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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS- (covers.com): battle of los angeles usually one sided.
The cross-town rivalries created by interleague play force teams to fight for bragging
rights, making what would otherwise be “just another game” a more meaningful battle.
The annual series between the Los Angeles Angels and the Los Angeles Dodgers isn’t
technically an intercity rivalry (the Angels play in Anaheim), but given that the names are
the same and they've met every year since the interleague experiment began, there's enough
on the line. And the Dodgers can’t be happy with the way things are going.
The teams renew the battle Friday night when the Dodgers travel to Anaheim. Brad Penny will
pitch for the Dodgers while Ervin Santana goes for the Angels.
The Dodgers will certainly hope things go better in Anaheim than usual. The NL squad is
8-16 at Angel Stadium since 1999 and are down 8.35 units at the park, meaning bettors would
have lost $8.35 if they'd bet a dollar on the Dodgers every time the two teams play in
Anaheim.
More recent times also haven’t been kind. The Dodgers are 3-6 in Anaheim over the last
three years and are down 2.25 units.
“It's still a pretty small sample, but there's no question it does become a psychological
advantage (for the Angels),” says Sean Murphy of The Miller Group. “There's not a whole lot
of pressure in early season interleague series, but you can be sure the Dodgers want to
even up the score with their cross-town rivalry.”
The Dodgers are also trailing in the overall series since 1999, going 21-27 and dropping
9.88 units.
Friday’s game features the Angels’ best home starter – and their worst road starter – in
Santana. The 24-year-old right-hander has the most polarizing home-road splits in baseball
this season, going 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA and 1.05 WHIP at home and 0-4 with a 7.86 ERA and
1.97 WHIP on the road.
“(Santana) is very comfortable pitching at Angel Stadium, and his poor road numbers
probably serve to give him a little bit of value when he pitches at home,” says Murphy.
Ironically, Santana will be up against Penny, the best road pitcher in baseball this
season. The 6-foot-4, 260-pound right-hander has been absolutely lights out away from home
this year, going 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in three starts. He has 17 strikeouts
against just four walks.
Penny is also quietly compiling as strong a start to 2007 as any pitcher in the majors. The
28-year-old is 5-0 with a 1.39 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in seven starts this season. The Dodgers
have won six of his seven starts overall.
Penny is 1-1 in Anaheim, but pitched well in both starts. He's allowed just 11 hits and
four runs in 14 career innings at Angel Stadium.
FREE MLB PICKS: (covers.com): harang leaves reds for berevement.
Right-hander Aaron Harang went on the bereavement list Thursday, leaving the Cincinnati
Reds unsure of their weekend pitching plans.
The Reds completed a three-game series in San Diego with a 3-2 loss Wednesday night. Harang
remained in San Diego to be with his ailing grandfather.
Cincinnati was off Thursday before opening a weekend series against the Cleveland Indians
at Jacobs Field. Harang is scheduled to pitch Sunday. The Reds planned to fill his roster
spot before the series opener Friday.
FREE MLB PICKS- (associated press): giambi wants mlb to apologize for steroid use.
New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi says Major League Baseball should apologize to the
public for its widespread performance-enhancing drug problem.
Claiming he's likely been tested for performance-enhancing drugs more often than anyone,
Giambi told USA Today in a story on its Web site Friday that the apology is long overdue.
''I was wrong for doing that stuff,'' Giambi told the newspaper Wednesday before the
Yankees played the Chicago White Sox. ''What we should have done a long time ago was stand
up - players, ownership, everybody - and said: 'We made a mistake.'
''We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone
forward. ... Steroids and all of that was a part of history. But it was a topic that
everybody wanted to avoid. Nobody wanted to talk about it.''
Giambi reportedly told a grand jury during the BALCO investigation in December 2003 that he
used steroids and human growth hormone. He told USA Today this week he's thankful for MLB's
testing program for steroids and amphetamines that was revised before last season. MLB does
not test for HGH, but Giambi said he does not use the drug.
''Unfortunately, (the rumors) are going to be a part of it. But that's OK. I'm probably
tested more than anybody else. I'm not hiding anything,'' he said. ''That stuff didn't help
me hit home runs. I don't care what people say, nothing is going to give you that gift of
hitting a baseball.''
MLB FREE PICKS- (associated press): red sox beckett headed for dl.
Josh Beckett is headed for the disabled list because of a finger injury and is expected to
miss two starts before returning for Boston's home game May 29 against Cleveland.
Beckett, baseball's winningest pitcher at 7-0, is recovering from a torn flap of skin on
the middle finger of his throwing hand. The right-hander will throw on the side before
Friday night's game against Atlanta, which he had been scheduled to start.
Oddsmakers have not released a line for this game.
The Red Sox said Beckett would go on the disabled list Friday and right-hander Devern
Hansack would be recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to face the Braves. So far this year, no
member of the Red Sox's rotation has missed a game because of an injury.
''We included him in this decision a lot,'' manager Terry Francona said of Beckett. ''He
was very thoughtful and conscientious in what he was saying to us and we talked to him for
a long time about it.''
He said ''nothing went backward at all,'' in Beckett's recovery. ''He will prepare to start
in the 29th,'' Francona said.
The finger injury forced Beckett out of last Sunday's 6-5 win over Baltimore after four
innings. He had won his other seven starts and has a 2.66 ERA.
With Florida in 2002, Beckett's first full season in the majors, blisters on the middle
finger sent him to the disabled list three times. In 2004, he made three more trips to the
disabled list, two of them because of injuries to that finger. He stayed off the list last
season, his first with the Red Sox.
Hansack will start his second stint with Boston. He was called up May 3 when reliever Mike
Timlin went on the disabled list and returned there May 11. In his only appearance, he
allowed one run in 2-3 of an inning on May 8 against Toronto
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS: (associated press): commissioner won't answer bodns questions.
Baseball commissioner Bud Selig sidestepped questions Thursday about whether he'll attend
games as Barry Bonds approaches Hank Aaron's home run record of 755.
''Is he really approaching?'' Selig, a longtime friend of Aaron, said facetiously after
owners finished their two-day meeting. ''I don't have anything different to say today. I'll
make a decision at some appropriate time.''
In 1974, commissioner Bowie Kuhn was criticized for not attending the game when Aaron hit
No. 715 to break Babe Ruth's record. Kuhn was there when Aaron hit No. 714.
Selig also wouldn't say whether he was concerned that active players thus far have not
agreed to be interviewed for former Sen. George Mitchell's steroids investigation and only
a few have supplied requested medical records.
Belmont.com offers numerous proposition bets on Barry Bonds' 756th HR. Such as, "Will
Commissioner Bud Selig be in attendance at the Ball Park when Barry Bonds breaks the HR
Record?" Belmont.com lists ‘yes’ as the underdog at +225 and ‘no’ as the favorite at –350.
''That is something that my friends at the players' association, the players, you'll have
to ask them,'' Selig said at a news conference.
Mitchell's investigation was not brought up during Thursday's meeting.
Owners approved baseball's new seven-year ''Extra Innings'' out-of-market television
contracts with DirecTV and iN Demand, deals that guarantee the clubs average of $80 million
annually. Owners also approved the launch of the MLB Network, which Selig said will be
available to at least 47 million homes when it starts broadcasting on Jan. 1, 2009.
''That will exceed any other cable channel launch in cable television history by almost 20
million homes,'' baseball executive vice president Tim Brosnan said, adding that the
current high was set by MSNBC, which was available in 28 million homes a year after its
launch in 1996.
The MLB Network will broadcast baseball programming 24 hours a day, including a weekly
Saturday night live game during the regular season.
Selig said the new postseason schedule did not come up during the meetings. Last week,
baseball announced that the World Series will start Oct. 24 and Game 7 will be Nov. 1, an
effort that eliminates Friday night games and cuts Saturday night games from two to one.
Those are the lowest-rated television nights of the week.
''I'm the one that always worried about the postseason schedule and how late we play,'' he
said. ''The sport is so popular, it's up to us to do everything to make sure as many people
see as many things as possible. We get criticized when we don't do that. And I think
putting the World Series on, starting it on a Wednesday, is good for us. I think more
people will be able to watch it. I want the World Series ratings to reflect that this sport
is more popular today than it's ever been.''
Selig said baseball was not considering an expansion of the first round from best-of-five
to best-of-seven.
''We're pressing now to Nov. 1. The clubs are not interested in shortening the season, and
I understand it,'' he said. ''And therefore, you can't have everything. There are a lot of
people who believe a five-game series really has moire tension, more pressure, every game
means more.''
At times, Selig also has said baseball would consider changing the first-round schedule to
make it more difficult for wild-card teams, who currently are home for Games 3 and 4.
''We continue to talk about that,'' he said.
Brosnan said affiliation agreements were in place with 33 multisystem operators of cable
television networks to carry the MLB Network on their widest digital tier. Baseball owns
two-thirds of the network, DirecTV owns one-sixth and Comcast, Cox and Time-Warner Cable
own the remaining sixth.
''We used the out-of-market package to leverage distribution, to be quite honest with
you,'' Brosnan said.
Baseball originally reached an exclusive ''Extra Innings'' deals with DirecTV that was
criticized by some. Brosnan said that agreement was a $400 million, four-year contract that
gave the company a $300 million, three-year option.
Brosnan also said it was too early to determine whether baseball will send teams to China
for exhibition games next March. He will be part of a baseball delegation traveling to
China on May to examine ballparks.
''It's a giant, burgeoning marketplace that's just starting to figure out how to digest big
U.S. sporting events,'' he said. ''I think we'll know a heck of a lot more about the
viability on our return.''
FREE MLB PICKS- (covers.com): zito set to return to oakland.
Barry Zito didn’t have to travel far to go back home.
The 29-year-old spent his first seven major league seasons with the Oakland Athletics, but
signed a long-term $126-million contract to move across the Bay and join the San Francisco
Giants in the offseason.
The left-hander will take the mound to open interleague play on Friday night when San
Francisco makes the short trip to Oakland as a -105 favorite.
Zito went 102-63 with a 3.55 ERA as a member of the A’s, and won the 200 AL Cy Young award.
He is 3-4 with a 4.29 ERA in his first season with the Giants.
“Certainly he is familiar with many of the A's hitters since he had spent his entire career
in Oakland before going to San Francisco,” says Covers Expert Scott Rickenbach.
It’s not only familiarity with the hitters that will benefit Zito. He will also be helped
by some very familiar surroundings.
“(Oakland’s McAfee Coliseum) is such a pitcher's park that this is one thing that helps any
opposing pitcher,” says Rickenbach. “But also helping Zito, of course, is the fact that
nearly half of his starts in his entire career have come on this mound.”
Roughly half of Zito’s 1430 1/3 innings as a member of the A’s came at McAfee. His
counterpart on Friday, Chad Gaudin, has roughly one-seventh the experience pitching in the
ballpark.
Zito will also benefit from facing one of the worst home hitting teams in the majors.
Oakland is hitting just .229 at home this season and is averaging just 3.9 runs per game in
19 games.
The added intangible of interleague play, where familiarity is at a premium, will also help
Zito on Friday.
“The fact that this is interleague is a boost as well,” says Rickenbach. “Especially in a
case like this where even if the A's hitters are familiar with seeing Zito pitch they
certainly aren't familiar with actually facing him in the batter's box. Big difference, and
a big advantage to the pitcher in an interleague situation.”
Gaudin’s experience against San Francisco is brief are forgettable. He pitched 1 1/3 relief
innings against the Giants in San Fransciso last season, allowing two earned runs.
MLB PICKS- (covers.com): boos ready to set numbers for tricky interleague play.
It’s that time of year again. Major League Baseball begins its interleague schedule this
Friday, giving bettors a chance to build their bankrolls with unique matchups and
first-time showdowns.
The overall series has pretty much split down the middle since American League teams began
playing their National League counterparts in 1997. The AL has the slight edge over the NL,
going 1,250-1,202 over the past 10 seasons.
That parity changed with a bang last year.
The AL teams' slight lead over the decade is mostly thanks to a 2006 trouncing of their
National League opponents. Last season the AL won the interleague series 154-98 thanks to
teams like the Boston Red Sox (16-2), Minnesota Twins (16-2), Detroit Tigers (15-3) and
Chicago White Sox (14-4). Only three NL teams finished above .500 against American League
opponents.
The AL's domination last year stands out as the most one-sided season series win by either
league since interleague started. Baseball bettors planning to ride the success into this
year should also prepare to face bigger price tags.
“There is always that value equation to have to deal with. Since the AL showed such
superiority last year it becomes a part of the process for the oddsmakers,” says lines
consultant and handicapper David Malinsky. “That means that adjustments get made. So we
would fully expect the lines to have incorporated last year’s dominance into them.”
Relying solely on one league’s recent record over another goes against a handicapping
etiquette that preaches a focus on individual games and situational edges. Most fans agree
the American has been the stronger league for the past decade, but the chance of repeating
last season’s interleague success is slim.
“I think this record will level out this season,” says Scott Rickenbach of Covers Experts.
“The NL has surprised me with some very strong pitching from some improved staffs. Plus
surprisingly the NL, even with pitchers batting, hasn't been far off the pace of the AL in
terms of batting averages this season.”
The interleague games present rare situations in which bettors can capitalize on a league’s
particular strengths. In the case of this weekend’s Subway Series between the New York
Yankees and New York Mets, Yankees pitchers will have to hit for the first time this season
and won’t be able to use a designated hitter.
Also, many teams face starting pitchers for the first time this weekend. Batters won’t have
the same scouting or familiarity with these players and could struggle against a pitcher
with a tricky release or unorthodox form.
“We also get the opportunity to play against teams that are not particularly designed well
for success in some of the ballparks,” says Malinsky. “Bad defensive teams become a
particular issue because they are the most vulnerable when having to play in a new
stadium.”
A team like the Texas Rangers, who lead the majors in errors and have one of the worst team
ERAs, travels to foreign Minute Maid Park to face the state-rival Houston Astros, a team
averaging under four runs against per game this season.
Oddsmakers have not yet released series or individual game prices for this weekend’s
interleague matchups.
“Don't play too many games on the first day and dig yourself a hole before you even find
out how some teams might respond in different situations," warns Rickenbach. "I'll be
honest, from a fan's standpoint I think it's great. From a bettor's standpoint it can be a
little tricky."
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