Chopping Lines: Banking on Glavine’s Brittle Old Bones
READ MORE: A.J. Benza, Chopping Lines, MLB Betting, New York Mets, Washington Nationals
7:10 p.m.
Washington Nationals (73-71, H. Carrasco)
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New York Mets (71-72, T. Glavine)
Best Line: METS -162, NATS +165
The New York Cockteasers (formerly known as the Mets) have been thisclose to stealing the New York thunder usually reserved for the Yankees all season long. They could still do it, provided they turn a deaf ear to their demons and bust their asses these final 19 games. And they catch two big breaks tonight against the Nationals, who are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Mets in the Wild Card race. First, the Nats had to scratch John Patterson as their starter because - listen to this - his sinus infection and bronchitis turned into a case of asthma. Instead Hector Carrasco takes the hill. Patterson lost his only decision against the Mets, but he posted an ERA of 2.84 thru 19 innings. Second, the old and improved Tom Glavine has rolled up his sleeves and silently posted some real decent work for the Cockteasers. In his last two performances against the Braves, Glavine went a cumulative 15 innings and gave up just two runs. In his 11 starts since the All-Star break, Glavine’s ERA is 2.48, the 7th lowest in the National League in that span. Take the Mets tonight and watch Carlos Beltran finally step out and begin to carry his team.
BENZAPICK!: METS -162
Chopping Lines: There’s a Thunder Cloud in Philly and It’s Name is Not Cory Lidle
READ MORE: A.J. Benza, Chopping Lines, MLB Betting, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals (63-57, R. Drese)
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Philadelphia Phillies
(64-56, C.Lidle)
Best Line: PHI -160, Washington +158
You want brotherly love? How about South Philly and South Jersey fans buying some 9,000 walk-up tickets at their last home game with their beloved Phillies suddenly winning 6 of 7 games and surprisingly atop the National League Wild Card race. Chalk it up to Bobby Abreu finally heating up after his (needless) 41-home run performance at the All Star Game slightly put a small tear in his off-his-ass muscle. There’s no doubt Philly can smell the aroma of old backs breaking down out at the Houston Astro Ranch and are looking to make this a race to the end. The pitching mound gets heavier tonight with meaningless mounds Cory Lidle opposing the Nats’ Ryan Drese. Not much of an advantage to speak of in terms of pitching, but Drese did spit up 6 runs over 5 1/3 in his last start. The price is very high on Philly, so go lightly or don’t go at all.
BENZAPICK!: Phi -160
(YTD 4-1)
Chopping Lines: The Revenge of Chief Knock-A-Homa
READ MORE: Atlanta Braves, Chopping Lines, Washington Nationals
1:05 p.m.
Washington Nationals (55-46, R. Drese)
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Atlanta Braves (57-44, J. Sosa)
Best Line: Atlanta Braves -172
Looking at the schedule in the beginning of the season who could have thought that the winner of this series would be in first place in the NL East? After last night’s 4-3 win against the pesky Nationals, Atlanta leads the NL East by a slim two game margin over Washington. The Nationals had a five and a half game lead in the NL East but have dropped eight consecutive one run games. In the final game of their three game series, Washington looks to avoid a sweep in Fulton County as they meet the Braves this afternoon at 1:05 pm.
The Braves have the leagues second best home record at 31-14 and hope Jorge Sosa (5-1, 2.55) will continue to bedazzle on the mound. He is starting in place of Mike Hampton who is on the 15-day DL with a back injury. Sosa coming out of the bullpen has been a savior for Bobby Cox’s team who have won seven of Sosa’s last eight starts. Starting Atlanta catcher, Johnny Estrada, is out today as he completes the second of his two game suspension for an altercation with an umpire.
The Nationals look to get within a game of first place with Ryan Drese (7-9, 5.56 ERA) tossing the hardball. Drese has pitched well at times this year, but he is awful on the road. This year his record is 3-6 on the road with a 7.71 ERA. In his last outing against the Astros he took the loss against Roger Clemens and gave up two runs in the first inning of the Nationals 14-1 loss. Drese’s road woes look to continue this afternoon against the Braves.
PICK! Atlanta Braves -172
MLB Betting: Three Teams to Look at For Future World Series Payouts
READ MORE: Baseball, Betting, Futures, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals
Oakland Athletics, +8000: Sure they always fall apart in the playoffs, but their pitching is always solid, the Angels are starting to fall apart and the Yankees and Red Sox could always wear each other out. And MC Hammer was once their bat boy.
Washington Nationals,+2000: Window may be closing, but stranger things have happened. Look at the Marlins two years ago for a prime example of a team from nowhere going all the way. With Hernandez hurt(but playing), it may be too late for the Nats, but still a solid investment at +2,000. However, all of this depends on how the Supreme Court nomination hearings play out. Judge John G. Roberts is allegedly a Braves fan.
St. Louis Cardinals, 15 to 4: So, apparently you can still make money off of this team that is seemingly going to dominate throughout the entire year and could very well dominate in the World Series as well. Can we really make money off betting on the Cardinals? Not enough to pay for our daughter’s wedding, but we could possibly get her a limo for prom night.
World Series Odds (Left Side of Page) [Gambling 911]
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Hope You Enjoyed the Nationals’ Party—Now Please Leave
READ MORE: Sports Betting: MLB, Value, Washington Nationals
Remember all that value we were getting out of the surprising Washington Nationals this year? How we couldn’t figure out how a team so incredibly hot and seemingly unbeatable in one run games would hit the wall? Nationals, meet wall. Livan Hernandez(12-4, 3.42), the Nats all-star pitcher is 99 percent certain he’ll forego the rest of his stellar season to have surgery on his knee. It’s been a great run for D.C.’s scrappy squad of cast-offs and young bucks, but without solid run production and now their number one starter contemplating surgery, don’t be surprised if those great steals suddenly start to dry up. Today, the Nats are +120 against Houston with Esteban Loaiza going against the Astros’ lanky-yanker Roy Oswalt tonight.
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