MLB Fri, Jul 22, 2005
Overheating: Total sticks in steamy St. Louis
Andrew Folkes
The heat is on in St. Louis and the scoring is way up. But still, the totals aren`t moving.
The weatherman says that starters Jerome Williams and Matt Morris will be working in 95 degree heat and 70 percent humidity when Cardinals and Cubs square off at Busch Stadium today. But oddsmakers have turned a deaf ear and set the total at 8 1/2.
“The only weather condition that really affects baseball totals is wind,” says betWWTS.com oddsmaker Michael Pierce. “That’s why in the home of the Windy City (Chicago), you won’t see a Cubs total posted until a handful of hours before the game.”
That may be the oddsmaker’s philosophy, but the weather seemed to contribute to a high scoring game when the Cards hosted the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday.
On a day when the mercury was pushing 100 degrees, hurlers Chris Capuano and Jason Marquis gave up a combined 11 runs while the bullpens submitted another eight. Milwaukee went on to win the contest 12-7 with the final score easily breaking the 8 ½-run total.
The players’ uniforms dripped with sweat throughout the game and Capuano told reporters that he felt “light headed” at times, although both he and Marquis denied that the weather was responsible for their bloated numbers.
Any number of factors may have contributed to the pitchers` bad night, but the combined heat and humidity definitely gave the hitters an edge.
“I just read something on this not too long ago,” said Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “For every 10 percent of humidity you get when the temperature is over 80 degrees, the ball travels an extra four feet.”
That probably explains how Brewers third baseman Russell Branyan was able to send his homer careening into the right-field scoreboard, a drive estimated at 458 feet.
But while the bats were cracking, the defense dried up and wilted. A throwing error by St. Louis shortstop Abraham Nunez in the third inning resulted in two Milwaukee runs. He also made an ill-advised throw to the plate on Lyle Overbay`s run-scoring groundout. A combined six errors were committed in the contest.
"We were the ones standing around out there," Cardinal second baseman Mark Grudzielanek said. "Then the wind died down toward the ends of the game, and it really started beating down on you. It was a tough day out there."
Today`s forecast figures to give the bats a boost and take its toll on the pitching and defense, but Leonard warns that the weather alone shouldn’t decide your total bet.
“If you’ve checked out the pitchers and [how the teams have been hitting] and you’re already leaning towards the over, it’s just nice to know that the weather’s on your side,” he says.
Oddsmakers have St. Louis listed at -215 and the Cubs listed at +185.
Overheating: Total sticks in steamy St. Louis
Andrew Folkes
The heat is on in St. Louis and the scoring is way up. But still, the totals aren`t moving.
The weatherman says that starters Jerome Williams and Matt Morris will be working in 95 degree heat and 70 percent humidity when Cardinals and Cubs square off at Busch Stadium today. But oddsmakers have turned a deaf ear and set the total at 8 1/2.
“The only weather condition that really affects baseball totals is wind,” says betWWTS.com oddsmaker Michael Pierce. “That’s why in the home of the Windy City (Chicago), you won’t see a Cubs total posted until a handful of hours before the game.”
That may be the oddsmaker’s philosophy, but the weather seemed to contribute to a high scoring game when the Cards hosted the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday.
On a day when the mercury was pushing 100 degrees, hurlers Chris Capuano and Jason Marquis gave up a combined 11 runs while the bullpens submitted another eight. Milwaukee went on to win the contest 12-7 with the final score easily breaking the 8 ½-run total.
The players’ uniforms dripped with sweat throughout the game and Capuano told reporters that he felt “light headed” at times, although both he and Marquis denied that the weather was responsible for their bloated numbers.
Any number of factors may have contributed to the pitchers` bad night, but the combined heat and humidity definitely gave the hitters an edge.
“I just read something on this not too long ago,” said Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “For every 10 percent of humidity you get when the temperature is over 80 degrees, the ball travels an extra four feet.”
That probably explains how Brewers third baseman Russell Branyan was able to send his homer careening into the right-field scoreboard, a drive estimated at 458 feet.
But while the bats were cracking, the defense dried up and wilted. A throwing error by St. Louis shortstop Abraham Nunez in the third inning resulted in two Milwaukee runs. He also made an ill-advised throw to the plate on Lyle Overbay`s run-scoring groundout. A combined six errors were committed in the contest.
"We were the ones standing around out there," Cardinal second baseman Mark Grudzielanek said. "Then the wind died down toward the ends of the game, and it really started beating down on you. It was a tough day out there."
Today`s forecast figures to give the bats a boost and take its toll on the pitching and defense, but Leonard warns that the weather alone shouldn’t decide your total bet.
“If you’ve checked out the pitchers and [how the teams have been hitting] and you’re already leaning towards the over, it’s just nice to know that the weather’s on your side,” he says.
Oddsmakers have St. Louis listed at -215 and the Cubs listed at +185.
