Service Plays All-Star Game Tuesday 7/14/09

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

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[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Hondo

July 14, 2009

Anthony Affrunti, The Post's Puny Pony Picker (if the diet works -- a huge if), failed in his attempt to fatten up Hondo's bankroll yesterday. AA's suggested horses at Philly Park -- Whiskey Lit in the third and a Whiskey Lit, Rough Shod Heir and Maddy's Lion exacta box; Tiger Fever in the fifth and a Tiger Fever, Admiral de Grasse and Liberty Bridge exacta box -- turned out to be a bunch of ticket-shredders that sliced Mr. Aitch's collection of dead-presidents to 105 callisons.

Today, with a gaudy 12-game unbeaten streak in the Mid-Summer Flaccid Classic, Mr. Aitch again will back the Junior Circuit against their arch enemies in St. Louis. Ten units on the AL. Also, he'll hop back in the saddle at Philly Park, and, as per Affrunti's suspect tutelage, put two units to win and two to place on One Cookie Edna in the fourth.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

WNBA DUNKEL


Los Angeles at Connecticut
The Sparks look to rebound from their 75-63 loss in Washington and build on their 9-4 ATS record in their last 13 games following a SU loss. Los Angeles is the pick (+4) according to Dunkel, which has Connecticut favored by just 1. Dunkel Pick: Los Angeles (+4). Here are all of today's picks.

TUESDAY, JULY 14

Game 651-652: Los Angeles at Connecticut
Dunkel Ratings: Los Angeles 111.531; Connecticut 112.682
Dunkel Line & Total: Connecticut by 1; 141 1/2
Vegas Line & Total: Connecticut by 4; 140
Dunkel Pick: Los Angeles (+4); Over

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

WNBA LONG SHEET


Tuesday, July 14

LOS ANGELES (4 - 7) at CONNECTICUT (5 - 6) - 7/14/2009, 7:00 PM
Top Trends for this game.
LOS ANGELES is 8-22 ATS (-16.2 Units) after a non-conference game over the last 3 seasons.
LOS ANGELES is 9-20 ATS (-13.0 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 3 seasons.
CONNECTICUT is 10-21 ATS (-13.1 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
CONNECTICUT is 8-17 ATS (-10.7 Units) in home games over the last 2 seasons.
CONNECTICUT is 4-12 ATS (-9.2 Units) in home games after a division game over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
CONNECTICUT is 3-1 against the spread versus LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
CONNECTICUT is 2-2 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Lady Luck: Today's WNBA best bets

Los Angeles Sparks at Connecticut Sun (-4, 141)

It's hard to find a better 1-2 punch in the WNBA than Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie. The Los Angeles Sparks have been looking for it all season.

Parker, the league's Rookie of the Year and MVP last year, began the season on the sidelines following the birth of her first child May 13. She made her season debut July 5 but is averaging just over five points per game.

By that time, Leslie - who announced that this would be her final season - already had missed three games with a knee injury that is forcing her to skip the Sparks' current road trip.

After combining for better than 33 points and 18 rebounds and carring the Sparks within a basket of the WNBA Finals a year ago, the towering duo has yet to play a minute together all season. As a result, Los Angeles is next-to-last in offense with 71.4 points per game.

The Sparks are averaging just 66.9 points in road games, where they are 1-6 straight up and 2-5 against the spread.

Pick: Connecticut

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Batting order edge goes to AL in All-Star Game

The American League has more power and a bit better balance in its lineup for Tuesday's All-Star Game - at least for the first three or four innings.

After that, who knows? Last year's game went a record 15 innings and nearly saw position players take the mound.

The AL has three lefthanded hitters and switch-hitter Mark Teixeira among its starters, and manager Joe Maddon has tried to break things up as much as he can. Derek Jeter - an excellent hit-and-run player - is hitting second between lefties Ichiro Suzuki and Joe Mauer, and Josh Hamilton is hitting sixth between righthanders Jason Bay and Evan Longoria.

Toronto's Aaron Hill is starting at second base in place of Boston's Dustin Pedroia, who is skipping the game as his wife deals with pregnancy complications. Batting eighth, Hill is a power upgrade over the reigning AL MVP; his 20 homers are four more than the NL's 6-7-8 hitters combined.

Longoria may get just one at-bat due to a finger infection. The AL has Michael Young and Brandon Inge as reserve third basemen. Keep an eye on Inge, who homered twice Sunday and is in Monday's Home Run Derby.

One of the AL's slugging first basemen - Justin Morneau, Carlos Pena or Kevin Youkilis - may hit for starting pitcher Roy Halladay. If National League righthanded starter Tim Lincecum is still in the game, it won't be Youkilis.

The NL has two lefties and switch-hitter Shane Victorino in its starting lineup and is broken up pretty nicely by manager Charlie Manuel, although righty sluggers Albert Pujols and Ryan Braun are hitting 3-4.

The bottom of the NL's lineup has little pop, with David Wright (five homers), Victorino (six) and Yadier Molina (five) preceding the pitcher's spot. If Halladay is still on the mound, you may see Prince Fielder or Ryan Howard pinch-hit as the NL also has a glut of power-hitting first basemen.

That also may be a problem. Most of the NL's reserve power comes from its first basemen, a group that includes Adrian Gonzalez. Because they all play the same position, their total at-bats will be limited. Compounding matters is that the fans at Busch Stadium may want to see Pujols get a third at-bat. If the AL's early pitching is strong, that may not be until the fifth inning.

Even though Molina is hitting eighth and is considered a defensive player, he may get three at-bats because the only other NL catcher is Atlanta's Bob McCann. The memory of last year's game could have Manuel and Maddon using reserves judiciously.

After the starting pitchers are done, you likely will see Zack Greinke, Tim Wakefield or Edwin Jackson for the AL, with Felix Hernandez a possibility. For the NL, look for Dan Haren and Zach Duke, with Johan Santana and Ted Lilly also in the mix.

You almost certainly will not see Josh Beckett, Mark Buehrle and Justin Verlander for the AL and Josh Johnson and Jason Marquis for the NL. All five starters pitched Sunday.

All the closers should be available for at least an inning due to the day off before and after the game. Don't be surprised to see some of them used as set-up men. If the NL needs to protect a lead in the ninth, Manuel probably will use his own Francisco Rodriguez rather than hometown favorite Ryan Franklin.

All signs point to the AL extending its unbeaten streak at the Midsummer classic to 13 years.

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

80th ALL-STAR GAME
Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO. 8:20PM ET

945 American League -115
946 National League -105

Over/Under 9 1/2

 

[Can'tPickaWinner2]

Tips and Trends

American League at National League [Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET]

American League: It should not come as a big surprise that the American League has been installed as a $1.15 favorite against the National League for Tuesday’s 80th All-Star game in St. Louis. After all, the Junior Circuit is 11-0-1 in the last 12 mid-summer classics and has closed as a ‘chalk’ in the last four. The total opened at 9 ½, with the last three All-Star outings dipping ‘under’ that number. In fact, there have been just 21 combined runs scored during that span. Injuries usually don’t play a major role in these games, but this contest could be an exception. Starting second baseman Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox had to withdraw because of a family emergency. He will be replaced by the Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena, who leads the league with 24 home runs. The A.L. continued its dominance in Interleague play this season, going 137-114.

The Under has cashed in the last 3 mid-summer classics.

Key Injuries - None

PROJECTED SCORE: 6

National League: The National League may be at a bit of a disadvantage in the pitching department with right-handers Matt Cain and Johnathon Braxton withdrawing because of injuries. They will be replaced by Pittsburgh’s Zach Duke and Milwaukee’s Trevor Hoffman. Braxton is 6-0 with 20 saves for the Dodgers this season, while Cain is 10-2 with a 2.38 ERA so far for the Giants. It will be the seventh All-Star appearance for Hoffman, who has 20 saves in 22 chances. Baseball’s all-time saves leader is 1-1 with a 2.05 ERA. Dana DeMuth will be calling balls and strikes in Tuesday’s game. Demuth has seen the ‘under’ go 9-8 in his 17 outings behind the dish, with teams combining to score 9.7 runs during that span.

The N.L. has failed to score more than four runs in four of the last five All-Star games.

Key Injuries - None

PROJECTED SCORE: 5

 

[hvadhvad]

Fargo’s **8** WNBA NON-CONFERENCE GOM *86% ANGLE*

CONNECTICUT

 

[Yanks]

Fantasy Sports Gametime

MLB Baseball
100* Play National League (-105) over American League

WNBA Hoops
100* Play Connecticut (-4) over Los Angeles
Los Angeles has lost 22 of the last 30 games against the spread coming off a
non-conference game and they have also lost 3 of the last 4 games against the
spread vs. Connecticut. Los Angeles has lost 6 of the last 7 road games and
they are only averaging 66 points a game in all road games this season.

 

[SMITTYWANTSWINNERS]

Chris Jordan

All-Star Winner

NATIONAL LEAGUE

NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL STARS - It’s hard to side against the American League, when it literally closed the first half with some of the hottest teams in the league, and some of the most explosive lineups in the bigs.

Think about it, out of the American League East alone you’re talking about the Yankees, Red Sox and Devil Rays – all three of which have turned this division into the exciting race we'd hoped for. Add in the annual intensity of the Central Division and the explosive lineups of the Angels and Rangers out of the West, and it's not hard to see why the junior circuit has dominated the midsummer classic in the past decade.

But this year, something is eerily different. It's a feeling, but with reasoning, that tells me the National League will finally win this thing.

With the roster changes taking shape, I still can't help but buy into the hype that Albert Pujols is in the right spot to stake claim to Major League Baseball in the most exciting game of the season, on his own stage.

Think about it ... Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, and finally, Manny Ramirez - they all broke our MLB-loving hearts and put a damper on how we look at them. So who's left?

Pujols.

He's arguably the best player in baseball, he's certainly the most prolific slugger and he's yet to be tied to any talk of P.E.D.'s. So on a night when all the spotlight will be on St. Louis, and when the fans and baseball can celebrate the donning of a new era with some fresh young faces, and several noteworthy veterans.


I think guys like Jayson Werth, Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino of the Phillies will have a good game, Prince Fielder might get ahold of one, I believe Ryan Zimmerman will look good and I expect some timely hits at some point in the game by guys like Orlando Hudson, Freddy Sanchez and Justin Upton. And those are all the reserves.


Joining Pujols on the starting lineup there's fellow Cardinal Yadier Molina, Philadelphia's Chase Utley annd Raul Ibanez, Florida's Hanley Ramirez, New York's David Wright and Milwaukee slugger Ryan Braun.

If I were to rattle off the American League All-Stars, it would take up space too much space and I am conceding that it would look much more impressive with names like Mauer, Teixeira, Jeter, Longoria, Bay, Hamilton, Morneau, Youkilis and Crawford jumping off the page.

But again, something about this year, this stadium, the atmosphere in MLB ... and Albert!

Take the Senior Circuit.

 

[Born2Booze]

INSIDE THE LINES

TUESDAY, JULY 14


ALL-STAR GAME


American League vs. National League

(at St. Louis)


The American League looks to continue its dominance of the All-Star Game when it battles the National League in the 80th mid-summer classic at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. San Francisco's Tim Lincecum (10-2, 2.33 ERA) is scheduled to start for the N.L. opposite Toronto's Roy Halladay (10-3, 2.85).


The A.L. has won six consecutive All-Star games and is on an 11-0-1 run in the annual midsummer exhibition, with seven of the 11 victories coming by more than one run. However, the past three contests have been one-run affairs, including last year's at Yankee Stadium, where the American League got a sacrifice fly from Michael Young in the 15th inning to pull out a 4-3 victory. The game matched the 1967 contest for the longest in terms of total innings and the 4-hour, 50-minute marathon set an All-Star Game record.


The N.L. still leads the all-time series 41-36-2, but the senior circuit has been on the losing end in 19 of the last 26 contests, plus one tie in 2002. In fact, going back to 1988, the A.L. is on a 17-3-1 run in this contest. Prior to this current drought, the N.L. had won 19 of 20 meetings from 1963-82, including a record 11 straight from 1972-82.


In addition to the All-Star Game, the A.L. has dominated interleague play the last four years, holding advantages of 154-98 in 2006, 137-115 in both 2007 and 2008, and 137-114 this season. The A.L. had a cumulative 3.91 ERA, .263 average and 315 home runs in interleague action in 2009, compared with the N.L.'s 4.46 ERA, .257 average and 249 home runs


St. Louis has hosted the All-Star Game four times previously, the most recent in 1966 at old Busch Stadium. The National League won that game 4-0 and also took a 2-1 decision in 1940, while the A.L. scored a 5-2 victory in 1948 and a 6-5 win in 1957.


Lincecum was named to his first All-Star game last year, but he didn't pitch because he was suffering from dehydration. He closed out the first half of the season with four straight victories and is 6-1 with a 1.45 ERA in his last seven starts, allowing just nine earned runs and striking out 58 in 56 innings during this stretch. Going back to May 21, the right-hander has recorded 10 straight quality starts, giving up two earned runs or fewer in eight of those games.


Lincecum was 2-1 with a 1.39 ERA in three starts against the American League this year, tossing complete games in both victories. He also had a complete-game 10-0 victory in St. Louis on June 29, scattering two hits and no walks while striking out eight, improving to 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in three career starts at Busch Stadium.


Halladay is making his sixth All-Star appearance but his first start. He pitched in three of those six mid-summer classics, allowing four runs and seven hits in four total innings. The veteran right-hander got the starting nod tonight despite struggling a bit following a two-week stint on the disabled list, going 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in his last three starts.


Halladay got no-decisions in his two interleague starts this year, giving up a combined one run and 10 hits in 10 innings (0.90 ERA) against the Braves and Marlins. He's never pitched at Busch Stadium.


The last three All-Star games have stayed under the total, snapping a four-game "over" streak in the midsummer classic. Also, the under is 10-5 in the last 15 All-Star contests played in National League parks.


ATS ADVANTAGE: AMERICAN LEAGUE and UNDER

 

[Born2Booze]

Strider 7/14

MLB:
National League +100
National League +1.5 -160
First Five Innings Under 5 -105
Total Home Runs Under 2.5 -120

WNBA:
LA Sparks +4
Sparks/Sun Under 141.5

 

[Born2Booze]

IndianCowboy

Tuesday's Comp Selection

14-8 (64%) Comp Winners after Angels Plus Money Yesterday

I liked a prop that I came across. 'Over 15.5' in Total Players to throw a pitch in the ballgame. Long story short, the AL wants the streak to keep rolling while the NL is desperately trying to stop the bleeding over the last 12 years as they are 0-11-1 against the AL. It is getting embarrassing. Both managers have the best in the game at their disposal, so why not use anybody and everybody within their arsenal. From selecting specific pitchers for specific hitters late in the game, I wouldn't be surprised if both teams used essentially everyone they had to help them win tonight's contest. Just as an example of how specific managers can use pitchers in their matchup, here is a link to the 2008 All-Star Box score. If you notice there, there were a total of 23 pitchers were used. Certainly, that many will likely not be used today, but it is possible for at least 16 to be used given the previous track record of Summer Classic.

 

[Yanks]

HoopsEdge (RAS)

Connecticut -4.0 for 1 UNIT

 

[Yanks]

Tony Salinas

22* American League (-110) over National League

 

[thedegen]

any Teddy Covers, Trushel or Rob Veno? they have some plays up.

 

[yanks84]

Lou Panelli

10* MLB American -110
10* MLB OVER 9.5

bought by me

 

[Yanks]

Halfbets

Looks like SSG has a pick on the all star game tonight. Here is what they have

Well looking at the past games over the last 10 years, you have a pretty even split on the totals. Considering that this year it seems that the scoring in games has increased, we see some nice scoring here and are jumping on the OVER.
PICK: OVER 9.5 -115 (8*)

 

[Yanks]

IndianCowboy

Sport: WNBA Basketball
Game: Los Angeles Sparks @ Connecticut Sun - Tuesday July 14, 2009 7:00 pm
Pick: 4 units (Play of the Day) ATS: Los Angeles Sparks +4 (-110)


4 Unit Play. #651. Take the LA Sparks +4 over the Connecticut Sun (Tuesday @ 7pm est). We're going a little contrarian today. Let's roll with the road dog in the LA Sparks over the Connecticut Sun. For starters, I don't take the Sparks at all very much, but today is an example as 66% of the public is riding the Sun. When the Sun recently lost to the lowly Shock, I thought to myself, this is not the championship Sun team of old. This team is 5-6 and frankly, playing to its potential with Jones, Whalen, Phillips and Gardin. This team lost to the Dream on the road, came back home to lose to the Shock in OT at home, and are just 3-3 at home. Now, yes, the Sparks are 4-7 but this team will only go up. They are 3-3 over their last 6 games and considering they were 1-4 prior to that, that is a stark improvement of 50% over their last 6 games compared to 20% over their first game. And, Candace Parker is back in the lineup having played 23 minutes in her last game as she was getting her feet wet. The Sparks too come off a loss at Washington where they were outscored 7-22 in the first quarter, only to come storming back and bring it within 5 points by the start of the fourth quarter. I can't imagine they start that poor today once again and with Parker back and getting back into the groove of things, I think the Sparks only have an upside - where as the the Sun are reaching their potential at this point. Plus, I always like a dog that can potentially win outright - so let's roll with the points. The Sun are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games while the Sparks are 7-3 ATS over their last 10 games following an ATS loss. Give me the dog on the sole WNBA game on Tuesday night as we go against the grain of the public.