my 8 teamer paying 109-1 yesterday lost due to the one NFLX I tossed in it (all 7 MLB came in) dang it!!
07:05 PM MLB [954] WAS NATIONALS -260 ( M FOLTYNEWICZ -R / S STRASBURG -R )
07:05 PM MLB [955] COL ROCKIES -146 ( ACTION )
07:05 PM MLB [965] HOU ASTROS -103 ( J MUSGROVE -R / F LIRIANO -L )
08:05 PM MLB [970] TEX RANGERS -220 ( A SANCHEZ -R / Y DARVISH -R )
07:10 PM MLB [975] CHI WHITE SOX +130 ( C RODON -L / A CASHNER -R )
07:10 PM MLB [977] TOTAL o9.5 -110 (ARI DBACKS vrs BOS RED SOX) (CORBIN/PRICE)
10:15 PM MLB [980] TOTAL u7.5 -115 (BAL ORIOLES vrs SFO GIANTS) (BUNDY/ M CAIN)
1 unit bet pays 53 ....betdsi line
MLB parlays: 11-131, -36.24 units (risk 1 unit each pick)... winner #1 posted here......winner #2 posted here....winner #3 and nice winner #4... and small reduced winner #5, winner #6 paid 5.07 units...winner #7...and here is winner #8...and then winner #9....after long dry spell, hit four teamer on July 4th.....and another long dry spell, hit five teamer on July 23rd...
Goood luck everyone!! :firing: :toast:
:0074
Rodon was pitching 100 mph in his last start, going hard straight at the batters, easily dominating Baltimore. But his mind was not on Baltimore, he was thinking about tuning up for today's start - his 1st against his hometown team, the team who passed over this famed college pitching phenom and a Cuban-American to draft Tyler Kolek (who is not out of A-level baseball yet). Rodon can now finally show his stuff at home again, and it will be impressive. Especially considering how Marlins bats are in a bit of a slump of late...Cashner should be fine too, under looks good.
Boston - yes, Corbin has not been good this season and getting worse - now he has to pitch at Fenway. He'll need more than good luck to survive that!..Price I expect be a bit sharper as he let in a season-high walks, by a long shot, in his last start. He's pretty proud of the way he limits walks..but AZ do hit lefties well and will have that DH now...I guess over better than side..
taking the Colo 5 innings as even Phil bats will get to that Colo bullpen....Matt Cain, how did that guy, one of the most hittable pitchers out there, dominate Nats two starts in a row? One thing is his offspeed stuff was working super well from this fastball, but still, I dunno, afraid it might help his confidence some, and he is back in the friendly confines of ATT park (Giants have won his last four home starts). So i guess under here is the play, bullpens in good shap and is that dense marine air floating in?
Archer should be fine, but I worry about his tendency to give up home runs. One bad one and game over. NYY have not been hitting righties well of late, but TB do pound lefites, so might be a tight game...yep, I think Joe Musgrove is the real deal, I will take him tonight with those hot Houston bats vs Liriano and all his HR and walks allowed.
ripped, cut and pasted, otherwise written by others, from across the internets:
Under is 17-5-2 in CHC last 24 overall....the last time the Cubs had at least a 12-game lead in August or later was in 1929.
Under is 20-9-1 in ATL last 30 road games.
Jake Thompson made his big-league debut Saturday in San Diego and took the loss, allowing six runs and seven hits over 4.1 innings. He walked two and struck out one. He became one of six Phillies pitchers since 1913 to allow six or more earned runs in fewer than five innings in his big league debut. Turk Farrell (1956), Rafael Quirico (1996), Ethan Martin (2013), Severino Gonzalez (2015) and Zach Eflin (2016) are the others. The Padres jumped on Thompson for four first-inning runs. ?Thompson was overthrowing obviously,? Phils manager Pete Mackanin said. ?He was pumped up, it was his major league debut. It?s obvious he has good stuff, but he just lacked command.? Thompson went 11-5 with a 2.50 ERA in 21 starts at Triple-A this season and is the Phillies? top pitching prospect.
Colorado at Philadelphia
Play: Colorado
This Friday we like the Colorado Rockies on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies. For starters, we think Jon Gray is a very good young pitcher from Oklahoma (where he was born and raised and went to the University of Oklahoma). He comes off one of his worst starts of his career in giving up 8 runs in 3.2 innings as he gave up 10 hits in a short span of time to the Miami Marlins, who ended up winning the game 10-7 as he picked up the loss. Prior to that he had helped his team win three straight contests, including giving up just 4 earned runs over his last five starts spanning 30.1 innings. We like Gray to bounce-back here behind a Rockies team that has had a decent year and has exceeded expectations. Though Jake Thompson of the Phillies will likely pitch better than in his first outing, he likely struggles once again today. He gave up 6 earned runs to the Padres in a pitcher's ballpark over 4.1 innings, and though he will have the motivation to pitch better today, he faces a potent Rockies lineup that is looking to continue to move up. We like Colorado and the bounce-back potential of Gray this Friday Evening.
Francisco Liriano - 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. In Liriano's debut with the Jays he wasn't his normal super bad self that we expect. We all laughed at this deal given how terrible Franny has been this year, but there is a part of me that wonders if the whole "change of scenery" thing actually has some sort of effect. We'll see, but just so we're clear I'm definitely not expecting this to work out in the slightest.
I want to like Archer conceptually as a play-on the rest of the way, with his pitches better than his outcomes this season, but I would have needed even money or better to get in play tonight. His problem has been the gopher ball, a 17.1 HR/FB ratio, and Yankee Stadium with a hitter's wind is not a great fit for those particular struggles.
Houston +115 over TORONTO
Such an interesting matchup here that features one pitcher, Francisco Liriano that has walked 71 batters (!) in 121 frames against another pitcher, Joe Musgrove, that walks a batter every leap year.
The arrival of Liriano in the Jays rotation combined with fellow import Scott Feldman from Houston taking over for Drew Hutchison in a spot starter/ long relief role provides the needed pitching depth to give the Jays options regarding Aaron Sanchez. Liriano is likely to see a drop in innings with the move to the AL and the depth of the lineups. However, Liriano also has yielded 19 HR in 113 innings during 2016 with half of his games played in the pitcher-friendly (-27% RH batter HR) PNC Park. Now with the move to the homer-happy Rogers Center (+21% RH batter HR), his major league leading 71 walks look even more scary. Even more disturbing is that Liriano is a mess with runners on base with 7 walks per nine innings. With the bases empty, his strikeout potential comes out with 11.4 K?s/9 but that drops to 5.2 K?s/9 with runners on. Seems like baserunners mess with his head. Liriano is not showing any signs of turning his season around, and with this ominous skill split, his risk outweighs his reward.
Recently recalled Joe Musgrove has taken the rotation spot of the injured Lance McCullers and he could play a huge role down the stretch. Musgrove made his MLB debut in long relief on August 2 and all he did was strike out eight Blue Jays in 4.1 innings while allowing just one hit and no runs. He followed that up with a start against Texas and went seven full while allowing just five hits and one run. In 11.1 frames, Musgrove has 14 strikeouts and one walk issued. Musgrove is one of the Astros best prospects. He exploded into our consciousness in 2015 when he rapidly climbed from A-ball to High-A to Double-A, and got better each step of the way. He faced 392 batters that year and only walked eight of them while striking out 99. That incredible control looks absurd, but it's how Musgrove pitches.
While only his mid-90s mph fastball can be said to be plus, he has a nifty slider that can make batters look foolish, and his change-up is looking better all the time. What sets Musgrove apart is his terrific command and control. He can keep the ball down in the strike zone while repeating his arm speed and slot effectively. Basically he can put the ball wherever he wants, and because he so rarely walks anyone, his WHIP stays pristine year after year. He may not have the pitches that could make him a #1 starter, but that control and command is why pundits think he is one of the best bets to reach his high potential. Only unintentionally walking 40 of the 1,350 batters faced in his minor league career clearly shows a skill that will prove very useful in the major leagues. This year he started at Double-A and then moved to the tough Pacific Coast League where he struck out fewer batters, but the walks stayed right where they have always been. In the PCL, that's a very impressive accomplishment. The injury to Lance McCullers starts the Joe Musgrove era rolling and he?s been as impressive as his numbers. Musgrove is high on our radar while the Blue Jays continue to be overpriced daily.
Orioles vs. Giants
Play: Under 8
Two teams with postseason aspirations square off in the Bay Area where the Giants play host to the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles (64-50, 25-33 road) have dropped 10 of their last 16 games and trail the first-place Toronto Blue Jays by a half-game in the American League East. Mark Trumbo broke out of a 7 for 61 with his 32nd home run and five RBI in Thursday?s 9-6 victory in Oakland.
The Giants (65-49, 32-21 home) have scored two or fewer runs in 12 of their games since the break leading to a post All-Star record of 8-16. Their slump has enabled the Dodgers to move to within one game in the National League West. San Francisco does have a favorable schedule moving forward with 15 of their next 18 games at home.
The pitching matchup will feature a pair of righthanders at very different junctures in their respective careers. Baltimore?s 23-year old Dylan Bundy (5-3, 3.05 ERA) has won his past two outings, giving up just two runs and five hits across 13 innings. The fourth overall pick of the 2011 draft, has struck out 29 and walked three over his last four starts.
Veteran Matt Cain (4-6, 5.16 ERA) has won three consecutive contests and pitched 10 shutout innings while winning his last two outings He lost to the Orioles in his lone career start against them when he gave up three runs and five hits over seven innings in 2013.
Baltimore is 24-5 to the UNDER in its last 29 overall and 13-5 in its past 18 outings. San Francisco is 18-7-1 to the UNDER in its last 26
Orioles vs. Giants
Play: Under 7?
The dense air of a night game by the bay means the ball will not carry well at all at AT & T Park tonight and the fact of the matter is that swings and misses could be quite common tonight. The Giants will be facing Dylan Bundy of the Orioles and he has been rock solid in his last 4 starts. His last 3 starts in particular have seen the strikeouts piling up with 24 in less than 19 innings while compiling a 2.41 ERA and a minuscule 0.54 WHIP! He'll be opposed by Matt Cain of the Giants. The right-hander has some unimpressive full season numbers but he's been rounding back into form with a 3-0 record in his last 3 starts. In his last two starts Cain has been particularly strong with just 5 hits and NO earned runs allowed in the 10 innings spanning his last two outings. The Orioles game at Oakland yesterday afternoon flew over the total but the under was 8-2 in the O's 10 prior games. The under is 13-5-1 in San Francisco's last 19 games. Additionally, the under is 12-2 in the Giants last 14 games against teams with a winning record on the season. The under is 10-4 in the Orioles last 14 games against teams with a winning record. This looks like a pitchers duel and both bullpens are in solid shape for this one as well.
I brought up Thor the other day as one of my crushes and it's time to really dive into my most recent one, Dylan Bundy, especially after he went 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks today against the White Sox. When I talked about Bundy before it was all about his Fastball command. If that is on point, he has the stuff to dominate lineups, it's that simple. His Changeup is top notch - seriously, it's crazy how good it is with a whiff rate over 22% and now he's throwing around 25% of the time - and his hook looked as amazing as ever today, forcing Gary Throne to emit "Ugh, Mercy". Now it's certainly possible that this command can disappear like it did with Skaggs on a given night or stretch or whatever, but what separates the two is the ability to make mistakes and get away with it. It's the part of having really great stuff that makes you super good. Obviously that doesn't always happen, but it's a higher chance and whatever I need to move on to other things. There are whispers that Bundy might get shutdown since he's never thrown more than 100 innings in a year, but let's be honest. I can't see them limiting him that much. He won't throw 180 until 2019 at that rate. At some point the kid has to log a decent amount of frames and I really don't see why it won't be this year. The O's have the best playoff chance they've had in a long time and their biggest weakness is their rotation. Let it ride, let it ride.
Cowboys vs. Rams
Play: Rams -5
If you?ve watched preseason games at the Edward Jones Dome in St Louis in recent years, you?ve probably noticed the lethargic crowds in a half-filled stadium. That won?t be the case on Saturday Night in LA, where 90,000 fans are expected to watch their home debut; a rare preseason setting where the energy for the home team is likely to be palpable.
Rams head coach Jeff Fisher isn?t taking this preseason home opener lightly. After becoming the first NFL coach in 20 years to keep his job following four consecutive losing seasons, Fisher knows that there?s a ton of pressure to achieve in his first year in LA. His quote: ?(We?re not going) 7-9 or 8-8 or 9-7, OK? Or 10-6 for that matter. This team?s too talented. I am not going to settle for that, OK? I know what I am doing.?
Of course, coach-speak can be overrated in August, but there?s no question that LA has expectations this August. Dallas does not. The Cowboys lost their first two preseason games last year by a combined 40-13 margin. They lost all four preseason games in 2014 by five points or more, including an ugly 27-7 Week 1 blowout loss. In fact, their last Week 1 preseason win came back in 2012, with a 3-0 victory over Oakland. I?m confident that three points won?t be enough for Dallas to win or cover this one, and head coach Jason Garrett sure doesn?t seem as if he?s treating this year?s preseason opener any differently!
The Cowboys have a ?top-heavy? roster. They?ve paid their superstars well, but those stars have been injury prone, and the quality depth behind them has been extremely limited. That?s been most obvious at the quarterback position, where it?s going to be Dak Prescott and Jameil Showers for the full 60 minutes on Saturday Night in an effort to keep Tony Romo from taking hits, with backup Kellen Moore already hurt. Prescott will be facing NFL competition for the first time; Showers was in training camp last year but he?s notched just 125 total yards of preseason passing under his belt.
St Louis will be giving a rookie QB ample playing time as well, but that rookie QB was #1 overall draft pick Jared Goff, not a 4th rounder like Prescott. LA will also have Case Keenum starting and Sean Mannion coming off the bench; two veterans who are primed to move the offense. Even with the pointspread creeping higher as we approach kickoff, this is a classic preseason contest where one team gives a sh** and the other team just wants to get out of town healthy?..
07:05 PM MLB [954] WAS NATIONALS -260 ( M FOLTYNEWICZ -R / S STRASBURG -R )
07:05 PM MLB [955] COL ROCKIES -146 ( ACTION )
07:05 PM MLB [965] HOU ASTROS -103 ( J MUSGROVE -R / F LIRIANO -L )
08:05 PM MLB [970] TEX RANGERS -220 ( A SANCHEZ -R / Y DARVISH -R )
07:10 PM MLB [975] CHI WHITE SOX +130 ( C RODON -L / A CASHNER -R )
07:10 PM MLB [977] TOTAL o9.5 -110 (ARI DBACKS vrs BOS RED SOX) (CORBIN/PRICE)
10:15 PM MLB [980] TOTAL u7.5 -115 (BAL ORIOLES vrs SFO GIANTS) (BUNDY/ M CAIN)
1 unit bet pays 53 ....betdsi line
MLB parlays: 11-131, -36.24 units (risk 1 unit each pick)... winner #1 posted here......winner #2 posted here....winner #3 and nice winner #4... and small reduced winner #5, winner #6 paid 5.07 units...winner #7...and here is winner #8...and then winner #9....after long dry spell, hit four teamer on July 4th.....and another long dry spell, hit five teamer on July 23rd...
Goood luck everyone!! :firing: :toast:
Rodon was pitching 100 mph in his last start, going hard straight at the batters, easily dominating Baltimore. But his mind was not on Baltimore, he was thinking about tuning up for today's start - his 1st against his hometown team, the team who passed over this famed college pitching phenom and a Cuban-American to draft Tyler Kolek (who is not out of A-level baseball yet). Rodon can now finally show his stuff at home again, and it will be impressive. Especially considering how Marlins bats are in a bit of a slump of late...Cashner should be fine too, under looks good.
Boston - yes, Corbin has not been good this season and getting worse - now he has to pitch at Fenway. He'll need more than good luck to survive that!..Price I expect be a bit sharper as he let in a season-high walks, by a long shot, in his last start. He's pretty proud of the way he limits walks..but AZ do hit lefties well and will have that DH now...I guess over better than side..
taking the Colo 5 innings as even Phil bats will get to that Colo bullpen....Matt Cain, how did that guy, one of the most hittable pitchers out there, dominate Nats two starts in a row? One thing is his offspeed stuff was working super well from this fastball, but still, I dunno, afraid it might help his confidence some, and he is back in the friendly confines of ATT park (Giants have won his last four home starts). So i guess under here is the play, bullpens in good shap and is that dense marine air floating in?
Archer should be fine, but I worry about his tendency to give up home runs. One bad one and game over. NYY have not been hitting righties well of late, but TB do pound lefites, so might be a tight game...yep, I think Joe Musgrove is the real deal, I will take him tonight with those hot Houston bats vs Liriano and all his HR and walks allowed.
ripped, cut and pasted, otherwise written by others, from across the internets:
Under is 17-5-2 in CHC last 24 overall....the last time the Cubs had at least a 12-game lead in August or later was in 1929.
Under is 20-9-1 in ATL last 30 road games.
Jake Thompson made his big-league debut Saturday in San Diego and took the loss, allowing six runs and seven hits over 4.1 innings. He walked two and struck out one. He became one of six Phillies pitchers since 1913 to allow six or more earned runs in fewer than five innings in his big league debut. Turk Farrell (1956), Rafael Quirico (1996), Ethan Martin (2013), Severino Gonzalez (2015) and Zach Eflin (2016) are the others. The Padres jumped on Thompson for four first-inning runs. ?Thompson was overthrowing obviously,? Phils manager Pete Mackanin said. ?He was pumped up, it was his major league debut. It?s obvious he has good stuff, but he just lacked command.? Thompson went 11-5 with a 2.50 ERA in 21 starts at Triple-A this season and is the Phillies? top pitching prospect.
Colorado at Philadelphia
Play: Colorado
This Friday we like the Colorado Rockies on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies. For starters, we think Jon Gray is a very good young pitcher from Oklahoma (where he was born and raised and went to the University of Oklahoma). He comes off one of his worst starts of his career in giving up 8 runs in 3.2 innings as he gave up 10 hits in a short span of time to the Miami Marlins, who ended up winning the game 10-7 as he picked up the loss. Prior to that he had helped his team win three straight contests, including giving up just 4 earned runs over his last five starts spanning 30.1 innings. We like Gray to bounce-back here behind a Rockies team that has had a decent year and has exceeded expectations. Though Jake Thompson of the Phillies will likely pitch better than in his first outing, he likely struggles once again today. He gave up 6 earned runs to the Padres in a pitcher's ballpark over 4.1 innings, and though he will have the motivation to pitch better today, he faces a potent Rockies lineup that is looking to continue to move up. We like Colorado and the bounce-back potential of Gray this Friday Evening.
Francisco Liriano - 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 Hits, 2 BBs, 5 Ks. In Liriano's debut with the Jays he wasn't his normal super bad self that we expect. We all laughed at this deal given how terrible Franny has been this year, but there is a part of me that wonders if the whole "change of scenery" thing actually has some sort of effect. We'll see, but just so we're clear I'm definitely not expecting this to work out in the slightest.
I want to like Archer conceptually as a play-on the rest of the way, with his pitches better than his outcomes this season, but I would have needed even money or better to get in play tonight. His problem has been the gopher ball, a 17.1 HR/FB ratio, and Yankee Stadium with a hitter's wind is not a great fit for those particular struggles.
Houston +115 over TORONTO
Such an interesting matchup here that features one pitcher, Francisco Liriano that has walked 71 batters (!) in 121 frames against another pitcher, Joe Musgrove, that walks a batter every leap year.
The arrival of Liriano in the Jays rotation combined with fellow import Scott Feldman from Houston taking over for Drew Hutchison in a spot starter/ long relief role provides the needed pitching depth to give the Jays options regarding Aaron Sanchez. Liriano is likely to see a drop in innings with the move to the AL and the depth of the lineups. However, Liriano also has yielded 19 HR in 113 innings during 2016 with half of his games played in the pitcher-friendly (-27% RH batter HR) PNC Park. Now with the move to the homer-happy Rogers Center (+21% RH batter HR), his major league leading 71 walks look even more scary. Even more disturbing is that Liriano is a mess with runners on base with 7 walks per nine innings. With the bases empty, his strikeout potential comes out with 11.4 K?s/9 but that drops to 5.2 K?s/9 with runners on. Seems like baserunners mess with his head. Liriano is not showing any signs of turning his season around, and with this ominous skill split, his risk outweighs his reward.
Recently recalled Joe Musgrove has taken the rotation spot of the injured Lance McCullers and he could play a huge role down the stretch. Musgrove made his MLB debut in long relief on August 2 and all he did was strike out eight Blue Jays in 4.1 innings while allowing just one hit and no runs. He followed that up with a start against Texas and went seven full while allowing just five hits and one run. In 11.1 frames, Musgrove has 14 strikeouts and one walk issued. Musgrove is one of the Astros best prospects. He exploded into our consciousness in 2015 when he rapidly climbed from A-ball to High-A to Double-A, and got better each step of the way. He faced 392 batters that year and only walked eight of them while striking out 99. That incredible control looks absurd, but it's how Musgrove pitches.
While only his mid-90s mph fastball can be said to be plus, he has a nifty slider that can make batters look foolish, and his change-up is looking better all the time. What sets Musgrove apart is his terrific command and control. He can keep the ball down in the strike zone while repeating his arm speed and slot effectively. Basically he can put the ball wherever he wants, and because he so rarely walks anyone, his WHIP stays pristine year after year. He may not have the pitches that could make him a #1 starter, but that control and command is why pundits think he is one of the best bets to reach his high potential. Only unintentionally walking 40 of the 1,350 batters faced in his minor league career clearly shows a skill that will prove very useful in the major leagues. This year he started at Double-A and then moved to the tough Pacific Coast League where he struck out fewer batters, but the walks stayed right where they have always been. In the PCL, that's a very impressive accomplishment. The injury to Lance McCullers starts the Joe Musgrove era rolling and he?s been as impressive as his numbers. Musgrove is high on our radar while the Blue Jays continue to be overpriced daily.
Orioles vs. Giants
Play: Under 8
Two teams with postseason aspirations square off in the Bay Area where the Giants play host to the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles (64-50, 25-33 road) have dropped 10 of their last 16 games and trail the first-place Toronto Blue Jays by a half-game in the American League East. Mark Trumbo broke out of a 7 for 61 with his 32nd home run and five RBI in Thursday?s 9-6 victory in Oakland.
The Giants (65-49, 32-21 home) have scored two or fewer runs in 12 of their games since the break leading to a post All-Star record of 8-16. Their slump has enabled the Dodgers to move to within one game in the National League West. San Francisco does have a favorable schedule moving forward with 15 of their next 18 games at home.
The pitching matchup will feature a pair of righthanders at very different junctures in their respective careers. Baltimore?s 23-year old Dylan Bundy (5-3, 3.05 ERA) has won his past two outings, giving up just two runs and five hits across 13 innings. The fourth overall pick of the 2011 draft, has struck out 29 and walked three over his last four starts.
Veteran Matt Cain (4-6, 5.16 ERA) has won three consecutive contests and pitched 10 shutout innings while winning his last two outings He lost to the Orioles in his lone career start against them when he gave up three runs and five hits over seven innings in 2013.
Baltimore is 24-5 to the UNDER in its last 29 overall and 13-5 in its past 18 outings. San Francisco is 18-7-1 to the UNDER in its last 26
Orioles vs. Giants
Play: Under 7?
The dense air of a night game by the bay means the ball will not carry well at all at AT & T Park tonight and the fact of the matter is that swings and misses could be quite common tonight. The Giants will be facing Dylan Bundy of the Orioles and he has been rock solid in his last 4 starts. His last 3 starts in particular have seen the strikeouts piling up with 24 in less than 19 innings while compiling a 2.41 ERA and a minuscule 0.54 WHIP! He'll be opposed by Matt Cain of the Giants. The right-hander has some unimpressive full season numbers but he's been rounding back into form with a 3-0 record in his last 3 starts. In his last two starts Cain has been particularly strong with just 5 hits and NO earned runs allowed in the 10 innings spanning his last two outings. The Orioles game at Oakland yesterday afternoon flew over the total but the under was 8-2 in the O's 10 prior games. The under is 13-5-1 in San Francisco's last 19 games. Additionally, the under is 12-2 in the Giants last 14 games against teams with a winning record on the season. The under is 10-4 in the Orioles last 14 games against teams with a winning record. This looks like a pitchers duel and both bullpens are in solid shape for this one as well.
I brought up Thor the other day as one of my crushes and it's time to really dive into my most recent one, Dylan Bundy, especially after he went 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 Hits, 1 BBs, 9 Ks today against the White Sox. When I talked about Bundy before it was all about his Fastball command. If that is on point, he has the stuff to dominate lineups, it's that simple. His Changeup is top notch - seriously, it's crazy how good it is with a whiff rate over 22% and now he's throwing around 25% of the time - and his hook looked as amazing as ever today, forcing Gary Throne to emit "Ugh, Mercy". Now it's certainly possible that this command can disappear like it did with Skaggs on a given night or stretch or whatever, but what separates the two is the ability to make mistakes and get away with it. It's the part of having really great stuff that makes you super good. Obviously that doesn't always happen, but it's a higher chance and whatever I need to move on to other things. There are whispers that Bundy might get shutdown since he's never thrown more than 100 innings in a year, but let's be honest. I can't see them limiting him that much. He won't throw 180 until 2019 at that rate. At some point the kid has to log a decent amount of frames and I really don't see why it won't be this year. The O's have the best playoff chance they've had in a long time and their biggest weakness is their rotation. Let it ride, let it ride.
Cowboys vs. Rams
Play: Rams -5
If you?ve watched preseason games at the Edward Jones Dome in St Louis in recent years, you?ve probably noticed the lethargic crowds in a half-filled stadium. That won?t be the case on Saturday Night in LA, where 90,000 fans are expected to watch their home debut; a rare preseason setting where the energy for the home team is likely to be palpable.
Rams head coach Jeff Fisher isn?t taking this preseason home opener lightly. After becoming the first NFL coach in 20 years to keep his job following four consecutive losing seasons, Fisher knows that there?s a ton of pressure to achieve in his first year in LA. His quote: ?(We?re not going) 7-9 or 8-8 or 9-7, OK? Or 10-6 for that matter. This team?s too talented. I am not going to settle for that, OK? I know what I am doing.?
Of course, coach-speak can be overrated in August, but there?s no question that LA has expectations this August. Dallas does not. The Cowboys lost their first two preseason games last year by a combined 40-13 margin. They lost all four preseason games in 2014 by five points or more, including an ugly 27-7 Week 1 blowout loss. In fact, their last Week 1 preseason win came back in 2012, with a 3-0 victory over Oakland. I?m confident that three points won?t be enough for Dallas to win or cover this one, and head coach Jason Garrett sure doesn?t seem as if he?s treating this year?s preseason opener any differently!
The Cowboys have a ?top-heavy? roster. They?ve paid their superstars well, but those stars have been injury prone, and the quality depth behind them has been extremely limited. That?s been most obvious at the quarterback position, where it?s going to be Dak Prescott and Jameil Showers for the full 60 minutes on Saturday Night in an effort to keep Tony Romo from taking hits, with backup Kellen Moore already hurt. Prescott will be facing NFL competition for the first time; Showers was in training camp last year but he?s notched just 125 total yards of preseason passing under his belt.
St Louis will be giving a rookie QB ample playing time as well, but that rookie QB was #1 overall draft pick Jared Goff, not a 4th rounder like Prescott. LA will also have Case Keenum starting and Sean Mannion coming off the bench; two veterans who are primed to move the offense. Even with the pointspread creeping higher as we approach kickoff, this is a classic preseason contest where one team gives a sh** and the other team just wants to get out of town healthy?..
