Baseball Handicapping Articles

MLB Picks: Cubs at Red Sox Series Odds and Predictions
by Darin Zank - 5/20/2011

A couple of teams that don't get together very often headline the first round of Interleague Play this weekend as the Chicago Cubs hit Beantown for the first time in almost a century for a three-game series with the streaking Red Sox.

MLB Handicapping: Top Five ‘Under’ Umpires
by Aaron Smith - 5/20/2011

The baseball season is a long grind and a wise bettor will look for any chance to get an edge over the oddsmakers. While some MLB handicappers like to say that umpire statistics don’t matter, I beg to differ. The numbers don’t lie, and the numbers prove that not all umpires are created equal. Considering the tendencies of an umpire is one of the single best ways to profit in the long haul when betting on baseball. Recently, I wrote about the top five ‘over’ umpires in the league. Now, it is time to look at the top ‘under’ umpires in baseball. These are the guys that the pitchers love to see behind the dish!

MLB Handicapping: Interleague Play
by Darin Zank - 5/19/2011

Interleague Play in Major League Baseball has definitely lost its luster. However, it's probably also here to stay. So as we prepare for this season's first round of American League vs. National League action this weekend let's shine some light on some interleague trends that might benefit the baseball handicapper.

Baseball Handicapping: Streak Systems
by Darin Zank - 5/18/2011

Baseball betting systems are, like the old saying goes, like rear ends; everybody's got one. One of the oldest betting systems involves streaks, both winning and losing. The basic idea being that a great many baseball games, over the course of the long season, fall into one of those two categories. And when a team is hot, bet them to stay hot, and conversely, when a team is cold, bet them to remain cold.

MLB Handicapping: Surprises and Disappointments
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 5/17/2011

There is little debate over who the biggest disappointment in baseball is this season and who is the biggest surprise, but there is some debate over what to do next in terms of a betting strategy. The Cleveland Indians were not expected to do much of anything this season except lose. The Minnesota Twins were expected to compete for yet another division crown.

MLB Handicapping: Top Five ‘Over’ Umpires
by Aaron Smith - 5/17/2011

Do you study the tendencies of the home plate umpire before placing each baseball wager? If you don’t already do this, I strongly suggest you start right away! The home plate umpire has a huge effect on the outcome of the game. Unlike other sports like basketball and football, where all the referees have an equal influence on the game, baseball’s home plate umpire controls the game while the other three umpires often have a minimal impact.

MLB Handicapping: Boston Red Sox
by T.O. Whenham - 5/13/2011

There hasn’t been a team more interesting to follow this year than the Boston Red Sox. I’m not saying that watching them has been fun — it often has been really ugly. Watching them flounder in the face of massive expectations has been fascinating, though. Only the Phillies came into the season with lower futures odds and higher expectations. The team had overhauled their lineup and gotten significantly better and the Yankees had failed to significantly improve, so hopes were high. Needless to say, sitting at 17-20 and five games out of first is not where they were supposed to be almost a quarter of the way into this season.

MLB Handicapping: A Look at Sub-.500 Teams
by T.O. Whenham - 5/13/2011

There are, as I write this, 14 teams in the major leagues that have records below .500 -- just under half the teams in the league. There are some surprises -- eternal losers Washington and Kansas City are not amongst that group, and though Pittsburgh is they sit just one game below .500. Here’s a look at each team to see if they are just hitting a rough patch or if the problems are more severe (World Series futures odds are from Bodog):

MLB Picks: Cardinals at Cubs Odds and Series Predictions
by Darin Zank - 5/10/2011

One of the best rivalries in baseball, especially within the National League, begins its 2011 edition when the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs meet for a three-game series at Wrigley Field starting Tuesday night. St. Louis just took two of three games from Milwaukee, winning the rubber match Sunday, 3-1, behind eight good innings from starter Kyle McClellan, who's now 5-0 on the season.

MLB Betting: The Importance of Defense in Baseball Handicapping
by Aaron Smith - 5/6/2011

When is the last time you sat down and analyzed a Major League Baseball team’s defense? The answer is likely either a long time ago or never. The average sports bettor thinks a lot about defense when analyzing a football or basketball game, but I’m convinced that most people don’t think nearly enough about defense when it comes to baseball. It may not mean as much as the starting pitching matchups, but in a sport where many games are decided by a run or two, defense is definitely worthy of your attention.

MLB Handicapping: Top Five MLB Ballparks Where Weather is a Factor
by Aaron Smith - 5/4/2011

If you are betting on baseball, you definitely need to be well aware of the weather on a day-to-day basis. A baseball isn’t terribly big, so it’s easy to see how a strong wind or humidity levels can change the flight of the baseball. Unless the game is being played in a domed stadium, there isn’t a good excuse for not knowing the weather conditions before placing a wager. Most people hear the word weather associated with baseball and they automatically think of wind.

MLB Predictions: Declining Pitchers
by T.O. Whenham - 4/29/2011

When a pitcher that has long been solid starts to perform well below his reputation it can take a while for the public to catch on. That means that there can be value in being more negative about these guys than the public — as long as that negativity is warranted. Here’s a look at my MLB predictions for five solid starters who are showing clear signs that they could be on the decline:

MLB Picks: Red Sox at Orioles Odds and Predictions
by Darin Zank - 4/26/2011

The Boston Red Sox have bounced back nicely after a lousy start to this season. The Baltimore Orioles, on the other hand, started out hot this season, but have cooled considerably since. So two teams headed in different directions at the moment meet this week when Boston visits Baltimore for three games, starting Tuesday night.

MLB Odds: Indians and Royals Still Longshots
by T.O. Whenham - 4/22/2011

These are crazy times in the American League. Through three weeks of action the most unlikely of leaders have emerged. Cleveland has the best record in the league, and the second in all of baseball. The Royals have the third best record in the league, and are just one game behind the Indians. There were reasons to believe that both teams were moving in the right direction and could be teams to watch in a few years if they kept making good decisions and had some luck. But no one expected this.

MLB Picks: Dodgers at Cubs Series Odds and Betting Predictions
by Darin Zank - 4/22/2011

The Los Angeles Dodgers, as a franchise, have a mess on their hands. As a baseball team, they're a .500 outfit so far this season. But with the circus going on with their owner and his wife and the league, maybe it's good that the Dodgers leave town for a while. So LA starts a six-game road trip with three games with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field beginning Friday afternoon.

MLB Betting Predictions: Bottom-of-Rotation Pitchers
by T.O. Whenham - 4/22/2011

The guys at the top of the rotation are the ones who get all the attention, the glory, and the big paychecks in baseball. They are also the ones who get all of the attention from the public bettors, so it can be tough to find value betting on them — especially if they are any good and they play for a good team. By looking at the bottom of the rotation — the fourth and fifth starters — you can often find guys who are talented and effective enough to win some games, but who don’t get nearly the attention of the bigger names. Here my MLB betting predictions for four guys at the back end of their team’s rotations that have proven to be worth a look so far this year:

MLB Betting Advice: Boston Red Sox
by T.O. Whenham - 4/21/2011

The Red Sox made headlines at the start of the season, but for all the wrong reasons. An aggressive and sensible offseason had expectations sky high, but a 2-10 start had everyone trying to figure out what was going on. They are a more impressive 4-1 since, but the start has raised a number of issues for the team and for bettors. Here’s a look at four of the more interesting ones along with some MLB betting advice:

MLB Picks: Indians at Royals Series Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 4/18/2011

Well, I can honestly say that before the 2011 Major League Baseball season began I certainly never anticipated previewing a Cleveland Indians-Kansas City Royals matchup, much less one with first place in the American League Central on the line. Oh, and did I mention the best record in the AL is on the line too? Meanwhile, the Twins are in last place. That division is literally upside down from what people expected.

MLB Betting Tips: Don’t Overreact to Early Results, Profit from Them
by Aaron Smith - 4/16/2011

We are a little more than two weeks into the 2011 Major League Baseball season. Most teams now have 11 or 12 games under their belts, which means bettors have a bit of a feel for the strengths and weaknesses of each team. However, it’s important to keep in mind that there are almost six months left in the regular season. Betting on baseball is unique from betting on any other sport because these teams play almost every day for a period of six months.

MLB Picks: Rangers at Yankees Series Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 4/15/2011

Easily the biggest Major League Baseball series of the weekend comes in the Bronx when the AL East-leading New York Yankees and the AL West-leading Texas Rangers face off for three games in a rematch of the 2010 American League Championship Series, won in an upset by the Rangers last season. With the way the AL looks early this year – i.e. struggles of teams like the Red Sox and Twins – it could easily be a preview of the 2011 ALCS. New York is a -225 series favorite with Texas at +175.