On a bit of a spring roll so will go one more day and then call it an exhibition season. The Guardians used eight pitchers last night in giving up 20 runs to Seattle and this is their Cactus League road finale ahead of their home finale in Arizona. So nearly every regular is out today while probably playing Sunday. About an Opening Day lineup for the Giants in their spring finale overall and the excellent Robbie Ray is on the mound. Next MLB play will be the Yanks-Giants RS opener on Wednesday night. Looking forward to the season.
Fully planned to stop with MLB spring on Thursday winning for the third time in four to get about even -- really not sweating results yet -- but when I saw this lineup and price I kinda felt obligated. The Yanks have been the second-best team in Florida and generally rock people in Tampa. And now Aaron Judge is back from the WBC and starting tonight as are pretty much all regulars. The O's have four Grapefruit away wins in 13 tries and are only playing a few regulars.
If I win this, will call it a spring with three wins in the past four. If not, may go one more. Most of the WBC guys are back with teams incidentally. Not a major factor here, just letting you know. Milwaukee is starting nearly its Opening Day lineup, including ace Brandon Woodruff. Texas is starting only a couple of lower-tier regulars and pitcher Jacob Latz has a 5.11 ERA this spring.
Close to wrapping up spring betting, maybe another day or two. Like always, I'm taking the home team that is starting what should be close to its Opening Day lineup against a visiting team basically playing minor-leaguers or reserves. Atlanta has been the best team in Florida at 16-6-2 and Philly one of the worst at 9-13-1.
Pittsburgh has the second-best record in the Grapefruit League and is starting pretty much every regular in the lineup today from lovely Bradenton -- where the Bucs are 7-3. Starting pitcher Mitch Keller has been excellent this spring with a 1.23 ERA over three appearances. Houston is starting no regulars and has three road wins in Florida.
Pretty much the Opening Day lineup for the Braves minus Ronald Acuna Jr. Ace Chris Sale is on the hill for probably 3-4 innings. The Rays are starting a minor-league lineup and pitcher Nick Martinez is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA this spring. Atlanta leads the Grapefruit League with a 15-5-2 mark.
The Yanks have been teeing off on their home field in Tampa this spring and are starting most regulars sans Aaron Judge, of course, as he's with Team USA as is Philly's Bryce Harper. Nary a regular for the Phils, who also face NYY ace Max Fried for the first few innings. On the road this Grapefruit League season, the Phillies have a single victory.
No WBC to play Thursday, so let's try our luck at a Cactus League game. No doubt the Cubs have the superior starting lineup today and better starting pitcher in Edward Cabrera over Emerson Hancock. But it's spring and weird things happen. Half unit. Seattle has the worst record in Arizona.
Well, my spring "system" hasn't worked of late but let's try again after taking a day off and with Team USA also set to play tonight for the first time in the WBC. Note that I'm playing Under 14.5 on that. Again, this pick is simply looking at lineups. The Cardinals' version is utterly anonymous and the Orioles are playing nearly everyone of note. And it's veteran pitcher Chris Bassitt so I don't think he will get lit up like some minor-league guy might. Oh, sure, the guys after Bassitt may get shelled. This is why I only play a half in the spring. I consider this spring training for myself MLB-betting wise.
Very weak Arizona lineup in there, while it seems almost all of the Athletics regulars are playing. I've learned it's key for the spring home team to get out fast before all the scrubs come in. Just hasn't been happening of late. It's spring, I'm not sweating these half-unit losses of late.
Sunday reminded me why I only do half units in MLB spring. This has little to do with the Tigers, although several regulars are in and Framber Valdez is pitching. But Atlanta's lineup is utter trash -- I don't see a single close-to regular and maybe only a couple guys on the OD roster as reserves. Who the heck is cleanup hitter Tristin English? Maybe a modern-day Crash Davis considering he's almost 29 and has gotten a total of 22 at-bats in a cup of coffee in the Show. Both clubs come off Sunday ties, and that is a threat in the spring.
Didn't realize until just now that the White Sox and Cubs were playing today (guess know what I'm doing). Only looked at early games originally. Shame on me. Now that the Red Sox are up 4-1 as I type this, that's likely winning so will spin that $$$ into here. Of course have to have an opinion when these two play regardless of when or where. Appears the Cubbies are taking this pretty seriously with about their Opening Day lineup and one of their best starting pitchers in Shota Imanaga. They should light up Sox starting pitcher and journeyman Anthony Kay. The Pale Hose have only a few regulars in there. I'm tempted to do a full unit but nope not in the spring.
Apparently my spring MLB system is not foolproof -- not that I ever thought it was. The Mets pitchers cooperated yesterday, but the hitters didn't. Again, I want to remind you that this is the day many of the big stars have left their clubs for WBC preparations. Boston is starting most regulars, although I have no idea who No. 9 hitter Allan Castro is. Baltimore doesn't have the worst lineup ever but most key guys (Gunnar, Alonzo, Adley, etc.) are not in it. Half unit per usual. You have to jump some of these spring numbers quick as they fluctuate wildly.
I probably totally jinxed myself, but feel like I found a modest trend in the spring. It's not like I didn't know that teams -- especially in spread-out Florida -- didn't bring their top guys to away games, simply never really considered betting on spring games. You go to those to get sun and drink beer with all the snowbirds. Washington is starting James Wood in the lineup and maybe 1-2 other regulars but mostly flotsam. The Mets are going with about their Opening Day lineup short of the injured Francisco Lindor. Be aware of one thing too: Stars all over MLB will be leaving clubs tomorrow for WBC stuff. I'll be all over that tournament next week in the newsletter.
Fun start to the MLB season with a win Thursday fading the Braves in Tampa as they played basically a minor-league roster in getting clobbered by the Yankees. Certainly won't be fading the Dodgers often, and they will start Yoshinobu Yamamoto. For what, an inning ahead of the WBC? And the L.A. lineup is a bunch of clowns; I don't even know who Zach Ehrhard is. It does pay to fade road teams in the spring, usually, as they like to leave guys home. The excellent Robbie Ray starts for the Giants (likely two innings), who are starting most lineup regulars. They like beating the Dodgers regardless of whether the game counts. Half-unit as all spring games.