2012 MLB O/U Record: 305-279-36, -$1,273 (Was making much bigger bets earlier in the year, with countless fluke bad breaks, obviously. I also undoubtedly lead the country in half-run/one-run losses)
2011 MLB O/U Record: 366-270-42, +$1,104
Wow. It is truly unbelievable that we have arrived to September, the final month of the baseball regular season. I mean, April still feels like yesterday, so it is just absolutely mind-boggling that today is September 1st. It’s been a long, strange season, consisting of both high points and low points, but at the end of the day, I just can’t believe we’ve made it to this specific point in time so quickly. By the way, I STILL have not missed a day doing these 1,000-word-ish articles detailing my beloved MLB Over/Unders, and of course, you can fully expect that to continue as we chug through this last month, not to mention playoff time, but postseason over/unders, in my opinion, are much different from regular season ones, so I plan on ending the regular season as strong as possible to help prepare myself mentally for October. Hopefully September turns out to be just as good as my terrific August (52-35-8), so let’s see what this first day has to offer up…
San Francisco Giants @ Chicago Cubs - $46 for $40
Tim Lincecum vs Justin Germano
UNDER 8
Interestingly, I’m staying in Chicago for game two of this series, after being saddled with a push in game one yesterday when I certainly deserved better after boldly predicting that not only would Chris Volstad and his 6+ ERA win the damn game (Which was +170, by the way), but that he’d be the one who carried the under, rather than the always-more dependable Madison Bumgarner. But instead, the score ended up 6-4, thus earning a push, so whatever. Can’t dwell on that, as we have an interesting pitching matchup here, featuring the always-interesting Tim Lincecum. When people look back on this 2012 season, one of the main storylines will be the fall of Big-Time Timmy Jim, but that doesn’t mean he can’t salvage his season. In fact, if you haven’t been paying attention, you don’t know that he’s already begun doing so, as evident in his 4-4 record and 3.31 ERA since the all-star break (Which also feels like yesterday, by the way). In addition, in 54 innings spanning those nine starts, he has 51 strikeouts and just 18 walks, which were the two biggest factors in his decline - prior to the break, his punch-outs were down from his norm, while the walks were vice-versa. However, since he has seemingly fixed that problem, we’re starting to see more of the normal Lincecum, which can only mean good things as it pertains to today. Of course, pitching in Wrigley Field can always be tough, but he handled it easily last year, shutting the Cubs down to one run and five hits in seven innings, while striking out nine. Hopefully he contributes a similar effort this afternoon.
And then there is Justin Germano, whose name you don’t often attach to a prospective under. Actually, Justin Germano is yet to start in ANY under this season. The former Padre great has made six starts since entering the rotation in late-July, and the lowest score produced from any of those outings was 7-2 against the Astros. Other than that, the total scores from his starts have summed up to between 13 (Losing 7-6 on August 5) to19 (Losing 15-4 on August 27, his most recent assignment). So why oh why am I attacking an under that has this guy in it? Well, aside from the Law ofAverages, which should certainly be in our favor, I like his attitude, aside from thinking the right-hander has some talent that can be useful. After his disastrous last outing, he simply attributed it to “three mistakes that led to four runs,” and he talked about just “minimizing” those mistakes, which is a mentality I like because he also acknowledges you can’t be perfect. It’s also helpful because Germano, after a nice start to his tenure in Chicago, has been at his worst over his last two starts, so with those sentiments he made, it doesn’t appear he gets knocked down easily (Mentally). Thus, I can see him as a hard worker, and with the way has season has gone south over the past two weeks, I think he’ll be committed in righting the ship. He is a veteran, after all. Germano also will have the wind strongly in his favor (Blowing in 13 MPH), and since he’s prone to the long ball (Four straight starts he’s allowed one), that should help limit the damage done against him, possibly leading to a quality start (It also helps that Posey has a day off). Luckily, with the line at 8, which I actually thought would be lower given how extreme the winds, there is a little wiggle room in case he falters, but hopefully we get that dynamite start from Lincecum to really carry this one. 5-2/6-1 will do it.
**Will DEFINITELY Add More Over/Under(s) Throughout Day Leading Up To Gametime**
**Remember that if you have a question concerning an over/under, I will gladly assist you with it if I see it before the game starts, even the ones I don’t bet on, as I have at least a small vibe on every single over/under from studying this stuff several hours every single day and night**
2011 MLB O/U Record: 366-270-42, +$1,104
Wow. It is truly unbelievable that we have arrived to September, the final month of the baseball regular season. I mean, April still feels like yesterday, so it is just absolutely mind-boggling that today is September 1st. It’s been a long, strange season, consisting of both high points and low points, but at the end of the day, I just can’t believe we’ve made it to this specific point in time so quickly. By the way, I STILL have not missed a day doing these 1,000-word-ish articles detailing my beloved MLB Over/Unders, and of course, you can fully expect that to continue as we chug through this last month, not to mention playoff time, but postseason over/unders, in my opinion, are much different from regular season ones, so I plan on ending the regular season as strong as possible to help prepare myself mentally for October. Hopefully September turns out to be just as good as my terrific August (52-35-8), so let’s see what this first day has to offer up…
San Francisco Giants @ Chicago Cubs - $46 for $40
Tim Lincecum vs Justin Germano
UNDER 8
Interestingly, I’m staying in Chicago for game two of this series, after being saddled with a push in game one yesterday when I certainly deserved better after boldly predicting that not only would Chris Volstad and his 6+ ERA win the damn game (Which was +170, by the way), but that he’d be the one who carried the under, rather than the always-more dependable Madison Bumgarner. But instead, the score ended up 6-4, thus earning a push, so whatever. Can’t dwell on that, as we have an interesting pitching matchup here, featuring the always-interesting Tim Lincecum. When people look back on this 2012 season, one of the main storylines will be the fall of Big-Time Timmy Jim, but that doesn’t mean he can’t salvage his season. In fact, if you haven’t been paying attention, you don’t know that he’s already begun doing so, as evident in his 4-4 record and 3.31 ERA since the all-star break (Which also feels like yesterday, by the way). In addition, in 54 innings spanning those nine starts, he has 51 strikeouts and just 18 walks, which were the two biggest factors in his decline - prior to the break, his punch-outs were down from his norm, while the walks were vice-versa. However, since he has seemingly fixed that problem, we’re starting to see more of the normal Lincecum, which can only mean good things as it pertains to today. Of course, pitching in Wrigley Field can always be tough, but he handled it easily last year, shutting the Cubs down to one run and five hits in seven innings, while striking out nine. Hopefully he contributes a similar effort this afternoon.
And then there is Justin Germano, whose name you don’t often attach to a prospective under. Actually, Justin Germano is yet to start in ANY under this season. The former Padre great has made six starts since entering the rotation in late-July, and the lowest score produced from any of those outings was 7-2 against the Astros. Other than that, the total scores from his starts have summed up to between 13 (Losing 7-6 on August 5) to19 (Losing 15-4 on August 27, his most recent assignment). So why oh why am I attacking an under that has this guy in it? Well, aside from the Law ofAverages, which should certainly be in our favor, I like his attitude, aside from thinking the right-hander has some talent that can be useful. After his disastrous last outing, he simply attributed it to “three mistakes that led to four runs,” and he talked about just “minimizing” those mistakes, which is a mentality I like because he also acknowledges you can’t be perfect. It’s also helpful because Germano, after a nice start to his tenure in Chicago, has been at his worst over his last two starts, so with those sentiments he made, it doesn’t appear he gets knocked down easily (Mentally). Thus, I can see him as a hard worker, and with the way has season has gone south over the past two weeks, I think he’ll be committed in righting the ship. He is a veteran, after all. Germano also will have the wind strongly in his favor (Blowing in 13 MPH), and since he’s prone to the long ball (Four straight starts he’s allowed one), that should help limit the damage done against him, possibly leading to a quality start (It also helps that Posey has a day off). Luckily, with the line at 8, which I actually thought would be lower given how extreme the winds, there is a little wiggle room in case he falters, but hopefully we get that dynamite start from Lincecum to really carry this one. 5-2/6-1 will do it.
**Will DEFINITELY Add More Over/Under(s) Throughout Day Leading Up To Gametime**
**Remember that if you have a question concerning an over/under, I will gladly assist you with it if I see it before the game starts, even the ones I don’t bet on, as I have at least a small vibe on every single over/under from studying this stuff several hours every single day and night**
