Drinking Busch Thursday

[scdoggy]

Off work today having some work on my house done. Drinking Busch cans, waiting for the games to begin....

Marlins/Phils UNDER 9 -110 five units *****

I'm actually only looking for 2-3 units here, but I'm seeing the number on the move at one of my books - already to 115. If this goes to +100 on the over I'll be buying back (in essence getting 2.5 units on the under at the -105 price).

Good points by the fellas in the gen disc thread. Must say I tend to agree with all points. Also Hamels struggles to get run support at times....

LAD +115 three units
LAD team total over 4 -125 two units

Two pitchers going in opposite directions. Kershaw maturing a bit. Needs to have a strong road performace, but this looks like the place. Aside from Pujols, I think he will do well against this lineup. With anyone on base, he'll be pitching around Albert, I'd assume....

The bullpens can't be talked about enough here. St Louis' pen is just hideous, and with Lohse's recent performances, I expect the pen to be involved by the sixth.....

No Martin or Ankiel expected in the lineup today.

 

[gsro]

GLUCK

 

[Blue_Chip]

GL doggy

 

[tee*dub]

How can you drink Busch beer and bet against the Cards???:eyes:



:36_11_6::cheers:

 

[scdoggy]

Never underestimate a man who drinks Busch, for he can do anything

I can't resist the Mets today:

NYM -1.5 two units

Banks doesn't look that bad until you focus on his away games. Big difference between home/away with these two. Johan should have his way with this lineup, and I'd be shocked to see more than 1 run scored by the Pads today..... I'll take my chances on the Mets getting at least four off Banks

 

[Blue_Chip]

Never underestimate a man who drinks Busch, for he can do anything

I can't resist the Mets today:

NYM -1.5 two units

I see the Busch beer is beginning to dull the decision process. Kidding, I like the Mets RL as well.

 

[scdoggy]

You think this is bad Blue Chip, just wait till 6 pm when I dump 32 units on the A's.

 

[scdoggy]

BOught back two units on that PHIL UNDER... so two on the over at -105. Never got the +100 I wanted, but I'll shorten the price by a few cents on my under....

 

[scdoggy]

Two more on LAD at +123. Big cards money coming in....

 

[SportsNut]

With you on LAD ML . Glad you hit Mets -1.5 RL the walkoff gave me the over and had NYM ML real small..opposite on the Philly total though which is 3-0 after 6 innings just hoping Philly can tie at 3 ...

I was about to write you a rant yesterday when you said the Yankees pen has no one . Just didnt hav etime. I think you hate bullpens as even I stuck up for your Oriole pen (nice hit btw with LAA yesterday missed the game stuck at the doctors) ..Anyway NYY pen is about as good as AL team has to offer . The glaring issue with them is extremes. They are excellent about 85% of the time but when they are bad its fireworks . I actually dont think any team can compare to NYYs pen it just the lack of consistency soils them.

Bruney
Veras
Ramirez
Robertson
Rivera
Marte (LH)
Giese (long reliever / spot starter)

Seriously I am actually really confident if everyone stays healthy this is the best bullpen in baseball . I know I am crazy at times but I am dead serious here .

Bruney was excellent early on before the injury and escaped Torre's doghouse with a new attitude/ look in 2008. Cashman said it was crushing when he was lost early (Seriously!). I cant weigh his initial apps from the DL heavily because he didnt get much work in the minors in and what he did wasnt very good. His issue has always been walks and he did well at limiting those early but not in the rehab stint in the minors. Since retruning he has 4 in 2.2 inn and despite decent outings in his initial apps there is no way Girardi should have used Bruney ahead of Veras on Tuesday and NY paid for it . He just isnt crisp and that was made quite clear before he got to NYY. Bad decision which makes the PEN look ineffective.

Veras the stats paint an accurate picture . Started slow and once he got going been very good. 2.54 ERA 1.115 WHIP .208 BAA 41K in 39 innings. NY finally got the memo about 15 years to late that bullpens at least good ones are built on power arms and thats all NY has is guys who throw 95 + . Veras typical power reliever electric fastball and tough "overhand" slider(sharper break down then most who drop there arm angle). Only 6 runs last 27.1 inn but 32Ks .

Edwar Ramirez while the stats portay a clear picture they might not tell the entire story . 3.02 ERA 1.01 WHIP .170BAA 49Ks in 41.2 inn. Solid fastball not quite as good as the above two more 92-93 range but we know filthy changeup. Think Doug Jones or Trevor Hoffman with low 90s stuff instead of mid 80s at best or maybe Hoffmann in his prime . Silly outings like the Sunday one where issues a GS tarnish his work. If you watched the game you saw Ramire with a nice lead nibbling vs slap hitters even with 2 out and nobody on. Hopefully it was a lesson. RH are .138 against him , road .164 BAA and 1.02 ERA. He has had some hiccups but otherwise he has been near perfect. The LAA game was terrible he walked the 9 hitter on a 3-2 changeup and he was throwing changes before that point , think Figgins singled and walked Aybar another slap hitter on a 3-2 changeup witha 2run lead and Mak teixiera on deck who later hit the GS. Silly shit. Everyone knows when yo have a lead you dont walk to walk runners especially with 2 out and especially singles hitters , its the Cardinal Sin and I am sure you will agree.
The MONTH of JULY : 11.1 Inn ZERO hits 3bbs 16Ks. So far 38 appearances only scored upon in 6 despite allowing 14 runs so far ( 4 twice and 2 twice ) . Previous to Figgins single and later the GS Edwar had not allowed a HIT since the end of June !

Robertson just might be my favorite of the above mentioned. The guy I can cmpare him to is Scott Shields and think if he truly is the pitcher he has shown to be so far in his initial ML career then he will be a notch or two above Shields in his prime . To me right now he is basically as good as the 08 version of Shields . He has a very sneaky , expolding fastball . Like Edwar in the 91-93 range but it always looks like he throwing 5 MPH harder then the gun reads. His curveball we havent really seen the best of according to reports but its still its pretty crisp. Excellent poise for a kid. For anyone especially in NY . Not the electric stuff of Mo or Joba but I think can be the same type high quality reliever as these guys.

You may have seen the balt game which skews ones view . He did allow to 2 IF hits before the Jones GS it was just one of these days. Which as I said when the Yanks pen fails seems to happen. It just blows up . The outing vs Texas he was wild some but also the runs he was charged with were inherited and it was Bruney who allowed them. From his ML debut to the Balt outing he went 10.1 inn alowed 3 hits 1 run 4bbs 13Ks . So really his ML debut was good for a debut but medicore overall , the Balt game and the last Texas outing which really wanst his fault but Girardi's for inserting Bruney . So 1 real bad outing and 1 that should have been avoided in 13 outings . Kid is real good at just 23 years old.

Mo Rivera - Lights OUT except for tie games in 2008 !!

Damaso Marte- He has stunk his past 2 outings in NY but you have to expect better. I dodnt agree with all the praise that was heaped upon him when the trade was announced. Like best LH reliever in the game and so on. However he still has to be one of the better LH reliever in the games and pretty damn good in general to cause such an uproar that NYY stole the 2 players ...Everyone wanted him also says alot....Better to come and prefer the situational LH role for him when the pen is rested..

Dan Giese- What every PEN needs . A guy who can spot start and do it in a quality manner as well . More importantly a guy who can relieve a shaky SP or one who shelled and hold the fort down. Is a long term answer but if he can be RamiroMendoza for at least 2008 and maybe couple years more awesome or maybe Rasner can be that guy if he falters at some point. His start vs NYM was disappointing ( and he did get squeezed and no breaks) that day but 2.51 ERA 1.05 WHIP .200 BAA is prett damn good. Out of the oen 21.2 INN 15 H 3 r/er 6bb 11 K. However another guy (like say Josh Banks) who is older but knows how to pitch and when he executes is tough to hit against . What kills guys like this is when they arent on they can be very hittable ....

I dont think I see a pen who can throw 7 quality guys at you. They dont have that definitive 8th inn setup guy yet but its great to know that they all can do it . LAA is real solid at the end with KRod and Shields but Krod isnt as good as MO imo and Shields is not as great as he was a few years back just very good now. IN MLB the Yanks are 9th in ERA from teh 7th inning on at 3.52 ahead of LAA 3.65 . The Reds , Phillies and Mariners are somewhat suprisingly ahead of them but the others are known for good pens...

Yanks PEN is as BIG a PLUS as it has every been IMO . Even if they are shorthanded and missing a few guys granted Mo is real tough to replace ta this point .....

Sorry SC, had to stick up for my Yanks relievers . Minus a few hiccups they have been excellent in 2008. :36_11_6::cheers:

 

[scdoggy]

Give me a few minutes to digest that post Nut.

in the menatime, I joined you on the Oakland play:

A's +105 two units

This is one of those times where I feel the books are telling us who's going to win the game. Two solid pitchers, but everyone knows how weak the A's have been since the break. So why isn't this line higher?

I don't know, but I'm taking a guess that they're beggin for Jays money and I'm sure they'll get it.

 

[RetroVK]

milwaukees best !!! try a few cans !!

 

[scdoggy]

Ok, so I'll give you Rivera (I mentioned in my thread that without Mo, and Farnsworth the Yanks pen isn't good). So you'll get no arguement from me on him.

But looking through that list of guys, it does look like they've got some guys that can throw in there. Many of them are just youngsters that I haven't seen enough of to give an accurate review. I must be watching select games and seeing them implode on one of their few bad nights.

You know more about Robertson than I do, and he's been good in his last 5-6 appearances, but he went through a spell where he was just putrid, so there's not enough of a track record for me to give an accurate opinion. But his ERA of 7.7ish in night games tells you the story in the games I've seen.

And I won't give you Damaso either. That guy just isn't particularly good.

So Ramirez ( I agree with you), Geise (good inning eater), and Veras and Ramirez have good stuff. I'm not sold yet on Robertson, Marte, or Rasner (you strategically left him out )

But your point is well taken. They're better than I thought even without Mo and Farns. You probably saved me some money over the next few weeks with this post.

 

[Fondybadger]

Good hit on the early plays SC

 

[scdoggy]

Thanks Fondy, got lucky at Shea.

 

[scdoggy]

Went fishing for a while and caught some nice catfish. Decided to skip the 8:00 slate....

Braves +151 three units

Petit is just too unproven for me not to take a stab at this price. The Snakes are really just a barely over .500 ball club and shouldn't be laying this kind of money unless they have a strong pitching advantage. I don't think they have one tonight.

Tampa +121 four units
Tampa/SEA OVer 8 +110 five units

Felix has given up at least 2 ER and not made it past the sixth inning in every start since the DL. Rays get Crawford back, who is a huge catalyst to this lineup. I wouldn't even have SEA favored by more than -110 here. I have to hit this hard - and love Gibson behind the dish. Caught a great price at +110.....

 

[SportsNut]

SC:

Just my opinion . In all seriousness though I do feel that way( and strongly) . Your an Oriole fan and me a Yankee fan who I am sure both share the HOMER tag. As a fan never expected this and always wished they gave the young arms a chance in the pen in previous years. Another good reliever we could have had was Ramon Ramirez . We dealt him to COL for Chacon and really should have been smart enough to go after him when he struggled in 2007 . Big mistake by COL giving up on him . Not that he is lights out but the amount of consistent , quality relievers out there is not near as deep as one might expect .

The Yankees are STOCKED with arms . A guy like Chris Britton who are you somewhat familiar with I am sure is another one. Not a high ceiling guy and maybe the type of guy who just pitches when your behind but quality appearances and solid stuff. Needs to lose a few pounds but another guy to stock in AAA . Little stuff that gets missed is having this type of guy rather say a Wayne Franklin < Mike Myers , Sean Henn or even an overworked Scott Proctor , Tanyon Sturtze ( loved his arm but used in the wrong way ) pitch when your in a close game 1 or 2 runs in the 6th .

Our pen started with Joba and Mo in April . Then Bruney , Farnsworth , Hawkins , Ohlendorf and E. Ramirez . Think we did nice in reconfiguring it .

I seriously am not even concerned now that Joba is hurt cause we have so many alternatives its insane . Of course I want Joba healthy and Wang but we have in organization choices. Namely Kennedy , Hughes and even Carl Pavano. I know everyone hates Carl Pavano but with nothing to lose I love a guy like that . To which is he also SP option #3 ..I am confident Hughes is very good and well show it as will Kennedy especially now alot pressure is off.

Understandable I know why people can be skeptical about the Yanks pen as the names are not exactly familiar and the kids are young . Robertson is very good . He was real good for about 10 games till that Balt fiasco. He bounced back with a nice 2 inn effort vs Balt after that with a minor hiccup he allowed a solo Hr. The Texas app he was pretty solid maybe tiring or something in the 2nd game. If the next reliever does his job the outing goes down as 1.2 scoreless innings but it didnt . Marte your being hard on. Not as good as perceived I will give you. To say he stinks is a real stretch when everyone was up in arms that he was dealt to NY. Even with his stank outings in NY after his 1st 10 apps of the season he is good. About 44 INN 33H 15 R 15 42 K since then and that includes teh 6 runs in 5 inn he allowed here . Back in 2002 to 2004 he was near unhittable 214 INN 150 H 61 R 86 BB 217 Ks and BAA barely above 200 . He probably was overworked though and struggled in 2005 and then was shipped to Pitt which he still was so-so in 2006 . Since 2007 though he is close to that 2002-2004 form .

Really didnt leave Rasner out as I tried to say he could fill Dan Giese's role if Giese becomes successful as a SP or if he falters as the long man at some point . Hopefully Humberto Sanchez gets back to 100% sometime soon as well .

My point was just to say that NYYs pen is solid and actually Cashman deserves a ton of credit for it . As does the Yankees minor league system . Its definetly a positive and no longer a concern IMO ..hopefully it continues and this does help some people outing when "capping" there performance....BOL:cheers:

 

[scdoggy]

I never thought I's say this to a Yanks fan, Nut - but "thanks, I appreciate it."

Good post about their pen. The rest of you guys should go back and read over this. You're right about those young arms. Should set you guys up for years to come. GULP....

:cheers:

 

[mcdrewcarey187]

I only trust men that drink busch or keystone light. :shake: