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**Udog** · 07-14-2016, 08:11 AM

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

Starting pitchers who induce the highest %age of swings/misses when they pitch:

-- Jose Fernandez, Marlins-- 33.7%

-- Noah Syndergaard, Mets-- 32.8%

-- Max Scherzer, Nationals-- 32.3%

-- Rich Hill, A's-- 31.6%

-- Lance McCullers, Astros-- 31.4%

-- Michael Pineda, NYY-- 30.7%

**********

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

13) Politics intrudes into real life, in a strange way:

Albany Great Danes (my alma mater) were supposed to visit Duke on November 12, a big-money guarantee game with probable ESPN2 exposure too. Important for a team that needs money and TV expsoure, playing in the low-major America East.

But now the game is off, because of a new mandate by New York governor Andrew Cuomo that prevents businesses and public corporations or institutions from "non-essential" travel to North Carolina to protest the controversial "Bathroom Bill", which is seen by some as discriminatory toward transgenders.

12) I don't know anything about politics and don't give a rat's ass about them either, but if the governor wants to screw Albany out of a six-figure payday, the least he can do is call up Syracuse or St John's and get then to schedule Albany, to make up for the big money payday they lost when the Duke game was cancelled.

11) When there is a foul tip around home plate, the baseball is taken out of the game; Tuesday, you could go online and buy those baseballs. During the game.

A fan behind home plate paid $750 for one of the foul balls and had it in his hands by the fourth inning. Funny how quickly things move when there is money involved.

10) More memorabilia nonsense: Earlier this year, Bartolo Colon hit a homer in San Diego, against the Padres. This week at Fan Fest, they were selling the bases from that game for $2,000 apiece. I mean really, people have $2,000 to just give away?

9) How great a hitter was Tony Gwynn? He hit .394 (98-249) against threesome of Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz, three Hall of Famers for the Braves.

8) FOX did a piece during All-Star Game telling how NL manager Terry Collins said how he thought it was important for every team to get at least one player in the game, then he didn't put any of his own guys into the game. Go figure.

7) Miami Marlins sent an email offer to fans Monday saying that for every homer Giancarlo Stanton hit in HR Derby, they would knock a %age point off the price of tickets. That was before he hit 61 homers, won the Derby. Now the organization is clarifying that the deal was only good to a maximum of 25% off. Weasels.

Miami will offer 61% off tickets for one game, a July 29 game with St Louis.

6) Sign of the Times: Kris Bryant endorses adidas shoes; in the first four innings of the All-Star Game, Bryant wore three different pairs of cleats, all of which were being sold online in an Internet sale during the game on adidas' website.

5) Scheduling hijinx: Best part of being a college coach instead of a pro coach is that you make your own out-of-conference schedule (unless you're in NY). Auburn and Michigan do not play a road game until October 8th, their sixth game of the season.

4) Georgia Tech's basketball team added a couple of grad transfers from the MAC, one from Eastern Michigan, one from Western Michigan. Individually the kids are not difference makers, but they add depth/maturity to what was a thin Tech roster.

3) Golfer Charl Schwartzel left Nike and will use equipment from PXG, just in time for next month's Olympics. Golf is big business and so are the Olympics.

2) Lakers clubbed Golden State in summer league the other night; during game, Warriors' GM Bob Myers was on TV, and while he was yukking it up with the TV guys a little, he also said "I'm sitting with the owner....." implying that Joe Lacob, who owns the Warriors, might not be real happy with a loss, even in summer league. Oy.

1) Was out to dinner Tuesday night; motorcycle in the parking lot was painted like a wrapper from a Butterfingers candy bar. Pretty cool, actually.

**Udog** · 07-14-2016, 08:15 AM

MLB

Thursday, July 14

At the Break:

Top Earning Team At Home:
Baltimore Orioles +$1632 (33-14)

Bottom of the Barrel Earners At Home:
Arizona Diamondbacks -$2388 (15-32)

Top Earning Team On The Road:
San Francisco Giants +$1170 (28-16)

Bottom of the Barrel Earners On The Road:
Kansas City Royals -$1227 (16-30)

Top OVER team:
Minnesota Twins (no surprise to our regular viewers) 54-29 (65%)

Top UNDER team:
Toronto Blue Jays 52-35 (60%)

Top OVER starter:
Tie - Twins' Ricky Nolasco and Nats' Stephen Strasburg.
13-3

Top UNDER starter:
White Sox' Jose Quintana
15-3 (83.3%)

Top "Homer" Umpire:
Clint Fagan: Home W-L 10-2 (83.3%)
Hon. mention Bill Welke 14-3

Top "Visiting Team" Umpire:
Ryan Blakney - road team record 14-4 (77.8%)

**Udog** · 07-14-2016, 08:21 AM

Baseball bettors should feel good about these MLB season win totals bets

Bettors who took the Rangers Over 83 wins are smiling at the MLB All-Star break.

The MLB All-Star break is here and that means it's time to dust off your regular season win totals ticket and either look down in delight, or crumple it up and and do you best Tim Duncan impression as you bank it into the trash.

At the same time, if you're ahead of the curve when it comes to your win totals wagers, don't think you have this in the bag. I'm looking at you Cubs fans.

So, with most teams having between 71 and 75 games remaining in the 2016 season we take a look at some teams who are well on their way to cashing the Over and others that... well, lets just hope you took the Under.

*Season win total numbers from William Hill US

Lookin' good to get Over the hump

Baltimore Orioles

Season win total: 78
Current wins: 51
Wins needed to go Over: 28 wins in final 75 games (37.3 winning percentage)

Everyone expected the American League East to be a tight race this season, but not many had the Orioles to be the team leading the way at this point in the schedule.

The O's were pegged at 78 wins, the fewest in the AL East. But, due mostly to mashing the baseball better than anyone else, they lead the division by two games over both the Red Sox and Blue Jays.

Baltimore leads the majors in home runs with 137 and are second in slugging and OPS thanks to Manny Machado's MVP-type season and the monster emergence of Mark Trumbo, whom leads the bigs with 28 dingers.

While the Orioles do have issues in their starting rotation, as long as they can continue to hit the ball they way they're capable of, a record of at least 28-47 down the stretch is more than likely.

Philadelphia Phillies

Season win total: 67
Current wins: 42
Wins needed to go Over: 25 wins in final 72 games (34.7 winning percentage).

The Phillies surprised everyone by coming out of the gate playing, well, competitive baseball, and even though they have cooled off, they aren't the pushover everyone thought they would be.

Pegged with a MLB-worst win total of 67, the Phillies are blowing those expectations out of the water. They already sit at 42 wins and only require a record of 26-46 in their last 72 games to cash those over tickets.

The Phillies look like they've turned a corner thanks to their young core of guys like Vince Velasquez, Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera. Barring major injuries, Philadelphia can be competitive down the stretch and cashing the Over 67 wins seems very reasonable.

Texas Rangers

Season win total: 83
Current wins: 54
Wins needed to go Over: 30 in final 72 games (41.7 winning percentage)

Texas was another team disrespected by books heading into the season. The Rangers entered the season with a win total of just 83, despite winning the AL West last season and now get a full season of ace Cole Hamels to boot.

This was supposed to be the year the Astros (opened at 88 wins) took the next step, but the Rangers said "not so fast". At 54-36, they own the best record in the American League and the second best in all of the majors.

Texas boasts a balanced lineup that can hurt you from top to bottom, but the Rangers' concerns lie with starting pitching. Yu Darvish, Derek Holland and Colby Lewis are all on the DL. Darvish is expected to return soon, but look for the Rangers to bolster their rotation before the trade deadline and if they do, Over 83 wins shouldn't be a problem.

Honorable mentions: San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies

Hope you took the Under

Tampa Bay Rays

Season win total: 81.5
Current wins: 34
Wins needed to go Over: 48 in the final 74 games (64.9 winning percentage)

The Rays entered the season as dark-horse candidates to make the playoffs if everything went right. Well, it didn't. In fact it has been the complete opposite.

Preseason Cy Young candidate Chris Archer has been a shell of his former shelf, which has been a representation of the Rays pitching staff in general. What was supposed to be the team's strength has left the Rays to rank 24th in team ERA (4.57) and 25th in quality starts (35).

Additionally, the offense has been worse than expected, scoring an AL-worst 344 runs in its first 88 games - good for 3.91 runs per game (ranked 27th). Combine that with the rumors the Rays will be big sellers at the deadline, a 48-26 record down the stretch seems nearly impossible.

Minnesota Twins

Season win total: 79
Current wins: 32
Wins needed to go Over: 48 in final 74 games (64.9 winning percentage)

The Twins were a team that finished 2015 strong, capturing second place in the AL Central with a 83-79 record. Combine that with the young talent on the roster and the Twins were also dark-horse candidates this season.

Unfortunately for fans in the Twin Cities, an 0-9 start sank the Twins hopes before the season barely started and it didn't get much better. Minnesota held an 11-34 record on May 24 and has made some mild improvements on the diamond - definitely not enough to threaten the Over.

While the lineup has been producing at an acceptable rate, the pitching and defense has been horrendous. The Twins rank 28th in team ERA at 4.97 and 28th in errors. Going over 79 wins seems like a pipe dream at this point.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Season win total: 82
Current wins: 38
Wins needed to go Over: 45 in final 72 games (62.5 winning percentage).

Ah, the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team that won the offseason has fallen flat on its face. Again.

Expectations were high in the desert after the acquisitions of Zack Geinke, Shelby Miller, Jean Segura and Tyler Clippard among others. The D-backs were going for broke and it has blown up in their face. An early-season injury to rising star A.J. Pollack hasn't helped, but most of the blame falls on the pitching staff.

Arizona's team ERA of 4.77 and team WHIP of 1.44 rank 27th and 28th in the majors respectively. So not only will the Diamondbacks not complete for the NL West crown, it would be incredible if they were to cash their season win total Over tickets.

Dishonorable mention: New York Mets, Los Angeles Angeles

**Udog** · 07-14-2016, 08:29 AM

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Friday, July 15

National League
Pirates @ Nationals

Pirates won nine of last 11 games, are 10-6 in road series openers. Four of their last five games went over total. Washington won four of last five games, is 9-4 in home series openers. Five of last seven National games stayed under.

Mets @ Phillies

Mets lost seven of last nine road games, are 7-6 in road series openers. Five of last six New York games stayed under. Philly won 10 of last 13 games, is 4-10 in first game of a home series. Under is 6-2-1 in last nine Philly home games.

Brewers @ Reds

Brewers lost seven of last ten games, are 5-9 in road series openers. Under is 4-1-1 in last six Milwaukee games. Cincinnati lost seven of last eight home games, is 6-8 in first game of a home series. Over is 13-6 in Reds' last nineteen games.

Rockies @ Braves

Rockies lost six of last seven road games, are 3-6 in last nine road series openers. Under is 8-3 in last 11 Colorado games. Atlanta won three of last four games, is 5-2 in its last seven road series openers. Under is 5-3 in Braves' last eight games.

Marlins @ Cardinals

Marlins won four of last five games, are 8-6 in road series openers. Over is 15-4 in last 19 Miami road games. St Louis won three of last four games, is 5-10 in openers of home series. Under is 8-2-2 in Cardinals' last twelve games.

Dodgers @ Diamondbacks

Dodgers won 10 of last 14 games, are 4-10 in road series openers. Under is 7-3 in last 10 LA games. Arizona lost 12 of its last 14 games, is 3-12 in home series openers. Over is 6-0-1 in their last seven home games.

Giants @ Padres

Giants won eight of last ten games, are 8-6 in road series openers. Over is 5-2-1 in last eight Giant road games. San Diego lost its last three games, is 9-6 in openers of a home series. Nine of last ten games at Petco Park went over the total.

American League
Red Sox @ New York

Red Sox won six of last seven games, are 8-5 in road series openers. Over is 5-2-1 in last eight Boston games. New York won three of its last four games, is 7-6 in home series openers. Seven of last eight Bronx games went over the total.

Royals @ Tigers

Royals lost six of last seven games, are 4-11 in road series openers. Five of last seven KC games stayed under the total. Detroit lost five of last seven games, is 7-6 in home series openers; seven of its last nine games stayed under total.

Orioles @ Rays

Orioles won four of last five games, are 7-7 in road series openers. Four of O's last five road games went over total. Tampa Bay lost 22 of last 25 games; they're 6-9 in home series openers. Six of Rays' last nine games stayed under the total.

Indians @ Twins

Indians lost four of last five games, are 9-6 in road series openers. Eight of last nine Tribe games went over the total. Minnesota won seven of last nine games; over is 20-6 in their last 26 home games. Twins are 6-9 in home series openers.

White Sox @ Angels

White Sox won five of last seven road tilts, are 1-5 in last six road series openers. Under is 7-4 in their last 11 road games. Angels lost six of last seven home games, are 5-9 in home series openers. Nine of Halos' last 11 home games went over the total.

Blue Jays @ A's

Blue Jays won eight of last nine games, are 9-5 in road series openers. Six of Toronto's last seven games stayed under. Oakland lost 10 of last 13 home games, but won four of last five home series openers. Four of A's last five games stayed under the total.

Astros @ Mariners

Astros won five of last seven games, are 6-8 in road series openers. Under is 11-3 in last 14 Houston road games. Seattle lost five of last seven games but won four home games in row; they're 8-6 in home series openers. Five of last seven Seattle games stayed under.

Interleague
Rangers @ Cubs

Texas lost nine of last 12 games, are 8-6 in road series openers. Over is 8-0-1 in last nine Ranger games. Cubs lost nine of last 11 games, are 11-3 in home series openers. Over is 13-3-1 in Chicago's last 17 games.

**Udog** · 07-14-2016, 08:33 AM

MLB

Friday, July 15

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Trend Report
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2:20 PM
TEXAS vs. CHI CUBS
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Texas's last 6 games when playing Chi Cubs
Texas is 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing Chi Cubs
Chi Cubs are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing Texas
Chi Cubs are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games at home

7:05 PM
PITTSBURGH vs. WASHINGTON
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games
Pittsburgh is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing Washington
Washington is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington's last 7 games

7:05 PM
NY METS vs. PHILADELPHIA
The total has gone OVER in 8 of NY Mets's last 11 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Mets's last 6 games
Philadelphia is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games when playing NY Mets
The total has gone OVER in 14 of Philadelphia's last 20 games when playing NY Mets

7:05 PM
BOSTON vs. NY YANKEES
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Boston's last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of NY Yankees's last 8 games
NY Yankees are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games

7:10 PM
BALTIMORE vs. TAMPA BAY
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Baltimore's last 5 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Baltimore's last 7 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing at home against Baltimore
Tampa Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Baltimore

7:10 PM
MILWAUKEE vs. CINCINNATI
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Milwaukee's last 7 games when playing on the road against Cincinnati
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Milwaukee's last 9 games on the road
Cincinnati is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cincinnati's last 7 games when playing at home against Milwaukee

7:10 PM
KANSAS CITY vs. DETROIT
Kansas City is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kansas City's last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Detroit is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
Detroit is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Kansas City

7:35 PM
COLORADO vs. ATLANTA
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Colorado's last 6 games on the road
Colorado is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 7 games at home
Atlanta is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing Colorado

8:10 PM
CLEVELAND vs. MINNESOTA
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cleveland's last 9 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Cleveland is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games on the road
Minnesota is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota's last 9 games when playing at home against Cleveland

8:15 PM
MIAMI vs. ST. LOUIS
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Miami's last 5 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
Miami is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
St. Louis is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Miami
St. Louis is 4-10 SU in its last 14 games at home

9:40 PM
LA DODGERS vs. ARIZONA
LA Dodgers are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of LA Dodgers's last 6 games when playing Arizona
Arizona is 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against LA Dodgers
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Arizona's last 10 games

10:05 PM
TORONTO vs. OAKLAND
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto's last 5 games
Toronto is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Oakland
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oakland's last 5 games
Oakland is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games

10:05 PM
CHI WHITE SOX vs. LA ANGELS
Chi White Sox are 7-14 SU in their last 21 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi White Sox's last 6 games when playing LA Angels
LA Angels are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games
LA Angels are 6-14 SU in their last 20 games

10:10 PM
HOUSTON vs. SEATTLE
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games when playing Seattle
Houston is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing at home against Houston
Seattle is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Houston

10:40 PM
SAN FRANCISCO vs. SAN DIEGO
San Francisco is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Francisco's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 16 of San Diego's last 23 games
San Diego is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games

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**Udog** · 07-14-2016, 09:46 AM

Interleague Results at the Break

The 2016 MLB regular season will usually feature at least one Interleague game every day. All teams will play exactly 20 Interleague games broken down into eight series, four at home and four on the road.

American League Results (2014-2016)
Team 2014 2015 2016 (Home-Away)

Baltimore Orioles 12-8 12-8 (1-1, 4-1)
Boston Red Sox 9-11 13-7 (3-2, 2-0)
Chicago White Sox 11-9 9-11 (2-4, 2-1)
Cleveland Indians 10-10 12-8 (3-2, 5-3)
Detroit Tigers 12-8 9-11 (5-2, 5-2)
Houston Astros 5-15 16-4 (3-2, 5-2)
Kansas City Royals 15-5 13-7 (5-5, 3-4)
Los Angeles Angels 12-8 8-12 (2-5, 4-4)
Minnesota Twins 9-11 8-12 (5-3, 1-4)
New York Yankees 13-7 11-9 (1-1, 2-6)
Oakland Athletics 13-7 11-9 (2-5, 3-2)
Seattle Mariners 9-11 8-12 (5-2, 4-1)
Tampa Bay Rays 10-10 14-6 (1-6, 3-2)
Texas Rangers 10-10 11-9 (3-2, 3-0)
Toronto Blue Jays 13-7 12-8 (3-4, 6-2)

AL Totals 163-137 167-133 (44-46, 52-34)

National League Results (2014-2016)
Team 2014 2015 2016 (Home-Away)
Arizona Diamondbacks 7-13 11-9 (3-5, 2-2)
Atlanta Braves 7-13 6-14 (0-5, 4-4)
Chicago Cubs 9-11 10-10 (0-0, 2-0)
Cincinnati Reds 6-14 7-13 (2-6, 2-5)
Colorado Rockies 7-13 5-15 (3-2, 2-3)
Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 10-10 (2-3, 3-4)
Miami Marlins 13-7 7-13 (1-3, 3-4)
Milwaukee Brewers 11-9 8-12 (5-3, 2-2)
New York Mets 11-9 9-11 (3-2, 3-2)
Philadelphia Phillies 7-13 8-12 (5-3, 3-5)
Pittsburgh Pirates 11-9 13-7 (1-4, 6-4)
St. Louis Cardinals 8-12 11-9 (0-7, 5-3)
San Diego Padres 9-11 7-13 (3-4, 1-3)
San Francisco Giants 10-10 13-7 (1-4, 4-1)
Washington Nationals 10-10 8-12 (5-1, 4-2)

NL Totals 137-163 133-167 (34-52, 46-44)

**Udog** · 07-14-2016, 09:52 PM

MLB

Thursday, July 14

Red Sox have reportedly acquired lefty Drew Pomeranz from Padres
Red Sox 12/1 to win World Series prior to trade

Announcement

Thursday's MLB Trends and Indexes - 7/14

Thursday's MLB Trends and Indexes - 7/14

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