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**Udog** · 07-15-2013, 08:11 AM

MLB Pick 7 for All-Star Break

Originally posted by flashypants View Post

Hey does Allstar week end my 6 different team streak

Originally posted by wayne1218 View Post

No, the next thread will be for the All Star game on Tuesday. All streaks continue.

After the break, MLB resumes it's schedule on Friday night.

**Udog** · 07-15-2013, 08:15 AM

Armadillo: Monday's six-pack

Odds to win the British Open this week...........

3-1-- Eldrick Woods-- Still stuck on 14 majors.......

5-1-- Field-- Nobodies have contended in this event a lot.

12-1-- Rory McIlroy-- Not having his best season.

15-1-- Jason Day-- Currently 8th on PGA Tour money list.

15-1-- Phil Mickelson-- Won in Scotland, first Europe win since '93

15-1-- Justin Rose-- US Open champ going for second major in row.

*****

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

13) Non-All-Star Josh Donaldson drove in all three Oakland runs Sunday, tying game in the 7th inning with a 2-run homer, then winning game with a walk-off single in the 11th inning of the A's 3-2 win.

Former used car salesman Alan R. Selig should be embarrassed that a player as good as Donaldson isn't in New York this week. But since Donaldson is on the A's, Mr Selig could care less. Nitwit.

12) Yasiel Puig sparked a Dodger resurgence this spring, making up for the fact that Carl Crawford is stealing their money. $20,857,143 of it.

11) Albert Pujols is a warrior, fighting thru plantar fasciatis and trying to earn his keep. His performance has suffered; tough injury, but he tries.

10) Terry Francona and his cast of veteran Indians have revived baseball in Cleveland; curious to see if they can keep it up in the second half.

If I owned the Red Sox, there would be a statue of Francona outside Fenway Park; instead, they fired him. Its what Pat Riley calls "The Disease of Me", when teams start to win, everyone wants to take credit for it.

9) Pablo Sandoval swings at 47% of the pitches he sees that are out of the strike zone; he has gotten real heavy and you wonder if he's eating himself out of baseball. He's fun to watch; hope he can keep in shape.

8) Angels need more starting pitching; too much of their money is tied up in position players; they're 1-14 in Joe Blanton's starts when they score less than six runs. Not good.

7) From now until July 31, what teams will buy players, which ones will sell? Phillies were thought to be sellers, but now they're only 6.5 games behind Atlanta, so they ain't selling right now.

6) How does Brian Cashman keep his job? The team Bronx is putting on the field is awful. Joe Girardi has fought like hell to keep them in contention, but so much of their money is tied up in broken down older players- what younger players are they developing to replenish the roster?

5) MLB should be exercising veto rights over the Marlins' transactions; scumweasel owner Jeffrey Loria is pillaging the franchise, a year after he got a beautfiul new stadium from Miami's taxpayers. What an ass. If he tries to trade Giancarlo Stanton, MLB has to step in and stop it.

4) Cubs got permission to put a Jumbotron at Wrigley, which will lead to lot more adverttising revenue; their owners are trying, but it takes added money, and the Jumbotron should help them.

3) Joe Maddon should get a statue of himself outside the Trop; what a job he does keeping the small market Rays in contention. I compare his job with the Rays to what Bill Snyder did reviving the football team at Kansas State. It is really hard to turn a loser into a winner-- Maddon has done it.

2) Pirates' last winning season was 1992; hope they make the playoffs.

1) How did Bob Melvin get fired twice? He is a terrific manager, the A's are a pleasure to root for and in first place. Rest of season should be fun.

**Udog** · 07-15-2013, 08:17 AM

All-Star betting: Updated Home Run Derby odds

The MLB Home Run Derby will be front and center Monday night and sportsbooks have had odds out for a while since the field was announced.

Here’s a look at where each contestant opened and where they sit now:

Prince Fielder

Opened: +350
Now: +400

Chris Davis

Opened: +350
Now: + 400

Bryce Harper

Opened: +450
Now: +500

Robinson Cano

Opened: +500
Now: +500

Yoenis Cespedes

Opened: +500
Now: +600

Pedro Alvarez (replacement for Carlos Gonzalez)

Now: +600

David Wright

Opened: +800
Now: +1,000

Michael Cuddyer

Opened: +900
Now: +1,000

**Udog** · 07-15-2013, 08:24 AM

MLB Top 5: Baseball's best bets after the All-Star break

The real baseball season begins after the All-Star break, with teams rounding the bend in the playoff race.

The Oakland Athletics have actually earned the most units for baseball bettors following the All-Star Game over the past five seasons at +31.85 units. However, +30.40 of those earnings came last summer when the A’s went 51-25 in the second half of the schedule. Before 2012, Oakland was 135-150 for just +1.45 units after the break.

We look at which teams have consistently been breadwinners during the home stretch of the season.

Stats since 2008.

Best post-break bets

Philadelphia Phillies (224-139, +30.77 units)

The Phillies have been in the black following the break in each of the past five seasons, including earning +8.62 units in 2012. Philadelphia’s biggest windfall came from a 50-25 record in 2010 which earned +15.60 units. The Phillies could be tuning up for another post-break bonanza, going 7-3 in their last 10 outings as of Friday.

Milwaukee Brewers (200-161, +26.54 units)

The Brew Crew have funded plenty of late-summer beer funds with their winnings following the break. Milwaukee went 47-23 and won +19.42 units in 2011. Those profits seem like a lifetime away for Brewers bettors, who have suffered through a 37-54 record and a MLB-worst -18.00 units in the first half of this season heading into the weekend.

San Francisco Giants (198-163, +19.95 units)

The Giants caught fire in the second half of the schedule and rode that to a World Series title last year. They posted a 48-28 mark after the break and brought in +15.10 units for Bay Area bettors. It’s been hit or miss for San Francisco backers in the second half of the schedule the past few years. The team was -12.31 units in the hole following the break in 2011 but won +12.81 units in the home stretch of 2010.

Tampa Bay Rays (207-156, +17.36 units)

The Rays have been one of the most consistent winners of the post-ASG schedule since 2008, posting the third-best win/loss record and earning the fifth-most units. Tampa Bay was a cash cow in the summer of 2008, going 42-26 and bringing home +15.22 units en route to the AL Pennant.

Baltimore Orioles (164-202, +14.92 units)

The Orioles have been one of the better post-break bets over the past three seasons, earning +49.13 units between 2010 and 2012 with a collective 118-107 record. However, Baltimore dug a deep hole for its loyal fans after the ASG in 2008 and 2009, burning through -18.93 and -15.28 units respectively – both ranked second worst in the majors for that season.

**Udog** · 07-15-2013, 08:26 AM

Best bets in baseball prior to the All-Star break

Baseball bettors get a breather for the next four days , but it’s a good idea to look back at some of the best bets from the unofficial first half of the season and make adjustments moving forward.

Best Money Team

Pittsburgh Pirates (56-36, +24.98 units)

The Pirates have been by far the most profitable bet in the bigs to this point and are riding a three-game winning streak into the break.

Best Money Pitcher

The Diamondbacks’ Patrick Corbin has been a pleasant surprise for bettors in the first half. Arizona is 17-2 in the rookie’s 19 starts and any $100 bettor would be $1,445 if they had wagered on each of those outings.

Best Over Bets

Detroit Tigers – 51-41-2 over/under
Los Angeles Angels - 50-40-3 over/under
New York Mets - 49-38-4 over/under

Best Under Bets

Texas Rangers - 35-55-5 over/under
Kansas City Royals - 37-51-4 over/under
Pittsburgh Pirates - 39-52-2 over/under

Best Over Umpire (With at least 10 appearances behind home plate)

Angel Hernandez - 16-5 over/under

Best Under Umpire (With at least 10 appearances behind home plate)

Kerwin Danley – 4-11 over/under

**Udog** · 07-15-2013, 08:28 AM

MLB All-Star Game: Tale of the tape

American League at National League (-127, 8)

Betting the Midsummer Classic can be tricky because of the numerous pitching and lineup changes throughout the game. With that in mind, let’s break down both teams to see who has the edge.

Catcher

AL –Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
NL –Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals

Yadier Molina will be making his sixth All-Star appearance and is among the league leaders in batting average and doubles.

Edge: NL

First base

AL –Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles
NL – Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

Chris Davis is having a breakout season, bashing a league-leading 37 homers by the break.

Edge: AL

Second base

AL – Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
NL –Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds

The Yankees have been ravaged by injuries all season long but the big bat of Robinson Cano has kept them in the playoff hunt.

Edge: AL

Shortstop

AL –J.J. Hardy, Baltimore Orioles
NL –Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies

Troy Tulowitzki has carried the Rockies all season long and is without a doubt one of the best at his position.

Edge: NL

Third base

AL –Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
NL –David Wright, New York Mets

David Wright will have the support of the hometown crowd, but Miggy gives opposing pitchers nightmares.

Edge: AL

Outfield

AL – Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels, Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles, Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays.
NL – Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals, Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies, Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

Both teams feature outfields with speed and power, but give the AL the slight edge here.

Edge: AL

Starting pitching

The managers haven’t announced their starters yet, but this already looks too close to call. Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez or Chris Sale are the frontrunners to get the ball for the AL while the NL could send Clayton Kershaw, Patrick Corbin or Matt Harvey to the hill. Either way, these top-notch hurlers should cancel each other out.

Edge: Even

Bullpens

Again, a lot of guesswork here since most of these guys won’t seem more than an inning of work. Based on the overall quality of the its closing pitchers (Jason Grilli, Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel) you could give a slight edge to the NL

Edge: NL

Reserve position players

The American League definitely boasts the bigger bats off the bench with the likes of Prince Fielder, Edwin Encarnacion, Manny Machado, Dustin Pedroia and Nelson Cruz coming off the pine.

Edge: AL

Overall Edge: AL

**Udog** · 07-15-2013, 08:30 AM

Rounding the bases: The best bets in the bigs

Every week we take a look at the hottest and coldest teams as well as the best over and under bets in Major League Baseball.

For the week of July 8-14.

Hot team: Tampa Bay Rays
Last week: 6-1
Season: 55-41
Upcoming schedule: at Blue Jays

Skinny: No team is hotter than the Rays heading into the All-Star break. Tampa has wins in 14 of its last 16 games, but hits the road for a nasty 10-game road trip beginning Friday.

Cold team: Houston Astros
Last week: 1-3
Season: 33-61
Upcoming schedule: vs. Mariners

Skinny: The Astros only have three wins in their last 15 games and should be very active sellers leading up to the trade deadline.

Over team: San Francisco Giants
Last week: 6-1 over/under
Season: 49-42-3 over/under
Upcoming schedule: vs. Diamondbacks

Skinny: The Giants still played over the total despite Tim Lincecum’s no-hitter on Saturday.

Under team: Pittsburgh Pirates
Last week: 0-6 over/under
Season: 39-52-2 over/under
Upcoming schedule: at Reds

Skinny: The Pirates have gone low in eight consecutive game, increasing their stature as one of the best under plays in the league.

**Udog** · 07-15-2013, 08:31 AM

CFL road teams go a perfect 4-0 ATS in Week 3

CFL road teams went 3-1 straight up and 4-0 against the spread in Week 3.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders, Calgary Stampeders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and BC Lions all covered as road teams this past week.

Here are the best and worstt bets after three weeks of action:

Best bet: Saskatchewan Roughriders (3-0 SU, 3-0 ATS)

The Green Riders improved to 3-0 with a 39-28 victory over the Toronto Argonauts in Week 3. Saskatchewan is now the Grey Cup favorite at +240 after opening the campaign as a +800 underdog in CFL futures.

Worst bet: Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1-2 SU, 0-3 ATS)

The Ticats scored their first win of the season in Week 3 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers but failed to cover the 5.5-point spread. Hamilton is 0-3 ATS heading into a tough Week 4 showdown with the Roughriders.

Over/under combined numbers to date:

Week 1: 4-0 O/U
Week 2: 1-3 O/U
Week 3: 1-3 O/U
Total: 6-6 O/U

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Monday's Trends and Indexes - 7/15 (MLB, WNBA, CFL, Misc.)

Monday's Trends and Indexes - 7/15 (MLB, WNBA, CFL, Misc.)

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