FantasySportsGametime
Thursday MLB Plays
MLB Baseball
50* Play Colorado (+145) over Philadelphia (MLB PLAY)
Aaron Cook has won 5 of the last 6 games when pitching on a Thursday and he has an ERA of 2.81 over the last 3 starts. Cole Hamels has lost 7 of the last 8 day games and he is 0-2 over the last 3 starts with an ERA of 7.02.
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50* Play LA Angels (+100) over Boston (MLB Play)
Los Angeles has won 7 of the last 8 games and they have also won 13 of the last 16 games as a home underdog of +100 or higher. John Lackey has won 9 of the last 12 games when the total posted is between 8 and 8.5 runs and he has also won 18 of the last 25 home games when the line is between +125 to -125.
Thursday NHL Plays
NHL Hockey
25* Play Washington (-175) over NY Rangers
25* Play San Jose (-170) over Columbus
Thursday MLB Plays
MLB Baseball
50* Play Colorado (+145) over Philadelphia (MLB PLAY)
Aaron Cook has won 5 of the last 6 games when pitching on a Thursday and he has an ERA of 2.81 over the last 3 starts. Cole Hamels has lost 7 of the last 8 day games and he is 0-2 over the last 3 starts with an ERA of 7.02.
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50* Play LA Angels (+100) over Boston (MLB Play)
Los Angeles has won 7 of the last 8 games and they have also won 13 of the last 16 games as a home underdog of +100 or higher. John Lackey has won 9 of the last 12 games when the total posted is between 8 and 8.5 runs and he has also won 18 of the last 25 home games when the line is between +125 to -125.
Thursday NHL Plays
NHL Hockey
25* Play Washington (-175) over NY Rangers
25* Play San Jose (-170) over Columbus
randall the handle
Thursday
Game one
Boston –1.08 over L.A. ANGELS PINNACLE
First off, the Angels usually don’t beat the Red Sox and would’ve probably preferred to play the Yanks, at least from a psychological standpoint. In fact, these two have met three times in the playoffs since ’04 and the Angels have one win. Not one series win, one victory in 10 games. Secondly, the Red Sox have a huge edge on the hill in game one as Jon Lester is about as good as it gets while John Lackey had an average year and lost three of his last four starts. On Sept 26, the A’s knocked Lackey around for 10 hits and six runs in five innings and he followed that up with a “tune-up for the playoffs start” against Texas in which he went two innings and allowed four hits and two runs. His last stretch of good games came when he won three in a row from Aug 30-Sept 10 when he beat Seattle, K.C. and Oakland. You’ll have to excuse me while I crap in my pants over that run. Anyway, Lester might be the best pitcher in baseball and when he’s on he’s virtually unhittable. Based on the starters and the fact that the Angels might be collectively behind the eight-ball psychologically before this series even starts, the Red Sox are going to beat them again and it starts right here in game one. Play: Boston –1.08 (Risking 2.16 units to win 2).
Thursday
Game one
Boston –1.08 over L.A. ANGELS PINNACLE
First off, the Angels usually don’t beat the Red Sox and would’ve probably preferred to play the Yanks, at least from a psychological standpoint. In fact, these two have met three times in the playoffs since ’04 and the Angels have one win. Not one series win, one victory in 10 games. Secondly, the Red Sox have a huge edge on the hill in game one as Jon Lester is about as good as it gets while John Lackey had an average year and lost three of his last four starts. On Sept 26, the A’s knocked Lackey around for 10 hits and six runs in five innings and he followed that up with a “tune-up for the playoffs start” against Texas in which he went two innings and allowed four hits and two runs. His last stretch of good games came when he won three in a row from Aug 30-Sept 10 when he beat Seattle, K.C. and Oakland. You’ll have to excuse me while I crap in my pants over that run. Anyway, Lester might be the best pitcher in baseball and when he’s on he’s virtually unhittable. Based on the starters and the fact that the Angels might be collectively behind the eight-ball psychologically before this series even starts, the Red Sox are going to beat them again and it starts right here in game one. Play: Boston –1.08 (Risking 2.16 units to win 2).
Ferringo
1-Unit Play. Take ‘Under’ 7.0 St. Louis at L.A. Dodgers (6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8)
0.5-Unit Play. Take ‘Over’ 8.5 Boston at L.A. Angels (9:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8)
0.5-Unit Play. Take #962 L.A. Angels (-105) over Boston (9:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8)
0.5-Unit Play. Take #958 Philadelphia (-160) over Colorado (2:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8)
0.5-Unit Play. Take ‘Under’ 9.0 Colorado at Philadelphia (2:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8)
1-Unit Play. Take ‘Under’ 7.0 St. Louis at L.A. Dodgers (6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8)
0.5-Unit Play. Take ‘Over’ 8.5 Boston at L.A. Angels (9:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8)
0.5-Unit Play. Take #962 L.A. Angels (-105) over Boston (9:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8)
0.5-Unit Play. Take #958 Philadelphia (-160) over Colorado (2:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8)
0.5-Unit Play. Take ‘Under’ 9.0 Colorado at Philadelphia (2:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8)
Dave Malinsky
Playoff Special - Red Sox/Angels
Boston Red Sox (Lester)-105 over LOS ANGELES ANGELS(Lackey)
4* #961 BOSTON over ANGELS
Watching the line drop on this one is almost like viewing the October temperatures, with steady Angel action reducing this to where -105 has now become available, and perhaps something even better over the course of the day. With the Red Sox having edges with Jon Lester over John Lackey, and even bigger edges when the bullpens come into play, that makes this impossible to pass up. Lester is an under-valued item here. As impressive as his 15-8/3.41 looks, with the Red Sox going 22-10 in his 32 starts, he brings much more to the table. Of the 101 pitchers that worked at least 125 innings this season his difficulty of batters faced checks in at #14, which makes those base numbers bolder. But even more so is that he opened the season at 3-5/6.07 before getting his mechanics in order. Since then it has been a 12-3/2.31 over the last 22 starts, with the Red Sox going 17-5 in that span, and in 12 of those 22 games he allowed one earned run or none. A legitimate case can be made that there was not a better pitcher in the A.L. in that span. Now he brings some particular matchup advantages against the Angels. He held them without an earned run over 14 innings in the playoffs LY, with more strikeouts than hits allowed, and since the Angels have not faced him since then there is a lack of familiarity from this lineup that puts them on their heels again. And while this offense was third in the A.L. in stolen bases, with the Red Sox extremely weak throwing out base-runners, Lester only allowed 19 steals over 203.1 innings. That takes away a big part of the Angel attack. Meanwhile John Lackey was nothing special this season, working to a 3.83 as the team behind him went just 14-13 over 27 starts. He does not bring any particular form to the table, with an ugly 8.31 over his last three starts that includes an alarming count of 21 hits vs. only eight strikeouts. And he faces difficulties throughout the Boston lineup, particularly Victor Martinez (.476 over 21 at-bats), Dustin Pedroia (.375 over 16), David Ortiz (.333 with two home runs and 10 rbi?s in 33), Kevin Youkilis (.294, but with two home runs and four rbi?s in just 17 at-bats). His presence on the mound also leads to an offensive downgrade for the Angels, with the weaker bat of Jeff Mathis (.211-5-28) replacing the punch of Mike Napoli (.272-20-56) But all the Lester/Lackey matchup does is set the table for where the real edges are here, and that is in the latter stages, where the bullpen mismatch is major. The Red Sox are loaded with both quality and depth, leaving Terry Francona with multiple options from both sides of the mound. For the Angels it is a different story, with a mediocre group of set-up men, and the inconsistency of closer Bryan Fuentes providing season-long issues. It is during those pressure late-game moments that Boston takes this one over, particularly as confidence issues come into play ? the Red Sox are 9-1 against the Angels in the post-season since 2004, having trailed in only 7.5 of the 94 innings. And note that those were games when Mike Scioscia had Francisco Rodriguez available in the bullpen. He just does not have the options to be able to turn that Boston dominance around.
Playoff Special - Red Sox/Angels
Boston Red Sox (Lester)-105 over LOS ANGELES ANGELS(Lackey)
4* #961 BOSTON over ANGELS
Watching the line drop on this one is almost like viewing the October temperatures, with steady Angel action reducing this to where -105 has now become available, and perhaps something even better over the course of the day. With the Red Sox having edges with Jon Lester over John Lackey, and even bigger edges when the bullpens come into play, that makes this impossible to pass up. Lester is an under-valued item here. As impressive as his 15-8/3.41 looks, with the Red Sox going 22-10 in his 32 starts, he brings much more to the table. Of the 101 pitchers that worked at least 125 innings this season his difficulty of batters faced checks in at #14, which makes those base numbers bolder. But even more so is that he opened the season at 3-5/6.07 before getting his mechanics in order. Since then it has been a 12-3/2.31 over the last 22 starts, with the Red Sox going 17-5 in that span, and in 12 of those 22 games he allowed one earned run or none. A legitimate case can be made that there was not a better pitcher in the A.L. in that span. Now he brings some particular matchup advantages against the Angels. He held them without an earned run over 14 innings in the playoffs LY, with more strikeouts than hits allowed, and since the Angels have not faced him since then there is a lack of familiarity from this lineup that puts them on their heels again. And while this offense was third in the A.L. in stolen bases, with the Red Sox extremely weak throwing out base-runners, Lester only allowed 19 steals over 203.1 innings. That takes away a big part of the Angel attack. Meanwhile John Lackey was nothing special this season, working to a 3.83 as the team behind him went just 14-13 over 27 starts. He does not bring any particular form to the table, with an ugly 8.31 over his last three starts that includes an alarming count of 21 hits vs. only eight strikeouts. And he faces difficulties throughout the Boston lineup, particularly Victor Martinez (.476 over 21 at-bats), Dustin Pedroia (.375 over 16), David Ortiz (.333 with two home runs and 10 rbi?s in 33), Kevin Youkilis (.294, but with two home runs and four rbi?s in just 17 at-bats). His presence on the mound also leads to an offensive downgrade for the Angels, with the weaker bat of Jeff Mathis (.211-5-28) replacing the punch of Mike Napoli (.272-20-56) But all the Lester/Lackey matchup does is set the table for where the real edges are here, and that is in the latter stages, where the bullpen mismatch is major. The Red Sox are loaded with both quality and depth, leaving Terry Francona with multiple options from both sides of the mound. For the Angels it is a different story, with a mediocre group of set-up men, and the inconsistency of closer Bryan Fuentes providing season-long issues. It is during those pressure late-game moments that Boston takes this one over, particularly as confidence issues come into play ? the Red Sox are 9-1 against the Angels in the post-season since 2004, having trailed in only 7.5 of the 94 innings. And note that those were games when Mike Scioscia had Francisco Rodriguez available in the bullpen. He just does not have the options to be able to turn that Boston dominance around.
from a friend
Stu's
Nebraska @ Missouri 9:00 PM EDT
Play On: Nebraska -3.5 (2500-Dime)
Play on Nebraska minus the points as a 2500-Dime selection.
Ross' Thursday 5000-Dime MLB Guaranteed Winner-"Must Win" or Purchase Refunded!
Boston (Lester) @ LA Angels (Lackey) 9:35 PM EDT
Play On: Boston (-107) (5,000-Dime)
Play on the Boston Red Sox as a 5,000 Dime guaranteed selection.
Stu's MLB Playoffs 100-Dime Winner
Colorado (Cook) @ Philadelphia (Hamels) 2:30 PM EDT
Play On: Colorado +145 (100-Dime)
Play on the Colorado Rockies as a 100-Dime underdog selection.
Stu's
Nebraska @ Missouri 9:00 PM EDT
Play On: Nebraska -3.5 (2500-Dime)
Play on Nebraska minus the points as a 2500-Dime selection.
Ross' Thursday 5000-Dime MLB Guaranteed Winner-"Must Win" or Purchase Refunded!
Boston (Lester) @ LA Angels (Lackey) 9:35 PM EDT
Play On: Boston (-107) (5,000-Dime)
Play on the Boston Red Sox as a 5,000 Dime guaranteed selection.
Stu's MLB Playoffs 100-Dime Winner
Colorado (Cook) @ Philadelphia (Hamels) 2:30 PM EDT
Play On: Colorado +145 (100-Dime)
Play on the Colorado Rockies as a 100-Dime underdog selection.
4 Unit Play. Take Under between the St. Louis Cardinals vs. LA Dodgers (6pm). Both of these should be a great game. I like the Under between these two teams as Wainwright has a great shot at being the National League MVP. He comes off a rough start in his last effort and prior to that he had continued to be one of the best pitchers in the league. Wainwright has a 2.63 era and nearly posted his 20th win of the year. The last time he faced the Dodgers, Wainwright went seven strong innings and gave up just two runs en route to helping his team win 3-2. Plus, the Cardinals come off a 3-5 loss so that is even more reason why the Cards will be depending on Wainwright to step up today. Clayton Kershaw struggled in his last effort against the Cardinals and I expect him to bounce-back a bit at home today. Joe Torre has obviously shown a great deal of trust in him to start him this evening. The Southpaw has put together a great season as he has a 2.79 era and I suspect he too will have a strong effort after falling a bit short against the Cardinals at home last time out. In short, I expect this game to be a pitcher's duel this evening. The Under is 9-3 when the Cardinals face a lefty of late and the Under is 6-1 in Kershaw's last seven starts overall. The Under is also 4-0 in Kershaw's last four starts against the Cardinals overall as well.
4 Unit Play. #961. Take Boston Redsox -110 over the LA Angels (9:35pm est). I understand that the Redsox are facing John Lackey on the road. But, I also understand that Jon Lester has been one of the best if not the best pitcher in the second half of the season in the American League. Lester went 12-3 with a 2.31era in his final 22 starts which is simply remarkable. On top of that, he has not faced the Angels this year which is to his advantage as they have not had a chance to be familiar with his pitches. On the other hand, the Resox have faced Lackey plenty of times and have had success against him as well. Lackey is 3-7 with a 5.25 era in fourteen regular season starts against the Redsox and he is 0-2 with a 3.66era in the playoffs against them as well. Plus, Lackey comes into this game 0-3 with a 4era over his last six starts as well. The Redsox need to pick a game off on the road at some point and I think they will look to strike early with Lackey on the mound today. The Redsox are 4-0 when Lester starts with the current total set at this range and the Angels are 1-10 in their last 11 playoff games.
Good luck,
IC
4 Unit Play. #961. Take Boston Redsox -110 over the LA Angels (9:35pm est). I understand that the Redsox are facing John Lackey on the road. But, I also understand that Jon Lester has been one of the best if not the best pitcher in the second half of the season in the American League. Lester went 12-3 with a 2.31era in his final 22 starts which is simply remarkable. On top of that, he has not faced the Angels this year which is to his advantage as they have not had a chance to be familiar with his pitches. On the other hand, the Resox have faced Lackey plenty of times and have had success against him as well. Lackey is 3-7 with a 5.25 era in fourteen regular season starts against the Redsox and he is 0-2 with a 3.66era in the playoffs against them as well. Plus, Lackey comes into this game 0-3 with a 4era over his last six starts as well. The Redsox need to pick a game off on the road at some point and I think they will look to strike early with Lackey on the mound today. The Redsox are 4-0 when Lester starts with the current total set at this range and the Angels are 1-10 in their last 11 playoff games.
Good luck,
IC
