| Login |
| Resources |
charleissoprt 5/3 mlb picks & mlb free picks content HOME - SPORTS NEWS MLB PLAYOFFS SPORT NEWS FREE MLB PICKS, MLB PICKS, FREE MAJOR BASEBALL PICKS, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS- (covers.com): baseballs biggest difference makers. Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees)
The crown jewel of the Yankees lineup is the fuel feeding New York’s current hot streak.
Rodriguez is hitting just under .400 in June and added eight more home runs to push his
league-leading total to 27.
A-Rod is getting a lot of help from his teammates and visa versa. Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu
and Jorge Posada are all crushing the ball and forcing pitchers to throw to Rodriguez. The
Yankees are batting .317 as a team this month en route to a 13-3 record in their last 16
games.
Matt Holliday (Colorado Rockies)
The Rockies surprised bettors after taking last week’s series against the Boston Red Sox
and have continued to stun observors since, winning seven of their last 10 games.
Holliday is a big reason why Colorado is hitting .301 this month. The left fielder is
batting .426 in June and 11 of his 26 hits this month have been for extra bases.
Emil Brown (Kansas City Royals)
The Royals are another team turning heads. Kansas City has plundered its interleague
schedule, winning series against the Phillies, Cardinals and Marlins while averaging almost
eight runs per game during this stretch.
Brown, batting a ho-hum .244 on the season, has led the way at the plate in June. The left
fielder is hitting .372 over his last 12 games, averaging more than one RBI per game during
this time.
Chone Figgins (Los Angeles Angels)
Figgins proved he is one of the majors’ most dangerous hitters on Monday night, going
6-for-6 and driving in three runs to give the Angels their seventh win in the last 10
contests.
Los Angeles is 12-4 this month and Figgins’ .440 batting average during that stretch might
have something to do with it. The third baseman also has 13 RBI and 10 stolen bases during
the run.
Magglio Ordonez (Detroit Tigers)
The Tigers are this month’s hottest hitting team, going 10-6 in June behind a .329
collective batting average as of Monday night. Ordonez leads Detroit with a .370 average
this season and is hitting a whopping .456 over the last 16 games.
The right fielder has 15 RBI during this span and has registered a hit in all but one of
June’s contests.
Mike Lamb (Houston Astros)
If it wasn’t for Lamb’s recent explosion at the plate, Astros backers would be in worse
shape than they already are this season.
Houston is down 13.43 units on the year (if you wagered $100 on every Astros game you'd
have lost $1,343), but thanks to Lamb’s .400 average in June and 15 RBI in the last 17
games, Houston had split its last 10 games.
The first baseman has recorded two or more hits in each of his last five games, including
three home runs.
FREE MLB PICKS: (associated press): reds pitcher has season ending surgery Reds pitcher Eric Milton is scheduled to have reconstructive elbow surgery Friday, almost
certainly ending his season.
It's possible the left-hander will never throw another pitch for the Reds. He can become a
free agent when his $25.5 million, three-year contract expires this fall.
Belmont.com lists the Reds as +15000 longshots to win the NL Pennant.
Milton was 0-4 with a 5.17 ERA in six starts this season. He went on the 15-day disabled
list with inflammation in his left elbow on May 9, the second consecutive year he was
hampered by elbow problems. Milton had season-ending surgery to clean out the same elbow
last Sept. 22.
This year, Milton told the team about his sore elbow after he pitched 5 1-3 innings in a
7-6 loss to Houston on May 8. Tests the next day detected inflammation.
Team spokesman Rob Butcher said Monday he didn't know when doctors determined that Milton
had a damaged ligament in his elbow and would require Tommy John surgery.
The 31-year-old Milton is 16-27 with Cincinnati since signing with the Reds before the 2005
season. He gave up an NL-leading 40 homers that year.
FREE MLB PICKS- (associated press): willis leaves after 1 inning. Florida Marlins starter Dontrelle Willis left Tuesday night's game against the Chicago
White Sox with a tight left forearm after pitching only one inning.
Willis threw 34 pitches and gave up three walks, four runs and three hits, including a
three-run homer to Josh Fields. Wes Obermueller relieved to start the bottom of the second
with the White Sox leading 4-3.
Willis had lost three straight games before Tuesday night's start and hasn't won since May 29.
MLB FREE PICKS- (associated press): is bonds responsible for giants downfall?
Distractions are a part of baseball. Tricky deliveries, three-step leads and rowdy crowds
can all throw players off their games. But try staying focused in the shadow of the most
treasured record in sports.
That’s what the San Francisco Giants are attempting since Barry Bonds climbed within
striking distance of Henry Aaron’s all-time home run record, hitting No. 748 on Sunday
night.
"When it does happen, I'll be proud and the whole team will be proud. We're all going to
enjoy it,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy told the Philadelphia Inquirer back in May when Bonds
was 10 home runs away from Aaron's mark of 755.
“But I don't think it puts any pressure on the team. We don't want anything to distract us.
And we don't get caught up with what's happening off the field.”
But with the increased media hoopla surrounding Bonds’ pursuit of No. 756, constant steroid
allegations and now possible trade rumors, the Giants have spiraled into their worst slump
of the season.
Following this weekend’s series sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox, San Francisco was
10 games out of first in the National League West and is 5-12 in the month of June. The
Giants have managed to win only one series (against the Toronto Blue Jays) in almost a
month.
“I believe the Giants are used to the attention (Bonds brings to the team),” says Scott
Rickenbach of Covers Experts. “I think the biggest problem for the Giants has simply been
an anemic offense. They can't score runs so even when they do get solid pitching
performances they still can't win.”
During its current skid, San Francisco has averaged only 3.75 runs per game and ranks near
the bottom in most batting statistics. The Giants were shut out four times since June 1 and
have scored three or fewer runs in nine of their last 16 games.
Adding fuel to the ever-burning fire in the City by the Bay is recent trade talk coming
from the Giants front office. General Manager Brian Sabean was questioned by the San Jose
Mercury News about making moves before this season’s July 31 trade deadline. Sabean
couldn’t deny that the team might be in need of an overhaul and didn’t dismiss the
possibility of dealing the seven-time NL MVP.
“They can trade me,” Bonds told reporters after hearing Sabean’s comments. “They can do
that. I don’t think they will, though. It’s not like I want to be traded, man. I’m a Giant.
I’m stuck here till the end.”
While the likelihood of San Francisco dealing Bonds before he breaks the record is slim, so
are the chances of the Giants pulling out of this slump before the media circus dies down.
They finish a six-game road trip with a set against the Milwaukee Brewers this week and
then return home to face the red-hot New York Yankees and division leading San Diego
Padres.
“I am staying away,” says Rickenbach. “There are too many other teams that have been more
consistent. Right now I only look at fading San Fran or simply staying away from them. They
are not yet showing signs of snapping out of their funk.”
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS: (associated press): randy johnson has herniated disk.
Randy Johnson has a herniated disk in his surgically repaired back, raising questions about when he'll return to the Arizona Diamondbacks' rotation.
The club revealed the diagnosis Tuesday, one day after Johnson visited with Dr. Robert
Watkins in Los Angeles. Johnson went on the 15-day disabled list June 11 with a tight
glute.
''He does have a bulge in there, a herniation,'' manager Bob Melvin said before the
Diamondbacks played Tampa Bay on Tuesday night. ''Obviously not the news we want to hear,
yet he thinks he is healthy enough to go ahead and prepare for his next start. When that
is, we're obviously not sure.''
The 43-year-old left-hander had back surgery last October. The Diamondbacks acquired him in
a trade with the New York Yankees in January, and he opened the season on the disabled
list.
Johnson played catch in the outfield and was scheduled to speak to reporters after batting
practice.
News of Johnson's latest back problem comes after he had won four consecutive decisions for
the upstart Diamondbacks, who entered Tuesday 1 1/2 games behind San Diego in the NL West.
Johnson is 4-2 with a 3.52 ERA in nine starts, and he has 70 strikeouts and 11 walks in 53
2-3 innings. Melvin said it's unclear when Johnson's latest injury occurred.
''He's been pitching pretty well, and there's a good chance that he's been pitching some
with this herniation in there,'' Melvin said. ''He's been a significant factor. Every time
he takes the mound, he's a psychological advantage for us whether he pitches well or not.''
Melvin said Johnson seemed hopeful that he will be able to rejoin the team when he's
eligible to come off the disabled list June 26. But Melvin said the team will wait until it
sees how Johnson responds to throwing on the side the next two days.
''How he feels after that will dictate how we go about setting up his schedule,'' Melvin
said. ''It's probably a stretch to get him ready for the 26th right now.''
The Diamondbacks have an off day Thursday, so they won't need to replace Johnson in the
rotation for at least a week. Melvin said right-hander Edgar Gonzalez (3-2, 4.44 ERA) would
be the leading candidate to take Johnson's turn down the line.
FREE MLB PICKS- (covers.com): blue jays put burnett on dl.
Right-hander A.J. Burnett was put on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday by the Toronto Blue Jays, who recalled right-hander Ty Taubenheim from Triple-A Syracuse.
Burnett, 5-6 with a 4.00 ERA in 14 starts this season, left his last start in San Francisco
on June 12 because of pain in his shoulder. He felt pain again during a throwing session
Sunday but was still able to play catch with pitching coach Brad Arnsberg before Tuesday's
game against Los Angeles.
The move was retroactive to June 13. The Blue Jays hope Burnett will be ready to start at
Minnesota on June 28, the day he's eligible to return.
General manager J.P. Ricciardi said Burnett could have made his scheduled start against
Colorado on Saturday, but the team decided to ''err on the said of caution.'' Instead,
Saturday's starter will be the 24-year-old Taubenheim, 3-5 with a 5.63 ERA in 11 starts at
Syracuse.
''He's the hot hand right now,'' Ricciardi said. ''We're just going to go with the guy
who's pitching the best.''
Taubenheim made seven starts for Toronto last year, going 1-5 with a 4.89 ERA.
''He pitched OK,'' manager John Gibbons said. We liked everything about him out there. We
figured it was a matter of time this year before he came up and helped us out.''
Burnett, who had two stints on the disabled list last season, had been the only Toronto
starter to take all his turns in the rotation this season. Josh Towers pitched in Burnett's
place against Washington on Sunday.
Oddsmakers have the Jays listed as -165 favorites against the Los Angeles Dodgers on
Wednesday.
Twelve Toronto players have spent time on the disabled list this season, including ace Roy
Halladay, who missed 18 games following an appendectomy. Left-hander Gustavo Chacin (sore
shoulder) and right-handers John Thomson (sore shoulder) and Victor Zambrano (forearm
strain) have also missed significant time.
Closer B.J. Ryan is out for the season after reconstructive elbow surgery.
''We've been tested a little,'' Gibbons said.
The 30-year-old Burnett signed a $55 million, five-year dollar contract with Toronto before
the 2006 season, then went 10-8 with a 3.98 ERA in 21 starts. He started the 2006 season on
the DL because of scar tissue in his right elbow from a previous operation and made just
two starts before going back on the DL for two months, returning June 22.
MLB PICKS- (covers.com): schilling sent back to boston after start at atlanta monday night. After getting roughed up in two straight starts, Red Sox starter Curt Schilling was sent back to Boston to get an MRI exam on his right shoulder.
Schilling nearly pitched a no-hitter at Oakland on June 7, giving up a two-out single to
Shannon Stewart in the ninth inning.
But the right-hander hasn't looked the same in his last two outings, giving up 11 earned
runs and 19 hits in 9 1-3 innings. He was hit hard Monday night by the Atlanta Braves, who
said Schilling lacked his usual velocity in a 9-4 loss.
Taking no chances, the Red Sox sent Schilling back to Boston to get checked out by the
team's medical director, Dr. Thomas J. Gill.
''The ball didn't come out of his hand too well,'' manager Terry Francona said. ''He didn't
complain of pain or anything. The ball just wasn't coming out.''
Schilling, who ranks 14th on the career strikeout list, failed to fan anyone Monday night -
the first time that's happened in one of his starts since 1993.
''It's embarrassing,'' Schilling said. ''I never gave us a chance. You want to walk around
the room and apologize to everybody. Your manager, your teammates, fans. There's no excuse
for a game like that.''
See what's free at AOL.com. |