Announcement

**Udog** · 10-28-2015, 09:28 AM

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

Six of the more interesting college football matchups this weekend........

-- West Virginia @ TCU (-14)-- Three meetings were decided by total of 5 points.

-- Clemson (-10) @ NC State-- This is Miami/Florida State sandwich for Tigers

-- Ole Miss (-7) @ Auburn-- Rebels lost to Auburn last two years.

-- Stanford (-12) @ Washington State-- Coogs won three in row, scoring 47.3 ppg.

-- Georgia vs Florida (-2.5)-- World's largest cocktail party in Jacksonville.

-- USC (-6) @ Cal-- Trojans won their last 11 games against Golden Bears.

**********

Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud........

13) Royals 5, Mets 4 (14)-- Tremendous start to World Series; team that won Game 1 in last 20 years won 17 of those 20 series. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Royals P Edinson Volquez, who lost his dad Tuesday afternoon.

12) People Can Be Scumbags Dept: A kid in Queens turns 12 November 3rd; for his 12th birthday, the little tyke wanted a bat signed by Daniel Murphy, which cost $175.

This was before Murphy turned into Ty Cobb against the Cubs in the NLCS, so when his parents got an e-mail from Topps.com cancelling the sale, they went to the papers with their story and the NY Daily News ran with it.

Exposed for being scumbags, Topps and the MLB Alumni Association relented and sold the kid his bat for $175. Thats the power of the press!!!!

11) Idle thought: the kid lives in Queens. Wouldn't it have been easier to buy a bat, hang around Citi Field and get Murphy to sign the bat? Not like he is Lebron James, it can't be that hard to meet the guy and get an autograph.

10) Speaking of baseball memorabilia, Geddy Lee, the lead singer for Rush, has a big collection-- he has both baseballs from Johnny VanderMeer's back/back no-hitters.

9) Ravens, Cowboys both have zero takeaways in their last four games. It is very tough to win NFL games without creating takeaways.

8) Jets have 15 takeaways in six games; they had 14 all of last season.

7) In NFL history, there have been 14 plays of 99 yards; the two I remember most are a Jaworski-to-Mike Quick pass (against Atlanta, I think) and a Tony Dorsett run in Minnesota on Monday Night Football when the Metrodome first opened.

Record that probably never gets broken: in the late 60's, Jets had a punter named Steve O'Neal who had a 98-yard punt in Denver. Hard to break that record.

6) Speaking of the Jets, I hope Ryan Fitzpatrick writes a book someday; guy has been on six NFL teams, four in last four years and he is still starting!!! Not only that he has five kids and made the NFL after playing college ball at Harvard, so he didn't get a sports scholarship but is a starter in the NFL. His story needs to be told.

5) Baltimore actually gave the Rams a 7th-round draft pick for WR Chris Givens, who runs very fast but wasn't very productive in St Louis. Seriously, why would you trade for a WR the Rams didn't want-- they're desperate for productive WRs.

4) Mets TV announcer Ron Darling: "Today's guns are not right", speaking about the radar guns that supposedly show how fast pitchers throw. Darling is really smart, but his most interesting quotes come off-camera, which is too bad.

3) Two years ago, Temple was a 29.5-point underdog to Notre Dame in the season opener; Saturday, Owls are 7-0, College Game Day is coming to town and the game is on at ABC nationally at 8:00. Temple is a 10-point home dog in this game.

2) Basketball great John Stockton will be an assistant coach at Montana State, for the women's team this season. His daughter Lindsay is a senior on the team; one of the Bobcats' assistants quit recently, so Stockton took her place for this year.

1) Texans cut Ryan Mallett; apparently coach O'Brien and GM Smith both agreed to cut Mallett, but Smith wouldn't let it happen until after Sunday's game, since Texans still needed a backup QB in Miami. TJ Yates will be the new backup; very curious to see if anyone else gives Mallett a chance.

**Udog** · 10-28-2015, 09:28 AM

Why these three sensational spot bet situations hold so much value

DeAndre Jordan will face the team he scorned in free agency this offseason when the Clippers host the Mavs Thursday.

Lookahead spot

There’s bad blood brewing between the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers, stemming from DeAndre Jordan’s summer of drama when he committed to signing with the Mavs then backed out at the last minute to resign with the Clippers. Dallas owner Marc Cuban will be out for blood when his Mavericks travel to Tinsel Town to play L.A. Thursday night. Watch your back DeAndre!

However, before that showdown with Los Angeles, the Mavericks open their season in Phoenix Wednesday. It seems funny to say a team could be lacking focus for its first game of the new schedule, but with what’s gone on between Dallas and L.A., the Mavs could get caught looking past the Suns, who are 4.5-point home favorites and have covered in five straight versus Dallas.

Letdown spot

The San Diego State Aztecs got a huge home win over Utah State last weekend, smashing the Aggies 48-14 as 4-point home pups. San Diego State has followed a three-game losing skid with a four-game winning run, heading into this Saturday’s trip up the Rocky Mountains to play Colorado State.

The Rams aren’t the same program without departed head coach Jim McElwain but picked up a big win over Air Force last week, topping the Falcons 38-23 as 3.5-point home dogs. Fort Collins is a tough place to play and CSU is 3-1-1 ATS inside Hughes Stadium. The underdog is 5-1 ATS in the last six between these programs, and with SDSU in letdown mode there could be value with the Rams.

Schedule spot

The New York Jets will spend plenty of time on their namesakes this week, travelling to the West Coast for a game against the Oakland Raiders. New York is coming off a disappointing loss to the Patriots in Week 7 and haven’t been at their best when jumping the country in past seasons.

Going from coast to coast is something N.Y. has only done three times since 2011, but that trio of road tilts haven’t been kind to Gang Green. The last three times the Jets went west, they were crushed 31-0 by San Diego, lost 28-7 to Seattle, and were dropped 34-24 by Oakland. Of course, this year’s squad has shown promise but New York is just 3-6 ATS in its last nine games coming off a showdown with New England.

**Udog** · 10-28-2015, 09:40 AM

MLB
Dunkel

World Series

NY Mets @ Kansas City

Game 903-904
October 28, 2015 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
NY Mets
(deGrom) 15.452
Kansas City
(Cueto) 17.368
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Kansas City
by 2
9
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
NY Mets
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Kansas City
N/A

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Wednesday, October 28

deGrom is 4-0, 1.50 in his last five starts (under 4-0 last four).

Cueto is 1-1, 7.88 in his last three starts (over 3-0 last three).

Royals won five of last seven games with New York, teams haven't met since a three-game set in '13; four of last six series games stayed under. KC last won World Series in 1985; Mets last won World Series the next year.

Mets won five of their last six games (under 4-2-1 last seven).

Royals won seven of their last nine games (over 6-3).

Game 1 winner won 17 of last 20 World Series.

MLB

Wednesday, October 28

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8:07 PM
NY METS vs. KANSAS CITY
NY Mets are 15-5 SU in its last 20 games on the road
NY Mets are 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Kansas City is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing NY Mets
Kansas City is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Udog** · 10-28-2015, 09:52 AM

MLB

Wednesday, October 28

Young, Royals' Game 1 winner, still set for Game 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chris Young's unplanned and successful relief outing Tuesday won't change the Kansas City Royals' World Series rotation plans.

The veteran right-hander threw 53 pitches, 34 for strikes, in three hitless innings, picking up the victory in the Royals' 5-4, 14-inning triumph over the New York Mets in the series opener.

Young is scheduled to start Game 4 of the World Series, Saturday in New York, and manager Ned Yost said the Tuesday outing won't prompt him to make a change.

"Our plan going into it was he could go 45 to 50 pitches," Yost said. "Once it got to the 50-pitch mark, it was, 'OK, we're going to go all out to win this game and Chris is going to go as far as he could go.'

"But we ended up winning the ballgame in kind our threshold there."

Young, who had not touched 90 mph with his fastball during the regular season, hit 90 several times in his three innings.

Mets eye quick recovery after stinging Game 1 loss

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The New York Mets know the pressure is on heading into in Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium.

Closer Jeurys Familia blew a ninth-inning lead Tuesday, and New York fell 5-4 in 14 innings to the Kansas city Royals in the World Series opener that started Tuesday night but did not end until well after midnight Wednesday.

The winner of Game 1 went on to win the Fall Classic 67.7 percent of the time, including 11 of the past 12 and 16 of the past 18.

"We're frustrated," Mets manager Terry Collins said after the defeat. "We didn't have a lot of opportunities, but we had a few shots.

"But we got the lead (in the fifth inning) and we lost it. We came back and got the lead again."

Then Familia, who saved 43 games during the regular season, gave up a home run to Alex Gordon in the ninth to send the game into extra innings. It was the first time the right-hander blew a save chance since July 30.

"We've got to put them away," Collins said. "We've got to do a better job. Certainly (Wednesday) night in the same situation, he'll be back out there."

The Mets send Jacob deGrom to the mound in Game 2, looking to even the series.

"When you start on the road, you go in saying, 'Look, we've got to come out of here 1-1,'" Collins said. "Now we've got a chance with Jake going (Wednesday). We've got to come out, give him big hits and give him something to work with."

5 things we know entering World Series Game 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Eric Hosmer's sacrifice fly in the 14th inning scored Alcides Escobar with the winning run, and the Kansas City Royals outlasted the New York Mets to take a 5-4 victory Tuesday in Game 1 of the World Series. The Royals forced extra innings on Alex Gordon's solo homer in the bottom of the ninth.

Here are five things we know about the World Series heading into Game 2:

--Alcides Escobar likes the leadoff spot. The Kansas City shortstop, who set a major league postseason record by recording a leadoff hit in the first four games of the American League Championship Series, hit the first pitch he saw in the World Series for an inside-the-park home run. "If they throw me a fastball in the strike zone, I'm ready to swing the bat," Escobar said. He recorded the first World Series inside-the-park home run since 1929, when Mule Haas of the Philadelphia Athletics did it against the Chicago Cubs in Game 4. The only other player to lead off a World Series game with an inside-the-park home run was Patsy Dougherty of the Boston Americans in Game 2 of the very first World Series, in 1903 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

--Daniel Murphy is not perfect, but he is still really good. The only player in major league history to hit home runs in six consecutive postseason games, Murphy saw the streak end Tuesday. However, he singled leading off the third inning and scored the Mets' first run, and he finished the night 2-for-7. "We didn't win a ballgame," Murphy said. "We'll get ready. We'll sleep tonight. We've got Jake (deGrom) going tomorrow. We know how good he's been. Hopefully as an offense, starting with myself, we can have some better at-bats tomorrow. I didn't do a very good job in extra innings. There were a couple of pitches I'd like to have back, the ones in the middle that ended up in the stands (as foul balls)."

--The Mets are slow starters. They are 0-5 all-time in World Series Game 1s, losing to the Baltimore Orioles (1969), the Oakland A's (1973), the Boston Red Sox (1986) and the New York Yankees (2000) before Tuesday. They are 2-2 all-time in Game 2, having defeated the Orioles 2-1 in 1969 and the Athletics 10-7 in 12 innings in 1973. However, they are not going to give up. "I think we still have our normal confidence," Game 1 starter Matt Harvey said. "We realize it's a seven-game series. There's no panic whatsoever. We're in a good place. We have Jacob (deGrom) tomorrow. We've got to flush this one and start over tomorrow,"

--The Royals are not afraid of hard-throwers. As if Harvey and his mid-90s fastball weren't enough, the Mets' next two starters throw even harder, beginning with right-hander deGrom in Game 2. The Kansas City hitters aren't fazed, though. They struck out fewer times than any other team in baseball this year, by a significant margin. Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas was reluctant to claim an edge. "I don't know if you've ever tried to hit 99 miles per hour. It's not easy," he said. "It's not easy to hit 91 miles per hour when it's sinking off the table. It's not an easy game. It never has been and never will be. It makes it harder with guys throwing 99 with sinkers, sliders and cutters. We're going to have to find ways to score some runs, then do what we do, which is play good defense and pitch the ball well."

--The Mets hope to reverse a trend. Six of the seven teams that swept their way through a seven-game League Championship Series lost the World Series, including the Royals last year. The 1988 Oakland Athletics started the trend in 1988, and they repeated the feat in 1990. The Detroit Tigers (2006 and 2012) also fell victim twice, and they were joined by the 2007 Colorado Rockies. The only team that swept a seven-game LCS and won the World Series was the 1995 Atlanta Braves, who swept the Cincinnati Reds in four games before defeating the Cleveland Indians in a six-game World Series.

**Udog** · 10-28-2015, 09:58 AM

MLB
Long Sheet

Wednesday, October 28

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NY METS (97 - 75) at KANSAS CITY (103 - 71) - 8:05 PM
JACOB DEGROM (R) vs. JOHNNY CUETO (R)
Top Trends for this game.
KANSAS CITY is 103-71 (+23.9 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
KANSAS CITY is 26-14 (+13.2 Units) against the money line when the total is 7 or less this season.
KANSAS CITY is 57-31 (+16.9 Units) against the money line in home games this season.
KANSAS CITY is 33-16 (+13.4 Units) against the money line at home when the total is 7 or less over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS CITY is 12-4 (+9.1 Units) against the money line in October games this season.
KANSAS CITY is 30-12 (+11.9 Units) against the money line in home games when playing on Wednesday over the last 3 seasons.
KANSAS CITY is 32-16 (+14.7 Units) against the money line in an inter-league game over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS CITY is 99-65 (+25.3 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
KANSAS CITY is 70-53 (+7.7 Units) against the money line in night games this season.
KANSAS CITY is 69-43 (+21.3 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
KANSAS CITY is 19-8 (+13.1 Units) against the money line in playoff games over the last 2 seasons.
KANSAS CITY is 60-44 (+10.9 Units) against the money line after a win this season.
KANSAS CITY is 40-30 (+7.1 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
KANSAS CITY is 22-13 (+8.1 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
CUETO is 25-9 (+12.5 Units) against the money line in home games over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
CUETO is 25-9 (+12.5 Units) against the money line in home games in games played on a grass field over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
CUETO is 21-9 (+12.7 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
CUETO is 8-0 (+8.0 Units) against the money line in home games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons. (Team's Record)
NY METS are 97-75 (+11.4 Units) against the money line in all games this season.
NY METS are 17-7 (+8.8 Units) against the money line on the road with a money line of -100 to -125 this season.
NY METS are 84-84 (+9.0 Units) against the money line in road games over the last 2 seasons.
NY METS are 96-71 (+14.5 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season.
NY METS are 74-58 (+7.0 Units) against the money line against right-handed starters this season.
NY METS are 392-411 (+30.8 Units) against the money line in road games after a loss since 1997.
DEGROM is 23-10 (+10.2 Units) against the money line in all games this season. (Team's Record)
DEGROM is 8-0 (+8.0 Units) against the money line on the road with a money line of -100 to -125 this season. (Team's Record)
DEGROM is 13-5 (+8.1 Units) against the money line in road games this season. (Team's Record)
DEGROM is 22-10 (+9.2 Units) against the money line in games played on a grass field this season. (Team's Record)
DEGROM is 11-2 (+10.1 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season. (Team's Record)
DEGROM is 10-0 (+11.2 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season. (Team's Record)

Head-to-Head Series History
KANSAS CITY is 1-0 (+1.0 Units) against NY METS this season
1 of 1 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL this season . (Over=+1.0 Units)

JACOB DEGROM vs. KANSAS CITY since 1997
No recent starts.

JOHNNY CUETO vs. NY METS since 1997
CUETO is 3-4 when starting against NY METS with an ERA of 4.02 and a WHIP of 1.369.
His team's record is 5-6 (-1.9 units) in these starts. The UNDER is 6-5. (+0.4 units)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**RS170** · 10-28-2015, 01:15 PM

Hey Udog--Come on now-- really---How many people do you think were actually watching that game last night at 1 o'clock in the morning. My opinion--Baseball has a big problem.......it's just plain stupid to be playing a World Series game at that time of the night. Kids have to be in bed--they have school the next day...only the most diehard of the diehards would have been up.... and to think companies were paying millions of dollars for those stupid commercials---WHAT A JOKE....

**RS170** · 10-28-2015, 01:22 PM

Sorry for the double post.

**Udog** · 10-28-2015, 03:26 PM

Originally posted by RS170 View Post

Hey Udog--Come on now-- really---How many people do you think were actually watching that game last night at 1 o'clock in the morning. My opinion--Baseball has a big problem.......it's just plain stupid to be playing a World Series game at that time of the night. Kids have to be in bed--they have school the next day...only the most diehard of the diehards would have been up.... and to think companies were paying millions of dollars for those stupid commercials---WHAT A JOKE....

I couldn't agree more! I had to leave one of the best ball games I've ever seen going into the 8th, with a tied score, because I get up at 3:30 in the morning and start working at 4:30. I work for a daily newspaper and am under deadlines. I can't monkey with the time frame. I can't imagine I'm the only baseball fan in the country that works early. It's a real frustration having to walk away from a great game like that.

Like you say, the school kids that are watching get hosed, too.

The real shame, to me, is that it's all about tv. MLB does exactly as the networks tell them to do and they're not about to argue with all that money.

When I was a school kid in the 60's, baseball was still played strictly in the daylight. They used to set up televisions all around the schools so kids could follow the weekday games. It worked great and MLB got a great audience. It was great fun for the kids and teachers. Of course, that was back when people still cared about baseball and would have raised hell if they had to miss games.

**Udog** · 10-28-2015, 03:43 PM

MLB
Short Sheet

Wednesday, October 28

NY Mets at Kansas City, 8:05 PM ET
New York: 34-22 UNDER after batting .240 or worse over a 15 game span
Kansas City: 13-7 SU as a home underdog of +100 or higher

**Udog** · 10-28-2015, 07:42 PM

MLB

Wednesday, October 28

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
World Series Game 2 betting preview: Mets at Royals
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Mets need Jacob deGrom at his best if they hope to even the series in Game 2. deGrom is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in three playoff starts.

New York Mets at Kansas City Royals (+117, 7.5)

Royals lead series 1-0

The Kansas City Royals won a marathon 14-inning affair in the World Series opener and look to take a 2-0 lead when they host the New York Mets on Wednesday. Eric Hosmer's sacrifice fly ended a 5-hour, 9-minute classic as the Royals delivered a 5-4 victory.

Hosmer recorded two RBIs to raise his postseason career total to 25, eclipsing the franchise record he shared with the legendary George Brett (23). Alex Gordon smacked a one-out, ninth-inning homer to forge a tie and an error by New York third baseman David Wright opened the door in the 14th for Hosmer's fly to right that plated Alcides Escobar. "I wanted to redeem myself for what happened earlier," Hosmer said, referring to an eighth-inning error he committed that gave New York a 4-3 lead. "That's the beauty of this game. Always get a chance to redeem yourself and can't thank my teammates enough." New York will be seeking redemption of its own in Game 2 after shut-down closer Jeurys Familia allowed his first run of the postseason by serving up Gordon's tying blast.

TV: 8:07 p.m. ET, FOX

LINE HISTORY: The Royals have opened Game 2 as slight +106 home dogs, but have quickly moved to +117. The total went on the board at 7.0 runs, but that has also moved to 7.5.

WEATHER REPORT: The forecast for Game 2 is looking much better than it was before game 1. It's expected to be a clear night with temperatures in the low 50's. There will be a moderate 7-10 mile per hour wind blowing out to the right field corner.

UMPIRE REPORT: Mark Carlson will be the man calling balls and strikes in Game 2. Home teams went 13-18 and the totals went 16-12-3 O/U in the 31 games he was behind home plate this season. Carlson's strike percentage comes in at 63.8 percent. The road team is 6-0 in Carlson's last six interleague games behind home plate.

WHAT BOOKS SAY: "After going 14 innings last night these two teams get right back at it tonight. The Mets send Jacob Degrom to the mound with the Royals countering with trade deadline acquisition Johnny Cueto. We opened Mets at -113 on the moneyline and it has quickly been bet down to -125 with 77 percent of the action backing the Mets. The total opened at 7 runs and with some sharp action coming in on the over we went to 7.5 where we are seeing good two way action with just over 50 percent backing the over." - Michael Stewart of CarbonSports

PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Jacob deGrom (3-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Royals RH Johnny Cueto (1-1, 7.88)

The 27-year-old deGrom was passed over for the Game 1 start in favor of an extra day of rest as manager Terry Collins noticed he needed more time. "For me, that is that release point, that consistent release point you have to make the pitches," Collins explained during his press conference. "If you start to get a little fatigued, that hand just doesn't catch up sometimes. That's why we wanted to give him an extra day, because the last time we pushed him back a little bit, he came out throwing great." The well-rested deGrom has struck out 27 and allowed just 15 hits in 20 postseason innings.

Cueto was a major disappointment for the Royals in the regular season and gave up eight runs in two-plus innings while losing his lone American League Championship Series start against Toronto. He has an eye on cashing in as a free agent after the season and repeatedly has said he was going to be the "real Johnny Cueto" during the postseason. "My ups and downs have been - it's just part of the game," Cueto said at a press conference. "I've pitched some good games as well. Obviously, the year is not over. And all I'm focused on is trying to go out and help this team win."

TRENDS:

* Mets are 7-0 in deGrom's last seven road starts versus a team with a winning record.
* Royals are 6-0 in their last six home playoff games.
* Under is 4-0 in deGrom's last four starts overall.
* Over is 7-0 in Cueto's last seven home starts.

SERIES PRICE: The Royals have gone from slight -102 dogs to win the series to the -200 favorite after taking Game 1. The Mets are now the +170 dogs.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Announcement

Wednesday's MLB Trends and Indexes - 10/28

Wednesday's MLB Trends and Indexes - 10/28

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment