5*****
Braves/Marlins OVER 8.5
I'm not going to call this a Play of the Year because it's so early in the season and anything can happen, but this is a very, VERY strong play.
Atlanta was shut out last game and you better bet that they won't be shut out again. That's pretty obvious. In baseball when you get shut out the day before, you come out and work pitch counts the next day and find ways to get on base. They are going to make an aged Al Leiter work, and they are going to make him throw strikes. That's going to be a perfect strategy for the Braves today with Leiter having a history of walking hitters and that's not getting any better with age. He struggled with control in the Spring and admitted he's having control problems but that he's "always" had them. Last time Leiter pitched in a Marlins uniform, it was Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. He's a lot older now and he's going to come out and try to do too much with the "damned if you do and damned if you don't" cloud hanging over him. Marlins shut the Braves out yesterday, so any less of a performance by him won't be as good as yesterday.
Leiter has bounced from Marlins to Mets to Marlins and the NL East has seen plenty of Al Leiter. Leiter's stuff is flattening out with age, and the Braves hitters have seen him plenty of times.
I've said this for a long time, I feel Hampton might be one of the most overrated pitchers in baseball still riding his one good season about 4 or 5 years ago. His stuff isn't that good, and he gets people out simply because he is an average lefty. He doesn't pitch as well on the road, and the Marlins hitters will come out extremely confident today after hanging 9 yesterday. Hitting is all about confidence and it is contagious. There's no way this game stays Under 8.5 and if it does, it's just one of those very rare instances. Mike Hampton is also a very good hitter for being a pitcher so there is no hole in the Braves lineup today. Both pitchers will not pitch deep into the game being both of their first starts of the season and it will be another bullpen fest and all it takes is for one of those guys in the pen to be having a bad day like we saw with the guy coming in after Kazmir yesterday hanging a 5 spot in the 6th. Final should be somewhere around 8-5.
Braves/Marlins OVER 8.5
I'm not going to call this a Play of the Year because it's so early in the season and anything can happen, but this is a very, VERY strong play.
Atlanta was shut out last game and you better bet that they won't be shut out again. That's pretty obvious. In baseball when you get shut out the day before, you come out and work pitch counts the next day and find ways to get on base. They are going to make an aged Al Leiter work, and they are going to make him throw strikes. That's going to be a perfect strategy for the Braves today with Leiter having a history of walking hitters and that's not getting any better with age. He struggled with control in the Spring and admitted he's having control problems but that he's "always" had them. Last time Leiter pitched in a Marlins uniform, it was Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. He's a lot older now and he's going to come out and try to do too much with the "damned if you do and damned if you don't" cloud hanging over him. Marlins shut the Braves out yesterday, so any less of a performance by him won't be as good as yesterday.
Leiter has bounced from Marlins to Mets to Marlins and the NL East has seen plenty of Al Leiter. Leiter's stuff is flattening out with age, and the Braves hitters have seen him plenty of times.
I've said this for a long time, I feel Hampton might be one of the most overrated pitchers in baseball still riding his one good season about 4 or 5 years ago. His stuff isn't that good, and he gets people out simply because he is an average lefty. He doesn't pitch as well on the road, and the Marlins hitters will come out extremely confident today after hanging 9 yesterday. Hitting is all about confidence and it is contagious. There's no way this game stays Under 8.5 and if it does, it's just one of those very rare instances. Mike Hampton is also a very good hitter for being a pitcher so there is no hole in the Braves lineup today. Both pitchers will not pitch deep into the game being both of their first starts of the season and it will be another bullpen fest and all it takes is for one of those guys in the pen to be having a bad day like we saw with the guy coming in after Kazmir yesterday hanging a 5 spot in the 6th. Final should be somewhere around 8-5.
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