And as always, these early picks are brought to you by those guys from SPORTSBETTING.com. (Because they really don’t have anything else to do…)

In case you haven’t noticed, the 2010 MLB baseball season is just around the corner. The last time I was mildly interested in a baseball game, the Yankees won the World Series so it’s only fitting that we kick off this one with them Yankees and their chances to go have their re-peat.

The New York Yankees are the perennial favorites to capture the American League pennant and after winning the World Series last season, it’s no surprise that they are once again favored to capture the pennant again in 2010.

However, the Yanks will have a big distraction this season. As it stands, star shortstop Derek Jeter is going into the final year of his deal with them pinstripes and you can bet it will continue to be a distraction until the situation with is resolved.

”I was a Yankees fan growing up. This is where I want to be,” Jeter told the media as he was prepping for spring training in Tampa, Florida. ”I’ve never envisioned myself playing anywhere else, and hopefully I don’t have to.”

It’s doubtful that the Yanks would allow Jeter to leave but then again, former Boston Red Sox player Johnny Damon said he would never sign with the Yankees and he did. The Bronx Bombers are currently listed as the odds-on at +150 to represent the AL in this season’s World Series but if they lose a guy like Jeter, it’ll be awfully hard to win anything.

But hey, at least they still have Alex Rodriguez right? At this point…

Read More » Early Betting Picks for the 2010 MLB Baseball Season

The American League has always been all about the Yankees. And it doesn’t matter if they are playing well or not.

But since the New York Yankees are just clicking on all cylinders this 2009 MLB season, you just know that they’re talking about them Yankees like never before. But can they really win it all?

The New York Yankees hold the best record in the league. Mark Teixeira leads the American League in RBIs, Derek Jeter is having another great season and they have a good supporting cast in Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Hideki Matsui, and Jorge Posada.

The pitching has improved, and that’s the main reason why they are where they are. CC Sabathia has 19 wins, AJ Burnett has 12, and Andy Pettitte has 13. And of course, closer Mariano Rivera continues to dominate from the mound.

So if the New York Yankees are the best team in baseball right now, who’ll challenge these guys in the conference? We have two, the Los Angeles Angels and the Boston Red Sox.

The Los Angeles Angels are six games behind the Yankees, and the second best team in the league. Angels manager Mike Scioscia says this is the deepest lineup he has taken into the playoffs since the 2002 team that won the World Series.

Let’s see if they can indeed win it all…

Read More » Who can stop the NY Yankees in the 2009 MLB Playoffs?

It looks like these Yanks’ just made a huge statement.

With all the problems these guys have been having prior to the start of the 2009 MLB baseball season, it looks like the Yanks’ are finally pulling it together. They won three games in a row to further establish their spot on top of the American League and after they added into that by sweeping their rivals from Boston 4-0, these Yanks’ definitely have something going on now.

In case you didn’t get that, yes, the New York Yankees just swept the Boston Red Sox to win their four-game season series in the Bronx. Them Yankees did that in style too, beating the Red Sox for the fourth and final time with back to back homers from Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira in the eight inning. And mind you, they were down to their last out then.

The Boston Red Sox simply had no answer for the Yankees as New York defeated Boston 5-2 for the four-game sweep. To say that the last four games in the new Yankee stadium were special could very well be an understatement since the four-game series with Boston marked the first time that the crowd watching Yankee games screamed that loud.

”It felt like the playoffs,” Johnny Damon said.

It sure felt like the postseason as Yankee fans were in a sense of hysteria only reserved for huge playoff games with a lot at stake. After the Yankees rallied with four runs on 15 pitches in the eight inning with Matt Teixeira hitting another homer…

Read More » New York Yankees SWEEP the Boston Red Sox

It’s no secret that Big Papi’s 2009 season is off to a painful start.

After 178 at bats, David Ortiz simply hasn’t come up big this 2009 MLB baseball season yet. He only has one home run to his credit this year and to say that the Red Sox clean-up man has been unproductive is an understatement.

David Ortiz has been a great player for the Boston Red Sox organization, but as a designated hitter, Ortiz needs to hit. That is, after all, his value to this team. The question is, how patient are the Red Sox going to be with their star? Will Ortiz go the way of Roger Clemens, Mo Vaughn, and Nomar Garciaparra, former Red Sox players who were fan favorites and yet, were sent packing?

Since coming over from the Twins, David Ortiz has been an invaluable member of the Red Sox team. With the exception of last season, where he spent time on the DL, Ortiz has hit 30 or more homers and driven in over 100 RBIs annually.

This season however, is different. Last month, the Boston Red Sox actually benched their slumping slugger. Manager Terry Francona left the five-time All-Star out of the lineup for the series opener at Seattle, a day after he went 0-for-7 and stranded 12 base runners, tying a team record, in a loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

Ortiz is only batting .208. He is without a…

Read More » What’s wrong with David Ortiz and how long will the Boston Red Sox put up with his shit?

After news broke out that A-Rod used steroids back in his MVP season in 2003, he ended up with even more shit to deal with.

I guess the press just can’t get enough of A-Roid these days heading to the start of the 2009 MLB baseball season. With his ”performance enhancing” issues still far from over, news broke out that A-Rod will be out for six to nine weeks and will undergo arthroscopic surgery that could be the beginning of the end for New York’s prized slugger.

You see, with Alex Rodriguez missing that much heading to the season, we wouldn’t know for sure how effective he can still be. And to make matters worse, he will undergo a second operation after the season, that is if he can play through it at all.

Of course, A-Rod’s doctor, Dr. Marc Philippon, claims he’s confident the New York Yankees slugger will still be able to make a successful return once all the operations are done but with his issues about performance enhancing drugs still lingering in the corner, will the Yankees still take the bait?

Well, the Yankees don’t have much of a choice. They’re stuck with A-Rod for the next eight years since he’s only in his second of a ten-year, $275 million contract. Of course, they can just trade him or buy him out, the question is, can the Yankees afford it.

For now, they remain optimistic…

Read More » More Problems for ‘A-Roid’ Alex Rodriguez with arthroscopic surgery putting him out for nine weeks

Other than, of course, provide the ”veteran leadership” any old fart automatically is rumored to have every time they try to salvage what’s left of their careers.

For 21 seasons, John Smoltz worked for the Atlanta Braves. He started for them, he closed for them and he helped them win a World Series title. Smoltz was as synonymous with the Braves as any player with any major league team.

All that ended when he agreed to terms with the Boston Red Sox. Smoltz thought that he might stay with the Braves for his entire career and do what Tom Glavine, his former teammate, did not.

Instead, at 41, Smoltz switched teams and is diving into the passionate world of the Red Sox for the coming 2009 MLB baseball season. If Smoltz passes a physical, he will get a one-year contract for $5.5 million and the chance to earn about $5 million in incentives.

Because Smoltz had major shoulder surgery last June, it is impossible to know how effective he can still be. The Atlanta Braves, who were flooded with pitching injuries last year, did not want to guarantee Smoltz much more than $2 million.

The Red Sox were. Why not? He is after all a former Cy Young Award winner. Of course, they also have to be worried of his age too.

In addition to Smoltz, the Red Sox have signed outfielder…

Read More » How can John Smoltz possibly help the Red Sox?

What we now know is the fact that the Philadelphia Phillies have already punched in their ticket.

And while Philly awaits who’ll come out of the ALCS to play them in the 2008 MLB World Series, it all heats up in Boston where the locals try to will their Red Sox to force a Game 6 on Saturday, trying to slow down a Tampa Bay team that’s only a win away from advancing to the big dance.

It’s Game 5 of the ALCS as the Tampa Bay Rays, who are now holding a commanding 3-1 series lead after winning three games in a row, look to finish off the Boston Red Sox, a team on the receiving end of three straight debacles after starting this best-of-seven series with a 2-0 win in Tampa.

For what it’s worth, the guy who helped the Boston Red Sox to their only win in the ALCS will be back on the mound. Of course, the Boston faithful will be hoping that he will be able to give their team a similar result the last time he was on the field.

And for all ya’ll wondering who that guy is, it’s Daisuke Matsuzaka. The last time he faced the Rays, he held them scoreless, only giving up four hits in a defensive 2-0 triumph to give Boston the early 1-0 lead after Game 1. He comes back to the mound with his team down 3-1 and another stellar performance from him is BIG considering that it’s win or go home time for his boys.

Game 4 was perfect for the Rays, Evan Longoria hit his…

Read More » Can Dice-K help the Red Sox beat the Rays in Game 5?

That’s where it’s at people.

The 2008 MLB playoffs just got interesting after the two teams trailing in the two best-of-seven championship series wars were able to win one to make the final two wars before the World Series a little more competitive.

First, let’s start with the ALCS where the Tampa Bay Rays won what has been a shootout in Tampa. B.J. Upton helped his team beat the Red Sox 9-8 last Saturday with a shallow fly ball to tie the AL championship series at one game apiece.

The Boston Red Sox were coming in Tampa looking to take the early 2-0 lead. They never anticipated that the Rays will put up a fight nobody probably anticipated. The Red Sox and the Rays combined for seven home runs, tying a postseason record. And after 1:30 a.m., the Rays won a game that lasted five hours, 27 minutes when Perez beat right fielder J.D. Drew’s throw home.

The series shifts to Fenway Park for Game 3 Monday, with left-hander Jon Lester pitching for Boston against the Rays’ Matt Garza.

In the NLCS, the Los Angeles Dodgers came out early and finished of the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 to get back into the series, trimming Philly’s lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven championship series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers started strong courtesy of Blake DeWitt’s bases-loaded…

Read More » Rays tie series with Red Sox 1-1 while Dodgers win Game 3 over Phillies to cut Philly’s lead 2-1

It’s championship series time in baseball people.

You read it, with the 2008 MLB playoffs down to its final two best-of-seven championship series wars, only four teams remain all trying to advance to the biggest stage of them all, the World Series.

Two teams from the National League and another two from the American League will duke it out with a spot at the 2008 MLB World Series at stake. Yes, it only gets better people.

We’ll start with the NLCS as the National League West champions, Los Angeles Dodgers, meet the National League East champions, Philadelphia Phillies in a best-of-seven championship series beginning Thursday.

The Philadelphia Phillies, having the better regular season record, will have the home field advantage for this one. This series marks the first postseason meeting between the Phillies and the Dodgers since the 1983 NLCS, which Philadelphia won 3-1 before losing to Baltimore in the World Series. It also marks the first NLCS for both teams since the Division Series was instituted in 1994.

Overall, this is the fourth time these two teams have met in the postseason. In addition to the 1983 NLCS, the Dodgers defeated…

Read More » The Dodgers – Phillies in the NLCS and Red Sox – Rays in the ALCS are ON in the 2008 MLB Playoffs

OK people, time to shift our attention to baseball for a little bit.

With so much attention focused on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, let us shift our gear to America’s favorite past time for a change, baseball. Teams are already making that push for the playoffs which means it only gets better at this point, especially if you’re a baseball fan.

And as the 2008 MLB baseball season continues, two teams slug it out starting Friday as the three-game season series between the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays unfolds at Fenway Park in Boston.

The Toronto Blue Jays has 61-59 record coming into this one while the Boston Red Sox has an even better 69-51 mark.

The Red Sox – Blue Jays series start at 7pm when Toronto’s Roy Halladay will be matched-up against Boston’s Paul Byrd. Halladay toiled through a career-high 130 pitches in a loss at home to the Indians on Saturday, which makes you wonder how long can his arm hold up against the Boston sluggers.

Paul Byrd on the other hand, who was acquired from Cleveland last Tuesday, will be making his debut for the Boston Red Sox against Toronto. He has been pitching well. He needed just…

Read More » Toronto Blue Jays visit the Boston Red Sox on Friday