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**Udog** · 07-11-2016, 08:09 AM

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

Field of 12 for the Olympic basketball tournament:

Group A
United States
France
Venezuela
Serbia
Australia
China

Group B
Argentina
Spain
Brazil
Lithuania
Croatia
Nigeria

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Armadillo: Monday's List of 13: Baseball thoughts at All-Star break.........

13) Buck Showalter is a great manager. His Orioles are 51-36, have a 2-game lead in AL East at the All-Star break, despite their starting pitchers being 29th in innings pitched, 28th in ERA- that puts a tremendous strain on their bullpen.

12) At an average Dodger home game, they sell over 15,000 Dodger Dogs.

11) Does Home Run Derby take a toll on participants?
Last year at the All-Star break Todd Frazier was hitting .284 with 25 HRs, 57 RBI, a .337 OB%.

Then he won HR Derby at his home park in Cincinnati. In his second half last year, Frazier hit .220 with 10 HR, 32 RBI and a .274 OB%. Then he got traded to Chicago.

10) A guy named Pat Shine will throw to Giancarlo Stanton at HR Derby tonite; he is the Marlins' video coordinator and in my opinion, the best guy in majors at telling his team when to challenge umpires' decisions via replay.

Shine has been an assistant coach at Cal-Irvine and UCLA; tonight he'll throw BP in front of the whole world. Little different than coaching third for the Anteaters.

9) Since start of 2013 season, over is 69-37 with Jerry Meals umping the plate.

8) Cubs' OF Matt Szczur once donated bone marrow to a 15-month old Ukrainian girl who was battling leukemia and desperately needed bone marrow that matched hers. He essentially saved the little girl's life, seeing as how she is still alive and well.

7) Bryce Harper is a great player, but he is 1 for 26 in his career against Matt Harvey. Miami pitcher Tom Koehler is 3 for 3 in his career against Harvey.

6) Cubs go into the All-Star break having lost 15 of their last 21 games; Texas goes into break having lost nine of last 12 games- they allowed 85 runs in last nine games.

5) Mike Pelfrey has made eight road starts for Detroit; the Tigers have been shut out in four of them.

4) Arizona Diamondbacks are 38-51, 15-32 at home, a huge flop. They traded closer Brad Ziegler to Boston, could dump more guys in the three weeks before the deadline, which is August 1 this year, because July 31 is a Sunday.

3) Curse of Cespedes: July 31, 2014, the A's traded Yoenis Cespedes to Boston for Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes- they were 66-41 and had been in the playoffs the two years before that. Since then, Oakland is 128-179 and summers aren't as much fun.

2) Shouldn't Colorado have an ex-pitcher as its manager? As difficult as pitching is in high altitude, you'd think an ex-pitcher would help current pitchers when their ERA gets inflated like all Rockies pitchers' do. Nothing against Walt Weiss, who is doing an admirable job in a smallish market, but I'd think about an ex-pitcher as a skipper.

1) If the playoffs started today (or tomorrow, or the next day.....)
NL: Nationals-Cubs-Giants. Wild Card: Mets or Miami @ Dodgers
AL: Orioles-Indians-Rangers. Wild Card: Toronto @ Boston

**Udog** · 07-11-2016, 08:37 AM

There's one Arena League game scheduled today and that's it.

WNBA takes today off and resumes tomorrow.

This week, CFL plays one game each night, Wednesday through Saturday.

MLB returns Friday. The Home Run Derby is tonight and the All-Star game is tomorrow night.

Enjoy the break, everybody!

**Udog** · 07-11-2016, 08:40 AM

MLB

Monday, July 11

If you've been blindly betting the @Cubs since June 20 through yesterday you'd be down a cool 20.38 positions in 21 games (dat…

Orioles now 13-0 in Tillman's last 13 starts at Camden Yards (9-4 covering -1.5) after 4-2 win over Angels on Sun.

W/ Twins' surprising offensive outburst yesterday, they tagged A.J. Griffin with 6 ERs - the 1st time he's allowed more than 3 ERs since 2013

Another OVER in a game umpired by Ramon De Jesus - that makes 8 in a row NYY/CLE Total: 7.5 Total runs scored: 18

**Udog** · 07-11-2016, 08:40 AM

Bettors can swing big when betting the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby

Todd Frazier tries to become just the third player to win back-to-back MLB Home Run Derby titles in San Diego Monday night.

Baseball and betting have been like oil and water since the 1919 World Series. But unbeknownst to MLB, they’ve adopted the most raw and popular format for sports bettors when they switched their annual All-Star Game Home Run Derby over to a tournament-style bracket last year.

I mean, who doesn’t love a good bracket? An estimated 70 million American sports fans filled out a March Madness bracket during the NCAA tournament this year. And guess what? Those friendly bracket pools are sports gambling at its most primal.

And, as we know from that first weekend of the NCAA, anything can happen in a single elimination tournament. That means a No. 8 seed - like Dodgers star rookie Corey Seager - could knock off a top-seeded slugger like Mark Trumbo in the opening round. There really is no rhyme or reason to the home run derby (not a game situation, no runners on base, no count, and BP pitches. How the hell do you analyze that with regular season stats?), so upsets are bound to happen. That means value in taking a flyer on a long shot.

So whether you’re filling out your own MLB Home Run Derby bracket amongst buddies or actually hitting the sportsbook – either online or in Nevada – to place a wager on a single player to win Monday’s derby, you can thank Major League Baseball for being so betting friendly during the Mid-Summer Classic.

Here’s a look at this year Home Run Derby contenders and their odds to win:

Mark Trumbo, Baltimore Orioles (4/1)

The American League has been the dominant force in recent derbies, winning seven of the last nine. Trumbo leads the big leagues in dingers with 26 heading into Friday’s action and had two home runs versus the Angels on July 6. He took part in the 2012 Home Run Derby, launching a total of 13 balls over the fence to finish third. He’s matched up with Corey Seager (17 home runs) of the Dodgers in the first round.

Todd Frazier, Chicago White Sox (5/1)

Frazier has been a derby star the past two seasons, finishing second to Yoenis Céspedes in 2014 and winning last year’s event by topping Joc Pederson in the finals. As of Friday, Frazier has yet to go yard this month but did register seven home runs in June after hitting nine in May. Only two men have won back-to-back derby titles: Céspedes and Ken Griffey Jr. He battles bats with Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies in Round 1.

Adam Duvall, Cincinnati Reds (6/1)

Duvall enters the weekend with 22 home runs on the season, which is third in the National League. He hit half of his total home runs in May and put up nine in June, but has yet to go yard in July. Before Frazier and Céspedes won the past three derbies (both RH), left-handed hitters dominated the longball competition with five straight lefties taking the derby title between 2008 and 2012. He’s up against Wil Myers and the home town San Diego crowd in Round 1.

Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners (15/2)

The way the derby has plagued power hitters in recent years, allegedly throwing a hitch in a batter's giddy-up following a display in the competition, Mariners fans may be lobbying for Cano to sit this one out. The M’s second baseman, who won the 2011 derby as a Yankee, is finally playing like everyone in Seattle hoped for when he signed with the team for a "bajillion dollars" in 2014, putting up 20 home runs and 56 RBIs. He’s got name-brand value and a derby title, but also just one home run since June 18. Cano faces Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton in the opening round.

Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins (4/1)

When it comes to pure power at the plate, Stanton is unmatched. But this isn’t a longest drive competition. He looked like he was on pace for a big day in last year’s derby, earning a bye with six big flys in the opening round, but then laid a goose egg in Round 3. He has 19 jacks heading into Friday and is swinging the hottest bat in the field, with back-to-back two home run games against the Mets this week. Stanton is in a big-name Round 1 bout with Cano.

Wil Myers, San Diego Padres (6/1)

Myers gets the hometown nod in San Diego, and deservedly so. He’s got 19 homers heading into the weekend and will have a home-field advantage in Petco Park, where he’s hit 13 of his total taters. Frazier, then a member of the Reds, won in front of the home faithful in Cincinnati last season. Should Myers get past Duvall, he could face Frazier or Gonzalez in Round 2.

Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies (15/20

You can take the bat out of the Rockies, but can you take the Rockies out of the bat? We’ll find out just how much Coors Field has been boosting CarGo’s numbers this season, knocking 13 of his total 18 home runs over the fence inside the hitter-friendly park this season. Away from the thin mile-high air, Gonzalez has only five home runs and is hitting .279 BA (vs. 362 at home). Despite serving as the major’s biggest home run factory over the years, Colorado has yet to boast a derby champion (0-11).

Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers (13/2)

Seager brings up the rear in the bracket format, seeded No. 8 among these big swingers. The Dodgers rookie shortstop has 17 homers to his name in 2016 and, as of Friday, has one home run since June 24. He’s been to Petco six times this year, failing to pick up a home run in any of those games. Seager may be holding the bat a little tight on the big stage among these household names. “I’m in trouble,” he told reporters when the field was announced. “I’m in a lot of trouble.”

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Monday's MLB Trends and Indexes - 7/11

Monday's MLB Trends and Indexes - 7/11

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