Trends Thursday

[Spark]

Hot pitchers
-- Redman was 1-0, 3.00 his last three starts; A's were 13-2 when they gave him 4+ runs........Peavy was 3-0, 1.35 his last three starts; he was 6-1 in last seven starts at Petco, and 2-0, 1.38 vs Pirates last season.
-- Tomko was 5-1, 1.59 in last eight starts last season, and was 2-2, 4.06 in six '04 starts vs Dodgers.
-- Greinke had 2.55 RA in last four '04 starts, but didnt get win; he was 2-1, 2.29 vs Tigers last year.
-- Texas was 5-2 in Young starts last year; the former Princeton hooper was 2-0, 2.25 vs Anaheim, 2-0 with 0.77 RA on road........Angels won Lackey's last four home starts last season.


Cold pitchers
-- Loaiza was 1-2, 7.20 in last six starts; he lost six of his last nine road starts..........Wolf was 2-6, 6.23 in his last eleven starts, but was 2-0, 2.86 against Montreal.
-- Ishii was 0-1, 6.46 his last four starts; he is a flyball picher (14 ground outs, 39 fly outs in last five starts) so small Cincy ballpark could be problem.........Harang is 2-3, 7.99 his last six starts.
-- Weaver was 1-3, 6.03 his last six starts, 2-3, 4.86 in six starts vs Giants.
-- Detroit lost Johnson's last seven starts (0-4, 8.61); in last start vs Royals, he allowed 11 runs in 2.1 IP back on September 8.
-- Lee is 3-4, 8.60 his last seven starts, and 1-2, 7.84 vs White Sox last year. Contreras was 0-3, 8.45 his last six starts, but was 1-0, 1.23 against Indians last year.
-- Haren makes first AL start for the A's. Bedard was 2-6, 7.86 his last nine starts; Orioles lost five of his last six home starts.

Totals
-- Over is 10-5 in last fifteen Loaiza starts.
-- Over is 6-1 in last seven Hudson starts, 8-1 in last 9 Burnett outings.
-- Over is 6-1 in last seven Ishii starts, 5-1 in last six by Harang.
-- Under is 12-3 in last fifteen Redman starts, 4-0 in the last four by Peavy.
-- Over is 9-4 in last thirteen Weaver starts, 3-0 in last three Tonko starts.
-- Over is 5-1 in Johnson's last six starts.
-- Over is 4-1 in Contreras' last five starts, 2-5 in last seven starts by Lee.
-- Over is 3-1 in Bedard's last four starts.
-- Under is 4-0 in last four starts for both Young and Lackey. Angel closer Rodriguez threw two innings in extra inning loss last night, may not be available here.

[Spark]

Game of the Day
Spurs @ Mavericks-- Duncan-less Spurs 3-0 vs the Mavericks this season, winning by 3,14,18 pts, with a 107-89 win in last visit here. Spurs lost their last five on road. Dallas won nine of last eleven games (6-3 vs the spread in last nine); eight of their last twelve went under the total.


Elsewhere, Knicks lost last seven games, with five of the seven going over. Road team won all three of their tilts vs Nets this year, all decided by eight or less points- they won 87-79 in first visit to Swamp. Nets won nine of last twelve games (8-4 vs spread); they won their last eight in row when they allow 95 or less points.

[Spark]

13) NFL schedule will be released next Wednesday, April 13, so we can start looking ahead to football at that time. NFL Network usually handles the unveiling.

12) As if the Bronx baseball team wasn't quite hideous enough, they have added Suzyn Waldman as a color analyst in their radio booth. Even longtime diehard fans of the Evil Empire can't stand this person's voice. One friend of mine knows and likes her; other than that, I cannot name one person who admires her work.

11) Two of the nine officials who worked in the Final Four are from America's second-favorite city, so that is a good thing for my hometown (Albany, NY).

10) Dave Odom left Wake Forest to coach at South Carolina; now he is being rumored for the opening at Virginia. If this is true, Odom needs new employment counselor, because Wake is better job than Virginia.

9) At some point, the Patriots have to pay someone to play, and that person is QB Brady, who has won three of last four Super Bowls. Belichick is starting to look like a guy who thinks he and he alone is reason New England is so good, but in the end, players win games, and in the NFL, the quarterback is a vital position. If they do not open their wallets for Brady, their position at the top will not be theirs for much longer.

8) How are Dominique Wilkins and Artis Gilmore not in the Hall of Fame? Gilmore got Jacksonville to Final Four, for Pete's sake, and was an outstanding pro. It is not necessary to list Wilkins' resume; anyone with a nickname of Human Highlight Film should be in.

7) Hubie Brown says his '75 Kentucky Colonels were the best team he ever coached, with Gilmore, Issel; it was a team broken up by the demise of the ABA, as owner John Y. Brown disbanded the Colonels, on a promise that he could buy the Celtics after the merger of the two leagues. What a shame.

6) Any Division I team that still has an opening at head coach is clueless; prime recruiting time is about to start and you need your coaches in place to recruit, which is the lifeblood of every program in America.

5) The average major league baseball salary is $2.6M. Just thought you'd like to know.

4) Brad Wilkerson of Nationals became 26th player to have hit for cycle twice. Cycles are more rare than no-hitters, so that really is quite a feat.

3) Wilkerson's cycle Wednesday was also the earliest one in a season, and he did it in Nationals' first win.

2) Terrell Owens has changed agents, and wants new contract (Surprise, surprise, surprise!!, as Gomer Pyle used to say). I have a feeling on two things here:

a) Andy Reid's headaches are just starting, and
b) When Owens doesn't get the money he wants, the race card will be played. He has already stated that he believes his outstanding Super Bowl performance was underplayed by the media, so trouble looms.

1) Illinois coach Weber waited a long time to become a head coach in Division I. The man who finally gave him a chance is Southern Illinois AD Jim Hart, better known as one of the better QB's in St Louis Cardinal history, and co-owner of St Louis steakhouse with his former teammate, Dan Dierdorf.

[raedan]

Thanks Spark.