<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 width=500 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=left width="50%">Yesterday</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">1</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">2</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">0</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="20%">-2.00 Units</TD></TR><TR><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=left width="50%">Last 30 Days</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">9</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">5</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">0</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="20%">+10.38 Units</TD></TR><TR><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=left width="50%">Season To Date (Since March 2009)</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">9</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">5</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="10%">0</TD><TD class=rs_value vAlign=top align=right width="20%">+10.38 Units</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
HOME TEAM IN CAPS
All games are listed pitchers unless stated otherwise.
CINCINNATI -1½ +1.44 over Pittsburgh
Johhny Cueto could be a big-time sleeper this season after coming in as a highly touted rookie last year. He went 9-14 with a 4.81 ERA and his stocked dropped significantly. Now with a year under his belt to go along with wicked stuff and a high strikeout ratio, he could be in for a great year. He dazzled in the spring going 2-1 with a 1.67 ERA in 27 innings. He allowed just 19 hits in those 27 innings. Furthermore, the Reds should provide him with plenty of run support after putting up 15 runs in the final two games against the Mets. Cinci will be facing Jeff Karstens, a former Yank, who they picked up in the Xavier Nady trade. Karstens ERA last year of 4.03 is definitely respectable but a close look reveals that he was extremely fortunate. He allowed the opposition to hit .291 and he only struck out 23 batters in 51 frames. The guy fooled nobody. He puts the ball in play and that’s not such a good thing in this park. Karstens was brutal in the spring, going 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA with eight walks and 10 k’s in just 23 frames. So, what we have here is a strikeout pitcher with a ton of upside against a pitcher who is extremely hittable in a park that’s very friendly to hitters. The Big Red Machine rolls in this one. Play: Cincinnati –1½ +1.44 (Risking 2 units). <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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FLORIDA +1.11 over NY Mets
Wrong side favored. The Marlins are still undervalued because they beat what is perceived as a brutal Washington team but I’m not conceding that just yet. More on the Nats later but they’re going to be extremely competitive this year. Anyway, the Marlins are the real deal and may just be the least flawed team in the business. They have wicked speed, they have power, they’re loose, they play good defense and their pitching staff is second to nobody. Annibal Sanchez tossed three scoreless innings in his final spring start and finished with a 3.66 ERA. He’s had injury woes and has only started 16 games over the past two years. He has a no-no on his résumé and he also struck out 50 batters in just 51 innings last season. This year he says,” "This is my first spring training that I finished healthy". Sanchez went on to say he thinks he can pitch as well as he did in his rookie season when he went 10-3 with a 2.83 ERA. He has a live arm and a lot of potential. Meanwhile, John Maine is pretty much in the same boat. He, too, is a wild card after he missed a good portion of last season with shoulder problems. He returned in August and had two decent starts before getting pounded in his third start back and that was it for him. He didn’t pitch again. In the spring he was also pounded to the tune of 30 hits in 25 frames, 13 walks, three wild pitches and a 6.31 ERA. Maine has had one good year in his career and the fact that the Mets are favored here is ridiculous. Play: Florida +1.11 (Risking 2 units). <o></o>
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ST. LOUIS -½ +1.00 over Houston (1<SUP>st</SUP> 5 innings)
Color me unimpressed with both the Cardinals and their bullpen but I’m eliminating the pen here and relying on Mike Hampton to do what he does best, which is get his ass kicked. You might not make a riskier wager in your career if you wager on Hampton. Here’s a guy that has not seen much of the mound for the better part of four years. He’s 36-years-old, he’s had multiple elbow surgeries, as well as oblique, hamstring and pectoral injuries. He allowed 17 runs in 30 spring innings and if the Cardinals don’t get to him early and often, I’ll be even less impressed with them. Hampton might not make it out of the second inning. Dave Duncan has a history of taking on broken down pitchers and getting the best out of them season by season and hopefully we can get a decent five-inning outing from Joel Pineiro. Even if he give up three or four, the Cards could get six or seven against Hampton. Play: St. Louis in the first five innings -½ +1.00 (Risking 2 units). <o></o>
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Los Angeles +1.02 over ARIZONA (1<SUP>st</SUP> 5 innings)
Welcome to the desert and a hitters park to John Garland, a complete disaster waiting to happen. Pitching in windy Chicago helped mask just how deficient this guy really is and frankly, he has virtually no chance of success in Arizona. The league hit .303 off him last season, which attests to the fact that he gives up a ton of hits and he rarely strikes out anyone. This park will be very unfriendly to him indeed. After three games to open the season in San Diego, the Dodgers will get a chance to hit in a park that’s the complete opposite to Petco and they could absolutely explode on Garland. Play: Los Angeles +1.02 in the first five innings (Risking 2 units). <o></o>
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Boston –1.07 over L.A. ANGELS
One would have to believe that their concentration would be off today after the horrible tragedy that struck them on Thursday. To complicate matters, they’ll be facing knuckerballer Tim Wakefield and this is probably not the best time to be seeing him, as focus is a must when facing Wakefield. Anyway, the Angels have been very unimpressive to start the year, losing two of three to the A’s. The Angels pitching is a complete mess right now, with three starters on the shelf and the loss of Adenhart. Their bullpen has a 9.72 ERA to start the year and frankly, there’s nothing to like about the Angels playing with heavy hearts and against a team that dominates them. Play: Boston –1.07 (Risking 2.14 units to win 2). <o></o>
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HOME TEAM IN CAPS
All games are listed pitchers unless stated otherwise.
CINCINNATI -1½ +1.44 over Pittsburgh
Johhny Cueto could be a big-time sleeper this season after coming in as a highly touted rookie last year. He went 9-14 with a 4.81 ERA and his stocked dropped significantly. Now with a year under his belt to go along with wicked stuff and a high strikeout ratio, he could be in for a great year. He dazzled in the spring going 2-1 with a 1.67 ERA in 27 innings. He allowed just 19 hits in those 27 innings. Furthermore, the Reds should provide him with plenty of run support after putting up 15 runs in the final two games against the Mets. Cinci will be facing Jeff Karstens, a former Yank, who they picked up in the Xavier Nady trade. Karstens ERA last year of 4.03 is definitely respectable but a close look reveals that he was extremely fortunate. He allowed the opposition to hit .291 and he only struck out 23 batters in 51 frames. The guy fooled nobody. He puts the ball in play and that’s not such a good thing in this park. Karstens was brutal in the spring, going 0-2 with a 6.17 ERA with eight walks and 10 k’s in just 23 frames. So, what we have here is a strikeout pitcher with a ton of upside against a pitcher who is extremely hittable in a park that’s very friendly to hitters. The Big Red Machine rolls in this one. Play: Cincinnati –1½ +1.44 (Risking 2 units). <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
fficeffice" /><o></o><o
></o>FLORIDA +1.11 over NY Mets
Wrong side favored. The Marlins are still undervalued because they beat what is perceived as a brutal Washington team but I’m not conceding that just yet. More on the Nats later but they’re going to be extremely competitive this year. Anyway, the Marlins are the real deal and may just be the least flawed team in the business. They have wicked speed, they have power, they’re loose, they play good defense and their pitching staff is second to nobody. Annibal Sanchez tossed three scoreless innings in his final spring start and finished with a 3.66 ERA. He’s had injury woes and has only started 16 games over the past two years. He has a no-no on his résumé and he also struck out 50 batters in just 51 innings last season. This year he says,” "This is my first spring training that I finished healthy". Sanchez went on to say he thinks he can pitch as well as he did in his rookie season when he went 10-3 with a 2.83 ERA. He has a live arm and a lot of potential. Meanwhile, John Maine is pretty much in the same boat. He, too, is a wild card after he missed a good portion of last season with shoulder problems. He returned in August and had two decent starts before getting pounded in his third start back and that was it for him. He didn’t pitch again. In the spring he was also pounded to the tune of 30 hits in 25 frames, 13 walks, three wild pitches and a 6.31 ERA. Maine has had one good year in his career and the fact that the Mets are favored here is ridiculous. Play: Florida +1.11 (Risking 2 units). <o
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></o>ST. LOUIS -½ +1.00 over Houston (1<SUP>st</SUP> 5 innings)
Color me unimpressed with both the Cardinals and their bullpen but I’m eliminating the pen here and relying on Mike Hampton to do what he does best, which is get his ass kicked. You might not make a riskier wager in your career if you wager on Hampton. Here’s a guy that has not seen much of the mound for the better part of four years. He’s 36-years-old, he’s had multiple elbow surgeries, as well as oblique, hamstring and pectoral injuries. He allowed 17 runs in 30 spring innings and if the Cardinals don’t get to him early and often, I’ll be even less impressed with them. Hampton might not make it out of the second inning. Dave Duncan has a history of taking on broken down pitchers and getting the best out of them season by season and hopefully we can get a decent five-inning outing from Joel Pineiro. Even if he give up three or four, the Cards could get six or seven against Hampton. Play: St. Louis in the first five innings -½ +1.00 (Risking 2 units). <o
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></o>Los Angeles +1.02 over ARIZONA (1<SUP>st</SUP> 5 innings)
Welcome to the desert and a hitters park to John Garland, a complete disaster waiting to happen. Pitching in windy Chicago helped mask just how deficient this guy really is and frankly, he has virtually no chance of success in Arizona. The league hit .303 off him last season, which attests to the fact that he gives up a ton of hits and he rarely strikes out anyone. This park will be very unfriendly to him indeed. After three games to open the season in San Diego, the Dodgers will get a chance to hit in a park that’s the complete opposite to Petco and they could absolutely explode on Garland. Play: Los Angeles +1.02 in the first five innings (Risking 2 units). <o
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></o>Boston –1.07 over L.A. ANGELS
One would have to believe that their concentration would be off today after the horrible tragedy that struck them on Thursday. To complicate matters, they’ll be facing knuckerballer Tim Wakefield and this is probably not the best time to be seeing him, as focus is a must when facing Wakefield. Anyway, the Angels have been very unimpressive to start the year, losing two of three to the A’s. The Angels pitching is a complete mess right now, with three starters on the shelf and the loss of Adenhart. Their bullpen has a 9.72 ERA to start the year and frankly, there’s nothing to like about the Angels playing with heavy hearts and against a team that dominates them. Play: Boston –1.07 (Risking 2.14 units to win 2). <o
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