[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]DIRECT FROM NEVADA
WITH NICK BOGDANOVICH[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]BASEBALL'S HOTTEST PITCHER FLYING UNDER THE RADAR[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]See if you can figure out which major league baseball pitcher I'm talking about.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]The young man I'm talking about is Ricky Nolasco of Florida. He had another great outing Monday Night in San Diego. Unfortunately for him, it was overshaded by Kuo's near perfect game for Los Angeles against Atlanta that was happening simultaneously. If it happens with the Florida Marlins, it just doesn't get covered![/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Here are the stats from Nolasco's last six starts:
6 innings, 0 ER, 1 walk, 3K's in a win over Philadelphia
8.2 innings, 2 ER, 1 walk, 12 K's in a win over Tampa Bay
7 innings, 3 ER, 1 walk, 3 K's in a win over Oakland
8 innings, 1 ER, 1 walk, 9 K's in a win over Arizona
7 innings, 2 ER, 0 walks, 8 K's in a win over Washington
8 innings, 1 ER, 0 walks, 7 K's in a win over San Diego[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Note that Philadelphia is the first place team in the NL East, Tampa Bay has the best record in baseball, Oakland is an American League pennant race team, and Arizona is in first place in the NL West. Sure, Nolasco got to face the poor Washington and San Diego teams at the end there. He was an underdog to San Diego! He certainly wasn't padding his stats against bad teams. In context, that has to be one of the strongest six game stretches we've seen in YEARS in major league baseball. [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]And you're not hearing about it in the mainstream media because:[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]CC Sabathia just came over to Milwaukee from the Cleveland Indians. This was talked about for a few days before it happened...and many pundits are now suggesting Milwaukee is an odds-on favorite to make the playoffs because of the trade. Let's compare the red-hot Sabathia to Nolasco over the last six starts:[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Sabathia: 2.35 ERA, 49 strikeouts, 9 walks
Nolasco: 2.01 ERA, 42 strikeouts, 4 walks[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]The fact that Interleague play is involved in those numbers means strength of schedule is relatively even. So, there's just no much difference between the two guys in terms of recent form. Sabathia is terrific, and could very well swing the balance of power in the NL Central (though the Cubs and Cardinals will now think about making trades of their own...I'm already hearing that the Cubs are after Rich Harden of Oakland). Florida has a Sabathia on their staff already, and nobody's talking about him![/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Well, I shouldn't say nobody. As I mentioned earlier, I did hear a few sharps talking about him Monday Night. And, I know oddsmakers have been paying attention because the lines have been moving in his direction of late. He's not being priced yet at anywhere near his level of performance. But, he was a pricey favorite against Washington last week. He was just a small dog against Greg Maddux of San Diego Monday Night, and Maddux gets a lot of respect in that park. The buzz is starting about Nolasco. Better late than never.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]If you want to take advantage of this under-the-radar pitcher, time is running out! Be sure you follow the rotations this week and immediately after the All-Star break. You should also note that Nolasco's last three starts have gone Under the total. You have to be careful with Unders in Florida games because their offense has been scoring so many runs this year. And, they play half their games in very warm weather down South. Look for spots where Unders might make sense if and when Nolasco becomes to expensive to offer any value. [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]And, be aware that there are other pitchers who are performing at levels higher than the market is giving them credit for. One of the big differences between sharps and squares is that sharps find these guys early, and squares don't bet them until it's too late! Do your homework. Don't let first impressions from April keep you from making smart bets in July.[/FONT]
WITH NICK BOGDANOVICH[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]BASEBALL'S HOTTEST PITCHER FLYING UNDER THE RADAR[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]See if you can figure out which major league baseball pitcher I'm talking about.[/FONT]
- [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]He's made 17 starts this season.
[/FONT] - [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]He has a won-lost record of 10-4, and his team is 12-5 overall in those 17 starts.
[/FONT] - [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]He's only been favored TWICE all year. That's right...he's been an underdog in 15 of his 17 starts even though his won-lost record is 10-4!
[/FONT] - [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]His ERA is 2.01 in his last six starts.
[/FONT] - [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]In those six starts, he has an incredible strikeout to walk ratio of 42-4. Think about that for a second. Just four walks in six starts is amazing control A whopping 42 strikeouts (in just over 44 innings) is amazing power. Talk about rarefied air. Obviously whoever this is has to be pitching a bit over his head to post a 42-4 ratio. Still, you'd think there would have been a lot of press about this. He just had another dominant performance and barely got mentioned the next day in the national press![/FONT]
- [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]His team is currently in a pennant race, which makes it even more ridiculous that the mainstream media hasn't picked up his story.
[/FONT] - [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]You know the Tampa Bay Rays have played the best baseball of the first half of the season. This pitcher had his best game of the year against the Rays, with 12 strikeouts in a dominant outing. [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]The young man I'm talking about is Ricky Nolasco of Florida. He had another great outing Monday Night in San Diego. Unfortunately for him, it was overshaded by Kuo's near perfect game for Los Angeles against Atlanta that was happening simultaneously. If it happens with the Florida Marlins, it just doesn't get covered![/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Here are the stats from Nolasco's last six starts:
6 innings, 0 ER, 1 walk, 3K's in a win over Philadelphia
8.2 innings, 2 ER, 1 walk, 12 K's in a win over Tampa Bay
7 innings, 3 ER, 1 walk, 3 K's in a win over Oakland
8 innings, 1 ER, 1 walk, 9 K's in a win over Arizona
7 innings, 2 ER, 0 walks, 8 K's in a win over Washington
8 innings, 1 ER, 0 walks, 7 K's in a win over San Diego[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Note that Philadelphia is the first place team in the NL East, Tampa Bay has the best record in baseball, Oakland is an American League pennant race team, and Arizona is in first place in the NL West. Sure, Nolasco got to face the poor Washington and San Diego teams at the end there. He was an underdog to San Diego! He certainly wasn't padding his stats against bad teams. In context, that has to be one of the strongest six game stretches we've seen in YEARS in major league baseball. [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]And you're not hearing about it in the mainstream media because:[/FONT]
- [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]It's not happening in New York or Boston
[/FONT] - [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]It's not happening with a preseason favorite to compete for the playoffs
[/FONT] - [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]It's not happening with a high priced veteran
[/FONT] - [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]It's not happening to a big name import from Japan
[/FONT] - [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]It IS happening to a guy who was a bit wild early in the season, causing people to just stop paying attention to him. [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]CC Sabathia just came over to Milwaukee from the Cleveland Indians. This was talked about for a few days before it happened...and many pundits are now suggesting Milwaukee is an odds-on favorite to make the playoffs because of the trade. Let's compare the red-hot Sabathia to Nolasco over the last six starts:[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Sabathia: 2.35 ERA, 49 strikeouts, 9 walks
Nolasco: 2.01 ERA, 42 strikeouts, 4 walks[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]The fact that Interleague play is involved in those numbers means strength of schedule is relatively even. So, there's just no much difference between the two guys in terms of recent form. Sabathia is terrific, and could very well swing the balance of power in the NL Central (though the Cubs and Cardinals will now think about making trades of their own...I'm already hearing that the Cubs are after Rich Harden of Oakland). Florida has a Sabathia on their staff already, and nobody's talking about him![/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Well, I shouldn't say nobody. As I mentioned earlier, I did hear a few sharps talking about him Monday Night. And, I know oddsmakers have been paying attention because the lines have been moving in his direction of late. He's not being priced yet at anywhere near his level of performance. But, he was a pricey favorite against Washington last week. He was just a small dog against Greg Maddux of San Diego Monday Night, and Maddux gets a lot of respect in that park. The buzz is starting about Nolasco. Better late than never.[/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]If you want to take advantage of this under-the-radar pitcher, time is running out! Be sure you follow the rotations this week and immediately after the All-Star break. You should also note that Nolasco's last three starts have gone Under the total. You have to be careful with Unders in Florida games because their offense has been scoring so many runs this year. And, they play half their games in very warm weather down South. Look for spots where Unders might make sense if and when Nolasco becomes to expensive to offer any value. [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]And, be aware that there are other pitchers who are performing at levels higher than the market is giving them credit for. One of the big differences between sharps and squares is that sharps find these guys early, and squares don't bet them until it's too late! Do your homework. Don't let first impressions from April keep you from making smart bets in July.[/FONT]
