HOME TEAM IN CAPS
All games are listed pitchers unless stated otherwise.
Cleveland +1.05 over CHICAGO
The Indians are completely loaded with young talent and they could explode at any second. Look out if they get out to a big start because should that come to pass, nobody will pass them. Gary Sizemore, Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner may just turn out to be the deadliest hitting trio of the year. C.C. Sabathia is a quality southpaw who is coming off his best year in terms of his ERA, which was 3.22. Against the White Sox last season Sabathia went 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA. Cleveland had serious bullpen problems last year (23 blown saves) but addressed that issue by picking up closer Joe Borowski and relievers Roberto Hernandez and Aaron Fultz. Jose Contreras will get the start for the South Side. Contreras battled a back injury in the second half of last year and didn’t win a single game after the all-star break. Contreras pitched twice last year against the Tribe and in those two starts he posted a 6.55 ERA. Indians are definitely worth keeping an eye on and definitely have a great chance to open with a win. Play: Cleveland +1.05 (Risking 2 units).<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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></o>Los Angeles +1.12 over MILWAUKEE
Derek Lowe opens the season for the Dodgers and at this venue his career ERA is 0.64. That works and so does the fact that the Dodgers may actually score some runs this season. They added one of the best leadoff hitters in the game in Juan Pierre who scored 100, 93 and 87 runs the last three years playing for offensively challenged clubs. Pierre will get on base, he always does and that should set up nicely for newcomer Juan Gonzalez and vets Nomar Garciaparra or Jeff Kent to bring him home. The Dodgers appear to be a threat to win the division. Experts claim that the Brewers might be one of the more improved teams in the business this year but we don’t see how. Once again they’ll strike out far too often with guys like Geoff Jenkins (129 k’s last year), Prince Fielder(142 k’s last year), Bill Hall (162 k’s last year), Rickie Weeks (92 k’s in 95 games played) and the list goes on. Derek Lowe’s wicked sinkerball should have the Brewers whiffing at air all day long. Ben Sheets is a stud for sure, however, he likely won’t go more then six innings and who knows how effective he’ll be. The guy has spent a ton of time on the DL over the years and the coaching staff is going to be very careful with him. Play: Los Angeles +1.12 (Risking 2 units).<o
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></o>KANSAS CITY +1.55 over Boston S
Curt Schilling gets the start for the popular Red Sox and that makes this a double overdose of an inflated line. Schilling + Boston = you pay a dividend to make this wager. Boston is baseball, it’s a baseball town and it always will be and that means that the Red Sox will once again challenge for the division. They added a good leadoff hitter in Julio Lugo and added a bat in J.D. Drew. However, Schilling is now 40-years-old and he came into camp overweight and unfit. He was 15-7 last year, however, the opposition hit a solid .276 against him and he allowed 220 hits in 204 innings. In three starts at Kauffman Stadium he went 1-2 with an ERA of 6.20. Throw in a tender ankle and it says here that Schilling will be more hittable this year then ever and it might not be close. The Royals, as you may have read in our futures, will be much improved this season. 55-million dollar man, Gil Meche will open the year and while Meche isn’t the second coming of Bob Gibson he should provide the Royals with some quality innings. The Royals are a team that has a ton of potential and a lot of young talent, which also means a lot of question marks. However, they finally have a proven closer in Octavio Dotel, who had seven good outings in the spring and one bad one. He struck out 15 batters in 8.2 innings. At the very least the Royals will be an enthusiastic club to start the year and it may just last well into the dog days. Overlay Play: Kansas City +1.55 (Risking 2 units).
