Major League Baseball

[Wet_Sail]

Solid start, Shibuya. Had us going there for a bit, but you delivered in the end old son. More to come?

[Shibuya Sox]

No probs lads.

I don't think i'll be touching tomorrow's game, usually a bit ropey after an extra innings game as bullpens are somewhat taxed.

Stick around for upcoming news tips though.

[Snodser]

Hi there, it appears I arrived after the battle.
Never mind, I'm sure there will be more.

Just to satify my curiosty, could you tell me how long one of these games/matches goes on for?
Cheers.

[Shibuya Sox]

Hi snodser, welcome to the fun

A baseball game lasts 9 innings, each of which consists of a top half and bottom half. That is, the visiting team bats until there are three outs (top half), followed by the home team batting until there are three outs (bottom half). If the game is tied after 9 innings, then there are extra 'sudden death' innings - as in today's game where Boston went 6-4 up in the top of the 10th, and Oakland could only score 1 in the bottom of the inning.

Usually you're looking at 3 hours for a game, though nationally televised games can run to 4 hours or more, especially Sox v Yanks games.

[Snodser]

Originally Posted by Shibuya Sox

Usually you're looking at 3 hours for a game, though nationally televised games can run to 4 hours or more, especially Sox v Yanks games.

So...........Do you have the fridge by the armchair?
a well trained wife?
or just a bloody big ice box??

[Shibuya Sox]

Wife?!?! Steering clear of that one mate!

[Snodser]

Originally Posted by Shibuya Sox

Wife?!?! Steering clear of that one mate!

When well trained they do have their uses but it takes a lot of patience , whatever you're into yourself my good man.

[Shibuya Sox]

The USA Season Opener is on Sunday night/Monday morning folks, and its the Washington Nationals hosting the Atlanta Braves. The game marks the debut of Nationals Park and it is live on Five at 12:55am.

Atland Braves (T hudson) @ Washington Nationals (O Perez), Nationals Park - grass.

The Nationals are the major league's newest franchise, having replaced the Montreal Expos a few years back. Since their inception, the Nationals have failed to achieve a winning season, despite going close in 2005.

2007 NL East 73-89 (.451)
2006 NL East 71-91 (.438)
2005 NL East 81-81 (.500)

You have to go back to 1996 to find the Nationals (Expos) last winning season and I don't think we'll see the Nats go better than .500 in 2008. The Nats scored a paltry 673 runs in 2007 - good for last place in the NL. Furthermore, Wily Mo Pena - widely considered to be the Nats big RBI man this season - is on the Disabled List and misses the first few weeks of the season.

Pitchers

Former LA Dodger and Kansas City Royal, Odalis Perez, will be taking the mound for the Nationals. Scarily, Perez was only signed to a minor league deal in the off-season but was promoted to the rotation thanks to the ineffectiveness of the Nats more experienced pitchers in Spring Training. Perez has a career ERA of 4.47 (5.57 in 2007, 6.20 in 2006) and posted a 1.660 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) last season. That means you can expect Perez to give up plenty of bases and Braves hitters Andrew Jones and Mark Teixeira will feast on his pitching as they have done in the past. Teixeira easily has the potential to his 30 + homers this year, his first full season with the Braves.

The Braves' Tim Hudson, on the other hand, comes in with a career ERA of 3.51 and decent WHIP of 1.260. In 2007, Hudson's numbers were better than his career average, with an ERA of 3.33 and 1.221 WHIP. Hudson had a great year in 07, giving up a career low 10 home runs and walking a lowly 53 batters in 224 innings. Meanwhile, Perez walked 50 batters in just 137 innings. Hudson was 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in the old RFK Stadium, though Nationals Park will be more of a hitters park.

Recent Form

Hudson has pitched 18.1 innings this Spring, posting a lowly 1.47 ERA, giving up only 3 Earned Runs in 5 starts. Perez has pitched 16.1 with a 4.96 ERA and has beeb charged with 9 Earned Runs over 3 starts.

Take Hudson and the Braves to win on the Money Lines, available at 5/8 with Canbet. If you're looking for more value, have a punt on the Braves -1.5, widely available at Evens.

[Shibuya Sox]

Lost 3-2 on the last out of the game.

You can't win games if you don't score runs!

[kompressaur]

Howdo shibuya. soz i aint popped in to see your thread. Im loving them write-ups. Once i get the frontpage in order i'll start pasting them there. I'll have to remember to pop in on my late nights.

[Shibuya Sox]

No probs komp...that'd be great.

Last night was a bust...Atlanta fielders couldn't catch the ball in the first inning and caused two runs to score. Washington promptly got rubbish and had 24 consecutive outs before hitting a walk-off home run, sickener.

[Shibuya Sox]

Time to get back to winnings ways in Florida as the New York Mets visit the Florida Marlins!

NY Mets (Santana) @ Florida Marlins (Hendrickson) - Pro Player Stadium - grass.

The Florida Marlins have had a rough time of it since winning the 2003 World Series, losing pitching talents Brad Penny, Josh Beckett and, this off-season, Dontrelle Willis. The Marlins also traded away star 3rd baseman Miguel Cabrera. This team is very much in a rebuilding phase and struggled mightily last year going 71-91. In fact, Willis held the team's lowest ERA whilst Cabrera led the Marlins in OPS, an offensive stat measuring On-Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage.

Pitchers

The NY Mets went all out in the winter and got baseball's prized pitcher, Johan Santana, from the Minnesota Twins. Santana is widely considered to be the best lefty pitcher in the Majors and has a career average 3.22 ERA and 1.094 WHIP. Santana has topped the Cy Young vote twice - the award for the best pitcher - and was 5th in 2007.

Mark Hendrickson started just 15 games last year (for the Dodgers) giving up 142 hits over 122 innings and also allowing a walk every 4th inning (1.394 WHIP). Hendrickson also pitched in relief for the Dodgers, but wanted to get a starting job for 2008.

Offense

Both these teams are stacked with good offense. The Mets David Wright hit .325 last season and smacked 30 homers. Wright's numbers have improved with each year and he should produce the goods again this year. Florida is stacked with young talent and have high hopes for Jeremy Hermida who hit 17 homers after the All-Star Break last year.

This should be a fun game to watch, but Johan Santana is going to win 20 games this year as he faces weaker NL hitters. Hendrickson is a career #5 pitcher and should struggle to contain the Mets offensive players and without the backup of Cabrera's bat, this young Marlins team could falter.

Take Santana and the Mets -1.5, 5/7 at Canbet.

[Wet_Sail]

Mets 6-0 up at the bottom of the 4th. Looking good so far, Shibuya old son.

Here, what about my boys the Blue Jays? We open tomorrow in New York against the Yankees. Roy Halladay up. Fancying our chances?

[Shibuya Sox]

Chien Ming Wang OWNS the Toronto Blue Jays. Wang had a 2.57 ERA v the Jays in 06 and, excluding one aberration he also dominated the Jays last season;

7IP 1ER on 21/9
7.1IP 3ER on 19/7

In saying that, Halladay has a 2.93 ERA at YS in 13 starts.

It could go either way....I wouldn't touch it.

[Shibuya Sox]

I've had a think about the game at YS tonight and have decided that the under is a good bet at @ 10/11.