Chopping Lines: Three Games to Make Wednesday Go Quicker
TAGS: Chopping Lines, Day Games, Sports Betting: MLB
12:35 p.m.
Houston Astros (47-46, A.Pettite)
at
Pittsburgh Pirates (40-54, J.Fogg)
Line: Houston -158, O/U 8
Josh Fogg has faced the Astros twice this season and lost twice. Pettite has a split with the Pirates, but only gave up two runs between both games. The Astros are making a push for a wildcard and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in trade talks to get the Florida Marlins’ Mike Lowell’s one nut and .232 average to play third base for them. Easy.
Pick!: Astros and Under
1:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (32-63, M. Hendrickson)
at
Boston Red Sox (51-42, D. Wells)
Line: Tampa Bay +240, 10.5 o/u
Tampa Bay Devil Ray’s starter Mark Hendrickson stands at 6’9 inches tall. David Wells waddles at 6’9 inches wide. In most cases, we’d take the Red Sox easily with this game. However, we’re going to go out on a shaky limb and predict that during a humid day game, Wells’ girth will smash the line. Boston has to drop two of three from the Devil Rays or the AL East just won’t be that interesting anymore. Fun prop bet would be over/under on the amount of David Well’s back sweat.
Pick!: Tampa Bay and Over.
Atlanta Braves (53-42, J. Smoltz)
at
San Francisco Giants (41-52,N. Lowry)
Line: Atl -168, o/u 8
Atlanta is 8-2 in John Smoltz’s last ten starts and the incredibly bland San Franciso Giants are no match for him and his Jeffrey Tambor hairline. This is the time for Atlanta’s usual second-half stand and losing ground on the Washington Nationals is not going to happen on Smoltz’s watch. And Noah Lowry is, well, not very good, even though he leads the team in ERA at 4.52. Andruw Jones may hit a ball to Alcatrazz this afternoon.
Pick!: Atlanta and Over
Bet here: MLB Betting [Bodog]
MLB Betting: A Lowe Down Dirty Shame
TAGS: Derek Lowe, Sports Betting: MLB
Covers has once again called out a struggling pitcher for screwing up bettor’s pockets and this time it’s Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher—and Boston Red Sox post-season Lazarus—Derek Lowe. Lowe’s last five consecutive losses, homer happy pitching, and lack of run support have made him a money loser and playing at Citizen’s Bank Ballpark where homeruns to to the power alleys can be hit with broken twigs does not make him an attractive play at all for tomorrow night’s start. It seems like every year Derek Lowe is doing something wrong. Maybe he just needs a hug?
MLB Betting: Wade Miller Sucks the Mighty Python
TAGS: 5-Inning Bets, Sports Betting: MLB, Wade Miller
We’ll admit it. We were fooled by the prospects of the once better-than-average Houston Astros’ pitcher Wade Miller moving his rag arm over to Beantown with the hopes of a career resurgence. We drafted him relatively high on our fantasy team and, lo, even boasted about it convincing ourselves that he was an absolute steal in the 14th round. Well, luckiliy we’ve traded him away and can wash our hands clean of the Wade Miller experience. Those of you out there content to to take 5-inning flyers on Miller every outing he pitches, well, you’re not so lucky. In fact, you’re probably miserable and taking out pay day loans every fifth day just to make up for your losses. Well, Covers is on top of the phenomenon and is issuing a Defcon warning out about Miller’s final starts and how you shouldn’t bet on this guy even if he was pitching in your company’s softball game.
MLB Betting: The Rules For a Successful Betting Season
TAGS: Betting Rules, Sports Betting: MLB
In the same way women have rules for dating and emasculating men for their own personal gain, there are also rules for betting on major league baseball. The Molson guzzling Tyler Durdens over at Covers have outlined a few rules that every hardluck bettor with an eye on coming out ahead throughout the insufferably long baseball season should abide by. The first rule of baseball betting? Don’t bet on the favorites. The second rule of baseball betting? Don’t talk about betting on the favorites. Or something like that.
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MLB Betting: Yankess vs. Red Sox Part Deux
TAGS: Sports Betting: MLB
So, didn’t we say that something screwy would happen? Red Sox put up 4 in the first then the Yankees come back, then Ortiz gives them the lead, then Yankees tie it, then…Schilling. As soon as the bloody socked yapper strode to the mound and faced Gary Sheffield you knew something was amiss. And Alex Rodriguez made him pay for it with a two-run bomb, Mariano Rivera comes into close, game over. That -101 line wasn’t deceiving, it was pretty much dead nuts perfect. Now, today’s match-up is a completely different story, Boston is a -151 favorite with the pear-shaped booze hound, David Wells, pitching for the Red Sox. The Yankees? Well, they trot out one of their latest pitching acquisitions, bloop ball speicalist Tim Redding and his 9.10 ERA. We don’t expect Redding to last more than two innings and, in fact, we have a side bet that says he makes less than 25 pitches. At -151, the odds aren’t a great pay-off for Red Sox, but this may be the only game in the series that we’d be our adopted Ethiopian baby on the Red Sox.
Yankees At Red Sox [Covers]
MLB Betting: Teams To Bet On This Second Half
TAGS: Sports Betting: MLB
So, you’re finally finished dreading the last half of the season and all about finally using some of that tax return money for something useful. Betting on the second half of the baseball season is a lot easier. You can see the hot teams, the clunkers, and the ones that are pretenders. So, the clever Canadian elves at Covers have done all the kooky math and the apt breakdowns and let us know who we should be betting on from July to October. And wouldn’t you know it that the Houston Astros are doing the same thing they did last year and top the list? Too bad there’s no Beltran-like trade that’s possible.
MLB Top 5 Second Half Scorchers [Covers]
Yankees/Red Sox: When Is This Not the Game of the Day?
TAGS: Sports Betting: MLB
See what happens when you bet rivalry games? You get a nosebleed. Sometimes it’s from an ornery Yankees’ fan carrying a piece of wood, but most often it’s from the unpredictable swings of the game. So, the second half of the season kicks off with the continuation of the ongoing biblical battle between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Right now, oddsmakers have the Red Sox a puny -101 favorite, giving them the slight edge due to their first place record, homefield advantage, and the unwieldy return of Curt Schilling to the bullpen. Covers breaks down all of the angles, but like any rivalry game, we’ve found it’s best to stay away from betting on such matters. The pick ‘em is always in effect and something crazy is bound to happen that usually defies all odds, logic, and reasonable gambling intuition. The intangibles in Yankees/Red Sox make all of these lines irrelevant. If you’re going to bet on one game today, why not jump on the Horacio Ramirez bandwagon and sidle up to the underdog Atlanta Braves this evening?
Game of the Day: Yanks at Red Sox [Covers[
Yankees vs. Red Sox Lines [Covers]
Home Run Derby: I Like It When You Call Me Big Papi
TAGS: Sports Betting: MLB
So, the kooky whiskey bums at Covers are all confused by the Home Run Derby odds. They’re confused because Boston Red Sox’s designated hitter David Ortiz is the favorite, even though he’s not the league leader in home runs in the competition. In fact, he’s not even in the top ten. But, then again, when you look at the field of competition, it’s easy to see why many bettors would take a flyer on Ortiz(+280). Has the home run derby gone the way of the NBA dunk contest? It seems that way with this type of field:
Philadelphia`s Bobby Abreu (+500, Venezuela), Pittsburgh`s Jason Bay (+800, Canada), Atlanta`s Andruw Jones (+400, the Netherlands), Detroit`s Ivan Rodriguez (+1000, Puerto Rico), Los Angeles Dodgers` Hee-Seop Choi (+1200, Korea) and Texas` Mark Teixeira (+450, United States) round out the other six competitors.
You would think that they could use some part of Barry Bonds’ body to participate. Or they should make it like a cage match in WWF and start bringing back special super stars. Like put Jose Canseco in the competition and if he wins it, he gets into the Hall of Fame. Just something. Instead we’ll be watching Hee-Sop Choi go head-to-head with Jason Bay. Christ.
Book: HR Derby ‘Popularity’ Contest [Covers]
All-Star Game Odds: What Happens If The Game Just Stops Again?
TAGS: Sports Betting: MLB
It’s no surprise that the American League with their jacked-up lineup is favored by 1.5 runs in this years Major Leage Baseball All-Star Game, according to online bookmakers Sportsbook. But the All-Star game, to be held July 12 in Detroit, will also feature one of the most potent pitching lineups on both sides and most books are expecting the under to hit on many bets with the decrease in run production throughout the league this year. Sportsbook also offers individual prop bets like whether or not Los Angeles Angels’ outfielder Vladimir Guerrero will hit a homerun, if Boston Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon will score a run, MVP voting, and whether or not the Detroit faithful will set something on fire outside of the stadium before hand. Or is that just on Halloween that they do that?
Sportsbook.com Lists All-Star Game Odds [I-News Wire]
Chicks Dig the Juiceless Long Ball
TAGS: Sports Betting: MLB
Amazingly, plenty of major leaguers are still finding the strength and ability to make contact with fastballs and launch them over the fence. Yes, the home run is still around—even if Sammy Sosa’s triceps and deltoids are not. The spunky canucks at Covers highlighted the props for the major league’s potential home run kings and have Andruw Jones, the current leader with 26, as the early 5-2 favorite, but predict his eventual backslide from the top spot(as usual). Covers puts Chicago Cubs first baseman Derek Lee(25 homers) as the second favorite with 7-2 odds, but the latest shoulder injury could also move those as well and knock him off his 50 homer pace. St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols is the third favorite with 22 home runs and 8-1 odds. And everybody’s favorite obsessive tooth flosser New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is at 15-1 odds, with 21 plaque-free bombs.
The Sagging Breasts Of Coors Field
TAGS: Sports Betting: MLB
Used to be, you could always count on Coors Field in fantasy baseball. Dante Bichette might have been about as useful as Suzanne Pleshette playing anywhere outside of Denver, but once the Rockies had a long homestand, you could count on him carrying your team for a week — and you could always feel comfortable betting the over. Those days are gone. Covers looks at the sinking home run rate in Colorado and deciphers that pitchers are improving, steroids are vanishing and/or the Rockies themselves just aren’t very good.
Lou Piniella Single Handedly Tries To Screw Books
TAGS: Sports Betting: MLB
Hoo boy. The floundering Tampa Bay Devil Rays haven’t been kind to bettors all year. Unless they’re getting a run line +2 1/2 or more there rarely has been a reason to touch them. And now, well, there will even be less of a reason to touch them as hat-chucking, tinderbox manager Lou Piniella has vowed to start a reliever for the first two innings of tonight’s game against the Chicago White Sox. Tonight’s starter is scheduled to be Casey Fossum(3-6) against Jose Contreras(3-5). Whether Fossum throws the first pitch or not could be a major set back for those two of you out there that bet on the Devil Rays.
Lou Resorts to Starting Backward [St. Petersburg Times]
MLB Lines [Covers]
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