6-24-11

[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]

Friday’s Betting Tips: Skipper Bails On Surging Nationals


Who's Hot

MLB: The under is 8-2 in Colorado’s last 10 road games.

MLB: Arizona is 7-2 in interleague play.

WNBA: Minnesota has covered in seven of its last nine road games dating back to last season.

Who’s Not

MLB: Just two of San Francisco’s last 10 interleague games have played over.

MLB: Florida has won four of its last 27.

WNBA: Atlanta is just 1-7 against the spread this season.

Key Stat

70.8 – Whether it has anything to do with interleague play or not, home underdogs are on a major roll over the last week on the runline, going 17-7 (70.8 percent).

Injury That Shouldn’t Be Overlooked

Sophia Young, San Antonio Silver Stars: San Antonio’s leading scorer missed the club’s first loss of the season on Tuesday with an illness and her status for Friday’s game against Los Angeles is in question. Young is averaging 17.5 points per game.

Game Of The Day

Cleveland Indians at San Francisco Giants (-125, N/A)

Notable Quotable

"They like to put us on Court 2, me and Venus, for whatever reason. I haven't figured it out yet. Maybe one day we'll figure it out. Actually Venus and I have won more Wimbledons together than a lot of the players or by ourselves in doubles even.” – Serena Williams told reporters about playing on Court 2. Williams also suggested that the top male players in the tournament always get to play on Centre Court.

Tips And Notes

In a weird turn of events, Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman resigned abruptly Wednesday afternoon after the Nationals secured a 1-0 win over the Seattle Mariners. The win completed a series sweep and was Washington’s 11th win in its last 12 games. Word has it that Riggleman told the team he would quit if it didn’t pick up his contract option for 2012. They didn’t say anything, so he called it quits minutes after Wednesday’s win. The club will name an interim manager before Friday’s game – possibly current bench boss John McLaren. Washington is currently set as +100 underdog at the Chicago White Sox.

The Detroit Tigers will have their regular third baseman, Brandon Inge, back in the lineup for the first time in three weeks on Friday. Inge has been on the DL with mononucleosis but looked fine in belting a couple of homers in his last Triple-A game on Tuesday. Maybe the long layoff will get him going. The 34-year-old had just one homer and 12 RBIs in 52 games before going on the DL.

[timbob]

LADY LUCK

Friday's Best WNBA Bets

Phoenix Mercury at Atlanta Dream (-2, 183.5)

After a 0-3 start to the season, the Mercury are rising.

Phoenix snapped the San Antonio Silver Stars’ undefeated run with a 105-98 victory, covering as a 3.5-point road underdog Tuesday. That win was the team’s second straight and gives the Mercury momentum heading into Friday’s clash with the Dream.

Phoenix got double-figure scoring from four of the five starters and picked up another 19 points off the bench versus San Antonio. Forward Penny Taylor lead the way with 30 points while leading scorer Diana Taurasi had just seven points in the winning effort.

“Our team is pretty deep this year; it’s the deepest we’ve ever had,” head coach Corey Gaines told reporters. “We do have other players that can score. Our scoring is starting to pick up, so with other people scoring we really don’t need Taurasi to score. The good thing about our team is that we have players capable of scoring points, not just one player.”

After failing to crack the 90-point mark in their first two games, the Mercury are averaging 99 points over their last three outings. They’ve played over the total in four straight contests and own a 4-1 over/under mark on the year.

“That’s the team we’re trying to be, it’s not one person,” Taylor told the team’s website. “Every night we have to get contributions from different places and as long as you bring that aggressiveness and emotion, we can live with what happens.”

With players like Taylor, Candice Dupree, and Temeka Johnson (who will be ready to go Friday after rolling her ankle this week), picking up the offensive slack, the Mercury will continue to climb on the scoreboard this summer.

PICK: Over


Los Angeles Sparks at San Antonio Silver Stars (-3.5, 158)

The Sparks’ 4-1 start has benefited from some home cooking.

Los Angeles has won all four games inside the STAPLES Center, with the lone loss coming in Minnesota. The Sparks take to the road for the first time since that June 5 defeat when they visit the 4-1 Silver Stars Friday.

Los Angeles has been very comfy at home in recent games. It shot an impressive 58 percent from 3-point range in a 96-91 win over the New York Liberty Tuesday and 54.5 percent from beyond the arc in a big win over the Seattle Storm last weekend.

On the season, the Sparks are firing 46.5 percent from 3-point land – tops in the WNBA. But, a quick look at the team’s one road trip tells another story. Los Angeles was just 7 for 19 from outside in the 86-69 loss, and shooting just 37 percent (23 for 62) from the floor.

San Antonio can fill it up from long range as well, but has proven it can hit shots at home and on the road. The Silver Stars are firing 42.6 percent from downtown, second in the league, and better than 47 percent in opposing gyms.

San Antonio is 4-1 against the spread the last five times it has hosted L.A. and holds a 7-3 SU and ATS edge in the teams’ last 10 head-to-head meetings.

PICK: San Antonio

[timbob]

WNBA NEWS AND NOTES
WNBA: Dream-Mercury Preview
By Santosh Venkataraman



Phoenix Mercury at Atlanta Dream (-2, 183.5)

The Atlanta Dream and Phoenix Mercury are showing signs of improvement after slow starts.

They’ll meet Friday night in Atlanta, with the Dream looking for their first win against a Western Conference foe and the Mercury in search of a third straight victory.

Atlanta (2-5) and Phoenix (2-3) entered 2011 with high expectations after both were swept by WNBA champion Seattle in last year’s playoffs. The clubs, however, both began 0-3.

The Dream have recovered to split their next four games and won for the first time in four home games Tuesday with a 71-68 victory over Chicago. Atlanta blew a 12-point halftime lead before closing on an 8-2 run.

“Our confidence level has been fragile because we’ve lost games, and we’ve lost a lot of them in the fourth quarter,” coach Marynell Meadors said. “But … we got back to what we do, which is defend, rebound and run.”

The Mercury have won two straight since their winless start, opening a four-game trip with Tuesday’s 105-98 victory over previously unbeaten San Antonio. Phoenix prevailed despite Diana Taurasi’s season-low seven points on 2-of-13 shooting.

“That’s the team we’re trying to be,” Taurasi said. “It’s not one person. Every night we have to get contributions from different places, and as long as you bring that aggressiveness and emotion, we can live with what happens.”

Penny Taylor scored 30 points and Candice Dupree had 20 and 13 rebounds as the four Mercury starters besides Taurasi all reached double figures in points. Phoenix shot a season-high 50.6 percent.

“It’s big for us to get this first win of our four-game road trip,” Taylor said. “We had a few losses to start the season, but we really feel like we are going forward now with some momentum.”

The Dream are 0-3 against teams from the West - all losses by double digits.

Atlanta got a boost Tuesday from the season debut of Courtney Paris, who had nine points and eight rebounds after she was signed Saturday. Paris is helping fill the void left by forward Sancho Lyttle, who is competing for Spain in an Olympic qualifying tournament.

“She’s a space-eater,” Meadors said about Paris. “She doesn’t let people push her around, and she rebounds. As soon as she gets used to our system, I think she’s going to be really terrific.”

Angel McCoughtry is averaging 17.6 points in five starts after she missed the opener with a sprained left knee and came off the bench in her season debut one game later.

McCoughtry averaged 23.0 points in last year’s two-game sweep of Phoenix, which was outrebounded by an average of 11.5 boards in those defeats.

Taurasi scored 30 in a 96-93 home loss to the Dream on May 28, 2010, before she missed a 94-88 loss at Atlanta on June 29 with a bruised lower back.

[timbob]

HOT LINES

Friday’s Best MLB Bets

Minnesota Twins at Milwaukee Brewers (-145, 8)

Just when you thought things couldn’t get much better for the red-hot Minnesota Twins, they’re getting two huge pieces of their puzzle back in the lineup Friday.

Designated hitter Jim Thome (back, quad) and reliever Joe Nathan (elbow) have both been cleared to play when the Twins visit the Milwaukee Brewers. With the game in an NL park, Thome will be available to come off the bench, while Nathan is expected to jump right into action.

“He was on the fast track," manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters about Nathan after chalked up three strikeouts in an inning on Wednesday. "He really wanted to be back up here. I wanted him to throw on back-to-back days and see how he does. Everything they are telling me is that he's feeling great.''

This is just as big of a boost for the clubhouse as it is between the lines. Expect the Twins to come out hard against the Brewers.

PICK: Twins


Los Angeles Angels at Los Angeles Dodgers (+120, 6.5)

When the Dodgers and Angels of Los Angeles get together for Game 1 of their series, bettors can expect a more entertaining show that the putrid Jonathan Liebesman film, Battle of Los Angeles - though that’s not saying much.

Both clubs have won three of four but they’re still burning cash for their supporters. Dodgers bettors are down more than 10 units to date while Angels supporters have lost close to six units.

Their offenses aren’t much better. The Dodgers check in at 3.82 runs per game and the Angels are just off that pace at 3.70.

That said, both lineups should get ample opportunity to put some runs on the board with Dan Haren and Rubby De La Rosa sharing the hill. De La Rosa has struggled for much of the season and Haren is working on a 6.35 ERA over his last three outings.

This total probably won’t stick this low for long.

PICK: Over

[timbob]

Friday's Streaking And Slumping Starting Pitchers

STREAKING

Scott Baker (5-4, 3.24 ERA), Minnesota Twins

Baker was absolutely dominant lately.

He went the distance striking out seven Rangers in an 8-1 win last weekend and then followed that up with an eight-inning shutout of the Padres.

Baker has walked just one batter over his last three starts and lowered his WHIP to 1.17 on the season in the process.

Mike Pelfrey (4-5, 4.70 ERA), New York Mets

Pelfrey fired the third complete game of his career the last time he took the hill, five-hitting the Angels in a 6-1 victory.

"Sometime Pelfrey is in attack mode. Sometimes he relaxes himself and that really affects him on the mound," Carlos Beltran told reporters. "(I told) him: today be aggressive (and) don't get so relaxed on the bench.”

Pelfrey will look to keep it going as a +135 underdog Friday at Texas.


SLUMPING

Ricky Nolasco (4-3, 4.48 ERA), Florida Marlins

There’s no two ways about it – Nolasco has been terrible in his last five starts. He’s working on a 8.20 ERA while opponents have hit .371 against him over the slump.

He’s allowed five runs in each of his last two, the latest being a 7-4 loss at Tampa Bay.

“I’m picking the absolute worst time for myself to go through some struggles,” Nolasco told reporters following that loss. “Couple pitches were up. Couple pitches they hit were good pitches. Couple pitches they found a couple holes. When it’s snowballing like this, there is not much you can do.”

Phil Coke (1-7, 3.95 ERA), Detroit Tigers

Coke just can’t catch a break. When he’s good, he gets no run support and when he’s bad, he can be downright awful.

The lefty gave up four runs and walked seven in just five innings of a 5-4 loss at Colorado in his last start

"They were cutting, sinking and running — and my change-up, instead of going down, was coming across and back. It was an interesting night," said Coke,

Detroit has won just three of his last 10 starts and while his 3.95 ERA looks all right his 35 strikeouts compared to 26 walks sure don’t.

[timbob]

MLB NEWS AND NOTES
Dodgers, Angels Begin Annual Freeway Series
By: Matty Simo



Los Angeles Angels at Los Angeles Dodgers (+120, 6.5)

The Los Angeles Angels (37-39) will look to continue their recent dominance of the Los Angeles Dodgers (34-42) when they open a three-game series at Chavez Ravine on Friday. The Angels have defeated their interleague rivals five times in the last six meetings and swept them in three games the last time they played at Dodger Stadium.

Friday's opener at Dodger Stadium is scheduled for a 7:10 p.m. (PT) first pitch.

LA is the last stop on a season-high 12-game road trip in 14 days for the Angels, who have gone 6-3 in the first nine games and will end up traveling more than 8,000 miles before heading back home to Anaheim. They have won each of the first three series they have played so far on the trip, taking two of three from the Seattle Mariners, New York Mets and Florida Marlins.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers will be closing out a season-high 12-game homestand that opened with five straight losses. They were swept in a three-game set by the Cincinnati Reds and then dropped two of three to the Houston Astros before beating the Detroit Tigers twice in three days.

The home team will now try to win for the fourth time in five games when they send rookie pitcher Rubby De La Rosa (3-1, 4.58 ERA) to the mound for his first career interleague start. De La Rosa will be making his fourth start in a row for the Dodgers and hopes to rebound from his worst outing of the season against Houston last time out on Saturday.

De La Rosa surrendered five runs and six hits to the Astros over 4 2/3 innings in a 7-0 loss and will need to find better control of his pitches if he is going to shut down the Angels. He has issued 11 walks in his first three starts while striking out 16 and owns a 6.23 ERA in three games at home.

Dan Haren (6-5, 2.96) gets the nod for the Angels and will try to turn things around after going 2-3 in five starts over the past month. Like De La Rosa, Haren is also coming off his worst start of the year, giving up six runs and seven hits in four innings of a 6-1 road loss to the Mets last Saturday.

Haren has allowed three runs and seven hits or more in each of his past five outings, although the Angels had won his previous two road starts. He is 4-2 in nine starts away from home with a 3.32 ERA and has gone 4-5 in 14 starts against the Dodgers during his career with a 3.19 ERA.

The ‘over’ is 3-0 in Haren’s last three road starts, none of which have seen a total posted higher than seven. The ‘over’ is also 8-3 in the last 11 meetings with the Dodgers dating back to 2009.

The weather forecast for Friday night calls for a temperature of 71 degrees under sunny

[timbob]

Today's MLB Picks
Minnesota at Milwaukee
The Twins look to bounce back from a 2-1 loss at San Francisco yesterday and build on their 11-1 record in their last 12 games after allowing 2 runs or less in the previous game. Minnesota is the pick (+130) according to Dunkel, which has the Twins favored by 1. Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (+130). Here are all of today's picks.

FRIDAY, JUNE 24
Time Posted: 6:30 a.m. EST
Game 951-952: Atlanta at San Diego (10:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Atlanta (Lowe) 16.962; San Diego (Stauffer) 16.059
Dunkel Line: Atlanta by 1; 6
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-115); 6 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta (-115); Under

Game 953-954: Boston at Pittsburgh (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Boston (Lester) 15.040; Pittsburgh (Maholm) 15.795
Dunkel Line: Pittsburgh by 1; 9
Vegas Line: Boston (-165); 8
Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (+145); Over

Game 955-956: Oakland at Philadelphia (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Oakland (Moscoso) 15.171; Philadelphia (Worley) 15.449
Dunkel Line: Philadelphia by 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: Philadelphia (-160); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (-160); Over

Game 957-958: Arizona at Detroit (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Duke) 15.904; Detroit (Coke) 14.362
Dunkel Line: Arizona by 1 1/2; 9
Vegas Line: Detroit (-150); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Arizona (+130); Under

Game 959-960: Cincinnati at Baltimore (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cincinnati (Volquez) 14.792; Baltimore (Jakubauskus) 15.655
Dunkel Line: Baltimore by 1; 9
Vegas Line: Cincinnati (-120); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Baltimore (+100); Under

Game 961-962: Colorado at NY Yankees (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Colorado (Jimenez) 15.375; NY Yankees (Burnett) 15.998
Dunkel Line: NY Yankees by 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-135); 9
Dunkel Pick: NY Yankees (-135); Over

Game 963-964: NY Mets at Texas (8:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: NY Mets (Pelfrey) 15.507; Texas (Harrison) 14.899
Dunkel Line: NY Mets by 1/2; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Texas (-150); 9
Dunkel Pick: NY Mets (+130); Under

Game 965-966: Tampa Bay at Houston (8:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay (Shields) 15.863; Houston (Rodriguez) 14.794
Dunkel Line: Tampa Bay by 1; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Tampa Bay (-130); 7
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (-130); Over

Game 967-968: Washington at Chicago White Sox (8:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Washington (Zimmermann) 15.429; White Sox (Jackson) 16.627
Dunkel Line: Chicago White Sox by 1; 8 1/2
Vegas Line: Chicago White Sox (-120); 8
Dunkel Pick: Chicago White Sox (-120); Over

Game 969-970: Minnesota at Milwaukee (8:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota (Baker) 15.940; Milwaukee (Wolf) 15.067
Dunkel Line: Minnesota by 1; 7 1/2
Vegas Line: Milwaukee (-150); 8
Dunkel Pick: Minnesota (+130); Under

Game 971-972: Chicago Cubs at Kansas City (8:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cubs (Dempster) 15.220; Kansas City (Chen) 13.484
Dunkel Line: Chicago Cubs by 1 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: Kansas City (-115); 9
Dunkel Pick: Chicago Cubs (-105); Over

Game 973-974: Toronto at St. Louis (8:15 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto (Morrow) 15.363; St. Louis (Westbrook) 14.322
Dunkel Line: St. Louis by 1; 7
Vegas Line: St. Louis (-110); 8
Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (-110); Under

Game 975-976: LA Angels at LA Dodgers (10:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: LA Angels (Haren) 15.656; LA Dodgers (De La Rosa) 14.843
Dunkel Line: LA Angels by 1; 6
Vegas Line: LA Angels (-135); 7
Dunkel Pick: LA Angels (-135); Under

Game 977-978: Cleveland at San Francisco (10:15 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (Carrasco) 16.423; San Francisco (Sanchez) 15.320
Dunkel Line: Cleveland by 1; 8
Vegas Line: San Francisco (-125); 7
Dunkel Pick: Cleveland (+105); Over

Game 979-980: Seattle at Florida (10:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Seattle (Hernandez) 14.851; Florida (Nolasco) 14.012
Dunkel Line: Seattle by 1; 6
Vegas Line: Seattle (-155); 6 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Seattle (-155); Under

[timbob]

WNBA Basketball Picks

Los Angeles at San Antonio

The Sparks look to build on their 9-4-1 ATS record in their last 14 Friday games. Los Angeles is the pick (+3 1/2) according to Dunkel, which has the game Even. Dunkel Pick: Los Angeles (+3 1/2). Here are all of today's picks.

FRIDAY, JUNE 24
Time Posted: 6:30 a.m. EST
Game 651-652: Phoenix at Atlanta (7:35 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Phoenix 110.944; Atlanta 114.402
Dunkel Line & Total: Atlanta by 3 1/2; 188
Vegas Line & Total: Atlanta by 2 1/2; 184
Dunkel Pick: Atlanta (-2 1/2); Over

Game 653-654: Los Angeles at San Antonio (8:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Los Angeles 111.757; San Antonio 111.509
Dunkel Line & Total: Even; 157
Vegas Line & Total: San Antonio by 3 1/2; 160 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Los Angeles (+3 1/2); Under

Game 655-656: Minnesota at Seattle (10:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Minnesota 109.503; Seattle 120.303
Dunkel Line & Total: Seattle by 11; 154
Vegas Line & Total: Seattle by 3 1/2; 151
Dunkel Pick: Seattle (-3 1/2); Over

[timbob]

Gamblers Data

Free Play Friday

Nationals +110

[timbob]

Hondo

It didn't take long for Hondo to cool off the Twins or to get the Cards' Carpenter straightened out. Both happened yesterday, resulting in Minny and Phillie losses which caused the nasty red number to grow to a season-high 1,570 guras.

Tonight, Mr. Aitch will strike up the band for the one and only Jimmy Shields -- 10 units on the Rays. Also, he'll play some Chen music in K.C. -- 10 units on the Royals.

[timbob]

Mighty Quinn

Mighty hit with the Nationals Thursday.

Friday it's the Tigers. The deficit is 2,464 sirignanos.

[timbob]

Baseball Crusher
Play of the Day:

Rangers -155 over Mets

[timbob]

Soccer Crusher
Play of the Day:

Ituiutaba + GremioBarueri UNDER 2.5
This match is happening in Brazil

[timbob]

Sportsbook Investing
Play of the Day:

Rangers -155 over Mets