Sunday's WNBA Trends and Indexes - 6/13

[Udog]

Trends and Indexes

Sunday, June 13

Good Luck on day #163 of 2021! [/SIZE] [/I]

NOTE: As information becomes available, we will
attempt to post the trends and indexes as soon as possible.Information
is posted from what we believe are reliable sources.Any opinions
expressed are not necessarily those of the posting member or
BettorsChat. [/color]

[Udog]

Armadillo: Sunday's six-pack

Major league leaders in walks (by hitter):
50— Yasmani Grandal CWS (he’s hitting .163)
47— Joey Gallo, Tex
46— Max Muncy, LA
45— Yandy Diaz, TB
44— Carlos Santana, KC
41— Yoan Moncada, CWS

**********

Armadillo: Sunday's Den: Mixing in some baseball with Big X football knowledge

Someday, someone will explain to me why teams bat their pitcher 8th; it makes zero sense to me. Hopefully next year, everyone will use the DH so this will be a moot point, but it still kind of bugs me that in a multi-billion dollar business, things are done for no apparent reason.

10-12 years ago, Tony LaRussa batted the pitcher 8th in St Louis, and people assumed that since he did it, it was a good idea. No one has done it in a playoff game, which is the truest tell; it seems like a useless gimmick, something to yak about.

I’m convinced that Joe Maddon sometimes does things just to mess with people; he has batted the pitcher 8th too. What do you say to a position player when you bat him behind a pitcher?

Texas Rangers’ TV crew is very good; Dave Raymond/CJ Nitkowski or David Murphy. They talk calmly about the game, they’re good natured, they give the other team credit if it is due. Easy to listen to.

Overall, the quality of local TV baseball telecasts has gone downhill; lot of homerism, and not the funny Harry Caray-type. More the “we can’t say anything bad, ever” kind.

Good news on the TV front; Showtime announced that the series Billions will have new episodes on the air, starting September 5. Billions was airing its fifth season of shows when the pandemic shut everything down; think they’ve the filmed the seven episodes from season 5 that were already written, but never got filmed before the pandemic. Excellent show, worth watching.

Mets 4, Padres 1— Mets allowed 3 or fewer runs in their last 11 home games, their best such streak since 1968, when Seaver/Koosman worked in Queens.

Cubs 7, Cardinals 2:
— St Louis starter Gant faced 11 hitters, gave up 5 walks and a homer.
— Cardinal pitchers have hit 51 batters, most in the majors.
— Kris Bryant played 3B, for first time since April 20.

In three games in Minnesota during the week, Giancarlo Stanton went 6-15 with three HRs and eight RBI, but when New York played the Phillies Saturday, Stanton was on the bench, since there is no DH in National League parks.

Whats the deal here?
— Is Stanton so brittle that he can’t stand in outfield for nine innings?
— He makes $28M a year; would be nice if he played in all the games, especially when his bat is hot.
— Are the New York trainers coddling him too much?
— (Stanton was a pretty good outfielder for the Marlins, by the way)
— I’m 61 years old, I could play the outfield and not get hurt. Might not catch any baseballs, but good grief, Stanton looks like an NFL tight end- he can’t play the outfield?

Elsewhere, today ends Game 10 of our fantasy baseball league’s regular season, the halfway mark for us; time goes by quickly. Season isn’t half-over yet; our fantasy playoffs are in September, but it has been great to have things seem more normal this year.

This time last year, we were still a month away from the baseball season starting.

Here is some knowledge on Big X college football:
Baylor
— Baylor’s 4-year starting QB bolted Waco, will play at Utah.
— Maybe he left because he was sacked 31 times in nine games LY.
— Baylor has 10 starters back on defense.
— Bears ranked 123rd in rushing LY, 100th in scoring.

Iowa State
— Haven’t won a league title since 1912; they lost Big X title game 27-21 LY.
— QB Purdy is back for his 4th year as the Cyclones’ QB.
— Iowa State returns 26 players who’ve started 6+ games in their career/
— How has a big $$$ money school/NFL not hired Matt Campbell away from Ames?

Kansas
— Lance Leipold is their sixth coach since 2009; he was 37-33 at Buffalo.
— Leipold’s Buffalo team ranked #2 in country in rushing LY; Kansas was 116th.
— Leipold was hired the day before the Jayhawks’ spring game; not ideal.
— Anyone else wondering why they fired Mark Mangino 10 years ago?

K-State
— Wildcats have only 3 starters back on defense.
— K-State lost their last five games LY, giving up 40.6 ppg.
— Wildcats added five players via the transfer portal.
— Freshman QB TJ Rubley is the son of a former NFL QB.

Oklahoma
— 8 starters back on offense, 9 on defense
— They’ve won Big X six years in a row.
— Scored 43 ppg but lost twice (38-35/37-30)
— Sooners dropped 9 TD passes LY; the receivers need to be better.

Oklahoma State
— Only five starters are back on offense, but QB Sanders is a 3rd-year starter.
— Over last 11 seasons, OSU is 101-40, one of 10 programs with 100+ wins since 2010.
— Cowboys’ punter is Tom Hutton, a 31-year old Australian.
— Cowboys have never played in Big X title game.

TCU
— Gary Patterson has been head coach at TCU for 21 years.
— Junior QB Duggan has already started 19 college games.
— Horned Frogs are thin at LB and safety.
— TCU won five of last six games LY, after a 1-3 start.

Texas
— Longhorns scored 42.7 ppg LY, finished 7-3; the coach got fired after going 32-18.
— There will be a QB competition in summer camp.
— Texas has only 6 starters back on offense, 5 on defense.
— Steve Sarkisian is the new coach; six years ago; he got fired as head coach at USC for showing up drunk to practice. If you work for Nick Saban, people forget things about you.

Texas Tech
— Tech is 8-14 since Matt Wells replaced Kliff Kingsbury as coach.
— Red Raiders gave up 36.7 ppg last year.
— Tech hasn’t been to a bowl game since 2017.
— One of Tech’s QBs is Tyler Shough, who was Oregon’s starting QB LY.

West Virginia
— Last time they won a league title was 2011; they won the Big East back then.
— Mountaineers have only 5 starters back on defense.
— WVU is 11-11 in two years since Dana Holgorsen bolted for Houston.
— Mountaineers’ shortest road trip in Big X is Iowa State, 872 miles away.

[Udog]

WNBA

Sunday, June 13

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

Seattle @ Connecticut
Seattle
Seattle is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Seattle's last 5 games when playing Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Connecticut's last 5 games when playing Seattle

Washington @ Atlanta
Washington
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta
Washington is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Atlanta's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta's last 7 games when playing Washington

Dallas @ Las Vegas
Dallas
Dallas is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Dallas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Dallas
Las Vegas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games

New York @ Phoenix
New York
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York's last 6 games when playing on the road against Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York's last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Phoenix
Phoenix is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing New York
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Phoenix's last 6 games when playing at home against New York


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

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, June 13

[Udog]

[Satch]

SEATTLE (9 - 2) at CONNECTICUT (8 - 2) - 6/13/2021, 2:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
CONNECTICUT is 8-2 ATS (+5.8 Units) in all games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 8-2 ATS (+5.8 Units) in May, June, or July games this season.
CONNECTICUT is 9-1 ATS (+7.9 Units) in home games revenging a loss versus opponent over the last 3 seasons.
CONNECTICUT is 6-0 ATS (+6.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
SEATTLE is 151-116 ATS (+23.4 Units) after a non-conference game since 1997.
SEATTLE is 17-8 ATS (+8.2 Units) in road games after scoring 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
CONNECTICUT is 3-3 against the spread versus SEATTLE over the last 3 seasons
CONNECTICUT is 3-3 straight up against SEATTLE over the last 3 seasons
5 of 6 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

WASHINGTON (4 - 5) at ATLANTA (4 - 6) - 6/13/2021, 3:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WASHINGTON is 28-51 ATS (-28.1 Units) in road games on Sunday games since 1997.
WASHINGTON is 11-3 ATS (+7.7 Units) in June games over the last 3 seasons.
WASHINGTON is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) in road games when playing with 2 days rest over the last 3 seasons.
ATLANTA is 20-39 ATS (-22.9 Units) in home games after a loss by 10 points or more since 1997.
Head-to-Head Series History
WASHINGTON is 4-1 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
WASHINGTON is 5-0 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

NEW YORK (5 - 4) at PHOENIX (5 - 5) - 6/13/2021, 6:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW YORK is 23-40 ATS (-21.0 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
NEW YORK is 22-35 ATS (-16.5 Units) as an underdog over the last 3 seasons.
NEW YORK is 2-10 ATS (-9.0 Units) when playing with 3 or more days rest over the last 3 seasons.
NEW YORK is 13-26 ATS (-15.6 Units) after a division game over the last 3 seasons.
NEW YORK is 7-16 ATS (-10.6 Units) after allowing 75 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 7-20 ATS (-15.0 Units) after a loss by 10 points or more over the last 3 seasons.
NEW YORK is 2-10 ATS (-9.0 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive losses over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 4-1 against the spread versus NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
PHOENIX is 4-1 straight up against NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
4 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

DALLAS (5 - 5) at LAS VEGAS (7 - 3) - 6/13/2021, 6:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DALLAS is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) as an underdog this season.
DALLAS is 7-1 ATS (+5.9 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
LAS VEGAS is 58-84 ATS (-34.4 Units) in home games after scoring 75 points or more since 1997.
Head-to-Head Series History
LAS VEGAS is 4-1 against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
LAS VEGAS is 5-0 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

[Udog]

Monday’s 6-pack
Best records in the major leagues:
42-24— Tampa Bay
41-24— Chicago White Sox
40-25— San Francisco
39-26— LA Dodgers
40-27— A’s
38-27— Chicago Cubs/Milwaukee

Quote of the Day
“A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.’’
Chuckles the Clown

Monday’s quiz
Marv Levy went 123-78 as coach of the Buffalo Bills, winning four AFC titles; what other NFL team was he also head coach of?

Sunday’s quiz
In the movie Dave, where Kevin Kline plays the US President, Ben Kingsley played the Vice-President.

Saturday’s quiz
When Dodgers’ P Clayton Kershaw was in high school, he was the center on the football team; Rams’ QB Matthew Stafford was the quarterback on that team.

****************************************

Monday’s Den: Hard to believe its been 20 years already. Happy Armadillo Day

Hard to believe, but 20 years ago today, this website got its start; time flies when you’re having fun, and this has (mostly) been fun.

I’d like to thank all of you for reading this space (I’m hoping someone is out there reading)

I’ve had the pleasure of learning from a lot of smart people over the years; hopefully I’ve passed some of that knowledge on to you. Lot of what is posted here is trivial, but trivia can be fun. If it makes you smile or makes you think, then it is useful trivia.

— Random joke from comedian Rip Taylor: “The economy is so bad, even the price of down is up”

— A coach rips into one of his players, who dislikes the coach: “You’re playing lousy because you’re ignorant and apathetic!!!!” Kid looks at the coach, shrugs and says, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”

Someday I’ll do a big thing thanking everyone who has helped me, but right now it is really late and I would leave someone out and that would make me sick, so I’ll do it another day. Just know that I appreciate what I’ve learned from those of you who I’ve met.

One of the things I believe is that certain people come into our lives for a reason; we may not know it at the time, but eventually we do. They may even be cruddy people, but we learn from them too and we use that knowledge to make ourselves better.

I’ve made several new friends because of this site; you never have enough good friends.

So much has happened since 2001; now isn’t the time to look back, its time to look ahead, to try and figure out what’s going to be happening in the coming months.

— Baseball is going to look a lot different next year. Will be lot of new rules; eventually, they will add two expansion teams, maybe the A’s/Rays will also move.

Hopefully, everyone will use the DH next year, and 7-inning doubleheaders will go away; I’m not too opinionated on the other potential rule changes— oh yeah, no robot umps either.

— NFL teams will play 17 games this season for the first time; eventually, they’ll play 18, with the Super Bowl on Presidents Day weekend.

— College football will expand to an 8-team or 12-team playoff; too much money involved for them to say no to that.

— College basketball is undergoing a huge change right now, not necessarily for the better. I am hoping that soon kids can go right from high school to the NBA, which might reduce the amount of roster-hopping that is happening at a ridiculously high pace right now.

Random odd stat: NFL went to the 16-game schedule in 1978. Since, the QB who has started all 16 games for his team and thrown the fewest TD passes?

In 1995, Trent Dilfer started 16 games for Tampa Bay, but threw only four TD passes all season for the 7-9 Buccaneers, who were 5-2 in games decided by 7 or fewer points. Five years later, Dilfer won the Super Bowl starting for the Baltimore Ravens. Go figure.

Suns 125, Nuggets 118— Phoenix is in playoffs for first time in a decade; they sweep Denver here, advance to the Western Conference final.

Bucks 107, Nets 96— Kyrie Irving hurt his ankle, Bucks evened series 2-2.

— Guy named Garrick Higgo (played college golf at UNLV) was six shots down when he began play Sunday, but the leaders stumbled, and Higgo won his first PGA Tour event, in only his second try. He’s also won twice on the European Tour in the Canary Islands. Higgo is only 22 years old; he is a lefty golfer from South Africa.

— Former Colorado QB Sam Noyer, a 2nd-team Pac-12 guy last year, is transferring to Oregon State, because every QB who doesn’t start seems to transfer to somewhere where he will start. Unusual for a QB to transfer within the conference, though.

Toronto 18, Boston 4— Blue Jays hit eight home runs.

If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets/Cubs or Brewers/Giants. Wild Card: Chi/Mil @ Dodgers
AL: Rays, White Sox, A’s. Wild Card: Houston @ Boston

Today we start the next 20 years, hopefully filled with laughter and good health for everyone. Thanks again for reading.

Happy Armadillo Day, and happy birthday to my friend Big Dawg, who celebrates a birthday today. He is a smart, funny man; don’t believe me?

Before my ill-fated marriage way back in 1992, Big Dawg comes up to me at work, and in front of several other people says: “Don’t spend too much time with her. Remember, she’s only your first wife.”

Then he walks away. Oy. Happy birthday, Big Dawg!!!!