Today Is Sunday, And How Do You Angel Fans Like Godzilla?

26-10 +31.34 units

I know I sure miss him. You have yourself a true monster there.

Well...4-1 yesterday, but, I'm stealing this from GameHunter, it means absolutely nothing as today is a brand new day.

Tigers -1.5 +115
Risking 3 units to win 3.45 units
Well...we saw in the opener that Westbrook is the same ole Westbrook. But...to make it even worse on him...now he has to face a pretty good Tigers' lineup who have some good numbers against him.
Guillen       .297 (11-37)                 1 RBI
Magglio      .324 (11-34)     3 HR...10 RBI
Inge           .265 (9-34)       2 HR....8 RBI
Santiago    .533 (8-15)                   2 RBI
Damon       .222 (2-9)
Cabrera      .333 (1-3)         1 HR...1 RBI

That's some decent numbers. But the next numbers will scare anyone who was possibly thinking of taking the "value" with the Indians. Verlander faced the Indians 4 times last season. He finished 4-0 against them. In the 30 innings he pitched...he gave up 3 runs. Oh yea...and he didn't give up a single home run. If that doesn't make you hop on board...I don't know what else I can tell you. I'll just throw these bat v pitch stats at you.
Peralta       .265 (13-49)      1 HR...7 RBI
Sizemore   .245 (12-49)       2 HR...7 RBI
Hafner        .250 (8-32)        2 HR...8 RBI
Choo          .200 (5-25)                  2 RBI
Cabrera      .150 (3-20)                   2 RBI
Marte         .300 (3-10)
Valbuena    .000 (0-8)
Brantley      .500 (2-4)                    2 RBI
LaPorta       .000 (0-3)

Sure...they have had some RBIs against him...but apparently not recently. So...I'll feel confident here with the runline. I have the Indians being the worst team in the AL if not all of baseball. With that said...the Tigers smoke them today.

More to come.

BOL All. Have A Great Day.

Yankees +107
Risking 2 units to win 2.14 units
I've learned that taking the Yanks as a dog is a SMART investment. But I'm not taking them simply because they are a dog...oh no. I'm taking them because Burnett OWNS the Rays. Kinda like Verlander owns the Indians. In 5 starts last season against Tampa...he was 4-0 (the Yanks were 4-1) and he had a 1.97 ERA overall. He gave up 7 earned and 1 homer in 32 innings. Also...he was 3-0 at the Trop with a 1.35 ERA. If Burnett feels comfortable anywhere...it's Tropicana Field. In 5 starts over the past 3 seasons...he has only given up 6 runs in 35 innings. And if I'm not mistaken...early last season...he did what CC did yesterday. I believe he had 2 outs in the 7th before it began to unravel. Needless to say...he still had a pretty good game. Now on to some bat v pitch stats.
Burrell           .205 (9-44)             2 HR...9 RBI
Crawford        .341 (15-44)           1 HR...3 RBI
Upton            .201 (6-29)                       1 RBI
Pena             .111 (3-27)             1 HR...3 RBI
Navarro          .200 (5-25)             1 HR...3 RBI
Longoria        .320 (8-25)             1 HR...3 RBI
Bartlett          .238 (5-21)             1 HR...2 RBI
Zobrist           .214 (3-14)             1 HR...2 RBI

So...you can almost guarentee 7 innings from Burnett. And that's the type of mentality the Yankees go with. If 1 pitcher had a stellar outing...the next guy wants to match it. And what better way to match it than against a team you know how to handle? Now I don't know what the deal is with Shields. In 2007 he had a 14.46 ERA against the Yanks. In 2008...he was great with a 1.77 ERA. Then last season he had a 8.44 ERA against the Bombers. Does he finally figure them out this season? I'm not sure. But I do know he has figured out a few of the Yankees in Sunday's lineup.
Jeter            .400 (12-30)      1 HR...5 RBI
Cano           .478 (11-23)      2 HR...6 RBI
Posada       .222 (4-18)                   2 RBI
Granderson  .056 (1-18)
Tex             .188 (3-16)
A-Rod          .200 (3-15)       1 HR...2 RBI
Swisher       .222 (2-9)         2 HR...6 RBI
Johnson      .400 (2-5)                    1 RBI
Gardner       .000 (0-1)

I guess take those for what they're worth. Sometimes these Yanks put on a clinic when you least expect them to. But...I'll take the value with the dogged Yanks, along with the more potent lineup...AND the pitcher who is clearly better suited for this matchup than the other.

Yankees/Rays Under 9 -105
Risking 2.1 units to win 2 units
Well...you know my thoughts on Burnett. Along with that...I expect Shields to come out strong and relieve the Rays' bullpen seeing that they need it after yesterday's game. I expect a 4-2 type of ballgame when it's all said and done.

Phillies -1.5 -115
Risking 2.3 units to win 2 units
I don't like the juice either...but these Astros can't buy a win. Hell...they can't buy a runline win either. Lets add one more. They can't even win when getting 2.5 runs. This is a fade of the Astros as well as a support of the Phillies and their offense. While the Astros haven't lost by less thn 3 so far this season...the Phillies smallest margin of victory was 3 runs in Game 2 of this matchup. Now giving up the runline may not be smart against Oswalt...but I really don't have a choice. Yes...the Astros' bats woke up yesterday. But come on...it was against Jamie Moyer. Now they're facing Roy Halladay. It's hard for teams to hit Halladay when they seem him often. Imagine what it's like when a team has barely seen him...like the Astros and their pathetic offense. The Phillies also hit Oswalt really well. Many of them have averages of .300 or more. I'll show you what I mean.
Rollins        .258 (8-31)
Polanco      .476 (10-21)                  1 RBI
Utley          .150 (3-20)                    1 RBI
Howard       .421 (8-19)          2 HR...7 RBI
Werth         .313 (5-16)                    1 RBI
Victorino     .308 (4-13)
Schneider    .500 (6-12)                    2 RBI
Ibanez         .400 (2-5)

Now I understand the stats aren't all that impressive if you really look into them. Apparently the Phillies can't get big hits as these guys only have a combined 12 RBIs in over 100 ABs. However...even if they score 2 runs in this game...I honestly think that would be enough. Roy Halladay could very well pitch his first complete game shutout with the Phillies in this one. The Astros won't know what hit them when Doc steps on that mound. And this time...he won't be as weary as he was in Game 1 of the season.

Quote Originally Posted by BarneysDad:

What a shame Yanks couldn't give him a contract. With you on Yanks 

Yea...it really is. And it was indeed a lefty who he hit the walkoff against tonight. But...the Yankees thought he was getting too old so it is what it is. Nick Johnson certainly is no Matsui...but boy does this guy walk.

Spark, can I add that Sheilds has 1 win in his last 9 vs Yanks  that came on the road in 9/13/08  while Burnett has owned them since being in Pinstripes 4 out of 5 with that loss coming at home 5/6/09

Good news for my Yanks bet then. However...lets have a game where neither team lights up the scoreboard and it's just a nice pitcher's duel with a Yankees win to finish off a nice opening week.

Going to hit the sack "early" tonight. See everyone "tomorrow".

6 walks with a .360 OBP%  .... GL today  

Good info...GL Sunday

Nice start to the season, Sparky   Keep up the good work.

GL today