Wunderdog
Baltimore at Boston
Pick: Boston -1.5
The Red Sox have been a solid choice at home all season long as they have put together a 47-19 mark at Fenway. While Baltimore has been a solid .500+ team at home they have struggled when leaving the friendly confines of Camden Yards to the tune of a 30-44 mark. The task becomes monumental today as the face Diasuke Matsuzaka. The Sox have gone 20-4 in his 24 starts on the season, including nine of his last 10. The BoSox have also been lethal on sub .500 teams at Fenway where they have posted a 25-4 mark this season. Jeremy Guthrie may have given the O's a shot, but he has been scratched from this start, and the O's will use a committee of pitchers starting with Lance Cormier. Not a recipe to win at Fenway. The Red Sox on the runline is the play here.
Seabass
All 20*'s
Atl/Fla UNDER
Stl/Arz OVER
NYM
Sea/Tex OVER
Yanks
Steam On-Line Guaranteed Selections
5000* LATE STEAM BASEBALL GAME OF THE MONTH
Toronto w/Burnett -145
The Experts Guaranteed Selections
ULTIMATE EXPERTS BASEBALL DIAMOND WINNER
Colorado w/Cook -210
David Malinsky:
Today’s Free Pick
GAME: Giants (RL) @ Rockies (RL) Sep 3, 2008 3:05PM
SPORT: Major League Baseball Picks
PICK: Rockies (RL)
REASON FOR PICK: 4* COLORADO Run Line over SAN FRANCISCO
What the Colorado Rockies did last September was one of those remarkable stories that can happen in sports – a rather average team has all of the pieces come together at the same time, and once the momentum began it created a confidence level that took their performance to a special plateau. In some ways it was a bit of a fluke considering the true talent level, but here is what matters right now - THEY believe in what they did. So now here we are in September again, and after a disappointing season they are just five games out of first place in the N.L. West, and bring plenty of momentum to the table today. It sets this up to be a blowout, and with the Run Line enabling us to get in the hunt in a pick’em range, we are in.
Although media “misinformation” helps to drive a lot of winners in sports, there are some writers out there that we respect. And after watching Aaron Cook struggle with back problems since the All Star break, reading the following after his last outing at San Diego means a lot - ”Aaron Cook made the lead stand, looking as good as he since back problems flared up after the all-star game. He demonstrated a nasty sinker inside to right-handed hitters, caused lefties to chase his straight fastball away - he was laddering that pitch all night - while keeping everyone off balance with his slider. When Cook has just his sinker, he's tough. This was some of his best stuff in months as he won his 16th game, one shy of tying the single-season record shared by Jeff Francis (2007) and Pedro Astacio (1999).”
That is from a writer that knows the game, and knows Cook. And it is more than enough for us to back him against a punchless Giant lineup mired in an 0-5 road trip, and almost assuredly without clean-up hitter Bengie Molina this afternoon. Cook has controlled the Giants to a 4-1/2.75 the past two seasons, and for the latter stages we have the brilliant for of Brian Fuentes, who has not been scored on in his last nine appearances, with a remarkable ratio of 18 strikeouts vs. only three hits allowed in that span.
The rest of this falls on the Colorado offense to break out against Barry Zito and a worn-out San Francisco bullpen, which is not asking much at all. The Rockies have been solid against left-handers, and that element gets buoyed by the return of Ryan Spilborghs to the lineup. They bring exactly the kind of plate discipline we like to see against Zito, rating 3rd in the N.L. in walks, and given the flow that we expect they could catch Atlanta for #2 in this game. Despite facing some very weak competition Zito has been horrid of late, and the patience of the Rockies, combined with a wind out to left field, makes this a difficult setting for him. The Giants have been out-scored by 16 runs in this 0-5 trip, and this is the biggest mismatch of any of those games. 🙂
CASH & PROFIT EXPERTS
ATLANTA BRAVES vs FLORIDA MARLINS
Play: FLORIDA MARLINS (POD)
ST LOUIS CARDINALS vs ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Play: ST LOUIS CARDINALS
Charlies Sports
Tampa Bay -125 (500*)
Seattle -120 (30*)
Arizona -120 (20*)
Milwaukee -120 (20*)
White Sox -135 (10*)
Florida -130 (10*) free play
The Hammer Guaranteed Selections
ANNIHILATOR PLAY OF THE MONTH
Seattle w/Hernandez -120
NSA
20* ANGELS
Yankee Capper
Premium Baseball
5 Units - Toronto Blue Jays (-145)
4 Units - Milwaukee Brewers (-125)
3 Units - New York Yankees (+105)
3 Units - Seattle Mariners (-125)
3 Units - Philadelphia Phillies (-150) *COMP*
Black Magic Sports
1 Unit on Washington Nationals +145
The Washington Nationals have been hotter than hell lately and I’ll take them as another solid value bet as a home underdog Wednesday. Washington has been a winner in 7 of their last 8 games overall and they are giving other N.L. teams fits in the process. The great thing the Nationals have going for them tonight is starter Odalis Perez. In 13 home starts in 2008, Perez has come away with a 2.57 ERA. Perez has had great success against the Phillies in his career as well. Perez is now 6-2 with a 2.28 ERA lifetime against the Phillies in nine starts. Cash in with the Nationals as the underdog.
Ben Burns
Getaway Day Gom
Seattle Mariners
Lenny Del Genio
ANA (+100) vs DET
With the AL West title within their grasp, don't look for the Angels to take their foot off the gas pedal anytime soon. Since we're now getting plus money, this becomes a much more attractive play considering Jon Garland has an 18-10 TSR in the road underdog role and the Halos remain a MLB best (by far) 41-25 on the road. Take LA Angels.
Wildcat
Detroit Tigers
LT Profits
GIANTS / ROCKIES OVER 9½
The Colorado Rockies do not go Over at home as often as they did in the days before the humidor, but look for a return to the good old days today vs. the San Francisco Giants. The struggles of Giants starter Barry Zito have been well documented this season, and after showing some flashes of snapping out of his funk, he regressed again last time out. Zito allowed seven earned runs and nine baserunners while lasting only 3.1 innings vs. a Cincinnati Reds team that has packed it in for the season. He was also awful in his only start in Colorado this year, allowing six earned runs and nine baserunners in six innings. Now, we realize that Aaron Cook has become the ace of the Rockies staff this season. However, he has surprisingly had some difficulty with the normally light-hitting San Francisco lineup in 2008, allowing 29 hits in 21 innings while allowing at least nine hits in each of his three starts against them. Also, Cook understandably has a higher ERA in the altitude of home than on the road, at a mediocre 4.09. These teams scored 11 runs in extra innings last night and they may reach that total in regulation time today.