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**Udog** · 05-22-2014, 08:37 AM

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

-- Man on third base, less than two out; the major league average for knocking the runner in is 51%.

-- Instant replay is gradually gaining acceptance as everyone gets used to it and realizes that it helps; of the first 311 replay challenges, 149 (47.9%) resulted in the call being changed.

-- Mark Pavelich's 1980 US Olympic hockey gold medal sold at auction for $262,900; wow.

-- Dayton Flyers students celebrating team's Elite 8 run cost taxpayers $57,000 in overtime to fund the police.

-- A's won 3-2 in Tampa, despite getting only one hit; they're 5-0 on this trip.

-- 14 different people own at least 3% of the Memphis Grizzlies; the guy with controlling interest owns only 25% of the team.

*****

Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Clearing out a cluttered mind.........

13) You hear the phrase “This is no time to panic” every now and then, so I’ve often wondered “When is the time to panic?”.

Well, when you play Stephen Drew $10M to play 100 games at shortstop, like the Red Sox did this week, that is when panic has set in. Drew will have to play 12-15 minor league games to get ready for big league play, then be an upgrade over Xavier Bogaerts, who will probably move over to 3B. The lesson here, as always: Scott Boras gets what he wants. His take on a $10M deal? $300,000.

12) I took some grief on Twitter last night for saying foreign basketball players aren't as selfish as American players, and that foreign teenagers work harder on fundamental skills, and that is part of why the San Antonio Spurs win-- nine of 15 Spurs are foreign-born. This is a point of contention in the basketball world.

11) Here are the facts of this case......
-- "We draft players who have gotten over themselves" -Gregg Popovich
-- Nine of fifteen players on the Spurs' roster are foreign-born.
-- Those players combined to score 85 of the 112 points the Spurs scored in Game 2 against Oklahoma City Wednesday.
-- San Antonio has won four NBA championships under Popovich.

American teenage basketball players play too many games, do not practice skills enough; friend of mine's son plays AAU in western Pennsylvania-- kid's team was at VCU last weekend, a 7-hour drive one-way. Very few college coaches saw any of their games, so what did they gain by going, except it was fun and expensive?

Most kids would be better off staying home and practicing their game, getting better, the same way you prepare for a test in school by studying.

10) I am reading Jonah Keri’s book about how smart the Tampa Bay Rays are, but there’s a little bit of revisionist history in there; when the Rays traded Aubrey Huff in 2007, they got Ben Zobrist, but the main target was pitcher Mitch Talbot, who turned out to be a flop, allowing 12 runs in 9.2 IP for the Rays, before being traded for Kelly Shoppach and going 12-19 for Cleveland, before injuries cut his career very short. Zobrist has turned out to be terrific, but they got a little bit lucky there. Its OK to get lucky; lot of smart people often do.

9) Donnie Tyndall has already added eight players in his first month as hoop coach at Tennessee; he’s added two graduate transfers, one from IUPUI, and the latest, Eric McKnight, who was on Andy Enfield’s Florida Gulf Coast Sweet 16 team two years ago.

8) If the A’s make the playoffs this year, I will make noise for Drew Pomeranz as team MVP: he’s started three games, gone five innings in all three and not allowed a run, spearheading a 11-1 Oakland run when they looked like a dead team before that. Pomeranz’ first start was in Game 2 of a twinbill with Seattle May 7 when the Mariners had won the first three games of the series- that win was huge, and was the first game of the current streak.

Pomeranz was once a big prospect for the Rockies who struggled in the minors, much like Josh Donaldson, whom the A’s rescued from the Cub organization.

7) Former big league catcher Damon Berryhill is manager of the Albuquerque Dukes, the Dodgers' AAA team, where Miguel Olivo bit part of the ear off one of his teammates in a dugout skirmish this week. Both guys played the next night, since AAA teams don’t have a lot of subs, hard to bench two starters, especially a catcher, but now the Dodgers have suspended Olivo, who could still be charged with assault.

Guerrero is out for a while; his ear needed plastic surgery. Dukes got shut out 3-0 in Salt Lake City last night. Weirdest situation I've seen in a while.

6) President Obama will be in Cooperstown at the Hall of Fame today, as New York State tries to drum up tourism business; if I were a Presidential advisor, I’d advise two slices of pizza and a Cherry Coke at Sal’s Pizza.

5) NBA Draft Lottery was held in the room that is normally the Green Room for Good Morning America; they might rename the room after the Cavaliers pretty soon, if they keep getting so lucky in the lottery.

4) Speaking of which, Cleveland had a 2.8% chance of winning the ’11 lottery; they did. They had a 15% chance of winning it last year; they did. Tuesday, they had a 1.7% chance of winning and they did. Combined, the Cavaliers had a 0.00.7% chance of winning all three lotteries, but they did. Now all they have to do is draft a productive player; not as easy, which they proved last year. .

3) Why would anyone ride a motorcycle in normal traffic without a helmet? In some states, helmets aren’t mandated and in others, the helmet law is a sore point, but it is stupid to ride a motorcycle without a helmet. What if a tractor trailer kicks up a rock and it nails you in the head? Not only are you in danger, everyone behind you is too. At some point, you have to legislate stupidity out of the world.

2) Minor league ball player Mike Hessman hit his 400th career minor league homer this week, which means he’s been thisclose to the majors for a long time. Hessman does have 14 big league homers and six more in Japan, but he’s only had 223 AB’s in the majors, with Detroit, Atlanta and the Mets. The way some major league teams are struggling on offense you’d think they’d give him a shot, but he hasn’t been in the bigs since 2010.

1) Irony: Terry Collins is in his 4th year managing the Mets, despite never having a winning season in Flushing. In two previous managerial stops, Houston, Anaheim, Collins had five winning seasons out of six years, but didn’t get offered a fourth year in either place. Go figure.

**Udog** · 05-22-2014, 08:39 AM

NHL
Dunkel

Montreal at NY Rangers
The Rangers head home tonight following a 3-1 win in Game 2 and come into the contest with a 4-0 record in their last 4 games after allowing 2 goals or less in the previous game. New York is the pick (-180) according to Dunkel, which has the Rangers favored by 2. Dunkel Pick: NY Rangers (-180). Here are all of today's playoff picks.

THURSDAY, MAY 22

Game 9-10: Montreal at NY Rangers (8:00 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Montreal 11.491; NY Rangers 13.482
Dunkel Line & Total: NY Rangers by 2; 4
Vegas Line & Total: NY Rangers (-180); 5
Dunkel Pick: NY Rangers (-180); Under

NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, May 22

Rangers outscored Montreal 10-3 in first two series games; with Habs' goalie Price out for the series, it is up to unheralded Tokarski to stop NY team that has four power play goals in last two games, after going nine games without PP goal (0-36) earlier in playoffs. Canadiens won seven of last eleven series games, with losing side scoring zero or one goal in 10 of 11 games. Montreal is 8-5 in playoffs, winning four of six on road. Rangers are 4-3 at home in playoffs, just 27-23 for season; under is 6-3-1 in their last ten games.

NHL

Thursday, May 22

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Trend Report
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8:00 PM
MONTREAL vs. NY RANGERS
Montreal is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games on the road
Montreal is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games
NY Rangers are 6-12 SU in their last 18 games when playing Montreal
NY Rangers are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games

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NHL

Thursday, May 22

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Game of the Day: Canadiens at Rangers
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Montreal Canadiens at New York Rangers (-172, 5)

Despite seeing his team in a precarious position, Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban dismissed Henrik Lundqvist as "getting a little bit lucky" after the New York Rangers seized a 2-0 advantage in the Eastern Conference final. Subban and the Canadiens will try their luck once again in Game 3 on Thursday as the series shifts to Madison Square Garden. "So I mean, is (Lundqvist) playing well? Yeah, but we’re doing a good job," Subban said. "Some of it is luck, as well. He’s getting a little bit lucky, but that’s what you need in the playoffs."

Call it what you will but the numbers speak for themselves. Lundqvist, who made 40 saves in a 3-1 triumph on Monday, has stopped 162 of 168 shots for a brilliant .964 save percentage and a 1.20 goals-against average during his team's five-game winning streak. Conversely, the Canadiens have endured some back luck since the beginning of the series, most notably Carey Price's knee injury that has sidelined him for the remainder of the conference final.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS

LINE HISTORY: New York opened as low as -170 and jumped to -182 but is being dealt at most shops at -175. The total opened 5 (Over -120) and is steady at that price.

INJURY REPORT: Canadiens: A. Emelin (Ques/Undisclosed), C. Price (Out/Leg). Rangers: D. Brassard (Ques/Undisclosed)

ABOUT THE CANADIENS: Dustin Tokarski will receive another start on Thursday after yielding three goals on 30 shots in his postseason debut in Game 2. While Michel Therrien credited both Tokarski and the returning Alex Galchenyuk for their respective performances on Monday, the coach stopped short when asked about struggling Thomas Vanek. The Austrian, who was relegated to the fourth line in Wednesday's practice, has been held off the scoresheet in three straight games and registered one shot or fewer in nine of 13 contests in the postseason.

ABOUT THE RANGERS: Ryan McDonagh continues to rub salt in the wound of Montreal, which must bristle at the notion of trading away the defenseman to acquire an ineffective Scott Gomez as part of a seven-player deal in 2009. Back to the present, McDonagh collected a goal and three assists in Game 1 before recording one of each on Monday. Rick Nash ended his pronounced postseason slump by joining Martin St. Louis in scoring in each of the first two games of the conference final.

TRENDS:

* Under is 8-1-2 in the last 11 meetings.
* Under is 14-6-2 in the last 22 meetings in New York.
* Road team is 4-1 in the last five meetings.

CONSENSUS: 65 percent of bets are on Rangers while 61 percent are on Over 5.

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**Udog** · 05-22-2014, 08:41 AM

MLB
Dunkel

Cleveland at Baltimore
The Orioles return home to open their series against a Cleveland team that is 2-9 in its last 11 games as a road underdog. Baltimore is the pick (-140) according to Dunkel, which has the Orioles favored by 1 1/2. Dunkel Pick: Baltimore (-140). Here are all of today's picks.

THURSDAY, MAY 22

Game 901-902: Philadelphia at Miami (12:40 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Philadelphia (Hamels) 15.875; Miami (Alvarez) 15.039
Dunkel Line: Philadelphia by 1; 7
Vegas Line: Miami (-115); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Philadelphia (-105); Under

Game 903-904: San Francisco at Colorado (3:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: San Francisco (Hudson) 15.125; Colorado (De La Rosa) 16.626
Dunkel Line: Colorado by 1 1/2; 10
Vegas Line: Colorado (-115); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Colorado (-115); Over

Game 905-906: Washington at Pittsburgh (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Washington (Treinen) 13.935; Pittsburgh (Volquez) 15.691
Dunkel Line: Pittsburgh by 1 1/2; 6 1/2
Vegas Line: Pittsburgh (-120); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Pittsburgh (-120); Under

Game 907-908: LA Dodgers at NY Mets (7:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: LA Dodgers (Greinke) 14.297; NY Mets (Niese) 15.310
Dunkel Line: NY Mets by 1; 8
Vegas Line: LA Dodgers (-150); 6 1/2
Dunkel Pick: NY Mets (+130); Over

Game 909-910: Milwaukee at Atlanta (7:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Milwaukee (Garza) 15.250; Atlanta (Harang) 14.403
Dunkel Line: Milwaukee by 1; 6
Vegas Line: Atlanta (-130); 7
Dunkel Pick: Milwaukee (+110); Under

Game 911-912: Arizona at St. Louis (7:15 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Arizona (Miley) 14.346; St. Louis (Lynn) 15.639
Dunkel Line: St. Louis by 1 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: St. Louis (-165); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: St. Louis (-165); Over

Game 913-914: Chicago Cubs at San Diego (10:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cubs (Arrieta) 15.176; San Diego (Stults) 14.591
Dunkel Line: Chicago Cubs by 1/2; 6
Vegas Line: San Diego (-140); 7
Dunkel Pick: Chicago Cubs (+120); Under

Game 915-916: Texas at Detroit (1:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Texas (Darvish) 15.638; Detroit (Ray) 14.026
Dunkel Line: Texas by 1 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: Texas (-120); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Texas (-120); Over

Game 917-918: Toronto at Boston (4:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Toronto (Buehrle) 15.284; Boston (Lester) 14.162
Dunkel Line: Toronto by 1; 9
Vegas Line: Boston (-135); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Toronto (+115); Over

Game 919-920: Oakland at Tampa Bay (4:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Oakland (Gray) 17.114; Tampa Bay (Cobb) 14.682
Dunkel Line: Oakland by 2 1/2; 6
Vegas Line: Oakland (-120); 7
Dunkel Pick: Oakland (-120); Under

Game 921-922: Cleveland at Baltimore (7:05 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Cleveland (Tomlin) 15.354; Baltimore (Chen) 16.665
Dunkel Line: Baltimore by 1 1/2; 8
Vegas Line: Baltimore (-140); 8 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Baltimore (-140); Under

Game 923-924: NY Yankees at Chicago White Sox (8:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: NY Yankees (Phelps) 14.984; White Sox (Sale) 15.790
Dunkel Line: Chicago White Sox by 1; 10
Vegas Line: NY Yankees (-125); 9 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Chicago White Sox (+105); Over

Game 925-926: Houston at Seattle (10:10 p.m. EST)
Dunkel Ratings: Houston (Cosart) 16.198; Seattle (Elias) 15.203
Dunkel Line: Houston by 1; 8
Vegas Line: Seattle (-155); 7 1/2
Dunkel Pick: Houston (+135); Over

**Udog** · 05-22-2014, 08:45 AM

MLB
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, May 22

Hot pitchers
-- Hamels is 1-0, 1.29 in his last two starts. Alvarez is 2-0, 1.50 in his last three home starts.
-- de la Rosa is 5-0, 2.03 in his last five starts. Hudson is 2-1, 2.08 in his last four outings.
-- Greinke is 5-1, 1.93 in his last six starts. Niese is 1-1, 2.41 in his last three home starts.
-- Arrieta is 1-0, 3.38 in three starts this season.

-- Darvish is 2-1, 1.96 in his last three starts. Ray is 1-0, 0.79 in two starts this season.
-- Buehrle is 3-0, 2.39 in his last four starts. Lester is 2-1, 1.80 in his last three.
-- Oakland won last four Gray starts (2-0, 1.93). Cobb was 1-1, 1.89 in three starts before going on DL.
-- Chen is 2-0, 2.19 in his last couple starts.
-- Sale was 3-0, 2.30 in four starts before going on DL. Phelps is 1-0, 2.94 in three starts this season.
-- Cosart is 2-1, 3.00 in his last three starts.

Cold pitchers
-- Volquez is 0-4, 6.91 in his last five starts. Treinen allowed three runs in five innings in his first '14 start.
-- Harang is 1-3, 7.15 in his last four starts. Garza is 1-2, 6.00 in his last four.
-- Miley is 1-2, 5.54 in his last four starts. Lynn is 1-2, 4.15 in his last five.
-- Stults is 1-2, 5.40 in his last four starts.

-- Cleveland starter Tomlin pitched in relief Wednesday; as of 3am, Tribe had not announced a starter for today.
-- Elias is 0-1, 5.74 in three home starts.

Pitchers allowing runs in first inning:
-- Hamels 2-5; Alvarez 4-9
-- Hudson 0-8; de la Rosa 3-9
-- Treinen 0-1; Volquez 4-8
-- Greinke 1-9; Niese 3-8
-- Garza 5-9; Harang 0-9
-- Miley 2-10; Lynn 2-9
-- Arrieta 0-3; Stults 2-9

-- Darvish 1-8; Ray 0-2
-- Buehrle 1-9; Lester 2-9
-- Gray 3-9; Cobb 1-3
-- Undecided Clev; Chen 2-8
-- Phelps 0-3; Sale 0-4
-- Cosart 4-9; Elias 2-9

Totals
-- Nine of last eleven Miami games went over the total.
-- Four of Giants' last five road games went over total.
-- Five of last seven Pittsburgh games stayed under the total.
-- Over is 7-2-1 in last ten Dodger games.
-- Under is 13-3-2 in last eighteen Atlanta home games.
-- Eight of last ten Arizona games stayed under total.
-- Five of last seven games at Petco Park went over.

-- Eight of last nine Texas games stayed under.
-- Six of last nine Oakland games went over the total.
-- Eight of last ten games at Fenway Park stayed under the total.
-- Seven of last nine White Sox games went over.
-- Over is 10-1-2 in last thirteen Cleveland games.
-- Five of last seven Houston games went over the total.

Hot teams
-- Braves won five of their last seven home games.
-- Phillies won three of their last four games.
-- Dodgers are 16-9 on the road this season.
-- Cardinals won six of their last seven games.
-- Colorado won 13 of its last 18 home games. Giants won four of last six road games.
-- Cubs won three of their last four games.

-- Texas lost seven of its last ten games.
-- Blue Jays won seven of their last eight road games.
-- Oakland won 11 of its last 12 games.
-- Indians won their last three games.
-- Bronx won five of its last seven games.

Cold teams
-- Washington is 7-10 in its last 17 games. Pittsburgh lost six of its last nine.
-- Mets lost six of their last seven games.
-- Miami lost eight of their last twelve games, but won 12 of last 14 at home
-- Brewers lost seven of their last ten road games
-- Arizona lost four of its last six games.
-- Padres lost four of their last five games.

-- Detroit lost its last three games.
-- Tampa Bay lost nine of last ten home games.
-- Red Sox lost seven of their last eight games.
-- Baltimore lost seven of its last ten games.
-- White Sox lost five of their last seven home games.
-- Astros lost eight of their last eleven road games. Seattle lost five of its last seven games.

Umpires
-- Phil-Mia-- Six of last seven TBarrett games went over total.
-- SF-Col-- Favorites won five of last seven Reynolds games.
-- LA-NY-- Six of eight Johnson games went over total.
-- Mil-Atl-- Last three Culbreth games went over total.
-- Az-StL-- Five of last six Blaser games stayed under.

-- A's-TB-- Underdogs won four of five Wolf games.
-- Tor-Bos-- Four of last five Cederstrom games stayed under.

**Udog** · 05-22-2014, 08:46 AM

MLB

Thursday, May 22

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Trend Report
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12:40 PM
PHILADELPHIA vs. MIAMI
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Philadelphia's last 12 games when playing on the road against Miami
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing Miami
Miami is 12-2 SU in its last 14 games at home
Miami is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games

1:08 PM
TEXAS vs. DETROIT
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas's last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas's last 6 games when playing Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 5 games at home
Detroit is 15-6 SU in its last 21 games

3:10 PM
SAN FRANCISCO vs. COLORADO
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Francisco's last 5 games when playing Colorado
San Francisco is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Colorado's last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Colorado's last 12 games when playing at home against San Francisco

4:05 PM
TORONTO vs. BOSTON
Toronto is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
Toronto is 12-6 SU in its last 18 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games when playing at home against Toronto
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 6 games

4:10 PM
OAKLAND vs. TAMPA BAY
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Oakland's last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oakland's last 6 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games when playing Oakland

7:05 PM
WASHINGTON vs. PITTSBURGH
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington's last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh
Washington is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing Washington

7:05 PM
CLEVELAND vs. BALTIMORE
Cleveland is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Baltimore
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 6 games
Baltimore is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Baltimore's last 10 games when playing Cleveland

7:10 PM
LA DODGERS vs. NY METS
LA Dodgers are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing NY Mets
LA Dodgers are 8-1 SU in their last 9 games when playing on the road against NY Mets
The total has gone OVER in 6 of NY Mets's last 8 games when playing at home against LA Dodgers
NY Mets are 1-6 SU in its last 7 games at home

7:10 PM
MILWAUKEE vs. ATLANTA
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Milwaukee's last 6 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
Milwaukee is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta
Atlanta is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Atlanta's last 18 games at home

7:15 PM
ARIZONA vs. ST. LOUIS
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Arizona's last 6 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
Arizona is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
St. Louis is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
St. Louis is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home

8:10 PM
NY YANKEES vs. CHI WHITE SOX
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Yankees's last 5 games
NY Yankees are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chi White Sox's last 6 games when playing NY Yankees
Chi White Sox are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against NY Yankees

10:10 PM
CHI CUBS vs. SAN DIEGO
Chi Cubs are 5-11 SU in their last 16 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chi Cubs's last 5 games
San Diego is 6-1 SU in their last 7 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Diego's last 5 games at home

10:10 PM
HOUSTON vs. SEATTLE
Houston is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 7 games
Seattle is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Houston
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle's last 6 games when playing Houston

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**Udog** · 05-22-2014, 08:46 AM

MLB

Thursday, May 22

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Five MLB spot bets every baseball bettor should know about
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Spot bets are some of the sports bettor’s handiest tools. Cashing in on letdown, lookahead and travel spots is an easy way to boost your bank roll when betting sports like football and basketball.

With football season feeling like a million years away and basketball season all but over with, sports bettors are left with MLB to keep them cozy on those long hot summer nights. Don’t worry. The daily grind of the baseball season offers its own spot bet opportunities too.

They may not be as clear cut as playing letdowns and lookaheads in the fall, but if you know what to look for, they’re just as profitable. Here are some of the more popular spot bets for baseball:

Get-Away Games

Marc Lawrence is a big fan of these motivational spot bets, betting against a team wrapping up a long road trip before heading home the next day.

Lawrence says these “Get Away” spots usually show their face on Thursday afternoons, when teams are anxious to get back to familiar territory after an extended period away – a “hurry up and let's get home” affair. Teams may not be focused on the final stop on the trip and offer good go-against value.

The Toronto Blue Jays could be in a “Get Away” spot Thursday afternoon, playing the final game of a six-game road trip in Boston before heading home Friday.

Doubleheaders

These two-a-days are a rare occurrence these days but occasionally game cancellations force the schedule to shift and teams may have to tackle a doubleheader in the middle of a rough road trip. There have been 11 doubleheaders so far this season, and the road team is 7-4 in Game 1 and 4-7 in Game 2.

The next slate of doubleheaders doesn’t come around until late June. The Rays host the Orioles for two on June 27, then the Phillies visit the Braves and the Nationals host the Cubs for two double-dips on June 28.

Burned out bullpens

This spot bet is reserved specifically to baseball and can be very handy since the next game’s odds are usually out before the first one is even played. Keeping an eye on how many relievers a team is burning through can give you good insight into how much the following day’s starter will go.

Extra-inning affairs or a poor outing by a starter can have the manager eating through his bullpen like John Kruk on $1 hot dog night. If a bullpen is pillaged, you can be sure the next starter in the rotation will have a longer leash, even if he gets in trouble.

If you find a struggling pitcher taking the mound after a night in which the bullpen worked overtime, there could be great value going against the arm or playing the Over.

“These situations don't occur on an everyday basis, but when they present themselves they can be worth as much as 5-10 cents of value on the moneyline,” says Covers Experts’ Doc’s Sports.

Travel spots

Just like any other sport, MLB clubs will sometimes find themselves crossing multiple time zones to play away games, only to catch the red eye home that night and hit the field less than 24 hours later.

Unlike other sports, baseball players usually don’t get a day off in between games as you would find in basketball or hockey. East Coast teams heading to face West Coast foes, and vice versa are always intriguing spot bets.

Fading Sunday Nighter

Sunday Night Baseball is the major league’s equivalent to Monday Night Football. The standalone primetime game is the marquee matchup of the day and usually holds some sort of weight, be it in the division or particular league.

Sometimes a team goes right from the Sunday nighter in action Monday, bound for a letdown after playing on the big stage the night before. Teams in those instances – when not playing that same team Sunday and Monday – are 2-3 on the season. However, this trend has revved up in recent weeks with the Cubs, Cardinals and Tigers are losing their Monday outing following a stint on Sunday Night Baseball.

Bryan Power is especially fond of this spot bet, especially when a team is traveling following a Sunday Night Baseball appearance.

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**Udog** · 05-22-2014, 08:56 AM

MLB

Thursday, May 22

Scattered thunderstorms at Coors Field Thursday

If you're betting on baseball today, the weather could play a major factor at a few stadiums.

The San Francisco Giants are visiting the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, but poor weather appears to be on its way to The Mile High City. The forecast is calling for a 40 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms with winds reaching eight mph.

Scheduled starters for the game are Tim Hudson (4-2, 2.09 ERA) for the Giants and Jorge De La Rosa (5-3, 4.14 ERA) for the Rox. Colorado is currently a -118 fave.

Prince Fielder, Texas - Doub Thurs

Fielder received an injection for a herniated disc in his neck and has missed the last four games. He is unlikely to return Thursday against the Tigers.

Angels' OF Mike Trout, questionable Friday

Trout is suffering from tightness in his leg and did not play Wednesday. He is questionable for Friday against the Royals.

Announcement

Thursday's Trends and Indexes - 5/22 (MLB, NBA, NHL, WNBA Misc.)

Thursday's Trends and Indexes - 5/22 (MLB, NBA, NHL, WNBA Misc.)

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