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**Dat Boi E** · 09-18-2010, 11:20 AM

good luck today, Bum!

**Kaptain** · 09-18-2010, 01:51 PM

gl today BUM

**StarDust Bum** · 09-18-2010, 03:12 PM

MLB Odds: Weekend’s dwindle to three

Pennant and wild card races will be entering the homestretch this weekend, as just 17 days remain in the 2010 Major League Baseball regular season. The weekend will be highlighted by two pitchers returning to their respective clubs after long layoffs.
Andy Pettitte returns to the mound Sunday when the New York Yankees conclude a three-game set with the suddenly resurgent Baltimore Orioles. Since Buck Showalter took over the managerial duties on Aug. 3, the O's are a major league-best 26-15. The Bronx Bombers are 11-4 against the Orioles this season with someone other than Showalter at the helm.

The Yanks better make hay while they can because they begin a four-game series Monday against a Tampa Bay Rays club that is battling them for first place in the AL East.

Though the New Yorkers entered the weekend in the midst of a 2-8 slide, the club should get a boost when Pettitte returns to the rotation for Sunday's finale. Until being sidelined with a groin injury in mid-July, the 38-year-old veteran was 11-2 with a miniscule 2.88 ERA.

Chris Young returns to the San Diego rotation Saturday when the slumping Padres continue their four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals. A loss in Thursday's opener saw the Padres fall out of first place in the NL West for the first time since June 10. The Padres are now a dismal 8-32 in their last 40 trips to Busch Stadium.

Young returns Saturday from the 4 1/2-month absence with a strained shoulder that flared after his only April start.

Three games separate the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves in the NL East Division standings. That gap could narrow prior to the rivals meeting Monday in the first game of a three-game series.

The second-place Phillies host the woeful Washington Nationals in a three-game weekend set. Philadelphia's bats have come alive just in time for the home stretch by scoring 62 runs in the last nine games. The Phils have won eight of those nine matchups.

Philadelphia is 40-16 in its last 56 series meetings against Washington, with the ‘over' going 10-2 in the last 12 matchups. The Phils entered the weekend with a fine 45-27 home record, while the Nationals come in with a 27-48 road mark.

The Giants start the weekend back in first place in the NL West for the first time since May 6, when they also held a half-game lead over the Padres. San Francisco hosts Milwaukee, a team it has already defeated in all four meetings this season by a combined score of 36-7. The Brewers did not score more than three runs in any of the four matchups.

The Brewers are also having trouble winning on the road lately, evidenced by a 2-7 mark in their last nine games away from home and a 3-9 record in their last 12 as a road underdog. San Francisco entered the weekend with a fine 44-28 ledger at AT&T Park.

The red-hot Colorado Rockies travel to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers after finishing a 10-game homestand that saw them produce 67 runs and eight wins. The late surge has left the Rockies just 2 ½ games behind the first-place Giants in the NL West and 2 ½ games out of a wild card berth.

Though the Rockies a dismal 29-42 in their first 71 dates away from Coors Field, they are 13-3 in their last 16 road endeavors. The ‘under' is 15-5-1 in the last 21 series meetings between the Rockies and Dodgers, including 8-4 in the 12 meetings this season. The Dodgers are 5-1 in their six home games against Colorado.

**StarDust Bum** · 09-18-2010, 03:13 PM

MLB Betting: Rangers at Seattle Mariners

With their magic number at eight, the Texas Rangers begin a 10-game West Coast trip, from which they could bring home a nifty souvenir; their first American League West pennant since 1999.

The next 10 days figure to be a pleasure cruise for the red-hot Rangers, who have won seven straight and sport a double-digit division lead with 17 games to play.

Texas opened a three-game set against the Seattle Mariners on Friday before heading on to Anaheim for three games and finishing up at Oakland.

The Rangers seemed to be going through the motions at the beginning of September when they lost six of seven. But that was before sweeping three at home from the New York Yankees to erase any doubts that Ron Washington’s crew will be a factor in the postseason.

Texas has been rolling offensively during this hot streak, hitting .318 with 51 runs scored in its last seven games.

Conversely, the Mariners are in complete disarray, having lost seven straight while scoring a grand total of 18 runs.

The Rangers send Cliff Lee (11-8, 3.28) to the hill on Saturday to face his former mates for the first time this season. The big southpaw returned from a 12-day break caused by lower back pain to dominate the Yankees on Sunday.

Lee figures to do the same against Seattle. He has won nine of 10 career decisions against the anemic M’s with a 3.28 ERA.

Hard-luck Jason Vargas (9-10, 3.62) gets the ball for the M’s. The young left-hander has emerged as Seattle’s No. 2 starter this season and is much better than his sub-.500 record indicates.

The Mariners have scored three runs or less in 14 of Vargas’ last 17 starts. He beat the Rangers at Safeco Field on August 3 when he allowed two runs and three hits in six innings. Texas roughed him up at home in early April in Arlington. Vargas has won seven of 11 decisions at home with a 2.58 ERA.

The Rangers have won 11 of their last 15 when facing teams with a losing home record. However, they have come up short in five of their last seven on the road and in eight of their last 11 against lefties. They are also 1-5 in Lee’s last six starts, both overall and on the highway.

Seattle has floundered in 11 of its last 13 when facing a southpaw at home. The M’s have failed to cash in Vargas’ last five starts. They have lost 16 of their last 21 on Saturday as well.

Texas has won five of its last six against Seattle and five of six at Safeco Field.

The MLB odds ‘under’ is 5-2-1 in the past eight meetings in the Great Northwest. The Rangers have ducked ‘under’ at a 13-5-3 clip versus division foes. The Mariners have strayed below the number at a torrid 21-7-1 pace versus southpaws and they have dipped ‘under’ in six of Vargas’ last seven home outings

**StarDust Bum** · 09-18-2010, 03:14 PM

MLB Odds Preview: Red Sox host Orioles

American League East rivals Toronto and Boston meet in the middle matchup of a three-game series Saturday at historic Fenway Park. The Blue Jays started this series by dropping seven of its last eight outings to fall back to the .500 mark. The Red Sox remain in the hunt for the playoffs, but time is quickly running out on the regular season.

Toronto left-hander Ricky Romero (12-9, 3.72 ERA) has his sights set on a team-leading 13th victory in this spot. The Cal State Fullerton product was roughed up by Tampa Bay in his latest effort last Saturday as 118 home ‘chalk,’ 13-1.

The second-year player was reached for six runs on three hits (one home run) with three walks and seven strikeouts over four innings and 86 pitches. That marked his first start since July 9 that he didn’t last five innings. The combined 14 runs eclipsed the 8 ½-run closing total at the MLB betting window, helping the ‘over’ improve to 8-1 his previous nine outings.

Romero has three starts against the Red Sox this season, with the Blue Jays dropping all three matchups. The 25-year-old went a combined 15 1/3 innings, surrendering 18 runs (14 earned) on 22 hits (two home runs) with six walks and 14 strikeouts. Toronto dropped those affairs as a 124 home underdog, 14-3, as a 126 home favorite, 7-5, and as a 128 road ‘dog, 5-4. The ‘over’ cashed in all three contests.

The Blue Jays, 34-40 away from home, conclude a six-game road trip with Sunday’s matchup before embarking on a nine-game homestand versus Seattle, Baltimore and New York. Toronto has seen the ‘over’ go 9-4-2 the previous 15 games on grass.

Boston pitcher Josh Beckett (5-4, 5.83 ERA) rebounded from a two-game winless streak by beating Oakland Sunday as a 115 road underdog, 5-3. The veteran hurler tossed six innings, allowing three runs on five hits with five walks and seven strikeouts on 110 pitches.

The combined eight runs slithered ‘over’ the 7 ½-run closing total, helping the ‘over’ cash his second straight start. The 30-year-old has now eclipsed the 100-pitch total in eight of his last nine outings.

Beckett has started against the Blue Jays just once this season, and the Red Sox prevailed despite his lackluster performance as 137 home ‘chalk,’ 13-12. The 6-foot-5 hurler survived just three innings, yielding eight runs on nine hits (one home run) with three walks and three strikeouts. The combined 25 runs soared ‘over’ the nine-run closing total.

Beckett is a modest 2-2 with a 5.65 ERA in eight Fenway Park starts this season. The Red Sox are now 17-7 in his last 24 home endeavors.

Boston, 42-30 at home this season, concludes a six-game homestand after this series with three games versus AL East rival Baltimore. The Red Sox are 11-4 the previous 15 meetings with the Blue Jays. Toronto is also just 1-7 in Romero’s last eight starts versus Boston.

Saturday’s forecast for Boston calls for sunny skies, with a high of 71 degrees and a low of 56.

**StarDust Bum** · 09-18-2010, 03:16 PM

CFL Betting Odds: Lions and Tiger-Cats clash

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats come into this game needing a win over the B.C. Lions to keep pace with East Division leader Montreal. This Week 12 matchup is scheduled for Saturday, Sept.18 at Empire Field in Vancouver with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. (PT).

Hamilton is coming off a disheartening 27-6 loss to East Division leader Montreal last week as a 3 ½-point home favorite. The loss prevented the Tiger-Cats from moving into a tie for the lead in the East. Instead, the second loss of the season to the Aloeuttes dropped them to 5-5 both straight up and against the CFL spread on the year and two games back. They are 2-3 both SU and ATS on the road this year.

B.C. was a 4 ½-point home favorite last week against Toronto and easily covered the spread with a dominating 37-16 win. The Lions are now in third place in the West Division with a 3-7 record SU and are 4-6 ATS. They have played well on the road this year but are just 1-4 SU at home and 2-3 ATS.

This will be the first meeting between these two teams this season and they will play one more against one another the final week of the season. B.C. has won eight of the last 10 games SU in this series, but ATS the series is split evenly at five games apiece. Hamilton has won two out of the last three games both SU and ATS.

The total has stayed ‘under’ in seven of the last 10 games between these two , but has gone ‘over’ in three of the last five. The Tiger-Cats have stayed ‘under’ the total is seven of their last 10 games, while the Lions have gone ‘over’ in five their last ten games and four in their last six.

Statistically these teams are evenly matched on both sides of the ball. Hamilton’s offense is ranked sixth in total points scored with 235 and B.C is ranked fifth with 245. The Tiger-Cats defense is ranked third in total points allowed with 255 and the Lions are fifth with 260.

Sportsinteractions.com has B.C. favored by 3 ½ and the ‘over/under’ line set at 51. The average margin of victory for the Lions in their last eight wins over the Tiger-Cats has been 15.1 points but the last three games between these two teams have been decided by an average of 7.3 points with Hamilton winning two of them.

B.C. definitely has the momentum coming into this matchup after dominating wins in its last two games. Lions QB Casey Printers is once again healthy and playing up to his capabilities. Last week, he completed 25-of-39 attempts for 302 yards and two TD’s with no interceptions.

Expect another solid effort from Printers this week as B.C. wins its third straight and covers the 3 ½ points

**StarDust Bum** · 09-18-2010, 06:49 PM

Evening Games:

Arizona - 7:05 PM ET Arizona +108 500 *****
Pittsburgh - Over 8 500

Cincinnati - 7:05 PM ET Cincinnati -131 500
Houston - Over 8 500

Washington - 7:05 PM ET Washington +152 500 *****
Philadelphia - Over 9 500

Toronto - 7:10 PM ET Boston -137 500
Boston - Over 9 500 *****

Cleveland - 7:10 PM ET Kansas City +110 500
Kansas City - Under 9 500

LA Angels - 7:10 PM ET Tampa Bay -230 500
Tampa Bay - Under 8 500 *****

Chi. Cubs - 7:10 PM ET Florida -164 500
Florida - Over 8.5 500

Milwaukee - 9:05 PM ET San Francisco -146 500
San Francisco - Under 7 500 *****

Texas - 9:10 PM ET Seattle +169 500 *****
Seattle - Over 6.5 500

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The Bum's Saturday's BEST BETS MLB-CFL !

The Bum's Saturday's BEST BETS MLB-CFL !

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