charleissoprt 5/3 mlb picks & mlb free picks content
HOME - SPORTS NEWS MLB PLAYOFFS SPORT NEWS
FREE MLB NEWS PICKS & MLB NEWS PICKS FREE MLB PICKS & MLB PICKS
MLB
FREE MLB PICKS, MLB PICKS, FREE MAJOR BASEBALL PICKS, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS- (covers.com): mlb top 5 current managers.
We often spout out hitting and pitching stats. Sometimes we discuss intangible factors such
as fielding, weather and stadiums. Lost among all this talk are the managers.
Sabermetrics has slowly shaped how baseball teams are formed and how matchups are set, but
the art of managing can’t be quantified – and neither can its value.
Here is Covers.com’s breakdown of baseball’s top five managers:
5. Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles Angels
Scioscia has brought small ball back to the American League. No team in baseball has stolen
more bases – or attempted more stolen bases – than the Angels over the last three years.
The 48-year-old has led the Angels to a winning record in five of his seven seasons on the
job, including a World Series title in 2002.
He has the Angels off to a great start again this year despite little offensive production
outside of Vladimir Guerrero, and injuries to the likes of Garrett Anderson, Howie Kendrick
and Bartolo Colon.
The Angels have shot out to the lead in the AL West at 16-11 and have an MLB-best 11-3
record at home.
4. Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins
Gardenhire captained baseball’s best money team last season, leading the Twins to an AL
Central-best 96-66 record and 24.15 units, meaning bettors earned $24.25 per dollar bet on
the Twins last year.
One of his strengths is managing bullpens. Minnesota relievers led the league in ERA last
season at 2.91 and lost only 10 games all season.
Gardenhire, now in his sixth season with Minnesota, has also been a prolific winner. The
Twins have posted an above-.500 record every year he’s been on the job, and last season won
their fourth division title in five seasons. They have earned an average 12.32 units per
year over that time span.
Minnesota is on a strong pace to repeat its success again this year. The Twins are off to a
15-11 start, and are up 2.07 units.
3. Jim Leyland, Detroit Tigers
Leyland’s infamous late-April rant last season was considered the catalyst for his Tigers’
meteoric and improbable run to the top of the baseball world, but his day-to-day managing
was the true reason for the Detroit’s success.
Leyland is the consummate micromanager. He is said to have an inside joke with every player
on the team and knows just the right thing to say to put a slumping player at ease and keep
a streaking player hot.
Still fiery as ever at 62-years-old, Leyland is also one of two managers who wears baseball
spikes while managing, along with another member of this list. He is also still at the top
of his game. Only an 1164-1198 lifetime record keeps him from being higher on this list.
2. Bobby Cox, Atlanta Braves
Anyone who has won the NL manager of the year twice in the last three years has to be on
this list. Some argue Cox has lost a step as he nears his 66th birthday, but anyone who has
watched the Braves play this season knows otherwise. Atlanta is 16-10 on the season heading
into Wednesday’s action.
The departure of long-time Atlanta pitching coach Leo Mazzone hurt the Braves last year.
The team failed to win the NL East for the first time since Cox’s full season with the team
(though the second time around) in 1991.
Atlanta has been the strongest bet in baseball in the four years before its “off year” last
season. The Braves averaged 15.31 units of profit each season from 2002-2005.
Cox joins Leyland as the other manager who wears spikes in the dugout.
1. Tony La Russa, St. Louis Cardinals
Considered by many a managerial genius, La Russa is the only active major league manager
who also owns a law degree. La Russa proved wrong any critics claiming he may have lost his
touch by leading the Cardinals to the World Series last year – the second title of his
career.
The win made La Russa the first manager ever to win multiple pennants in both leagues and
he became one of only two managers to win the World Series in both leagues. He also won a
World Series with the Oakland Athletics in 1989.
St. Louis is currently on pace for its first losing season under La Russa since 1999. The
Cardinals are off to a 10-15 start, but that doesn’t do much to take away from La Russa’s
greatness. He is third all-time in managerial wins with 2,307, trailing only Hall of Famers
Connie Mack and John McGraw.
FREE MLB PICKS: (covers.com): injuries continue to pile up in oakland.
The Oakland Athletics head into Friday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with
enough injuries on their roster to make Ken Griffey Jr. jealous.
Designated hitter Mike Piazza’s strained shoulder is just the latest in a long list of
injuries that continue to plague the Athletics. He essentially joins Oakland’s entire
outfield on the 15-day disabled list.
Center fielder Mark Kotsay has missed the entire season so far after going for arthroscopic
surgery on his back on March 8. Right fielder Milton Bradley has missed the last nine games
with a strained hamstring.
The left field platoon of Travis Buck and Bobby Kielty is also hurting. Kielty is on the
15-day DL after spraining his calf on April 29. Buck missed Wednesday’s 6-4 loss to the
Boston Red Sox as a +172 underdog with a sore wrist and is listed as questionable for
Friday.
Trips to the disabled list are outnumbering wins in Oakland these days. The A’s have won
two of their last seven games and four of their last 11.
Times have become so dire that manager Billy Beane traded outfielder Ryan Langerhans to the
Washington Nationals for outfielder Chris Snelling after Langerhans played just two games
with the team. Langerhans was originally traded from the Atlanta Braves to Oakland on
Sunday for cash considerations and a player to be named later.
The good new for Oakland is that first baseman Nick Swisher is expected to return to the
lineup on Friday after missing six games with a strained left hamstring. The bad news is
that all the injuries in the outfield will force him to start in center field.
Swisher actually started 208 of his 329 major league games in the outfield for Oakland, and
played center field in university at Ohio State. He is considered a below-par defender in
center at the major league level, and has started just eight games there in his career, all
this season.
Oakland’s starting pitching is also starting to deteriorate. Staff ace Rich Harden suffered
his annual injury on April 16, reporting tightness in his right throwing shoulder. He was
1-1 with a 1.42 ERA in three starts.
Esteban Loaiza is also out of action. The former 20-game winner was placed on the DL on
April 1 with a bulged disk in his throwing shoulder.
The absence of Harden and Loaiza has forced some lesser arms into the A’s rotation, namely
Joe Kennedy and Dallas Braden, who have combined for a 1-3 record and an average of 5 1/3
innings pitched in six starts.
Their presence is beginning to put a strain on Oakland’s bullpen. Athletics relievers are
averaging almost 3 2/3 innings per game over the last week.
The bullpen could get a bit of a rest on Friday, however, with inning eater Danny Haren on
the mound. The 26-year-old right-hander is averaging 6 2/3 innings per start and has worked
at least seven innings in four of his starts this season.
Tampa Bay will counter with Casey Fossum, who is pitching against Oakland for the second
straight start. The left-hander allowed nine runs on nine hits in five innings on April 29
in one of just two games this season where Oakland has reached a double-digit run total.
FREE MLB PICKS- (associated press): piazza sidelined 4-6 weeks.
Oakland designated hitter Mike Piazza is expected to be sidelined four-to-six weeks with a
strained right shoulder injured Wednesday night when he dove into third base in an
unsuccessful attempt to avoid being tagged.
With two outs in the sixth and runners at first and second, Bobby Crosby hit a grounder to
Boston third baseman Mike Lowell. Piazza and Lowell both hustled for the bag and collided
near it. Piazza was tagged out and stayed on the ground in pain for a short time.
''It's frustrating,'' said Piazza, his arm in a sling. ''I felt like I was starting to
swing the bat a little better and it's a tough setback. It's really frustrating.''
Piazza, who signed as a free agent after spending the previous 14 seasons in the National
League, is batting .282 after going 2-for-3 in the Athletics' 6-4 loss to the Red Sox. He
hit safely in his last six games but is just 14-for-59 in his last 15.
The Red Sox were listed as -179 favorites. The game played over the 10-run total.
The injury delays Piazza's adjustment to a new league and its pitchers. Oakland's cleanup
hitter has one homer this season and is 39th in major league history with 421.
''I just wanted to get my at bats in now and just keep seeing pitching,'' he said.
Assistant general manager David Forst said he hadn't had time to think how the team would
replace Piazza.
''In the next 36 hours, we'll figure something out,'' he said. ''Tonight was something you
can't avoid. It's not a muscle pull. Mike's playing the game hard and so is Lowell. It's
unfortunate. Mike is starting to swing the bat well.''
Oakland was leading 3-2 when Crosby grounded to Lowell. Piazza thought Lowell would throw
to first and that was Lowell's initial intention, but he saw his best chance was to race
Piazza to third.
Piazza said he saw ''a little sliver of daylight'' and dove headfirst rather than slide
feet first. He first thought he had separated his shoulder, but the injury later was
diagnosed as a strained AC joint.
''He just kind of landed on my arm,'' Piazza said. ''It's just a freak thing, just a freak
play, and he was obviously concerned.''
Lowell lingered briefly at the base.
''When I said, 'are you all right?' he said, 'It's my arm, my arm,'' said Lowell, who
called the Oakland clubhouse to see if Piazza was OK. ''You hate to hear he's going to be
out.''
Piazza will join six other players on the disabled list, including four outfielders.
''It's just sort of a freaky thing,'' he said, ''but we were keeping our heads above water
and that's the thing that really hurts. I felt like I took a couple of good swings
tonight.''
Oakland fell to 13-14 after splitting the two-game series, 2 1/2 games behind Los Angeles
in the AL West.
MLB FREE PICKS- (associated press): angels put infielder in injured reserve.
The Los Angeles Angels put infielder Maicer Izturis on the 15-day disabled list,
retroactive to April 30, and recalled infielder Brandon Wood from Triple-A Salt Lake.
Izturis was sidelined Sunday with a tight right hamstring, and the injury was not
responding to treatment. Manager Mike Scioscia said a decision on outfielder Garrett
Anderson, who has a sore right hip flexor, would be made when the team returns home this
weekend.
Wood made his major league debut April 26. He was batting .261 with three home runs and 15
RBIs in Salt Lake.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS: (associated press): injuries piling up in oakland.
The Oakland Athletics head into Friday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with
enough injuries on their roster to make Ken Griffey Jr. jealous.
Designated hitter Mike Piazza’s strained shoulder is just the latest in a long list of
injuries that continue to plague the Athletics. He essentially joins Oakland’s entire
outfield on the 15-day disabled list.
Center fielder Mark Kotsay has missed the entire season so far after going for arthroscopic
surgery on his back on March 8. Right fielder Milton Bradley has missed the last nine games
with a strained hamstring.
The left field platoon of Travis Buck and Bobby Kielty is also hurting. Kielty is on the
15-day DL after spraining his calf on April 29. Buck missed Wednesday’s 6-4 loss to the
Boston Red Sox as a +172 underdog with a sore wrist and is listed as questionable for
Friday.
Trips to the disabled list are outnumbering wins in Oakland these days. The A’s have won
two of their last seven games and four of their last 11.
Times have become so dire that manager Billy Beane traded outfielder Ryan Langerhans to the
Washington Nationals for outfielder Chris Snelling after Langerhans played just two games
with the team. Langerhans was originally traded from the Atlanta Braves to Oakland on
Sunday for cash considerations and a player to be named later.
The good new for Oakland is that first baseman Nick Swisher is expected to return to the
lineup on Friday after missing six games with a strained left hamstring. The bad news is
that all the injuries in the outfield will force him to start in center field.
Swisher actually started 208 of his 329 major league games in the outfield for Oakland, and
played center field in university at Ohio State. He is considered a below-par defender in
center at the major league level, and has started just eight games there in his career, all
this season.
Oakland’s starting pitching is also starting to deteriorate. Staff ace Rich Harden suffered
his annual injury on April 16, reporting tightness in his right throwing shoulder. He was
1-1 with a 1.42 ERA in three starts.
Esteban Loaiza is also out of action. The former 20-game winner was placed on the DL on
April 1 with a bulged disk in his throwing shoulder.
The absence of Harden and Loaiza has forced some lesser arms into the A’s rotation, namely
Joe Kennedy and Dallas Braden, who have combined for a 1-3 record and an average of 5 1/3
innings pitched in six starts.
Their presence is beginning to put a strain on Oakland’s bullpen. Athletics relievers are
averaging almost 3 2/3 innings per game over the last week.
The bullpen could get a bit of a rest on Friday, however, with inning eater Danny Haren on
the mound. The 26-year-old right-hander is averaging 6 2/3 innings per start and has worked
at least seven innings in four of his starts this season.
Tampa Bay will counter with Casey Fossum, who is pitching against Oakland for the second
straight start. The left-hander allowed nine runs on nine hits in five innings on April 29
in one of just two games this season where Oakland has reached a double-digit run total.
FREE MLB PICKS- (covers.com): handicapping cincinnati's grueling schedule.
Every long journey begins with one step and the Cincinnati Reds are took that first step
last night when they kicked off a 33-games-in-34-nights marathon stretch.
The Reds play 16 straight games, beginning with a three-game road set with the Houston
Astros. It ends May 16 at the conclusion of a West Coast swing to face the Los Angeles
Dodgers and San Diego Padres. In between those road trips Cincinnati hosts the Colorado
Rockies for three games and the Astros for four.
After a brief day off for travel, the Reds begin the second leg of their lengthy schedule,
flying to Cleveland to play the Indians. They return to Cincinnati to face the Washington
Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park, and then cap off this
marathon with series in Houston and Colorado.
All in all, the Reds’ heavy chunk of schedule will last from May 1 to June 4, span six
different time zones and includes 18 road games. Cincinnati was 12-13 heading into
Tuesday’s game and down 0.8 units on the year. It has earned bettors 1.93 units on the
road, splitting the 12 away games it has played this season.
Professional handicappers still rely on situational stats and matchups when capping teams
on these types of schedules. They don’t have any proven trends or tactics but they do look
for possible let-down spots.
“When a team from the East is going west, there’s a tendency to go against them. But the
first day back home, what with the time change and all, is the time to look at fading that
team,” says Covers Expert Ted Sevransky.
“The first day back off a road trip is filled with a busy schedule for players,” says
Sevransky. “They have to see the wife and the kids or the girlfriend or pay bills or deal
with personal issues to so there are a lot of factors outside of baseball keeping them
busy.”
Last season during similar long consecutive-game stretches, the Red reacted differently to
the constant travel. They started a 26-games-in-27-nights run on April 11 and wrapped up
this stretch on May 7 with a record of 17-9. In another long stretch starting June 16, they
played 23 games in 24 nights, finishing with an 8-15 record.
While being on the go can wear down most players, teams are used to the demanding schedule.
Managers will rest players when needed. However the one area that is most susceptible to
fatigue is the bullpen.
Cincinnati’s starters have the eighth best collective ERA in the National League (3.76) but
its bullpen has failed to pick up the slack, going 4-5 with a 4.43 ERA in only 63 innings
of work.
“Ball players are used to working every day, with one exception - the bullpen,” says
Sevransky. “Bullpens can tend to get worn down over these stretches if they have to work a
lot innings over the day-to-day. Keeping an eye on that is important.”
Oddsmakers have set Cincinnati as a +119 road underdog for tonight's game, the third of the
33 games. The Reds will go with left-hander Eric Milton today. The total is set at 9 runs.
MLB PICKS- (covers.com): cards travel to teammates funeral.
After a difficult few days, the St. Louis Cardinals will spend their off-day in Tupelo,
Miss., attending the funeral of former teammate Josh Hancock.
The club completed a series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday afternoon and were
scheduled to return to St. Louis that evening. On Thursday, one of only three off-days this
month for the club, they will first fly to Mississippi via chartered jet to be a part of
the memorial service and then fly back to St. Louis later in the day.
"I think in some ways tomorrow will be the toughest day of all," catcher Gary Bennett said
Wednesday afternoon. "You're seeing his family and going through it all over again. It will
be difficult, I'm sure ... guys on this team are going through a lot, but you go to your
job. It happens in all walks of life."
The Cardinals have been struggling on the field since Hancock’s death. Sunday’s game was
canceled after the teams were informed of the car accident that took the life of the relief
pitcher, but they were back on the field Monday. St. Louis lost all three games to the
Brewers by a combined score of 23-3.
See what's free at
AOL.com.
