2012 MLB O/U Playoff Record: 6-8, -$149
2011 MLB O/U Playoff Record: 14-11-3, +$5
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2012 MLB O/U Season Record: 361-329-47, -$1,490 (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 Season Record: 366-270-42, +$1,104
Blahh, it’s been a real uninspiring run these past few days - mostly because of having to take action on Yankee playoff games, whom I’ve never been good with - but luckily, I’ve been able to minimize the damage with mostly small bets (Which is why I’ve been betting the minimum for the most part lately). In any case, the Yankees are thankfully off today, leaving us with just Game 2 of the NLCS in what appears to be a promising pitching matchup on this Monday night. Let’s see how I feel about it…
St. Louis Cardinals @ San Francisco Giants (Best Bet) - $50 for $40
Chris Carpenter vs Ryan Vogelsong
UNDER 7
An okay-sized best bet for me, but certainly not a big one, which I’m waiting on doing again until I get back into a rhythm because I certainly have been far from one over these past several days. Still, this is a pitching matchup, residing in a clear-cut pitcher’s park, that could end up being a nice, enjoyable duel, which is exactly what I’m aiming for. In one corner, you have Ryan Vogelsong, who continues to put his recent struggles behind him (7-start stretch in late-August/early-Septemberwhen his ERA jumped a full run-and-a-half!) after a dazzling effort in Cincinnati last Tuesday, and while he only got a no-decision out of it (Nothing you could do against Homer Bailey’s 10-strikeout, one-hit masterpiece that night), the fact remains that the Giants’ right-hander is back in normal form. As I touched on before that game, this is someone that was struggling so much that you even had “Fade Ryan Vogelsong” threads going on. I mean, that might’ve been a little drastic, but the fact remains that since coming back at the beginning of last year, that stretch at the end of this summer was, by far, the worst pitching we’ve seen from Mr. Vogelsong. Mentally, when you overcome something like that, especially as a veteran starting pitcher, it’s like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. You’re able to re-focus on the task at hand again, that being his assignment on whatever night he starts, and as a result, he’s been wildly successful, having not allowed more than one run in each of his past three starts, including his big-time clutch postseason effort against the Reds. I think we can expect to see more of the same with Vogelsong tonight as he’s back in his normal mindset, even with hot Cardinal hitters slated to face him.
Speaking of “hot Cardinals,” I’d say that term can also be applied to the ageless wonder Chris Carpenter. I mean, it’s really just amazing when you think about it. This is someone, if you remember over the off-season, that was supposed to miss this ENTIRE season -playoffs included! It’s incredible, especially considering just how great he’s been! Carpenter has made four starts since coming back, ALL of which resulting in quality starts, and that’s simply a testament of just how hard he’s worked to get back on track because a lot of times, with someone coming off a severe injury such as Carpenter’s, there’s at least some kind of struggles. Apparently, not at all in the case with Carpenter, who has continued to somehow pick up where he left off last postseason when he was a hero in his team’s miracle run to a World Series championship. Why is this so? Well, first off, it should be common knowledge that the guy is a workhorse. Period. You’d be hard-pressed to find another pitcher who works harder than he does at mastering his craft, or in this instance, getting back into his usual form. The fact that he was able to do this so quickly is really a testament of not only how good he is, but also, it speaks volumes about his desire to remain at the top. And with that being known, it’s a good bet when you trust Carpenter at this point in time. Luckily, we already got his first postseason start over with (5.2 shutout innings) so we don’t really have to worry about any nerves or anything, meaning this is the normal Chris Carpenter that should be on display tonight. He hasn’t exceeded six innings yet since his return, but I think now that he’s been eased back into the swing of things, the kid-gloves are removed, giving us the potential of him providing us a long, durable outing. Even if that’s not the case, the St. Louis bullpen has always been a solid one to trust, especially this postseason in which they’ve been absolutely fantastic, so from the pitching side of the equation, there’s a lot to like here. Let’s hope it plays out as the duel that it is fully capable of being.
Note: I also have a very good bet for the Monday Night Football game tonight. If, somehow, you’re not aware of my NFL work, in which I am 51-29-4 thus far in 2012, you should check out my weekly thread in the football forum. It’s a stronger bet than this baseball over/under tonight.
**May 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 every single day and night**
2011 MLB O/U Playoff Record: 14-11-3, +$5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012 MLB O/U Season Record: 361-329-47, -$1,490 (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 Season Record: 366-270-42, +$1,104
Blahh, it’s been a real uninspiring run these past few days - mostly because of having to take action on Yankee playoff games, whom I’ve never been good with - but luckily, I’ve been able to minimize the damage with mostly small bets (Which is why I’ve been betting the minimum for the most part lately). In any case, the Yankees are thankfully off today, leaving us with just Game 2 of the NLCS in what appears to be a promising pitching matchup on this Monday night. Let’s see how I feel about it…
St. Louis Cardinals @ San Francisco Giants (Best Bet) - $50 for $40
Chris Carpenter vs Ryan Vogelsong
UNDER 7
An okay-sized best bet for me, but certainly not a big one, which I’m waiting on doing again until I get back into a rhythm because I certainly have been far from one over these past several days. Still, this is a pitching matchup, residing in a clear-cut pitcher’s park, that could end up being a nice, enjoyable duel, which is exactly what I’m aiming for. In one corner, you have Ryan Vogelsong, who continues to put his recent struggles behind him (7-start stretch in late-August/early-Septemberwhen his ERA jumped a full run-and-a-half!) after a dazzling effort in Cincinnati last Tuesday, and while he only got a no-decision out of it (Nothing you could do against Homer Bailey’s 10-strikeout, one-hit masterpiece that night), the fact remains that the Giants’ right-hander is back in normal form. As I touched on before that game, this is someone that was struggling so much that you even had “Fade Ryan Vogelsong” threads going on. I mean, that might’ve been a little drastic, but the fact remains that since coming back at the beginning of last year, that stretch at the end of this summer was, by far, the worst pitching we’ve seen from Mr. Vogelsong. Mentally, when you overcome something like that, especially as a veteran starting pitcher, it’s like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. You’re able to re-focus on the task at hand again, that being his assignment on whatever night he starts, and as a result, he’s been wildly successful, having not allowed more than one run in each of his past three starts, including his big-time clutch postseason effort against the Reds. I think we can expect to see more of the same with Vogelsong tonight as he’s back in his normal mindset, even with hot Cardinal hitters slated to face him.
Speaking of “hot Cardinals,” I’d say that term can also be applied to the ageless wonder Chris Carpenter. I mean, it’s really just amazing when you think about it. This is someone, if you remember over the off-season, that was supposed to miss this ENTIRE season -playoffs included! It’s incredible, especially considering just how great he’s been! Carpenter has made four starts since coming back, ALL of which resulting in quality starts, and that’s simply a testament of just how hard he’s worked to get back on track because a lot of times, with someone coming off a severe injury such as Carpenter’s, there’s at least some kind of struggles. Apparently, not at all in the case with Carpenter, who has continued to somehow pick up where he left off last postseason when he was a hero in his team’s miracle run to a World Series championship. Why is this so? Well, first off, it should be common knowledge that the guy is a workhorse. Period. You’d be hard-pressed to find another pitcher who works harder than he does at mastering his craft, or in this instance, getting back into his usual form. The fact that he was able to do this so quickly is really a testament of not only how good he is, but also, it speaks volumes about his desire to remain at the top. And with that being known, it’s a good bet when you trust Carpenter at this point in time. Luckily, we already got his first postseason start over with (5.2 shutout innings) so we don’t really have to worry about any nerves or anything, meaning this is the normal Chris Carpenter that should be on display tonight. He hasn’t exceeded six innings yet since his return, but I think now that he’s been eased back into the swing of things, the kid-gloves are removed, giving us the potential of him providing us a long, durable outing. Even if that’s not the case, the St. Louis bullpen has always been a solid one to trust, especially this postseason in which they’ve been absolutely fantastic, so from the pitching side of the equation, there’s a lot to like here. Let’s hope it plays out as the duel that it is fully capable of being.
Note: I also have a very good bet for the Monday Night Football game tonight. If, somehow, you’re not aware of my NFL work, in which I am 51-29-4 thus far in 2012, you should check out my weekly thread in the football forum. It’s a stronger bet than this baseball over/under tonight.
**May 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 every single day and night**
