Good luck with your pics!!
Good luck with your pics!!
not many thoughts..
My main angle with TB's Wilson is to always take the under in his next start after a bad one. As if he were an ace, his era bounces back very well after a bad start and every bettor expects it to remain bad. This is a huge winning$ angle I shouldn't be posting!
But he is off a quality start, and now at Coors no less, so who knows what tonight?
That Colo bullpen has got to be tired!
the Rays played so sloppy in their last game, they took the lead in errors in MLB. So they should tighten up tonight. They have some pride...
article here from paper:
Pitchers to face Coors fear factor
By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer
? St. Petersburg Times
published June 21, 2002
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SAN FRANCISCO -- As if their pitchers aren't having enough problems, the Rays next go to Coors Field, where fly balls turn into home runs and base hits seem to drop from the sky.
"One thing you really have to drill into the starting pitchers is that you can go out there and give up six or seven runs and really have a good game," Rays catcher John Flaherty said.
"Obviously that's tough to swallow. But it's really one of those places where you give up two or three runs in the first inning and you had better keep battling because there's a very good chance those three runs aren't going to beat you."
If the Rays pitchers don't want to believe Flaherty, they can look at the three games the Yankees just played there: The teams combined for 70 runs and 95 hits.
"It's never over there," leftfielder Greg Vaughn said.
The challenge at Coors Field is twofold. Because of the altitude in Denver, the ball carries extremely well, leading to more home runs. And because the dimensions were increased as compensation (424 feet in right-center, 420 in left, 350 down the rightfield line), there is a larger outfield for balls to land in.
"You're going to give up cheap hits and you're going to give up cheap home runs," Flaherty said. "From a pitching standpoint, mentally it's a challenge to really keep your focus."
Conversely, even the Rays' anemic offense should be able to take advantage of the hitter-friendly environment.
"It's a joke to hit in," said rightfielder Ben Grieve, who has a .476 average there.
Either way, both teams usually end up scoring a lot. And there is the additional challenge of having to defend so much turf.
"It's a six-run ballpark," manager Hal McRae said. "You need six runs to be in the ballgame. And no lead is safe." ........
