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charleissoprt 5/3 mlb picks & mlb free picks content HOME - SPORTS NEWS MLB PLAYOFFS SPORT NEWS mlb free picks- (associated press) selig to decide giambi's fate.
Jason Giambi won't be disciplined by commissioner Bud Selig after the New York Yankees slugger had a ''frank and candid'' meeting with baseball's steroids
investigator.
Selig said Wednesday that Giambi's cooperation with former Sen. George Mitchell and the player's charitable work persuaded him not to take further action.
''He's doing a lot of public-service work, and I think that's terribly important,'' Selig said on the second and final day of an owners meeting. ''He was, I
thought, very frank and candid with Sen. Mitchell, at least that was the senator's conclusion. Given everything, this is an appropriate decision.''
Giambi has acknowledged a ''personal history regarding steroids.'' He agreed to speak with Mitchell last month after Selig threatened to discipline him if he
refused to cooperate.
A former American League MVP, Giambi missed more than two months this season with torn tissue in his left foot. He's batting .270 with nine home runs and 26
RBIs in 51 games.
mlb free picks- (associated press) flu hits detroit clubhouse. The cold and flu season has caught up to the Detroit Tigers at the worst time possible. All-Stars Ivan Rodriguez and Placido Polanco and outfielder Craig Monroe are all sick and were not in the lineup for Wednesday's second AL Central showdown
game with the Cleveland Indians.
The Tigers fell 5-2 to the Tribe on Wednesday as Cleveland cashed as -191 favorites. The game played under the 10-run total set by books.
Closer Todd Jones was not feeling well and neither was Justin Verlander, who is scheduled to start Thursday in New York against the Yankees.
''How's everybody feeling today?'' manager Jim Leyland said as he walked into the Tigers' clubhouse about three hours before the scheduled first pitch.
''Anybody else sick?''
Detroit opens a four-game set with the Yankees tonight. Oddsmakers have the Tigers listed as +134 underdogs in the opener.
Polanco and Monroe also sat out Monday's 6-2 win in 10 innings that gave the Tigers a one-game lead over the Indians in the AL Central.
''They're sick and there's nothing you can do about that,'' Leyland said. ''I can't do anything about it except play some other guys and hope they give us a
chance to win.''
Leyland wasn't sure if any of the players could play if needed.
''I don't know if they're available until a situation comes up in the game,'' he said. ''If there's an emergency, I guess somebody will have to go play.''
Polanco's absence really hurts the Tigers' lineup. He has batted an AL-high .385 since June 28 and scored 29 runs in 34 games.
Rookie Ryan Raburn moved to second base for Polanco, who on Monday set a record by playing in 144 consecutive games without an error - a streak that dates
back to July 1, 2006. Mike Rabelo caught rookie Jair Jurrjens, who was brought up from Double-A Erie to make his major league debut against the Indians.
Asked if there was any update on left-hander Kenny Rogers, sidelined since July 29 with swelling in his left elbow, Leyland said, ''He won't be doing any
throwing today because he's sick as a dog, too.''
mlb picks- (covers.com) baseballs biggest difference makers.
Behind every red-hot team is a red-hot bat. These players are lifting their clubs in the standings while making a bundle for the betting masses.
Mark Teixeira (Atlanta Braves)
Teixeira has taken to National League pitching like a duck to water since jumping leagues at the trade deadline. The former Ranger has five home runs and 14
RBIs in his first 13 games as a Brave.
Solid hitting around Teixeira in Atlanta's lineup has kept the pitches coming to the slugging first baseman. Chipper Jones, who hits in front of him, is
batting .327 this month while Brian McCann (.313 in August) and Jeff Francoeur (.358 in August), who both hit after Teixeira, are keeping pitchers honest.
Atlanta is now 3 ½ games back of the New York Mets in the NL East after winning eight of 13 games in August. The Braves have a collective .305 batting
average during this stretch.
Mark Reynolds (Arizona Diamondbacks)
The D-Backs third baseman has recorded at least two hits in seven of Arizona’s last 10 games, in which the team is 7-3. Reynolds is batting .474 this month
with 10 RBIs.
The rookie swings big in case he hits it. Reynolds has recorded 18 hits in his last 10 games but has also struck out 12 times during these contests. He has
80 strikeouts on the season with 20 walks.
Robinson Cano (New York Yankees)
The All-Star second baseman is one of many reasons for New York’s power surge this month. Cano is hitting .388 in August with 12 RBIs and has added four home
runs to the team’s 24 total dingers during this period.
The Yankees are five games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East but are now tied with the Seattle Mariners for the wild card. New York is 10-4 in August
after dropping two of three games to the Baltimore Orioles this week.
Jeff Keppinger and Norris Hopper (Cincinnati Reds)
Cincinnati’s gruesome twosome at the top of the order lit a fire under the Reds this month, pushing the team to win seven of its last 10 contests.
Both Keppinger and Hopper are both batting .438 in August and combined for 35 hits in the past 12 games. Cincinnati has a collective .296 batting average
during this stretch and played over the total in nine of those games, improving its season over/under record to 65-48-6.
Alex Rios (Toronto Blue Jays)
If it wasn’t for Alex Rios’ bat in the lineup the Blue Jays would have an even worse offense than the one that amassed a piddly 57 total runs in August.
Toronto’s pitching has overcome the lack of production over the past six games, salvaging a 4-2 record despite getting only 15 runs of support during this
time.
Rios is the one reliable in the order this month, hitting .417 at the plate. The young outfielder, who leads the Jays in average and home runs, has 10 hits
over the past four games but hasn’t hit a home run since July 23. Toronto has only four round-trippers in August, a major league low.
Jim Edmonds (St. Louis Cardinals)
For those of you that said the 37-year-old Edmonds’ best days were behind him, you’re probably right – but his August efforts could make you think twice. The
Cards outfielder is batting .419 with six doubles and seven RBIs in his last 12 games.
Edmonds, as well as second baseman Aaron Miles, has St. Louis back in the playoff picture. The Cardinals are hitting a collective .292 this month,
complementing a 4.06 team ERA. The defending World Series champs have won seven of their last 10 and are within 1 ½ games of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL
Central standings.
Jack Cust (Oakland Athletics)
Similar to Alex Rios' situation in Toronto, Jack Cust is one of the few bats getting it done for the Athletics. The rookie designated hitter is batting .351
in August with 13 RBIs and three home runs. The team is batting a dismal .249 during this stretch.
But Oakland has taken 70 base-on-balls and knocked in 51 extra-base hits this month. Thanks to Cust and fellow prospect Travis Buck (.364 in August), the A's
have been able to capitalize on their base runners. The A’s have upped their run production to 5.85 runs per game after averaging 4.44 this season, winning
five of their last seven games.
mlb free picks- (associated press) brewers star appealing suspension. Prince Fielder is appealing the three-game suspension that was handed down by the commissioner's office Wednesday, allowing him to remain in the Milwaukee
Brewers' lineup until his appeal is heard.
Fielder was suspended and fined an undisclosed amount for ''inappropriate and aggressive conduct'' during a confrontation with plate umpire Wally Bell on
Sunday, when the Brewers lost 6-4 at Houston. The first baseman was ejected after arguing a called third strike and had to be restrained by bench coach Dale
Sveum.
Fielder said he didn't think he made contact with Bell during the confrontation.
''We're both over 250 pounds, so if our stomachs touch, that's going to happen,'' Fielder said.
Brewers manager Ned Yost, who eventually stepped in to separate Fielder from the umpire on Sunday, said it was possible that Fielder might have shoved him
into Bell as Fielder was arguing the call.
''I think that was part of it,'' Yost said. ''But I don't remember it myself.''
Fielder was in the Brewers' lineup for Wednesday night's game against the St. Louis Cardinals, and it is unclear when his appeal will be heard.
Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said the appeal date depends on the availability of Major League Baseball executive vice president of
administration John McHale, who hears player appeals, and officials with the MLB Players Association charged with preparing appeals. The team does not play
an official role in the appeal, Ash said.
Fielder said that Bell's continuation of the argument after Fielder had turned to walk away might have set him off.
''I was kind of done talking and I was walking away,'' Fielder said. ''Maybe him coming at me a little bit, maybe, I think that's what caused it most of
all.''
Fielder said the incident was out of character for him, as he rarely talks back to umpires.
''When I do it, it's nothing personal - because I never argue with them, that's my point,'' Fielder said.
And when he does argue, Yost figures Fielder has a reason.
''If Prince is complaining about a call, I'm about 99 percent sure that (the umpire) missed it,'' Yost said.
The Brewers began the day in first place in the NL Central, but are only 1 1/2 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs and would prefer not to be without their young
slugger for three critical games.
Fielder, the starting first baseman for the NL in the All-Star game last month, is having a breakout season at the plate. A leading candidate for MVP, he
entered the day leading the league with 37 home runs. He was batting .288 with 89 RBIs and a .618 slugging percentage, second in the league to Florida's
Miguel Cabrera (.619).
free mlb picks- (covers.com) mlb's least durable players. I’ve never been a Toronto Blue Jays fan, but if you live in Canada you see them about, oh, 162 times a year. You can’t help but know what’s right and wrong with the Jays when you live north of the 49th parallel.
The Jays improved in 2006 partially due to B.J. Ryan’s excellence in the closer role, though Toronto fans cringed whenever manager John Gibbons called on
Ryan for yet another two-inning save.
Ryan, of course, was lost for the 2007 season with trouble in his pitching arm, and while Gibby took some heat for the injury, I blame Gustavo Chacin, king
of the five-inning start.
We’ve said it again and again here at Covers.com – bettors can’t base their wagers solely on the quality of the day’s starting pitchers, and that’s
especially the case when the likes of Chacin get the nod.
We're talking about guys who look fine through four innings but start looking over at the dugout, silently wishing for the hook, by the time they approach 85
or 90 pitches. Makes me wish Nolan Ryan would hop out of the stands to dispense a little pitchers’ mound justice as punishment for their fragility.
In any case, 127 MLB pitchers have made at least 15 starts in 2007 through Monday’s games. The ones listed below are the least likely to go deep in a game
and the most likely to cause arm problems for their bullpens. Bet on them at your own risk.
1. Brandon McCarthy, Texas Rangers (averages 14.5 outs per start)
The Rangers’ wiry right-hander has good stuff but no durability. McCarthy hasn’t pitched seven full innings in any of his 19 starts this season. On the other
hand, he’s pitched at least five innings in six of his last seven.
T2. Robinson Tejada, Texas Rangers (15.1)
Tejada was (mercifully) dispatched to the minors in July after repeatedly wilting in the summer heat. He started out well, pitching seven complete innings in
two of his first three starts back in April.
T2. Edwin Jackson, Tampa Bay Devil Rays (15.1)
Jackson pitched a complete-game shutout last Saturday. The 27 outs against the Rangers was the first time this year he'd retired more than 19 batters in an
outing. Considering the sorry state of Tampa’s bullpen, Jackson had better make it a trend if he wants to improve his 3-11 record.
T2. Kyle Davies, Kansas City Royals (15.1)
Davies will have lots of opportunites to pitch deep for the rest of the summer as the Royals want to see their trade deadline prize get plenty of action.
Davies’ lowlight came on July 16, when he was still Atlanta Braves property and failed to retire a single batter before getting yanked.
5. Mark Hendrickson, Los Angeles Dodgers (15.3)
Hendrickson has been shuttled between the Dodgers rotation and bullpen enough that his lack of longevity is almost excusable. Considering L.A.’s sore arms,
however, his slumping team needs more than five-innings-and-out down the stretch.
6. Byung-Hyun Kim, Arizona Diamondbacks (15.7)
Kim was actually decent in most of his last starts with the Florida Marlins before the D-Backs plucked him off the waiver wire. Arizona fans remember Kim as
the reliever who conceded huge postseason home runs to the Yankees back in the day … can he give them a new image to recall in 2007?
T7. Kevin Millwood, Texas Rangers (15.9)
This should be embarrassing for Texas fans by now (don’t look ahead but there’s more to come). Millwood’s numbers were dragged down when he attempted to
pitch through pain in May and June. All the same, he’s not the same workhorse he was in 2006.
T7. Odalis Perez, Kansas City Royals (15.9)
Perez stuck around long enough for the win over the Jays on Monday night, but barely. The southpaw’s durability has actually decreased in the second half as
he’s barely throwing five innings per start.
9. Matt Chico, Washington Nationals (16.0)
Is the Washington rookie hitting the wall? Chico has topped out at five full innings in each of his last four starts. Then again, he’s topped 100 pitches in
five of his last seven outings after doing so only once in his first 12 this year. Maybe he’s just losing effectiveness in the heat.
T10. Vicente Padilla, Texas Rangers (16.1)
The guy who "won" the unofficial Covers.com newsroom poll for “Worst regular starter in MLB” earlier this year is set to return from the disabled list. As a
reminder of what you’ve been missing, Padilla averaged less than 4 1/3 innings in his most recent four starts and had a 10.26 ERA over that run.
T10. Bartolo Colon, Los Angeles Angels (16.1)
Speaking of 2007 pitching disasters, here’s hoping you fantasy baseball players didn’t pick Colon to return to 2005 form this year. It’s a shame to see such
a valuable pitcher rendered into a liability for his team due to ongoing elbow problems.
free mlb picks- (covers.com) teams playing for better succcess in 2008.
Nobody likes a quitter. But when you’re a baseball team that’s struggled all year to meet preseason expectations, you’ve got to make the best out of a bad
situation.
Some clubs are already planning for 2008 despite the fact there's seven weeks remaining in the season. With the rosters expanding in September and teams
getting a look at future stars, you can expect to see some fresh faces on the diamond. And with those faces comes major value in fading these clubs:
Texas Rangers (53-66, fourth in AL West)
At 28, I have a hard enough time remembering where I parked – I couldn’t fathom being in charge of a major league baseball team. But that’s what Texas
Rangers GM Jon Daniels was doing when he was my age.
Daniels, who will turn 30 next week, hasn’t always sat in favor with Rangers faithful, but his recent wheeling-dealing has given the franchise a promising
future. Texas sent disgruntled slugger Mark Teixeira, reliever Ron Mahay and closer Eric Gagne packing at the trade deadline for a slew of young talent
including catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and pitcher Kason Gabbard.
These deals as well as previous years’ transactions have the Rangers bursting with potential for the next five seasons. A recent article on the team’s
website broke down Texas’ chances for the 2008 season, which will rely heavily on improving the rotation over the offseason.
As for the final 45 games of 2007, the Rangers will spend them analyzing their current rosters as well as minor league callups Jason Botts, Nelson Cruz and
outfielder David Murphy, who joined the big club last week.
San Francisco Giants (50-70, fifth in NL West)
If you thought the earthquakes in the Bay Area were bad, wait until you see the shakeup within the Giants organization this offseason.
San Francisco’s lineup has more aging studs than a Viagra commercial, keeping its limp offense in the basement of most statistical categories. Veterans like
Randy Winn, Ray Durham, Pedro Feliz, Omar Vizquel, Dave Roberts, Ryan Klesko, and even home run master Barry Bonds, will either be in new area codes or out
of baseball by the time 2008 rolls around.
Management has already started the youth movement, playing reserves and callups more in the final six weeks of the season. And the young rotation, which is
the Giants’ biggest strength, will likely get limited work in the final month of the schedule.
Baby-faced hurlers Matt Cain, Noah Lowry and Tim Lincecum are the only reasons why San Francisco isn’t sitting below Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay in total wins.
The front office wouldn’t dare risk wasting the arms of these top-notch talents during the twilight of the 2007 season. Without these guys on the bump,
there's no reason to like the Giants' chances down the stretch.
Houston Astros (54-66, fourth in NL Central)
After many successful seasons since 2000, the Houston Astros couldn’t get anything right this year. At 53-65 and nine games out of first, Houston is planning
to get back on track in 2008. And this September fans will get a taste of things to come.
Minor league arms Juan Gutierrez and Troy Patten are probable additions once the rosters expand but the Astros aren’t certain if they will join the rotation
or the bullpen. The possible return of Brandon Backe could cause a logjam and force the team to send others down. I smell a six-man rotation!
Highly-toted catcher J.R. Towles could get some face time behind home plate due to Houston’s catcher situation. Brad Ausmus is getting older every inning and
Eric Munson has yet to prove he can perform consistently at the major league level.
Towles’ inexperience coupled with some untested arms could make for some rough September nights in Minute Maid Park, nights that could also be beneficial to
total bettors.
Outside of these callups, there isn’t much else coming out of the Astros farm system. This has pressure on the club to shop for a big-name free agent in the
offseason. And while landing an elite outfielder like Andruw Jones or Torii Hunter would be just grand, Houston doesn’t have the coin to lure these types of
players away from big-spending markets.
Oakland Athletics (59-62, third in AL West)
The entire baseball world was waiting for the Athletics’ annual second-half push in July. But due to key injuries and poor hitting (.241 as of July 9),
Oakland has gone a disappointing 13-18 since the All-Star break.
The A’s are more than 13 games behind the Angels and have no shot of sneaking into the wild card. With 43 contests left on the schedule they have already
begun to gauge their potential pitchers for 2008.
This week, Oakland swapped struggling lefty Dallas Branden for Triple-A callup Dan Meyer, who has some questions surrounding a dinged-up shoulder. Speaking
of injured hurlers, Esteban Loaiza is expected to return to action after missing the entire season following knee surgery.
While these arms are just getting started, the Athletics' other pitchers could be winding down. The team’s two biggest surprises, Chad Gaudin and Danny
Haren, have held the fort all season but could work limited innings for a team that knows all too well about injuries to their rotation. Much like the Giants
situation, Oakland backers won’t have much to cheer for in September if Gaudin and Haren are saved for 2008.
The team’s biggest issue this season is hitting and due to injuries to the starting lineup, the Athletics have had to rely on less-talented reserves. The
expanded rosters could pave the way for minor league standouts like Daric Barton and Danny Putnam to join fellow prospects Kurt Suzuki and Travis Buck in the
bigs.
Chicago White Sox (54-65, fourth in AL Central)
The fire sale that was supposed to sweep through the White Sox was nothing more than a quick flash and puff of smoke. Mark Buehrle, Jermaine Dye and Jose
Contreras, who were certain trade bait, all remained with the team.
The ChiSox are more than 10 games out and have about the same chance of winning the wild card as Barry Bonds has of getting a clap out of Bud Selig. But tell
that to Chicago, a team that's denying the season is all but lost.
The White Sox do have six games with each of the teams ahead of them in the division, but will need to take 16 of those 18 meetings to make a dent in the
standings. This is a pretty tall task for the American League’s worst offensive club – especially in a hard-hitting division like the Central. Chicago has
improved at the plate since the All-Star break and has a winning record versus divisional foes, explanations for the franchise being in denial.
But seriously, come back to earth, Peter Pan. This isn't going to happen.
Si.com is reporting that Contreras has cleared waivers and can now be traded at any time before September 1. More than likely, the right-hander will be dealt
to a contender for quality prospects.
Manager Ozzie Guillen will probably survive to see 2008. During the next month he’ll be trying to weed out his roster for next year, giving up-and-comers
like recently acquired second baseman Danny Richar, minor league outfielder Ryan Sweeney and third baseman Josh Fields plenty of playing time.
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