Announcement

**StarDust Bum** · 10-12-2010, 06:33 PM

MLB Odds: Yankees sweep way into ALCS

So, the New York Yankees once again dispatched the Minnesota Twins from the playoffs. Yawn.

New York advanced to the ALCS for a second consecutive October with Saturday's 6-1 win over the Twins behind Phil Hughes' seven shutout innings and a home runs off the bats off Nick Swisher and Marcus Thames. When it was over, there was no celebration on the field, just a few high-fives.

Maybe the Yankees are saving the party for their next victims in the ALCS, or the NL team after that in the World Series.

Saturday's triumph gave New York a 9-game postseason win streak against Minnesota, a run that dates to the 2004 ALDS. The Yankees also swept the Twins last season in the first round of the postseason, with Minnesota having dropped 12 consecutive playoff contests and 15 of its last 17.

Joe Girardi's guys broomed the Twins this time as 145, 120 and 175 MLB odds favorites in the three games respectively. The last two contests of the series stayed 'under' the number.

Top MLB Betting Odds at Easy Street Sports.

New York now awaits the winner of the Texas, Tampa Bay ALDS. The Rangers were four outs away from sweeping the Rays on Saturday before a late uprising gave TB (plus 105) new hope with a 6-3 victory. Texas can complete its first postseason series triumph Sunday afternoon at home as 120 favorites.

The ALDS glory was statistically spread around the New York roster. Yankees starters – C.C. Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Hughes – worked 20 of 27 innings in the three games with a combined 2.25 ERA. Four different New York hitters went deep one time each and four others each stole one base. The Yankees lineup batted a collective .314 in outscoring the Twins, 17-7.

As for who the pinstriped gang would rather face in the ALCS, it might be a case of "six of one, a half dozen of the other." Be it Texas or Tampa Bay, the Yankees will cede home-field advantage, though they will likely draw a larger percentage of fans supporting them at Tropicana Field than at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

New York does have a solid postseason track record against Texas, though the Yanks' 9-1 record in that category dates to the mid-to-late 90s. New York split its eight regular season games with the Rangers, winning all three at home and going 1-4 in the Lone Star State. Tampa Bay won 10 of the 18 encounters with New York.

Top MLB Betting Odds at Easy Street Sports.

The Yankees probably don't care which team they draw as long as the Rays, Rangers series is extended to five games. If Tampa Bay does force its ALDS back to Tropicana Field, Game 5 would be Tuesday night with a pitching matchup of each team's ace, David Price for the Rays and Cliff Lee for Texas. That would mean either the Rays or the Rangers might be without their top starter for Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS which starts Friday (Oct. 15).

'Totals' bettors might prefer the Yankees to match up with the Rays based on regular season trends. The 'over' was a robust 13-5 between those two clubs in 2010 while 'totals' were a level 4-4 in Texas, New York battles.

No matter how you slice it up, the defending World Series Champions are clearly in the driver's seat at this point as they sit and wait in preparation for what could be their 41st AL Pennant

**StarDust Bum** · 10-12-2010, 06:34 PM

MLB Odds: Giants move on to NLCS

The San Francisco Giants have made their first NLCS since 2002 with a 3-1 series win over the Atlanta Braves. The franchise is looking for its first World Series title since moving west from New York in 1958.

The Giants were fortunate to beat Atlanta in four games. Each contest was decided by one run, with San Francisco scoring just 2.75 runs per game. The MLB betting ‘under’ was 3-1 despite each total ranging from just 6 ½-seven runs.

Scoring has been an issue all year for the Bay Area bunch. The Giants’ 4.06 runs per game ranked 13th in the NL. The 3.91 average in the second half ranked 14th.

San Francisco is used to relying on its pitching. Team ERA was third in the NL at 3.55. There was barely a difference between the starters (3.58) and relievers (3.49).

The starters really turned it on down the stretch in September with Tim Lincecum (1.94), Matt Cain (2.19), Jonathan Sanchez (1.17) and Madison Bumgarner (1.13) all having dazzling ERAs. Expensive lefty Barry Zito had a 4.15 ERA and was subsequently left off the NLDS roster. The ‘under’ finished 18-8 for the month.

The solid starting pitching continued against Atlanta. Lincecum got the ball rolling with a complete-game two hitter, striking out 14 in a 1-0 win. Cain, Sanchez and the 21-year-old rookie Bumgarner all went at least six innings and combined for a 1.35 ERA.

The bullpen wasn’t as sharp with a 4.00 ERA. It blew leads in both Games 2 and 3, with the latter saved by a Giants rally in the ninth. The pen needs to be much sharper in the next round.

San Francisco won Game 1 at home as a 156 favorite. Road wins in Games 3 and 4 were as 122 and 123 ‘dogs respectively. The Giants were 43-38 away during the regular season (plus eight units), versus 49-32 at home (plus six units).

Attention can now be focused on the Philadelphia Phillies. They swept (4-0, 7-4, 2-0) the overmatched Cincinnati Reds in three games behind their trio of aces, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.

The Phillies support their starters with a potent offense (4.77 runs per game, second in the NL). They’re a remarkable 52-19 since July 21 and looking for their third straight World Series appearance. They beat Tampa Bay in 2008 (4-1) before losing to the NY Yankees last year (4-2).

San Francisco and Philly split six regular season meeting this year, each going 2-1 at home. San Francisco holds a 10-9 mark since 2008 (7-3 at home, 3-6 away).

Bookmaker.com has installed Philadelphia as the minus 245 series favorite, with San Francisco plus 205. Philly is the plus 125 favorite to win the World Series, with San Fran plus 450.

Game 1 in Philly won’t begin until Saturday night, but the hype of Lincecum versus Halladay has already begun. Halladay was 21-10 (2.44 ERA) in the regular season and promptly threw a no-hitter against Cincinnati in his first career postseason game.

Game 2 on Sunday should be Cain against Oswalt. Oswalt went 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA in the regular season after being acquired from Houston in July. He struggled some in Game 2 versus the Reds (two homers, three earned runs over five innings).

Game 3 moves to San Francisco on Tuesday with Sanchez facing Hamels who threw a complete-game five-hitter against Cincy and seems to have recaptured his 2008 form when he was NLCS and World Series MVP.

Game 4 on Wednesday could be Bumgarner against Joe Blanton, although Philly is much more likely to start Halladay on three days rest than the slighter Lincecum.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-14-2010, 06:48 PM

2010 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PREVIEW

NEW YORK YANKEES
TEXAS RANGERS

ALCS Pitching Probables:
Game 1: Friday, 10/15, 8:05 p.m. EDT at Texas
CC Sabathia (NYY) vs. C.J. Wilson (TEX)

Game 2: Saturday, 10/16, 4:05 p.m. EDT at Texas
Starters Phil Hughes (NYY) vs. Colby Lewis (TEX)

Game 3: Monday, 10/18, 8:05 p.m. EDT at New York
Cliff Lee (TEX) vs. Andy Pettitte (NYY)

Game 4: Tuesday, 10/19, 8:05 p.m. EDT at New York
Tommy Hunter (TEX) vs. A.J. Burnett (NYY)

Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, 10/20, 4:05 p.m. EDT at New York
Starters TBD

Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, 10/22, 8:05 p.m. EDT at Texas
Starters TBD

Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, 10/23, 8:05 p.m. EDT at Texas
Starters TBD

The Rangers make their Championship Series debut Friday when they host the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALCS in Arlington. The game features a pair of left-handed starters in CC Sabathia (21-7, 3.18 ERA) and C.J. Wilson (15-8, 3.35 ERA). Both southpaws are coming off ALDS wins with Sabathia working around some trouble in a 6-4 Yankees win while Wilson was lights out, limiting the Rays to just two hits over 6.1 shutout innings. After much debate, the Yankees have decided to go with Phil Hughes (18-8, 4.19 ERA) in Game 2 and Andy Pettitte (11-3, 3.28 ERA) in Game 3. The much maligned A.J. Burnett (10-15, 5.26 ERA) is set for Game 4.

Texas will send Colby Lewis to the mound in Game 2 (12-13, 3.72 ERA) and go with Cliff Lee (12-9, 3.18 ERA) in Game 3. Tommy Hunter (13-4, 3.73 ERA) gets the nod in Game 4. The Yankees and Rangers split their eight-game series this year, with Texas going 4-1 at home and the Yanks grabbing a three-game sweep in the Bronx April16-18.

Sabathia and Hughes have had tremendous success against this Texas lineup. Some significant numbers against Sabathia include Bengie Molina’s lifetime 1-for-19, Vladimir Guerrero’s 3-for-19 and Josh Hamilton’s 1-for-10. The 13 Rangers who have faced Sabathia are a combined 30-for-160 (.188 BA). Things are even worse for Texas against Phil Hughes. The Rangers are a paltry 3-for-38 against Hughes, with Michael Young and Jeff Francouer posting 0-for-7 marks against the right-hander. A.J. Burnett has held the Rangers to a .208 average while Texas hits Andy Pettitte at a .310 clip.

Nick Swisher and Derek Jeter have solid numbers against Texas’ projected starters, with Swisher going 6-for-20 against Wilson and 8-for-25 against Lee. Jeter enters the series 5-for-14 and 15-for-36 respectively. The opposite can be said for Alex Rodriguez who is just 1-for-13 against Wilson and a mediocre 6-for-22 (.273 BA) against Lee. Jeter is also the only Yankee to record a hit off Colby Lewis. Jeter is 3-for-5 with two HR lifetime while the other Yankees who have faced Lewis (Berkman, Posada, Teixeira) are 0-for-15

Here are some trends from FoxSheets that could shed some light on the ALCS:

NY YANKEES are 81-43 (+26.3 Units) against the money line vs. AL teams allowing 4.7 or less runs/game in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons. The average score was NY YANKEES 5.6, OPPONENT 4.3 - (Rating = 1*)

NY YANKEES are 60-34 (+21.4 Units) against the money line vs. teams outscoring opp by 0.5 or more runs/game in the second half of the season over the last 3 seasons. The average score was NY YANKEES 5.2, OPPONENT 4.1 - (Rating = 1*).

TEXAS is 16-9 (+10.9 Units) against the money line vs. teams whose hitters draw 4 walks or more/game in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons. The average score was TEXAS 5.4, OPPONENT 4.0 - (Rating = 1*).

TEXAS Manager RON WASHINGTON is 42-24 (+16.6 Units) against the money line in home games vs. excellent fielding teams - averaging <=0.5 errors/game in the second half of the season as the manager of TEXAS. The average score was TEXAS 5.0, OPPONENT 4.6 - (Rating = 1*).

GAME 1 ONLY - C.J. WILSON is 18-4 (+13.9 Units) against the money line in night games this season. (Team's Record). The average score was WILSON 5.0, OPPONENT 2.8 - (Rating = 2*).

**StarDust Bum** · 10-14-2010, 06:52 PM

MLB Playoff Odds: NLCS betting preview

The NLCS begins Saturday night in the City of Brotherly Love, as the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants take aim on the 2010 edition of the Fall Classic in this best of seven series.

The Phils have been lined anywhere from minus 220 to minus 260 to win the National League pennant for the third straight season, depending on your sports book of choice. Here's how we're stacking up the MLB odds for this set.

At first glance, it appears as though the rotations for these two teams stack up relatively well against each other. After all, the names Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain have become mainstays in the NL. We already know the "H2O" rotation of Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt is fantastic as well.

In Game 1 on Saturday, Lincecum will face off with Halladay. Lincecum has only allowed nine earned runs in his last six starts, fanning a whopping 66 batters in those outings. He went the distance against the Atlanta Braves in Game 1, striking out 14 and allowing just two hits.

We already know that Halladay pitched just the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history last week against the Cincinnati Reds. He has now pitched back-to-back shutouts and allowed just two hits and one walk in those two games.

Surprisingly, it will be Sanchez pitching in Game 2, not Cain. There's a good reason for that.

Sanchez has only allowed six earned runs in his last eight starts. The difference here between Sanchez and Lincecum is that the southpaw isn't going to be able to go the distance. He has only made it through eight innings once in that stretch of games. Oswalt allowed three earned runs and looked beatable against the Reds last week, but when push really comes to shove, he allowed either zero or no earned runs all but one of his final nine appearances in the regular season.

Game 3 will pit Hamels against Cain. If this were Sanchez on the mound, it would be the one game that we absolutely would've given the advantage to the Giants. Now, we're not so sure. Cain has led his team to back-to-back losses after picking up seven straight wins before that, and his pitch count is starting to get awfully high. This is a man that has thrown right at 230 innings this year and has at least 200 IPs in his last four seasons.

Hamels might have imploded in the postseason last year at times, but he has thrown 11 straight spotless innings dating back to his final start of the regular season, alloweing just five hits and a walk.

If there are no changes and no one is pitching on short rest, it is clear that Joe Blanton has anyone else outdone that the Giants could possibly throw out there in the situation.

The beauty about watching Halladay at home is that he hasn't lost there since August 25 and led the team to a 9-1 record in his last 10 at Citizens Bank Park. Oswalt is 6-0 at home as a member of the Phils. Somehow, San Fran is going to have to overcome this to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole early on. If that's the case, it's lights out time.

Offensively, neither team is doing all that well right now. But it is clear that the postseason experience offered up by names like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, etc., is going to be too much to top.

In fact, the only real edge that San Fran has is in the bullpen. The Giants had the best bullpen ERA in baseball this year, while the Phillies had the worst of any team in the postseason

**StarDust Bum** · 10-14-2010, 06:53 PM

MLB Odds: Yankees and Rangers begin ALCS

Two franchises with polar opposite histories, the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers, begin the ALCS on Friday night.

Bookmaker.com has New York as 144 road favorites with a total of 8 ½-runs (‘under’ is minus 120). The Yankees are 176 ‘chalk’ to win the series.

New York is the defending champion and owner of 27 World Series titles. The Rangers started in 1961 as the Washington Senators before heading south in 1972. They just won their first playoff series against Tampa Bay.

The Yankees finished the regular season at 95-27, but were the wild-card after finishing second in the AL East to Tampa Bay. An uncharacteristic 8-17 regular season finish proved costly. The team redeemed itself with a 3-0 sweep over Minnesota in the ALDS.

Texas (90-72) was the class of the AL West all season. It clinched the division on Sept. 25, its first playoff berth since 1999.

The Rangers won the first two playoff games in Tampa Bay (5-1, 6-0). They then dropped two at home (6-3, 5-2) and it looked like their playoff jinx may continue. However, a Game 5 gem by ace Cliff Lee closed out the series in Tampa with a 5-1 victory.

C.J. Wilson is Texas’ starter by default on Friday. Lee isn’t available until Monday’s Game 3. Lee is an incredible 6-0 with a 1.44 ERA in the playoffs over the last two years. He had two starts (2-0, 2.81 ERA) against the Yankees in the World Series while pitching for Philadelphia.

Wilson went 15-8 with a 3.35 ERA during the regular season. He spent the prior four seasons in the bullpen. Wilson helped Texas team ERA go from eighth (4.38) in the AL in 2009 to fourth (3.93) this year, a big reason for its success.

Wilson got the win at Tampa Bay last Thursday, throwing 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his first career playoff game.

The 29-year-old lefty had an OPS allowed of .622. Left-handed hitters had just a .400 OPS. The Yankees had a much lower winning percentage (.534) against lefty starters and are 2-9 in their last 11 against them.

Wilson has a higher ERA at home (3.70) than away (2.91), but Texas won 15 of his 19 home starts. He was 0-1 with a 5.65 ERA in three starts vs. New York this year. His last one on Sept. 10 at home was his shortest outing of the season (three innings).

CC Sabathia will be the opposing pitcher. Last year’s ALCS MVP didn’t look great in the ALDS at Minnesota (Oct. 6). He allowed four runs (three earned) over six innings. He trailed 3-0 until New York scored six combined runs in the sixth and seventh inning.

The 30-year-old lefty is one of the Cy Young favorites after posting a 21-7 mark with a 3.18 ERA. He had a stretch from June 3 to Sept. 2 when New York went 16-2 in his starts. He did have a couple of bad outings in September.

Sabathia had one start against Texas this year, one earned run over six innings in a 5-1 April home win. He’s 4-2 with a 4.71 ERA in six career starts at Texas.

The Yankees are 12-1 in his last 13 starts against the AL West. However, Texas is 6-0 in its last six starts against a left-handed starter.

The teams split eight meetings this year, with each home team going 3-1. Texas was 51-30 at home before dropping the two against Tampa. The Yankees were 43-38 on the road before winning two at Minnesota.

First pitch on Friday is 5 p.m. (PT). Weather will be clear and in the 70s.

The Game 2 matchup on Saturday is Phil Hughes for New York and Colby Lewis for Texas. Andy Pettitte is being saved to match up against Lee.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-16-2010, 11:12 AM

Playoff Record:

14-17-1 45.16% -2130

Saturday, October 16Game Score Status Pick Amount

San Francisco - 7:30 PM ET San Francisco +161 500 Philadelphia - Over 6 500

**StarDust Bum** · 10-16-2010, 11:25 AM

Saturday, October 16Game Score Status Pick Amount

NY Yankees - 4:00 PM ET NY Yankees -121 500 Texas - Over 9 500

**Kaptain** · 10-16-2010, 11:37 AM

gl w/ todays baseball BUM......

Giants/Phillies game should be a doozie....great Pitching, and I noticed you like the OVER....get em PODNA.......as always

**StarDust Bum** · 10-17-2010, 12:11 PM

OverAll Playoff Picks :
16-18-2 47.06% -1430

Week Ending 10/17/10

5-4-1 55.56% +730

Sunday, October 17Game Score Status Pick Amount

San Francisco - 8:00 PM ET San Francisco +146 500
Philadelphia - Over 7 500

Good Luck ! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GIANTS !

**Spark** · 10-17-2010, 12:16 PM

Good Luck bum

**Kaptain** · 10-17-2010, 12:31 PM

go GIANTS w/ a lots of RUNS......

give em hell BUM

**StarDust Bum** · 10-17-2010, 01:47 PM

Phillies draw MLB chalk money line in Game 2

Sunday’s National League Championship Series pitching matchup will be hard pressed to top Saturday’s opener. The first game of this series featured a pair of Cy Young recipients squaring off, while Game 2 pits two pitchers that went a combined 26-22 during the regular season.

San Francisco southpaw Jonathan Sanchez (13-9, 3.00 ERA) continues to pitch some of his best ball of the season after last Sunday’s effort versus Atlanta in the NL Divisional Series. The 27-year-old finished the regular season with back-to-back victories before helping the Giants dump the Braves as a 122 MLB odds road underdog, 3-2. The Puerto Rico native tossed 7 1/3 innings, allowing just one run on two hits with a walk and 11 strikeouts on 105 pitches in a no decision.

The combined five runs failed to eclipse the seven-run closing total, helping the ‘under’ improve to 7-1 his past eight outings. That effort marked just the second time that the five-year veteran had eclipsed the 100-pitch barrier his last six starts.

Sanchez beat the Phillies twice during the regular season, going a combined 13 innings while surrendering two runs on five hits with seven walks and 13 strikeouts. The Giants prevailed April 26 as a 136 home underdog, 5-1, and Aug. 19 as a 168 road ‘dog, 5-2.

Sanchez got the better of the Phillies’ Roy Halladay in that April contest, and the former Old Dominican hurler had a one-hit shutout going into the ninth inning during the Aug. victory. The baseball betting ‘under’ cashed in both contests, and is 4-1 his previous five starts versus Philadelphia.

San Francisco has a 5-1 record its last six road games, and the team is 5-1 the previous six league championship outings. The Giants are also 4-0 in Sanchez’s past four starts versus a team with a winning record. San Francisco is just 5-14 its previous 19 meetings at Citizens Bank Park.

Philadelphia counters with veteran Roy Oswalt (13-13, 2.82 ERA), a midseason acquisition from Houston. The 33-year-old wrapped up the regular season with two no decisions and a relief appearance before picking up another no-decision Oct. 8 against Cincinnati in Game 1 of the NLDS.

The right-hander went five innings, yielding four runs (three earned) on five hits (two home runs) with a walk and five strikeouts on 76 pitches. The Phillies eventually prevailed as 187 home ‘chalk,’ 7-4, while the combined 11 runs toppled the 7 ½-run closing total. The Mississippi native has not eclipsed the 100-pitch total his past four starts.

Oswalt has faced the Giants four times this season, but just once as a member of the Philadelphia pitching staff. The 10-year veteran was reached for three runs on six hits (two home runs) with no walks and seven strikeouts over seven innings during an Aug. 17 encounter while a part of the Philadelphia rotation. The Phillies won that matchup as a 160 home favorite, 9-3, while the combined 12 runs went ‘over’ the 8 ½-run closing total.

Philadelphia is 5-0 its last five home games in the league championship heading into Saturday’s late opener, and 14-3 its past 17 home playoff games. The Phillies are also 5-0 in Oswalt’s previous five home starts versus a team with a winning record.

Sunday’s forecast for Philadelphia calls for sunny skies, with a high of 72 degrees and a low of 45.

**StarDust Bum** · 10-18-2010, 07:16 PM

16-19-3 45.71% -1930

Monday, October 18Game Score Status Pick Amount

Texas - 8:00 PM ET Texas -109 500
NY Yankees - Over 7.5 500

**StarDust Bum** · 10-18-2010, 07:23 PM

Lee tries to give Rangers 2-1 ALCS lead

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

TEXAS RANGERS
at NEW YORK YANKEES

ALCS Game 3, Series tied 1-1
Monday, 8:05 p.m. EDT, Line: Texas -120, New York +110 Total: 7.5

The ALCS shifts to New York for Monday night’s Game 3 where Cliff Lee (12-9, 3.18 ERA) takes on Andy Pettitte (11-3, 3.28 ERA).

Lee has been remarkable in his two postseason starts this year, giving up just two runs in 16 innings while striking out 21. His October performance comes as no surprise as the two wins against Tampa Bay in the ALDS improved Lee’s career postseason record to 6-0 and dropped his ERA to 1.44 over seven playoff starts. Lee is 9-6 on the road this year with a 3.23 ERA (including postseason). The Rangers have also won five of his last six starts. Lee went 2-1 against the Yankees in 2010, with the most recent outing being his best – an eight-inning, two-hit, one-run performance on September 12. Lee is 8-4 lifetime against New York with a 4.14 ERA.

While Lee is relatively new to postseason play, the opposite is true for Andy Pettitte. The 38-year-old left-hander makes his 42nd career playoff start Monday. He’s 19-9 with a 3.87 ERA in the postseason. Pettitte picked up the win in Game 2 of the ALDS in Minnesota where he went seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits. He’s pitched well at home this year, going 7-3 with a 3.89 ERA. One of those wins came April 18 against the Rangers where Pettitte went eight innings, allowing two runs on four hits. He’s 10-7 with a 4.20 ERA in his career against Texas.

The FoxSheets back the Yankees in Game 3:

Play Against - Road favorites with a money line of -110 or higher (TEXAS) - with a starting pitcher whose ERA is 3.20 or better on the season (AL), starting a pitcher who walked <=1 hitters each of his last 2 outings. (63-35 over the last 5 seasons.) (64.3%, +45.2 units. Rating = 4*).

Announcement

All you need to know nlcs+alcs + my best bets !

All you need to know nlcs+alcs + my best bets !

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment