Cnotes 2020/2021 NHL Season Long Trends, News, Notes, Picks !

[Udog]

NHL

Monday, May 3

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Trend Report
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NY Islanders @ Buffalo
NY Islanders
NY Islanders is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Buffalo
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Islanders's last 5 games when playing on the road against Buffalo
Buffalo
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 5 games when playing at home against NY Islanders
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Buffalo's last 6 games

Chicago @ Carolina
Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games
Chicago is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Carolina
Carolina
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Carolina's last 5 games at home
Carolina is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Chicago

Boston @ New Jersey
Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Boston's last 7 games when playing New Jersey
Boston is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games
New Jersey
New Jersey is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Boston
The total has gone OVER in 7 of New Jersey's last 8 games at home

Washington @ NY Rangers
Washington
Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington's last 6 games on the road
NY Rangers
NY Rangers is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Washington
NY Rangers is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Washington

Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Philadelphia's last 7 games when playing Pittsburgh
Philadelphia is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh

Nashville @ Columbus
Nashville
Nashville is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Columbus
Nashville is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Columbus
Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Columbus's last 6 games at home
Columbus is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games at home

Toronto @ Montreal
Toronto
Toronto is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Montreal
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal's last 6 games at home
Montreal is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Toronto

Winnipeg @ Ottawa
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing Ottawa
Winnipeg is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Ottawa's last 12 games at home

Dallas @ Florida
Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Dallas's last 7 games when playing Florida
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing on the road against Florida
Florida
Florida is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Florida's last 7 games when playing Dallas

Vegas @ Minnesota
Vegas
Vegas is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games
Vegas is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Minnesota
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games
Minnesota is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games when playing Vegas

Anaheim @ St. Louis
Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 5 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis's last 5 games when playing at home against Anaheim
St. Louis is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games

Los Angeles @ Arizona
Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing on the road against Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games on the road
Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Arizona's last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Arizona's last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles

Edmonton @ Vancouver
Edmonton
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Edmonton's last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Edmonton's last 14 games
Vancouver
Vancouver is 11-4 ATS in its last 15 games when playing Edmonton
Vancouver is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against Edmonton

Colorado @ San Jose
Colorado
Colorado is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing San Jose
Colorado is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games
San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Jose's last 6 games
San Jose is 20-4 SU in its last 24 games when playing at home against Colorado


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[Udog]

Tuesday’s 6-pack
Other teams who have had lot of players in last five NFL Drafts:
6) Miami— 29
7) Clemson/Notre Dame 27
9) Oklahoma 25
10) Penn State/Washington 24
12) Auburn 23
13) Texas A&M/Utah 21

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 577,054
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“There’s no such thing as a sure thing. Thats why they call it gambling.”
Oscar Madison

Tuesday’s quiz
In the great TV show The Odd Couple, what did Felix Unger do for a living?

Monday’s quiz
When Larry Bird/Magic Johnson played in the national title game in 1979 with Indiana State, Michigan State, DePaul/Pennsylvania were the other two teams in the Final Four that year. A team from the Ivy League made the Final Four.

Sunday’s quiz
Of the 32 current NFL head coaches, eight have won a Super Bowl.

**********************************************************

Tuesday’s Den: Trends for American League teams

Orioles
— Baltimore is 4-10 at home, scoring more than 4 runs in only two games.
— Orioles scored 5+ runs in seven of their 15 road games (10-5)
— Orioles are 10-8 vs righty starters, 4-7 vs southpaws.

Red Sox
— Boston is 14-1 when it scores 4+ runs, 3-11 when they do not.
— Red Sox are 7-3 vs lefty starters, 10-9 vs righties.
— Boston is 5-2 in one-run games.

White Sox
— If you like to bet first 5 innings props, you probably know the White Sox are 18-4-5 in the first five innings so far this season.
— Problem is, they’re 15-12 in the standings; they’ve been poor in the late innings.
— Chicago is 11-0 when it scores 5+ runs, 4-12 when it doesn’t.

Indians: In Monday’s game, these hitters started for Cleveland

— Leadoff hitter, batting .194
— #2 hitter, hitting .200
— #8 hitter, batting .136
— #9 hitter, batting .152

Indians are 13-1 when they score 4+ runs, 1-12 when they do not.

Tigers
— Detroit scored 3 or fewer runs in 19 of their first 29 games.
— Tigers led after five innings once in their last 17 games.
— They’ve scored 24 fewer runs than any other American League team.

Astros
— Houston is 6-0 at home if they score 5+ runs, 1-7 if they don’t.
— Astros are 13-7 vs division rivals, 2-6 vs everyone else.
— Houston is 3-5 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

Royals
— Kansas City is 6-1 in one-run games.
— Royals’ last five games went over the total.
— Kansas City is 4-1 in 2nd game of a series, if they lost the opener.

Angels
— Halos are 10-1 if they score 5+ runs, 3-13 if they don’t.
— Angels are 6-9 vs AL West rivals, 7-5 vs everyone else.
— Angels are 12-10 vs righty starters, 1-4 vs lefties.

Twins
— Minnesota is 4-1 in home series openers, 1-4 in road series openers.
— Twins’ last six games went over the total.
— Minnesota is 7-2 if it scores 6+ runs, 4-14 if they don’t.

New York
— New York is 10-1 when they score 5+ runs, 4-13 when they do not.
— New York is 3-5 in games when winning run scores from 7th inning on.
— Six of their last seven road games stayed under the total.

A’s
— A’s are 8-3 vs lefty starters, 10-9 vs righties.
— Oakland is 7-0 in games when winning run scores from 7th inning on.
— Six of their last seven road games stayed under the total.

Mariners
— Seattle is 7-4 in one-run games, 3-0 in extra innings.
— Mariners are 7-2 at home if they score 4+ runs, 1-5 if they don’t.
— Seattle is 4-2 in home series openers.

Rays
— Rays are 8-5 on the road, 7-10 at home.
— Tampa Bay went 4-6 on its last homestand; they led one game after five innings.
— Under is 7-3 in their last ten games.

Rangers
— Texas is 2-8 in series openers.
— Rangers are 10-3 if they score 5+ runs, 3-14 if they don’t.
— Under is 12-4 in their home games.

Blue Jays
— Toronto won six of its last seven home games (in Florida).
— Blue Jays are 8-3 at home, 6-10 on the road.
— Toronto is 1-4 in second game of a series, if they won the opener.

 

[Udog]

59BOSTON -60 NEW JERSEY
NEW JERSEY is 5-19 ATS (-14.3 Units) in home games against mistake free teams - opponents average <=4 power plays/game in the current season.

61CHICAGO -62 CAROLINA
CAROLINA is 14-3 ATS (10.8 Units) in home games against excellent power play teams- scoring on >17.5% of their chances in the current season.

63PITTSBURGH -64 PHILADELPHIA
PITTSBURGH is 10-1 ATS (8.9 Units) in road games revenging a loss where team scored 1 or less goals over the last 2 seasons.

65NY ISLANDERS -66 BUFFALO
NY ISLANDERS are 10-0 ATS (10 Units) when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 25% to 40%) in the current season.

67EDMONTON -68 VANCOUVER
VANCOUVER is 5-0 ATS (9.3 Units) in home games against good teams - outscoring their opponents by 0.3+ goals/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.




NHL
Dunkel

Tuesday, May 4

NHL

Tuesday, May 4

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Trend Report
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NY Islanders @ Buffalo
NY Islanders
NY Islanders is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing Buffalo
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Islanders's last 6 games when playing on the road against Buffalo
Buffalo
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Buffalo's last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Buffalo's last 6 games when playing at home against NY Islanders

Chicago @ Carolina
Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games when playing Carolina
Carolina
Carolina is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Carolina is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Chicago

Boston @ New Jersey
Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Boston's last 8 games when playing New Jersey
Boston is 10-2 SU in its last 12 games
New Jersey
New Jersey is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of New Jersey's last 8 games when playing Boston

Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Pittsburgh's last 8 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
Philadelphia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh

Edmonton @ Vancouver
Edmonton
Edmonton is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
Edmonton is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Vancouver
Vancouver is 11-5 ATS in its last 16 games when playing Edmonton
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vancouver's last 6 games when playing Edmonton


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[Udog]

Wednesday’s 6-pack
Odds to win the PGA Championship, later this month:
+1225— Justin Thomas
+1350— Jon Rahm
+1400— Dustin Johnson
+1600— Bryson DeChambeau
+1800— Jordan Spieth
+1900— Xavier Schauffele

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 577,651
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“As times keep going on, the game stays the same. I mean, the game has been the same since the Civil War. When it’s game time, when it’s my turn to hit in the box, it’s not Luis, its not Chili, it’s not the analytic department that’s in the box hitting. It’s Pete Alonso. It’s me. And that’s the same thing with every single one of those guys in the clubhouse.”
Pete Alonso, on the Mets changing hitting coaches

Wednesday’s quiz
Actor Burgess Meredith played Mick, the boxing trainer in Rocky; which villain did he play in the old Batman TV series?

Tuesday’s quiz
In the great TV show The Odd Couple, Felix Unger was a photographer (portraits a specialty)

Monday’s quiz
When Larry Bird/Magic Johnson played in the national title game in 1979 with Indiana State, Michigan State, DePaul/Pennsylvania were the other two teams in the Final Four that year. A team from the Ivy League made the Final Four.

**********************************************

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….

13) Giants 12-6, Rockies 4-8:
— Brandon Belt had five RBI in the first inning of the opener.
— Rockies scored six runs in the 7th inning of the nightcap.
— Charlie Blackmon hit a walk-off homer to get Colorado the split.

Think about it; it ain’t easy to get five RBI in one inning.

12) Cubs 7-4, Dodgers 1-3:
— Clayton Kershaw threw 39 pitches, got only three outs in the opener.
— Cubs won nightcap despite going 2-20 with men in scoring position.
— David Bote got the walk-off hit to give Chicago a sweep.

11) Kris Bryant is a third baseman, but he is versatile; this was the 12th game in a row that Bryant played in the outfield, instead of 3B- he also played some at 1B. Going to be really interesting to see if the Cubs trade Bryant this summer, and if so, to whom?

10) Mets fired their two hitting coaches; I had no idea there is also this analytical approach to hitting, where you just try to hit homers all the time, and pull the ball.

Chili Davis, the hitting coach who got fired, is an old-school coach who preached hitting line drives and spraying the ball. That isn’t what the Mets want, though, so a change was made.

Hope the new hitting coaches can fix Dom Smith; he is hitting .222 so far, and isn’t looking like the guy who hit .316 LY, sparking my fantasy team to an unexpectedly good season.

9) This was the first NFL Draft in 80 years where no Michigan State players were taken.

8) Last weekend, the Jets drafted two guys named Michael Carter:
— a North Carolina RB
— a Duke DB

When they turned in the card for the first Michael Carter they drafted, they originally thought they turned in the wrong card, but it wasn’t and they wound up with both of them anyway.

7) Denver Broncos RT Ja’Wuan James tore his achilles while working out on his own, which may turn out to be a very expensive injury.

Had the injury happened at the Broncos’ facility, the team would’ve been on the hook for the $10M he was supposed to be paid this season. But he was working out on his own, so the team isn’t obligated to pay him this season— he also opted out last year because of COVID.

6) Cubs’ 2B Javier Baez has struck out 40 times this season; 27 of the 40 third strikes were out of the strike zone— he has a tendency to chase pitches when behind in the count.

5) Dodgers lost P Dustin May for the season; he needs Tommy John surgery (elbow)

4) Jacob deGrom was scratched from his start last night because of “right lat inflammation”; he didn’t go on the IL yet. He has an 0.51 ERA in his first five starts.

Christian Yelich (back) went back on the IL again, after one day off the IL.

3) I read on the Interweb yesterday that dogs don’t like salt, which may explain why you never see them eating popcorn.

2) CC Sabathia is retired from baseball, but now his wife has become a player agent.

1) If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
— NL: Phillies, Cardinals, Giants, Wild Card: LA or SD @ Milwaukee
— AL: Red Sox, CWS/KC, A’s. Wild Card: Seattle @ CWS or Kansas City

 

[Udog]

1NASHVILLE -2 COLUMBUS
NASHVILLE is 14-1 ATS (14 Units) when playing against a bad team (Win Pct. 25% to 40%) in the current season.

5WASHINGTON -6 NY RANGERS
WASHINGTON is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) off a road win by 2 goals or more in the current season.

7DALLAS -8 TAMPA BAY
DALLAS are 8-26 ATS (-21.5 Units) against good offensive teams - >=29 shots on goal, convert >=17% pp in the current season.

9ANAHEIM -10 ST LOUIS
ST LOUIS are 4-10 ATS (-14.8 Units) in home games vs. losing teams in the current season.

11VEGAS -12 MINNESOTA
VEGAS are 10-1 ATS (8.9 Units) off a road loss against a division rival over the last 2 seasons.

13WINNIPEG -14 CALGARY
CALGARY is 1-8 ATS (-7.8 Units) when playing against a marginal winning team (Win Pct. 51% to 60%) in the current season.

15LOS ANGELES -16 ARIZONA
ARIZONA is 7-0 ATS (7 Units) off 2 or more consecutive home losses over the last 2 seasons.

17COLORADO -18 SAN JOSE
SAN JOSE is 4-20 ATS (-14 Units) against explosive offensive teams - scoring 3+ goals/game in the current season.

79MONTREAL -80 OTTAWA
MONTREAL is 1-12 ATS (-12.2 Units) after successfully covering the spread in 3 or more consecutive games in the last 3 seasons.

 

[Udog]

NHL
Dunkel

Wednesday, May 5

 

[Udog]

NHL

Wednesday, May 5

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Trend Report
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Washington @ NY Rangers
Washington
Washington is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Washington's last 7 games on the road
NY Rangers
NY Rangers is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Washington
NY Rangers is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Washington

Nashville @ Columbus
Nashville
Nashville is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Columbus
Nashville is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Columbus's last 7 games at home
Columbus is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games at home

Dallas @ Tampa Bay
Dallas
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Dallas's last 7 games when playing Tampa Bay
Dallas is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Dallas
Tampa Bay is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games

Montreal @ Ottawa
Montreal
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Montreal's last 13 games when playing Ottawa
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Montreal's last 6 games when playing on the road against Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Ottawa is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games

Vegas @ Minnesota
Vegas
Vegas is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games
Vegas is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Vegas
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Vegas

Anaheim @ St. Louis
Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 5 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 5 games on the road
St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis's last 5 games when playing at home against Anaheim
St. Louis is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games

Winnipeg @ Calgary
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Calgary
Winnipeg is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is 15-6 SU in its last 21 games when playing at home against Winnipeg
Calgary is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games

Colorado @ San Jose
Colorado
Colorado is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing San Jose
Colorado is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games
San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Jose's last 7 games
San Jose is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games

Los Angeles @ Arizona
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Arizona
Los Angeles is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Arizona
Arizona
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Arizona's last 7 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Arizona's last 6 games when playing at home against Los Angeles


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[Udog]

Thursday’s 6-pack
NBA scoring leaders:
31.5— Curry, GState
30.9— Beal, Wash
29.0— Embiid, Phil
28.5— Doncic, Dal
28.5— Antetokounmpo, Milw
28.4— Lillard, Port

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 578,524
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“Yeah, right now it doesn’t matter at all to be honest with you. I was just happy I made a good pitch, I was struggling with the curveball recently, so I was just happy I got it over and got a swing and miss on it, so that is all I was happy about. I was just trying to keep my cool with him on first base. I’m glad Sevy (catcher Pedro Severino) made up for it by getting him out at second.”
Orioles P John Means, who threw a no-hitter Wednesday

Thursday’s quiz
Who was the last Baltimore Orioles pitcher to throw a complete game no-hitter?

Wednesday’s quiz
Actor Burgess Meredith played Mick, the boxing trainer in Rocky; he played The Penguin in the old Batman TV series.

Tuesday’s quiz
In the great TV show The Odd Couple, Felix Unger was a photographer (portraits a specialty)

*************************************************************

Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud…….

13) Orioles 6, Seattle 0:
— John Means threw MLB’s third no-hitter this season.
— Only baserunner reached on a wild pitch after a strikeout
— That is the only time in MLB history the only runner to reach in a no-hitter got on base via a wild pitch after a strikeout.
— Three no-hitters this year; there were no walks, but no perfect games.
— This was Baltimore’s first complete game no-hitter since 1969.

12) Indians 5, Royals 4:
— Cleveland is in a 3-way toe for first in AL Central
— Indians are 16-13, but they’re 8-17-4 in first 5-inning wagers; Terry Francona is a very good manager, plus they’ve played very well in late innings.

11) Early candidate for Bad Beat of the Year: Cavaliers (+12.5) lost 134-118 to Phoenix Tuesday, in overtime. Getting 12.5 points, they lost by freakin’ 16 in OT!!! No bueno.

10) Baseball’s new rules have created new situations, ones that the best managers aren’t used to. It turns out that Tony LaRussa didn’t know the new extra inning rules.

Wednesday afternoon, scoreless game in 10th inning in Cincinnati, LaRussa’s White Sox start the 10th inning with closer Liam Hendriks on second base— a pinch-hitter made the last four of the ninth inning for Chicago. Guy who makes the last out is the runner next inning.

Except for one scenario, if that runner would be the pitcher, then the manager can choose the guy bats before the pitcher to be the runner, but LaRussa didn’t know that. Now he does.

Hendriks, by the way, has batted three times in his 11-year career, going 0-2 with a walk— that walk happened six years ago.

9) This game was only fourth time in 18+ years that a game at Great American Ballpark was 0-0 after nine innings.

8) Phillies 5, Brewers 4:
— Game was 5-0 Phillies before they made an out.
— After it was 5-0, Freddy Peralta struck out the next six batters, and only allowed two more runners to reach base in four IP, but the damage had been done.

7) So far this season, Jose Altuve is batting .247; not good.
— He is 16-41 (.390) vs lefties.
— He is 3-36 (.083) vs righty pitchers.

6) Toronto Blue Jays will go back to playing home games in Buffalo June 1st; they’ve been playing home games in Dunedin, FL, at their spring training home. Hopefully before too much longer, they go back home to Toronto.

5) Cubs 6, Dodgers 5 (11)— Anthony Rizzo hit a walk-off single in a game he didn’t start; Cubs sweep LA, which has now lost 13 of its last 17 games.

4) Strange situation in the Mets-Cardinals game Wednesday; St Louis sent the interpreter to the mound so pitcher Kwang Hung Kim could confer with his infielders about who was covering which base. Problem is, that’s against the rules— interpreters can’t go on the field without a coach or manager.

Shortly after that, when pitching coach Mike Maddux tried to go to the mound to talk to Kim, there was a lengthy conference with the umpires, since no one seemed to know if the interpreter’s first visit counted as an official mound visit.

3) In his first 90 career at-bats against the Mets, St Louis SS Paul DeJong has 11 doubles, 10 homers and the incredibly high slugging percentage of .822.

2) Kyrie Irving got fined $35,000 by the NBA for repeatedly violating league rules regarding media access.

Really? This guy can just give away money like that?

Can someone please show him some Bill Belichick tapes, or let him watch Bull Durham, when Crash Davis lectures the rookie pitcher on how to use cliches in interviews. It is possible to talk without saying anything, politicians do it every day.

Just be boring, relentlessly boring, but don’t give your damn money away.

I know he is really, really rich (he makes $31M a year, has already banked around $157M in his career), but the money would be better served going to charity. Actually, I think fine money does go to charity, but it still makes no sense.

1) Tuesday night in Cincinnati, Dylan Cease threw six shutout innings for the White Sox, and also had three hits in Chicago’s 9-0 win.

He is the first AL starting pitcher to throw 6+ shutout innings, striking out at 10+ hitters and giving up fewer than three hits, while also getting three hits himself, since Catfish Hunter threw a perfect game for the A’s on May 8, 1968.

From the great researcher Christopher Kamka: Cease is the first White Sox pitcher with 3 hits through the 5th inning of a game since Don Larsen in 1961 at Washington.

Yes, that Don Larsen, the guy who threw a perfect game in the World Series.

 

[Udog]

21NEW JERSEY -22 NY ISLANDERS
NY ISLANDERS are 7-0 ATS (7 Units) in home games after failing to cover 2 of their last 3 against the spread in the current season.

23NY RANGERS -24 BOSTON
BOSTON is 247-188 ATS (-70.8 Units) in home games vs. losing teams since 1996.

25BUFFALO -26 PITTSBURGH
PITTSBURGH is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in home games revenging a loss versus opponent as a favorite in the current season.

27CHICAGO -28 CAROLINA
CHICAGO is 0-11 ATS (-11.1 Units) in road games against good offensive teams - averaging 29.5+ shots on goal per game in the current season.

81MONTREAL -82 TORONTO
MONTREAL is 19-25 ATS (-15.7 Units) against mistake free teams - opponents average <=4 power plays/game in the current season.

83VANCOUVER -84 EDMONTON
EDMONTON is 25-5 ATS (19 Units) against poor defensive teams - opponents average 29.5+ shots on goal in the current season.




NHL
Dunkel

Thursday, May 6

NHL

Thursday, May 6

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Trend Report
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NY Rangers @ Boston
NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of NY Rangers's last 8 games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of NY Rangers's last 7 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston
Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

New Jersey @ NY Islanders
New Jersey
New Jersey is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Jersey's last 6 games when playing NY Islanders
NY Islanders
NY Islanders is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing New Jersey
NY Islanders is 12-2 SU in its last 14 games when playing at home against New Jersey

Buffalo @ Pittsburgh
Buffalo
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Buffalo's last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Buffalo's last 5 games on the road
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Buffalo
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home

Chicago @ Carolina
Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 7 games when playing Carolina
Carolina
Carolina is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Carolina is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

Montreal @ Toronto
Montreal
Montreal is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Toronto
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Montreal's last 5 games on the road
Toronto
Toronto is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Toronto is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games

Vancouver @ Edmonton
Vancouver
Vancouver is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Edmonton
Vancouver is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Vancouver
Edmonton is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Udog]

Friday’s 6-pack
NBA rebounding leaders:
14.4— Clint Capela, Atl
13.4— Rudy Gobert, Utah
12.3— Jonas Valanciunas, Mem
11.9—Domantas Sabonis, Ind
11.5— Nikola Vucevic, Chi
11.3— Russell Westbrook, Wash

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 579,358
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“I’m guessing you know the rules better. Now I know.”
Tony LaRussa, to a reporter in Chicago, talking about the new extra inning rules.

Friday’s quiz
Who was manager of the Cincinnati Reds, last time they won a World Series?

Thursday’s quiz
Jim Palmer was last Baltimore Orioles pitcher to throw a complete game no-hitter, in 1969.

Wednesday’s quiz
Actor Burgess Meredith played Mick, the boxing trainer in Rocky; he played The Penguin in the old Batman TV series.

*************************

Friday’s Den: Trends for National League teams

Arizona:
— Arizona is 14-5 if they score 5+ runs, 1-11 if they don’t.
— Diamondbacks are 2-5 vs lefty starters, 13-11 vs righties.
— Arizona is 1-4 in one-run games.

Atlanta:
— Braves are 7-4 on road if they score 3+ runs.
— Over is 8-2 in their last ten home games.
— Under is 11-6 in their road games.

Chicago:
— Cubs won seven of their last nine home games.
— Cubs are 7-1 vs lefty starters, 8-15 vs righties.
— 7 of their last 8 games went over the total.

Cincinnati:
— Reds are 7-2 in games where winning run scores from 7th inning on.
— Over is 12-3-2 in their home games.
— Reds are 6-11 in day games, 8-4 in night games.

Colorado:
— Rockies won six of their last eight home games.
— Last five games at Coors Field went over the total.
— Over is 7-1 in Colorado’s last eight road games.

Los Angeles:
— Dodgers lost 13 of their last 17 games.
— LA is 4-11 on the road if they score fewer than six runs.
— Over is 11-2 in their last thirteen games.

Miami:
— Marlins are 2-7 in one-run games.
— Miami is 10-2 if they score 5+ runs, 4-14 if they don’t.
— Marlins won six of their last eight home games.

Milwaukee:
— Brewers lost their last five games.
— Milwaukee is 3-8 at home if they score less than six runs.
— Under is 11-5 in their road games.

New York:
— Mets are 11-2 if they score 4+ runs, 2-11 if they do not.
— Under is 8-1-1 in their home games.
— Mets are 5-2 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

Philadelphia:
— Phillies are 13-6 at home, 4-9 on the road.
— Over is 11-5 in their last 16 home games.
— Phillies scored in first inning in 4 of their last 5 games.

Pittsburgh:
— Pirates scored 3 or fewer runs in 10 of their 17 road games.
— Pirates are 4-1 in one-run games.
— Under is 7-1-1 in their last nine road games.

St Louis:
— Cardinals are 15-2 if they score 4+ runs, 3-12 if they don’t.
— Under is 7-2-1 in their last ten home games.
— Cardinals are 7-3 in series openers.

San Diego:
— Padres won five of their last seven games.
— Under is 9-2 in their last eleven games.
— San Diego is 7-3 in games where winning run scores from 7th inning on.

San Francisco:
— Giants lost five of their last seven road games.
— Giants are 10-1 at home if they score 3+ runs.
— San Francisco’s last five games went over the total.

Washington:
— Nationals scored 3 or fewer runs in 15 of their first 27 games.
— Washington is 3-6 in series openers.
— Under is 10-2 in their last dozen home games.

 

[Udog]

31DETROIT -32 COLUMBUS
DETROIT is 3-25 ATS (-19.6 Units) in road games against terrible defensive teams - allowing 3+ goals/game over the last 2 seasons.

33PHILADELPHIA -34 WASHINGTON
PHILADELPHIA is 8-1 ATS (6.9 Units) after failing to cover 4 of their last 5 against the spread in the current season.

37DALLAS -38 TAMPA BAY
DALLAS are 8-27 ATS (-22.5 Units) against good offensive teams - >=29 shots on goal, convert >=17% pp in the current season.

39ANAHEIM -40 MINNESOTA
MINNESOTA is 8-0 ATS (8 Units) in home games when playing 6 or more games in 10 days in the current season.

45ST LOUIS -46 VEGAS
VEGAS are 23-4 ATS (16 Units) against poor defensive teams - allowing 2.85+ goals/game in the current season.

47COLORADO -48 LOS ANGELES
LOS ANGELES are 7-2 ATS (4.8 Units) after scoring 3 goals or more in 2 straight games in the current season.

49ARIZONA -50 SAN JOSE
ARIZONA is 1-7 ATS (-8.5 Units) against poor teams - outscored by their opponents by 0.3+ goals/game - 2nd half of the season over the last 2 seasons.

 

[Udog]

NHL
Dunkel

Friday, May 7

 

[Udog]

NHL

Friday, May 7

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Philadelphia @ Washington
Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Philadelphia's last 7 games when playing on the road against Washington
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 6 games
Washington
Washington is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Philadelphia
Washington is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Philadelphia

Detroit @ Columbus
Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing Columbus
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games
Columbus
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Columbus's last 5 games when playing Detroit
Columbus is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Detroit

Dallas @ Tampa Bay
Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 6 games
Dallas is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Dallas
Tampa Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games

Anaheim @ Minnesota
Anaheim
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Anaheim's last 5 games on the road
Anaheim is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games when playing at home against Anaheim
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Anaheim

Colorado @ Los Angeles
Colorado
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Colorado's last 7 games when playing Los Angeles
Colorado is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games
Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Los Angeles's last 7 games when playing Colorado
Los Angeles is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Colorado

St. Louis @ Vegas
St. Louis
St. Louis is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
St. Louis is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Vegas
Vegas
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Vegas is 12-2 SU in its last 14 games

Arizona @ San Jose
Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Arizona's last 7 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Arizona's last 5 games on the road
San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 6 of San Jose's last 7 games when playing Arizona
San Jose is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Udog]

Saturday’s 6-pack
Leaders in runs scored:
29— Ronald Acuna, Atl
28— JD Martinez, Bos
27— Mark Canha, A’s
26— Bo Bichette, Tor
25— Chris Taylor, LA
23— Castellanos, Bryant, Guerrero, Hoskins, Solak

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 580,076
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”
Mr Carlson, WKRP in Cincinnati

Saturday’s quiz
Where did Russell Westbrook play his college basketball?

Friday’s quiz
Lou Piniella was manager of the Cincinnati Reds, last time they won a World Series.

Thursday’s quiz
Jim Palmer was last Baltimore Orioles pitcher to throw a complete game no-hitter, in 1969.

**************************************************

Saturday’s Den: Random stuff with weekend here…….

13) Reds 3, Indians 0:
— Wade Miley throws the 4th (9-inning) no-hitter of the season.
— Reds scored 3 runs in ninth to break a scoreless tie.
— Last time there were four no-hitters by May 7? Try 1917.

12) Phillies 12, Braves 2— Philly scored six runs in first inning, with Rhys Hoskins scoring one of them, even though he struck out twice in the inning. You don’t see that a lot.

11) Going into Friday night’s games, teams that led by 3+ runs after 8th inning were 223-2.

10) Washington Wizards’ Russell Westbrook is 6th in the NBA in rebounding; he is also a 6-3 guard. Let that sink in; a 6-3 guard is 6th in the league in rebounding, while also scoring 21.8 ppg and dishing out 11.4 assists a game.

9) Westbrook’s old team, the Houston Rockets, have now used 28 players this season, tying the all-time record. Rockets are 16-51, not sure their management has a clue what they’re doing.

8) From 2015-2019, only 5% of extra-inning games ended in the 10th inning.

With the new extra inning rules LY, 92% of games ended in either 10 or 11 innings.

7) Giants 5, Padres 4— Padres traded for Blake Snell last winter, but they have a problem with him— he never pitches six innings. Your best pitchers have to eat up innings, to take the strain off your bullpen. Snell has thrown 30.1 innings in seven starts this season- he threw 95 pitches in 4.2 innings in this game. That’s not good enough.

6) Washington’s Kyle Finnegan threw the 102nd immaculate inning in MLB history this week; he struck out three Braves on nine pitches in 6th inning of the Nationals’ 5-3 loss to Atlanta.

5) Random trivia: From 1959-62, there were two baseball All-Star Games per year. The second game was used to raise funds for things like the players’ pension fund.

4) Some significant names went on the IL Friday:
— Cobs OF Ian Happ (ribs)
— Reds 1B Joey Votto (thumb)
— Tigers C Wilson Ramos (back)
— Blue Jays IF Joe Panik (calf)
— Twins OF Byron Buxton (hip)
— Red Sox IF Keke Hernandez (hamstring)
— Giants OF Alex Dickerson (shoulder)

3) Buffalo Bulls of the MAC hired Maurice Linguist as their new football coach, replacing Lance Leipold, who moved on to be the new coach at Kansas.

Linguist had been an assistant coach at Michigan, on the defensive side of the ball.

2) Interesting situation in Anaheim this week, with Angels DFA’ing Albert Pujols, who obviously doesn’t want to retire. Angels don’t want to play him anymore; they want to play Jared Walsh at 1B, Shohei Ohtani at DH. The question becomes; is there a team that wants Pujols?

If the National League had the DH, this might be simpler; Pujols has 667 homers; would a year or two as a DH get him to 700?

1) Early candidate for Bad Beat of the Year: Cavaliers (+12.5) lost by 16 to the Suns the other night, but the loss was in overtime. You’re +12.5 and the game goes to OT, you figure you’re a winner, but not this time. Gambling is hard.

 

[Udog]

51TAMPA BAY -52 FLORIDA
FLORIDA is 10-0 ATS (10 Units) after allowing 3 goals or more 3 straight games in the current season.

53PHILADELPHIA -54 WASHINGTON
PHILADELPHIA is 7-13 ATS (-10.6 Units) against poor defensive teams - allowing 2.85+ goals/game in the current season.

55MONTREAL -56 TORONTO
MONTREAL is 19-27 ATS (-18.1 Units) against mistake free teams - opponents average <=4 power plays/game in the current season.

57DETROIT -58 COLUMBUS
DETROIT is 3-25 ATS (-19.6 Units) in road games against terrible defensive teams - allowing 3+ goals/game over the last 2 seasons.

59NY RANGERS -60 BOSTON
NY RANGERS are 17-12 ATS (3.8 Units) in road games on Saturday games in the last 3 seasons.

61BUFFALO -62 PITTSBURGH
PITTSBURGH is 16-1 ATS (14.9 Units) in home games after allowing 3 goals or more 2 straight games over the last 2 seasons.

63NEW JERSEY -64 NY ISLANDERS
NY ISLANDERS are 1-6 ATS (-10 Units) against poor defensive teams - allowing 2.85+ goals/game - 2nd half of the season in the current season.

65OTTAWA -66 WINNIPEG
OTTAWA is 2-21 ATS (-21.1 Units) off a win by 2 goals or more over a division rival in the last 3 seasons.

67ANAHEIM -68 MINNESOTA
ANAHEIM is 8-3 ATS (10.2 Units) in road games against poor power play killing teams - opp score on >17.5% of chances in the current season.

69CAROLINA -70 NASHVILLE
CAROLINA is 15-6 ATS (9.5 Units) vs. winning teams in the current season.

 

[Udog]

NHL

Saturday, May 8

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NY Rangers @ Boston
NY Rangers
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of NY Rangers's last 9 games when playing Boston
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of NY Rangers's last 8 games when playing on the road against Boston
Boston
Boston is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games at home
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

Buffalo @ Pittsburgh
Buffalo
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Buffalo's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Buffalo's last 6 games on the road
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing Buffalo
Pittsburgh is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home

Tampa Bay @ Florida
Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Tampa Bay's last 8 games when playing on the road against Florida
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games when playing Florida
Florida
Florida is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Florida's last 8 games when playing at home against Tampa Bay

New Jersey @ NY Islanders
New Jersey
New Jersey is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New Jersey's last 7 games when playing on the road against NY Islanders
NY Islanders
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of NY Islanders's last 7 games when playing New Jersey
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of NY Islanders's last 7 games when playing at home against New Jersey

Philadelphia @ Washington
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
Philadelphia is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
Washington
Washington is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Philadelphia
Washington is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Philadelphia

Detroit @ Columbus
Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Detroit's last 8 games when playing Columbus
Detroit is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Columbus's last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Columbus's last 8 games when playing Detroit

Montreal @ Toronto
Montreal
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Montreal's last 6 games on the road
Montreal is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Toronto is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games

Ottawa @ Winnipeg
Ottawa
Ottawa is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Winnipeg
Ottawa is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Ottawa
Winnipeg is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Ottawa

Anaheim @ Minnesota
Anaheim
Anaheim is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Anaheim's last 8 games when playing on the road against Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Anaheim
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Minnesota's last 8 games

Carolina @ Nashville
Carolina
Carolina is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Nashville
Carolina is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Nashville
Nashville
Nashville is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
Nashville is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games

Colorado @ Los Angeles
Colorado
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Colorado's last 8 games when playing Los Angeles
Colorado is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Los Angeles
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Colorado
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Los Angeles's last 8 games when playing Colorado

St. Louis @ Vegas
St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 5 of St. Louis's last 5 games when playing on the road against Vegas
St. Louis is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
Vegas
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Vegas's last 5 games when playing at home against St. Louis
Vegas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

Vancouver @ Edmonton
Vancouver
Vancouver is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against Edmonton
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing on the road against Edmonton
Edmonton
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Edmonton's last 5 games when playing at home against Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Edmonton's last 17 games

Arizona @ San Jose
Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Arizona's last 8 games when playing San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Arizona's last 6 games on the road
San Jose
The total has gone OVER in 7 of San Jose's last 8 games when playing Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Jose's last 6 games at home


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Udog]

NHL
Dunkel

Saturday, May 8

 

[Udog]

Sunday’s 6-pack
Leaders in RBI:
31— JD Martinez, Bos
28— Randal Grichuk, Tor
27— Trey Mancini, Balt
26— Shohei Ohtani, LAA
25— Baez, Aguilar, Devers, Walsh, YGurriel, Lowe
24— Haniger

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 580,076
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“He really believes — and if he believes I believe — he’s got game left. I’ll be very interested to see if a club sees the fit because they’ll get a very determined Albert.”
Tony La Russa, talking about Albert Pujols

Sunday’s quiz
A’s moved from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968; where did they call home, before they played in Kansas City?

Saturday’s quiz
Russell Westbrook played his college basketball at UCLA.

Friday’s quiz
Lou Piniella was manager of the Cincinnati Reds, last time they won a World Series.

**************************

Sunday’s Den: Random stuff about baseball……..

— Dodgers 14, Angels 11:
Dodgers led 13-0 in the top of the 6th; after seven innings, it was 14-11, but the Angels didn’t get a baserunner in the last two innings, as they fall to 14-18.

— No major league team has ever won a game after trailing by 13+ runs; three teams have won after trailing by 12 runs— those games were in 1911, 1925, and 2001, a Mariners-Indians game in Cleveland.

— Speaking of Cleveland, there have been five no-hitters already this season; Zach Plesac of the Indians was the losing pitcher in two of them.

— To me, the 7-inning no-hitter thrown by Madison Bumgarner counts, since the game was scheduled for seven innings, and he didn’t allow any hits. Put an asterisk next to it in the record book, but its a freakin’ no-hitter.

— Dodgers lost seven of their last nine games; they scored 16-14 runs in the two wins.

— Saturday was May 8th, the 53rd anniversary of the perfect game Catfish Hunter threw in Oakland, the A’s first season there. I was 8 years old back then, in third grade; remember waking up the next morning and seeing a note about the perfect game next to my lunch.

My third grade teacher was probably confused as to why this skinny kid with glasses was babbling about a baseball game 3,000 miles away all day long.

— The perfect game was against Minnesota; Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Harmon Killebrew. Some good bats in that lineup. He struck out 11 guys in a game that was scoreless after six innings; Catfish also drove in three of Oakland’s four runs that night. The DH was still five years away.

— Crowd was 6,298 that night; some things never change.

— Rick Monday was the A’s CF that night; 53 years later, he is the Dodgers’ radio announcer.

— You may wonder how I became an A’s fan; or maybe you don’t wonder why, but I’m going to explain it anyway.

I got baseball cards as gifts when I was a kid; I loved baseball cards, and I’d read all of them, front and back. Rookie cards had four prospects from the same team on them; their minor league stats were on the back.

Growing up in upstate New York, 15o miles north of New York City, there weren’t many fans of out-of-town teams here back then. No internet, no ESPN, just newspapers and once a week, the Sporting News.

When I was five, I’m reading thru my baseball cards, and one card had four guys on it, but one of the guys didn’t have any minor league stats on the back— he had been shot in a hunting accident and never played minor league ball. They also spelled his name wrong on the card.

Walked into the living room and announced to my dad, “This guy is my favorite player, and this is my favorite team” Jim Hunter of the Kansas City A’s; what were the odds that this guy with no minor league stats would become a Hall of Famer?

At that point, my dad just looked at me like, “You’re a weird kid” He had grown up in Brooklyn, was a huge Brooklyn Dodger fan and then had converted to the Mets. I learned very early never to mention the Los Angeles Dodgers; he wasn’t fond of the O’Malley family, who had bolted out of Brooklyn with the Dodgers, taking them west.

So anyway, baseball has always been a big part of my life; with that in mind, here are some ideas I have about baseball’s future.

— Geographic realignment: Baseball needs more rivalry games, so we re-align geographically.

— Expansion— To make up the money baseball lost last year, they’re going to add two teams, lets say Nashville and Montreal. Eight teams in a division, four divisions.

Division A: both New York teams, Red Sox, Phillies, Orioles, Nationals, Montreal, Toronto

Division B: both Chicago teams, Reds, Indians, Tigers, Brewers, Twins, Pirates

Division C: Braves, Astros, Royals, Marlins, Nashville, Cardinals, Rays, Rangers

Division D: Diamondbacks, Rockies, Mariners and the five California teams.

— Travel costs would be less, attendance would go up because of more rivalry games

— They could have two All-Star games, pitting the four divisions against each other. More TV money, that usually makes the owners say yes to an idea.

— As far as changes to the actual rules:
a) get rid of 7-inning doubleheaders. Bad idea.

b) I’ve softened on the extra inning rule; I don’t care either way, as long as the players like it. My preference would be back to the old way of extra innings, but either way would be fine.
c) Universal DH for everyone is a must. No one wants to see pitchers bat.
d) Ban shifts; two infielders on each side of the infield.
e) All four infielders should be on the infield dirt, not in the outfield.

This would create more line drive hits, more action. Action is a good thing.

— I’d suggest a salary cap, but I don’t want to get too crazy. Have a nice day.

 

[Udog]

1DALLAS -2 CHICAGO
DALLAS are 9-27 ATS (-21.4 Units) against good offensive teams - >=29 shots on goal, convert >=17% pp in the current season.

9OTTAWA -10 CALGARY
CALGARY is 6-14 ATS (-13.9 Units) against terrible defensive teams - allowing 3+ goals/game in the current season.




NHL
Dunkel

Sunday, May 9

NHL

Sunday, May 9

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dallas @ Chicago
Dallas
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing on the road against Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Dallas's last 5 games when playing Chicago
Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Chicago's last 8 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 6 games

Ottawa @ Calgary
Ottawa
Ottawa is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Ottawa is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
Calgary
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Calgary's last 5 games
Calgary is 11-5 SU in its last 16 games when playing at home against Ottawa


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Udog]

Monday’s 6-pack
Leaders in OPS (on-base %age plus slugging %age):
1.021— Mike Trout, LAA
1.075— JD Martinez, Bos
1.047— Kris Bryant, Cubs
1.044— Jesse Winker, Cin
1.040— Ronald Acuna, Atl
1.033— Yordan Ventura, Hst

Americans who have died from COVID-19: 580,076
PLEASE wear a mask (over your nose/mouth) when you go out.

Quote of the Day
“It’s tough to get over the line, especially if you haven’t done it in a while. It’s such a funny week, knowing my game was pretty good and then having my neck lock up on the range and sitting here Sunday night with the trophy. Just glad I got through it.’’
Rory McIlroy, who won his first PGA Tour event in 18 months this weekend

Monday’s quiz
Which NBA team has gone the longest since they last made the playoffs?

Sunday’s quiz
A’s moved from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968; before they played in Kansas City, they played in Philadelphia, moving to KC in 1955.

Saturday’s quiz
Russell Westbrook played his college basketball at UCLA.

***************************

Monday’s Den: Thinking about no-hitters, and other stuff

There have been five no-hitters this season, which is a lot for May 10:

1) April 9: Joe Musgrove 3-0 @ Texas
— He threw 112 pitches, didn’t walk anyone, struck out 10.
— He got 15 whiffs on 53 swings
— Since then, he is 0-4, 5.63 in five starts.

2) April 14: Carlos Rodon 8-0 vs Cleveland
— He threw 114 pitches, didn’t walk anyone, struck out 7.
— He got 19 whiffs on 53 swings
— Since then, 3-0, 1.59 in three starts.

3) April 25: Madison Bumgarner 7-0 @ Atlanta
— This was a 7-inning game; he didn’t allow a hit, which makes it a “no-hitter”
— He threw 98 pitches, didn’t walk anyone, struck out 7.
— He got 10 whiffs on 53 swings
— Since then, he is 1-0, 1.64 in two starts.

To prove that I am fair-minded, I’m defending Bumgarner’s 7-inning no-hitter, even though his resurgence came 10 days after I cut him off my fantasy team. &#55357;&#56897;

4) May 5: John Means 6-0 @ Seattle.

— He threw 113 pitches, didn’t walk anyone, struck out 12.
— He got 26 whiffs on 64 swings
— This was his most recent start.
— This was also his first career complete game.

5) May 7: Wade Miley 3-0 @ Cleveland
— He threw 114 pitches, didn’t walk anyone, struck out 8.
— He got 9 whiffs on 49 swings
— This was his most recent start.

6) Four of the five no-hitters were thrown by lefties.

7) In two of the five no-hitters, Cleveland’s Zach Plesac was the losing pitcher.

Elsewhere, away from the no-hitter related world……..
8) Cincinnati Reds are 15-16, even though they’re 8-2 in games where the winning run scored from the 7th inning on.

9) Arizona Diamondbacks just had an 0-6 road trip, where they went 7-62 with runners in scoring position. Hitting in the clutch is important in baseball.

10) Since the DH came into the American League in 1973, the record for most home runs hit by a pitcher is 24, held by Carlos Zambrano, who was 132-91 as a big league pitcher, mostly for the Cubs. He had a .238 career batting average.

11) White Sox have won their last ten games at division rival Kansas City; maybe they should put fountains behind the outfield fence in their home stadium, the way they have them in Kansas City.

12) Was watching an old highlight clip of Willie Mays on the Giants game Sunday, forgot that they had artificial turf at Candlestick Park in the early 70’s, probably because the 49ers also played there. Not sure why they needed AstroTurf in good weather, but they had it.

One year at Comiskey Park in Chicago, the infield was AstroTurf and the outfield was natural grass, which wasn’t that bad an idea, but it didn’t last long.

13) Umpire stats are returning to the baseball page this Wednesday; we note trends for each umpire when he is behind the plate, for all games except series openers, because we don’t know who the umpires are for each series until they play a game game.