Stu Feiner Writeups
American League
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
I know on paper this looks like a major mis-match but let’s dig a little deeper. Josh has made two starts against the Yankees this season. He had one start at Fenway and one start at Yankee stadium. Both of them were just average starts. He threw fourteen innings and he allowed thirteen base-runners (For Josh that is just average). Also in those fourteen innings he struck out just ten batters and he allowed six runs.
Josh is not the same pitcher on the road as he is at home. First of all at home he is 4-1 and has a fantastic whip. On the road Josh is just 3-4. Josh has allowed six long balls on the road and twenty one earned runs.
Let’s not forget that in the Red Sox last series they were swept out of the ball park. They just aren’t a good team on the road. Things may change in the future, but the Yankees at home will get the job done. Remember just two nights ago they scored 18 runs, that doesn’t happen on accident.
New York Yankees (+)
Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners
The Tigers have been playing better baseball but can’t pass on Erik Bedard tonight. It doesn’t matter that the Tigers are a better team than the Mariners. On most days that is surely the case, but not tonight, not with this match-up.
Kenny Rogers still battles, but he is just an average pitcher. On the season he is 6-5 and the Tigers are just 9-8 in his seventeen starts. Kenny faced the Mariners once before this season and didn’t fair too well. He lasted just 5 1/3 innings and allowed eight hits, two walks and two home-runs. That start was at home as well.
Seattle is playing much better baseball under their new manager. That includes a 5-1 record in their last six games and three straight series wins. Take the Mariners and Bedard tonight.
Seattle Mariners (-)
Texas Rangers at Baltimore Orioles
Look for the Orioles to bounce back tonight. The Orioles are a team that doesn’t get enough credit. Everyone talks about the rest of the AL East. Everyone talks about the nice job that the Twins have done. People talk about what the Cardinals have done. What about these Baltimore Orioles?
The Orioles play in the toughest division in all of baseball. Imagine playing almost half your schedule against the: Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Even with that competition they are above .500.
Jeremy Guthrie has a big time arm. His last 21 innings he has allowed just five runs and sports a 3.50 earned run average on the season. Look for him to keep down a Texas line-up that is good but not great.
Baltimore Orioles (-)
Kansas City Royals at Tampa Bay Rays
How can you not love what the Rays are doing? Tampa is now a full 20 games over the .500 mark. Yes on July 4 the Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in all of base baseball. They haven’t done it with a soft schedule either. The Rays have played the toughest schedule of any team so far this season. They still have managed a 52-32 record on the season.
Tampa is even more impressive in their ball park. The Rays are 33-13 at home. It is not out of the question that this team will have 60 wins in their building. At worst they are looking at a 55 win season in Tropicana field.
Tampa has won four straight games and seven of their last eight. They know how to win close games, and will win again here tonight. The Royals are a below average team, the Rays are now the class of the American league.
Tampa Bay Rays (-)
Oakland Athletics at Chicago White Sox
Mark Buehrle is heating up as usual. Mark has been on a torrid pace on the mound. It is not just his last three starts. Mark has had six straight top level starts. In fact eight of his nine starts have been of the quality start variety.
Last start for Mark Buherle he allowed zero earned runs, one the start before, two the start before that, one the start before that, one the start before that, three the start before that. Do you see a pattern here? Mark has been going deep in to games and not just pitching well but winning these contests.
Mark hasn’t lost a start since May 27 and that was on the road. He hasn’t lost at home since the first week of May. Mark just beat the Cubs and the Dodgers, he will take care of an Oakland line-up that has been over-achieving for a while. White Sox are the play here tonight.
Chicago White Sox (-)
Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins
Both of these two teams are coming off an off day on July 3 and both are going in separate directions. The Cleveland Indians just can’t put anything together this season. They surprised many people last year, but they aren’t even close to having the same success. There is no doubt that injuries have been a big part of the problem. You can’t lose your number two starter (Carmona) your All-Star catcher (Martinez) and your clean-up hitter (Hafner) within the span of a month. That is exactly what has happened to the now buried Indians.
The Twins on the other hand have been playing fantastic baseball. In fact Minnesota and not Tampa may be the best story of the American league as we head in to July 4 weekend. We all knew that Tampa had pitching, but Minnesota? Who knew?
Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are arguably the two best back to back left-handed hitters in baseball. If you don’t think facing those guys causes right-handed pitching to scratch their head, than you are missing the boat. Livan Hernandez will always allow his share of hits, but the guy still wins ball games. Twins are the play tonight.
Minnesota Twins (-)
Toronto Blue Jays at LA Angels
Toronto is one of the few teams that can win on the road. There is one simple reason for that and that is they send out a quality starter to the mound each and every day. Whether it is Dustin McGowan or Roy Halladay or Shaun Marcum or tonight’s starter the Blue Jays always have a chance to win. If you don’t want to take our word for it, just look at their season statistics. They have played 81 games and 48 times the number has gone under.
Tonight we get the Blue Jays hottest pitcher. We get a pitcher that has much talent as anyone out there. We also get a pitcher that is throwing for his supper. A.J. Burnett will not be in Toronto after this season and he knows it. Last start A.J. faced one of the best line-ups in baseball (Atlanta Braves) and absolutely shut them down. Seven innings, four hits, no runs, eleven strikeouts! Think that was a fluke? How about the start before against the Reds in which he threw eight innings of one run ball? This guy can win and he can win on the road.
Toronto Blue Jays (+)
National League
Washington Nationals at Cincinnati Reds
We were very impressed with the Reds last night. They were down 3-1 late in that game, in a classic let-down game. They were facing a bad team, they were tired from the night but they went to work and took care of the Nationals as they should. The Reds were able to take advantage of some bad defense by the Nationals. Brandon Phillips ended up with three RBI’s and the Reds capitalized and won the game 5-3.
Tonight expect much of the same. While the Reds don’t have a great record they are still playing better than expected. 40-47 on the season and showing sings of life each and every ball game. After all this team is 23-19 at home. The Reds face a starter who is used to losing tonight. Jason Bergmann is just 1-5 on the season. Even worse is the fact that the team is 2-9 in his eleven starts of 2008. Take the Reds and lay the number.
Cincinnati Reds (-)
Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers will bounce back tonight. Sure they were stunned last night. Sure last night was a terrible loss. We aren’t going to come on here and tell you that they did play well last night. Actually for the first eight innings they did play well. They were able to score off the best pitcher in the National league (Brandon Webb) and they were able to put some runs on the board.
They just couldn’t close the door. After all they don’t have a dominant closer. Eric Gagne is hurt and Torres just couldn’t close the door. They allowed the Diamondbacks to come and score six runs in the final inning and losing the game. That game is over and done with though.
Momentum is only as good as the next day’s starter right? Well who would we and the Brewers have than Ben Sheets? Ben is 9-2 on the season with a 2.83 ERA. When healthy this guy wins, and that is exactly what he is doing right now. Take the home team at any price!
Milwaukee Brewers (-)
LA Dodgers at San Francisco Giants
This line is just too good to pass up. The Dodgers are making a long trip to come here and start a set with the Giants. The Giants played yesterday at well, but they were at home. Last night the Giants beat the Cubs behind their ace Tim Lincecum. They feel real good about themselves today. They will send their second best pitcher to the mound in Pac Bell Park.
Jonathan Sanchez has been dealing. Jonathan is 6-1 in his last seven starts! Notice we didn’t say the Giants or his team is 6-1, Mr. Sanchez has gone out there and battled the opposition and has won ball games.
Sanchez has allowed just two runs in his last three starts. IN fact in his last ten starts he has had just one bad start (Seven runs against the Rockies in a start he actually won). He has not allowed more than a handful of runs since early May. Keep riding this left-handed all the way to the bank!
San Francisco Giants (-)
New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies
It wouldn’t matter if Sandy Koufax was on the hill for the New York Mets tonight, this line is just completely off. The Mets are far too up and down to trust at all like this. We are sure that many of you have been burned by the Mets and especially Johan Santana in the recent months.
The Mets and Johan are laying this big number even though they are on the road and they don’t deserve it. Johan Santana’s last win came on the first day of JUNE. He has gone five straight starts without a win. Even worse the Mets haven’t won in Johan’s last five starts. Johan just hasn’t been on top of his game. Just two starts ago he allowed a grand-slam to an American League pitcher.
The Phillies won a huge ball game last night and their bats are picking up. They hit three long balls in Atlanta. Returning home they will put another three to four over the wall and they will beat the Mets here on this Friday night contest.
Philadelphia Phillies (+)
Houston Astros at Atlanta Braves
There is a reason why this line is so high folks. The line should be this high. After all look at it objectively. Tonight we get the better team, tonight we get the better pitcher, and tonight we get the home-field advantage. What else would we want? What else could we ask for?
The Braves are still one of the best teams at home this season. They are 10 games over .500 with a record of 28-18. Tonight we get Tim Hudson going for Atlanta. Tim thrives at home. Tim for the season is just 2-5 on the road with a 4.34 ERA. Not exactly CY Young numbers. At home though Tim Hudson has a 6-1 mark with a 2.24 ERA. Those numbers make him one of baseball’s best pitchers.
Atlanta still has a ton of power in their line-up. They are still in this division race because of the Mets and Phillies stumbling around. Look for the Braves to win this game easily.
Atlanta Braves (-)
Florida Marlins at Colorado Rockies
Wild game last night in Coors. Tonight look for a more conventional game. Scott Olsen goes for the Marlins and has he been good or what? Scott has really matured. He busted on the scene in 2005 making just four starts but throwing the ball well and impressing the Marlins enough to give him a spot in the rotation the following season.
2006 Scott was just as good. He won 12 games and had an ERA right at 4. His electric stuff really impressed people. He had 166 strikeouts in that his “rookie” season. Last year he had a ton of off the field problems and took a step back. This year he has picked up where he left off in 2006. This guy is just 4-4 but the team has won ten of his starts. Scott has an ERA and a WHIP they rank in the top 20 in the National league.
The Rockies aren’t the same team from last year folks. Look for Florida to keep plugging along and win this game.
Florida Marlins (+)
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals
Big match-up here in St. Louis. This is a rivalry in every sense of the word. This year this rivalry is hotter than ever. Sure the Cubs have been playing great baseball. They have been a feel good story. They have people out there predicting that they will be in the World Series etc. etc. Before we crown the Cubs, can they win a few games on the road?
The Cubs fly in to St. Louis after a disappointing split at the hands of the Giants. Yes it is true that the Cubs couldn’t even beat the Giants more than two games (Four game series) on the road. For the season the Cubs are seven games under .500. The Cardinals in the mean time have almost caught the Cubbies. With a sweep here in this series the Cardinals will take over first place.
Carlos Zambrano does not pitch well on the road. At home he is 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA. On the road he is just 4-3 with an ERA over 4.08. Look for the battle of the Midwest go to the Cardinals in this game.
St. Louis Cardinals (+)
San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks
Don’t be scared off by this big line. In fact we want you to run to this line before it moves in any direction. The Diamondbacks are going to win this game and win this game easily.
Arizona is coming off their best win of 2008 season. See many people forget but the Diamondbacks are still a first place team. Sure there is no denying they have struggled for a long time, but they are a better team than what they have showed. Just take yesterday’s game for example. They were down 6-0 in the last inning. How many teams can come back from that? Well the Diamondbacks did exactly that. They scored seven runs in the last inning to win the game in dramatic fashion. You better believe that carries over the next day, especially when you have your “1A” on the hill.
Danny Haren would be an ace on 25 teams in baseball. For the season he is 8-4 but in the dessert this guy is just un-hittable. 7-1 with just 45 hits allowed in his sixty innings. Look for him to shut down a very weak line-up. Diamondbacks all the way.
Arizona Diamondbacks (-)
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American League
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
I know on paper this looks like a major mis-match but let’s dig a little deeper. Josh has made two starts against the Yankees this season. He had one start at Fenway and one start at Yankee stadium. Both of them were just average starts. He threw fourteen innings and he allowed thirteen base-runners (For Josh that is just average). Also in those fourteen innings he struck out just ten batters and he allowed six runs.
Josh is not the same pitcher on the road as he is at home. First of all at home he is 4-1 and has a fantastic whip. On the road Josh is just 3-4. Josh has allowed six long balls on the road and twenty one earned runs.
Let’s not forget that in the Red Sox last series they were swept out of the ball park. They just aren’t a good team on the road. Things may change in the future, but the Yankees at home will get the job done. Remember just two nights ago they scored 18 runs, that doesn’t happen on accident.
New York Yankees (+)
Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners
The Tigers have been playing better baseball but can’t pass on Erik Bedard tonight. It doesn’t matter that the Tigers are a better team than the Mariners. On most days that is surely the case, but not tonight, not with this match-up.
Kenny Rogers still battles, but he is just an average pitcher. On the season he is 6-5 and the Tigers are just 9-8 in his seventeen starts. Kenny faced the Mariners once before this season and didn’t fair too well. He lasted just 5 1/3 innings and allowed eight hits, two walks and two home-runs. That start was at home as well.
Seattle is playing much better baseball under their new manager. That includes a 5-1 record in their last six games and three straight series wins. Take the Mariners and Bedard tonight.
Seattle Mariners (-)
Texas Rangers at Baltimore Orioles
Look for the Orioles to bounce back tonight. The Orioles are a team that doesn’t get enough credit. Everyone talks about the rest of the AL East. Everyone talks about the nice job that the Twins have done. People talk about what the Cardinals have done. What about these Baltimore Orioles?
The Orioles play in the toughest division in all of baseball. Imagine playing almost half your schedule against the: Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Even with that competition they are above .500.
Jeremy Guthrie has a big time arm. His last 21 innings he has allowed just five runs and sports a 3.50 earned run average on the season. Look for him to keep down a Texas line-up that is good but not great.
Baltimore Orioles (-)
Kansas City Royals at Tampa Bay Rays
How can you not love what the Rays are doing? Tampa is now a full 20 games over the .500 mark. Yes on July 4 the Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in all of base baseball. They haven’t done it with a soft schedule either. The Rays have played the toughest schedule of any team so far this season. They still have managed a 52-32 record on the season.
Tampa is even more impressive in their ball park. The Rays are 33-13 at home. It is not out of the question that this team will have 60 wins in their building. At worst they are looking at a 55 win season in Tropicana field.
Tampa has won four straight games and seven of their last eight. They know how to win close games, and will win again here tonight. The Royals are a below average team, the Rays are now the class of the American league.
Tampa Bay Rays (-)
Oakland Athletics at Chicago White Sox
Mark Buehrle is heating up as usual. Mark has been on a torrid pace on the mound. It is not just his last three starts. Mark has had six straight top level starts. In fact eight of his nine starts have been of the quality start variety.
Last start for Mark Buherle he allowed zero earned runs, one the start before, two the start before that, one the start before that, one the start before that, three the start before that. Do you see a pattern here? Mark has been going deep in to games and not just pitching well but winning these contests.
Mark hasn’t lost a start since May 27 and that was on the road. He hasn’t lost at home since the first week of May. Mark just beat the Cubs and the Dodgers, he will take care of an Oakland line-up that has been over-achieving for a while. White Sox are the play here tonight.
Chicago White Sox (-)
Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins
Both of these two teams are coming off an off day on July 3 and both are going in separate directions. The Cleveland Indians just can’t put anything together this season. They surprised many people last year, but they aren’t even close to having the same success. There is no doubt that injuries have been a big part of the problem. You can’t lose your number two starter (Carmona) your All-Star catcher (Martinez) and your clean-up hitter (Hafner) within the span of a month. That is exactly what has happened to the now buried Indians.
The Twins on the other hand have been playing fantastic baseball. In fact Minnesota and not Tampa may be the best story of the American league as we head in to July 4 weekend. We all knew that Tampa had pitching, but Minnesota? Who knew?
Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are arguably the two best back to back left-handed hitters in baseball. If you don’t think facing those guys causes right-handed pitching to scratch their head, than you are missing the boat. Livan Hernandez will always allow his share of hits, but the guy still wins ball games. Twins are the play tonight.
Minnesota Twins (-)
Toronto Blue Jays at LA Angels
Toronto is one of the few teams that can win on the road. There is one simple reason for that and that is they send out a quality starter to the mound each and every day. Whether it is Dustin McGowan or Roy Halladay or Shaun Marcum or tonight’s starter the Blue Jays always have a chance to win. If you don’t want to take our word for it, just look at their season statistics. They have played 81 games and 48 times the number has gone under.
Tonight we get the Blue Jays hottest pitcher. We get a pitcher that has much talent as anyone out there. We also get a pitcher that is throwing for his supper. A.J. Burnett will not be in Toronto after this season and he knows it. Last start A.J. faced one of the best line-ups in baseball (Atlanta Braves) and absolutely shut them down. Seven innings, four hits, no runs, eleven strikeouts! Think that was a fluke? How about the start before against the Reds in which he threw eight innings of one run ball? This guy can win and he can win on the road.
Toronto Blue Jays (+)
National League
Washington Nationals at Cincinnati Reds
We were very impressed with the Reds last night. They were down 3-1 late in that game, in a classic let-down game. They were facing a bad team, they were tired from the night but they went to work and took care of the Nationals as they should. The Reds were able to take advantage of some bad defense by the Nationals. Brandon Phillips ended up with three RBI’s and the Reds capitalized and won the game 5-3.
Tonight expect much of the same. While the Reds don’t have a great record they are still playing better than expected. 40-47 on the season and showing sings of life each and every ball game. After all this team is 23-19 at home. The Reds face a starter who is used to losing tonight. Jason Bergmann is just 1-5 on the season. Even worse is the fact that the team is 2-9 in his eleven starts of 2008. Take the Reds and lay the number.
Cincinnati Reds (-)
Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers will bounce back tonight. Sure they were stunned last night. Sure last night was a terrible loss. We aren’t going to come on here and tell you that they did play well last night. Actually for the first eight innings they did play well. They were able to score off the best pitcher in the National league (Brandon Webb) and they were able to put some runs on the board.
They just couldn’t close the door. After all they don’t have a dominant closer. Eric Gagne is hurt and Torres just couldn’t close the door. They allowed the Diamondbacks to come and score six runs in the final inning and losing the game. That game is over and done with though.
Momentum is only as good as the next day’s starter right? Well who would we and the Brewers have than Ben Sheets? Ben is 9-2 on the season with a 2.83 ERA. When healthy this guy wins, and that is exactly what he is doing right now. Take the home team at any price!
Milwaukee Brewers (-)
LA Dodgers at San Francisco Giants
This line is just too good to pass up. The Dodgers are making a long trip to come here and start a set with the Giants. The Giants played yesterday at well, but they were at home. Last night the Giants beat the Cubs behind their ace Tim Lincecum. They feel real good about themselves today. They will send their second best pitcher to the mound in Pac Bell Park.
Jonathan Sanchez has been dealing. Jonathan is 6-1 in his last seven starts! Notice we didn’t say the Giants or his team is 6-1, Mr. Sanchez has gone out there and battled the opposition and has won ball games.
Sanchez has allowed just two runs in his last three starts. IN fact in his last ten starts he has had just one bad start (Seven runs against the Rockies in a start he actually won). He has not allowed more than a handful of runs since early May. Keep riding this left-handed all the way to the bank!
San Francisco Giants (-)
New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies
It wouldn’t matter if Sandy Koufax was on the hill for the New York Mets tonight, this line is just completely off. The Mets are far too up and down to trust at all like this. We are sure that many of you have been burned by the Mets and especially Johan Santana in the recent months.
The Mets and Johan are laying this big number even though they are on the road and they don’t deserve it. Johan Santana’s last win came on the first day of JUNE. He has gone five straight starts without a win. Even worse the Mets haven’t won in Johan’s last five starts. Johan just hasn’t been on top of his game. Just two starts ago he allowed a grand-slam to an American League pitcher.
The Phillies won a huge ball game last night and their bats are picking up. They hit three long balls in Atlanta. Returning home they will put another three to four over the wall and they will beat the Mets here on this Friday night contest.
Philadelphia Phillies (+)
Houston Astros at Atlanta Braves
There is a reason why this line is so high folks. The line should be this high. After all look at it objectively. Tonight we get the better team, tonight we get the better pitcher, and tonight we get the home-field advantage. What else would we want? What else could we ask for?
The Braves are still one of the best teams at home this season. They are 10 games over .500 with a record of 28-18. Tonight we get Tim Hudson going for Atlanta. Tim thrives at home. Tim for the season is just 2-5 on the road with a 4.34 ERA. Not exactly CY Young numbers. At home though Tim Hudson has a 6-1 mark with a 2.24 ERA. Those numbers make him one of baseball’s best pitchers.
Atlanta still has a ton of power in their line-up. They are still in this division race because of the Mets and Phillies stumbling around. Look for the Braves to win this game easily.
Atlanta Braves (-)
Florida Marlins at Colorado Rockies
Wild game last night in Coors. Tonight look for a more conventional game. Scott Olsen goes for the Marlins and has he been good or what? Scott has really matured. He busted on the scene in 2005 making just four starts but throwing the ball well and impressing the Marlins enough to give him a spot in the rotation the following season.
2006 Scott was just as good. He won 12 games and had an ERA right at 4. His electric stuff really impressed people. He had 166 strikeouts in that his “rookie” season. Last year he had a ton of off the field problems and took a step back. This year he has picked up where he left off in 2006. This guy is just 4-4 but the team has won ten of his starts. Scott has an ERA and a WHIP they rank in the top 20 in the National league.
The Rockies aren’t the same team from last year folks. Look for Florida to keep plugging along and win this game.
Florida Marlins (+)
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals
Big match-up here in St. Louis. This is a rivalry in every sense of the word. This year this rivalry is hotter than ever. Sure the Cubs have been playing great baseball. They have been a feel good story. They have people out there predicting that they will be in the World Series etc. etc. Before we crown the Cubs, can they win a few games on the road?
The Cubs fly in to St. Louis after a disappointing split at the hands of the Giants. Yes it is true that the Cubs couldn’t even beat the Giants more than two games (Four game series) on the road. For the season the Cubs are seven games under .500. The Cardinals in the mean time have almost caught the Cubbies. With a sweep here in this series the Cardinals will take over first place.
Carlos Zambrano does not pitch well on the road. At home he is 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA. On the road he is just 4-3 with an ERA over 4.08. Look for the battle of the Midwest go to the Cardinals in this game.
St. Louis Cardinals (+)
San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks
Don’t be scared off by this big line. In fact we want you to run to this line before it moves in any direction. The Diamondbacks are going to win this game and win this game easily.
Arizona is coming off their best win of 2008 season. See many people forget but the Diamondbacks are still a first place team. Sure there is no denying they have struggled for a long time, but they are a better team than what they have showed. Just take yesterday’s game for example. They were down 6-0 in the last inning. How many teams can come back from that? Well the Diamondbacks did exactly that. They scored seven runs in the last inning to win the game in dramatic fashion. You better believe that carries over the next day, especially when you have your “1A” on the hill.
Danny Haren would be an ace on 25 teams in baseball. For the season he is 8-4 but in the dessert this guy is just un-hittable. 7-1 with just 45 hits allowed in his sixty innings. Look for him to shut down a very weak line-up. Diamondbacks all the way.
Arizona Diamondbacks (-)
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