Thursday Clash Between Los Angeles Angels And Boston Red Sox
In a game between teams that had very high expectations coming into the season, the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels will square off this weekend.
In MLB Betting, the Red Sox are at 7-1 and the Angels at 30-1 to win the World Series.
Only one of the teams has been coming through to meet their hopes while each team had high expectations prior to the 2011 campaign. While the Red Sox are 5-10 and in the cellar of the American League East, the Angels are 10-5 on the season and they are atop the American League West.
In a row the Angles have now won 5 games. Dan Harem and Jeered Weaver, two of their starters have carried a large share of the load this season. With an ERA that is among the best in the league each of the pitchers is 4-0 on the season. As Weaver is scheduled to start against the Rangers on the day before the series is set to begin, fortunately for Boston, they will only have to face Harem in this series.
In this series, the Red Sox will have Beckett, Lester, Matsuyama and Lackey taking the mound. Even though they have some experienced pitchers that may be able to turn things around, their pitching has been poor in many games this season.
Although on Monday he had a great outing against the Blue Jays and looks like he might be returning to form, Matsuyama had been terrible all season. if the Red Sox hope to win they will need their pitching to step up in this series. As long as they aren’t put in too big of a hole, their hitting should be able to take care of business.
Boston Red Sox-LA Angels bitter rivals: MLB
On Monday in LA, the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are still bitter rivals and in a three-game series, that will not change.
But in April 2009, it was a different story, when the MLB lines favorites, Angels played the Boston in the first game after the tragic death of Nick Adenhart. There wasn’t a dry eye in either dugout and the Angels played an emotional game. The Angels celebrated their victory in front of the centerfield mural of Adenhar, at the conclusion of the game.
In the American League Divisional playoffs, the Angels then swept Boston in three straight games in October. In 2010, Boston swept four straight in Boston and Boston and the Angels have only met once.
While the Angels will be getting back from a six game road trip to Texas and New York, as the last stop on their West coast swing, Boston heads into Anaheim. Just acquired from Kansas City, Alberto Callaspo, the Angels new infielder will make his debut in Anaheim. Maicer Izturus, in his first game back had hit a home run against the Yankees and he is now off the DL.
Back in the rotation is Josh Beckett for the Boston Red Sox. On Wednesday afternoon, he should pitch the last game of the series. Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield was low man on the totem pole, with Beckett back in the rotation. Wakefield will now be pitching out of the bullpen. With the Angels, with a 7.29 ERA heading into the finale, Beckett is 1-1, although no one in the Boston organization is too concerned.
World Series Betting: Outside Factors
The World Series weather and the amount of rest the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies are getting are important factors to consider before doing any World Series betting.
The cold weather actually affects the physics of the ball changing how it moves and how far it travels when hit and the Phillies are coming off of too much rest while the Yankees ace pitcher is getting too little.
How Much Rest is Too Much?
When the Philadelphia Phillies dispatched the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-4 last Wednesday to take the NLCS in 5 games, they probably didn’t realize they’d need to hold training camp again just to get ready for their next round.
After going 162 games with only the rare day off, the Phillies get a full week and that can’t be good for their timing.
Batting is all about fine timing. A millisecond too fast or too slow can make the difference between a deep fly ball, a line drive, and a home run. Professional ball players often say that when their timing is on the ball seems to move slower or look bigger.
Now with all of their rest, expect some of the Phillies hot bats to go cold for the series as they struggle to find their timing again.
The rest should, however, help the pitching.
If media speculation is to be believed the Yankees’ CC Sabathia is going to be pitching on 3 days rest. They’ve been riding the CC train hard throughout the playoffs and you have to wonder if maybe there just might be a little break down if he’s not properly maintained.
The Phillies’ deep bull-pen will be all rested and healed. When games start going deep in to extra innings all that extra rest will come in to play particularly since the Yankees have fewer pitchers that they trust with games.
One really long game would also affect the pitching in later games and give the Phillies an advantage.
The Deep Freeze
The cold weather affects the physics of the game. Increased resistance makes the ball move more. Pitchers with good curves and sliders are going to be that much more effective. Pitchers who are forced to throw more fastballs because they are struggling with their control.
The cold weather also makes the ball travel significantly less distance when hit. Long ball hitters lose out while speed and the ability to hit and run become more important.
The hitting for the Yankees and the Phillies is fairly similar, so the cold weather is not likely to give either an advantage. But don’t be surprised to see fewer runs scored than you would otherwise expect.
Final Betting Considerations
How the Phillies as a team handle their long rest and how CC Sabathia handles his short rest could go a long way to determining who wins the series. The weather is more likely to be a factor from game to game depending on the pitching match-ups and, of course, the actual weather. Whether you’re betting Yankees or betting Phillies, don’t forget to consider outside factors before placing your bet.
Game 5 – Red Sox vs Indians
By Scott Burgess
Game: Thurs, Oct 18, 2007 8:20 PM ET
BodogLife (Check for odds)
The Cleveland Indians have a commanding 3-1 lead, over the Boston Red Sox, in the American League Championships. Boston pitcher Tim Wakefield floundered in the 5th inning while Indians pitcher Paul Byrd shined to win 7-3 yesterday.
The Boston Red Sox will start their best pitcher Josh Beckett (RP) (22-7, 3.13 ERA). Beckett was stellar in his last trip to the mound, he pitched 6 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs and 7 strikeouts. Beckett is currently 2-0 in the playoffs this year and he’s got a 1. 20 ERA.WOW! Beckett is 11-2 on the road. The biggest disappointment for the Sox though is that their bats aren’t driving in runs. The only players knocking players around the bases are Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.
The Cleveland Indians will start their number one starter C.C. Sabathia (LP) (19-7, 3.21 ERA). Sabathia lost his first outing to Beckett and now he’s looking for revenge. C.C. pitched 4 innings, 7 hits, 8 runs and 3 strikeouts. His biggest reason for the loss was 8 errors on the day. Sabathia is more comfortable at home with a record of 12-4 with a 3.21 ERA. His last two playoff starts he’s 1-1 with a 10.61 ERA. OUCH! The Tribe are getting hits from many various players which has been key to their success. Most notable Kenny Lofton who’s got the most playoff experience of anyone on the team.
With Beckett on the mound the Red Sox can’t go wrong. With the Red Sox closers on the mound the BoSox can go wrong. The BoSox will need a big lead before Beckett leaves the field, which they should be able to do. Sox win game 4 and it’s back to BOSTON BABY! To bet the MLB go to BodogLife now.
Diamondbacks vs Rockies
By Scott Burgess
Game: Thurs, October 11, 2007 8:30 PM ET
The NLDS gets underway with the Arizona Diamondbacks (-124) hosting the Colorado Rockies (+114), at Chase Field.
The D-Backs can’t wait to start the Divisional Series at home where they posted a 50-31 home record. Arizona’s rookies have pulled through big time. Stephen Drew, Chris Young and Justin Upton have knocked a lot of runs in for the D-Backs. They have great pitchers in Brandon Webb and Doug Davis who’ve contributed 17 0f 27 strikeouts. The best feature for Arizona is their relievers. Brandon Lyon, Tony Pena and Jose Valverde easily made quick work of the Chicago Cubs. Valverde is hitless in six innings.
The Colorado Rockies are the hottest team in the playoffs and their not letting the D-Backs get in there way of a Championship Title. The Rockies are here because they are playing as a team. Kazuo Marsui, Yorvit Torrealba, Seth Smith and Jeff Baker are banging balls all over the field and their also playing great defense as well. Top pitchers Jeff Francis and Ubaldo Jimenez are in prime shape as well as relievers Josh Fogg, Brain Fuentes and Manny Corpus contributed 26 strikeouts over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Rockies out scored the D-Backs 86-72, in the regular season, and won 10 of 18 meetings. Rockies are on a mountain high. Bet the MLB at BodogLife now.
