Sports Betting Tips and Game Handicapping Picks » World Series

LA Dodgers looking to win World Series

Jeffdstuff — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:17:01 +0000

Are the Dodgers really that good?

Since Manny Ramirez came back from his suspension, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been on a roll this 2009 MLB baseball season.

You read it, the Los Angeles Dodgers look like the team to come out and represent the National League in the World Series. The Dodgers lead the pack in the NL West. However, slugger Manny Ramirez is in a downward spiral and he appears to be bringing the Dodgers down with him.

On their fifth attempt to clinch the National League West, the Dodgers fell 4-3 to the second-place Colorado Rockies as Manny Ramirez struck out in each of his four trips to the plate. The Dodgers may have gotten some sort of momentum since Ramirez came back from the suspension but with Ramirez himself struggling, I’m not sure how long can the rest of the Dodgers keep themselves afloat.

Last year, after acquiring Ramirez, the Dodgers looked like a completely different team. Before trading for him, they were 54-54. In the Dodger blue, Manny hit .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBI in 53 games. Truth be told, they have been led by outfielders not named Manny in Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, along with first baseman James Loney, and young pitchers like Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw.

It’ll be interesting to see how everything unfolds around the Dodgers.

One team looking to challenge the Dodgers are the Colorado Rockies. Under new manager Jim Tracy, the Rockies appear to be a completely different team. They don’t have any superstar pitchers, but Jason Marquis has 15 wins, Ubaldo Jimenez has 14 along with an ERA of 3.47, and Jorge De La Rosa has 15 in addition to 181 strikeouts.

They have a pretty good offense too...

Betting on the 2009 MLB All-Star Game

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:04:22 +0000

The Midsummer Classic is here.

That’s right, the 2009 MLB All-Star Game is set this Tuesday as the players fans voted in to play will hope they can make an even bigger name for themselves and increase their dollars.

So who made the cut? Let’s start with the 2009 MLB National League All-Star starters. The NL team consists of catcher Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals, and top vote-getter Albert Pujols at first base.

And since Pujols was the leading vote-getter in balloting for the Midsummer Classic, he became the very first Cardinal to start an All-Star game in his home ballpark. ‘’It feels great to be there and represent the organization and the city you play in,'’ Albert Pujols said.

Albert Pujols is well on his way to another amazing year, leading the majors with 31 homers and 82 RBIs. He collected 5,397,374 votes to finish with the second-highest total in Major League history, trailing only Ken Griffey Jr.’s six million votes in 1994. Pujols has made the NL team eight times in nine seasons and will be making his sixth start.

The rest of the National League all star infield consists of Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez, and Mets third baseman David Wright. Manning the outfield would be Brewers Ryan Braun, Mets Carlos Beltran, and Phillie’s Raul Ibanez.

The injury-riddled Mets lead the NL with...

Home Runs kick off Midsummer Classic

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:18:24 +0000

Albert Pujols kicks off the Midsummer Classic in front of his hometown fans in St. Louis.

THAT is the kind of pressure top vote-getter Albert Pujols is in coming to the 2009 MLB All-Star festivities in St. Louis. Imagine this, he was just voted in by baseball fans the most, getting majority of the votes to play in the All-Star game. But before he can get to play the actual game, he has the 2009 MLB Home Run Derby to worry about first. And did I mention he has the entire town of St. Louis watching his every move?

There is no doubt that Albert Pujols will go for broke once the Midsummer Classic gets to St. Louis. The top vote-getter for the 2009 MLB All-Star Game will compete in his third Home Run Derby and while the last two were already great, this one should be more special since this will be the first time Pujols will perform in front of the Cardinals fans in Missouri.

There’s this one problem though.

In the 23 previous Home Run Derby contests, only one hometown favorite has hoisted a trophy at the end of the night. That was Ryne Sandberg back in 1990. But if there’s one guy who can win the Derby for his hometown, it’s Albert Pujols.

Other guys who’ll be competing against Pujols include Prince Fielder. Fielder is the first second generation player to be a Home Run Derby contestant. His father, Cecil Fielder competed back in the early 90s. He never won, which gives estranged son Prince some motivation to show up his dad.

Adrian Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres is also in. The guy is quietly having an awesome season for the floundering Padres, looking like a young Sammy Sosa for at least the first half of the season. Don’t let those 24 home runs fool you though, Gonzalez plays in the spacious Petco Park, where he’s only cranked out 8 Home Runs at clip of 18.1 AB/HR. On the road, he’s a Pujolsesque 8.5 AB/HR with 16 Homers.

Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies is...

Team to bet on this 2009 MLB Season

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 11 May 2009 09:03:21 +0000

Baseball has already settled in and it’s time to determine where you can put some money on and win big.

One month into the baseball betting marathon that is the 2009 MLB baseball season, is behind us and there have been some surprises thus far. The latest one is of course Manny Ramirez being the latest guy to be linked to banned substances.

With that said, I know most of you won’t be wasting their time (and money) betting on the Dodgers since they’ll have a lot to figure out in the next few weeks with the fallout of the Manny Ramirez issue.

So, which team is the best ‘’money'’ team in baseball now? Some of you might say the Boston Red Sox are, while some will go with the Tampa Bay Rays. Well, NONE of them are ‘’money'’ teams. But if you’re looking for the best team to bet on, you can’t go wrong with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Toronto Blue Jays are 20-10 overall with a profitable 11-4 record at home and a healthy 9-6 record on the road. A $100 a game bettor would have a profit of approximately $950 if they wagered on every Jay game this season so far (depending on the lines when they bet on Toronto).

Over / Under bettors can take note, the Jays have posted 19 overs and 11 unders so far this year.

Toronto hasn’t played many games against teams from its own division so far but it has played a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles and it swept the O’s 3-0. You can’t win in baseball without good pitching and the Jays have two pitchers who rank in the Top 10 MLB money pitchers.

As the ace of Toronto’s rotation, you expect wins from Roy Halladay and he hasn’t disappointed this year with a 6-1 record. But as good as he has been for the Jays, Scott Richmond has been a pleasant surprise. Last season, Richmond only started in five games all season, grabbing 1 win and 3 losses.

This season, Richmond has already pitched in five games and has paid off for those who backed him, racing out to a perfect 5-0 mark.

The Toronto Blue Jays are second only to...

2009 MLB Odds from BetUS.com

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:26:37 +0000

In case you don’t know it yet, baseball is finally here.

That’s right, the brand new 2009 MLB baseball season is finally here. Isn’t that something?

Yes, amidst the controversy involving Alex Rodriguez and steroids, the situation between Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers and the Red Sox, and basically everything else that kept fans talking about baseball, the season is here and BetUS.com is right in the thick of it.

With the start of the brand new MLB regular season, baseball fans across the country are already speculating as to how their teams will perform. Will they win it all this year? How long until our coach gets fired? Will our clean-up hitter outperform the rest?

With this being the case, the largest most successful sportsbook on the web, (that’s according to them anyway…) BetUS.com, posted early season predictions on all things MLB to give fans some resemblance of what to expect.

‘’Despite the off-season turmoil that followed some of the game’s biggest stars, interest in America’s pastime is still alive and well,'’ stated BetUS.com spokesman Reed Richards.

‘’Fans are flooding our site for up to the minute predictions and prognostications. We’ve got everything from early World Series odds, to which coach will be fired first!'’

Want to see these 2009 MLB baseball season betting odds they’re talking about? Here they are...

Hot ALCS, NLCS wars in MLB Playoffs

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:23:44 +0000

The Rays tie the Red Sox 1-1 while the Dodgers cut ito the Phillies lead 2-1.

That's where it's at folks as the 2008 MLB playoffs just got interesting after the two teams trailing in the two best-of-seven championship series wars were able to win one to make the final two wars before the World Series a little more competitive.

First, let’s start with the ALCS where the Tampa Bay Rays won what has been a shootout in Tampa. B.J. Upton helped his team beat the Red Sox 9-8 last Saturday with a shallow fly ball to tie the AL championship series at one game apiece.

The Boston Red Sox were coming in Tampa looking to take the early 2-0 lead. They never anticipated that the Rays will put up a fight nobody probably anticipated. The Red Sox and the Rays combined for seven home runs, tying a postseason record. And after 1:30 a.m., the Rays won a game that lasted five hours, 27 minutes when Perez beat right fielder J.D. Drew’s throw home.

The series shifts to Fenway Park for Game 3 Monday, with left-hander Jon Lester pitching for Boston against the Rays’ Matt Garza.

In the NLCS, the Los Angeles Dodgers came out early and finished of the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 to get back into the series, trimming Philly’s lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven championship series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers started strong courtesy of Blake DeWitt’s bases-loaded triple off Jamie Moyer, to finish a five-run first inning. There were no punches or ejections this time as both teams played with poise all night.

Kuroda pitched effectively into the seventh for Los Angeles, which will...

Step closer to the World Series

Jeffdstuff — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:31:48 +0000

The Championship Series in the American and National leagues are here.

You read it, with the 2008 MLB playoffs down to its final two best-of-seven championship series wars, only four teams remain all trying to advance to the biggest stage of them all, the World Series.

Two teams from the National League and another two from the American League will duke it out with a spot at the 2008 MLB World Series at stake. Yes, it only gets better people.

We’ll start with the NLCS as the National League West champions, Los Angeles Dodgers, meet the National League East champions, Philadelphia Phillies in a best-of-seven championship series beginning Thursday.

The Philadelphia Phillies, having the better regular season record, will have the home field advantage for this one. This series marks the first postseason meeting between the Phillies and the Dodgers since the 1983 NLCS, which Philadelphia won 3-1 before losing to Baltimore in the World Series. It also marks the first NLCS for both teams since the Division Series was instituted in 1994.

Overall, this is the fourth time these two teams have met in the postseason. In addition to the 1983 NLCS, the Dodgers defeated the Phillies 3-1 in the NLCS in both 1977 and 1978.

In the ALCS, we have the surprising Tampa Bay Rays looking to extend their Cinderella run against the defending...

Last Impression at Yankee Stadium

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 09:59:16 +0000

Sure, the Yankees won the last game at Yankee Stadium but still, you can't help but feel sorry for this team now a shell of its former greatness.

Quite sad ain’t it? The New York Yankees have struggled, to say the least, this 2008 MLB baseball season and it’s unfortunate that the last Yankees team we saw at Yankee Stadium Sunday is a baseball club merely a shell of it’s former self.

And in case you haven’t heard, Yankee Stadium had its last Yankee game last Sunday when the struggling New York Yankees hosted to the Baltimore Orioles. With all of it’s history, Yankee Stadium has become a staple in American baseball and the Yankees have pissed on all that this season with the kind of campaign that’ll make your stomach turn.

There was a time when the New York Yankees, although they didn’t have to be as pathetic as the 2008 team, were far from being a playoff team. It was 1993 and Yankee Stadium wasn’t selling out every single ticket available.

Mariano Rivera, arguably the best closer in baseball today, was not even playing for the Yankees then, starting for the minor leagues where he kept on honing his skills until he got the nod.

STILL, that 1993 team was still way better than what we have now. That 1993 Yankees team was feisty, unlike this year’s Yankees...

2008 MLB All-Star Break is Set

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:16:57 +0000

The stage is set for MLB baseball’s midsummer classic.

The 2008 MLB baseball season will be featuring their midseason All-Star break to showcase some of the best baseball players we have in the world today.

The 2008 MLB All-Star Weekend is always scheduled right in the middle of the baseball season to give back to the sports' fans supporting the sport since day one.

So who got the invite?

The 2008 MLB All-Stars were named last Sunday and it was no surprise that four of the defending champions Boston Red Sox were selected for the American League All-Stars led by team captain Manny Ramirez.

Ramirez will be joined by Red Sox teammates David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis. However, as great as it would be seeing ‘Big Papi’ in action, Ortiz will be forced to miss the All-Star game with an injured wrist.

Red Sox rivals, the New York Yankees, also have their own stars selected to represent the American League. Yankees team captain Derek Jeter leads the Yankee All-Stars.

Joining Jeter in the American League All-Star team is slugger Alex Rodriguez and probably the best closer in baseball, Mariano Rivera.

For the National League All-Star team; Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome and Geovany Soto will look to represent the Chicago Cubs proudly. They will be joined by Cubs teammates Kerry Wood, Ryan Dempster, Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Zambrano.

Also starting for the National League team...

Can Boston Red Sox dominate the American League in MLB Baseball again?

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 03:42:12 +0000

The American League is still Boston's turf.

The 2008 MLB baseball season is here as the Red Sox begin their quest to become champions of baseball for the second straight year.

Like last season, everybody’s still so fixated on the American League compared to the National League. While NBA fans favor the Western conference more than the East, baseball has this one.

Defending champions Boston Red Sox lead the pack from the American League East while the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels lead the Central and West divisions respectively.

Boston Red Sox are still coming out strong after winning the MLB World Series last season. They have a 43-28 win-loss record, with a decent 7-3 showing in their last 10 games.

In the Central division, the Chicago White Sox, with a 38-30 win-loss mark, lead. These guys seem to have the motivation this season to win it all. Take their last game against the Colorado Rockies for instance, Chicago beat Colorado 5-4 after rallying in the seventh inning for three runs, giving the South Siders their ninth straight win at U.S. Cellular Field.

In the West Coast, the 41-28 record of the Los Angeles Angels gave them the top spot in this division. With Chone Figgins back at the top of the Angels’ rotation, the Angels are looking like solid contenders for the World Series title.

The Angels’ offense seemed to be missing...