MLB Futures: And The Favorite To Win the 2006 World Series Is…

READ MORE: Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Future Bets, Houston Astros, MLB Betting, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals

The Yankees. Christ. Yes, New York’s overpaid, underachieving goon squad is once again a 6/1 favorite to win the World Series next year according to the oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com. The newly crowned Chicago White Sox and runner-up Houston Astros are at 12/1. Respect.

Other favorites include the Boston Red Sox at 8/1 and those plucky St. Louis Cardinals at 7/1. The turd-dweller of the bunch is the always entertaining Kansas City Royals, who now sit at a health 500/1 to win the World Series. Get your season tickets now!

Sportsbook.com Posts 2006 World Series Odds [PR News Wire]

Chopping Lines: The March of the Red Death

READ MORE: Chopping Lines, Houston Astros, NLCS Betting, St. Louis Cardinals

8:05 p.m.

(Astros Lead Series 3-2)

Best Line: STL -145, HOU +146

With all of the smart money being thrown at the Houston Astros, it’s apparent that most people think dodgystarter Roy Oswalt can derail any of the heroic momentum from Monday night sparked by Albert Pujols and the resilient Cardinals. Here’s the thing, however: With Cardinal fans bashing their dopey Thunderstix and getting all misty over what could potentially be the last game at Busch Stadium is it entirely possible that they’ve already given up on the series? Oswalt tonight and Clemens for game 7 doesn’t bode well for the Redbirds. Once again, it’ll be a close game tonight, but if the smart money is on the Astros, that’s where we’ll lay ours. We just hope that crazy Hurricane Wilma doesn’t show up. Or Ugueth Urbina, for that matter.

PICK!: HOU +146

NLCS Betting: Wise Guys Love Oswalt

READ MORE: Houston Astros, MLB Betting, NLCS, St. Louis Cardinals

With the public jumping all over the St. Louis Cardinals and Mark Mulder for tonight’s NLCS tilt-a-whirl, the bookies have all piled on to Houston Astros’ pitcher Roy Oswalt and his +140 underdog price. Not good news for Cardinals’ backers and fans as we know that all that money going one direction usually spells disaster for a team. In gambling terms, of course. However, we cannot overlook the fact that, well, stranger things have happened before. But we also can’t forget the Astros were christened that lovable “team of destiny” early on. We’ll admit that if the Cardinals’ do pull off the comeback in this series we’ll be curious to see if Astros’ knock-out closer Brad Lidge becomes the next Donnie Moore.

Sharps Throwing Cash at Houston Hurler [Covers]
Houston Astros at St. Louis Cardinals [Covers]

Oddjack Betting: Cleaning Out Our Pujols

READ MORE: American Gambling News, Houston Astros, Indianapolis Colts, Oddjack Betting, St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Rams

· We won’t make the mistake of not owning up to our little competition with the king shark over at American Gambling News. We will reluctantly acknowledge the fact that he’s beating us so far in head-to-head competition—for now. Yes, last night’s pick of the Rams at +14 seemed to be working out just fine, until the Indianapolis Colts defense(which is getting as much press as, oh, the ‘85 Bears D right now) started taking over the game. What. The. Fuck. Get Mike Martz off the sidelines and put him in a hermetically-sealed bubble or something. We know that idiot is still tinkering.

· And, ooooh, that must have hurt for all those people who picked the Astros last night. Yow. Worked out for us, actually. Good thing Albert Pujols has a soft spot for dogs.

· The betting public has moved onto the Astros for tomorrow night’s game, however. STL sporting -150 right now. That’s a little too high a number for us against Roy Oswalt—but we could change our minds by the afternoon. Hangover still telling us to pick the Astros.

Chopping Lines: Roy Oswalt Shall Make Us Whole

READ MORE: Chopping Lines, Houston Astros, MLB Betting, St. Louis Cardinals

8 p.m.

St. Louis Cardinals

Best Line: HOU +140, STL -142

Oh, how we suck at baseball picks. Even though we won that White Sox game last night, well, we still don’t really feel like we won it. We’re sure you know what we mean. So, tonight’s pick means great news for St. Louis Cardinals’ fans as we take our mush MLB picks and once again side with the underdog Astros. We’re always perplexed when Roy Oswalt pitches because of his body type. On paper it says he’s close to six-feet-tall, but when you watch him pitch, it’s like watching one of those half-dwarfs on the mound. Yet, the half-dwarf can dominate and we think Mark Mulder will get shelled tonight. Just a hunch. Look for the Astros bats to strike first tonight and stave off the Cardinals’ offense and their crowds’ new bizarre fascination with Thunder Stix. Honestly, were rally towels getting too expensive?

PICK!: HOU + 140

Chopping Lines: Welcome to Astrodome

READ MORE: Chopping Lines, Houston Astros, MLB Betting, National League Division Series, St. Louis Cardinals

8 p.m.

St. Louis Cardinals

Best Line: STL -160, HOU +164

With the concerns over Andy Pettite’s health going into this evening, we’re a little skeptical about hopping on this underdog pick even though we really, really want to. We’re actually trying not to follow our instincts for once when it comes to MLB betting because the results of our flawed logic have led to nothing but one disaster after another. As you may have noticed, our pick last night also went to mush. But tonight we’ll continue to be stubborn and continue to hope for good things. We saw last night that an exhausted team does not neccessarily make a lesser team. Andy Pettite has had strong outings against the Cardinals in three starts—but only one victory. However, we’ll take the Pettite points, wait for more Chris Burke heroics, and let destiny cash us in.

PICK!: HOU +164

MLB Betting: Should You Stay Away From the Sleepwalking Astros?

READ MORE: Houston Astros, MLB Betting, National League Division Series, St. Louis Cardinals

We were thinking the same thing as we looked at tomorrow’s NLCS rematch between the Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals. How could these guys have anything left after the 18-inning game against the Atlanta Braves? We get tired going outside to get the mail and walking up a flight of stairs. How must Phil Garner’s squad feel at this point?

As +150 underdogs tonight, the Astros don’t really have much of a shot. All that confidence from Sunday’s victory could be erased quickly once somebody falls asleep in the batter’s box or one of his relievers’ arms flies off during their third pitch. Covers doesn’t like the Astros chances either, but they put little stats on it instead of being stupid like us:
· The Cardinals beat the Astros 11 our of 16 times this season.
· Astros’ starter Andy Pettite hasn’t given up a lot of runs against the Astros(under 3).
· He hasn’t won much either in three starts(1).
· Phil Garner has a mustache.

Marathon Men: Are the Astros Burned Out? [Covers]

Chopping Lines: Rebirth of the Padres

READ MORE: Chopping Lines, MLB Playoff Betting, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals

4:00 p.m.

San Diego Padres

Best Line: SD +250, STL -235

We’re probably going to regret doing this, but it’s Thursday and we’re in the mood to gamble. We’re also in the mood for a milkshake so if somebody could get on that, we’d appreciate it. As we previously showed, Cardinals’ starter Mark Mulder has been a wilting turd on the mound lately. Especially during day games. What we should focus on is how well Pedro Astacio has pitched for the Padres since coming over from the Texas Rangers. Astacio has won his last five starts with an ERA a little over 2 and pitched deep into games in most of them. Now that stud pitcher Jake Peavy is out for the year with a broken rib, somebody on the staff has to step-up and the Padres little offensive flurry the last two innings of the last game shows they’re a team that won’t go away as easily as people think. There’s a big pay-out on that +250 number; we’ll hop on it and hope for the best.

PICK!: SD +250

MLB Betting: Mulder’s Yips a Cause for Alarm

READ MORE: MLB Playoff Betting, Mark Mulder, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals

Beleaguered St. Louis Cardinals starter Mark Mulder takes the mound this afternoon for the second game of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres and the hefty -220 pricetag he’s carrying has some bookmakers perplexed. According to one Covers’ expert, this number is waaay too generous for Mulder considering his recent performances:

“I think there is some cause for concern,” says Covers Expert Steve Merril. “It’s one thing for him to get shelled, but to give up that many walks, that shows a control problem. Sure it didn’t mean much, but you just can’t turn it on right away.”

Mulder’s winless in his last six starts and has been wretched in day games—a 2-5 record with a 6.86 ERA, compared to a 14-3 record, 2.26 ERA when the lights come on. Obviously, Mulder has trouble pitching with a hangover. All those betting on the Cardinals today should hope he didn’t go all Kyle Orton last night.

Mulder’s Struggles Concern Handicapper [Covers]

MLB Betting: Not A Good Day To Be Named ‘Clement’ or ‘Oddjack’

READ MORE: Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, MLB Betting, New York Yankees, Recap, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals 8, San Diego Padres 5
Status=LOSS

· Well, apparently that whole Jake-Peavy-will-take-over-the-world theory wasn’t the best approach to take in yesterday’s St. Louis Cardinals-San Diego Padres game. The Padres pulled together a rally a little too late to keep us interested, but we were pretty sure the toothless Padres didn’t have a six-run 9th innning comeback in them. That was the one thing we were right about this game. The rest of the series appears to be all St. Louis—especially now that Peavy’s done for the year with a rib injury.

Chicago White Sox 14, Boston Red Sox 2
STATUS=WIN

· Matt Clement may have been the most over-hyped free agent since the Philadelphia Phillies signed Danny Tartabull as their clean-up hitter in 1995. Clement endeared himself to the Chicago White Sox faithful by promptly giving up eight runs yesterday in the White Sox 14-2 trouncing of the Red Sox. We’re happy Contreras came through for us, plus we hit the OVER bet thanks to Clement.

New York Yankees 4, LAA Angels 2
Status=LOSS

· Bartolo Colon betrayed us. What happened to that first-inning dominance? After Colon got popped around in the first inning, that was all the New York Yankees’ Mike Mussina needed after he went six shutot innnings, then Gordon, then Rivera, then ballgame. A Yankees versus White Sox LCS would be interesting.

Chopping Lines: Peavy’s Big Adventure

READ MORE: Chopping Lines, Chris Carpenter, Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals

1 p.m.

St.Louis Cardinals

Best Line: SD +184, STL -178

It’s a glorious afternoon for baseball. If only it were a bit colder outside, then we’d be absolutely perfect. The first game of the second season features the aformentioned Chris “Gamer” Carpenter versus Jake Peavy. If there’s a game the Padres can take, this is it. Peavy’s all gutsy and gritty, whereas Carpenter has taken the last month off because, well, he could. And what does he have to prove anyway? After two good seasons, he’s a Hall of Famer. Ahem. He’ll prove something if he can switch gears today. Unfortunatley, the Padres lineup has really nothing to fear—unless you’re of the mindset that Ryan Klesko is still “scary” and not in the Scott Engel sense, either. The Padres have as much momentum as they’ve had all year and the Cardinals are primed for a first game let-down. Even the drooling Cardinal kids with leg-braces and hockey helmets are worried. One ape says Padres.

PICK!: SD +180

MLB Betting: If I Were a Chris Carpenter…

READ MORE: Chris Carpenter, Jake Peavy, MLB Betting, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals

With St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter pitching extraordinary throughout 85% of the year, it’s a little foolish to think that his September fart-bubbles should impact how most people are betting the first game of the Cardinals/San Diego Padres game tonight. But that is the case, according to Covers, which says the somewhat reasonable -190 pricetag on the Cardinals this evening is a sign that something’s up. Covers’ expert Brian Gabrielle admits he’s a little chafed by the drop in price.

“I’m a little surprised how low the line is. I’d have put [his odds] at –250. The only think that scares me is that he might be hurt and as a bettor, I’m just worried that someone knows something that I don’t.”

We can only assume it’s two factors: 1.) Padres starter Jake Peavy is a stud; 2.) Chris Carpenter pretty much admitted he’d been mailing it in throughout September—“Granted, as a competitor, the games mean a lot to you. But we clinched, and there was nothing on the line anymore, everybody was talking about who we’re going to play and what day we’re going to play and where, all that stuff. You lose a tiny little edge and you get beat.”

Wow, he sounds like a gamer. Just like Pete Rose, only without the hustle and pride part.

Carpenter’s Collapse Puzzles Sharps [Covers]
The Very Huge Major League Baseball Playoff Preview [BlackTable]