Baseball Handicapping Articles

MLB Picks: Rays at Red Sox Series Odds and Predictions
by Darin Zank - 9/15/2011

There aren't many playoff races still going on in baseball, but we might have one in the battle for the American League Wild-Card berth. Not too long ago the Boston Red Sox seemed like shoo-ins for the playoffs. But with six losses in their last seven games, they seem intent on making things interesting.

MLB Picks: Phillies vs. Brewers Betting Predictions and Odds
by Darin Zank - 9/8/2011

The Philadelphia Phillies are going to win the National League's Eastern Division, and they're closing in on clinching the best record in the NL. The Milwaukee Brewers, meanwhile, are trying to sew up the NL Central Division title. So, in what could be a preview of the upcoming National League Championship Series, Milwaukee hosts Philly for a four-game series at Miller Park beginning Thursday night.

MLB Handicapping: Lack of Pennant Races
by T.O. Whenham - 9/8/2011

When it comes to baseball, September is supposed to be the month of thrilling pennant races. On that front this year is pretty much a total failure. Sure, the Angels are working their hardest to make a race of it with the Rangers. Beyond that, though, there is precisely nothing to push us to the edge of our seats.

MLB Handicapping: The Return of Stephen Strasburg
by T.O. Whenham - 9/2/2011

The most hyped young player is recent history is poised to make his return to the major leagues after an elbow injury last season required surgery and forced him out of action for more than a year. A Tuesday night game in Washington against the Dodgers that would have meant nothing to fans in Washington or around the country has suddenly turned into the hottest ticket in sports. That’s when Strasburg — barring any last-second setbacks — will return to the rotation for the first time since Aug. 21 of last year.

MLB Handicapping: Yankees vs. Red Sox Battle for AL East
by T.O. Whenham - 8/26/2011

Stop me if you have heard this one before — the Yankees and the Red Sox are locked in a tough battle for the championship of the AL East, though both teams are playoff bound. It’s deja vu all over again. The Red Sox have a slim lead, but 100 wins is in the grasp of both teams, and they are both going to be well positioned to make the World Series. They play a three-game series next week that will be both important and informative, and then they play the second to last series of the year against each other. Those six games could easily decide who wins the division and who gets home field advantage if they have to play each other again in the playoffs.

MLB Handicapping: Betting on September Baseball
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 8/25/2011

Betting on September and October regular season baseball is an entirely different animal than the first five months of the baseball season. Contenders have their playoff roster finalized with all their deadline deals in the books and pretenders are making their annual September call ups as position battles take place for 2012.

MLB Picks: White Sox at Angels Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/23/2011

An interesting series opens tonight in Anaheim as the White Sox visit the Angels in a matchup of big-market, high-salary teams trying to stay in their division races with about 35 games or so to go in the regular season for each. The Halos enter on a four-game winning streak but are still 4.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West.

MLB Handicapping: Can Arizona Diamondbacks Stay in First?
by T.O. Whenham - 8/19/2011

In March I twice sat in the beautiful new spring training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks in Scottsdale to watch them play. Both times I was left with the same strong impression — this is a very lousy baseball team. I certainly didn’t think they were a playoff team. Heck, I didn’t think they were a .400 team based on how they looked. Part of what makes baseball so endlessly fascinating, though, is that strange things can — and often do — happen. Manager Kirk Gibson has managed o capture some real magic, and this team that looked like it had a world of issues has suddenly turned into a powerhouse that is on a collision course with the playoffs. Bizarre.

MLB Picks: Giants at Braves Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/16/2011

If the San Francisco Giants miss out on the playoffs – and thus defending their World Series title -- by a single game, be it finishing second to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West race or to the Atlanta Braves in the Wild-Card standings, they may point to Monday’s loss in Atlanta. The Giants, despite playing without Carlos Beltran and losing Pablo Sandoval to injury in the first inning, were able to rally from a 2-0 deficit and take a 4-2 lead into the ninth. Before the game, it was ‘iffy’ whether Giants All-Star closer Brian Wilson would be available to pitch because of a sore back, but he was eventually given the OK. Bad decision.

MLB Trade Deadline: The After Effects
by Nicholas Tolomeo - 8/10/2011

The MLB non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone. More trades may still be made up until Aug.31, but bettors have now had more than a week to digest the new-look rosters a lot of MLB teams are boasting. Here are a list of the big movers and shakers from last week, and even some teams that stood pat and what this means to them the rest of the way. We will label teams that have value as “BET” and ones that are overpriced to “GO AGAINST”.

MLB Picks: Angels at Yankees Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/9/2011

The Los Angeles Angels are 1.5 games behind first-place Texas in the American League West entering play on Tuesday, so the Halos probably aren’t even pondering the AL Wild-Card race. But if they have any hope of having the Wild Card as a possible fall-back option should they not catch Texas, the Angels almost have to have an unlikely sweep of the Yankees in the series that starts tonight. Wild-Card leading New York is up seven games on second-place L.A. in those standings with just fewer than 50 games to go. These two do meet for three games in Anaheim starting Sept. 9. This opens a tough 10-game stretch for the Angels, with three in the Bronx, three at Toronto and four vs. the Rangers.

MLB Picks: Yankees vs. Red Sox Odds and Predictions
by Darin Zank - 8/5/2011

The Boston Red Sox have had the upper hand in their matchups with the New York Yankees so far this season, taking eight of nine games in the series. So the Yanks will be looking to even things out a bit when the two teams get together for a three-game set at Fenway Park beginning Friday night.

MLB Picks: Yankees at White Sox Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 8/2/2011

Every time the Chicago White Sox seem to look like a challenger in the American League Central, the team goes on a losing streak to fall back in the division. That’s the case right now as after reaching the .500 mark for the first time in weeks, the Pale Hose have lost three straight to fall to 52-55 and 4.5 games back of the first-place Detroit Tigers. The New York Yankees, meanwhile, are going the other direction, having won four in a row to get within a game of Boston in the AL East. The Yanks have by far the best run differential in Major League Baseball at +151.

MLB Picks: Pirates at Phillies Odds and Betting Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 7/29/2011

The biggest news of the week in baseball probably should have been Ervin Santana’s no-hitter, but in most circles it has been overshadowed by the blown call in the 19th inning of the Pirates loss to the Atlanta Braves. The Pirates are still within shouting distance of first place in the National League Central, but that loss was definitely a tough one to swallow. The Phillies continue to pile up the wins. Philadelphia has the best record in the majors at this point. These teams are both from the same state, and this game hasn’t meant much in the past because of the Pirates recent woes, but this year it is an entirely different story.

MLB Odds and Free Pick: Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves
by Alan Matthews - 7/28/2011

It’s almost a shame that the upstart Pittsburgh Pirates and the NL Wild-Card leading Atlanta Braves don’t play each other again, especially at the end of the season with that Wild-Card spot on the line. That’s because the first three games of this four-games set have been very entertaining, well-pitched games. Atlanta has taken two of the first three and leads the Wild-Card race by 3.5 games, with Pittsburgh 6.5 games back in that race and 1.5 behind in the NL Central.

MLB Odds and Free Pick: Angels at Indians Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 7/25/2011

The Cleveland Indians were one of the pleasant surprises of the Major League Baseball season – the Pittsburgh Pirates of the American League, I guess you could say. But the Tribe have lost four in a row and have fallen two games behind the Tigers in the AL Central. Is it time to bail on the Indians?

MLB Odds and Predictions: Where Does Carlos Beltran Land?
by Alan Matthews - 7/22/2011

New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran is probably the top position player on the MLB trade market ahead of the July 31 deadline – at least with the Mets saying they won’t trade shortstop Jose Reyes. Both Beltran and Reyes are set to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season.

The Week in Baseball Betting By the Numbers
by Robert Ferringo - 7/19/2011

I’m going to do something a little different this week for MLB By The Numbers. I’ve been having some conversations with people lately about whether or not it’s good baseball betting strategy to blindly fade certain pitchers, regardless of circumstance (moneyline, matchup, etc.). And the primary issue is whether or not this method can yield a profit in the long term.

MLB Picks: Yankees at Rays Odds and Predictions
by Aaron Smith - 7/19/2011

The American League East is an extremely competitive division this year. Everyone knows that the Red Sox and the Yankees are loaded, but the Rays aren’t too shabby either. Joe Maddon has this young team playing solid baseball. Despite their valiant effort, the Rays run the risk of falling too far behind Boston and New York if they don’t put together a run very soon.

MLB Picks: Red Sox at Orioles Odds and Predictions
by Alan Matthews - 7/18/2011

First-place team against last-place team. Said division leader with a +113 run differential. Cellar dweller with a -98 run differential, second-worst in baseball. Pitcher with a 5-3 record against one with a 1-6 record. This seems like a no-brainer MLB pick tonight when Boston visits Baltimore, right? Yeah, not so fast.