afternoon mlb parlay / wednesday ....

ill play about 4 or 5 parlays a season in baseball. im just not a big fan of them and really dont think theyre conducive to making good money. but heres one spot afternoon spot where im making an exception.

tampa (+115)
oakland under 10 (-120)

hammel was miserable last year but he has been surprisingly good in his spot starts this year. unfortunately, he doesnt have any wins to show for two very good efforts against two of the best lineups in baseball (yankees and red sox). he's been on a pitch count but has given up a combined 4 runs on 4 hits in over 9 innings against those two power offenses. the 5:5 walk/strikeout ration is a bit of a concern, albeit in a small starting sample.

im wondering just how hard the blue jays defense is going to be playing behind towers in this one after he ripped his teammates last week. it takes some stones to basically throw teammates under the bus when youre sporting a 5-7 record and a 5+ era. like one unnamed teammate reportedly said: "“that’s not exactly cy young speaking up.”

yeah, i know some baseball people might say that it was good that someone on the underachieving jays spoke out. but josh towers? give me a break. the guy clearly took the wrong approach to airing it out. will the jays be busting ass on balls hit in the gap or diving to keep hits from tricking into the outfield? im not sure.

bottom line is im taking my chances with tampa.

as for detroit, im a big believer in playing the under in afternoon games when two lefties match up. i know robertson has been pounded his last two starts, but oakland is pretty damn putrid against lefties this season. braden has gone under in 4 of his last 5 starts. detroit is really struggling on this west coast trip. i think this is a 5-3 kind of game.

Might consider hopping aboard this one Prodigy. I played the under a couple nights ago with Tata/Blanton, I just think any total over 9 that includes McAfee Coliseum is just to many runs. Good luck bud.

Like it prod.

tampa game was capped pretty well.
but im not sure i want to take any credit if this oakland game manages to sneak through. these two have been putting a ton of runners on base and in scoring position and simply not getting them in. combo of good relief work so far and some 'untimely' hitting. hoping for 6 more quick outs.

good call on that tampa game prod. hope you pull this oak under buddy. anything for tonight you like at all. be a roller coaster this week so far. need a good day to hit and get the train going in one direction instead of back and forth.

smoke:

anaheim, cleveland, and frisco all stand out. i was a little lukewarm on frisco at first but i am pretty sold that theyre the way to go in that game. lincecum has been been lights out in his last 6 starts (6 earned runs in 30+ innings). not a fan of hendrickson at all.

anaheim normally does a good job of making hernandez work and throw a lot of pitches. angels have hit him well in his career. i think they take this one.

its only august 1st, but this is a big, big game for cleveland. theyre starting to slip. yanks are charging hard. detroit keeps leaving the door open. but cleveland hasnt been able to take advantage of tigers recent play. fortunately they get byrd on the mound and he brings them consistency. his numbers dont jump at you. but he is all but guaranteed of holding texas to 3 or less runs. if indians cant take advantage of rheinecker, that would be pretty sad. im not totally surprised mccarthy pitched well for the rangers yesterday. he is a good young arm. but the indians should hit rheinecker tonight. and the texas bullpen is depleted with the recent trades.

trouble brewing in the bottom of the 8th despite the ball not being put in play so far.

Totally agree on the Indians tonight Prodigy. May make a play on them also. Think those bats awaken tonight.

Hafner is killing them this year too. .256 average, 0-4 last night...Hmm.