May 25, 2013

First gambling lines on MLB “over / unders” are out

February 15, 2013 by 21 Comments

Your Cleveland Indians have made a lot of changes this off-season. As a result, their over /under in win totals has changed since last year. The Cleveland Indians can be wagered to win plus or minus 77.5 games in 2013 according to Steve Mikkelson at the Atlantis.

You might remember that the Indians’ win line was set at 75.5 a year ago. Improvement!

Other highlights from the division have the White Sox at 80.5, the Royals at 79 and the Tigers at 90. Place your bets.

Here are the rest of the initial lines.

D’Backs 81½ ov -120 / un -110
Braves 86 ov -115 / un -115
Orioles 76½ ov – 115 / un – 115
Red Sox 79½ ov – 120 / un – 110
Cubs 72 ov – 115 / un – 115
White Sox 80½ ov – 115 / un – 115
Reds 88½ ov – 115 / un – 115
Indians 77½ ov – 120 / un – 110
Rockies 71½ ov – 115 / un – 115
Tigers 90 ov – 115 / un – 115
Astros 59½ ov – 120 / un – 110
Royals 79 ov – 115 / un – 115
Angels 89½ ov – 120 / un – 110
Dodgers 90 ov – 115 / un – 115
Marlins 64½ ov – 110 / un – 120
Brewers 79½ ov – 115 / un – 115
Twins 64½ ov – 115 / un – 115
Mets 74 ov – 110 / un – 120
Yankees 86½ ov – 115 / un – 115
Athletics 83 ov – 110 / un – 120
Phillies 81½ ov – 115 / un – 115
Pirates 79 ov – 115 / un – 115
Padres 74½ ov – 115 / un – 115
Giants 86 ov – 115 / un – 115
Mariners 76½ ov – 115 / un – 115
Cardinals 85½ ov – 115 / un – 115
Rays 86 ov – 115 / un – 115
Rangers 87 ov – 115 / un – 115
Blue Jays 86½ ov – 115 / un – 115
Nationals 90 ov – 115 / un – 115

[Related: WFNY Podcast – 2013-02-14 – TD and Craig talking Cavs game day experience, Tribe and more]

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On the Indians and Baseball’s “Level Playing Field”

September 30, 2010 by 32 Comments

Because the Yankees are the Yankees, people seem to think that baseball is an inherently unfair sport.  It’s not that I disagree with that sentiment exactly, though I am going to tweak it a little bit today.  At least that’s what I hope to do.  But it’s going to take some time, so bear with me.

One of the things that people moan about when suggesting that baseball is unfair is that free agency is out of control, and that only teams like the Yankees and Red Sox can afford the good free agents.  On this front, I happen to agree completely: good free agents generally go to one of three or four places.  But I’m not so sure that makes baseball unfair—at least no more so than any other sport.  After all, is it fair that a bunch a basketball players enjoy South Beach?  Is it fair that some owners happen to be Art Modell?  Not really, no.  But we deal with it and move on.

So today I thought I’d take a look at the rosters of some well-run organizations and see where they got their best players.  Then I’d compare those teams to the Indians.  If other teams’ best players are all coming from free agency and the Indians aren’t, then maybe we can call the system broken and move on.  Then maybe we can all adopt a more equitable hobby—like knitting.  But maybe there’s something else to find.  Let’s see. [Read more...]

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Manny Returns, Again

August 30, 2010 by 13 Comments

After leaving the Cleveland Indians for greener bank accounts in 2001, Manny Ramirez has done much to solidify his reputation as one of the greatest right handed hitters of all time.  For his career, Manny has a .313/.411/.589 line, with 554 career home runs, two World Series rings, and a World Series MVP.  Like I said, Manny is probably one of the best right handed hitters in baseball history.

When he feels like it.

I say this not only because I find it hard to be charmed by Manny’s dismissive and self-serving antics, but because he has proven not once, but twice that he’s willing to quit on his team to force a trade.  He first pulled this stunt two years ago in Boston: beating up a Red Sox employee and faking knee injuries when it became clear to him that the Red Sox weren’t going to pick up his $20 million option. [Read more...]

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America Is Ready For Some Football

August 10, 2010 by 10 Comments

Just in case you thought for half a second that baseball might still be America’s pastime, you are wrong.  This Sunday proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt.  I love baseball too, so don’t feel too sad.  Just admit that we all are obsessed with football.  The 365 day cycle of the NFL is officially complete.  They changed the draft and made us into zombies trying to remember stats and tape from the combine.  Oh yeah, the combine?  That is on the NFL Network and I know more than a few people who watched that too.  Now it is even more official.  What were you watching this weekend?

If you’re like the rest of the American sports viewing public, you chose the Hall of Fame Game between Cincinnati and Dallas on NBC. That contest not only trounced ESPN’s airing of the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees game, but its 7.6 rating is the highest for any NFL preseason game in six years, more than doubling the Yankees-Red Sox, which drew a 2.7 rating. [Read more...]

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Red Sox/Rays Fight: That Didn’t Take Long

June 5, 2008 by 7 Comments

This pretty much speaks for itself. The game isn’t even over yet, and we have the video…

[flv]http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/2008/06/05/mlbtv_tbabos_551716_800K.flv[/flv]

We knew it wouldn’t take long for this to go down. Watch Carl Crawford, and remember that he ran in from the outfield and still beat about half of the Red Sox to the mound. That speed comes in handy.

Again, Crisp doesn’t exactly downplay the fact that he was to blame for last night’s issues, and you have to wonder if things would have been different if not for being in Boston. It’s tough to jeopardize an outing for James Shields, but it’s a team game.

Thoughts?

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Coco Crisp Gets Dirty

June 5, 2008 by 5 Comments

In my talks with Terry Pluto, a guy that he seems to miss is Coco Crisp. Obviously, Jason Michaels didn’t exactly pan out as planned, so you can see why. However, the video below is one of the dirtier plays I have seen in baseball for quite some time – okay, maybe like a week or so, but still – and not exactly something you would expect out of the guy.

Check it out for yourself:


You hate to toss around the term “thug,” but that was obviously a goon-like move on his part. Even if the score were closer, it’s a bit on the dirty side. And while Pete Rose approves, the Devil Rays – obviously – do not. As The Sporting Blog mentions, tonight’s game could get interesting.

(Big thanks to Chris at TSB for the clip)

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