Case of the Mondays: Indians Going in Wrong Direction as Second Half Begins

by Ricky Dimon - 7/17/2017

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber

If there is to be a rematch of last year's epic World Series in this season's Fall Classic, the Cubs and Indians are going to have to get a move on it. So far, so good for Chicago-winners of three in a row to begin the proverbial second half of the season. As for Cleveland…not so much. The Indians returned from the all-star break and promptly got swept by Oakland. Not unlike Cleveland, Arizona also currently finds itself in a playoff position that is becoming more tenuous by the day.

All odds provided by BetOnline Sportsbook .

Cleveland Indians . That is not how the Indians could have envisioned their second half starting. Whereas the defending champion Cubs opened with a three-game sweep of Baltimore, the Indians got swept in a three-game set at Oakland. They suffered losses of 5-0, 5-3, and 7-3 while blowing an eighth-inning lead in the middle contest and giving up a walk-off home run to Khris Davis. Starting pitcher Trevor Bauer did not even get through the first inning of Sunday's finale. Having ended the first half with a setback against Detroit, Cleveland has now lost four in a row. The Indians are +300 to win the American League Pennant.

Arizona Diamondbacks . If there is any good news for the Indians, it's that they still lead the AL Central by 1.5 games over Minnesota. As for the Diamondbacks, they can kiss their division hopes goodbye (10.5 games behind the dominant Dodgers). But Arizona is in prime position for a wild-card spot in the National League…as long as it doesn't collapse. That may be easier said than done, though, because a collapse could already be in progress. The D-Backs are in the midst of a five-game losing streak, coming off a sweep at the hands of Atlanta. Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt is a +200 co-favorite (with Washington's Bryce Harper) to win NL MVP.

Atlanta Hawks .Well, that escalated quickly…. Once looking like a solid No. 2 Eastern Conference franchise behind Cleveland (not that No. 2 in the East is saying much), Atlanta suddenly finds itself in complete rebuilding mode. The Hawks finished the 2014-15 campaign with the conference's best record, led by Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, and DeMarre Carroll. Following fourth-place and fifth-place finishes the last two seasons, respectively, all four of those players are now gone. Millsap was the last to leave, completing a free-agent deal with Denver last week. The Hawks are +190 to make the playoffs in 2017-18.

Chelsea . It has been a relatively tumultuous English Premier League offseason for Chelsea. The Blues, who are the reigning EPL champions and have won it two of the last three years, recently missed out on signing Romelu Lukaku. Instead of inking a deal with Chelsea, the Belgian striker joined Premier League rival Manchester United. The Blues are now hot on Alvaro Morata's trail, but the Spanish striker appears to leaning toward AC Milan.

Chris Froome . Froome has won the Tour de France three of the last four years and he went into this summer as a considerable favorite. The 32-year-old Brit still has the yellow jersey through 15 stages, but his lead over Italian Fabio Aru stands at just 18 seconds. Aru briefly took yellow when Froome stumbled on a mountain stage last Friday, but the defending champion wasted no time taking it right back. "No excuses; I just didn't have the legs on the final kick," Froome said after he had surrendered yellow to Aru. "It's certainly going to be a big fight now from here to Paris."Two other riders are less than 30 seconds behind Froome; Romain Bardet (23 seconds) and Rigoberto Uran (29 seconds). Froome is a -300 favorite to win the Tour de France.

Venus Williams . Playing in her ninth Wimbledon final and first since 2009, Venus had a chance to capture her sixth title at the All-England Club when she took the court last Saturday. But 2015 runner-up Garbine Muguruza had other ideas. Venus missed two set-point opportunities in the opener and it all went wrong for her after that. Muguruza eventually ran off nine consecutive games to capture her first Wimbledon title, from a 4-5 deficit in the first set to a 7-5, 6-0 victory. Venus double-faulted five times and committed 25 unforced errors compared to Muguruza's 11. Muguruza is a +600 favorite to win the U.S. Open later this summer.

Patrick Rodgers . Rodgers seemed to be in line for his first PGA Tour victory when he led the John Deere Classic through three rounds and then padded his advantage by making birdie on four of the first six holes on the back nine on Sunday. But two pars and a bogey on the par-5 17^th opened the door for a hard-charging Bryson DeChambeau, and a walk through the door is exactly what DeChambeau took. The 23-year-old birdied four of the final six holes, including the 18^th, to beat Rodgers by one stroke. Thus it was DeChambeau-not Rodgers-who became the latest first-time winner on tour while earning a spot in this week's British Open. "Our tendency when you have the lead is to kind of hold on and play safe and guard against making mistakes," Rodgers reflected. "But I had guys coming at me with some really low rounds. Obviously, Bryson shot a great one."Dustin Johnson is a +1200 favorite to win the British Open.

Start:	November 23, 2024 @ 2:30 PM
Expert:	Tony George
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