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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS- (covers.com): don't expect bosox to rest on huge lead.
The race in the American League East has reached Tortoise and the Hare proportions.
Exploding out of the gates are the Boston Red Sox who, after beating the Cleveland Indians
on Monday night, have an 11 ½-game lead over their closest rival, the Baltimore Orioles.
But don’t expect Boston to take it easy like some cocky rabbit. Even though it set a
franchise record for most wins in the first 50 games of the season (35-15), Red Sox Nation
won’t let their beloved team get too complacent with their spot atop the standings.
“I think if it weren't a franchise like Boston, it would be a problem,” professional
handicapper David Jones says of teams jumping out to big division leads. “But with so much
scrutiny on this team it keeps them grounded and they won't lose focus or intensity.”
Boston has won seven of its last 10 contests and has only suffered one series loss in May.
That defeat came at the hands of the rival New York Yankees, who sit tied for the AL East's
bottom spot and are 13 ½ games back of the division leader.
This rivalry is also a huge motivating factor for the Red Sox after finishing behind New
York in the division for the past 11 seasons. During this time Boston has held late
division leads heading into the home stretch of the year but fell victim to the
now-infamous Yankee runs.
“There is a lot more focus on the spread between us and the Yankees than we certainly put
on (it),” starting pitcher Curt Schilling told the Boston Herald. “We pay attention to it
because that is all we ever get asked about, but to be 50 games into a season and be double
digits up on anybody is good. It has nothing to do with where we will be on Labor Day, but
we are a good team.”
There’s no real secret to Boston’s success. It boasts one of the more talented lineups in
all of baseball, producing almost 5 ½ runs per game behind the fourth-best batting average
in the majors.
Complementing the BoSox bats is a solid pitching staff, anchored by veteran hurlers
Schilling, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield and rookie sensation Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was
acquired from the Japanese pro leagues this past winter. Boston’s collective team ERA is
second in the AL and the team has held opponents to a .244 batting average this season.
“I’ve been on some teams where we have always been talking about needing something else. We
need a starter, we need a hitter, we need something,” reliever Brendan Donnelly told
reporters. “We don’t need anything, and that’s rare. This team is good enough to say that
we don’t need anything, and while that’s rare, what’s even more rare is we get along and
have fun. It’s a good combination.”
While the Red Sox’s April and May made them the top money team in baseball (up 18.29 units,
or earning $1,829 if you'd bet $100 on Boston on each of their games), their backers might
not have as profitable a June.
Boston begins the month with a three-game home set against New York and then travels west
for the majority of the schedule, a situation that wasn’t kind to the Red Sox last season.
They split wins and losses during a six-game west coast swing in July and then finished a
nine-game western run with a 2-7 record.
“June will be a difficult stretch and historically they haven’t been that good on the
road,” says Jones. “But this team, even if it’s playing .500 ball, will have comfortable
lead. And they always have Fenway Park as an old reliable to come back to after losses.
There is just too much of a hole in the AL East.”
FREE MLB PICKS: (covers.com): big popi expected to return.
David Ortiz is expected to make his return tonight after missing the last three games
because of pain in his hamstrings. The Boston Red Sox won all three games without Ortiz.
“Every time I had to use my legs, it bothered me,” Ortiz told the Boston Herald. “But I’m
feeling better. I think I might be in (tonight), I’m not sure.”
In 174 at-bats, Ortiz is batting .316 with nine home runs and 38 runs batted in.
FREE MLB PICKS- (associated press): smoltz injured for braves.
Atlanta Braves right-hander John Smoltz left his start against the Milwaukee Brewers on
Tuesday night in the fourth inning.
The Braves went on to lose the game 5-4 as +107 underdogs as the teams played over the 7
1/2-run total set by books.
After a brief mound visit, Smoltz left - the reason he left the game was not immediately
announced. He was replaced by Oscar Villarreal. It was Smoltz's shortest outing since June
23 of last season.
Smoltz hadn't been as sharp before exiting, but was still effective. He threw 40 of his 58
pitches for strikes, but gave up eight hits and three runs while striking out five.
In the top of the fourth, Smoltz, who had won five of his previous six starts by pitching
seven innings in each, easily ran out a chopper that bounced off first baseman Prince
Fielder's glove for a single.
Smoltz, 7-2 with a 2.82 ERA, picked up his 200th win last Thursday and came into the start
against the Brewers with a 14-inning scoreless streak.
That ended in the second off Corey Hart's RBI single. Fielder added a long, two-run homer
in the third.
MLB FREE PICKS- (associated press):toronto's glaus injures hamstring.
Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus was a late scratch from Tuesday's game against
the New York Yankees because of a tight hamstring.
The Jays went on the win the game 3-2 as +150 underdogs as the teams played under the 9
1/2-run total set by oddsmakers.
Glaus landed on the disabled list in April because of a sore left heel caused by a bone
spur, then sat out again for a few days earlier this month with a recurrence of the same
injury.
An All-Star in 2006, Glaus is batting .278 with eight home runs and 24 RBIs in 33 games
this season, his second with Toronto.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS: (associated press): shawn green put on dl.
Mets outfielder Shawn Green went on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday because of a broken
right foot, the first time he's been on the DL in his major league career.
New York recalled outfielder Ben Johnson from Triple-A New Orleans before Tuesday night's
game against San Francisco.
Oddsmakers had listed the Mets as -146 favorites for the contest.
Green fouled a ball off his foot on Friday, and the move was made retroactive to Saturday.
The Mets expect Green will be able to begin running in about 10 days.
The 34-year-old Green started his big league career in 1993. He is hitting .314 with five
home runs and 22 RBIs this season.
Johnson was hitting .282 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 21 games at New Orleans.
Along with Green, outfielders Carlos Gomez and Moises Alou and infielder Jose Valentin were
examined by team physician Dr. Straun Coleman.
Gomez has a slight strain in his left hamstring and was in the starting lineup against the
Giants.
Alou, who is eligible to come off the disabled list, is day to day because of a strained
left quadriceps. Valentin, sidelined since April 29 because of a partially torn ligament in
his right knee, was cleared to start playing in a brace.
FREE MLB PICKS- (covers.com): clements set to start monday.
Roger Clemens is ready to return to the New York Yankees' rotation and is likely to start
at the Chicago White Sox next Monday.
Clemens pitched six shutout innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Monday. Torre
said before Tuesday's game against Toronto that he'll stay with Chien-Ming Wang, Mike
Mussina and Andy Pettitte as his starters for this weekend's series at AL East-leading
Boston.
''I'm not disappointed that he's not pitching at Fenway,'' Torre said. ''I don't think that
series needs any more hype than it gets every time we play it, whether it's in Fenway or at
the Stadium. You'd obviously be tempted if you had a kid pitching and you can replace him
with Roger Clemens. When you have Wang, Moose and Andy, there's really not the temptation
to do that.''
Torre wasn't ready to finalize his decision.
''Until I talk to him personally, it's tough to pick a particular day,'' he said.
If Clemens is put on the major league roster Monday, he would receive $18,207,665 this
season, a prorated share of his $28,000,022 salary.
MLB PICKS- (covers.com): who is at fault for sliding astros.
Houston, we have a problem.
Actually, the Houston Astros have a couple problems since losing eight straight games and
10 of their last 11.
At first it seemed as if Houston’s hitting was the issue, batting only .228 during the skid
and averaging just two runs per contest. But after getting outscored 66-16 over these last
eight games, the pitching staff is taking some heat too. Without faith in their lineup, the
starters are under added pressure to keep opponents off the scoreboard.
"I think the pitching staff is pressing big time right now," starter Roy Oswalt told the
Houston Chronicle. "I know some of the young guys are coming to me and asking questions
here and there and trying to throw shutouts the whole way. It's hard to do that in the big
leagues. So hopefully we'll get back on a roll."
Houston’s manager Phil Garner is searching for answers, trying to avoid the clubs’ worst
losing streak since 2001. He held batting practice before Sunday’s loss to the Arizona
Diamondbacks, a practice the Astros don’t normally take on Sundays and especially not on
the road.
The Astros had the day off on Monday after returning home from their seven-game road trip,
before hosting the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park. A short break and
return to familiar surroundings can sometimes refocus a struggling club but can also cool
any clubhouse conflicts between Houston’s hitters and pitchers.
“When a losing streak gets too lengthy the pressure starts to build and can result in some
finger pointing. I believe that it is frustrating and can lead to some chemistry issues,”
says Scott Rickenbach of Covers Experts.
“They need a break and I think they can get over these issues but the key will be facing
some weak pitchers,” says Rickenbach. "Hitting has been the bigger culprit in my opinion,
if you don't score runs you can't win and the Astros are having a huge problem with that."
The Astros might not get that chance against Cincinnati in Tuesday’s Game 1 when the Reds
send right-hander Matt Belisle to the bump. Belisle is 4-4 this season with a 4.65 ERA but
pitched a seven-inning gem when he faced Houston on May 9, a game in which the Astros won
3-2 and scored all three runs off throwing errors.
Taking the mound for the Astros on Tuesday is righty Jason Jennings, who is making his
first start since hitting the DL with elbow tendinitis in early April. He has only pitched
two games for Houston this year, posting a 0-1 record and 3.00 ERA since coming over in an
offseason trade from the Colorado Rockies.
Houston hopes to mimic the Pittsburgh Pirates’ efforts at the plate against the Reds. The
Pirates punished Cincinnati’s pitchers for 33 runs in the first three games of their
four-game set, something that could release the pressure on the Astros' entire clubhouse.
“As soon as they see a couple of struggling hurlers that allow them to get their confidence
back they will be in much better shape," says Rickenbach. "For their sake, that needs to be
sooner rather than later.”
Oddsmakers have the Astros as -110 favorites for Wednesday’s Game 2. The first pitch is
scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET.
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