Monday's slate certainly wasn't worth pounding on the keyboard for. But when it comes to the series-opening game between National League titans, I'm willing to set the alarm clock an hour early. The Los Angeles Dodgers travel cross-country into hostile territory to trade blows with the Philadelphia Phillies. Both clubs…
A telling resolution to yesterday's question about which way to go in Toronto came down to Luis Castillo extending his troubling start to the season to a third outing. 4 more runs given up and another high BABIP outing helped the Jays snag a much needed win in their home…
When it comes to last year's preseason expectations, the NL East showed tremendous strength with four of its five teams ultimately exceeding their win totals. The debacle in Queens stood as the lone exception. That's a whole other story onto itself. Marginal clubs like the Marlins and Nationals finished the…
Last week's puff piece about the Cincinnati Reds' heater was ironically hung out to dry via a failed team total bid. Never fear though, their bats revved back up to close out the weekend series in Houston strong and keep the funds rolling in the right direction. I would apologize…
Getting back to the homefront after a productive week on the road feels good but Monday means out of the frying pan and into the fire for me. A sweaty Saturday at Fenway transitioned to an easier finish in Kansas City to get our featured handicaps back into the black.…
There was certainly something about the East divisions last year as the American League and National League versions each sent three representatives to the playoffs. Yet it was the NL side's representative that had enough left in tank to reach the sport's biggest stage. Even though Philadelphia fell just short,…
Here I am on the fence once again. Gotta admit that I like writing about the tricky handicaps more than the ones that carry higher conviction though. Thursday's edition highlighted an unsung starting pitcher against one of the more prolific lineups in the league. Now the MLB Morning Breakdown for…
JJ@BC As great as vacation can be - which last week's trip to the Azores certainly was - there's no place like home. Especially when you've spent a week in a nation that blocks access to gambling websites! The things we do to get away, right? Despite being sleep deprived…
The Cubbies had me fooled Friday morning and sure I paid the price. Combined with another half-unit loss at Coors Field, those two losses ate the Mets' profit plus a little bit of my bankroll. At least Friday's action did not yield an 0-3 whoopin. After a day off from…
When the Tigers failed to plate the tying run in the 5th yesterday afternoon, I thought of what could have been for my first 5 inning dog bet. Then the Twins piled on 4 more runs in the bottom half of the inning and that thought turned to "damn I…
The Gausman-Severino main event in the Bronx proved to be quite the pitching duel amongst two high-powered offenses last night. The Jays first 5 inning position also proved to be an L for us, but at least one of the half-unit variety. Lineup uncertainty led to my limited exposure early…
When the man is dialed in, the man is dialed in. Shane Bieber had the mojo rocking for as long as I needed him to against my Cincinnati Reds, making for a quick first 5 inning scoop. First 5 ringer Mr. Pig had a great breakdown of the same wager…
After yesterday's outbreak of low scoring games we had to put our research team of Yanni and D-Nice on the case. They've run multiple statistical analyses and made the executive decision to bet the under in every MLB game today. This should be interesting. As for me, I'm ready to…
I saved the best for last. The World Series Champion Atlanta Braves brought the hardware back to the NL East after a slow start to the season. It was impressively opposite of the Mets' summer swoon that landed them with a below-.500 record behind the sneaky Phillies. There's a ton…
No complaints from me with yesterday's Mariners/Angels handicap, perhaps other than underestimating Chris Flexen's production against a good offensive team. His splits away from T-Mobile Park scared me off of the underdog side but the guy pitched 7 brilliant innings of 1-run ball. Seattle's bullpen, on the other hand! Even…
The MLB Morning Breakdown for 7-10-2021 is finally back after close to three weeks on the sidelines! During that time, I had close to five days of internet detox in the Flat Tops Wilderness of Colorado with no cell service and no internet whatsoever. That was a fantastic reset to…
The MLB Morning Breakdown for 6-18-2021 is back in action after a brief mid-week hiatus. I'm cramming it in at work in advance of a trip to Colorado starting next weekend - so note that the Breakdown will be on a long break from June 27th - July 6th. In…
The weekend is here at last, and could we actually be looking at a full MLB slate without any significant weather impacts? Last night's start to the weekend was a good one, though the Angels' inability to put away the D-backs resulted in a net push in the desert. But…
The MLB Morning Breakdown for 5-21-2021 hits the ground running after an unplanned no-handicap Thursday. At least Houston's bats complied to carry Wednesday's wager and make up for the Ohtani blow on Sunday. So we press on with a two-play Friday to kick off the weekend on the right foot.…
Despite the best-laid plans, Washington swung for the fences and kept falling short Sunday afternoon. That matchup against a lefty who is prone to getting knocked around was juicy but the results did not manifest. I'll be completely honest and say that was a very disappointing outcome. Realistically, though, not…
After Tuesday's quick in-and-out solo shot on the Nationals/Cardinals first 5 inning position, it's time to stretch out the playbook in the MLB Morning Breakdown for 4-14-2021. And that play was quick because the Cardinals pounded Strasburg for 4 runs in the 3rd and a ton more in the 5th.…
The new week began with two plays on Monday that banked on offensive eruptions from the Blue Jays and White Sox. Well, that's what we got. Some confidence was restored when my doubts in Mike Foltynewicz' rebound from a brutal season came true, leading to Toronto surpassing their team total…
The Braves' punctuated the 2020 season with their third straight and 15th overall NL East title. Atlanta's impressive young nucleus gives the impression of a club building their way towards a dynasty like that of the late 1990's. On the flip side, the 2019 World Series Champion Washington Nationals was…
Going into the 2019 season, expectations were high in the NL East, where all but one team had season win totals of 85 or higher. Even more impressively, three of those four actually exceeded their totals. Your World Series Champions, the Washington Nationals, cleared their total with a second-half surge…
After triple-checking my handicapping on the Astros/Tigers game yesterday morning, I punched a single MLB ticket for the short Monday slate. The downside to the Astros +105 run line wager was the strong possibility that Matthew Boyd would shut the Houston offense down and the Tigers would do enough to…
Day ball was kind to me on Thursday as the Twins and Rockies jumped out to early leads and never coughed them up. The 2-0 result pushes the week 5 record to 5-3 for a +2.58 unit net. Reads on starting pitchers are getting sharper and the team profiles are…
Saturday's plays involved a four-pack of home teams headlined by the Toronto Blue Jays. They've owned the A's so far this season, notching their 5th win against Oakland in as many games. All the buzz has been around Vlad Jr. this weekend but he was essentially a non-factor in their…
The Nationals did it. They lost to the Padres as -200 favorites in their first game after finishing a series in Colorado. Even with a day of rest, the Rocky Mountain Hangover claims its 4th victim in as many situations. There wasn't much to this theory in 2018 (teams went…
Easter Sunday's 1-4 result was disappointing to say the least. The extra-innings loss by the Rays was the difference-maker in regard to maintaining a solid bounce back week. Unfortunately, the day's results made the week a slight loss of 0.45 units and the season just shy of -6 units. Before…
We cracked a six pack of plays Saturday and I've gotta tell you, somebody must have shaken those cans up really good. The Yankees waited until the 7th inning to break a scoreless deadlock and eventually cover the +105 run line. But the second slug of games saw a stellar…
Yesterday's 5 plays started with a dud and ended on the west coast with 3 very disappointing outcomes. The 1-4 result cost -2.65 units and was the most costly day of the young season. In fact, this week has been a gut punch on the run line, shedding 8.1 units…
On a couple occasions during this young season I've noted the downside protection that run line plays offer when compared to laying -120 or greater on favorites. Forgoing the juice and coughing up a flat unit bet when the team loses the game can add incremental value in the form…
Saturday's 1-3 run line result was less than great, skimming 1.55 units from the season total that now sits at -0.93 units. Cardinals, Phillies, and Angels were poised to return midrange plus-money payouts but only LA got the money. All of the run line losses were straight up losses, so…
Tonight's Final Four action is sure to capture the attention of many bettors, and rightly so. As you'd expect, I've got MLB in my crosshairs. Friday's 2-1 on run line plays got me back in the black for the season, yielding +1.65 units for a +0.62-unit advantage since Opening Day.…
Some things don't go according to plan. Yesterday's 1-3 (-1.95 units) result was a good example, bringing the season net down to -1.03 units. Yet again, the Oakland A's were a bright spot on my betting card. A sloppy start for the A's transitioned over to the Sox, who gave…