MLB team correspondents thread for 4/21-4.24. follow a team closely? EVERYONe!!!

Please note: EVERYONE is INVITED and the more information the BETTER!!! So any informatiion is useful, even if you do not like the game, still please offer your input.. please provide team reports if possible...
I will be starting new threads every 3-4 days instead of daily. Believe its better that way..


If you have no idea on whats going on here, this thread will help you understand
http://www.therxforum.com/showthread.php?t=835866

We are working together dropping thoughts on teams we folow closely. Be it our informed opinons, key stats, teams state of mind, hot/cold bats, overused bullpens, injuries, weather or any information that you feel will be useful.. When you follow a team very closely, you get a good feel for them..

Here is the list of MLB correspondents and their teams/div they follow closely..

gyno: Dodgers
silverfox1: O's
Drudes24: White Sox
varkeyboy: White Sox
HookemHorns: Rangers.
williemcgee: Cards and NL central.
its not me its u: A's
Gravy: Indians
mplastered: Pirates
PatsFanatic: Red Sox
seanm0520: Phillies NL East AL East.
voiceofreason: Marlins
dopenose420: Mariners
MetFan: Mets Yanks
MikeyLo: Cubs
bucsfan67: NL Central
beerRemedy: Dodgers
YaMar: Yanks,Red Sox AL East
shaker11: Blue Jays
MNBOOKY: Twins
timesyours: phillies
thecadillackid: Yankees
nojuice9: Twins
Mikey.1time
tapha5: Rangers
fairwarning: Cubs/White Sox
Phillyman: Phillies
thewiscokid: Brewers


Please post your thoughts even if your name isn't on the list.. Thanks in advance

Pittsburgh at Florida
4-20-11
Pitts was shut out 6-0 yesterday. Expect another under ( 8 ) today. Charlie Morton off to a great start this year at 2-0 and 1.64. Ricky Nolasco owns the Buccos in Florida having never surrendering a run there in his 18 innings pitched. He has struck out 21 buccos in his last 14 innings against them.
Under 8 -125
Flr -1.5 +145
Oops, sorry just noticed the thread date.

thanks for that info about nolasco against the pirates...appreciate it

Mlink said:

thanks for that info about nolasco against the pirates...appreciate it

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Very welcome. Hope it pans out. That's why we're all here.

Isn't this for tomorrow?

METFAN said:

Isn't this for tomorrow?

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Yea, my fault. I posted then realized the date.

Pittsburgh at Florida
Both starters struggling coming in with ERA's in the mid 7's. Slight lean on the over today. Florida has put up 6 runs in each of the first 2 games. Pittsburgh should help them push the total today.
over 9 +100
betus

Leaning towards under in the White Sox/Rays game. White Sox have been terrible on their current 8 game skid averaging under 3 runs a game. I watched the game yesterday and they are just not hitting the ball. I think this continues, also the Rays offense isn't going to put up a lot of runs not a lot of firepower in that lineup since losing Longoria and good ole' ManRam. White Sox/Rays under 8, lets cash!

fade the Padres..that is all

mplastered said:

Pittsburgh at Florida
4-20-11
Pitts was shut out 6-0 yesterday. Expect another under ( 8 ) today. Charlie Morton off to a great start this year at 2-0 and 1.64. Ricky Nolasco owns the Buccos in Florida having never surrendering a run there in his 18 innings pitched. He has struck out 21 buccos in his last 14 innings against them.
Under 8 -125
Flr -1.5 +145
Oops, sorry just noticed the thread date.

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great call man..

JAKEPEAVY21 said:

fade the Padres..that is all

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arent the padres in a bad spot today? just off a doubleheader where one game went 11, then back from CHI to SD to face a Phillies team who has a much better lineup and Oswalt up..

SD against Oswalt?

.282 OBP .387 SLG.. Those are some bad stats, lol.. Padres lineup is garbage.

I know its square but aren't the Phillies a good wager?

4/21/11 A's vs. Mariners: Crisp cf, Barton 1b, DeJesus rf, Willingham dh, Jackson lf, Suzuki c, Ellis 2b, Kouzmanoff 3b, Pennington ss. McCarthy P

Felix is in a slump, but he's owned the A's in the past, including the first meeting this year in Oakland. I'll be laying a little on the Mariners...
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I'm thinking FF under 3.5 in that one..

DUH..I POSTED IN YESTERDAYS THREAD

This is SATURDAY's GAME.. Love it so much I had to post it now, this is a great play..

Lily's stats vs Cubs:

Cubs batters havent seen much of Lilly but the few times they have, THEY'VE ROCKED HIM..

Chicago Cubs Career statistics vs. Ted Lilly
BATTER AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
Alfonso Soriano 10 4 1 1 0 0 5 2 .400 .600 .700 1.300
Carlos Pena 5 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 .200 .200 .400 .600
Marlon Byrd 11 5 1 0 0 5 0 2 .455 .455 .545 1.000
Jeff Baker 6 3 2 0 1 2 1 2 .500 .571 1.333 1.905
Reed Johnson 5 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 .400 .500 .600 1.100
Blake DeWitt 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 .000 .000 .000
Totals 40 15 6 1 1 9 7 12 .375 .468 .650 1.118


Daytime wrigley field, hope the wind is blowing.. Dodgers will be playing their second game off a 12 innning game and long road trip, sometimes its that 2nd game that showcases the fatigue..

Dempster underachieiving..

Can't wait to bet the Cubs on Saturday..

bump

gynecologist said:

great call man..

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Thanks<><>

gynecologist said:

This is SATURDAY's GAME.. Love it so much I had to post it now, this is a great play..

Lily's stats vs Cubs:

Cubs batters havent seen much of Lilly but the few times they have, THEY'VE ROCKED HIM..

Chicago Cubs Career statistics vs. Ted Lilly
BATTER AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
Alfonso Soriano 10 4 1 1 0 0 5 2 .400 .600 .700 1.300
Carlos Pena 5 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 .200 .200 .400 .600
Marlon Byrd 11 5 1 0 0 5 0 2 .455 .455 .545 1.000
Jeff Baker 6 3 2 0 1 2 1 2 .500 .571 1.333 1.905
Reed Johnson 5 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 .400 .500 .600 1.100
Blake DeWitt 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 .000 .000 .000
Totals 40 15 6 1 1 9 7 12 .375 .468 .650 1.118


Daytime wrigley field, hope the wind is blowing.. Dodgers will be playing their second game off a 12 innning game and long road trip, sometimes its that 2nd game that showcases the fatigue..

Dempster underachieiving..

Can't wait to bet the Cubs on Saturday..

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Great stats......where do you get the hitter vs pitcher stats?

Washington at Pittsburgh
4-22-11
Because of the pitchers, this has over 8 written all over it. Livan Hernandez, 1-4, 6.17 lifetime at PNC Park, against Jeff Karstens, a bullpen pitcher, bumped up due to injuries, 0-1, 6.55 against Washington. Their 3 games at PNC last year scored 13-11-9. The over is -105 at betus.
Slight lean for Washington also. They took 5 of 6 last year, 2 of 3 at Pitt and out scored them 38 to 20. My only doubt is the Buccos went 8-3 last year in the first game off a road trip. Strange? Was is +100 at betus.

STL TEAM UPDATE

OFFENSE

STL started the year 2-6, scoring 21 runs in 8 games (2.63/per), since then they are 8-3 scoring 83 runs in 11 games (7.55/per). They are more explosive this year offensively and Berkman who I thought may be a disaster has been flat out amazing. I knew he would be playing with a chip on his shoulder but I wasn't sure if he could bounce back from injury at 35 and play the outfield again. But the guy is a great hitter and he has been the key along with the continued improvement of Rasmus to a more explosive offense.

Theriot has been leading off and is batting .300, which is more than they have had from the leadoff spot in a while. Schumacher and Ryan killed us last year with their batting average's and inability to get on base. I would like to see Theriot's OBP go up but I was hoping for .275 out of him at leadoff and he really works the count so I am very happy with him so far. Rasmus is in the #2 hole hitting .351 and is a star in the making, he is hitting lefties better now and growing up I just hope he stays in STL for the long haul. Pujols has started slow at .247 but has 6 HR 14 RBI's and if you know AP he has had a slow start before and always gets his .300 30HR 100RBI, no one is worried about Albert. Holliday in the cleanup is hitting .455 and is just as big a presence in the lineup as AP. Berkman in the 5 hole is hitting .339 and has 6 HR's in 19 games. Freese is #6 and is hitting .328, he is not a big power guy but he can hit and they just want him healthy, LaRussa has done a great job of keeping him fresh as well with his history of injury. Molina and Schumacher are usually 7/8 and are .264 and .241 respectively. Molina got off to a terrible start so .264 looks great right now. Molina is so valuable behind the dish any hitting from him is a bonus although he is very capable and a 2 out RBI guy when he gets the chance. Schumacher is on the DL and Punto is off the DL so we will see how that all shakes out. Schu is a capable hitter but he has struggled to start. The bench players have done well and give LaRussa a lot of room to manage, LaRussa catches a lot of crap about micromanaging but he plays the numbers and he is really good at getting every roster spot AB's. Craig is on the DL now but he is a professional hitter and has done it everywhere he has been, it seems he is getting there this year.

This offense is much better than last year. Berkman has been great, Rasmus is growing up and Theriot has been a major upgrade at the leadoff. If they stay healthy and Berkman can even stay close to what he is doing now they will be among the NL's best.

PITCHING

I miss Wainwright. The 3-5 spots have been amazing Garcia (1.44) has taken a step forward after I just knew he was headed backward. Lohse (2.01) is healthy, actually healthy for the first time in 3 years and McClelland (1.89) has thus far seized his opportunity, he has desperately wanted to be a starter so he is playing to keep the role which is a good thing for fans and bettors. Carpenter (4.13) has struggled, he is a gamer though and tough as nails mentally and finds a way to compete but I am worried about him right now. Westbrook (9.82) has been a disaster, he doesn't look comfortable out there and I am unsure whether he is battling an injury or just struggling with mechanics. Duncan will get him right, but he in my mind is our #5 even when he gets there.

The bullpen has already had issues with Franklin losing his job. I think it is the end of the road for him as their closer. He is 38 and has relied on pinpoint control to succeed and it is just not anywhere close to being there right now, I think he struggles to keep a spot in the pen, I hope I'm wrong. I never trusted him in big games but he was effective for us but at 38 I think he has lost it. The good news is we are now a better team with Boggs closing, he has the crazy needed to do the job and has done nothing but get better the last 2 years. Motte sets behind him but I think he is better as a setup man and is a bit too flaky for the closer spot. We added Sanchez and Salas when injuries hit and they are both capable and I love them both. I had hoped Salas would beat Augustein in the spring so his injury to get Salas up didn't bother me, I thought they got better instead. Batista has been great as well. With Boggs closing and Motte setting up, I think they are a better pen right now.

This team could really surprise, offensively I think they will be very good. I think the pen will be just fine. Carpenter and Westbrook are going to be the deciding factors in how this team fares. At some point they need to be more effective when the 3-5 guys have their struggles.

10-5 +16.20 units STL plays documented in my season long thread

Friday Cardinals -128 (2.56 units to win 2 units)

Volquez is struggling to find his form. I think STL has a nice advantage in pitching tonight. I see the offenses at near even so -128 seems like a good price to me. Lohse went a CG yesterday so everyone is available in the pen and they will be ready for the Reds. Former GM Jocketty is with the Reds, Rolen, Renteria, LaRussa and Baker have never been besties this has developed into a pretty intense rivalry quickly. If you remember the fight last year Cueto spiked LaRue and he ended up retiring. They hate each other flat out. It will be good intense baseball for April I can promise you that.