This Week's Best MLB Trends
By Bill McBride
Covers.com
HOT TEAM: Baltimore Orioles
THIS SEASON: 18-9.
LAST WEEK: 5-1.
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE: Home to the Rangers for four, home to the Rays for three.
THE SKINNY: If you were waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop with these Orioles, this week might be your week. After Baltimore disposed of the Red Sox and Yankees fairly easily last week, the rubber will hit the road as Camden Yards will house two of the hottest teams in baseball: Texas and Tampa Bay.
Clearly, there’s a long way to go, but manager Buck Showalter has things headed in the right direction with the Orioles. Look no further than last week’s series with New York. The Orioles won two of three, and allowed just three runs total. The offseason trade that shipped starter Jeremy Guthrie to the Rockies seems like a distant memory now, especially with two starters in the rotation -- Jason Hammel (2.09) and Wei-Yin Chen (2.76) -- sitting with ERAs below 3.00.
COLD TEAM: Seattle Mariners
THIS SEASON: 12-17.
LAST WEEK: 1-5.
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE: Home to the Tigers three, at the Yankees for three.
THE SKINNY: The age-old dilemma with the Mariners in the Safeco Field Era is back and as frustrating as ever for their fans. They simply cannot produce enough runs when it counts.
In a four-game sweep at the hands of the Rays last week, Seattle produced just 11 runs total. The M’s are getting their share of extra-base hits but their on-base percentage is close to the worst in the majors, and their .227 batting average with runners in scoring position isn’t helping bringing in the few runners who do get on.
OVER TEAM: Houston Astros
O/U THIS SEASON: 20-7.
O/U LAST WEEK: 4-1.
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE: Home to the Marlins for three, at the Pirates for three.
THE SKINNY: You’ll certainly have a clash of styles this week as the Astros run into two of the strongest under teams out there: Miami and Pittsburgh. But with the way Houston plays ball, you’re going to have a legitimate shot at cashing an over on every night. J.D. Martinez and Chris Johnson have combined for 38 RBIs, and Carlos Lee -- content (for now) to play for a team in a rebuilding mode -- just keeps on chugging.
And a very underrated statistic in overs is walks, and the patient Astros are getting their share. Martinez has 19, Jed Lowrie and Jordan Schafer have 13 each and there are five hitters overall with at least 10.
From the pitching perspective, it's about batting-average against when it comes to overs. And Houston has struggled there, leading to the shootouts. Three starters -- Bud Norris (.265), Lucas Harrell (.269), and J.A. Happ (.276) -- need to come down for the Astros' sake. For the sake of overs players? They can stay where they are.
UNDER TEAM: Cincinnati Reds
O/U THIS SEASON: 11-14-1.
O/U LAST WEEK: 0-3-1.
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE: At the Brewers for three, home to the Nationals for three.
THE SKINNY: Nothing that a series against the Pirates can't cure when it comes to unders. The Reds headed into Sunday's series finale at Pittsburgh riding that weeklong four-game overless streak, and more could be on the way.
In a quick two-game set with the Cubs last week, Cincinnati scored just five runs total. And the bullpen has made it clear it is intent on holding these unders. Aroldis Chapman will be a starter someday soon, but out of the bullpen, he's 2-0 with 23 strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA, and an 0.68 WHIP. Not bad.
Hot and Not
By Mike Rose
VegasInsider.com
The 2012 MLB regular season heads into the second week of May with the warmer weather right around the corner. Here’s a look at what some of the hottest and cold teams did on the diamond this past week.
Money Makers
Baltimore Orioles (5-1, $607): You know things are running well for your ball club when one of your sluggers (Chris Davis) goes 0-for-8 with five strikeouts but comes in and tosses two innings of scoreless ball with two Ks to get the win. That’s exactly what happened in the O’s marathon win in Boston on Sunday, and it closed out a week that saw manager Buck Showalter’s squad go a lucrative 5-1 in its six-games played in the Bronx and Fenway. Baltimore is currently the best bet in the league reeling in a shade under $1500 for the year! This club has shown the ability to hit the long ball (41) and be able to handle its business in the late innings with the bullpen possessing the league’s best ERA (1.41).
On The Docket: After passing its litmus test at divisional opposition last week, it doesn’t get any easier for the Orioles who return home to battle Texas for four followed by a weekend set with Tampa Bay; the O’s have won eight of 12 as hosts to date ($412).
Miami Marlins (6-1, $473): Ozzie Guillen was 100 percent correct in stating that his squad needed to get away from Miami to regroup. After dropping its home finale with the D’backs to fall to six-games under .500, Miami hit the west coast to battle the Giants and Padres in pitcher friendly AT&T and Petco Parks. Save for Josh Johnson’s blow-up, Marlins pitching gave up a total of just 11 runs and Ricky Nolasco, Anibal Sanchez, and Mark Buehrle all registered quality start victories. The demotion of Heath Bell as the team’s closer also helped matters. There’s simply too much talent on this team’s roster for it to continue underachieving.
On The Docket: The Fish close out their nine-game roady in Houston followed up with a home set against the division rival Mets where they’ll look to improve upon their mediocre 6-5 home record.
Cleveland Indians (4-2, $306): Manager Manny Acta’s Tribe bolted out to a great start last season only to falter down the stretch due to a myriad of injuries. While they’ve only gotten out to a 15-11 mark over the course of their first 26 games played, it’s a good enough record to sit atop the AL Central standings heading into the second week of May. Taking two of three at division rival Chicago was nice, but earning the home series win over the Rangers and holding them to a total of 10 runs was certainly the cherry on top of a solid week of work.
On The Docket: The Tribe has a loaded week ahead of them with four set to go vs. Chicago – including a doubleheader – before heading to Beantown to deal with a salty Red Sox outfit for four more.
Money Burners
Boston Red Sox (1-5, -$634): Just when you thought the BoSox had turned their season around by taking six of seven on the road, they returned home to Fenway and laid a huge egg in front of the hometown faithful. After pounding the A’s in the series opener 11-6, they went on to drop the next two and were then swept at home by the Baltimore Orioles for the first time since 1994. Pitching continues to ail Manager Bobby Valentine’s outfit as it checks in with a 5.36 ERA (#29), a 1.47 WHIP (#27), and has amassed just 12 quality starts (#25). Until that’s rectified, this club is going nowhere fast!
On The Docket: It’s back to the road for the Red Sox to start the week with three at Kansas City before returning home to host the Cleveland Indians for four; Boston’s won six of its L/7 vs. AL Central opposition.
Milwaukee Brewers (2-4, -$273): Even though Prince Fielder moved on for greener pastures this past off-season, Milwaukee was extremely confident in the roster it assembled to make up for his potent bat leaving its line-up. However, in a matter of just four days, the team’s starting first baseman (Mat Gamel), shortstop (Alex Gonzalez), and centerfielder (Carlos Gomez) have all been placed on the DL. Gamel is gone for the year with a torn ACL, while the others were put on the 15-day DL. Though this squad has been decimated due to injury, it wasn’t playing a solid brand of ball to begin with. It’s .228 batting average ranks 28th while its 4.88 team ERA ranks 27th – to make matters worse, the bullpen owns a 4.69 ERA and .276 BAA.
On The Docket: The Brew Crew will look to get healthy within the division this week at home against the Reds and Cubs; teams they’re 14-6 versus in the L/20 combined meetings.
Minnesota Twins (1-5, -$373): We stated last week that the Twins will more than likely be on this list more than any other team in the Bigs throughout the entirety of the 2012 season. Well, manager Ron Gardenhire’s squad didn’t disappoint this past week dropping five of six to the Angels and Mariners. Most disconcerting about the road trip was losing all three to a Halos squad that couldn’t hit its way out of a paper bag heading into the series. Still, LA’s pitching staff shut them out twice, including Jered Weaver’s perfect game - and outscored them 17-3 in the three-game set. King Felix almost tossed a no-no at them just two-days later! This club can’t hit and it’s pitching staff can’t get anyone out, so it should come as no surprise that they’re ranked amongst the worst in the league in both statistical categories.
On The Docket: The Twinkies return home to battle the Angels in a quick revenge series followed by four-games with Toronto; Joe Mauer and his mates have won just three of their 11 home games played to date (-$422).
Blade- Is there anyway to get any premium picks from a baseball handicapper named Kyle Hunter. Thanks.
Blade- Is there anyway to get any premium picks from a baseball handicapper named Kyle Hunter. Thanks.
I see him once and awhile and when I do I post it, but really don't see him much.