Play of the Day: May 29, 2011

For today's pick I am going to an inter-divisional match-up between the Phillies and the Mets. The Phillies are recently coming off a slump and are now scoring runs, pretty much at will. It seems to have come on the heals of the return of 2B Chase Utley. The Phillies have talented youngster Vance Worley on the hill facing off against Jonathan Niese. Worley has looked good in his first 3 starts in the big leagues and I expect that, and Philly's dominance, to continue today as they are slight road-dogs. Good luck to everyone today. 

Pick: Phillies +102

PLay of the Day: May 28, 2011

For today's play I look at the second game of a weekend series between the Reds and the Braves in Atlanta. The Reds' offence has been terrible over the past 2 weeks and their 2-8 record in their past 10 is evidence of that. What's been worse than the Reds' offence during that time is the pitching of Branson Arroyo, today's starter for the Reds. He is matched up against Derek Lowe who is having a pretty decent season so far. The Reds beat the Braves last night but I don't expect them to make it 2 in a row, nor do I expect them to keep it close with a better Braves team. Good luck as always.

Pick: Braves RL (+140)

Play of the Day: May 23, 2011

For today's POTD I look at the opener of an AL set between the Indians and Red Sox in Cleveland. There is a terrific pitching match-up and a line that reflects only the power in the bats of both of these teams. The Indians scored 12 runs yesterday against a very shaky Reds pitching staff. The Red Sox are coming off a 6-1 W against the Cubs. Both these teams had a very successful first series of inter-league play but it's back to the AL for both of them.

Buchholz is 3-1 with an ERA of just over 2.00 in his last 4 starts while Masterson is coming off a complete game loss to the White Sox after allowing only 1 run. Even though these teams have terrific offences I look for the pitchers to shine in this one. Good luck!

Pick: Red Sox vs. Indians "under" 8.5 runs

Play of the Day: May 22, 2011

For today's play I am looking at the NHL western conference finals for the first time. Game 3 was a must-win for the Skarks and the lines, as well as the Sharks' play, reflected that. Today the game is a pick-'em with each team laying 10 cents. I believe that the Canucks are the cream of the NHL crop and they move one step closer to the Stanley Cup tonight. Fact of the matter is that the Canucks have great talent. They had a few injuries on the blue line last game but their replacements will fit in seamlessly. And, the Sedin twins have gotten going in this series and this team is dangerous when they're first line is unstoppable. So, good luck as usual!

Pick: Canucks -110

Play of the Day: May 16, 2011

It's as simple as this tonight. The Dodgers are in trouble, on and off the field. They just lost a series to the lowly D-Backs and they sit at 3 games under .500 at 19-22. Their home record, where they will be playing tonight, is 10-11. While their opponent, the Brewers, have won 3 in a row and while their road record is not great (6-15), their starter Shawn Marcum has 33.3% of those wins and an amazing 1.14 ERA in over 30 innings on the road. The Brewers can score plenty of runs and the Dodgers have trouble scoring runs on the other hand. I see a blowout in the making here. Good luck!

Pick: Brewers -1.5 (1.45)

Play of the Day: May 13, 2011

For today's pick I am looking to game 6 in the NBA. The final series of the NBA's second round between the Memphis Grizzlies and OKC Thunder is my focus tonight. Game 5 between these two started very sloppy for both teams but in the middle of the second quarter OKC just took off and left Memphis in their dust. OKC showed who really is the better team in this series. Memphis looked very tired from the 3OT game 4 between the two while the Thunder looked younger, fresher and just plain better. I don't think that Memphis will be able to repeat any of their game 1 or 3 heroics. I look for the Thunder to win straight-up but I'm looking at the point-spread and I'm going to buy half a point for 10 cents tonight. Good luck!

Pick: Thunder +2 vs. Grizzlies

Play of the Day: May 12, 2011

Today's pick looks at an afternoon game featuring the TB Rays and the Cleveland Indians. Today it looks like we will have a pitchers duel, even though both teams are great hitting teams. Shields has had a great bounce-back year so far and Masterson has had a breakout season. These pitchers both feature an ERA just over 2.00 for the season and when you look at the splits it gets even better. At home Masterson has a 2.28 ERA while Shields has a 2.42 ERA outside of Tropicana Field. Also, Masterson holds a 1.93 ERA in day games while Shields has a sparkling 0.53 ERA while the sun is shining. All of this points to a pitchers dual. Good luck!

Pick: Under 7.5 (EVEN)