The Asian Executive
Total Lock of the Weekend 9 units Miami Under 36
Moneyline Lock of the Weekend 9 units Kansas City +122
8 units Kansas City +2.5
7 units NY Giants +3
7 units St Louis +3
5 units Chicago -2.5
Paul Leiner
50* Steelers -4
50* Blue Jays +115
25* SF Giants +135
Fantasy Sports Gametime
100* Play Oakland (+115) over Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay has lost 12 of the last 15 games after an on base percentage of .375 or better over the last 10 games and they have also lost 20 of the last 31 games vs. AL West Division Opponents. Oakland pitcher, Brett Anderson is 1-0 vs. Tampa Bay over his career with an ERA of 1.80 and he has an ERA of 2.25 over the last 3 starts.
50* Play San Francisco (+145) over St. Louis
San Francisco has won 22 of the last 30 games vs. NL Central Division Opponents and they have also won 9 of the last 12 games after batting .240 or worse over the last 10 games. Tim Lincecum has won 7 of the last 8 road games when the total posted is 7.5 runs or less and he is 5-0 vs. St. Louis over his career with an ERA of 1.54.
Dave Cokin
Solid Gold - Redskins -3
Houston Astros
Marc Lawrence
3 Units Boston
Jeff Benton
25 DIME PITTSBURGH STEELERS
10 DIME SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Pittsburgh Steelers
The term “meaningless NFL preseason game” is extremely redundant – they’re all meaningless. But this Steelers-Giants game takes that phrase to a new level for New York. Why? Because the two quarterbacks atop the Giants’ depth chart – starter Eli Manning and No. 2 Jim Sorgi – will be in street clothes tonight, Manning dealing with the effects of that gruesome gash to his head suffered on Monday night against the Jets, and Sorgi out several weeks with a shoulder injury.
That leaves the Giants’ offense in the hands of third-stringer Rhett Bomar, who spent all of last season on New York’s practice squad. Yes, Bomar looked good in Monday’s win over the Jets, going 6-for-7 for 67 yards and a touchdown. But that was in mop-up duty against the Jets’ scrubs. Tonight, he quite possibly may have to play the entire game – something he hasn’t done since his senior year at Sam Houston State, where he transferred to after being involved in a scandal at Oklahoma. More importantly, Bomar will have to play most (if not all) of this game against a Steelers defense that looked VERY good in last week’s 23-7 home win over the Lions, holding Detroit to 287 yards (79 rushing). And keep in mind that Pittsburgh’s starters on defense saw limited action in that contest; tonight, the first string on both sides of the ball is slated to play into the second quarter.
If Bomar doesn’t go the entire way, that means Dominic Randolph will get some snaps under center. Dominic who? Exactly! In the wake of the injuries to Manning and Sorgi, the Giants signed Randolph to a free-agent deal on Thursday. Randolph’s claim to fame is he was a four-year starter at Holy Cross! One more thing about New York’s offense: They also have significant injuries on the offensive line and at tight end (they suited up just one tight end on Monday against the Jets).
Another reason to love the Steelers: QB Ben Roethlisberger, who didn’t play last week, will see game action tonight. And since he spent all week working with the first-string offense in practice, odds are he’s going to start and play at least the first quarter – which would be a smart move by Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, seeing that Roethlisberger is suspended for at least the first four games of the regular season. It would behoove Tomlin to give Big Ben a lot of on-field time over the next three preseason games.
Bottom line: There’s a reason why Pittsburgh is THE biggest favorite in Week 2 … despite playing on the road! And that reason is the Giants care about only one thing tonight, and that’s avoid further injury. Lay the wood, and look for a 24-6 victory by the Steelers, who have taken these August games pretty seriously since Tomlin took over, going 11-3.
S.F.Giants
I know Tim Lincecum hasn’t been himself lately, losing three straight starts while posting an unsightly 9.00 ERA. I know the Giants are running up against Chris Carpenter in this game. And I know San Francisco is just a .500 team on the road, while the Cardinals have one of the best home records in baseball (39-23).
I get all of that. And yet I still cannot pass up taking Lincecum when he’s THIS big of an underdog. Seriously, Lincecum has taken the mound as an underdog just three times since the start of last season, and never more than +111. And he hasn’t been a ‘dog of greater than +125 since May 27, 2008, when he outdueled Dan Haren in a 6-3 road win at Arizona.
Plus, how do you ignore Lincecum’s career numbers against the Cardinals: Five starts, five wins, a 1.54 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, .210 batting-average against and 37 strikeouts in 35 innings. That includes a 4-1 home victory back on April 23, when he scattered a run on six hits with three walks and eight strikeouts in seven innings. Also, in his last two starts at Busch Stadium – one last year, one in 2008 – Lincecum pitched 16 scoreless innings, allowing a combined eight hits and three walks with 13 strikeouts, cruising to wins of 3-0 and 10-0.
As for Lincecum’s recent problems on the mound, I’m not going to say it’s not a concern. However, he has still recorded 17 strikeouts in his last three games (14 innings). And three of his last four road starts were quality outings (he gave up six runs in 21 1/3 innings in those three particular games, which is a 2.53 ERA). The Giants went 3-1 in those four road efforts (the one setback being a 3-2 loss at Atlanta on Aug. 5), and going back further, San Francisco has won nine of Lincecum’s last 12 road starts
In the end, this obviously isn’t going to be easy, as Carpenter has been fantastic for most of this season. But he did get lit up the last time he faced San Francisco (six runs, 11 hits in five innings of a 6-3 home loss last June), and the Redbirds have now dropped five straight home games. Conversely, the Giants – after last night’s 6-3 win over St. Louis – are on runs of 24-8 against the N.L. Central, 6-1 on Saturday and 6-1 when Lincecum faces the N.L. Central. And again, given Lincecum’s incredible history against the Redbirds, to be catching this kind of take back is value I cannot pass up.
Billy Coleman
GOY Pittsburgh -4
Cleveland -3
Tennessee -3.5
NY Mets -120
Boston -1.5 +155
TB Rays -130
KIKI SPORTS
3 Units NY Mets -120
2 Units New Orleans -1
1 Unit Redskins -3
1 Unit Colorado -165
1 Unit Tampa Bay -130
Rocketman
3* San Francisco +145
Northcoast
3'* Chicago
3* Seattle
3* Carolina
Power Play Wins
Atlanta Braves
Stan Lisowski
3* Ravens +3
Washington stands 12-24 laying points in preseason play. Off of a huge scoring outburst vs. Buffalo, they come into this game perhaps over-valued, as teams have covered just 6 of 9 off of a 40+ point effort. The Ravens have gone 16-11 on the road while longer term, they are 33-22 as an underdog during the exhibitions.
POINTWISE PHONE PLAYS
2* Houston Texans
2* Denver Broncos
2* New York Jets
Lenny Del Genio
3* Chargers
2* Packers
2* Browns
2* Dolphins
ATS Lock Club
7 Units Steelers -3.5
4 Units Saints -3
4 Units Browns -1
5 Units Tampa Bay Rays -130
4 Units Philadelphia Phillies +100
4 Units SD Padres -120