Another work week comes to a close, fellow sports bettors. I am only hours away from some down time at my favorite watering hole. I am undecided on the drink du jour, but I am leaning towards the XXX-tra dirty (a touch more olive juice) Bombay Sapphire gin martini.
Thursday: 2-0Overall: 10-2Tonight I have three predictions I hope will line my pockets with mucho dinero. The first two are MLB picks, while the third is the lone NFL preseason game.
Red Sox -118The Doctor (Roy Halladay) is in for the Blue Jays this evening, but former Cleveland hurler Paul Byrd gets his first start for Red Sox Nation. Over his last three starts, Byrdman has a 0.89 WHIP and ERA of 1.14. Only Inglett, Overbay, and Wilson have significant batting averages against Byrd. Halladay has a career 10-11 record and 4.66 ERA against Boston (34 games). But the difference in tonight's game comes down to the bats: The Red Sox have simply been hitting more consistently, .313 versus righties and .303 facing lefties (last 10 games).
Marlins +115This may be a big risk in choosing the Flailing Fish over sure post-season favorites Chicago, but a few facts certainly make the wager plausible...and hopefully profitable. Not only has Florida won 12 of the last 14 games against the Cubs, but tonight's starter, rightie Josh Johnson, is 3-0 and has only allowed two runs over the last 13 innings. Also, I have a feeling that Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano, after giving up a career-high nine earned runs against the Cardinals in his last outing, will still not be "pitcher" perfect. Yes, the Cubs have won eight straight road games. And, yes, the Cub lineup is arguably the most explosive in the major leagues this year. However, Marlins starter Josh Johnson handled both the formidable lineups of the Phillies and Mets this month. I believe Chicago's streak ends tonight.
Tennessee Titans -3.5Both teams won their first preseason game, but the Titans 34-13 thumping of the Rams was vastly more impressive than the Raiders 18-6 victory over the 49ers. A team of active elderly people could beat the perpetually hapless San Francisco 49ers. The word from the Titans camp is that tonight the focus will be on Vince Young and the passing game, which honestly does frighten me a bit considering the
running game amassed
340 yards last week. However, given the unimpressive 98 passing yards Oakland totaled last week, the task for the Titan defense is simplified (somewhat) -- stop Fargas and McFadden.
Have a splendid, profitable night everyone! And if you belly up to a bar somewhere later, remember to occasionally tip the bartender. Then it's almost a
sure bet that he or she will keep the drinks strong...all night long.