Latest odds I saw had him bet down to 4-1 and the second choice behind Exaggerator who was even money. I think most have the same opinion as me and really like the jockey upgrade. Hopefully can get 5-1 or better odds by post time.
ML is 10-1, so if he does win Joe and Ace will call it a steam play and say I didn't really handicap the race.
Good ode luck today.
Nice week last week, Scott. I had Philly too yesterday. That hurt watching that finish.
MLB
yest 4-5 +132
YTD 196-286 -10297
Monday:
Atlanta -105 (vs Cincy) 3*
Detroit -105 (@ CWS) 3*
Detroit -1' +156 3*
Kansas City +123 (vs Cle) 3*
Oakland -1' +165 (vs Tex) 3*
San Diego +115 (vs Mia) 3*
San Fran -1' +166 (vs Milw) 3*
Thanks
MLB
yest 4-5 +132
YTD 196-286 -10297
Monday:
Atlanta -105 (vs Cincy) 3*
Detroit -105 (@ CWS) 3*
Detroit -1' +156 3*
Kansas City +123 (vs Cle) 3*
Oakland -1' +165 (vs Tex) 3*
San Diego +115 (vs Mia) 3*
San Fran -1' +166 (vs Milw) 3*
Thanks
Planning To Fail: Take Note MLB Bettors: Be Ready Later This Season To Fade Teams When They Go On MEGA Losing Streaks!
Unbalanced schedule hinders competitive balance
By The Sports Xchange / Monday, June 13, 2016
The landscape of Major League Baseball underwent a recent shift, and because of that, it has to give some careful thought to the idea of going to a balanced schedule where every team plays the same number of games against the other teams in its league.
The dust settled after the weekend, and the National League standings commanded some attention. The Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants were the division leaders. The wild-card leaders were the New York Mets and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates were on the outside looking in, all three out in the loss column behind the second wild-card position.
The Giants and Dodgers have two of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball. One would think that in the season's final 100 games, they will both emerge as playoff teams. But there is a real chance they won't. Why? Because tanking a season has become a real strategy in the sport.
There are teams that eschew trying to reach the postseason every year and instead pursue sustained success by changing direction. They deal away their top talent for prospects. They go with a cost-saving roster. They do whatever it takes to get draft picks, be it issuing qualifying offers to their free agents who will never take them or -- wait for it -- accepting losses and getting a high spot in the draft.
Why are they going this route? Because it has worked and become the fad of the day. The Mets went that route for a handful of years and emerged as one of the NL's strongest performers with a roster of young talent that could keep them at the top for a while. The Royals did it before them, and they were in the past two World Series, winning the title in 2015.
That is kind of how things go in baseball. A team uses an innovation and finds success. Then other teams try to emulate it or improve on it.
A cornerstone of the Royals' recent successes was a bullpen full of flamethrowers who could shorten a game. The New York Yankees got Aroldis Chapman during the past offseason and now can deploy him, Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances into the same game.
Which brings things back to the National League and the teams that came into the season with a blueprint that did not include reaching the postseason.
In the NL East, there are two of them, the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies. In the NL Central, there are two of them, the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers. In the NL West, one might be able to say the San Diego Padres are the easy mark.
In the current model, MLB is using an unbalanced schedule. Teams play the other clubs in their division 19 times and teams from the other divisions in their league six or seven times.
It isn't a fair way of doing things, but it is defensible. If every team in the AL or NL is competing for the same postseason berths, shouldn't they be playing the same schedule? However, MLB realized that baseball fans are more regional than national. Fans in Baltimore are going to turn out in larger numbers for a game against the Yankees then they are for a game against the Seattle Mariners. So the unbalanced schedule prevailed.
But now with the issue of teams tanking, it seems even more unfair.
In the NL East, the Nationals are 14-4 against the Phillies and Braves with 20 games left against them, and the Mets are 8-4 against the duo with 26 games left against them. Against the Reds and Brewers in the NL Central, the Cubs are 9-3 with 26 left, the Cardinals are 8-4 with 26 left and the Pirates are 6-5 with 27 games remaining.
That is going to make it tough for the Dodgers and Giants to keep up.
The reasons for the rise of the tanking philosophy mostly have to do with the growing obsession with minor league talent that is fueled by the takeoff in technology and with the skyrocketing price of free agents. Potential draft picks, college players and those already in the minors now are tracked continuously on the internet and social media. There is more data for teams to interpret when they look at a prospect as a potential draft pick or trade target.
Those changes are good for baseball and interesting to watch. Never before have metrics been so widely discussed. Never before have the big-money packages for free agents left so many slack-jawed.
What no one probably figured on was that teams would stop drawing blueprints for making the playoffs every season. A balanced schedule would make things fair for all teams that didn't go that route.
Unbalanced schedule hinders competitive balance
By The Sports Xchange / Monday, June 13, 2016
The landscape of Major League Baseball underwent a recent shift, and because of that, it has to give some careful thought to the idea of going to a balanced schedule where every team plays the same number of games against the other teams in its league.
The dust settled after the weekend, and the National League standings commanded some attention. The Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants were the division leaders. The wild-card leaders were the New York Mets and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates were on the outside looking in, all three out in the loss column behind the second wild-card position.
The Giants and Dodgers have two of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball. One would think that in the season's final 100 games, they will both emerge as playoff teams. But there is a real chance they won't. Why? Because tanking a season has become a real strategy in the sport.
There are teams that eschew trying to reach the postseason every year and instead pursue sustained success by changing direction. They deal away their top talent for prospects. They go with a cost-saving roster. They do whatever it takes to get draft picks, be it issuing qualifying offers to their free agents who will never take them or -- wait for it -- accepting losses and getting a high spot in the draft.
Why are they going this route? Because it has worked and become the fad of the day. The Mets went that route for a handful of years and emerged as one of the NL's strongest performers with a roster of young talent that could keep them at the top for a while. The Royals did it before them, and they were in the past two World Series, winning the title in 2015.
That is kind of how things go in baseball. A team uses an innovation and finds success. Then other teams try to emulate it or improve on it.
A cornerstone of the Royals' recent successes was a bullpen full of flamethrowers who could shorten a game. The New York Yankees got Aroldis Chapman during the past offseason and now can deploy him, Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances into the same game.
Which brings things back to the National League and the teams that came into the season with a blueprint that did not include reaching the postseason.
In the NL East, there are two of them, the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies. In the NL Central, there are two of them, the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers. In the NL West, one might be able to say the San Diego Padres are the easy mark.
In the current model, MLB is using an unbalanced schedule. Teams play the other clubs in their division 19 times and teams from the other divisions in their league six or seven times.
It isn't a fair way of doing things, but it is defensible. If every team in the AL or NL is competing for the same postseason berths, shouldn't they be playing the same schedule? However, MLB realized that baseball fans are more regional than national. Fans in Baltimore are going to turn out in larger numbers for a game against the Yankees then they are for a game against the Seattle Mariners. So the unbalanced schedule prevailed.
But now with the issue of teams tanking, it seems even more unfair.
In the NL East, the Nationals are 14-4 against the Phillies and Braves with 20 games left against them, and the Mets are 8-4 against the duo with 26 games left against them. Against the Reds and Brewers in the NL Central, the Cubs are 9-3 with 26 left, the Cardinals are 8-4 with 26 left and the Pirates are 6-5 with 27 games remaining.
That is going to make it tough for the Dodgers and Giants to keep up.
The reasons for the rise of the tanking philosophy mostly have to do with the growing obsession with minor league talent that is fueled by the takeoff in technology and with the skyrocketing price of free agents. Potential draft picks, college players and those already in the minors now are tracked continuously on the internet and social media. There is more data for teams to interpret when they look at a prospect as a potential draft pick or trade target.
Those changes are good for baseball and interesting to watch. Never before have metrics been so widely discussed. Never before have the big-money packages for free agents left so many slack-jawed.
What no one probably figured on was that teams would stop drawing blueprints for making the playoffs every season. A balanced schedule would make things fair for all teams that didn't go that route.
Got a parking space today, Scott.
MLB
yest 3-4 +132
YTD 199-290 -10165
Tuesday:
Atlanta -1' +165 (vs Cincy) 3*
Baltimore +166 (@ Bos) 3*
Tampa Bay -1' +177 (vs Sea) 3*
Detroit -108 (@ CWS) 3*
Detroit -1' +147 3*
St Louis -1' +127 (vs Hou) 3*
Colorado -106 (vs NYY) 3*
Colorado -1' +179 3*
San Diego -1' +169 (vs Mia) 3*
Thanks
MLB
yest 3-4 +132
YTD 199-290 -10165
Tuesday:
Atlanta -1' +165 (vs Cincy) 3*
Baltimore +166 (@ Bos) 3*
Tampa Bay -1' +177 (vs Sea) 3*
Detroit -108 (@ CWS) 3*
Detroit -1' +147 3*
St Louis -1' +127 (vs Hou) 3*
Colorado -106 (vs NYY) 3*
Colorado -1' +179 3*
San Diego -1' +169 (vs Mia) 3*
Thanks
