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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS- (covers.com): can phillies continue their run on the road.
If you happened to blink sometime in the last 12 days you may have missed the Philadelphia Phillies’ surprising turnaround.
The Phillies, who started the season 14-19, have won eight of their last 12 games and evened their record at .500 with a win over the Toronto Blue Jays this past Sunday.
"At the beginning of the year, everybody was saying we had to get off to a good start, everybody was harping on us, and I think guys were pressing," center fielder Aaron Rowand told the Philadelphia Daily News. "But as the season went along, guys started relaxing, falling into their roles, and doing what they're capable of doing."
Some of the team’s shocking success is due in part to a 10-game homestand in which they took series wins over Toronto, the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs. But baseball bettors can’t deny the improvements the Phillies made on offense and defense during this stretch.
“I do give a lot of credit to the (Phillies) even though the teams they faced in the homestand haven't been hot. But they weren't ice cold either,” says Scott Rickenbach of Covers Experts. “The Phillies have seen a combination of factors help them but the key comes down to starting pitching.”
Philadelphia’s starters have carried the team in the last 11 games. With its bats only outscoring opponents 60-49 during this run, the rotation of Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, Freddy Garcia, Adam Eaton and Jon Lieber have made the difference, posting a collective 3.63 ERA in just under 72 total innings of work.
On Tuesday, Philadelphia left the comfort of Citizens Bank Park where it is 13-10 and headed south to face the Florida Marlins. The Phillies dropped Game 1 of this series 5-3 as -136 road favorites. Following the three games with the Fish, the Phillies will head to Atlanta to battle the Braves.
Philadelphia backers hope the team can keep the momentum through this week’s road trip after suffering through a 9-13 record away from home this season. The Phillies are the best hitting team at home in the National League but are averaging just .243 at the plate when playing the role of visitor.
Over the last three seasons the Phillies have finished above .500 on the road, going a collective 130-113 since 2004. Last year they won 10 of the 14 games against the Marlins, with half of those victories coming on the road. So far this season, the two clubs have split their six meetings heading into Tuesday’s game.
Philadelphia will get struggling slugger Ryan Howard back at the midpoint of this road trip. The reigning home run king sat out the homestand due to a strained quadriceps but sparked the streak with a pinch-hit grand slam against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 9. Howard is batting a dismal .204 with only six home runs this year after knocking 58 out of the park in 2006.
“With (Howard) out, (Greg) Dobbs has received a bunch of playing time and he's hitting nearly 100 points higher than Howard,” says Rickenbach. “This has lessened the blow of Howard missing time. But until he shakes his slump, Howard has hurt the team at times this season.”
Oddsmakers have set the Phillies as -119 road favorites for Wednesday Game 2 with the Marlins. The total is set at 9.
FREE MLB PICKS: (covers.com): ballpark breakdowns, betting yankee stadium.
Jim “Catfish” Hunter said it best: “Just walking into Yankee Stadium, chills run through you.”
It seems like good things always happen to the New York Yankees, especially at home. The Yankees have an average record of 53-32 at home since 1999 including the playoffs – easily the best home winning percentage in the majors.
The ghosts of past stars Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle and DiMaggio are said to often carry the Yankees to a higher place, but with “New Yankee Stadium” scheduled to open on Opening Day of 2009, it appears the ghosts have already made the move.
The House That Ruth Built will soon become the house that Derek Jeter built.
New York has won at least 50 home games each of the past six seasons, but is on pace for just 45 regular season wins this year. The Yankeees have an 11-9 record through their first 20 home games (all numbers as of Tuesday, May 23).
Their home totals are also out of whack this year. The “Bronx Bombers” reputation caused oddsmakers to set their totals sky high over the years. They have played over the total on the season just once in the last five years (a 39-38 record in 2005) and have an over/under ratio of 184-220 over that time span. They played over on the road in each of those five seasons.
It’s still early, but clearly the Yankees are doing things backwards this year – both their home and road over/under trends are reversed from last season. New York has played over in 11 of 20 games at home with two pushes and the club is 7-13-3 over/under on the road.
“I cannot find any particular reason why the pattern would be shifting, unless it is the oddsmakers doing their usual adjustments to keep all of the teams as close to 50-50 across the board,” says Covers Expert David Malinsky. “The lineup has not changed in any particular fashion and there is no particular reason why the current pitching staff would show any kind of bias.”
Yankee Stadium stands as one of baseball’s most classic venues. The 60,000 seat complex opened in 1923 at a time when other stadiums housed only 30,000 people.
The ballpark has carved out a mystical aura over the years. It is home to 26 World Series championships and countless Yankees successes.
It has also been the subject of plenty of renovations. The original design had the stadium wall run 285 feet down the left field line, 490 feet to straight-away center field, and 295 feet down the right field line. Present day dimensions have left field at 318 feet, center at 409 feet, and right at 314 feet.
The height of the outfield walls makes the park equally favorable to both right and left-handed bats. The left field wall is eight feet high. The right field wall is 10 feet.
FREE MLB PICKS- (associated press): reports say giambi fails amphetamines test.
Jason Giambi failed an amphetamines test within the last year, the Daily News reported Wednesday.
The newspaper reported that with the failed amphetamines test, Giambi has been subjected to six additional tests for one year. The newspaper did not cite any sources in its report.
Giambi declined comment to the newspaper before the New York Yankees' 7-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.
The Yankees slugger recently said in a USA Today interview that he was probably tested more than anybody else.
Before the failed test, lawyers for the commissioner's office and the players' association held more conversations Tuesday on a possible meeting with Giambi but it remained uncertain when or if such a gathering would take place.
Lawyers for Major League Baseball would like to talk to Giambi about comments in last Friday's editions of USA Today.
I was wrong for doing that stuff, the New York Yankees designated hitter was quoted as saying, remarks some have interpreted as an admission of steroids use.
Management lawyers would like to hold the meeting as soon as is practicable. The failed amphetamines test most likely wouldn't be discussed at a meeting since MLB policy is to keep a first positive test secret.
Hall of Famer Frank Robinson took issue with one of Giambi's comments.
What we should have done a long time ago was stand up - players, ownership, everybody - and said: 'We made a mistake,' Giambi was quoted as saying. 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.
Robinson said Giambi should speak for himself.
If Jason wants to confess, then he should come out and say: 'I'm guilty. I apologize. I apologize to baseball. I apologize to all the fans that have supported me and supported baseball over the years. And I will clean up my act and promise you I will not do anything like this again,' Robinson said during an interview on ESPN. He should not drag others into (it), because when he says baseball, that includes everybody in baseball.
Before the Yankees played Boston on Tuesday night, Giambi was asked about a report in the New York Post that said the Los Angeles Angels had an interest in acquiring him. Giambi has a full no-trade clause.
This is all news to me. I'm a Yankee, he said. It's kind of fun to read. I never asked for it.
MLB FREE PICKS- (associated press): cubs bring pitcher up from aaa.
The Chicago Cubs recalled left-hander Sean Marshall from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday and moved him into the rotation.
Marshall will start Wednesday at San Diego. He took the roster spot of left-handed reliever Neal Cotts, who was optioned to Iowa on Sunday.
Before the announcement, oddsmakers had the Cubs as -113 favorites with the total set at 7 1/2.
The 24-year-old Marshall was 6-9 with a 5.59 ERA for the Cubs in 2006, making 24 starts. He pitched only one inning in spring training while rehabilitating a left shoulder injury and began the season in the minors. He was 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA in five combined appearances with Class-A Daytona and Iowa.
The 27-year-old Cotts was 0-1 with a 4.86 ERA in 16 relief appearances with Chicago.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS: (associated press): clements will be ready soon.
Roger Clemens could be one productive outing from his return to the New York Yankees.
Clemens is set to make the second minor league start of his latest comeback Wednesday night, and his next game after that might be for the Yankees in Toronto early next week.
The Rocket is scheduled to pitch Wednesday for Double-A Trenton against Portland, a Boston Red Sox affiliate in the Eastern League. If all goes well, he could jump right to the majors from there and slot into New York's rotation Monday or Tuesday against the Blue Jays - one of his former teams.
Or, the 44-year-old Clemens might choose to make another minor league start, perhaps for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, before returning to the big leagues June 2 or 3 at Boston, his original club.
Before the Yankees played the Red Sox on Tuesday night, manager Joe Torre reiterated that Clemens will decide when he's ready to join the team - and he's not sure what the seven-time Cy Young Award winner has in mind.
newbodog.com has the Yankees set at +200 to win the AL East this season.
I don't know. I really don't. He'll tell us. I don't know if he knows for sure. If he does, he's keeping it a secret, Torre said. I think Roger likes the dramatics, so wherever he shows up there will be all the bells and whistles, whether it's in this country or up north. But I don't think his mind's going to be made up on emotion. I think he's going to really decide on his body.
Once Clemens arrives and touted rookie Phil Hughes recovers from a hamstring injury, they figure to round out a Yankees rotation that already includes Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina.
I think it could be an impressive rotation, a mix of young and veterans, Torre said. The only way to get back in this thing and to get a record you're proud of is to pitch.
New York entered Tuesday night's game 20-23 and 9 1/2 games behind the first-place Red Sox in the AL East.
Meanwhile, Hall of Fame slugger and former major league manager Frank Robinson became the latest person to criticize the clause in Clemens' contract that allows him to leave the team for personal matters when he's not pitching.
I think it's wrong because if you sign a contract to play baseball and you are given a clause like that, I just don't think it's fair to your teammates, Robinson said Tuesday on ESPN. Why should one person on your ballclub get special treatment?
I think it's going to create some friction there on that ballclub. And it may not be publicly, but it's going to be friction in that clubhouse, and that's not good for a ballclub, especially a ballclub that's struggling to right the ship over there and start winning and get their season turned around, he added.
Last week, Clemens brushed aside criticism from Yankees reliever Kyle Farnsworth, who said that no pitcher should be allowed to leave the team when he isn't pitching.
Clemens tossed four innings for Class-A Tampa on Friday night, allowing only a solo homer and three hits against the Fort Myers Miracle, a Minnesota Twins affiliate. He struck out two.
With Yankees owner George Steinbrenner watching from a private box at Legends Field, the right-hander threw 58 pitches and said he was pushing his body to get in game shape as quickly as possible. Clemens estimated he threw 50 to 55 pitches while warming up before the game, then did some additional work in the bullpen after his outing.
Clemens agreed to a $28,000,022, one-year contract on May 6 and began working out at the Yankees' complex in Tampa, Fla., last week.
The Rocket helped the Yankees to two World Series titles and four AL pennants before leaving after the 2003 season with intentions of retiring. With a 348-178 record in 22 seasons, he's eighth on the career wins list and second all-time in strikeouts with 4,604.
The 13-time All-Star, who turns 45 on Aug. 4, pitched the past three years with buddy Pettitte for their hometown Houston Astros. Clemens was 7-6 with a 2.30 ERA for Houston last season.
FREE MLB PICKS- (covers.com): royals activate dotel.
The Kansas City Royals activated Octavio Dotel on Tuesday and said they would ease him into the closer's role.
What we're going to do with Dotel is probably pitch him in the seventh, eighth, maybe the sixth, manager Buddy Bell said before Tuesday night's game against the Cleveland Indians. The problem with just putting him into the closer's role right now is that we're not really sure of his durability.
The Royals take on the Indians again on Wednesday. Books have Kansas City as +161 underdogs with the total set at 10.
He hasn't pitched in a while, so putting him in that role, I didn't think was the right thing to do.
The right-hander, who has pitched sparingly since undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery in mid-2005, has been out with a strained left oblique muscle since the last week of spring training.
The Royals signed him to a one-year, $5 million deal in the offseason, looking to shore up a bullpen that blew a majors-worst 31 saves last year.
We plan on eventually getting him into the closer's role, but it could be one week, two weeks, I don't know, Bell said. It all depends on how comfortable he is and how comfortable we are with his durability.
Dotel made three rehab appearances for Double-A Wichita, going 0-1 with two saves and a 3.00 ERA. Without him, the Royals have blown nine of 22 save opportunities.
Bell said he hoped to have Dotel pitch at least one inning his first time out and planned to use him to start an inning, rather than bringing him in with someone on base.
If we really need to win a game and we need a strikeout, I wouldn't be afraid to bring him in in the middle, Bell said.
The Royals also sent catcher Jason LaRue to Triple-A Omaha to begin a rehab assignment. LaRue has been on the disabled list since May 11 with a bruised left collarbone.
Kansas City designated right-hander Jason Standridge for assignment to make room for Dotel.
MLB PICKS- (covers.com): pedro could be back by august for mets.
New York Mets fans, mark your calendars: Pedro Martinez could be back on the mound by August.
Things with Pedro are moving forward very nicely, Mets general manager Omar Minaya said Tuesday. We are hoping for his return in August, but the most important thing is that he recovers from his injury.
Martinez, in the third year of a four-year contract with the Mets, has sat out the season recovering from rotator cuff surgery. Last year, he went 9-8 with a 4.48 ERA.
Minaya and Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon were the Dominican Republic to break ground on a new $7.5 million team academy east of Santo Domingo.
The complex, which will house 60 young players from around Latin America, will replace a facility rented by the Mets on the other side of the Dominican capital.
This season started with 98 Dominican players on major league rosters and with this academy we are going to try and capitalize on those resources, Wilpon said.
The team also announced it will play three exhibition games in the Caribbean country next spring.
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