Another return on investment last night as Pittsburgh’s shaky bullpen held on to the 4-1 lead to win 4-3 and keep the game under the posted total of 9. Tonight the Smart Investment Play looks to take advantage of a poor pitching match-up where there should be several runs scored.

SMART BET INVESTMENT PLAY: (The investment is always equal to 10% of the total bankroll)

Initial Bankroll Started on 2/28/2011: $1,000.00

Bankroll as of 4/5/2011: $2,201.19

San Francisco/San Diego OVER 7 (-105) investing $220.12 for a return of $209.11. We are getting a nice low line here as we have two below average offenses, but the pitching match-up is the key to this game going over the posted total. Harang from San Diego was terrible in Spring Training, which was not much different from how he pitched most of last year. He had an ERA of 6.12 giving up 17 earned runs in only 25 innings of work. Bumgarner was equally as bad in Spring Training earning an ERA of 5.93 and giving up 18 earned runs in 21 innings of work. Now, neither offense is going to blow you away here, but Harang and Bumgarner simply don’t have the control and ability to spot the ball and  keep average hitters off balance. San Francisco is also on an over run, going over the posted the last two outings.

Recommended Plays:

Mets (+170) vs. Phillies

White Sox (-115) vs. Kansas City

Houston/Cincinnati OVER 8.5 (-120)

KEEP YOUR BETS SMART!

SMART BET INVESTMENT PLAY: (The investment is always equal to 10% of the total bankroll)

Initial Bankroll Started on 2/28/2011: $1,000.00

Bankroll as of 4/4/2011: $2,019.44

Pittsburgh/St. Louis UNDER 9 (-110) investing $201.94 for a return of $181.75: Charlie Morton was excellent in Spring Training going 2-0 with an team best ERA of 2.63. Kyle Lohse was also excellent in the Spring Training going 2-0 with an ERA 1.88.  Both line-ups are average at best and both pitchers should take advantage on a cold spring night game. This number just seems too high for the quality of pitching. WINNER

Recommended Plays:

1. Atlanta (-105) vs Milwaukee WINNER

2. Minnesota/NY Yankees (-105) WINNER

KEEP YOUR BETS SMART!

A great 4-1-0 start to the MLB season yesterday. Atlanta and Washington appeared to be going under with a 3-1 score heading into the 7th, but obviously ended up going way over. Here is what we have for today:

Atlanta Braves (-106) vs. Milwaukee Brewers & UNDER 8.5 WINNER/WINNER

Detroit Tigers vs. Baltimore Orioles OVER 10 LOSER

Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees (-160) WINNER

3-1-0

Good Luck!

We will see how the first day goes, I also do NBA and College basketball picks on www.thetripledouble.com so be sure to check that out. Here is what we have for today:

San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals (-175) WINNER

Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals UNDER 7.5 LOSER

Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees OVER 9 WINNER

Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Indians (+140) WINNER

Boston Red Sox vs. Texas Rangers (+140) WINNER

4-1-0

Good Luck!

If you follow our sister sites you will be familiar with my strategy of playing a major game per day that is equivalent to 10% of the bankroll. I will keep that strategy working here as I post my MLB plays.

SMART BET INVESTMENT PLAY: (The investment is always equal to 10% of the total bankroll)

Initial Bankroll Started on 2/28/2011: $1,000.00

Bankroll as of 4/1/2011: $1,726.02

Baltimore (+170) at Tampa Bay investing $172.60 for a return of 293.42. For my money you have two of the best pitchers in the American League facing off today with Guthrie and Price taking the mound. Price looked very strong in spring training, but while Guthrie had an average Spring he is poised to have a great year.  Markakis gets some much needed protection in the line-up with the additions of Guerrero and  Lee and Fox will be important to this team’s success. For me, TB’s lineup is weak at best and I think they will play in a bunch of low scoring games throughout the year as they will have to rely heavily on their pitching staff. At the price, looks like a good spot to jump on board an underrated Baltimore squad.

Recommended Plays:

Baltimore/Tampa Bay Under 8.5 (-120)

Arizona/Colorado Under 8.5 (-115)

White Sox (-110) vs Cleveland

White Sox/Cleveland Under 8

Seattle (+105) vs Oakland

KEEP YOUR BETS SMART!

Nothing gets better for me than March Madness and the start of Baseball, this is definitely my favorite time of year. Giving out a couple Preseason games for today March 3, 2011.

Preseason Baseball March 3, 2011:

1. Pirates vs Toronto (-135) for 1 unit.

2. Philadelphia vs Boston (-115) for 1 unit.

Check back later for updates on later games.

It is that time of year when sportsbook makers throw out their predictions for the top pitchers of 2010 and who they feel will win the Cy Young in each league. Before you get into your online sports betting, it may help to take a few moments to check out the top three candidates from each league and see who the best pitchers of 2010 will be.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Tim Lincecum (San Francisco Giants)

It is impossible to start off a list of potential 2010 National League Cy Young winners without starting with the two-time defending Cy Young winner. Lincecum has youth on his side, enthusiasm and a breaking ball that makes hitters cry. You can add a 97 MPH fast ball to that, which makes his change up legendary, and you have one of the top pitchers in the National League.

Roy Halladay (Philadelphia Phillies)

Halladay is new to the National League, but he is hardly new to pitching in the major leagues. Halladay won the Cy Young in 2003 and is a six-time American League all-star. He has spent the last 11 seasons pitching to the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, so he should be able to adjust well to the National League. The Phillies could ride the arm of Halladay all the way to the World Series, and his arm is more than strong enough to get them there.

Adam Wainwright (St. Louis Cardinals)

In basketball betting it is a good idea to recognize the talent that other players in the league respect. Last season Adam Wainwright was voted as the National League’s Most Outstanding Pitcher by the players in the National League. That is a pretty high compliment when the guys that have to face you all season vote you the best they have seen. Wainwright also won a Golden Glove award last season for his fielding from the mound. He won 19 games last season and already has two wins this year.

Pick: Roy Halladay

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Jon Lester (Boston Red Sox)

Jon Lester is not only a great pitcher he is a hero to many because of his battle with lymphoma in 2006. When he returned he re-established himself as one of the premier pitchers in baseball. Last season he won 15 games and even though he is having a rough start to 2010, Lester remains a top candidate for the Cy Young in the American League.

CC Sabathia (New York Yankees)

When you talk about MLB betting the Yankees starting rotation inevitably comes into the conversation. The ace of the Yankee staff is CC Sabathia, and his pedigree is impressive. He has won the Warren Spahn award as the best left-handed pitcher in baseball three times, he won the 2007 American League Cy Young and was the MVP of last year’s ALCS. Sabathia is consistent and powerful, and that makes him a top Cy Young candidate in any league.

Zack Greinke (Kansas City Royals)

How does a pitcher for the Royals win the Cy Young? Last season Zack Greinke answered that question with 16 wins and the best season of his career. Last season he finished with an ERA of 1.07, and so far in this young season he has picked up right where he left off with an ERA of 1.18.

Pick: Jon Lester

One week ago, Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona told the sportsbook media that he had not even thought about sitting designated hitter David Ortiz so early on in the season. Less than one week later, Francona has not only given consideration to the move, he has already made it. Ortiz will move to the bench for Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, who will send left-hander Francisco Liriano to the mound. Mike Lowell will step in to take Ortiz’s spot, after appearing in just one game so far this early season.

The Red Sox have struggled to a .500 record through eight games, and while hitting was the biggest concern heading in to the 2010 season, the line up has not been awful with the exception of Ortiz. Boston has scored the eighth most runs in the American League heading in to Thursday night’s action. With one of baseball’s deepest starting rotations, the Red Sox will be looking for a boost in their hitting order. Multiplied with last season’s early struggled, Ortiz has been put under the microscope by the MLB odds betting media attention, and this season Francona hasn’t hesitated to make a move.

Francona told the media that the decision to play Lowell was made without regard to Ortiz’s struggles at the plate, as the Red Sox manager noted that he is trying to keep his MLB betting line bench players sharp. Lowell’s only other start came last Saturday against the Kansas City Royals when he replaced Adrian Beltre at third base.

Ortiz had both a double and a walk in his last start on Wednesday, but also struck out twice to extend his streak to five games with at least two strikeouts. Ortiz leads the majors in strikeouts after eight games, and is batting just .154 with two runs batted in while failing to connect on a home run shot so far. Batting wasn’t an issue for the team in their 6-3 sports betting win over Minnesota, in which they recorded 10 hits.

The Red Sox will already be without another regular in the line up on Thursday, as outfielder Jacoby Ellisbury is scheduled to miss time with bruised ribs. The 26-year old was injured when he collided with third basemen Adrian Beltre on Sunday in Kansas City, and since he was experiencing soreness and trouble breathing in the following days, Francona made the decision to play it safe this early on in the season. Jeremy Hermida played in his fifth game of the season on Wednesday against the Twins, and exceeded expectations by hitting a three-run double to help the Red Sox to victory.

Ellisbury could return as soon as Saturday, but with Boston getting solid production from its bench players, Francona will not feel threatened to rush his starters back in to the line up.

With the another season now underway, a turn to picks for the Cy Young Award in the American League reveals heavyweight contenders, familiar faces, and some unexpected possibilities.

If you’re talking pitching in the American League – serious pitching – you’re talking about Felix Hernandez. Hernandez has been my, and just about every sportsbook capper’s top-rated AL pitcher for quite some time now. Thus far, there’s no indicator that anything will change.

The Seattle Mariners Felix Hernandez is the king. The former All-Star finished second for the AL Cy Young Award 2009, just behind Zack Greinke. Hernandez, still a very young player, will turn 24 this year, and many fans of sports betting indicated their faith in this being his year. Hernandez finished 19-5 with 217 strikeouts and a 2.49 ERA.

Jon Lester is perhaps the other most obvious pick, after having emerged from Boston as a leader of their club’s outstanding pitching staff. Lester struck out 200 batters for the first time in his career last season, and many are predicting this year will mark his first 20-win season. At just 26, he is still making improvements to his game, and could surprise many by taking the 2010 AL Cy Young Award.

Perhaps the only other player favored by some to take the crown is the previous year’s Cy Young winner, Zack Greinke. Owner of a 2.16 ERA, Greinke unfortunately does not have the solid supporting cast that other potential hopefuls do, however, the Kansas City pitcher was still tabbed in spite of a less than stellar 16-win season. Greinke cannot make up for the deficiencies of the rest of his ball club, however. Fans of online sports betting know that Kansas City’s abysmal defense means that Greinke will be fighting an uphill battle in his quest to make it two in a row. For those weary to pick Greinke because of his poor supporting cast, Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers is an alternate pick.

Verlander can match Greinke in terms of overall stats, but has a much more solid team behind him. Fans of sports betting know that Verlander has to be concerned about Detroit’s run production, however. Verlander is easily a top five pitcher in the American League, but he’ll need help from his batters. Last year, the Tigers line up cost the pitching staff dearly. With the rumor mill working overtime with regard to front office happenings and personnel changes, it will be interesting to see if Detroit makes a move to shore up that deficiency, and provide Verlander the support he needs to be in contention. Confidence will also be an issue – after the Tigers fell apart last year, will the rest of the team have the mental fortitude to backup their potential star?

Prior to the Masters betting getting under way, Major League Baseball opened up their 2010 season with MLB opening day. The first day of the season was April 4 and it featured only one game; the New York Yankees at the Boston Red Sox.

The sports book makers had the New York Yankees as the 3 to 1 favorites to repeat as world champions when the 2010 season started. That makes the Yankees the odds on favorites to win. The Red Sox were 13 to 2 favorites to win the World Series when the season started. The game was a battle of offense that the Red Sox eventually won 9-7. However the Yankees went on to take the next two games and win the opening series of the season from the Red Sox. Now the Yankees are 14 to 5 favorites and the Red Sox are 11 to 2. Obviously the sports betting experts saw something in the Red Sox they liked, even in the face of a losing series.

The next day opened up the schedule for the rest of the league, and there were very few surprises in the results.

NBA betting is sometimes based on a team’s performance for the past few seasons if that team has been together for a while. The same can be said for the Philadelphia Phillies. The current Phillies team, for the most part, has won a World Series together and they are 6 to 1 favorites to win the World Series this season. They opened up their season with their new pitching ace Roy Halladay and hammered the Washington Nationals 11-1. Good teams know how to beat the weak teams and that is what the Phillies showed on opening day.

New York Mets fans will be happy to hear that the Mets opened up the season with their pitching ace Johan Santana and promptly beat a good Florida Marlins team 7-1. The Mets lost to the Marlins in the second game of the series and exposed their weak rotation once you get past Santana. The Mets are 20 to 1 to win the World Series this season and the Marlins are 30 to 1. It is doubtful that either team will be competing for a pennant in September, but at least the Mets fans know that Santana can still toss the ball.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 150 to 1 favorites to win the World Series, but on opening day they looked like world beaters. The Pirates clobbered the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-5 on opening day in front of an ecstatic home town crowd. The Dodgers are 9 to 1 favorites in the World Series odds and it is doubtful that the Pirates will have many chances to enjoy a win over the Dodgers like the one on opening day.

One of the more intriguing results of opening day was the game between the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs that took place in Atlanta. The Braves have a lot of young talent to show off this season which dropped them to 12 to 1 favorites for the World Series. The Cubs have been advertising a turn around season, and they upgraded their talent enough to gain 14 to 1 World Series odds.

But the Braves won the first game of the series 16-5 and then took the second game 3-2. Are the Braves back in contention for the National League pennant? They probably will not challenge this season, but look for the Braves to compete in the coming years.