Archive for April, 2011

Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs open series Friday April 19th, 2011

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los-angeles-dodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers will play against the Chicago Cubs this weekend. The series will be a 3 game series and it will take place in Chicago.

MLB Futures Odds have The Dodgers at 40-1 and the Cubs at 45-1 to win the 2011 World Series.

These teams are both struggling this season, as they are both barely under the .500 mark on the year.  Both teams are .500 at home, but they are below .500 while playing on the road. This should give the Cubs a slight advantage in the series.

While the Dodgers are known for having a solid pitching staff, they have actually been one of the worst teams in their division in terms of ERA. They have allowed 78 runs on the season compared to the 52 runs they have scored so far. They will need their bats to pick up and their pitching to be more effective if they hope to take this series.

The Cubs are suffering from some of the same issues that the Dodgers are, but they have at least had more success on offense than the Dodgers. The Cubs will send Coleman, Dumpster and Zambian to the mound for this series. None of these pitchers have been especially good this season, but Dumpster and Zambian are veterans and have had should stabilize as the season progresses.

The Dodgers will have Billingsley, Lilly and Kuroda on the mound. Billingsley is seen by many to be an ace caliber pitcher, but he has been up and down this season. The Dodgers need him to step up if they hope to compete for the playoffs this season.

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In Classic MLB Rivalry – New York Yankees Meets Boston Red Sox April 8th, 2011

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boston-red-soxThis weekend when the New York Yankees travel to Fenway Park in Boston to do battle with the Boston Red Sox, one of baseball’s best rivalries will commence for the first time in the 2011 season.

After opening the season at 3-1 Boston has slipped to 9-2 in baseball odds to win the 2011 World Series where as baseball picks have the Yankees at 5-1.

After the team has struggled to start the season on a six game road trip, the Red Sox probably cannot wait to get back home to the friendly confines of Fenway Park. The Red Sox have dropped their first five contests and have compiled a 0-5 record during this six game swing. Things will not get any easier when New York’s sluggers come into town as so far Boston’s pitching has been a cause of great concern for the preseason AL East favorites.

At the beginning of the 2011 season the Yankees on the other hand have gotten off to a decent start. The Yankees are 3-2 on the young year, and nothing would make the Yankees happier than seeing Boston’s woes continue after today’s rainout against the Minnesota Twins.

As Friday night will see John Lackey take on Phil Hughes, Saturday will feature Clay Buchholz against Ivan Nova, and Sunday will showcase the marquee pitchers for both teams as Josh Beckett will take the mound against C.C. Sabathia on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, the pitching match ups for this weekend’s series should be good ones.

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