3 games to consider

YTD: 6-4 +8 units

3 games stand out. All look good, not great.

First, Verlander going against the Twins. When is the last time the Twins hit a good pitcher hard? They have lost to some real bums in recent weeks. And beaten some too. Verlander is a great pitcher. The Twins have this reputation as a smart team, good defense and win despite their shortcomings. Though this year, they have lost games they used to win. Beating the Indians weak-assed lineup 2 out of 4 is nothing to brag about. Carmona and Huff beat them, and the last 2 games were close. Pavano vs. Verlander. Tigers have a lineup that is better than the Twins despite the Tigers not always hitting to their potential. Twins lineup has been losing to poor pitching at times.

Yankees vs. Tampa: Yankees have one of the hottest pitchers going. Sabathia can and should dominate against this overrated Tampa team. The Rays have been severely depleted by free agency in the past 2 years, and now have Casey Kotchman, a backup catcher and Johnny Damon batting 1-2-3 in their order. The Yankees also have a bullpen edge. Shields has looked great this year, but how long can it last? He also has slipped up at times, while Sabathia has been dominant for his past 5 starts. Rays are thinking about being sellers in the trade market(which can demoralize players), have lost 2 heartbreakers this week, and I think we see that result in a loss Thursday.

The under in NY - Tampa game: Day game. Some starters resting against 2 very good pitchers. Tampa's lineup, as stated above, is mediocre. The Yankees have also been less than stellar in recent weeks in the hitting. No one is really hot for the Yanks. Both starters have the potential of pitching a shutout(or close to it) as proven recently.

Any comments to which looks best?

I personally like the Tigers and Twins game better, especially seeing Verlander loosing last game. I have a hard time seeing Verlander coming out loosing back to back starts. Verlander was also dominated the Twins last year, who I feel was a lot better last year. Verlander went 2-1 with a 1.73 ERA in four starts in 2010 vs the Twins.
Carlos Guillen being back in the line up has also helped Tigers with offense and defense, Rayburn just wasn't doing a good IMO. Tigers picked up Betemit from Royals to replace Inge, who caused a throwing error Verlander's last start.

o fred said:

YTD: 6-4 +8 units

Shields has looked great this year, but how long can it last?

Any comments to which looks best?

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Shields is great and it can and will last all year and probably for a few more years to come. That said, the Rays can't hit and this line is actually higher than when these two met very recently in New York in which the Yanks were -135. Yanks won 1-0 and now they're a higher price in TB. That tells me the books are looking for TB money and therefore I'll pass because I don't lay -140 on any baseball game, period.

o fred said:

YTD: 6-4 +8 units

3 games stand out. All look good, not great.

First, Verlander going against the Twins. When is the last time the Twins hit a good pitcher hard? They have lost to some real bums in recent weeks. And beaten some too. Verlander is a great pitcher. The Twins have this reputation as a smart team, good defense and win despite their shortcomings. Though this year, they have lost games they used to win. Beating the Indians weak-assed lineup 2 out of 4 is nothing to brag about. Carmona and Huff beat them, and the last 2 games were close. Pavano vs. Verlander. Tigers have a lineup that is better than the Twins despite the Tigers not always hitting to their potential. Twins lineup has been losing to poor pitching at times.

Yankees vs. Tampa: Yankees have one of the hottest pitchers going. Sabathia can and should dominate against this overrated Tampa team. The Rays have been severely depleted by free agency in the past 2 years, and now have Casey Kotchman, a backup catcher and Johnny Damon batting 1-2-3 in their order. The Yankees also have a bullpen edge. Shields has looked great this year, but how long can it last? He also has slipped up at times, while Sabathia has been dominant for his past 5 starts. Rays are thinking about being sellers in the trade market(which can demoralize players), have lost 2 heartbreakers this week, and I think we see that result in a loss Thursday.

The under in NY - Tampa game: Day game. Some starters resting against 2 very good pitchers. Tampa's lineup, as stated above, is mediocre. The Yankees have also been less than stellar in recent weeks in the hitting. No one is really hot for the Yanks. Both starters have the potential of pitching a shutout(or close to it) as proven recently.

Any comments to which looks best?

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its a night game

sherwood said:

Shields is great and it can and will last all year and probably for a few more years to come. That said, the Rays can't hit and this line is actually higher than when these two met very recently in New York in which the Yanks were -135. Yanks won 1-0 and now they're a higher price in TB. That tells me the books are looking for TB money and therefore I'll pass because I don't lay -140 on any baseball game, period.

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you're right, fishy line i though it would be around -115

BUT you gotta take this into consideration, rays arent hitting a lick and yanks should have won the other night if it werent for 3 errors in a row!

one more thing ill say, shields is lucky, look at his .baa against, all his sabermetrics stats show he will implode soon, he just isnt a 2.60 ERA pitcher, and look at his stats against the yankees this year and past years he is 3-10 with a 5 ERA against the yankees in his career, sabathia has won 12 of his last 13 starts giving up a total of i believe 4 runs in 60 innings

Mlink, thank you. Where did I get the idea it was a day game? Must of confused it with the Mets. Also appreciate your insight on Shields. I am always befuddled by him. One game he gets rocked by the lowly Mariners, another game he shuts down the Yankees. One thing I like about the Yankees is that they are patient hitters and will take their walks and wait for their pitches. I don't know what the stats are on a team seeing the same pitcher shortly after being shut down by him. The same could go for Sabathia, but the Rays don't hit that well. The Yankees will play all their starters since it's a night game, and know they have to keep winning to keep up with Boston.

Verlander throws one of those 4 hit 13 strikeout gems tonight.

With the trade for Betemit, the Tigers are showing their players a commitment to winning. Also, Jose Guillen is back and looking in good form. Just can't seem to pull the trigger since the Twins could be starting one of their 2nd half comebacks, and always compete.

billhill999 said:

Verlander throws one of those 4 hit 13 strikeout gems tonight.

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Pretty close.

Mlink said:

you're right, fishy line i though it would be around -115

BUT you gotta take this into consideration, rays arent hitting a lick and yanks should have won the other night if it werent for 3 errors in a row!

one more thing ill say, shields is lucky, look at his .baa against, all his sabermetrics stats show he will implode soon, he just isnt a 2.60 ERA pitcher, and look at his stats against the yankees this year and past years he is 3-10 with a 5 ERA against the yankees in his career, sabathia has won 12 of his last 13 starts giving up a total of i believe 4 runs in 60 innings

Click to expand...

Shields didn't look lucky to me .. he looked like a first rate pitcher 'dealing' against a very good team. 7 2/3 innings, 6 hits, 6 k's, 1 earned run and the win. Second terrific game he has pitched against the Yankees in the last 2 weeks.

ditto. I think you can see he gets up for the good teams, especially NY.