7-31-10

[Big Bear]

Dave Cokin

Solid Gold - SF Giants

NY Mets

[Big Bear]

Re: 7-31-10

Fantasy Gametime

Play Toronto (-175) over Cleveland
Game starts at 1:00 PM EST

Play St. Louis (-175) over Pittsburgh
Game starts at 7:15 PM EST



Play Kansas City (-220) over Baltimore
Game starts at 7:10 PM EST


Play Calgary (-6) over Winnipeg
Game starts at 9:30 PM EST

[Big Bear]

Re: 7-31-10

The real Matt Rivers of OffshoreInsiders has a Saturday winner on the Baltimore Orioles +210 at Kansas City.

Brad Bergesen can be a nightmare unlike Zach Greinke who could be great but the Kansas City Royals are laying $2 plus? Seriously? That alone makes this play a total no-brainer. I understand that the Orioles aren't good and they are at a huge disadvantage with the most important position on the field but once again, the Kansas City Royals are laying $2 plus? Come on.

Greinke will be better than that dreadful last start but the righthander has not been the same guy as last season and is fairly hittable right now. That doesn't mean that the poor Orioles, who just traded away Miggy, will be able to do all that much damage but there is still an upside here with Buck Showalter's soon to be club. Jones, Wieters, Roberts and Markakis are quality big league hitters and scoring some runs is not out of the realm at all.

I don't hate the Royals at all as I like Billy Butler and a few others but Dejesus is done for the season and Podsednik was just traded away so I think that this team is on the way down and headed for a bit of a fall.

KC is still not a bad team to back when getting a price like this but when laying it is an entirely different matter. Bergesen may not be pitching well at all but the righty is still a young guy with some stuff. The upside has not shone through in the slightest and may not today as he could get fully outclassed by the far superior pitcher but the price is just too right to not make a play on this dog.

The pick: Baltimore

[Big Bear]

Re: 7-31-10

Sportrends

Take San Fran W/Zito over LA Dodgers W/Billingsley NO PLAY if >

[Big Bear]

Re: 7-31-10

>Platinum Plays

Top PLay (Premium)
SF

400,000K Play
NYY

Reg Plays
RSox
Houston
WSox
Seattle

[Big Bear]

Re: 7-31-10

Streaking and Slumping Pitchers

Streaking

Javier Vazquez (9-7, 4.54 ERA), New York Yankees

Vazquez is going head to head against a pitcher fresh off a no-hitter but you could still make an argument that the Yankee hurler is in a better pitching groove than the Rays Matt Garza.

The former Atlanta Brave is 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA in July. The Yanks are 7-3 in his last 10 starts and the under is also 7-3 over the same stretch.

Tom Gorzelanny (6-5, 3.22 ERA), Chicago Cubs

Not much is going right for the Cubs these days. Gorzelanny, who’s supposed to be a back-of-the-rotation guy, is arguably Chicago’s best starter right now while Carlos Zambrano, who’s supposed to be their ace, is figuring out things in anger management classes.

Gorzelanny owns a 2.82 ERA over his last five appearances and the Cubs are 4-0 in his last four starts.


Slumping

Jeff Suppan (0-6, 6.18 ERA), St. Louis Cardinals

The Cards didn’t land Roy Oswalt which means they’re still looking for somebody to mercifully take over Suppan’s spot in the rotation. St. Louis is 2-7 in Suppan’s seven starts since he was rejoined his former team.

Here’s the weird part: the under is 6-1 in those seven games despite Suppan’s 4.50 ERA. Might have something to do with higher totals. Oddsmakers put the total at 12 in Suppan’s last appearance.

Brad Bergesen (3-9, 6.95 ERA), Baltimore Orioles

It’s hard to remember all the promise Bergesen showed in 2009. That’s because there’s been little shine to his performance in 2010.

Newly appointed manager Buck Showalter is scratching his head now trying to figure out how to get Bergesen back on track.

All we can say is good luck, Buck.

The 24-year-old is 0-6 with an 8.92 ERA in his last eight starts.

[Big Bear]

Re: 7-31-10

Hot Lines: Today's best MLB bets

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays (-113, 8.5)

Let's hope Matt Garza enjoyed his no-hitter in his last outing against the Tigers because he isn't going to throw one tonight against the Yankees.

At least not with Alex Rodriguez, who is batting .467 lifetime against Garza, in the lineup. A-Rod may be having a hard time hitting No. 600 but all his other stats are on the rise.

A-Rod has at 19 RBIs in his last 31 games, leading all of baseball with 38 since June 21. As goes A-Rod so goes the Yankees, who are 22-9 during that span.

"I'm focused on what we keep doing every night - playing good baseball and winning," said Rodriguez, who leads all of baseball with 38 RBIs in his last 31 games.

Starter Javier Vazquez also has heated up with the weather, going 3-0 in his last four outings and allowing only a total of eight earned runs during those 26 innings.

Vazquez hasn't faced the Rays since losing in opening week and Garza has managed to dodge the Yankees all season, but he is 1-3 lifetime against them.

Despite the Rays' recent hot streak, they have only been batting .227 against righties over their last 10. Look for Vazquez to steal Garza's thunder tonight.

Pick: Yankees


Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds (-105, 8.5)

Atlanta starter Jair Jurrjens is 3-0 since returning from the DL, but he hasn't had to face the Reds, who have a track record of success against the righthander.

Jurrjens is 0-2 lifetime with a 6.75 ERA in three starts against the Reds, who are batting .303 against righties over their last 10, almost 50 points better than the Braves.

Cincinnati counters with righty Bronson Arroyo, who is 5-3 against the Braves and is coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Brewers in which he allowed only three hits over eight innings. He threw 66 of his 88 pitches for strikes and threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 27 batters he faced to lose despite a strong performance.

"The end of the game, I play a mental chess match," Arroyo said. "That's how I win ballgames."

This time expect him to check-mate the Braves.

Pick: Reds

[Big Bear]

Re: 7-31-10

BETTOR'S TIPS AND NOTES
Bettors' Best Friend (BBF): Saturday's Wagering Tips

Lines Off The Board

Rangers at Angels: The line and total are currently off the board.

Predators at Storm (AFL): The line and total are currently off the board.

Lines To Keep An Eye On

Mariners at Twins: M's opened as +104 underdogs but have since flip-flopped to -110 favorites.
Orioles at Royals: Total opened at 8 but it has climbed to 8.5.

Pirates at Cardinals: Cards opened as -172 faves but are now listed as high as -200 at most books.

Blaze at Vipors (AFL): Vips opened at -15 faves but that number has fallen to as low as 12.5 at some books.

Vigilantes at Battlewings (AFL): Battlewings opened as -3 favorites but are now listed at -5.5 at most books.

Tiger-Cats at Roughriders (CFL): 'Riders opened at -8.5 but have dropped to -7.5. Total opened at 53.5 and has climbed to 54.5.

Bluebombers at Stampeders: Stampeders opened at -7 and have fallen to -6. Total opened at 57 but is listed as low as 55 at some books.

Weather To Watch

Cubs at Rockies: 40 percent chance of thunderstorms, wind blowing out to center field at 11 mph.

A's at White Sox: 40 percent chance of thunderstorms, wind blowing out to left/center field at 13 mph.

Orioles at Royals: 30 percent chance of thunderstorms.

Pirates at Cardinals: 40 percent chance of thunderstorms.

Braves at Reds: 30 percent chance of thunderstorms.

Who's Hot

Phillies have won eight in a row.

Twins have won seven of their last eight.

Rays have won six in a row.

Blue Jays have won five of their last six.

Padres have won five of their last six.

Who's Not

Rockies have lost eight their last nine.

Orioles have lost five of their last six.

Royals have lost five in a row.

Angels have lost seven of their last eight.

Diamondbacks have lost seven in a row.

Tigers have lost six of their last seven.

Indians have lost five of their last six.

Key Stat

34 - Number of homerless plate appearances for New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez entering Friday night's game since he hit career No. 599 more than one week ago. It took A-Rod 28 plate appearances to make the leap from 499 to 500.

Injury That Shouldn't Be Overlooked

The Texas Rangers placed second baseman Ian Kinsler on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin, the second time that the All-Star has been sidelined. He missed the first 22 games of the season with a high ankle sprain and the Rangers started 10-12 in his absence, but they moved him to the leadoff position and they are 50-30 since. Kinsler is batting .298 with six home runs and 38 RBIs this season and could be a key loss for Texas at a critical time.

Game Of The Day

NY Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays (-110, 8.5)

Notable Quotable

"I just thought the guy’s got to come back in unbelievable shape, because if he comes back out of shape, looks bad, I mean, he’s just gonna get murdered. If he came back in shape, ready to play football, he’ll be there two days and everyone will forget what happened."
Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley said on July 22 of teammate Albert Haynesworth, who held out of voluntary offseason workouts. Haynesworth failed a conditioning test for the second straight day on Friday, preventing him from practicing with the team until he passes the drills.

Tips And Notes

The Oakland Athletics placed closer Andrew Bailey on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a strained intercostal muscle.The right-hander has 20 saves and a 1.56 ERA for the Athletics so far this season. The team will likely split the save opportunities between Michael Wuertz (2-2, 5.01), Brad Ziegler (2-4, 3.50) and Craig Breslow (4-2, 2.81), who have combined for only four saves this season.

The San Diego Chargers have become a sexy pick to finally turn the playoff corner this season, but they opened training camp Friday without three Pro-Bowl players, including linebacker Shawne Merriman, who said he will not report until the Chargers can promise him job security. Merriman's name was floated in trade rumors and he has not yet accepted the team's $3.269 million for this season. He joins fellow holdouts Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill.

The Baltimore Ravens are known for their defense, but that well-earned reputation may be in jeopardy this season. The Ravens' already-thin secondary suffered another blow Friday as cornerback Dominique Foxworth tore his ACL and will miss the entire 2010 season. Baltimore is already short on cornerbacks, as Fabian Washington and Lardarius Webb are returning from ACL injuries of their own and All-Pro safety Ed Reed may miss the first six weeks of the season as he is on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

[spook]

Re: 7-31-10

thanks big bear!!

[spook]

Re: 7-31-10

BASEBALL CRUSHER
PLAY OF THE DAY

Chicago White Sox (-150) over Oakland A's

[Big Bear]

Re: 7-31-10

GREEK SPORTS PICKS
LOCKS OF THE MONTH

Baltimore +205...big line, Baltimore owns KC especially in KC..Good Value
Seattle -109...Mariners Suck but Hernandez is tough vs Twinks and Slowe

[Big Bear]

Re: 7-31-10

Sportgenius

Reds/Braves

[Big Bear]

Re: 7-31-10

USASPORTS CONSULTING

San Francisco (B.Zito) -110 hosting LA Dodgers (C.Billingsl

[Big Bear]

Re: 7-31-10

George Castillo


Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Mets Total 8½ ov+106

Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas City Royals Total 8 ov-120

Cincinnati Reds -109

Kansas City Royals -220

Toronto Blue Jays -175

[Big Bear]

Re: 7-31-10

Eric Brown

Chicago White