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Insider Edge Sports – Report For Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Wednesday’s Free Card
Our Free Plays have not been up to par recently, just back luck of the draw in the ones we give out. The entire Wednesday card is posted below to avoid losing the posted free play and winning the others.
NBA
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers 10:00 pm ET
Los Angeles Lakers –7 (2 Units)
The Lakers head back to Los Angeles up 3-1 and have no intensions of heading back to Houston for a game 6. It hasn’t been Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O’Neal who has gotten them to this point for the most part. It’s been two other players who have stepped it up in this series and for obvious reasons. Karl Malone has stepped forward with 17-, 18- and 30-point games while Gary Payton has been matched up with a top talent in Houston point guard Steve Francis this series and has posted a nice 25-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio. Payton and Malone came to the Lakers together after a combined 31 years in the league without a title. Malone hasn't won a playoff series since 2000, Payton since 1998. The overtime loss on Sunday will carry forward into this game for the Rockets. Outscored 9-1 in the final two minutes, the Rockets committed two turnovers in the final 77 seconds, and then failed to secure the rebound that let the Lakers clinch the win. "It's the most painful (loss), especially at home, when you have the game right there in your hand and somebody takes it right away from you," Francis said. That loss hurt and traveling for the next game doesn’t help much. Kobe Bryant will be in court in the morning but will be back in L.A. well before game time.
MLB
Florida Marlins (Beckett) at Colorado Rockies (Jennings) 3:05 pm ET
Colorado (Jennings) +148 (2 Units)
Look for Jason Jennings to bounce back from one of the worst outings of his career last weekend. He allowed 10 earned runs in just 5 innings against the Astros in the 13-7 Houston win. The normally dependable pitcher at Coors Field will get another chance against a good hitting ballclub. He should be plenty motivated here. Manager Clint Hurdle challenged Jennings to get better Sunday. "The conversation after his bad games is the same. He nibbled too much, didn't attack with his sinker, didn't throw enough changeups. It's like the guy asking his wife for one more last chance," Hurdle said. "How do you get somebody's attention? Hopefully I have gotten it." Even with his rough start, the Rockies are 2-2 in his starts this season. Jennings is 17-6 since 2002 at Coors Field as he has been one of the most consistent home pitchers the Rockies have had in the thin air of Denver. He is 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA in 3 career starts against the Marlins. The season for Josh Beckett started very strong but it has gone south his last 2 starts. He is 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA and 1.59 WHIP those last two outings. He isn’t getting much support either. In his last 7 starts dating back to last season, the Marlins have scored a total of 16 runs (2.3 rpg) with 4 being the most they have put up in a single game. Colorado is hitting righties at a .284 clip this season while Florida is hitting .266. The Marlins have one of the best bullpens in the Majors but the Rockies are holding their own with a 3.38 ERA this season including 3.08 their last 10 games.
Philadelphia Phillies (Myers) at St. Louis Cardinals (Marquis) 8:10 pm ET
St. Louis (Marquis) –1.5 +151 (2 Units)
Jason Marquis is definitely on the comeback while Brett Myers has hit a wall after a great start to 2003. Marquis who pitched only 40 innings last season including two starts, came out of the gate slow in his opener but has been on top of his game since. In his last 3 starts, St. Louis is 3-0 and he has put up a 2.25 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. The Cardinals have put up 21 runs in his 4 starts this season and anything under that 5.3 rpg average would be surprising. Myers meanwhile is going in just the opposite direction. Since August of last season, he has posted a 6.68 ERA and a gaudy 2.32 WHIP. The Phillies are 4-7 is those starts, including losses in the last 4. The offense was giving him a ton of run support, something that has been a problem this season, especially against right-handers. Philadelphia is scoring only 3.8 rpg against righties while St. Louis is scoring 5.8 rpg. The Phillies are hitting .258 for the season against righties and only .255 overall, 10th in the National League. The Cardinals are 2nd with a .287 average and they rank first in home runs and slugging. They are 2nd in all other major categories including stolen bases. Philadelphia is 14th in the league in runs scored. Current Cardinals are hitting .350 (14-40) against Myers while current Phillies are only hitting .204 (19-93) against Marquis.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Zambrano) at Boston Red Sox (Schilling) 7:05 pm ET
Tampa Bay (Zambrano) +206 (2 Units)
This line is based on the names of the starting pitchers and not recent efforts they have put forth. Victor Zambrano has been outstanding even though the Devil Rays are just 3-2 in his 5 starts. After a rough first outing against the Yankees at home, he has responded with 3 excellent efforts, going 20.1 innings and allowing 6 earned runs (2.66 ERA). Tampa Bay started 3-0 in his first 3 starts but then the offense shut down, scoring just 3 total runs in his last 2 outings against the White Sox. Zambrano was great in his last outing but two errors by Julio Lugo led directly to two of Chicago's three runs. The Rays went 3-1 in his 4 starts against Boston last season and he went 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in the final 2 starts against the Red Sox. Curt Schilling was hit hard in his last outing against Toronto, allowing 13 hits and 7 runs increasing his ERA to 4.18 for the season. Schilling was lifted only after he allowed eight of the last 11 batters he faced to reach base. He has allowed at least 4 earned runs in 2 of his 4 starts, certainly not horrible but it’s enough of an opening at this high price. As a team, the Red sox are hitting .251 while Tampa Bay is hitting .254 and Boston is only scoring about ½ higher per game. Boston is struggling to score because their batting average with runners in scoring position dropped to .221 this season. The sweep of the Yankees could have carried some momentum into this series, but with two days off in between, it means nothing. The price is right here to back a quality pitcher and an offense that is playing very similar to their opposition.
Our Free Plays have not been up to par recently, just back luck of the draw in the ones we give out. The entire Wednesday card is posted below to avoid losing the posted free play and winning the others.
NBA
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers 10:00 pm ET
Los Angeles Lakers –7 (2 Units)
The Lakers head back to Los Angeles up 3-1 and have no intensions of heading back to Houston for a game 6. It hasn’t been Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O’Neal who has gotten them to this point for the most part. It’s been two other players who have stepped it up in this series and for obvious reasons. Karl Malone has stepped forward with 17-, 18- and 30-point games while Gary Payton has been matched up with a top talent in Houston point guard Steve Francis this series and has posted a nice 25-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio. Payton and Malone came to the Lakers together after a combined 31 years in the league without a title. Malone hasn't won a playoff series since 2000, Payton since 1998. The overtime loss on Sunday will carry forward into this game for the Rockets. Outscored 9-1 in the final two minutes, the Rockets committed two turnovers in the final 77 seconds, and then failed to secure the rebound that let the Lakers clinch the win. "It's the most painful (loss), especially at home, when you have the game right there in your hand and somebody takes it right away from you," Francis said. That loss hurt and traveling for the next game doesn’t help much. Kobe Bryant will be in court in the morning but will be back in L.A. well before game time.
MLB
Florida Marlins (Beckett) at Colorado Rockies (Jennings) 3:05 pm ET
Colorado (Jennings) +148 (2 Units)
Look for Jason Jennings to bounce back from one of the worst outings of his career last weekend. He allowed 10 earned runs in just 5 innings against the Astros in the 13-7 Houston win. The normally dependable pitcher at Coors Field will get another chance against a good hitting ballclub. He should be plenty motivated here. Manager Clint Hurdle challenged Jennings to get better Sunday. "The conversation after his bad games is the same. He nibbled too much, didn't attack with his sinker, didn't throw enough changeups. It's like the guy asking his wife for one more last chance," Hurdle said. "How do you get somebody's attention? Hopefully I have gotten it." Even with his rough start, the Rockies are 2-2 in his starts this season. Jennings is 17-6 since 2002 at Coors Field as he has been one of the most consistent home pitchers the Rockies have had in the thin air of Denver. He is 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA in 3 career starts against the Marlins. The season for Josh Beckett started very strong but it has gone south his last 2 starts. He is 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA and 1.59 WHIP those last two outings. He isn’t getting much support either. In his last 7 starts dating back to last season, the Marlins have scored a total of 16 runs (2.3 rpg) with 4 being the most they have put up in a single game. Colorado is hitting righties at a .284 clip this season while Florida is hitting .266. The Marlins have one of the best bullpens in the Majors but the Rockies are holding their own with a 3.38 ERA this season including 3.08 their last 10 games.
Philadelphia Phillies (Myers) at St. Louis Cardinals (Marquis) 8:10 pm ET
St. Louis (Marquis) –1.5 +151 (2 Units)
Jason Marquis is definitely on the comeback while Brett Myers has hit a wall after a great start to 2003. Marquis who pitched only 40 innings last season including two starts, came out of the gate slow in his opener but has been on top of his game since. In his last 3 starts, St. Louis is 3-0 and he has put up a 2.25 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. The Cardinals have put up 21 runs in his 4 starts this season and anything under that 5.3 rpg average would be surprising. Myers meanwhile is going in just the opposite direction. Since August of last season, he has posted a 6.68 ERA and a gaudy 2.32 WHIP. The Phillies are 4-7 is those starts, including losses in the last 4. The offense was giving him a ton of run support, something that has been a problem this season, especially against right-handers. Philadelphia is scoring only 3.8 rpg against righties while St. Louis is scoring 5.8 rpg. The Phillies are hitting .258 for the season against righties and only .255 overall, 10th in the National League. The Cardinals are 2nd with a .287 average and they rank first in home runs and slugging. They are 2nd in all other major categories including stolen bases. Philadelphia is 14th in the league in runs scored. Current Cardinals are hitting .350 (14-40) against Myers while current Phillies are only hitting .204 (19-93) against Marquis.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Zambrano) at Boston Red Sox (Schilling) 7:05 pm ET
Tampa Bay (Zambrano) +206 (2 Units)
This line is based on the names of the starting pitchers and not recent efforts they have put forth. Victor Zambrano has been outstanding even though the Devil Rays are just 3-2 in his 5 starts. After a rough first outing against the Yankees at home, he has responded with 3 excellent efforts, going 20.1 innings and allowing 6 earned runs (2.66 ERA). Tampa Bay started 3-0 in his first 3 starts but then the offense shut down, scoring just 3 total runs in his last 2 outings against the White Sox. Zambrano was great in his last outing but two errors by Julio Lugo led directly to two of Chicago's three runs. The Rays went 3-1 in his 4 starts against Boston last season and he went 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in the final 2 starts against the Red Sox. Curt Schilling was hit hard in his last outing against Toronto, allowing 13 hits and 7 runs increasing his ERA to 4.18 for the season. Schilling was lifted only after he allowed eight of the last 11 batters he faced to reach base. He has allowed at least 4 earned runs in 2 of his 4 starts, certainly not horrible but it’s enough of an opening at this high price. As a team, the Red sox are hitting .251 while Tampa Bay is hitting .254 and Boston is only scoring about ½ higher per game. Boston is struggling to score because their batting average with runners in scoring position dropped to .221 this season. The sweep of the Yankees could have carried some momentum into this series, but with two days off in between, it means nothing. The price is right here to back a quality pitcher and an offense that is playing very similar to their opposition.
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