Baseball Handicapping Articles

MLB Picks: Rangers at White Sox Series Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 7/2/2012

It’s quite possibly an American League Division Series (or ALCS) preview starting Tuesday night on the South Side of Chicago as the AL West-leading Texas Rangers, the team with the best record in baseball, visits the AL Central-leading White Sox for the only time this season.

MLB Betting and Handicapping: Scouting The Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 7/2/2012

The all-star break can’t get here soon enough for the Los Angeles Dodgers. One month ago today, L.A. had the best record in baseball and a somewhat comfortable four-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the National League West. Now? The Dodgers are one game behind the Giants and have only a 48.2 percent chance of even making the playoffs according to coolstandings.com (31.9 percent to win the division).

Simple Guidelines to Navigate the MLB Run Line
by Adam Richard - 7/2/2012

Novice bettors may be unaware of the nuances involved with the MLB run line. Below is a short tutorial on what you need to know to navigate the MLB run line to better results and higher profits. The first thing you need to know is how to read the lines. Most baseball games will have a “spread” of -1.5/+1.5 and the moneyline odds associated with each will appear after.

MLB Handicapping: Pittsburgh Pirates 2012 Success
by T.O. Whenham - 6/30/2012

Don’t look now, but the calendar is about to turn to July and the Pittsburgh Pirates are still completely relevant. You have to be pretty old to remember the last time that that happened. They are just a game out of the National League Central race as I write this, and are in a three-team fight with Cincinnati and St. Louis for the pennant. They are right in the hunt for the wild card as well thanks to the addition of the extra spot this year.

MLB Odds and Predictions: Pirates at Cardinals Series
by Alan Matthews - 6/28/2012

I would be lying to you if I said that the NL Central showdown between Pittsburgh and St. Louis, which begins Friday night, was the best series in Major League Baseball this weekend. No, if I had my choice I would have gone with either White Sox-Yankees or Reds-Giants. Both of those are potential playoff previews involving division leaders. But I’ve already done a handful of Yankees series this season and, thus, want to steer clear of them for a while just to spread the wealth around. As for the surging Giants, I expect to preview their series starting next Tuesday against the Washington Nationals. And if not that one, it will be Rangers-White Sox.

MLB Betting and Handicapping: Scouting The Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 6/26/2012

Can a player hitting .233 with four homers and 14 RBI (entering Monday) really make that much of a difference in a division race? I say yes, and that guy is third baseman Kevin Youkilis, who was traded from Boston to the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox on Sunday. It seems like a one-sided deal as the Red Sox only got utilityman Brent Lillibridge and Triple-A reliever Zach Stewart, plus they are sending almost $6 million to Chicago to pay a huge chunk of Youkilis’ remaining salary.

MLB Handicapping: Pitchers Dominating
by T.O. Whenham - 6/22/2012

It is a strange, strange time for pitching in the major leagues. Pitchers are so generally dominant that we are no longer even taking notice of things that should be absolutely remarkable. Proof? Over the course of a week we saw two incredibly freakish feats happen, and neither barely registered on the national radar. First, Seattle tallied a no hitter by using six different pitchers. That absolutely should not happen. Then Matt Cain threw a perfect game and barely made headlines. Recording 27 outs in a row is so incredibly remarkable that it should be widely praised regardless of how common no-hitters have become.

MLB Betting and Handicapping: Scouting The Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 6/18/2012

Philadelphia left-hander Cole Hamels is scheduled to start Tuesday night’s lone National League game against the Colorado Rockies (Phils are big -245 favorites). It could well be one of the final few starts of Hamels’ Phillies career.

MLB Handicapping Trends: First Game of a Series
by David Schwab - 6/18/2012

There are many important factors that go into properly handicapping a MLB matchup such as starting pitchers, weather and field conditions, current form, home-plate umpires etc., but another important and sometimes-overlooked factor is betting trends. A trend is a look at past results that can help provide the necessary insight towards predicting a future outcome.

MLB Picks: White Sox at Dodgers Odds and Betting Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 6/15/2012

It’s a potential World Series preview in the interleague series opener Friday night at Chavez Ravine when the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox face the NL West-leading L.A. Dodgers, the team with the best record in baseball.

MLB Picks: Yankees at Nationals Series Odds and Betting Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 6/14/2012

I have done three series previews already on the New York Yankees – including hitting on last week’s rout of the Mets -- and promised myself I would stay away from them for a while. But previewing New York’s series at Washington this weekend is simply a no-brainer as it features the two East division leaders and hottest teams in baseball in what could well be a World Series preview.

MLB Handicapping: Overachieving Pitchers
by T.O. Whenham - 6/14/2012

We are now more than 60 games into the baseball season. There is still a long, long way to go, but we’ve now seen enough to have a sense of what to expect from teams and players. That also means that the betting public has had time to form opinions and get wrapped up in the hype surrounding pitchers off to strong starts.

MLB Handicapping: Best and Worst Pitchers
by T.O. Whenham - 6/14/2012

As we are about 40 percent through the MLB season, here’s a look at the five best and five worst pitchers of the year so far from an MLB handicapping perspective. While these guys might not keep their current form, this guide will help you manage the MLB odds.

MLB Betting Trends: Third Game of a Series
by David Schwab - 6/13/2012

There are many important factors to take into consideration when handicapping a MLB game, such as pitching matchups, field conditions, home-plate umpires etc., but one of the most important and sometimes overlooked factor is trends. A trend is a look at past results that can sometimes go a long way towards predicting a future outcome.

MLB Betting and Handicapping: Scouting The Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 6/11/2012

So what is it we should make of the Pittsburgh Pirates? You know, that other Major League Baseball team from the state of Pennsylvania, the one that has had a losing season every year since 1992 (an MLB record streak). You no doubt remember that ’92 season: Sid Bream’s epic slide at home knocked out the Barry Bonds-led Pirates (it was his throw from left field) from the National League Championship Series. Pittsburgh had finished first each season from 1990-’92, but that slide launched the franchise into the laughingstock of baseball over the past two decades.

MLB Series Picks: Mets at Yankees Odds and Betting Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 6/7/2012

Interleague play takes over Major League Baseball for the next couple of weeks starting Friday, and, as usual, the series getting the most hype is the Subway Series between the New York Mets and Yankees – this three-game set is in the Bronx.

MLB Handicapping: What to Make of the Detroit Tigers?
by Alan Matthews - 6/7/2012

Do the books know something that you and I don’t? Entering Thursday’s Major League Baseball action, the Detroit Tigers are 25-31 (first time six-games under .500 since the end of the 2008 season) after starting 9-3 and they are now six games out of first place in the American League Central, meaning they are closer to last-place Minnesota -- with Kansas City just a half-game behind Detroit -- than the division-leading Chicago White Sox.

MLB Betting: First Five Innings, Last Four Innings, Prop Bets
by David Schwab - 6/6/2012

The NHL and the NBA seasons are just about over, so between now and the start of football in early September most of the betting public will shift their focus on wagering on Major League Baseball. While ever major sportsbook offers daily money lines, run lines, and total lines for the games, there are a number of interesting ways to bet on baseball other than sticking to the basics of a straight up play.

MLB Betting and Handicapping: Scouting The Week Ahead
by Alan Matthews - 6/4/2012

So when are the books finally going to get off the Detroit Tigers bandwagon? Here we are a third of the way through the baseball season and the Tigers are huge disappointments at 25-29 (12-14 at home) and in third place in the American League Central, six games behind the division-leading and red-hot Chicago White Sox. Yet Detroit remains the -125 favorite on Sportsbook.ag to win the division and +600 to win the AL pennant (Chicago is +140 to win the division).

MLB Picks: Rangers at Angels Series Odds and Betting Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 5/31/2012

The Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels were two of the AL pennant favorites in the spring. The Rangers have held up their end of the bargain as they are now the World Series favorites at +400 on Sportsbook.ag. The Halos had started the season ahead of Texas in division, pennant and World Series futures.