6/23 Quick Notes

[Nick Douglas]

Here are some things I saw in looking at the games today. I am still passing on making any recommendations for now. Good luck.

-Montreal is in a position I like having showed some punch late and almost rallying to win yesterday. Problem is that Finley is pitching well, Armas left after being hit with a line drive last game and the 'Spos are batting just .204 against lefties over their last 10 games.

-Pirates have lost 7 of 8 and even with what looks like a pitching mismatch against Texas, I would not bet them until Ramirez starts hitting to give their lineup more than one threat.

-After the way Santana dominated the Mets last time out, the Twins look like a great play at plus money against Philly today. I am leery, though, because he had his longest outing of his career so who knows how he will come off of that.

-Wierd game today in Milwaukee. You have a pitcher who has been dominant (Sheets) on a team that is being dominated from top to bottom by the opposition. If you believe that great pitching trumps great hitting, then maybe Sheets is worth a shot at plus money, but it is just hard to bet the Brewers against the Angels looking at the quality of the two teams.

-With Piniero going for Seattle and Saarloos going for Houston, this appears to be a gross mismatch. I am just slightly leery, though, because I think Bagwell and Biggio will be way up to try to get a win for Darryl Kile and I can't ignore the fact that Seattle only managed 6 hits yesterday while Houston pounded out 12.

.....More on the 1 p.m. games to come.

 

[Nick Douglas]

Here is what I have on the 1pm and later games today. Good luck.

-Weaver tries to be a stopper for Detroit and they come off a come from behind loss, which usually has a team up the next day. Weaver certainly had a high pitch count last game but in the past he has had a rubber arm and it is tough to fade him in my opinion when he is pitching as well as he has in his last two starts. Florida goes with Dempster, who was roughed up a bit two outings ago and then pitched a pretty good six innings last time.

-Johnson and Hernandez have similar stats ont he year but Johnson's ERA is over 6 on the road while Livan's is just 2.25 at home. Both guys were rocked in their last outings, as neither went more than 4 innings.

-Tough to bet against the Dodgers, who have won 4 straight. Dodgers have played under 7.5 in 4 of 5 while the Red Sox have gone under 7.5 in 8 of 9. For some reason this just feels like a trap, so getting plus money on this total may be a sound wager.

-Both pitchers seem sketchy in the Toronto vs. Arizona game. Anderson surrendered 9 hits in just 6 1/3 in his last outing while Halladay faced a whopping 34 batters. I remember the last time he had a huge batter total the next game he played New York and they were beating him up in the first inning, but he got out of a jam and settled down to pitch a super game. If Arizona gets to him early we could see a relatively high scoring game here.

-Maybe the Yanks will win, but I find the line here ludicrous. Mussina has not looked sharp to any real degree in about a month while Lawrence has been on fire all season. Yanks have scored one stinking run in each of their last two games. Maybe I am missing something, folks, but at -190 I just cannot see betting the Yankees.

-Impossible to tell how emotions will affect the Sunday Night game. I am sure they will do a classy tribute to Kile, though.