round win at Wimbledon after his five-month winning streak in 2011 was snapped by Roger Federer at the French Open.

Tips And Notes

Milwaukee Brewers starter Shaun Marcum did some on-field drills before Tuesday night’s game but had still yet to get approval from the team’s doctors to make Wednesday’s start. Marcum was forced to leave his last start with a hip flexor issue and Marco Estrada is in line to take his place if he can’t go against Tampa Bay.

The Yankees and Reds will play an afternoon-evening doubleheader on Wednesday to make up for Tuesday’s rainout. Brian Gordon and Freddy Garcia are expected to start for the Yanks while Cincinnati is expected to send out Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says that Alex Rodriguez and Russell Martin will just play one of the games as they deal with nagging injuries.

[timbob]

Wednesday's Streaking And Slumping Starting Pitchers

STREAKING

Erik Bedard (4-4, 3.16 ERA), Seattle Mariners

The M’s wouldn’t be over .500 without the services of this Canadian lefty. Bedard has allowed three or fewer runs in 10 straight starts and the Mariners are 6-0 in his last six appearances.

The price is still nice too for Bedard because of Seattle’s inability to hit. Oddsmakers haven’t priced Bedard higher than -134 all season. The under is also 5-1 in the lefty’s last six trips to the hill.

Nick Blackburn (6-4, 3.16 ERA), Minnesota Twins

Nicky B is benefiting from the Twinkies’ turnaround. He’s 6-0 in his last nine starts with a tidy 2.00 ERA. Not too shabby.

“He’s in complete control of the games,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told the Associated Press after Blackburn held the White Sox scoreless in eight innings of work in his last start.



SLUMPING

Clayton Richard (2-9, 4.35 ERA), San Diego Padres

Richard hasn’t won a game since May 16, a span of six starts and was just hammered in his last outing. He went just five innings, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits in a 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

While nobody in the right mind would go out of their way to bet Richard right now, he hasn’t been all bad even though San Diego has won just three of his 15 starts. The Padres are averaging just 3.5 runs per game in his stars.

Kyle Lohse (7-3, 2.88 ERA) St. Louis Cardinals

It’s hard to rag on Lohse too much considering his record and ERA, but he has been spanked around a bit lately.

He has allowed four runs in each of his last three starts and to make matters worse, also gave up five dingers over that span. Lohse served up three of those jacks in a 7-4 loss at Washington the last time he took the hill.

[timbob]

Yankees-Reds Doubleheader: What Bettors Need To Know

New York Yankees at Cincinnati Reds (-105, 9.5)

THE STORY: The Cincinnati Reds’ high-powered offense has ground to a halt against American League East competition. Maybe an extra day of rest following Tuesday night’s postponement will spark the Reds, who have put up only seven runs in their last four games. They will have a chance to get untracked in Wednesday’s doubleheader when the visiting New York Yankees send two pitchers to the mound who did not figure to be on the roster this season. Cincinnati’s Mike Leake will oppose Freddy Garcia in the opener.

TV: 12:35 p.m. ET, 7:10 p.m. ET, YES Network (New York), Fox Sports Ohio (Cincinnati)

GAME 1 PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Freddy Garcia (5-6, 3.62 ERA) vs. Reds RH Mike Leake (6-3, 4.04 ERA). Garcia was KO'd after 1 2/3 innings by Boston on June 7, but bounced back with a pair of solid efforts. He allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings in a loss to the Chicago Cubs last time out. In his previous start, he limited Cleveland to one run and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. Garcia has history – albeit ancient history – on his side against Cincinnati. He's 3-0 against the Reds, but hasn't faced them since 2007. Leake had his three-game winning streak snapped last time out in a 3-2 loss to Toronto. He carried a shutout into the seventh before allowing three runs for his first defeat since May 11. Since he was recalled from Triple A Louisville, Leake has been a different pitcher. He is 3-1 in five starts and has surrendered nine runs in those outings. Russell Martin is the only Yankee to face Leake, going 3-for-7.

GAME 2 PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Brian Gordon (0-0, 3.37 ERA) vs. Reds RH Johnny Cueto (4-2, 1.68 ERA). The 32-year-old Gordon made his first major league start Thursday, limiting Texas to two runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He had been pitching for Philadelphia's Triple A affiliate, logging a 5-0 record and an International League-leading 1.14 ERA before exercising an opt-out clause in his contract to join the Yankees. His only previous experience in the major leagues was three relief appearances with the Rangers in 2008. Cueto has been brilliant in his last two outings, not allowing an earned run in road wins against the Giants and Dodgers. In fact, the 25-year-old Cueto has not allowed more than three runs in all eight of his starts and has yet to surrender more than seven hits in a start. He lost his only career start vs. New York, allowing one run on four hits in five innings.

ABOUT THE REDS (38-36): Cincinnati collected four hits off Yankees starter Ivan Nova. Lefty Travis Wood put the Reds in a 4-0 hole before they even came to bat, although he did show some mettle by following up with six scoreless innings. Jay Bruce and Joey Votto are both struggling to find their power strokes. Bruce has one home run and three extra-base hits in June. Votto has one homer and two doubles in his last 15 games. Leadoff batter Drew Stubbs struck out three times and is one shy of 100 for the season.

ABOUT THE YANKEES (42-29): Since being swept at home by Boston, New York has reeled off nine wins in 11 games, scoring at least nine runs on five occasions to move a season-best 13 games above .500. The Yankees bunched nearly all of their offense in the first inning in Monday’s series opener, parlaying five hits into four runs. Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano led the way with two hits and an RBI apiece. Rodriguez is on a 7-for-12 tear and Cano is batting .395 (15-for-38) during a nine-game hitting streak.

ABOUT THE BULLPENS: Both clubs are getting solid efforts out of their bullpens, which is always key in doubleheader situations. Yankees relievers are working on a 1.81 ERA over the last three games, while the Reds' relievers own a 2.57 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP on the season.

KEY TRENDS: The under is 7-1 in New York's last eight road games.
Cincinnati is just 1-7 in its last eight interleague games.

FINAL PITCH: Yankees closer Mariano Rivera picked up his 18th save Monday night. He has converted 21 consecutive opportunities against National League opponents and holds the record for interleague saves with 65.

[timbob]

Gamblers Data

Free Play Wednesday

DBacks -130

[timbob]

Mighty Quinn

Mighty hit with the Nationals Tuesday night.

Wednesday it's the Pirates.

[timbob]

Hondo

The Tigers didn't earn their stripes last night in L.A., where they were slapped by the L.A. Seligs to increase Hondo's accounts payable to a beefy 1,360 brunanskys.

Tonight, Mr. Aitch will climb aboard the Twins' victory train for a 10-unit play on Blackburn in San Francisco.

[timbob]

Arthur Ralph Sports

Free play

663- 502 57 % Run over 3 YEARS

Free one WED Arizona -130

[timbob]

Today's MLB Picks
Oakland at NY Mets

The A's look to take advantage of a Mets team that is 0-7 in R.A. Dickey's last 7 starts as a favorite. Oakland is the pick (+100) according to Dunkel, which has the A's favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Oakland (+100). Here are all of today's picks.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22
Time Posted: 7:30 a.m. EST

Game 951-952: Philadelphia at St. Louis (8:15 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia (Lee) 14.610; St. Louis (Lohse) 14.861
Dunkel Line: St. Louis by 1/2; 7
Vegas Line: Philadelphia (-155); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (+135); Under

Game 953-954: Baltimore at Pittsburgh (12:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Baltimore (Britton) 15.811; Pittsburgh (Correia) 14.639
Dunkel Line: Baltimore by 1; 8
Vegas Line: Baltimore (-112); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Baltimore (-112); Over

Game 955-956: NY Yankees at Cincinnati (12:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: NY Yankees (Garcia) 15.608; Cincinnati (Leake) 16.182
Dunkel Line: Cincinnati by 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-115); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cincinnati (+105); Under

Game 957-958: Toronto at Atlanta (1:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto (Reyes) 14.663; Atlanta (Beachy) 15.662
Dunkel Line: Atlanta by 1; 9
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-145); 8
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta (-145); Over

Game 959-960: San Diego at Boston (1:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: San Diego (Richard) 16.214; Boston (Lackey) 15.885
Dunkel Line: San Diego by 1/2; 11
Vegas Line: Boston (-205); 10
Dunkel Pick: San Diego (+185); Over

Game 961-962: Tampa Bay at Milwaukee (2:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay (Price) 15.548; Milwaukee (Marcum) 16.381
Dunkel Line: Milwaukee by 1; 6 1/2
Vegas Line: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 963-964: Detroit at LA Dodgers (3:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Detroit (Porcello) 14.991; LA Dodgers (Lilly) 16.213
Dunkel Line: LA Dodgers by 1; 6 1/2
Vegas Line: LA Dodgers (-120); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: LA Dodgers (-120); Under

Game 965-966: Seattle at Washington (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Seattle (Bedard) 15.969; Washington (Lannan) 14.310
Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Washington (-110); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Seattle (-110); Over

Game 967-968: Colorado at Cleveland (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (Hammel) 14.548; Cleveland (Tomlin) 16.250
Dunkel Line: Cleveland by 1 1/2; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Cleveland (-130); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (-130); Under

Game 969-970: LA Angels at Florida (7:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Pineiro) 14.605; Florida (Sanches) 14.063
Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 1/2; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: No Line
Dunkel Pick: N/A

Game 971-972: Oakland at NY Mets (7:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Oakland (Gonzalez) 15.952; NY Mets (Dickey) 14.726
Dunkel Line: Oakland by 1; 8
Vegas Line: NY Mets (-120); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Oakland (+100); Over

Game 973-974: Houston at Texas (8:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Houston (Myers) 14.268; Texas (Lewis) 15.426
Dunkel Line: Texas by 1; 9
Vegas Line: Texas (-200); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Texas (-200); Under

Game 975-976: Chicago Cubs at Chicago White Sox (8:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cubs (Davis) 15.294; White Sox (Peavy) 15.553
Dunkel Line: Chicago White Sox by 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: Chicago White Sox (-190); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Chicago White Sox (-190); Under

Game 977-978: Arizona at Kansas City (8:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Kennedy) 13.852; Kansas City (Francis) 14.536
Dunkel Line: Kansas City by 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: Arizona (-130); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Kansas City (+110); Over

Game 979-980: Minnesota at San Francisco (10:15 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota (Blackburn) 14.909; San Francisco (Vogelsong) 15.351
Dunkel Line: San Francisco by 1/2; 6
Vegas Line: San Francisco (-150); 6 1/2
Dunkel Pick: San Francisco (-150); Under

Game 981-982: NY Yankees at Cincinnati (7:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: NY Yankees (Gordon) 16.285; Cincinnati (Cueto) 15.505
Dunkel Line: NY Yankees by 1; 9 1/2
Vegas Line: Cincinnati (-145); 9
Dunkel Pick: NY Yankees (+125); Over

[timbob]

CAPPERS ACCESS

Reds
Red Sox(RL)
W.Sox(RL)

[timbob]

Sportsbook Investing

Play of the Day:

Phillies -155 over Cardinals

Soccer Crusher

Play of the Day:

PhiladelphiaUnion + SportingKansasCity UNDER 2.5
This match is happening in United States

Baseball Crusher

Play of the Day:

Phillies -155 over Cardinals

[timbob]

O.C. Dooley

“1 UNIT” NATIONAL-TV AFTERNOON TOTAL (Yankees at Reds OVER 9’ in a 12:35 eastern start broadcast on the MLB Network-------Garcia versus Leake): Due to last night’s rainout these two teams will be playing a makeup day/night doubleheader and I for one am taking advantage of the “afternoon” total where the ball tends to fly off the bat more than in the evening. The Tuesday rainout may have been just what the doctor ordered for an ailing Cincinnati offense that crossed the plate only 4 times in three games during the entire weekend. Back on Monday the Reds in a series opener with the Yankees were again limited (3) in the run department. Despite recent struggles Cincinnati statistically remains the most potent offensive attack in the entire senior circuit. This afternoon in their home “bandbox” of a stadium they need to hold down a Yankees attack that leads the majors in total homeruns clearing the fence. On the mound for the Yankees this afternoon is veteran Freddy Garcia who is pitching with both sheer guile and enough “junk” to fool opposing hitters. With Garcia throwing sub-90 miles per hour pitches it is hard to fathom that he is 7-3 “under” the spot so far this season. As mentioned earlier this is the afternoon portion of a day/night doubleheader. For the entire season to date Cincinnati is 19-9 OVER the total when playing during the DAY. In the past week alone the Yankees have averaged a healthy 6.7 runs per game

[timbob]

JOE WIZ

Free Pick

Under 9 runs Arizona and Kansas City

[timbob]

MLB
Write-Up


Wednesday, June 22

Remember as interleague play starts, there are DHs used in games in the American League ballparks; pitchers bat in National League parks.

AL teams are 60-47 vs NL teams so far in interleague play; in last four days, they are 39-26 (4-9 last night).
Over is 24-23-3 in AL parks, 26-27-4 in NL parks, 50-50-7 overall.
Hot pitchers
-- Lee is 3-0, 0.38 in his last three starts.
-- Leake is 2-1, 1.96 in his last three starts. Cueto is 2-1, 1.55 in his last four starts.
-- Beachy was 1-0, 2.67 in his last five starts before going on DL. Reyes is 3-1, 3.28 in his last four starts.
-- Marcum is 1-0, 3.00 in his last four starts, but he left his last start in second inning with a sore hip.
-- Lannan is 2-0, 1.35 in his last five starts. Seattle won last six Bedard starts (3-0, 1.60).
-- DDavis is 1-0, 2.19 in his last couple starts.
-- Kennedy is 4-1, 2.50 in his last eight starts.
-- Vogelsong is 3-1, 1.46 in his last eight starts. Blackburn is 2-0, 2.66 in his last three starts.

Cold pitchers
-- Lohse is 0-1, 6.48 in his last three starts.
-- Correia is 0-2, 4.91 in his last three starts. Britton is 1-2, 7.36 in his last four outings.
-- Converted OF Gordon allowed two runs in 5.1 IP in his first start. FGarcia is 3-4, 4.61 in his last seven starts.
-- Richard is 0-5, 4.04 in his last six starts. Lackey has an 8.31 RA in his last five starts, but Red Sox won his last three, scoring 32 runs.
-- Price is 2-3, 4.23 in his last seven starts.
-- Lilly is 0-3, 7.71 in his four daytime starts. Porcello is 2-3, 7.36 in his last five starts.
-- Hammel is 1-5, 5.76 in his last eight starts. Tomlin is 2-3, 6.98 in his last five starts.
-- Pineiro is 1-3, 6.08 in his last six starts. Hand is 0-3, 4.60 in his three starts; Marlins scored two runs in the three games.
-- GGonzalez is 1-3, 4.74 in his last four starts. Dickey is 1-2, 4.23 in his last four starts.
-- Lewis is 1-2, 13.50 in his last three starts.
-- Peavy was 1-1, 7.07 in his last three starts before going on DL.
-- Myers is 1-2, 4.91 in his last three starts.
-- Francis is 1-2, 6.48 in his last three starts.

Totals
-- Under is 9-4 in Lee's last thirteen starts.
-- Nine of last eleven Washington home games went over the total.
-- balt-pitt
-- Seven of last nine Colorado road games stayed under total.
-- Over is 11-2-1 in last fourteen games at Fenway Park.
-- Under is 5-1-1 in last seven Angel games.
-- Six of last eight Bronx road games stayed under total.
-- Last seven Toronto games stayed under the total.
-- Over is 8-3-1 in Mets' last twelve home games.
-- Over is 6-1-1 in last eight Texas home games.
-- Five of last seven White Sox home games went over the total.
-- Under is 4-1-1 in last six Arizona games.
-- Seven of last ten games at Miller Park stayed under the total.
-- Under is 4-1-2 in Dodgers' last seven home games.
-- Nine of last twelve San Francisco home games stayed under total.

Hot Teams
-- Phillies won eight of their last ten games.
-- Colorado won six of its last seven games.
-- Washington won nine of its last ten games. Mariners are 11-2 in game after their last 13 losses.
-- Braves are 10-5 in their last fifteen games.
-- Angels are 6-4 in their last ten games.
-- Red Sox won 14 of their last 17 games.
-- Oakland won its last six games, allowing 12 runs.
-- Bronx won nine of its last eleven games.
-- Arizona won five of its last six road games.
-- Rangers won four of their last five games.
-- White Sox are 12-6 in their last eighteen home games.
-- Tampa Bay won four of its last five games.
-- Minnesota won 15 of its last 17 games.

Cold Teams
-- Cardinals lost eight of last ten games (starting Ps 0-6).
-- Indians lost eight of their last 12 home games.
-- Orioles lost seven of their last ten games. Pittsburgh lost four of its last five games.
-- San Diego lost nine of its last eleven games.
-- Toronto lost its last three games, scoring two runs.
-- Mets lost four of their last five games.
-- Cincinnati lost four of its last five home games, scoring eight runs.
-- Florida lost 19 of its last 21 games.
-- Astros lost 14 of their last 18 games.
-- Cubs lost four of their last five road games.
-- Brewers lost six of their last nine games.
-- Kansas City lost five of its last six games.
-- Detroit lost five of its last six road games. Dodgers lost six of their last nine home games.
-- Giants lost their last five games, scoring nine runs.

Umpires
-- Phil-StL-- Under is 8-4 in Foster games this season.
-- Balt-Pitt-- Under is 6-3-1 in last ten Winters games.
-- Col-Clev-- Over is 12-2-1 in Holbrook games this season.
-- SD-Bos-- Over is 4-1-1 in last six Marquez games.
-- LAA-Fla-- Five of last six Vanover games went over the total.
-- A's-NY-- Eight of ten Porter games stayed under the total.
-- NY-Cin-- Underdogs won seven of last ten Everitt games. Six of last seven Reyburn games stayed under total.
-- Tor-Atl-- Five of last six Fairchild games stayed under total.
-- Hst-Tex-- Last eight Timmons games stayed under total.
-- Chi-Chi-- Over is 3-1-2 in last six Cuzzi games.
-- TB-Mil-- Five of last six Knight games went over the total.
-- Det-LA-- Underdogs won five of last eight Runge games.
-- Sea-Wsh-- Home side won five of last six Tumpane games.
-- Az-KC-- Five of last six Diaz games stayed under the total.
-- Min-SF-- Home teams won eight of last ten Fletcher games.