Armadillo Sports

Trends for AFC teams…….
Ravens
Last two years, they’re 24-12-1 ATS as a favorite.
Ravens are 11-4-1 ATS in last sixteen games as an underdog.

Bills
Road team is 6-2 ATS in their last eight games vs Miami.
Last five years, Bills are 35-10 ATS in their last nine games of the season.

Bengals
Bengals are 14-6 ATS in last 20 games as a road favorite.
Bengals are 14-5 ATS in last 19 games as a road underdog.

Browns
Cleveland is 7-12 ATS in last 19 games as a road underdog.
Last four years, Browns are 2-7 ATS as a road favorite.

Broncos
Denver covered its last eight games as a favorite.
Last four years, Broncos are 5-11 ATS in their last four games of the season.

Texans
Last five years, Houston is 6-13-1 ATS in Weeks 1-4.
Last four years, Texans are 4-8 ATS as a home favorite.

Colts
Since 2008, Colts are 2-15 ATS in Week 1
Last nine years, over is 8-1 in their Week 1 game.

Jaguars
Jaguars are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games against the Colts.
Last four years, Jacksonville is 3-8 ATS as a home favorite.

Chiefs
Chiefs are 0-4 ATS in their last four visits to Denver.
Kansas City is 8-2 ATS in last 10 games as a road underdog.
Last eight years, Chiefs are 6-2 ATS in Week 1.

Raiders
Last four years, Las Vegas is 1-7 ATS as a road favorite.
Raiders are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games vs Denver.

Chargers
Last two years, Chargers were 9-4 ATS as road favorites.
Chargers covered four of their last five visits to Arrowhead.

Dolphins
Miami covered its last nine games against New England.
Last four years, Dolphins are 16-8-1 ATS vs AFC East rivals.

Patriots
Last two years, Patriots are 4-10-2 ATS at home.
Last three years, New England is 13-22-1 ATS as an underdog.

Jets
Last three years, Jets were 7-12-1 ATS as a favorite.
Last four years, Jets were 8-15 ATS as a road underdog.

Steelers
Pittsburgh is 13-8 ATS in its last 21 games as a favorite.
Steelers are 15-10 ATS in their last 22 divisional games.

Titans
Last three years, Titans were 4-12 ATS as a road underdog.
Last nine years, Tennessee is 2-7 ATS in its home opener.

— Famous birthdays, July 9th:
 Mike Riordan, 80
George Stone, 79
Jimmy Smits, 70
Willie Wilson, 70

Tom Hanks, 69
Jim Paxson, 68
Kelly McGillis, 68
Tom Ramsey, 64

Trent Green, 55
Damon Huard, 52
Enrique Murciano, 52
Miguel Montero, 42

— Giants 4, Phillies 3
Patrick Bailey hit a walk-off, 3-run inside-the-park home run to win the game.
Giants have won six of their last seven games.
Kyle Schwarber hit his 28th home run for the Phillies.

— Guardians 10, Astros 6
Angel Martinez hit a grand slam in the 10th inning.
Cleveland led 6-1 in the fifth inning.
Jose Altuve drove in four runs for the Astros.

— A’s 10, Braves 1
Lawrence Butler led off the bottom of the 1st with an inside-the-park homer.
Butler later homered again; Nick Kurtz hit a grand slam.
A’s led 9-0 after the second inning. 

— Padres 1, Diamondbacks 0
Luiz Arraez homered in 7th inning for the game’s only run.
Merrill, Tatis both robbed Arizona hitters of HR’s with great catches..
Nick Pivetta allowed five baserunners in 5.2 IP.

— Royals 4, Pirates 3
Nick Loftin hit a 2-run HR in 7th, walk-off single in 9th.
Royals have won five of their last six games.
Pirates lost their last five games, outscored 21-6.

— Marlins 12, Reds 2
Marlins have won their last eleven road games.
Eury Perez allowed only two baserunners in five IP.
Miami scored seven runs in the top of the third.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners
NL: NY/Phil, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: NY/Phil,  Brewers, Giants

— Washington Nationals won the World Series in 2019, but since then, 71-91 is the best season they’ve had. Sunday, the Nationals fired GM Mike Rizzo, manager Dave Martinez.

Franchise got hosed financially when the pandemic happened the year after they won the World Series; defending champs often get a big jump in attendance the year after they win a title, but fans didn’t go to games in 2020.

Maybe the Nationals’ owners should take a look in the mirror; they traded Juan Soto to San Diego during the 2022 season; they let Bryce Harper walk as a free agent after 2018. Hard to fire the general manager when you won’t pay the team’s stars.

Timing of all this is odd; the amateur draft is this Sunday, and Washington has the first pick. If they hire a new GM from outside the organization, you’d think that person would like to make this selection, but that’s not going to happen.

— Cubs’ OF Seiya Suzuki leads MLB in RBI, with 77, but as of right now, he isn’t an All-Star.

Only once has the RBI leader missed the All-Star Game; way back in 1935, Hank Greenberg idid  not make the All-Star team— he had 103 RBI at the break, and his own manager passed him by.

90 freakin’ years; I’m thinking Suzuki deserves to be an All-Star.

— Players voted for their All-Stars; neither Suzuki or Juan Soto was in their top six outfielders.

Go figure.

— I talk about this every year; the NBA Summer League starts Thursday in Las Vegas; if you like the NBA, this is a great event to go to. It is affordable, it is air conditioned, most of the league is there, they have good concessions and when the day is done, you’re in Las Vegas. 

Excellent way to spend a week of your summer.

People I’ve spoken to at the Summer League:
Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke (he owns the Rams, too)
NBA great Walt Frazier (very nice man)
Tim Grgurich (one of Jerry Tarkanian’s assistants in UNLV’s glory days)

— Win total for the Utah Jazz this coming season is 19.5, their lowest total since at least 1993

Orlando’s win total is 51.5, their highest since 2011.

— Do people really bet on hot dog eating contests?

Monday in Brooklyn, Joey Chestnut ate 70 weiners (and rolls) in 10 minutes to win the title, but his over/under was 70.5 hot dogs, so the under bettors cashed in.

It is gross to watch people eat so fast; I like hot dogs as much as anyone, but good grief, stuffing food down your throat like that makes me queasy.

— Trends for the Carolina Panthers:

Last three years, they’re 14-37 SU

This year, Carolina is #6 in NFL in $$$ spent on offense, #1 on offensive line
This year, Carolina is #16 in NFL in $$$ spent on defense, #4 on DL

Last year, Panthers were minus-5 in turnovers (17-22)
Last year, Panthers were 5-12, 4-3 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Carolina was 1-9 in games decided by more than 8 points.

Panthers are 0-5 ATS in last five games as a favorite.
Panthers are 5-12 ATS in their last 17 road games. 

— Famous birthdays, July 8th:
Anjelica Huston, 74
Alan Ashby, 74
Jack Lambert, 73
Terry Puhl, 69
Kevin Bacon, 67

Michael Weatherly, 57
Sebastian Maniscalco, 52
Hakim Warrick, 43
Josh Harrison, 38
Reid Detmers, 26

— Guardians 7, Astros 5
Cleveland snaps its 10-game losing skid.
Jose Ramirez homered, knocked in three runs.

— Brewers 9, Dodgers 1
Milwaukee scored five runs in the first off of Yamamoto.
Freddy Peralta threw six shutout innings.
Andrew Vaughn homered in his first game for the Brewers.

— Marlins 5, Reds 1
Janson Junk allowed one hit in six IP.
Marlins are 11-3 in their last fourteen games.

— Royals 9, Pirates 3
Rookie Noah Cameron allowed three hits in 7 IP.
Pirates lost their last four games, outscored by total of 17-3.

— Angels 6, Rangers 5
Nolan Schanuel drew a bases-loaded walk to end the game.
First time in 15 starts that Jacob deGrom allowed more than 2 runs.

— Diamondbacks 6, Padres 3
Manny Machado homered, also got his 2,000th career hit.
Zac Gallen allowed an unearned run in his six IP.
Josh Naylor homered, scored twice for Arizona.

— Giants 3, Phillies 1
Giants scored twice in 8th inning to win this pitchers’ duel.
Cristopher Sanchez allowed one run in 7 IP (how is he not an All-Star??)
Teams were a combined 0-15 with runners in scoring position.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Giants

Trends for major league teams
(thru Sunday’s games)

— Arizona (44-46)
Arizona lost four of its last five games.
Over is 15-6 in their last 21 home games.
Arizona is 8-17 in last 25 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (39-50)
Braves lost nine of their last eleven games.
Atlanta is 24-22 at home, 15-28 on the road.
Under is 25-11 in their last 36 home games.

— Cubs (54-36)
Chicago is 8-3 in its last eleven games.
Over is 8-2 in its last ten home games.
Cubs are 42-22 vs righty starters, 12-14 vs lefties.

— Reds (46-44)
Cincinnati is 4-6 in its last 10 games.
Reds are 11-4 in last fifteen series openers.
Reds are 34-27 vs righty starters, 12-17 vs lefties.
Under is 9-4 in their last thirteen games.

— Rockies (21-69)
Colorado is 4-11 in its last fifteen games.
Under is 9-4 in Rockies’ last thirteen games.
Rockies are 3-23 vs lefty starters, 18-46 vs righties. 

— Dodgers (56-35)
Dodgers lost their last three games, scoring total of six runs.
Dodgers are 41-23 vs righty starters, 15-12 vs lefties.
Under is 8-3 in their last eleven games.

— Marlins (40-48)                                                                       )
Marlins are 17-10 in their last 27 games.
Miami is 20-27 at home, 20-21 on the road.
Under is 16-3 in Marlins’ last 19 home games.
Over is 5-0 in Marlins’ last five road games.

— Brewers (50-40)
Brewers won 15 of their last 21 games.
Milwaukee is 27-17 at home, 23-23 on the road.
Under is 20-10 in their last 30 home games.

— Mets (52-39)
Mets won four of their last five games.
Mets are 33-14 at home, 19-25 on the road.
Over is 16-6 in their last 22 games.

— Phillies (53-37)
Phillies are 5-2 in their last seven games.
Phillies are 42-22 vs righty starters, 11-15 vs lefties.
Phillies are 11-4 in home series openers.

— Pirates (38-53)
Pirates got shut out in losing their last three games.
Pittsburgh is 26-21 at home, 12-32 on the road.
Under is 6-0 in their last six games.
Pirates are 9-3 in last 12 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (48-43)
St Louis lost five of its last seven games.
Cardinals are 10-4 in home series openers.
St Louis is 26-17 at home, 22-26 on the road.

— Padres (48-41)
Padres are 11-14 in their last 25 games.
Under is 12-5 in their last seventeen games.
San Diego starting pitchers have two wins/nine losses in last 26 road games.

— Giants (49-42)
Giants won four of their last five games.
Giants are 40-27 vs righty pitchers, 9-15 vs lefties.
SF is 19-9 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (37-53)
Nationals fired their general manager and manager Sunday.
Washington is 3-12 in its last fifteen home games.
Over is 13-2 in their last fifteen games.
Washington is 17-6 last 23 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Notes for the Buffalo Bills:

#8 in NFL in $$$ spent on offense, #29 on defense.
#9 in $$$ spent on QB’s, #24 on WR’s.

Last year, Bills were +24 in turnovers (32-8)
Last year, Bills were +25 in sacks (39-14)

Buffalo was 13-4 LY, 5-3 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Buffalo was 3-2 LY in games decided by 3 or fewer points.

— Famous birthdays, July 7th:

Carl Mauck, 78
Len Barker, 70
Glenn Hoffman, 67
Billy Campbell, 66
Ralph Sampson, 65

Stoney Case, 53
Michael Westbrook, 53
Chris Redman, 48
Brandon McCarthy, 42
Landen Akers, 28

— Orioles (40-49)
Baltimore is 5-2 in its last seven games.
Orioles are 13-13 vs AL East foes, 26-36 vs everyone else.
Under is 23-11 in their last 34 games.

— Red Sox (46-45)
Red Sox won five of their last six games.
Boston is 9-19 in one-run games.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine games.
Red Sox are 9-9 in 18 games since trading Devers.

— White Sox (30-60)
Chicago is 8-8 in its last sixteen games.
White Sox are 19-24 at home, 11-36 on the road.
Under is 15-3 in their last 18 road games.

— Cleveland (40-48)
Cleveland lost its last ten games, scoring total of 15 runs.
Guardians are 33-29 vs righty starters, 7-19 vs lefties.
Under is 16-5 in their last 21 games.

— Detroit (57-34)
Detroit is 18-9 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 13.5 games.
Tigers are 6-2 in their last eight games.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine road games.

— Houston (55-35)
Astros are 11-2 in last 13 games, lead AL West by 7 games.
Astros are 32-14 at home, 23-21 on the road.
Over is 8-4 in their last 12 road games.
Astros are 17-10 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Royals (43-48)
Royals lost 12 of their last 13 home games.
Kansas City is 34-41 vs righty starters, 9-7 vs lefties.
Under is 7-1 in Royals’ last eight home games.

— Angels (43-46)
Angels are 3-6 in their last nine games.
Halos are 7-2 in last nine road series openers.
Angels are 20-12  in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (43-47)
Twins are 6-5 in their last 11 games.
Minnesota is 24-18 at home, 19-29 on the road.
Under is 5-1 in their last six road games.

— New York (49-41)
New York is 7-16 in its last 23 games.
Over is 8-0 in their last eight games.
New York is 38-32 vs righty starters, 11-9 vs lefties.

— A’s (37-55)
A’s are 5-9 in their last fourteen games.
Under is 10-5 in their last fifteen games.
Last seven series, A’s are 5-0 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (48-42)
Mariners are 6-2 in their last eight games.
Over is 12-4 in their last sixteen road games.
Under is 12-5 in Mariners’ last seventeen home games.

— Tampa Bay (49-41)
Tampa Bay lost five of its last seven games.
Rays are 28-25 at home, 21-16 on the road.
Rays are 14-8 in last 22 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (44-46)
Rangers are 15-11 in their last 26 games.
Texas is 8-17 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 26-19 at home, 18-27 on road.
Under is 24-11 in their last 32 road games.

— Toronto (52-38)
Blue Jays won 8 in a row, are 18-5 in their last 23 home games.
Over is 11-4 in their last 15 road games.
Toronto is 13-5 in last 18 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Padres

SEC football notes:
— Alabama
Since 2020, they’re 22-9-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last seven years, Crimson Tide is +57 in turnovers.

— Arkansas
Pittman is 19-11 ATS as an underdog.
Razorbacks are 8-14-1 ATS last 23 games as a favorite.

— Auburn
Since 2015, Tigers are 21-30-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Auburn lost its last four bowl games (favored in 3 of the 4)

— Florida
Napier is 12-18-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Napier is 23-10-1 ATS as an underdog.

— Georgia
Last four years, Dawgs were 8-16-1 ATS as home favorites.
Georgia is 4-11-1 ATS in last sixteen non-conference games.

— Kentucky
Last four years, Wildcats are minus-22 in turnovers.
Since 2019, Kentucky is 17-10-1 ATS as an underdog.

— LSU
Under Kelly, LSU is 14-6 ATS at home.
Tigers won five of last six bowl games, scoring 44.5 ppg.

— Ole Miss
Last two years, Rebels were 21-5 SU (+21 turnovers)
Under Kiffin, Ole Miss is 10-5-1 as a road favorite.

— Notes on the Baltimore Ravens:
Ravens are #21 in NFL in $$ spent on offense, #17 on defense.
Ravens are #4 in NFL in $$ spent on QB’s, #2 on RB’s
Ravens are #5 in NFL in $$ spent on linebackers

Baltimore was +6 in turnovers last year, with only 11 giveaways
Ravens were +30 in sacks last year (54-24)

Baltimore was 5-5 LY in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Baltimore was 7-0 LY in games decided by more than 8 points.

Last three years, Ravens are 17-8 ATS on the road.
Ravens are 19-10 ATS in last 29 games as a favorite.

— Famous birthdays, July 6th:
Fred Dryer, 79
Jason Thompson, 71
Willie Randolph, 71
Joe Jacoby, 66
Kelly Stouffer, 61

Pau Gasol, 45
Jae Crowder, 35
Manny Machado, 33
Andrew Benintendi, 31
Brandon Lowe, 31

— Miss State
Last two years, Bulldogs are 7-17 SU
Since 2019, MSU is 2-13-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Underdogs are 4-1 ATS in their last five bowl games.

— Missouri
Last two years, Tigers were 21-8 SU (+18 turnovers)
Last three years, Mizzou is 10-4 ATS on the road.

— Oklahoma
Last four years, Sooners are 3-10-1 ATS as road favorites.
Last three years, Oklahoma is 10-15-1 ATS in conference games.

— South Carolina
Coach Beamer is 14-6 ATS as a favorite.
Underdogs are 4-1 ATS in their last five bowl games.

— Tennesssee
Since 2020, Tennessee is 4-14 ATS as an underdog.
Under Heupel, Vols are 15-8 ATS as a home favorite.

— Texas
Since 2016, Longhorns are 23-12-1 ATS in non-league games.
Coach Sarkisian is 10-18 ATS as a road underdog.

— Texas A&M
Coach Elko is 9-6 ATS as a home favorite, 2-6 as a road favorite.
Aggies are 3-10-2 ATS in their last fifteen road games.

— Vanderbilt
Since 2020, Vandy is 15-8 ATS as a road underdog.
Commodores are 11-27 ATS in their last 38 home games. 

— The best baseball announcers make you feel like you’re eavesdropping on a conversation between friends who are watching the game.

In my opinion, the best baseball play-by-play guys:
Jon Sciambi, Cubs
Dan Shulman, Blue Jays
Don Orsillo, Padres
Gary Cohen, Mets

The best analysts:
Ron Darling, Mets
Mark Gubicza, Angels
Jim Palmer, Orioles
Steve Stone, White Sox

— Before last season, no one was touting Cubs’ P Shota Imanaga, who they brought over from Japan; 1.5 years later, the Cubs are 30-9 in Imanaga’s starts. Pretty impressive.

— Cleveland Guardians were at Wrigley Field this week; OF Angel Martinez plays for the Guardians. His dad Sandy Martinez was the Cubs’ catcher in a 1998 game where Kerry Wood struck out 20 Houston Astros.

— Divisional leads in MLB
NL East:
Phillies leads the Mets by half a game. 

NL Central:
Cubs lead Milwaukee by four games, St Louis by 6.5, Cincinnati by seven games. 

NL West:
Dodgers lead San Diego by eight games, Giants by nine games.

AL East:
Blue Jays lead New York/Tampa Bay by two games.

AL Central:
Tigers have a 12.5-game lead over their nearest rival.

AL West:
Astros lead Seattle by seven games, Angels by 9.5 games.

— I have Jesus Luzardo on my fantasy team; he is an all-or-nothing pitcher:

Good starts:
April 4th- 7 IP, no runs allowed vs Dodgers
June 11th- 6 IP, one run allowed vs Cubs
June 22nd- 6.2 IP, no runs allowed vs Mets

Ugly starts:
May 31st: 3.1 IP, 12 runs vs Milwaukee
June 5th: 2.1 IP, 8 runs allowed at Toronto
July 4th: 2 IP, 6 runs allowed vs Cincinnato

Hard to predict, but very few mediocre starts.

— Notes on the Atlanta Falcons:
They’ve spent the most $$$ of any team in the NFL on their offense this year; backup QB Kirk Cousins makes a lot of that money.

Falcons are #22 in $$$ spent on defense, defensive line is #27.

Atlanta was minus-6 in turnovers last year, with only 18 takeaways; they were 8-9, 6-6 in games decided by 8 or fewer points, 2-1 in games decided by 3 or fewer points.

Last two years, Falcons are 11-23 ATS, 8-14 when favored, 3-9 as an underdog, 6-11 at home. Under is 11-6 in their last 17 home games.

— Famous birthdays, July 5th:
Gary Matthews, 75
Rich Gossage, 74
Johnny Rodgers, 74
James Lofton, 69

Edie Falco, 62
Kathryn Erbe, 60
Donnie Jones, 45
Been Udrih, 43

Ish Smith, 37
Jorge Polanco, 32
Shohei Ohtani, 31
Austin Hays, 30

— Mets 6, Bronx 5
Juan Soto went 3-4 with two runs scored, two RBI
Mets won their third game in a row; Bronx has lost five in a row.

— Cubs 11, Cardinals 3
Cubs hit eight home runs; Michael Busch hit three of them.
Colin Rea gave up one hit in 6.2 IP.

— Blue Jays 4, Angels 3 (10)
Toronto wins its sixth game in a row.
Blue Jays scored game-winning run on a throwing error.

— Twins 4, Rays 3
Tampa Bay led 3-1 in the 7th inning.
Harrison Bader homered twice, including a walk-off blast in 9th inning.

— Padres 3, Rangers 2 (10)
Jake Cronenworth got his 5th walk-off RBI for the Padres.
Texas has played in extra innings in six of its last nine games (2-4).

— Tigers 2, Guardians 1
Wenceel Perez, Zach McKinstry homered for Detroit.
Cleveland has now lost eight games in a row.

— A’s 11, Giants 2
Denzel Clarke, homered, tripled, made another great catch in centerfield.
JP Sears tossed six shutout IP for the green-and-gold.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Padres
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners

— Whats the best day to have a birthday? I’m thinking the 4th of July has to be pretty high on the list. People shoot off fireworks, most everyone has the day off, the weather is usually good.

Few years ago, we did the best/worst days to have a birthday (February 29 is most definitely the worst). Sometime this summer, we’ll re-visit that topic.

— Duncan Robinson has played guard for the Miami Heat for the last seven years, scoring 11.3 ppg, mostly because he has shot 39.7% on the arc- shooting is marketable.

He just signed a 3-year, $48M deal with the Detroit Pistons, $16M a year.

Robinson has earned just over $73M in his career, which is amazing for one reason; the first year he was in college, he played at Williams, which plays Division III, non-scholarship ball. This new contract will put him at around $121M for his career.

There are many very good players at the D-III level, but the odds of someone playing D-III ball, then banking $120M+ playing in the NBA have to be astronomical.

— New York Knicks are expected to hire former Cavaliers/Lakers/Kings coach Mike Brown as their next head coach. Brown has a 454-304 record in regular season games, 50-40 in playoff games. He was an assistant coach for Spurs/Warriors teams that won NBA titles- his team in Cleveland got the NBA Finals in 2007, but lost in the Finals.

Knicks just had their best season in 25 years but fired coach Tom Thibodeau anyway.

— There will be at least five more years of labor peace in the NHL; the league and players agreed to a four-year extension of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which will carry through the 2029-30 season.

— Clayton Kershaw recorded his 3,000th career strikeout this week, the 20th pitcher to do it, only the 4th left-handed pitcher.

— Atlanta Braves P Spencer Schwellenbach broke his elbow, is out for an indefinite time. This year, Schwellenbach was 7-4, 3.09 in 17 starts.

Not sure how you break your elbow pitching, but this is yet another injury for an injury-ravaged Atlanta pitching staff.

— Quick facts on the Arizona Cardinals:
Head coach and both coordinators are in their third year with Arizona.

Arizona was 7-2 ATS as an underdog last year.
Last two years, Cardinals were 11-6 ATS at home.

Last year, Arizona was +11 in sacks (41-30)
Last year, Arizona was minus-3 in turnovers (17-20)

Last year, Cardinals were 8-9, 3-5 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

— Famous birthdays, July 4th
Emerson Boozer, 82
Horace Grant, 60
Harvey Grant, 60
Vinny Castilla, 58

Todd Marinovich, 56
Josh McCown, 46
Brock Berlin, 44
Ömer Aşık, 39

— Cubs 1, Guardians 0 (10)
Cleveland has now lost seven games in a row.
Cubs won despite having only three hits.
Cade Horton threw seven shutout IP for the Cubs.

— Marlins 4, Twins 1
Eury Perez allowed one hit in six IP.
Marlins won 10 of last 12 games, won their last four series.
Agustin Ramirez hit a two-run home run.

— Rockies 7, Astros 6
Thairo Estrada homered, knocked in four runs.
Tyler Freeman has reached base safely in his last 18 games.

— Blue Jays 8, New York 5
George Springer hit two 2-run homers.
Toronto sweeps 4-game series, now leads the AL East.
New York is 10-16 against its AL East rivals.

— Giants 7, Diamondbacks 2
Robbie Ray threw a 102-pitch complete game against his old team.
It was Ray’s first complete game since 2017.
Rafael Devers had three RBI for the Giants.

— Angels 5, Braves 1
Jose Soriano threw seven scoreless IP.
Zach Neto went 3-5, scored three runs.
Matt Olson has reached base safely in his last 33 games.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Padres
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners

Notes for NFL teams:
NFC East
Dallas
Missed playoffs LY for first time in four years.
Since 1998, they’re 4-12 in playoff games.
17-8 ATS in last 25 games as a home favorite.

NJ Giants
Missed playoffs 11 of last 13 years.
Last two years, went 6-11/3-14.
Last seven years, they’re 9-12 ATS in NFC East home games.

Philadelphia
Since 2017, they’re 10-5 in playoff games (2 Super Bowl wins)
Since 2018, Eagles are 19-24-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last four years, over is 21-12 in Philly’s regular season home games.

Washington
LY, Commanders made playoffs for second time in last nine years.
Before last year, Washington’s last playoff win was in 2005.
Last year, over was 12-5 in Washington’s regular season games.

NFC North
Chicago
Last four years, Chicago went 21-47, missing playoffs every year.
Since winning Super Bowl 40 years ago, Bears are 6-12 in playoff games.
Last five years, Bears are 10-20 ATS in divisional games.

Detroit
Last three years, Detroit went 36-15 in regular season, 2-2 in playoffs.
In the entire Super Bowl era, Lions are 3-14 in playoff games (0-12 on road)
Lions are 14-8 ATS in last 22 games as a home favorite.

Green Bay
Packers made the playoffs 12 of the last 15 years.
Since winning Super Bowl 15 years ago, Green Bay is 8-11 in playoff games.
Packers are 26-17-1 ATS in their last 44 games as a home favorite.

Minnesota
Vikings were 14-3 LY, but let QB Darnold walk anyway.
Since 2010, Minnesota is 2-6 in playoff games.
Vikings are 10-2-1 ATS in last 13 games as a road favorite.

NFC South
Atlanta
Falcons missed the playoffs the last seven years.
Since 2014, Atlanta is 20-40-1 ATS as a home favorite.
In their history, Falcons are 6-2 in home playoff games, 4-12 otherwise.

Carolina
Carolina missed the playoffs the last seven years.
In their history, Panthers are 9-8 in playoff games (5-2 at home)
Carolina’s last seven home games went over the total.

New Orleans
New Orleans missed the playoffs the last four years.
Since winning Super Bowl 16 years ago, Saints are 4-7 in playoff games.
Since 2014, Saints are 26-38-1 ATS as a home favorite.

Tampa Bay
Buccaneers made the playoffs the last five years (27-24 last 3 years)
Tampa Bay is 5-2-1 ATS last eight games as a home favorite.
Last three years, Buccaneers are 3-5-1 ATS in NFC South home games.

NFC West
Arizona
Cardinals missed playoffs the last three years, and eight of last nine.
Since making it to the Super Bowl 17 years ago, Arizona is 2-4 in playoff games.
Cardinals are 8-4 ATS in last 12 games as a home underdog.

LA Rams
In eight years under McVay, Rams made playoffs six times (1-1 in Super Bowl)
McVay has a 8-5 record in playoff games.
Rams are 4-8-2 ATS last 14 games as a non-divisional road underdog.

San Francisco
49ers missed playoffs LY for first time in four years.
Since 2012, 49ers made playoffs six times; they went WWL all six years.
49ers are 7-9 ATS in last sixteen games as a home favorite.

Seattle
Seattle missed playoffs 3 of last 4 years, after making it 12 of previous 16 years.
Since losing Super Bowl 11 years ago, Seahawks are 3-6 in playoff games.
Last year, Seahawks were 1-6 SU/ATS in last seven home games.

Famous birthdays, July 2nd:
Robert Ito, 94
Polly Holliday, 88
Larry David, 78
Joe Pisarcik, 73

Tony Armas, 72
Jon Sundvold, 64
Jose Canseco, 61
Steve Sparks, 61

Chad Henne, 40
Margot Robbie, 35
Derrick White, 31
Daulton Varsho, 29

AFC teams
AFC East
Buffalo
Since 2017, Bills are 86-45 SU in regular season, 7-7 in playoffs.
Buffalo is 11-5-1 ATS last 17 games as a road underdog.
Over is 10-2 in their last 12 regular season games.

Miami
Dolphins made the playoffs twice in McDaniel’s three seasons as HC.
Dolphins lost their last six playoff games (last win, 2000)
Miami’s last six home games went over the total.

New England
Patriots made the playoffs once in five years since Brady left.
Vrabel’s is New England’s third HC in three years (4-13/4-13 last 2 years)
Patriots are 7-17-1 ATS in their last 25 home games.

NJ Jets
Jets have had nine consecutive losing seasons, last made playoffs in 2010.
Jets haven’t played a home playoff game since 2002.
Since 2018, Jets are 7-14 ATS in AFC East home games.

AFC North
Baltimore
Lamar Jackson is 70-24 in regular season games, 3-5 in playoff games.
Ravens are 2-3 SU in last five home playoff games.
Last two years, Baltimore is 19-12 ATS as a favorite.

Cincinnati
Bengals went 9-8/9-8 last two years, but missed playoffs both years.
2021-22, Bengals went 22-11 in regular season, 5-2 in playoffs.
From 1991-2020, Cincinnati was 0-7 in playoff games.
Over is 6-1 in their last seven home games. 

Cleveland
Since returning to NFL, Browns are 1-3 in playoff games.
Cleveland made playoffs twice in last five years, were 3-14 LY.
Last year, Browns were 3-12 ATS in their last fifteen games.

Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh made the playoffs eight of the last 11 years.
Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016.
Steelers are 25-14 ATS in last 39 games as a road underdog.

AFC South
Houston
Texans won AFC South last two years, six of last 10 seasons.
Texans are 6-1 in home playoff games, 0-6 in road playoff games.
Since 2019, Houston is 6-15 ATS as a home favorite.

Indianapolis
Colts missed playoffs last four years, and eight of last 10 seasons.
Last year, over was 7-1 in their last eight games.
Over is 11-5 in their last sixteen home games.

Jacksonville
Jaguars made the playoffs once in last seven seasons.
In their history, Jacksonville is 8-8 SU in playoff games.
Since 2016, Jaguars are 10-3 ATS as a home dog vs AFC South rivals.

Tennessee
Last three years, Titans missed playoffs, going 16-35 SU
Tennessee is 5-4 SU in its last nine road playoff games.
Last year, Titans were 1-7 SU/0-8 ATS at home. 

AFC West
Denver
Broncos made playoffs last year for first time in nine years.
LY’s playoff loss in Buffalo was their first road playoff game since 2011.
Denver won/covered six of its last seven home games.

Kansas City
Last six years, Chiefs went 3-2 SU in Super Bowls.
Since 2019, Chiefs are 16-3 SU in playoff games.
Since 2020, Chiefs are 17-22 ATS as a home favorite.

Las Vegas
Raiders made the playoffs twice in the last 22 years.
Raiders haven’t won a playoff game since 2002.
Pete Carroll made playoffs in four of his last six years in Seattle.

LA Chargers
Chargers made playoffs two of last three years.
Jim Harbaugh is 55-25-1 SU as an NFL coach, 5-4 in playoff games.
Chargers’ last six regular season road games went over the total. 

Happy Canada Day, to our neighbors to the north…….
Notes for Big X football teams:

Arizona
Wildcats have had only one winning season the last seven years.
Arizona won four of its last five bowl games SU

Arizona State
Coach Dillingham is 7-1 ATS as a favorite.
Since 2017, Sun Devils are 41-27 ATS in league games, 9-16-1 in non-league games.

Baylor
Last four years, Bears are 10-6-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Baylor has 73 starts back on offensive line, which is good- they were 8-5 last year, only their second winning season the last five years. 

Brigham Young
Coach Sitake is 17-9 ATS as a road underdog.
Coach Sitake is 27-35 as a favorite.

Central Florida
Since 2019, Knights are 7-16 ATS as a road favorite.
Coach Frost is 12-6 ATS as a road underdog. He is back at UCF this year after he had previously coach the Knights in 2016-17. 

Cincinnati
Last two years, Bearcats are 8-16 SU; their last bowl win was in 2019.
Coach Satterfield is 17-9 ATS as a road favorite.

Colorado
Under Coach Sanders, Colorado is 9-3 ATS as an underdog.
Last two years, Buffaloes were +21 in turnovers. 

Houston
Coach Fritz is 44-27 ATS as a favorite.
Last three years, Houston was 9-16-1 in conference games.

Famous birthdays, July 1st:
Jamie Farr, 91
Freddie Lewis, 82
Dan Aykroyd, 73
Roger Carr, 73

Nelson Cruz, 45
Pamela Anderson, 58
Charlie Blackmon, 39
Kent Bazemore, 36

Iowa State
Coach Campbell is 25-14-2 ATS as an underdog.
Since 2015, Cyclones are 35-17-1 ATS coming off a loss. 

Kansas
Last two years, Jayhawks are 8-3 ATS as an underdog.
Kansas won 4 of its last 5 bowl games, scoring 42 ppg, but only two of those five bowls have been played since 2008.

K-State
Coach Klieman is 25-13 ATS in home games.
Since 2016, Wildcats are 27-13 ATS coming off a loss.

Oklahoma State
Cowboys were 3-9 LY, missing a bowl for first time in 19 years.
OSU is 8-3 ATS last 11 games as a home dog, 24-9 ATS in last 33 non-league games. 

TCU
Since 2018, Horned Frogs are 5-11-1 as a road underdog.
TCU has 3 starters/93 starts back on OL; they were 9-4 LY, despite a -6 turnover ratio.

Texas Tech
Last four years, Red Raiders are 16-6 ATS coming off a loss
Coach McGuire is 9-6-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Tech has 136 starts back on the offensive line; very experienced.

Utah
Coach Whittingham is 39-26 ATS as an underdog.
Utes lost their last five bowl games; they were favored in three of the five games.

West Virginia
Coach Rodriguez is 20-31 ATS as a road underdog.
Last five years, Mountaineers are 13-4 ATS as a home favorite. 

— Utah Jazz were 17-65 last year, worst record in the NBA, but they lottery screwed them; they wound up with the 5th pick in the draft, instead of the first pick.

Utah drafted G Ace Bailey from Rutgers, who didn’t work out for any teams, the only American player who didn’t. Word was he wanted the Washington Wizards to draft him, but now he goes to Utah, which also acquired Walter Clayton, who won a national title at Florida last year.

— Rutgers had Bailey and Dylan Harper last year; Harper was the 2nd player taken in this draft. If those two guys are so great, how come the Scarlet Knights were 15-17 last year, 8-12 in their conference games?

— Dallas Mavericks had only a 1.5% chance of getting the first pick in the draft, so they’re landing Cooper Flagg was quite a bonanza.

— This was first NBA Draft since 2007 that John Calipari didn’t have a player drafted in the first round; it was the first time since 2009 that Kentucky didn’t have a player drafted.

— 76ers drafted Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe with the #3 pick; if Philly can keep their nucleus of Emiid, George and Maxey together (they played together in only 15 games last year), they could make a jump back into the playoffs next year.

— Oklahoma City drafted Thomas Sorber from Georgetown, the Hoyas’ first player taken in the 1st round since Otto Porter Jr in 2013.

— Khaman Maluach is a 7-1 big man who played at Duke last year; he didn’t play basketball until he was 14, so he had ton of potential to become way better on offense.

— They said on ESPN that Tre Johnson was the best shooter in the draft; Wizards took him with the 6th pick, right after Harper went to Utah.

— As for ESPN’s coverage of the draft, I’m not a fan; we need more people on air who played or coached in the league. Kendrick Perkins is good, Jay Bilas was the NBA version of Mel Kiper Jr; we learned stuff from them. 

Former Warriors’ GM Bob Myers was on the ABC version of the draft; he is probably very good, but  I didn’t see it because I’m not spending 3.5 hours of my life listening to Stephen A Smith. 

Teams’ records by starting pitcher:
(thru Wednesday’s games)

Diamondbacks (41-39)
Gallen 7-10 (over 5-1 last six)
Kelly 9-7 (over 4-2 last six)
Burnes 6-5 (under 5-1 last six)
Pfaadt 9-7 (over 6-2 last eight)
Rodriguez 6-7 (over 8-2 last ten)
Nelson 4-3 (under 5-2)

— Braves (37-42)
Sale 8-7 (under 8-3 last eleven)
Schwellenbach 11-5 (over 9-3 last 12)
Smith-Shawver 5-4 (under 7-2)
Holmes 6-9 (3-7 last ten)
Elder 5-7 (under 9-2 last eleven)
Lopez 0-1
Strider 3-5 (under 6-2)
Fuentes 0-2
Blewett 0-1

— Cubs (47-33)
Imanaga 5-3 (under 6-2)
Steele 3-1 (over 4-0)
Taillon 8-8
Boyd 8-8 (under 5-1 last six)
Brown 7-7 (over 11-3)
Rea 9-4
Horton 6-2 (under 4-2 last six)
Pomeranz 2-0 (opener)
Keller 1-0 (opener)

— Reds (42-39)
Greene 6-5 (under 8-2 last ten)
Lodolo 7-8 (over 7-4 last 11)
Martinez 4-11 (over 5-0 last five)
Singer 9-7 (under 9-3 last 12)
Burns 1-0
Miley 2-0 (over 2-0)
Abbott 10-3
Petty 0-2
Suter 2-1 (opener)
Spiers 0-2

— Rockies (18-62)
Freeland 2-12 (under 9-5)
Senzatela 5-10 (over 3-1 last four)
Feltner 1-5 (under 4-0 last four)
Marquez 4-12 (over 10-5 last 15)
Dollander 3-10 
Palmquist 1-6 (under 5-2)
Gomber 1-1
Blalock 0-3
Gordon 1-2
Rolison 0-1 (opener)

— Dodgers (50-31)
Yamamoto 9-7
Kershaw 5-2 (over 7-0)
May 7-7 (over 4-1 last five)
Ohtani 2-0 (opener)
Snell 2-0 (over 2-0)
Glasnow 3-2
Sheehan 1-0
Sasaki 6-2 (over 6-2)
Knack 5-2 (over 5-2)
Gonsolin 3-4
Wrobleski 0-2
Miller 1-0
Casparius 1-1 (opener)
Dreyer 4-1 (opener)
Sauer 1-0 (opener)
Trivino 0-1 (opener)

— Marlins (33-45)
Alcantara 6-9 (under 6-2 last eight)
Quantrill 8-7 (under 8-1 last nine)
Bellozo 1-4
Meyer 5-7 (over 7-1 last eight)
EPerez 1-2
Cabrera 7-6
Junk 1-0
Weathers 2-3
Mazur 0-1
Gillispie 1-5 (over 5-1)
Gibson 1-0 (opener)
Veneziano 0-1 (opener)

— Famous birthdays, June 26th:

Edd Hargett, 78
Shannon Sharpe, 57
Chris O’Donnell, 55
Jason Kendall, 51
Chad Pennington, 49

Michael Vick, 45
Deron Williams, 41
Iman Shumpert, 35
Rudy Gobert, 33
Riley Adams, 29

— Brewers (45-36)
Peralta 10-7
Cortes 1-1
Patrick 5-11 (under 11-5)
Priester 4-6 (under 7-3)
Misioroski 3-0
Myers 2-3
Rodriguez 0-2 (over 2-0)
Alexander 2-2 (over 3-1)
Quintana 7-3 (under 8-2)
Henderson 3-1 (over 3-1)
Hall 2-0
Zastryzny 1-0 (opener)
Civale 3-2

— Mets (47-34)
Holmes 11-5 (under 6-2 last eight)
Megill 6-8 (over 9-2 last 11)
Senga 9-4 (under 12-1)
Canning 11-4 (over 5-1 last six)
Peterson 9-6 (home team 14-1)
Montas 0-1
Blackburn 1-2
Tidwell 0-2
Brazoban 0-2 (opener)

— Phillies (47-33)
Wheeler 11-5
Luzardo 10-6 (over 4-1 last five)
Nola 3-6 (under 6-3)
Sanchez 12-3
Walker 4-4 (under 3-1 last four)
Suarez 6-4 (under 6-1 last seven)
Abel 3-2 
Ross 0-1 (opener)

— Pirates (32-50)
Skenes 8-9 (under 9-4 last 13)
Keller 3-13 (under 7-2 last nine)
Falter 9-7
Heaney 5-11 
Burrows 2-3
Mlodzinski 3-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Harrington 0-1
Ashcraft 1-0

— Cardinals (44-37)
Gray 12-3 (under 4-1 last five)
Fedde 5-11 (under 5-1 last six)
Mikolas 7-8
Liberatore 7-8 (over 5-1 last six)
Pallante 9-6 (over 4-1 last five)
Matz 2-0
McGreevy 2-1 (over 3-0)

— Padres (44-36)
King 5-5 (1-5 last six) (over 3-0-1 last four)
Cease 9-7
Vasquez 9-7 (under 11-5)
Pivetta 10-6 (over 4-1 last five)
Bergert 4-1
Hart 3-3 (over 4-2)
Kolek 4-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Reynolds 0-1

— Giants (44-36)
Ray 13-3 (under 9-3 last 12)
Webb 9-8 (under 4-1 last five)
Verlander 4-8 (under 6-1 last seven)
Roupp 8-7 (under 6-1 last seven)
Birdsong 3-3 (over 3-0 last three)
Harrison 3-1 (under 3-1)
Hjelle 0-1 (opener)
Hicks 4-5 (over 7-2)

— Nationals (33-48)
Gore 6-11 (under 8-4 last 12)
Irvin 8-8
Parker 8-8 (under 9-5)
Williams 6-10 (under 4-0 last four)
Soroka 4-6
Lord 2-4

Notes on football teams in the SEC:
— Alabama
Last five years, Alabama is 37-26 (58.7%) against spread.
New QB Simpson threw only 25 passes as the backup LY.
Had only 25 sacks last year, their fewest since 2013.

— Arkansas
Arkansas has only 3 starters back on offense, 3 more on defense.
Hogs gained 459.5 yards/game last year, #10 in country.
Arkansas allowed 246.9 passing yards/game (#110)

— Auburn
Auburn scored only 19.1 ppg in its SEC games (2-6) last year
Tigers had a minus-9 turnover ratio (#119)
Auburn was 1-3 LY in games decided by 7 or fewer points.

— Florida
Six starters back on offense, seven on defense, a lot for an SEC team.
Gators have four starters back on the offensive line.
Florida was helped last year by its +6 turnover ratio (#35)

— Georgia
Last two years, Dawgs are only 9-17 ATS
Georgia has only seven of 22 starters back from LY.
Dawgs ran ball for only 124.4 yards/game LY, #102 in country.

— Kentucky
Wildcats have only 3 starters back on offense, 4 on defense.
Kentucky missed a bowl LY for first time in nine years.
Wildcats threw ball for only 184.8 yards/game LY (#112)

— LSU
Only six of 22 starters are back, only one on offensive line.
Gave up 364.4 yards/game LY, #61 in country. Mediocre.
QB Nussmeier is in his 5th year; his dad is the Saints’ offensive coordinator. .
— Ole Miss
Lane Kiffin has a 44-18 record in five years with the Rebels.
Ole Miss has only five of 22 starters back this year.
Rebels scored 38.6 ppg LY, #3 in country.

— Famous birthdays, June 25th:
June Lockhart, 100
Ricky Gervais, 64
Dell Curry, 61
Carlos Delgado, 53
Linda Cardellini, 50

Aramis Ramírez, 47
Matt Schaub, 44
Paul Maholm, 43
Gerald Everett, 31
Desmond Bane, 27

— Mississippi State
Bulldogs were 2-10 LY, including a 41-17 home loss to Toledo.
Miss State allowed 216.9 rushing yards/game (#129)
Bulldogs have only three starters back on defense.

— Missouri
Tigers have 7 starters back on defense, only 4 on offense.
Mizzou allowed only 317.5 yards/game LY, #17 in country.
Tigers don’t play a road game until October 18, at Auburn. 

— Oklahoma
Sooners have a new OC, who is 29; he brought the QB from Wazzu with him.
Oklahoma gained only 331 yards/game LY, #113 in country.
Oklahoma has only three starters back on offense.

— South Carolina
Gamecocks allowed only 18.1 ppg LY, #12 in country.
South Carolina has a new punter, kicker, long snapper, holder for kicks.
Gamecocks haven’t won a league title since they won the ACC in 1969.

— Tennessee
New QB Aguilar is a transfer from Appalachian State, via UCLA.
Aguilar threw for 6,700+ yards, 56 TD’s in two years at App State.
Vols have 7 starters back from a defense that allowed 16.1 ppg LY (#7 in country)

— Texas
Only 3 starters back on offense; Arch Manning is the new QB.
Texas ranked 71st in country in rushing yards LY; they’ve got 4 new starters on OL
First 4 weeks in October; three road games, and the Oklahoma game in Dallas.

— Texas A&M
Have six starters back on offense, seven on defense.
Aggies ran ball for 195.5 yards/game LY (#26); they’ve got 4 starters back on OL
A&M lost four of last four games LY, after a 7-1 start.

— Vanderbilt
Last year’s 7-6 season was their best since 2013.
Vandy brought in six transfers who play on OL, to protect QB Pavia.
Someone offered Pavia $4M to bolt to their school; he declined the offer.  

Trends for major league teams
(thru Sunday’s games)

— Arizona (39-38)
Arizona is 8-4 in its last 12 games.
Over is 8-3 in their last 11 home games.
Arizona is 6-14 in last 20 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (35-41)
Braves won seven of their last ten games.
Atlanta is 22-15 at home, 13-26 on the road.
Under is 17-7 in their last 24 home games.

— Cubs (46-31)
Chicago is 7-9 of its last sixteen games.
Chicago scored in first inning in five of its last six games.
Cubs are 35-21 vs righty starters, 11-10 vs lefties.

— Reds (40-38)
Cincinnati is 9-6 in its last 15 games.
Reds are 8-3 in last eleven series openers.
Reds are 31-24 vs righty starters, 9-14 vs lefties.

— Rockies (18-60)
Colorado is 6-5 in its last eleven games.
Over is 5-2 in Rockies’ last seven home games.
Rockies are 2-19 vs lefty starters, 16-41 vs righties. 

— Dodgers (48-31)
Dodgers are 6-2 in their last eight games,
Dodgers are 30-14 at home, 18-17 on the road.
Dodgers are 37-20 vs righty starters, 11-11 vs lefties.
Over is 24-7 in their last 31 home games.

— Marlins (31-45)                                                                       )
Marlins are 8-7 in their last fifteen games.
Miami is 17-24 at home, 14-21 on the road.
Under is 10-2 in Marlins’ last 12 games.
Miami is 2-10 in road series openers.

— Brewers (43-35)
Brewers won eight of their last nine games.
Milwaukee scored 43 runs in its last four games.
Brewers are 23-15 at home, 20-20 on the road.
Under is 17-7 in their last 24 home games.

— Mets (46-32)
Mets lost eight of their last nine games.
Mets are 27-10 at home, 19-22 on the road.
Over is 6-3 in their last nine games.

— Phillies (47-31)
Phillies won nine of their last eleven games.
Phillies are 37-19 vs righty starters, 10-12 vs lefties.
Phillies are 10-3 in home series openers.

— Pirates (31-48)
Pittsburgh is 20-21 at home, 11-27 on the road.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
Pirates are 8-3 in last 11 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (42-36)
St Louis lost six of its last eight games.
Cardinals are 9-4 in home series openers.
St Louis is 24-15  at home, 18-21 on the road.

— Padres (42-35)
Padres are 5-8 in their last thirteen games.
Under is 4-1 in their last five games.
San Diego starting pitchers have one win/six losses in last 20 road games.

— Giants (44-34)
Giants won 8 of their last 11 home games.
Giants are 36-20 vs righty pitchers, 8-14 vs lefties.
SF is 18-6 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Giants scored 23 runs in first six games (3-3) with Devers in lineup

— Washington (32-46)
Nationals lost 16 of their last 20 games.
Under is 15-5 in their last 20 home games.
Washington is 14-5 last 19 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Famous birthdays, June 23rd:

Bryan Brown, 78
Marty Barrett, 67
Jim Deshaies, 65
LaSalle Thompson, 64
Kevin Dyson, 50

Mike James, 50
Shaun O’Hara, 48
LaDainian Tomlinson, 46
O.J. Atogwe, 44
Rodney McLeod, 35

— Word of the Day— Integrity- the quality of being honest and having strong principles.

— Orioles (33-44)
Baltimore is 6-10 in its last sixteen games.
Orioles are 11-12 vs AL East foes, 22-32 vs everyone else.
Under is 16-4 in their last 20 games.

— Red Sox (40-39)
Red Sox are 10-4 in their last fourteen games.
Boston is 9-18 in one-run games.
Under is 8-1 in their last nine home games.
Red Sox scored 19 runs in six games (4-2) without Devers.

— White Sox (25-53)
Chicago is 12-9 in its last eleven games.
White Sox are 9-32 on the road.
Under is 10-2 in their last 12 road games.

— Cleveland (39-37)
Cleveland is 14-5 against its AL Central rivals.
Guardians are 32-23 vs righty starters, 7-14 vs lefties.
Under is 18-3 in their last 21zx  road games.
Guardians are 2-7 in last nine road series openers.

— Detroit (49-30)
Detroit is 13-8 vs its AL Central rivals.
Tigers are 9-9 in their last 18 games.
Over is 10-1 in their last eleven games.

— Houston (45-33)
Astros are 27-13 at home, 18-20 on the road.
Houston is 7-3 in its last ten series openers.
Over is 5-1 in their last six games.
Astros are 15-9 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Royals (38-40)
Royals lost their last seven home games.
Kansas City scored 36 runs in its last 12 games.
Under is 7-3 in Royals’ last 10 games.

— Angels (37-40)
Angels are 11-8 in their last 19 games.
Halos are 6-1 in last seven road series openers.
Angels are 17-8 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (37-40)
Twins are 3-13 in their last 16 games.
Minnesota is 20-15 at home, 17-25 on the road.
Over is 14-6-1 in their last 21 games.

— New York (45-32)
New York is 3-7 in its last ten games.
Under is 10-1 in their last eleven games.
New York is 34-25 vs righty starters, 11-7 vs lefties.

— A’s (32-48)
A’s are 6-4 in their last ten games.
Under is 6-3 in their last ten games.
Over is 7-3 in their last ten road games.

— Seattle (39-37)
Mariners won six of their last nine games.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine road games.
Under is 7-3 in Mariners’ last ten home games.

— Tampa Bay (43-35)
Tampa Bay won 22 of its last 31 games.
Over is 4-1 in their last five games.
Rays are 13-5 in last 18 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (38-40)
Rangers are 9-5 in their last 14 games.
Texas is 6-13 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 23-16 at home, 15-24 on road.
Under is 20-9 in their last 29 road games.

— Toronto (41-36)
Blue Jays are 11-5 in their last 16 home games.
Over is 16-6 in their last 22 games.
Toronto is 9-4 in last 13 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Giants, Brewers
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Blue Jays, Sea/Clev

Some quick trends for Saturday’s baseball:

National League
— Reds (39-37) @ Cardinals (41-35)
Chase Petty is making his MLB debut here; he was 1-4, 2.76 in 10 starts at AAA.

Sonny Gray’s last four starts stayed under the total. Cardinals are 23-14 at home.

— Braves (34-40) @ Marlins (30-44)
Holmes is 0-3, 5.31 in his last four starts. Atlanta is 12-25 on the road.

Eury Perez gave up five runs in 7 IP in his first two starts this year. Marlins are 6-4 in their last ten games.

— Mets (45-31) @ Phillies (46-30)
Mets lost their last seven games. Canning is 1-2, 7.36 in his last five starts.

Phillies won eight of their last nine games. Abel is 2-0, 2.21 in four starts.

— Diamondbacks (38-37) @ Rockies (17-59)
Over is 4-1 in Kelly’s last five starts. Over is 8-2 in Arizona’s last ten games. 

Palmquist is 0-4, 8.10 in six starts. Colorado’s last five home games went over total.

— Nationals (31-45) @ Dodgers (47-30)
Irvin is 1-2, 6.86 in his last four starts; Nationals are 1-12 in their last 13 games.

Dodgers are 5-2 in May’s home starts.  Over is 21-6 in their last 27 home games.

— Movie of the Day:
Moneyball (2011)- A major league general manager’s successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a smaller budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.

Brad Pitt plays Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane; Philip Seymour Hoffman plays A’s manager Art Howe, Jonah Hill plays Beane’s assistant Paul DePodesta (character in the movie is Peter Brand)

I’ve been an A’s fan since I was five years old, so obviously I loved this book/movie; also got to meet Michael Lewis once- he wrote the book the movie was based on, so that was fun. 

American League
— Tigers (48-29) @ Rays (42-34)
Tigers are 12-7 in one-run games, but 2-5 in extra innings. Detroit’s last seven games went over.

Pepiot is 2-1, 1.62 in his last five starts; under is 9-2 in his last 11 starts.

— Orioles (33-42) @ New York (43-32)
Orioles are 27-27 vs righty starters, 6-15 vs lefties. O’s are 11-10 vs AL East rivals, 22-32 against everyone else.

Schmidt is 2-1, 1.08 in his last four starts. Under is 5-1 in Schmidt’s last six starts.

— White Sox (24-52) @ Blue Jays (40-35)
Chicago lost eight of its last nine games; they’re 8-31 on the road.

Berrios is 1-1, 2.70 in his last four starts; Toronto is 24-15 at home.

— Astros (44-32) @ Angels (36-39)
Astros are 27-13 at home, 17-19 on road. Houston is 8-2 in its last ten games.

Angels are 1-5 in Soriano’s home starts. Under is 5-1 in Soriano’s last six starts.

— Guardians (37-37) @ A’s (32-46)
Ortiz is 0-2, 8.44 in his last two starts. Cleveland is 4-10 in its last 14 games.

Spence is 1-0, 1.20 in three starts (15 IP). A’s won six of their last eight games.

— Famous birthdays, June 21st:
Bernie Kopell, 92
Monte Markham, 90
Dan Henning, 83
Michael Gross, 78
Rick Sutcliffe, 69

Tom Chambers, 66
Derrick Coleman, 58
Maggie Siff, 51
Chris Pratt, 46
Garrett Crochet, 26

Interleague
— Brewers (41-35) @ Twins (37-38)
Milwaukee is 5-2 in its last seven games. Under is 7-2 in Quintana’s starts.

Twins are 20-13 at home, 17-25 on road. Over is 6-1 in their last seven home games.

— Mariners (38-36) @ Cubs (45-30)
Hancock is 1-0, 2.35 in his last four starts. Over is 5-2 in their last seven road games.

Cubs are 24-14 at home. Horton is 1-1, 3.25 in his last five starts.

— Rangers (37-39) @ Pirates (30-47)
Texas is 8-4 in its last 12 games. Rocker is 2-4, 7.53 in seven starts.

Keller is 0-7, 4.64 in his last nine starts; under is 6-2 in his last eight starts.

— Red Sox (40-37) @ Giants (42-34)
Boston won 8 of its last 9 games. Over is 5-2 in Bello’s last seven starts.

Roupp is 1-2, 6.50 in his last four starts. Giants lost five of their last six games.

— Royals (38-38) @ Padres (40-35)
Royals won their last four games. Cameron is 2-2, 1.91 in seven starts (under 5-2)

Cease is 1-3, 4.98 in his last four starts. Padres lost 8 of their last 11 games. 

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Giants, Mil/StL
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Blue Jays, Red Sox

Teams’ records by starting pitcher:
(thru Tuesday’s games)
Diamondbacks (36-36)
Gallen 6-9 (over 3-1 last four)
Kelly 8-7 (over 4-1 last five)
Burnes 6-5 (under 5-1 last six)
Pfaadt 9-6 (over 6-1 last seven)
Rodriguez 5-6 (over 6-2 last eight)
Nelson 2-3 (under 4-1)

— Braves (32-39)
Sale 7-7 (under 7-3 last ten)
Schwellenbach 10-5 (over 9-2 last 11)
Smith-Shawver 5-4 (under 7-2)
Holmes 5-9 (2-7 last nine)
Elder 5-6 (under 8-2 last ten)
Lopez 0-1
Strider 1-5 (under 5-1)
Blewett 0-1

— Cubs (45-28)
Imanaga 5-3 (under 6-2)
Steele 3-1 (over 4-0)
Taillon 8-6 (won last five; under 7-3 last ten)
Boyd 7-7 (home team 12-2; under 4-0 last four)
Brown -5 (over 10-2)
Rea 9-3 (under last 3-1 last four)
Horton 5-2 (under 4-1 last five)
Pomeranz 2-0 (opener)
Keller 1-0 (opener)

— Reds (38-35)
Greene 6-5 (under 8-2 last ten)
Lodolo 6-8 (over 7-4 last 11)
Martinez 4-10 (over 4-0 last four)
Singer 9-5 (under 7-3 last 10)
Miley 2-0 (over 2-0)
Abbott 9-3
Petty 0-2
Suter 2-0 (opener)
Spiers 0-2

— Rockies (16-57)
Freeland 2-12 (under 9-5)
Senzatela 4-10 (over 5-2 last seven)
Feltner 1-5 (under 4-0 last four)
Marquez 3-11 (over 9-4 last 13)
Dollander 3-8 (under 6-2 last eight)
Palmquist 1-5 (under 4-2)
Gomber 1-0
Blalock 0-3
Gordon 1-2
Rolison 0-1 (opener)

— Dodgers (45-29)
Yamamoto 8-6 (over 3-1 last four)
Kershaw 4-2 (over 6-0)
May 7-6 (over 3-1 last four)
Ohtani 1-0
Snell 2-0 (over 2-0)
Glasnow 3-2
Sasaki 6-2 (over 6-2)
Knack 5-2 (over 5-2)
Gonsolin 3-4
Wrobleski 0-2
Miller 1-0
Casparius 1-1 (opener)
Dreyer 3-1 (opener)
Sauer 1-0 (opener)
Trivino 0-1 (opener)

— Marlins (29-42)
Alcantara 5-8 (under 5-2 last seven)
Quantrill 7-7 (under 7-1 last eight)
Bellozo 1-4
Meyer 5-7 (over 7-1 last eight)
EPerez 1-1
Cabrera 6-5 (under 5-2 last seven)
Weathers 2-3
Gillispie 1-5 (over 5-1)
Gibson 1-0 (opener)
Veneziano 0-1 (opener)

— Famous birthdays, June 18th:

Paul McCartney, 83
Isabella Rosselini, 73
Neil O’Donoghue, 72
Eric Truvillion, 66

Andrés Galarraga, 64
Jeff Saturday, 50
Alana De La Garza, 49
Jake Meyers, 29

— Brewers (39-35)
Peralta 8-7 (under 6-2 last eight)
Cortes 1-1
Patrick 5-10 (under 11-4)
Priester 3-6 (under 7-2)
Misioroski 1-0
Myers 2-3
Rodriguez 0-2 (over 2-0)
Alexander 2-2 (over 3-1)
Quintana 6-3 (under 7-2)
Henderson 3-1 (over 3-1)
Hall 2-0
Zastryzny 1-0 (opener)
Civale 3-2

— Mets (45-28)
Holmes 10-4 (under 5-1 last six)
Megill 6-8 (over 9-2 last 11)
Senga 9-4 (under 12-1)
Canning 10-4 (over 4-1 last five)
Peterson 9-5
Blackburn 1-0
Tidwell 0-1
Brazoban 0-2 (opener)

— Phillies (43-30)
Wheeler 10-4
Luzardo 9-6
Nola 3-6 (under 6-3)
Sanchez 10-4
Walker 4-4 (under 3-1 last four)
Suarez 5-3 (under 4-1 last five)
Abel 2-2 (under 3-1)
Ross 0-1 (opener)

— Pirates (29-45)
Skenes 7-8 (under 8-3 last 11)
Keller 3-12 (under 6-2 last eight)
Falter 8-7 (under 6-3 last nine)
Heaney 5-9 (under 10-4)
Burrows 2-2
Mlodzinski 3-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Harrington 0-1

— Cardinals (38-35)
Gray 11-3 (under 4-0 last four)
Fedde 4-10 (under 3-1 last four)
Mikolas 7-7 (over 3-1 last four)
Liberatore 6-8 (over 4-1 last five)
Pallante 8-6 (over 4-0 last four)
Matz 2-0
McGreevy 0-1

— Padres (39-33)
King 5-5 (1-5 last six) (over 3-0-1 last four)
Cease 8-7
Vasquez 8-7 (under 10-5)
Pivetta 9-5 (over 3-0 last three)
Bergert 2-1
Hart 3-3 (over 4-2)
Kolek 4-4 (under 3-0 last three)
Reynolds 0-1

— Giants (41-32)
Ray 12-3 (under 9-2 last 11)
Hicks 4-5 (over 7-2)
Webb 8-7 (under 3-1 last four)
Verlander 4-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Roupp 7-7 (under 5-1 last six)
Birdsong 3-2 (under 2-0)
Harrison 3-1 (under 3-1)
Hjelle 0-1 (opener)

— Nationals (30-43)
Gore 6-9 (under 7-3 last ten)
Irvin 7-8
Parker 7-8 (under 9-5)
Williams 5-9
Soroka 3-6
Lord 2-4

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies, Giants, Padres
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Blue Jays, Mariners

 

Trends for major league teams (thru Monday’s games)

— Arizona (36-35)
Arizona won nine of its last 12 games.
Over is 7-3 in their last ten home games.
Arizona is 6-13 in last 19 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (31-39)
Atlanta lost 16 of its last 23 games.
Braves are 19-15 at home, 12-24 on the road.
Under is 15-6 in their last 21 home games.

— Cubs (44-28)
Chicago is 13-3 of its last 16 home games.
Under is 16-4 in their last 20 games.
Cubs are 9-3 vs American League teams.

— Reds (37-35)
Cincinnati is 12-8 in its last 20 games.
Reds are 7-2 in last nine series openers.
Reds are 28-21 vs righty starters, 9-14 vs lefties.

— Rockies (15-57)
Colorado is 3-2 in its last five games.
Over is 7-1 in Rockies’ last eight games.
Rockies are 1-19 vs lefty starters, 14-38 vs righties. 

— Dodgers (44-29)
Dodgers are 21-19 in their last 40 games,
Dodgers are 25-12 at home, 18-17 on the road.
Dodgers are 34-18 vs righty starters, 10-11 vs lefties.
Over is 20-5 in their last 25 home games.

— Marlins (28-42)                                                                       )
Marlins are 5-4 in their last nine games.
Miami is 14-21 at home, 14-21 on the road.
Marlins are 2-10 in road series openers.

— Brewers (39-34)
Brewers are 11-6 in their last 17 home games.
Brewers are 23-15 at home, 16-19 on the road.
Under is 17-7 in their last 24 home games.

— Mets (45-27)
Mets lost their last three games.
Mets are 27-10 at home, 18-17  on the road.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.

— Phillies (43-29)
Phillies won their last five games.
Phillies are 34-17 vs righty starters, 9-12 vs lefties.
Phillies are 9-3 in home series openers.

— Pirates (29-44)
Pirates are 7-3 in last 10 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Pittsburgh is 19-19 at home, 10-25 on the road.
Under is 14-4 in their last 18 road games.

— St Louis (37-35)
St Louis lost seven of its last eight games.
Under is 4-1 in their last five games.
St Louis is 22-14 at home, 15-21 on the road.

— Padres (39-32)
Padres lost five of their last seven games.
Over is 5-2 in their last seven games.
Padres are 11-8 against their NL West rivals.
San Diego starting pitchers have one win/five losses in last 17 road games.

— Giants (41-31)
Giants won their last five home games.
Giants are 33-18 vs righty pitchers, 8-13 vs lefties.
SF is 16-6 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Over is 5-0 in Giants’ last five games.
Where will they play Devers/bat him in the lineup?

— Washington (30-42)
Nationals lost 12 of their last 14 games.
Under is 13-4 in their last 17 home games.
Washington is 13-5 last 18 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Famous birthdays, June 17th:
Dave Concepción, 77
Mickey Brantley, 64
Greg Kinnear, 62

Mike Magnante, 60
Jason Hanson, 55
Popeye Jones, 55

Andrew Chefin, 35
Yusei Kikuchi, 34
Shane Baz, 26

— Orioles (30-41)
Baltimore is 3-7 in its last ten games.
Orioles are 8-9 vs AL East foes, 22-32 vs everyone else.
Under is 11-3 in their last 14 games.

— Red Sox (38-36)
Red Sox are 8-1 in their last nine games.
Boston is 9-17 in one-run games.
Under is 8-1 in their last nine home games.
Red Sox’ lineup is sketchy, minus Bregman/Devers.

— White Sox (23-49)
Chicago is 12-8 in its last 20 home games.
White Sox are 7-31 on the road.
Under is 7-2 in their last nine road games.

— Cleveland (35-35)
Guardians lost nine of their last 12 games.
Cleveland is 14-5 against its AL Central rivals.
Guardians are 30-22 vs righty starters, 5-13 vs lefties.
Under is 12-3 in their last 15 road games.

— Detroit (46-27)
Detroit is 13-8 vs its AL Central rivals.
Tigers are 6-6 in their last 12 games.
Over is 4-1 in their last five games.

— Houston (38-30)
Astros are 27-13 at home, 14-18 on the road.
Houston is 6-3 in its last nine series openers.
Under is 22-10 in their last 32 games.
Astros are 14-7 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Royals (34-38)
Royals are 6-15 in their last 21 games.
Kansas City scored 11 runs in its last six games.
Over is 8-4 in Royals’ last 12 games.

— Angels (34-37)
Angels are 8-5 in their last 13 games.
Over is 10-6 in their last 16 road games.
Halos are 15-7 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (36-35)
Twins are 2-8 in their last ten games.
Minnesota is 20-12 at home, 16-23 on the road.
Over is 11-5 in their last 16 games.

— New York (42-29)
New York lost its last four games, scoring four runs.
Under is 5-0 in their last five games.
New York is 32-22 vs righty starters, 10-7 vs lefties.

— A’s (30-44)
A’s won their last four games.
A’s scored in 1st inning in six of last 12 home games.
Over is 17-3 in their last 10 road games.

— Seattle (36-35)
Mariners lost eight of their last 10 road games.
Seattle is 7-12 in its last 19 home games.
Under is 6-1 in Mariners’ last seven home games.

— Tampa Bay (40-32)
Tampa Bay won 19 of its last 25 games.
Under is 21-9 in their last 30 home games.
Rays are 12-4 in last 16 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (36-36)
Rangers won seven of their last eight games.
Texas is 6-13 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 23-13 at home, 13-23 on road.
Under is 19-7 in their last 26 road games.

— Toronto (38-33)
Blue Jays won eight of their last 10 home games.
Over is 13-3 in their last 16 games.
Toronto is 8-3 in last eleven games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— If the baseball playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Phillies, Giants, Padres
AL: Bronx, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: Rays, Blue Jays, Red Sox

— Happy Armadillo Day; started this blog 24 years ago this week. Hope you enjoy reading it every day- you DO read it every day, right? 🙂 

The world has changed a lot since 2001; some for the better, some not so much, but hopefully things will get better again soon.

I try to focus on the positive here, but mostly aim for being realistic.

Thanks for reading, even if you read it only because it helps you sleep better 🙂

— Panthers 4, Oilers 2
Panthers led 2-0 after the first period.
Florida scored their five goals on only 19 shots.
Brad Marchand scored twice for Florida.
Game 6 is in Florida Tuesday night.

Panthers’ star Marchand has scored six goals for Florida in this year’s Final.

He scored five goals for the Bruins in the 2011 Finals. 

He is the first player in NHL history to score 5+ goals in a Stanley Cup Final with two different teams.

— Was watching Tigers-Orioles game the other night, and the great actor JK Simmons showed up in the Orioles’ TV booth, unannounced. Simmons is a big-time Tigers’ fan; he was also the manager of the Tigers in the excellent Kevin Costner movie For Love of the Game.

He has 245 acting credits on IMDB; he was Dr Skoda in 45 episodes of Law and Order, just a tremendous career.

— Atlanta Braves were minus-350 favorites over Colorado Saturday, huge favorites. Remember reading something a long time ago advising you to never lay more than -150 on baseball.

My cousin KL Wheat, who is smart with his bets, never lays more than -120.

— Pirates P Paul Skenes has a 1.78 ERA in 15 starts this year, but he is 4-6 in those start; Pirates have scored 3 or fewer runs in 10 of his 15 starts. Under is 8-3 in his last 11 starts.

— Cardinals 8, Brewers 5
Willson/William Contreras became the first brothers since 1933 to homer in the same inning in the same game, when they were on opposing sides in that game. 

Last year, Cleveland’s Josh/Bo Naylor did it as teammates.

— Heading into this weekend, the average OPS in the major leagues was .712; in 2019 it was .758, in 2020 it was .740. Getting harder and harder to hit.

— Famous birthdays, June 15th:
Dusty Baker, 76
Jim Belushi, 71
Wade Boggs, 67
Helen Hunt, 62
Courteney Cox, 61

Kerwin Bell, 60
O’Shea Jackson Sr., 56 (Ice Cube)
Andy Pettitte, 53
Michael Doleac, 48
Derek Anderson, 42

Tim Lincecum, 41
Trevor Plouffe, 39
Jake Locker, 37
Cooper Kupp, 32
Dom Smith, 30

Happy birthday to the Big Dawg, whose birthday is this weekend. He’s been a good friend for many years, he’s a good NFL handicapper.

— When Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 points off the bench the other night, it was the most points a sub scored in an NBA Finals game since Jason Terry scored 27 in 2011.

Both players were coached in those games by Rick Carlisle.

Pacers’ star Tyrese Halliburton has scored 71 points in the first four games of the series vs Oklahoma City; he’s taken a total of only three foul shots in the four games, all of them in the Game 4 loss.

— Diamondbacks 8, Padres 7
Arizona led 3-1 after the sixth inning.
San Diego led 7-3 in the middle of the ninth. 

Diamondbacks scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth; Geraldo Perdomo’s bases loaded triple was the big blow in the inning.

— It was a good week for a couple of NFL punters:

Monday, Jaguars gave P Logan Cooke a 4-year, $16M contract, making him the highest-paid punter in the NFL. 

Tuesday, Seahawks gave P Michael Dickson a 4-year, $16.2M contract, making him the highest-paid punter in the NFL.

— Houston Texans WR Nico Collins had 142 receiving yards negated by Houston penalties last year, more than any other player.

— White Sox traded 1B/OF Andrew Vaughn to Milwaukee for P Aaron Civale, who the Brewers had demoted to the bullpen. White Sox had demoted Vaughn to AAA.

— I’m curious if baseball executives who were really good ballplayers look down their noses at the nerdy, non-athletic guys who are often in front offices these days?

I’m guessing they do; John Smoltz was on TV Saturday night, saying how official scorers should consult with former players when they make scoring decisions, to find “how difficult a play that really was”

— Baseball seriously needs to promote itself better; a good reality show would include current players watching fantasy baseball podcasts on YouTube, where nerdy types criticize players, as they add/drop or trade these players.