Twitter
I just joined Twitter. You can follow me at @ALargeRegular.
In the immortal words of Bartles & James - I thank you for your support.
Oh - if you think of someone I should be following on Twitter - let me know.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Pick of the Day
My first choice was Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals against San Francisco but the price of -$200 was just too high. Almost as good a pick is Johan Santana and the Mets looking to halt a 4-game losing skid.
Today's pick of the day (POTD) is the Mets -$130 at Milwaukee (odds via Bodog).
POTD record - 5-1 overall with a plus $395 mythical dollar amount.
My first choice was Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals against San Francisco but the price of -$200 was just too high. Almost as good a pick is Johan Santana and the Mets looking to halt a 4-game losing skid.
Today's pick of the day (POTD) is the Mets -$130 at Milwaukee (odds via Bodog).
POTD record - 5-1 overall with a plus $395 mythical dollar amount.
Red Sox Magic Number - 84
With the 4-0 win over the Orioles last night - the Red Sox magic number is now 84.
I wanted to comment that 84 was the year U2 released the CD The Unforgettable Fire which featured the song Bad. I am reminded of this because earlier today I bought the CD at CVS for $9.99. I was at CVS so that my daughter could buy a musical birthday card and I happened to see the CD for sale. Impulse sale.
In 1983 the Orioles won the World Series and it seems like to me that they have been "Bad" ever since. The decline of "the Oriole Way" in my mind started in 84 and by 86 they were in last place - just like today.
I haven't mentioned the death of Michael Jackson mostly because I wasn't a fan. I was New Wave - what's now called First Wave - not Pop. More Joe Strummer than Michael Moonwalker. I do want to say that for my money U2's Bad kicked Michale Jackson's Bad's ass.
With the 4-0 win over the Orioles last night - the Red Sox magic number is now 84.
I wanted to comment that 84 was the year U2 released the CD The Unforgettable Fire which featured the song Bad. I am reminded of this because earlier today I bought the CD at CVS for $9.99. I was at CVS so that my daughter could buy a musical birthday card and I happened to see the CD for sale. Impulse sale.
In 1983 the Orioles won the World Series and it seems like to me that they have been "Bad" ever since. The decline of "the Oriole Way" in my mind started in 84 and by 86 they were in last place - just like today.
I haven't mentioned the death of Michael Jackson mostly because I wasn't a fan. I was New Wave - what's now called First Wave - not Pop. More Joe Strummer than Michael Moonwalker. I do want to say that for my money U2's Bad kicked Michale Jackson's Bad's ass.
Sports Betting
Interesting column looking at the economics of paying for picks.
I've always thought of those "guaranteed winners" bozos as nothing but scammers. The question always raised is if the picks are so good why don't the handicappers just bet on their own picks and ride off into the sunset as rich men?
At least my picks are worth what you pay for them.
Interesting column looking at the economics of paying for picks.
I've always thought of those "guaranteed winners" bozos as nothing but scammers. The question always raised is if the picks are so good why don't the handicappers just bet on their own picks and ride off into the sunset as rich men?
At least my picks are worth what you pay for them.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Pick of the Day
Tonight I'm going with the Red Sox with Jon Lester starting over the Orioles with Jason Berken toeing the rubber. Nick Green is starting for the Red Sox and Julio Lugo is not. That equals a Red Sox win. The Red Sox are a -$163 favorite.
Yesterday I hit the Brazil / Royals parlay to bring the record to 4-1 overall with a plus $295 mythical dollar amount.
Tonight I'm going with the Red Sox with Jon Lester starting over the Orioles with Jason Berken toeing the rubber. Nick Green is starting for the Red Sox and Julio Lugo is not. That equals a Red Sox win. The Red Sox are a -$163 favorite.
Yesterday I hit the Brazil / Royals parlay to bring the record to 4-1 overall with a plus $295 mythical dollar amount.
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Trent Green fills in for Peter King on Monday Morning Quarterback and does a much better job than Peter. If only we could make the switch permanent... The Go-Go's had a hit with 1981's Our Lips are Sealed. For the longest time I thought they were singing "Honored to see you". Just heard the song and was reminded of that tidbit... One bone to pick with Trent Green though - he says that Jay Cutler has a chance to pass for more then 4,000 yards this season but doesn't mention Kyle Orton. I think Orton will pass for more yards this year than Cutler. When the NFL prop bets are up - I'll even put money on it... It's tough to feel bad for a millionaire but I do feel kinda bad for Xavier Nady. He is basically out for this year while he gets Tommy John surgery and is probably out for next year too. No team will take a chance on him since he's a Type A free agent and would cost any team taking a flyer on him a first round draft pick. The way things are going though - I wouldn't be surprised if Nady qualified for stimulus money...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Trent Green fills in for Peter King on Monday Morning Quarterback and does a much better job than Peter. If only we could make the switch permanent... The Go-Go's had a hit with 1981's Our Lips are Sealed. For the longest time I thought they were singing "Honored to see you". Just heard the song and was reminded of that tidbit... One bone to pick with Trent Green though - he says that Jay Cutler has a chance to pass for more then 4,000 yards this season but doesn't mention Kyle Orton. I think Orton will pass for more yards this year than Cutler. When the NFL prop bets are up - I'll even put money on it... It's tough to feel bad for a millionaire but I do feel kinda bad for Xavier Nady. He is basically out for this year while he gets Tommy John surgery and is probably out for next year too. No team will take a chance on him since he's a Type A free agent and would cost any team taking a flyer on him a first round draft pick. The way things are going though - I wouldn't be surprised if Nady qualified for stimulus money...
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Pick of the Day
Today I have a bit of a quandary. I'm trying to narrow my pick of the day (POTD) down from three choices which all have their own merits.
Choice 1 - Brazil over the USA in soccer. I think this game is a lock but I feel queezey betting against the US and the line at -$350 for Brazil would really punish me if I'm wrong.
Choice 2 - Kansas City with Zach Greinke pitching over the Pirates. The price is a bit high for a road team (KC -$150) but I think Greinke will dominate the Pittsburgh lineup.
Choice 3 - Tigers with Edwin Jackson (-$131) over Houston with Ancient Mariner Russ Ortiz taking the hill. The Tigers burned me the other night by blowing a 4 run lead against the Astros and Edwin Jackson always seems to bite me when I pick him or pick against him (if he was a college football team he'd be Syracuse).
Compromise is the answer I think. Today's POTD is a parlay using Brazil and Kansas City. Risking $100 would bring back $114.
POTD record 3-1 - plus $181.
Today I have a bit of a quandary. I'm trying to narrow my pick of the day (POTD) down from three choices which all have their own merits.
Choice 1 - Brazil over the USA in soccer. I think this game is a lock but I feel queezey betting against the US and the line at -$350 for Brazil would really punish me if I'm wrong.
Choice 2 - Kansas City with Zach Greinke pitching over the Pirates. The price is a bit high for a road team (KC -$150) but I think Greinke will dominate the Pittsburgh lineup.
Choice 3 - Tigers with Edwin Jackson (-$131) over Houston with Ancient Mariner Russ Ortiz taking the hill. The Tigers burned me the other night by blowing a 4 run lead against the Astros and Edwin Jackson always seems to bite me when I pick him or pick against him (if he was a college football team he'd be Syracuse).
Compromise is the answer I think. Today's POTD is a parlay using Brazil and Kansas City. Risking $100 would bring back $114.
POTD record 3-1 - plus $181.
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
The MLB trading season gets underway with the Indians shipping Mark DeRosa to the Cardinals for reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later. Supposedly the PTBNL is to come from an already agreed on list and the Indians can basically pick the player at the end of the season they like best. This could turn into a very good trade for the Indians. Then again - if Mark DeRosa is a type A free agent and St Louis gets 2 high draft picks when DeRosa leaves as a free agent - then this could turn into a very good move by the Cardinals... Wow - Mel Brooks turns 83 today. Happy birthday funnyman... When I was a kid bodybuilding was at its height. One of my favorite bodybuilders was Frank Zane whose birthday it is today (happy 67th birthday Frank). Zane's nickname was "the chemist" and I was so naive that I never read anything into that...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
The MLB trading season gets underway with the Indians shipping Mark DeRosa to the Cardinals for reliever Chris Perez and a player to be named later. Supposedly the PTBNL is to come from an already agreed on list and the Indians can basically pick the player at the end of the season they like best. This could turn into a very good trade for the Indians. Then again - if Mark DeRosa is a type A free agent and St Louis gets 2 high draft picks when DeRosa leaves as a free agent - then this could turn into a very good move by the Cardinals... Wow - Mel Brooks turns 83 today. Happy birthday funnyman... When I was a kid bodybuilding was at its height. One of my favorite bodybuilders was Frank Zane whose birthday it is today (happy 67th birthday Frank). Zane's nickname was "the chemist" and I was so naive that I never read anything into that...
Connections
(I wrote a variation of this two years ago but I thought I'd run it again today.)
The historian James Burke had a very entertaining TV show called Connections that makes a chain of "connections" from an event in the past to a surprising result of that event in the present.
Based upon today's date - I'm going to do a version of Connections of my own.
On this date back in 1914 the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was shot and killed in Sarajevo. This caused Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia.
August 1st is generally regarded as the anniversary of the beginning of World War I in 1914 (when Germany declared war on Russia because Russia had declared war on Austria because Austria had declared war on Serbia because a Serb assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand on July 28th).
Personally I think the real war started on August 3, 1914 when Germany declared war on France and followed that up with the invasion of Belgium the following day (because the quickest way to Paris was through neutral Belgium). However, that's neither here nor there. The connection I want to focus on actually started on this date in 1914.
In 1914 the Turks had two state of the art battleships being built by the British. The ships had cost $30,000,000 in 1914 dollars (which is a lot of money now but a fortune back then). On July 28th the British thought that those two ships (the Sultan Osman and the Reshadieh) would come in handy in the upcoming war - so under the direction of Winston Churchill - the British "requisitioned" them (and they also kept the $30,000,000).
This did not sit well with the Turks who had been trying to stay neutral in the whole brewing fiasco but this bit of thievery may have tipped them toward the Germans. On August 10th the German ships Goeben and Breslau entered the Dardenelles and were soon given to the Turks to replace the two ships the British had stolen. This gesture was well received and basically put the Turks on the side of the Germans.
If the Turks did not enter the war on the side of the Germans then there may never have been the bloody massacre at Gallipoli.
If there was no battle of Gallipoli - then there probably would have not been a movie of the same name. This 1981 movie helped continue the career of a fairly unknown Australian actor who would use his role in Gallipoli to help gain him entree into the American film market by starring in the 1984 film The Bounty.
It is entirely possible that if the movie Gallipoli was never made that Mel Gibson would have remained simply a star in Australia. And news of what crazy Australians spout off when they get arrested in Australia for drunk driving never makes the news in the US.
So Mel Gibson may want to blame the Jews for all the wars in the world but in this series of connections it was the greedy British who miscalculated.
(I wrote a variation of this two years ago but I thought I'd run it again today.)
The historian James Burke had a very entertaining TV show called Connections that makes a chain of "connections" from an event in the past to a surprising result of that event in the present.
Based upon today's date - I'm going to do a version of Connections of my own.
On this date back in 1914 the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was shot and killed in Sarajevo. This caused Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia.
August 1st is generally regarded as the anniversary of the beginning of World War I in 1914 (when Germany declared war on Russia because Russia had declared war on Austria because Austria had declared war on Serbia because a Serb assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand on July 28th).
Personally I think the real war started on August 3, 1914 when Germany declared war on France and followed that up with the invasion of Belgium the following day (because the quickest way to Paris was through neutral Belgium). However, that's neither here nor there. The connection I want to focus on actually started on this date in 1914.
In 1914 the Turks had two state of the art battleships being built by the British. The ships had cost $30,000,000 in 1914 dollars (which is a lot of money now but a fortune back then). On July 28th the British thought that those two ships (the Sultan Osman and the Reshadieh) would come in handy in the upcoming war - so under the direction of Winston Churchill - the British "requisitioned" them (and they also kept the $30,000,000).
This did not sit well with the Turks who had been trying to stay neutral in the whole brewing fiasco but this bit of thievery may have tipped them toward the Germans. On August 10th the German ships Goeben and Breslau entered the Dardenelles and were soon given to the Turks to replace the two ships the British had stolen. This gesture was well received and basically put the Turks on the side of the Germans.
If the Turks did not enter the war on the side of the Germans then there may never have been the bloody massacre at Gallipoli.
If there was no battle of Gallipoli - then there probably would have not been a movie of the same name. This 1981 movie helped continue the career of a fairly unknown Australian actor who would use his role in Gallipoli to help gain him entree into the American film market by starring in the 1984 film The Bounty.
It is entirely possible that if the movie Gallipoli was never made that Mel Gibson would have remained simply a star in Australia. And news of what crazy Australians spout off when they get arrested in Australia for drunk driving never makes the news in the US.
So Mel Gibson may want to blame the Jews for all the wars in the world but in this series of connections it was the greedy British who miscalculated.
Red Sox Magic Number - 85
With the 1-0 victory over the Braves yesterday - the Red Sox magic number is now 85.
Today most people think Ochocinco (Chad Johnson's new surname) when the number 85 comes up in sports. Count me as as "not a fan" when it comes to Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson. Remind me - what has he won? Good thing that the Red Sox are the anti-ochocinco type team. No "look at me" attention seekers who place themselves above the team. Makes the Red Sox that much more likable.
With his win yesterday - Tim Wakefield now has 188 for his career. There have only been 139 pitchers in the history of baseball to have more career victories. Wakefield has never had a 20-win season but with 10 before the All-Star break this might be his best chance.
With the 1-0 victory over the Braves yesterday - the Red Sox magic number is now 85.
Today most people think Ochocinco (Chad Johnson's new surname) when the number 85 comes up in sports. Count me as as "not a fan" when it comes to Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson. Remind me - what has he won? Good thing that the Red Sox are the anti-ochocinco type team. No "look at me" attention seekers who place themselves above the team. Makes the Red Sox that much more likable.
With his win yesterday - Tim Wakefield now has 188 for his career. There have only been 139 pitchers in the history of baseball to have more career victories. Wakefield has never had a 20-win season but with 10 before the All-Star break this might be his best chance.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Pick of the Day
Tough loss last night as the Tigers roared out to a 4-0 lead only to lose 5-4 to the Astros.
Today I like the Phillies taking on the Blue Jays up in Toronto for my Pick of the Day (POTD). Bodog has the Phillies as a slight -$124 favorite. This will be the Phillies second time seeing Blue Jays starter Brad Mills and they raked him the first time out. Seeing how Mills was 1-8 in AAA ball before getting promoted because the rash of injuries to Toronto starters - I see similar results this time out.
Brad Mills is also the name of the Red Sox bench coach and I know that Brad Mills is rooting for the Phillies to beat AL East foe Toronto as well.
It occurred to me that I really can't go by just record while keeping track of baseball picks - so I'm going to assume a mythical $100 placed on each pick and also keep track of the dollar amounts.
POTD Record 2-1 - plus $81
Tough loss last night as the Tigers roared out to a 4-0 lead only to lose 5-4 to the Astros.
Today I like the Phillies taking on the Blue Jays up in Toronto for my Pick of the Day (POTD). Bodog has the Phillies as a slight -$124 favorite. This will be the Phillies second time seeing Blue Jays starter Brad Mills and they raked him the first time out. Seeing how Mills was 1-8 in AAA ball before getting promoted because the rash of injuries to Toronto starters - I see similar results this time out.
Brad Mills is also the name of the Red Sox bench coach and I know that Brad Mills is rooting for the Phillies to beat AL East foe Toronto as well.
It occurred to me that I really can't go by just record while keeping track of baseball picks - so I'm going to assume a mythical $100 placed on each pick and also keep track of the dollar amounts.
POTD Record 2-1 - plus $81
Flotsam and Jetsam
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Jermaine Dye is quietly having one of the best seasons of his career. The 35-year old Dye hit his 17th HR of the year last night and is on pace to hit 40 for the season... This is very funny. Elvis Grbac you sexy thing - or not... Today would have been the 313th birthday of William Pepperrell one of the original American Horatio Alger-type success stories and the man for whom Pepperrell, Mass is named for... A-Rod passed Reggie Jackson in HR last night for 11th place on the all-time list with 564 HR's. Jim Thome is now just 10 HR away from catching Reggie too... I have seen every episode of Band of Brothers dozens of times and it never dawned on me that the actor who played Lt. Jones - Colin Hanks - was the son of Band of Brothers executive producer and uber star Tom Hanks... As I mentioned in an earlier post - the Red Sox magic number is now 86 which happens to be the number of episodes made of the HBO blockbuster The Sopranos. The Wire had fewer episodes but was the much better show... Opponents are hitting better than .300 against the Twins' Kevin Slowey. His 10 wins are a mirage... Today would have been Willie Mosconi's 96th birthday. In my mind Mosconi is without a doubt the greatest pool player who ever lived...
Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.
Jermaine Dye is quietly having one of the best seasons of his career. The 35-year old Dye hit his 17th HR of the year last night and is on pace to hit 40 for the season... This is very funny. Elvis Grbac you sexy thing - or not... Today would have been the 313th birthday of William Pepperrell one of the original American Horatio Alger-type success stories and the man for whom Pepperrell, Mass is named for... A-Rod passed Reggie Jackson in HR last night for 11th place on the all-time list with 564 HR's. Jim Thome is now just 10 HR away from catching Reggie too... I have seen every episode of Band of Brothers dozens of times and it never dawned on me that the actor who played Lt. Jones - Colin Hanks - was the son of Band of Brothers executive producer and uber star Tom Hanks... As I mentioned in an earlier post - the Red Sox magic number is now 86 which happens to be the number of episodes made of the HBO blockbuster The Sopranos. The Wire had fewer episodes but was the much better show... Opponents are hitting better than .300 against the Twins' Kevin Slowey. His 10 wins are a mirage... Today would have been Willie Mosconi's 96th birthday. In my mind Mosconi is without a doubt the greatest pool player who ever lived...
Red Sox Magic Number
With the win over the Braves last night - the Red Sox new magic number is now 86.
There are 86 metals on the modern periodic table but MLB won't let you use any of them to make bats. Wood only if you please. Too bad because Dustin Pedroia (hitting just .220 in June with a measly .571 OPS) and Kevin Youkilis (hitting just .203 in June) look like they could use an aluminum or some other metal bat right about now. The struggles of the 1 and 3 hitters in the line-up makes you wonder if Terry Francona is considering shuffling the line-up sometime soon.
David Ortiz is hitting .311 with 7 HR in June. If Ortiz stays hot and Youkilis continues to struggle - will Francona consider swapping the two sluggers in the batting order? Jacoby Ellsbury has been hitting .328 with a .413 OBP in June so would Francona consider putting Ellsbury back to lead-off and dropping Pedroia back to the 2-hole? Inquiring minds want to know.
Also any Red Sox fan worth their salt knows that 86 is the number of years the Red Sox had to wait between World Series wins before taking the title back in 2004.
With the win over the Braves last night - the Red Sox new magic number is now 86.
There are 86 metals on the modern periodic table but MLB won't let you use any of them to make bats. Wood only if you please. Too bad because Dustin Pedroia (hitting just .220 in June with a measly .571 OPS) and Kevin Youkilis (hitting just .203 in June) look like they could use an aluminum or some other metal bat right about now. The struggles of the 1 and 3 hitters in the line-up makes you wonder if Terry Francona is considering shuffling the line-up sometime soon.
David Ortiz is hitting .311 with 7 HR in June. If Ortiz stays hot and Youkilis continues to struggle - will Francona consider swapping the two sluggers in the batting order? Jacoby Ellsbury has been hitting .328 with a .413 OBP in June so would Francona consider putting Ellsbury back to lead-off and dropping Pedroia back to the 2-hole? Inquiring minds want to know.
Also any Red Sox fan worth their salt knows that 86 is the number of years the Red Sox had to wait between World Series wins before taking the title back in 2004.
The Steroids Era in a Nutshell
Last night Alex Rodriguez hit his 564th HR to pass Reggie Jackson and move into 11th place on the all-time list. This short paragraph in the AP game story seemed to encapsulate the steroids era in just two brief sentences.
Last night Alex Rodriguez hit his 564th HR to pass Reggie Jackson and move into 11th place on the all-time list. This short paragraph in the AP game story seemed to encapsulate the steroids era in just two brief sentences.
Jackson was sixth when he retired in 1987, trailing only Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Harmon Killebrew. He’s since been passed by Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and A-Rod.Of those who passed Reggie on the all-time list - only Ken Griffey Jr. has not been sullied by steroids allegations up till this point.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Pick of the Day
Today's pick of the day (POTD) is Detroit with Justin Verlander taking the hill. Bodog has the Tigers as a slight -$119 favorite. The Astros are the oldest team in baseball (average age over 30 years) and I think Verlander's fastball may prove to be overpowering tonight. I'm looking for him to hit double digits in strikeouts.
POTD record 2-0.
Today's pick of the day (POTD) is Detroit with Justin Verlander taking the hill. Bodog has the Tigers as a slight -$119 favorite. The Astros are the oldest team in baseball (average age over 30 years) and I think Verlander's fastball may prove to be overpowering tonight. I'm looking for him to hit double digits in strikeouts.
POTD record 2-0.
I Love Gay Head
I was unable to post yesterday because business took me over to Matha's Vineyard. The above is a picture of the cliffs at Gay Head and the Aquinnah lighthouse. I stopped by there yesterday because it really is a beautiful place.
Since I didn't have a chance to post yesterday - I didn't have the opportunity to post my Pick of the Day (POTD) which is just as well because I really didn't have one (no time to study the matchups, etc.). One thing for sure - I wouldn't have picked the Red Sox. There's no way to know how John Smoltz was going to perform his first real start back. A final pitching line of 5 earned runs in 5 innings could have been predicted. Personally I don't think Smoltz's poor performance yesterday means much. If he doesn't show improvement after his third start - then that's another story.
I also didn't have an opportunity to update the Red Sox magic number - which now stands at 87. If I did have a chance I would have noted that 87 equals four-score and seven and I would have made some comments about Abe Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address.
One final note - I'm guessing the title to my post will get my blog some interesting visitors. It will be fun to what watch types of searches pop up.
I was unable to post yesterday because business took me over to Matha's Vineyard. The above is a picture of the cliffs at Gay Head and the Aquinnah lighthouse. I stopped by there yesterday because it really is a beautiful place.
Since I didn't have a chance to post yesterday - I didn't have the opportunity to post my Pick of the Day (POTD) which is just as well because I really didn't have one (no time to study the matchups, etc.). One thing for sure - I wouldn't have picked the Red Sox. There's no way to know how John Smoltz was going to perform his first real start back. A final pitching line of 5 earned runs in 5 innings could have been predicted. Personally I don't think Smoltz's poor performance yesterday means much. If he doesn't show improvement after his third start - then that's another story.
I also didn't have an opportunity to update the Red Sox magic number - which now stands at 87. If I did have a chance I would have noted that 87 equals four-score and seven and I would have made some comments about Abe Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address.
One final note - I'm guessing the title to my post will get my blog some interesting visitors. It will be fun to what watch types of searches pop up.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Pick of the Day
Today I'm getting right back on the Red Sox horse for my pick of the day as they play a quasi-home game down in DC. Jon Lester may be the hottest pitcher in baseball and he's been a threat to throw a no-hitter his last few times out. Tonight Bodog has the Red Sox as a -$173 favorite - while that is a bigger number than I would normally find attractive - I know that I would absolutely kick myself if I didn't take Lester versus this over matched Nationals team.
POTD record 1-0
Today I'm getting right back on the Red Sox horse for my pick of the day as they play a quasi-home game down in DC. Jon Lester may be the hottest pitcher in baseball and he's been a threat to throw a no-hitter his last few times out. Tonight Bodog has the Red Sox as a -$173 favorite - while that is a bigger number than I would normally find attractive - I know that I would absolutely kick myself if I didn't take Lester versus this over matched Nationals team.
POTD record 1-0
Red Sox Magic Number - 88
With the Red Sox victory and the Yankee loss last night - the Red Sox new magic number is now 88.
In my mind I associate the number 88 mostly with Eric Lindros who chose the number 88 to foster comparisons to Wayne Gretzky who wore number 99. For our purposes of discussing the Red Sox magic number - a Eric Lindros comparison [with Lindros equating the New York Yankees] is perfect.
Lindros was dubbed "the next one" and had to weather constant comparisons to Wayne Gretzky - the Great One. Likewise these current Yankees have had to weather constant comparisons to Joe Torre's championship teams - like the team who won it all in 99. Yankee fans keep waiting for "the next one" but this Eric Lindros of a team won't be bringing home any championships any time soon.
Eric Lindros was a highly talented player but also a player who proved to be fragile. He was talented enough to put his teams in contention but there was always something lacking. As highly paid as he was - he never was able to win a championship.
Just like this current New York Yankees team.
With the Red Sox victory and the Yankee loss last night - the Red Sox new magic number is now 88.
In my mind I associate the number 88 mostly with Eric Lindros who chose the number 88 to foster comparisons to Wayne Gretzky who wore number 99. For our purposes of discussing the Red Sox magic number - a Eric Lindros comparison [with Lindros equating the New York Yankees] is perfect.
Lindros was dubbed "the next one" and had to weather constant comparisons to Wayne Gretzky - the Great One. Likewise these current Yankees have had to weather constant comparisons to Joe Torre's championship teams - like the team who won it all in 99. Yankee fans keep waiting for "the next one" but this Eric Lindros of a team won't be bringing home any championships any time soon.
Eric Lindros was a highly talented player but also a player who proved to be fragile. He was talented enough to put his teams in contention but there was always something lacking. As highly paid as he was - he never was able to win a championship.
Just like this current New York Yankees team.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Pick of the Day
I'm bringing back my pick of the day (POTD) which was very successful for those of you who were paying attention back a few months ago. With baseball pretty much the only action going - I'm going to be using the lines from Bodog (you can't beat Bodog) to make my selections.
Tonight I love the Red Sox (OK that comes as no surprise but tonight I like them more than usual). I know that the Nationals are "hot" right now having won 4 out of their last 6 and that they have the equally hot John Lannan (winner of his last 3 starts) taking the mound tonight but all this "hotness" accomplished is to drive down the odds on tonight's game to Red Sox -$129 (meaning you would have to risk $129 to win $100 on the Red Sox). Normally the odds on this game would be about the Red Sox -$170.
The Red Sox have a much better offense and bullpen plus tonight will seem like a home game for Boston with all the members of Red Sox Nation scooping up the cheap tickets in Washington. It's probably cheaper if you thought ahead to fly the shuttle into Reagan National, get a hotel room and scalp some tickets than it would be to take in a game at Fenway.
I haven't even mentioned Brad Penny who has been hot himself of late. He's gone at least 6 innings in 6 of his last 9 starts (never going less than 5 innings) and has allowed 3 or fewer runs in 7 of those 9 starts.
You may not see a value bet like the Red Sox -$129 against the Nationals again this season so take the Red Sox. They are my pick of the day.
I'm bringing back my pick of the day (POTD) which was very successful for those of you who were paying attention back a few months ago. With baseball pretty much the only action going - I'm going to be using the lines from Bodog (you can't beat Bodog) to make my selections.
Tonight I love the Red Sox (OK that comes as no surprise but tonight I like them more than usual). I know that the Nationals are "hot" right now having won 4 out of their last 6 and that they have the equally hot John Lannan (winner of his last 3 starts) taking the mound tonight but all this "hotness" accomplished is to drive down the odds on tonight's game to Red Sox -$129 (meaning you would have to risk $129 to win $100 on the Red Sox). Normally the odds on this game would be about the Red Sox -$170.
The Red Sox have a much better offense and bullpen plus tonight will seem like a home game for Boston with all the members of Red Sox Nation scooping up the cheap tickets in Washington. It's probably cheaper if you thought ahead to fly the shuttle into Reagan National, get a hotel room and scalp some tickets than it would be to take in a game at Fenway.
I haven't even mentioned Brad Penny who has been hot himself of late. He's gone at least 6 innings in 6 of his last 9 starts (never going less than 5 innings) and has allowed 3 or fewer runs in 7 of those 9 starts.
You may not see a value bet like the Red Sox -$129 against the Nationals again this season so take the Red Sox. They are my pick of the day.
Excellent Poker Story
You have Phil Ivey, a Las Vegas dancer making $50,000 the hard way, beer pong and a guy named Doug getting dumped by his girlfriend for being a jerk. How can you resist a story with all those plot elements?
Good stuff.
You have Phil Ivey, a Las Vegas dancer making $50,000 the hard way, beer pong and a guy named Doug getting dumped by his girlfriend for being a jerk. How can you resist a story with all those plot elements?
Good stuff.
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