MLB handicapping
April 20th MLB news ... In order to score a profit on a sport like baseball, the bettor must be up to date with all of the daily trends, MLB handicapping, statistics and tips.
Thanks for stopping by mlbhandicapping.com, the place that supplies the necessary information to consistently handicap baseball.
In order to score a profit on a sport like baseball, the bettor must be up to date with all of the daily trends, statistics and tips. You will be able to find all of that information and more right here, all season long.
MLB News
Report: Cubs the clear front-runner for Russell Martin
2014-11-17
Martin is the prize of this off-seasons class of free agent catchers after batting .290/.402/.430 with 11 home runs and 67 RBI for the Pirates. He continues to draw praise for his defense, pitch framing, and handling a pitching staff as well.
In the event the Cubs do land Martin, they will likely make 27-year-old catcher Welington Castillo available.
2015 Kentucky Derby Odds
2015-04-15
Kentucky Derby week is one Football Live Betting Lines nfl football betting Online Bingo Online Bingo Rooms Play Bingo online Bicimotos of the most thrilling times of the year. This race is known as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports" for its approximate time length.
Check 2015 KY Derby Schedule May 1 and 24 at Sportsbook.com
Odds to Win 2015 Kentucky Derby
March Madness Bracket
2015-02-15
$100K MARCH MADNESS BRACKET CONTEST
The biggest March Madness contest just got bigger.This year Sportsbook.ag is splitting a guaranteed $100,000 in cash among our Top 5 March Madness Bracket contestants. Plus awarding a combined $5,000 in Free Bets to 1,000 other members.Play for a whopping $75,000 first-place prize when you buy your first entry for just $15. Additional entries costs little as $5 and buying multiple brackets gives you the chance to take home the entire $100K prize pot.
Here’s a breakdown of the prizes:
1st Place $75,000
2nd Place $12,500
3rd Place $7,500
4th Place $3,500
5th Place $1,500
6th to 1,005th $5 Free Bet
Visit Sportsbook.ag for an early buy-in and to make your picks
MLB: Cubs just can’t beat bad teams
2010-07-20
The Chicago Cubs haven’t been kind to their finds or faithful bettors this season. With last night’s loss to the Houston Astros, the Cubs are now 10 games under .500. More importantly, the Cubs are down 21.4 betting units for the season. Sportsbook.com expects the Cubs to eat into that negative unit number a bit tonight as they are -240 home favorites versus the Astros.
Diehard Cubs' fan Jim Belushi once starred in a movie titled "Taking Care of Business". His team certainly hasn't done that, and bettors need look no further than trends for evidence of team’s performance tendencies and the following list from FoxSheets underscore the Cubs’ ineptitude this season:
• CHICAGO CUBS are 18-31 (-24.8 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a losing record this season. The average score was CHICAGO CUBS 3.9, OPPONENT 4.6 - (Rating = 3*)
Think about that for a second, if Chicago is 13-games below .500 against teams with losing records, it means they are 3-games over .500 against winning clubs. If the Cubs had simply only played 25-24 baseball against the league’s lesser teams, they would be only 3-1/2 games out of the Central lead right now and in contention.
• CHICAGO CUBS are 8-18 (-19.1 Units) against the money line vs. an NL team with a team batting average of .245 or worse this season. The average score was CHICAGO CUBS 3.5, OPPONENT 4.3 - (Rating = 4*)
The Cubs are 19.1 units in the hole for bettors who have backed them against the league’s worst hitting clubs this season. Strangely, pitching isn’t the problem. As you can see, they are producing only 3.5 runs per game offensively themselves against these weak hitting foes. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there…
• CHICAGO CUBS are 17-29 (-23.6 Units) against the money line vs. a poor bullpen whose ERA is 4.50 or worse this season. The average score was CHICAGO CUBS 4.5, OPPONENT 5.1 - (Rating = 3*)
Typically, teams are able to mount come from behind rallies against poor bullpens. Such has not been the case for Chicago.
• CHICAGO CUBS are 15-28 (-22.6 Units) against the money line vs. poor power teams - averaging 0.9 or less HR's/game this season. The average score was CHICAGO CUBS 3.2, OPPONENT 4.0 - (Rating = 3*)
The Cubs are 13-games below .500 against teams that don’t hit a lot of home runs, returning a negative 52.5% on investment.
• CHICAGO CUBS are 7-22 (-25.2 Units) against the money line vs. NL teams scoring 4.3 or less runs/game on the season this season. The average score was CHICAGO CUBS 2.9, OPPONENT 4.4 - (Rating = 6*)
Perhaps the ugliest nugget of all, Chicago is not only allowing its run-starved opponents to outscore their normal averages, it’s own offense is producing just 2.9 runs per game on this trend. With an ROI of -86.9%, this trend gets a 6* rating from FoxSheets.
And finally…
• CHICAGO CUBS are 6-15 (-19.7 Units) against the money line as a favorite of -150 or more this season. The average score was CHICAGO CUBS 3.7, OPPONENT 4.9 - (Rating = 5*)
Chicago is 9-games under .500 when playing to its biggest chalk lines this season. Of course, this will be put to test tonight, as the Cubs are hefty -240 favorites at Sportsbook.com against the Astros behind Ryan Dempster. The Cubs are just 9-16 (-11.9 units) over the last two years in divisional play behind Dempster, and 15-26 overall versus Central Division rivals in 2010.
Meanwhile, the Astros boast a 21-16 divisional record this season, producing 11.9 units of profit. They will turn the ball over to Wesley Wright, who after 126 MLB relief appearances and a recent stint in Triple-A, makes his first career start.
Now that you know some of the key numbers for tonight’s game, head over to Sportsbook.com and place your bets. With some of the most generous dime lines the industry has to offer, it is no wonder that everybody bets on baseball at Sportsbook.com.
MLB: Yankees uncertain favorite in Game 2
2009-10-29
Game 2 of the 2009 World Series is set for Thursday in New York, with the hosts down 1-0 after last night’s 6-1 Philadelphia triumph. The Phillies are in search of their second straight title, and took a big step towards that goal in winning the opener. Tonight, they’ll send Pedro Martinez to the hill to face A.J. Burnett. Oddsmakers at Sportsbook.com have installed the Yankees as a huge -200 favorite, crazy considering how poorly they played in Game 1.
The New York Yankees were left utterly dumbfounded in Game 1. Chase Utley battled C.C. Sabathia in two at bats, following off strikes until the lefthander got just a bit too much of the plate and rifled two shots over the right field wall. Cliff Lee did the rest, in stifling New York on one run and six hits for complete game gem, which included 10 strikeouts and zero walks. Lee was seemingly in his own world on the mound with a pair of unusual fielding plays that he was almost flippant about.
New York hitters had nary a clue what to do with Lee and they hope to have much better success against Pedro Martinez or their suddenly dwindling chances of winning the Fall Classic will take another severe hit. What’s the big deal about losing the first game? The winner of Game 1 of the World Series has won seven straight World Series, 11 of the last 12 and 12 of 14 with the introduction of the wild card teams.
A.J. Burnett will be asked to do his best Lee-imitation. In his first season in the Pinstripes, Burnett is 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA and has not picked up a decision in the postseason with two decent starts and one pretty good beating. The concern for manager Joe Girardi is Burnett’s command. After posting an almost 2 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio during the regular season, the former Florida Marlin has 13 K’s and 10 W’s in three playoff appearances. Sportsbook.com has New York has -200 favorite with total of Un9 and the Yankees have won 11 of 13 in this spot with Burnett on the hill at home.
Doubts were expressed about Philadelphia feeling any pressure, being the defending champions. The numbers said the Phillies were underdogs coming into the series, which just added another log on the fire. No home field advantage for the second straight year, having the best road record in baseball at 52-34 takes care of that.
Pedro Martinez will attempt to squeeze what is left out of his right arm. Martinez is 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA since joining the Phillies and pitched seven shutout innings against the Dodgers in 2-1 loss that the bullpen gave away.
Philadelphia has owned October and will attempt to do same in November as they are 19-5 in the postseason the last two years and 27-11 after allowing four runs or less four straight games.
Coming into the series, two elements were deemed very important in determining the outcome. Who could jack the most balls over the wall from these power-laden clubs would affect the outcome and Chase Utley answered that one. Also, getting the starting pitchers out of the game and see how the relief pitchers would perform. What chance New York had late in the game was swept out to the Hudson River, with the Yanks pen rocked for four runs in the last two innings.
FOX has Game 2 beginning at 7:55 Eastern and the last five meetings between these teams in New York have produced five Unders.
The StatFox Power Line indicates Yankees -155, a sign that Sportsbook is asking bettors to overpay if they want that side of the game.
MLB Series Betting- Houston at St. Louis
2009-07-31
Coming into the season, the Houston Astros were among the more interesting teams in baseball. They had a veteran cast of players who had been involved in several pennant races and because of budget restrictions, general manager Ed Wade had to assemble a starting pitching staff by going thru the scrap heap. Oddsmakers weren’t impressed and hung 73.5 for a win total on Houston, however with roughly two months to go in the season; the Astros (51-51, +0.9 units) are hovering around .500 and within striking distance like they have been in the five years in the NL Central. Be sure to check the latest info for weekend series by visiting the LIVE ODDS, BETTING TRENDS, and TEAM STATISTICS pages.
Houston’s season has taken many twists and turns and presently they are in downward spiral, having lost five of six. They arrive in St. Louis (56-49, 0 units) to face a club that almost swept the best team in the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in four games. The Cardinals pitching was fantastic against L.A., allowing six runs in 36 regulation innings and two runs in seven extra frames. Last night’s 10-inning loss to the Dodgers dropped the Cards out of first place for the moment. St. Louis enters the weekend having played the most games in the big leagues and manager Tony LaRussa has to be thrilled his club will be off Monday and Thursday next week, for a well deserved break.
Houston will trot out one its elder statesmen Brian Moehler (7-6, 5.16 ERA) in the series opener. The 37-year old right-hander became a starter again last season in Houston and had found a groove in allowing three earned runs or less in eight straight starts, before being roughed up by the New York Mets for five runs in his last turn. Moehler’s skill has been his ability to keep his team in the game and the Astros are 20-11 in night games when he pitches the last two years.
The Cardinals will come from the opposite direction, recalling rookie Mitchell Boggs (1-0, 3.22) from Triple-A Memphis. Boggs was up with St. Louis in April and part of May and started to struggle. He’s earned this promotion according to manager Tony La Russa, conceding one run in last 21 innings over three starts. “I think he’s pitched effectively down there,” La Russa told the team’s official Web site. Sportsbook.com has the St. Louis has -180 money line favorites in the opener, with the total Ov9. The Cards are 7-1 in recent Game 1’s and 12-3 as home favorites. Don’t give up completely on Houston, since they have won Moehler’s last five road starts and are 4-0 when he’s been listed as underdog.
Game 1 Edge: St. Louis
Both bullpens came into this series weary for different reasons. St. Louis had two extra inning games with the Dodgers and Houston’s was slapped around by the Cubs. The middle conflict of this NL Central showdown is likely to see the pens get some rest with two strong pitchers. Wandy Rodriguez (10-6, 2.65) has to be sad to see the calendar flip to August, after sensational July. In five starts, the left-hander was 4-0 (Astros 5-0) with microscopic 0.75 ERA. He’s among the better values as starter at +6.45 units.
The Cardinals will counter with their ace Chris Carpenter (9-3, 2.19). The New Hampshire native hasn’t always had his best stuff like last Monday on ESPN, but he steers clear of trouble, being able to find one of his assortment of pitches to take care of hitters. St. Louis is 21-7 in Carpenter’s Game 2 starts and 39-12 if he pitches at Busch Stadium.
Game 2 Edge: St. Louis
The Cardinals role as favorite in the last game of the series will be determined by who pitches for the ‘Stros. Roy Oswalt (6-4, 3.61) left Tuesday's game with a lower back strain and received a pain-killing injection on Wednesday. If he feels well enough, Oswalt will give it a go. If not, Bud Norris will make his first Major League starting appearance. Norris allowed one run in three innings in his debut Wednesday against the Cubs. Baseball America has the 24-year old as the second best prospect in the Houston organization. He has 92-96 MPH fastball and a plus-curveball.
The only thing Adam Wainwright (12-6, 2.80) needs is a saddle. The Redbirds workhorse has pitched a minimum of six innings in last 20 starts (seven innings or more in seven of last nine trips to mound) and has surpassed the 110-pitch count 10 times in 2009. Wainwright and the Cards are 8-2 versus the NL Central, yet is surprisingly 6-6 at home. This will be the only day game of the series, with St. Louis 20-19 and Houston 17-15.
Game 3 Edge: St. Louis
Houston swept the Cards earlier in July during one of its hot spells. The Astros have also been swept in St. Louis this season and have lost nine of last 11 contests near The Arch. Our guest cappers are 3-0 and Hurricane Bill of Playbook will try to keep the streak alive.
“A big weekend match-up finds a pair of NL Central contenders heading in opposite directions as the struggling Houston Astros, losers of 5 of their last 6, travel to St. Louis to take on Cardinal squad that is coming off a series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. To make matters worse for the visitors is they arrive short-handed with main offensive weapon, Lance Berkman, on the DL and ace Roy Oswalt experiencing back stiffness and in danger of missing Sunday’s finale. The hosts, on the other hand, look to be firing on all cylinders as new additions Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa and Julio Lugo are all making significant contributions. The Cards also have the luxury of having their big two, Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, on the hill in this series and will be heavy favorites in all three games. Though we prefer to wager on dogs we cannot recommend a play on these bite-less ‘Stros. We’ll look for a St. Louie sweep, as they put another nail in Houston’s coffin.”
Sportsbook.com series odds: Houston +220, St. Louis -300
StatFox Edge Pick: St. Louis