The Wiesguy is a newcomer to the handicapping scene. Hailing from Toronto, Canada he is always sweet on the underdogs and you can often find his thoughts, musings and picks at moneydogs.blogspot.com.
Is it ever really too early to start looking at these things? I suppose not if the sportsbooks are willing to take our bets. This has been an interesting offseason for NCAA hoops futures because player movement has significantly influenced the odds.
The draft is done, the schedule is out and lines are even posted on some of the key games throughout the season…you can almost smell the optimism. Thank you football for giving us an offseason that is actually interested.
Cincinnati is looking to close some ground in the National League Central but couldn’t take advantage of a loss by St. Louis and finished yesterday behind Pittsburgh in a fun race to watch.
The Texas Rangers drew first blood in this series between former World Series combatants (2011). Texas took the first game and if they keep winning they might use this series to reclaim first place in the American League West. Not exactly a true measure of revenge but better than nothing.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are in last place and fading, with the worst record in the National League West Over the last 10 games.
To me the San Diego Padres are one of the most counfounding teams out there. With the names they have on their roster they should probably be among the worst teams in the Majors but they are hanging in there at just below .500.
San Francisco Giants (32-29) vs Arizona Diamondbacks (35-27)
The San Francisco Giants came into this weekend hoping to close the gap against the first place Arizona Diamondbacks but the best they can hope for now is winnning the series. They dropped the opener but came back yesterday winning a 10-5 victory.
This is an important series between the Nationals and Braves this weekend and the Nationals struck first taking game 1 – thought it may have cost them ace Stephen Strasburg.
Is the National League Central the best division in baseball? Well it is the only one with three teams with 34 or more victories heading into June. Two of those are locked up here as the Red and Pirates are tied for second behind the Cardinals after the Reds won the series opener Friday night.
The St. Louis Cardinals came into Friday night with the best record in baseball. As this is being written they were beating L.A 3-0 and looking to extend their lead in the National League Central. You have to hand it to St. Louis for always being so competitive.
As this is being written the Mets and Braves were tied at 5 and in a delay in the 8th of this series opener. The Atlanta Braves are firmly in first in the National League East and are 7-3 in their last 10 heading into Friday night.
The Philadelphia Phillies have a chance to leapfrog the Washington Nationals into second place over the weekend – not bad considering there is maybe one or two players in the lineup and a couple of pitchers that are living up to or exceeding expectations so far.
The Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks are all tied atop the National League West heading into this series.
Friday May 24
AT&T Park – San Francisco, CA
10:15PM
Probable Pitchers:
COL: Tyler Chatwood (R)
SF: Tim Lincecum (R)
Moneyline: San Francisco -148, Colorado +138
O/U: 7.5
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The Rockies have to be the biggest surprise up there as preseason predictions generally placed them as the worst team in the division.
The Rockies took 3 of 4 against the Giants at home to bridge the gap and one of the reasons for their strong record in their 16-10 mark against division competition…but things are different for this team away from Coors.
Starter Tyler Chatwood has been a pleasant surprise this season. Cast off by the Angels (who could probably use him right now) Chatwood is 2-0 this season with a shiny E.R.A. of 2.55 but that is probably not sustainable when you look at his peripherals which are in line with those from his days in L.A.
The Rockies seems to feel good when Chatwood takes the mound scoring an average of more than 9 runs a game. With that kind of support anybody can be a winner.
As mentioned above the Giants are tied with the Rockies and Diamondbacks atop the division. The Giants have won the world series twice in the last three seasons but they are still one of the most confounding teams in the league.[dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Amongst teams with a winning record they have the second lowest run differential at just +4 even though they are 5 games over the .500 mark.
They are a much better team at home where their 17 wins is tied for best in the Majors.
After a miserable 2012 season that was leaving his career in doubt Tim Lincecum has improved slightly this season – it has been amazing to watch his slide. He was hammered by the Rockies last weekend, in fact his numbers against Colorado this year are the following: 11IP, 12ER. The “Freak” has just become too inconsistent to get behind any more.
Though it should be noted the Giants are 6-3 in his starts this season. I just prefer pitchers who influence the game in a positive way rather than getting lucky.
I am totalty comfortable fading the Freak and the Giants Friday night. Its not because I am a true believer in Chatwood but I think his team will back him up against the Giants the way they have all season long.
I think either way you can go over, the Giants are scoring more runs than their reputation of their championship years.
O/U: Over
Score Prediction: Colorado 7 – San Francisco 5
Cleveland has to be the biggest surprise team on the positive side in the American League so far this season, leading the A.L Central heading into Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Angels are on their best run of the season having won their last 4 games against the Chicago White Sox and Seattle.
The Cincinnati Reds were on a fantastic roll heading into last night’s game against Philadelphia. The Reds had won 6 in a row and 8 of 10 to put some pressure on the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central.
