Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza 7/13/2016

by Doc's Sports - 7/13/2016

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish

MLB's annual All-Star Game marks the halfway point of the regular season, and starting this Friday the race for the pennant in both the American and National League will really start to heat up. In this week's discussion with Doc's Sports expert handicapper Raphael Esparza we will get his take on how he sees both of the races panning out.

Previously known as the Vegas Sports Informer during a long and successful career in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry, Raphael rose through the ranks to the prestigious position of Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria while honing his craft as an expert handicapper. After officially retiring from the sportsbook industry in 2013, he now spends all of his time running a successful and diverse sports investment service from his home base in Las Vegas and his newly-adopted home in New Orleans. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: The Texas Rangers come into the second half of the MLB regular season with the best record in the American League, but are they your top team in the AL to make it all the way to this year's World Series?

RE: I liked Texas before the season began and I sticking with that pick at the midway point as well. The Rangers could be even better in the second half once they get some of their banged up starters get healthy and you never know what kind of deals they may pull off at the trade deadline. Cleveland is still a team to watch and I would have to put the Indians as a close second in this race.

Doc's Sports: Your beloved Chicago Cubs have hit a rough patch the past few weeks to open the door for San Francisco to claim top honors in the National League as far as total wins so far. Washington is another team on the rise in the NL. Given what you have seen in the first half of the season, which way are you leaning when it comes to picking a winner in this pennant race?

RE: My pick in the NL was Washington at the beginning of the season and I am not backing down on that one either. The Nationals have the type of power pitching you need to win a pennant and they are powerful at the plate as well. San Francisco is always a threat given its ability to win in the postseason and Chicago would be my third choice.

Doc's Sports : The new season in the CFL has heavily favored the underdogs through the first three weeks with an 8-2-1 record straight-up to go along with a highly profitable 10-1 record against the spread with one game closing as a "pick". Do you see this trend continuing heading into Week 4 with a number of close matchups on the slate?

RE: There was quite a bit of player movement in the CFL this offseason so it could take the oddsmakers a few more weeks to figure things out. As for this week's games, I would keep riding the dogs until they stop barking.

Doc's Sports : Heading into the start of the 2016 British Open at Royal Troon this Thursday, Jason Day and Dustin Johnson are the top two favorites to win golf's third Major of the year with many of the sportsbooks in town. Which one of these golfers would you go with this week in a head-to-head matchup?

RE: I would definitely go with Dustin Johnson this week over Jason Day. Depending on the actual betting odds, I would probably look to bet Johnson head-to-head against a couple of the top contenders in the British Open. He is playing some of the best golf of his career and with last month's win in the US Open he brings a great deal of confidence in his game into this tournament.

Doc's Sports: The UFC has been making front-page news lately. Considering the results from Saturday's UFC 200 in Las Vegas followed by the news of its impending sale for $4 billion, which of these two will have a bigger impact on the immediate future of this sport?

RE : The fact that Dana White just signed a five-year deal to remain in charge following the announced sale brings a great deal of stability to the UFC. It is no big surprise that it was sold given all the rumors of an impending deal over the past several months and with White firmly in place at the top I would look for things to remain business as usual in the coming months.

Click here to visit Raphael Esparza's Insider's Page at Doc's Sports for more information on his amazingly-profitable sports handicapping picks. Also, get $60 worth of Esparza's member's picks absolutely free - no obligation, no sales people - you don't even have to enter credit card information. You can use this $60 credit for any sport Esparza handicaps. Click here for $60 worth of free picks from Raphael Esparza .

Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 10:07 PM
Expert:	Vernon Croy
Free $60 Account Sign Up

Most Recent Weekly Sports Betting and Handicapping