Fantasy Sports Gametime
Florida (-170) over New York Mets (Top Play of the Day)
Florida pitcher, Josh Johnson is 7-1 vs. New York over his career with an ERA of 2.74 and he also had an ERA of 1.57 in all home games last season. New York pitcher, Mike Pelfrey has lost 14 of the last 21 games as a road underdog of +100 or higher and he is 1-6 vs. Florida over his career with an ERA of 5.32.
Colorado (-190) over Arizona
Arizona has lost 28 of the last 32 games as an underdog of +175 to +250 and they have also lost 29 of the last 38 road games vs. division opponents. Colorado pitcher, Ubaldo Jimenez has won 20 of the last 23 home games as a favorite of -150 or higher and he was 9-2 at home last year with an ERA of 3.19.
Tampa Bay (-185) over Baltimore
Tampa Bay pitcher, David Price has won 19 of the last 23 games vs. division opponents and he had an ERA of 2.26 in all home games last season. Baltimore pitcher, Jeremy Guthrie has lost 23 of the last 29 games vs. division opponents and he has also lost 7 of the last 11 games vs. Tampa Bay
Kyle Hunter
Astros/Phillies Under 7
Twins/Jays Over 8.5
Red Sox
Power Play Wins
Boston Red Sox
Texas Sports Wire
Thunder +2.5
Jimmy Boyd
5* Memphis +1.5
4* Portland -2.5
3* Twins
David Malinsky
Angels
Rays/Orioles Over
Sean Higgs
4* Rangers +111
Will take the Rangers as a home dog here. Listen, I do like Lester. Alot. The kid is a flat-out stud when he is on the hill. But let's not dismiss the Rangers. They were in the World Series last year. Sox have some new face$ in Crawford and A-Gone. They also welcome back some injured players. But this play is about CJ Wilson. He's a pretty tough lefty himself. And the Sox are a lefty leaning lineup. Last year, lefties hit a robust .144 vs CJ. Take the small home dog here and watching MVP Josh Hamilton take one deep for the difference maker in a 3-2 type game.
4* Twins/Jays Over 8.5
Going OVER the total here in Toronto. These two always seem to bring the lumber with them. Over 7-1-1 last 9 meetings and 19-7-3 last 29 in Toronto. For what it is worth, Romero went over in his last 7 home starts of 2010 and the Twins in 7 of their last 10 on the road. I look at Romero's poor spring, and the Jays offense and see at least 11 or 12 runs here tonight.
4* Orioles +173
Taking Baltimore here. Like how this team responded last year under Showalter, and they have improved themselves by bringing some veteran leadership. I can't see Tampa being better than last year with the losses of Pena and Crawford and bringing in Damon and Manny. Plus you can't overlook the fact that their bullpen is totally rebuilt. O's have the better lineup here. And if they can work Price to throw pitches, the bullpen will enter in the 6th and the O's should be able to pull off a nice win here. This is not last years division winner.
4* Oakland -106
Taking the A's here. I am a fan of King Felix. In fact, I have in my fantasy baseball league. Fact of the matter is that this is about making money. As great as Felix is, the offense behind him is brutal. Oakland brought in some bats over the winter with DeJesus, Hideki and Willingham. Not huge names, but some more hitters. They still have their moneyball players who draw walks. I will toss out that Felix is 5-2 his last 7 trips in Oakland. The M's are 1-7 their last 8 here and lost 5 straight in the series overall. Trevor Cahill was 18-8 with a 2.97 ERA last year. Not exactly a slouch. I had Felix over Sheets here Opening Day last year. But Cahill is no retread like Sheets. A's get it done. (you can move this as a 2* on the RL its anywhere from +180 - +200)
David Malinsky
4* BOSTON over TEXAS
When Jon Lester is on the mound, the Red Sox offer the best package in the Major League’s this season, and a case could be made that it is one of the best packages in several years. So with the markets reducing the price to a pick’em range this morning we will get in play behind a team and a pitcher that are not likely to offer many value settings once they get rolling.
Lester’s 50-23/3.29 over the past three seasons tells a story by itself, but when we take a closer look it gets even better. There were 96 pitchers that worked at least 150 IP LY, and he was #34 in difficulty of batters faced. In 2009, he was #10 of 82 in that category, and in 2008 he was #31 of 95. He has been getting it done against top-flight competition, yet at the age of 27 still shows upside, especially with the defense he will have behind him this season. As for run production, not only are the Boston table-setters of Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Carl Crawford the best in the sport, but having Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz in the middle of the order is also difficult to rival. It is a combination of both patience and punch that is going to wear on pitchers, especially this early in the season when those opposing moundsmen are not fully in sync yet.
Off of those strong 2010 showings, C. J. Wilson and the Rangers help to bring this price point, but Wilson carries some issues. After never working more than 73.2 IP out of the bullpen in his career that 204.0 load of LY could take a residual toll this time around, and after leading the A.L. in walks this particular lineup can get him into high pitch counts in the early innings, forcing the middle relief corps into a prominent role, with that unit being the hardest for a manager to get untracked in spring training. Also note that some of that 2010 Wilson was schedule-driven, rating #79 in difficulty of opposition of that 150-IP group, while a .267 BABIP that is unlikely to be sustained put him in an even lower quadrant. With his left hamstring bothering him in spring training he is anything but a guarantee to get out of the gate well this afternoon.
Keith Glantz
50* Atlanta Hawks
25* Texas Rangers
25* Baltimore Orioles
Wunderdog
Bucks +3
Clippers +5
Blazers -3
Lakers -8.5
Larry Ness
10* Thunder / Blazers Over
Ben Burns
10* Annihilator - Toronto Blue Jays
10* Personal Fav - Trail Blazers
9* Best Bet - Pacers Under
9* Feast - Sacramento Kings
8* Blue Chip - St. Louis Blues Under
Bob Balfe
Boston Red Sox -110
This could be a playoff matchup in a few months, but at this point of the season Jon Lester is a bit more ready for opening day. CJ Wilson left an exhibition game over the weekend with a tight hamstring that has been bothering him. Both pitchers are awesome, but Wilson gives up a good amount of walks which never is good against this Boston lineup. Look for Boston to take Game 1. Take the Red Sox.
Cleveland Cavaliers +1
Cleveland now has an identity with Baron Davis in the lineup and they have been very impressive in the last few games. The same cannot be said for Washington who is on a downward spiral and will be without John Wall tonight. Look for Cleveland to get a big road win. Take the Cavs.
Chris Jordan
100♦ Pacers -2
100♦ Grizzlies +1.5
100♦ Mariners +110
Jeff Benton
25 Dime: LA Angels
10 Dime: Rangers