[G-men]

Matt Rivers

150,000* UNDERDOG 3PACK

Your winners here are on:



1. 50,000♦ A's

2. 50,000♦ Indians

3. 50,000♦ Braves



1. Just a few weeks back Brett Anderson hurled a gem, a complete game shutout to be exact, here at Fenway and to get a number like this today is fine with me.


I'm not saying at all that the lefty will repeat that feat because the professional hitting Sox will make some adjustments but Brad Penny is far from being the Brad Penny from years ago and to get a confident Anderson today and this price back, even with the well inferior overall team in the A's, is still worth a go for sure.


Anderson is a young kid that has really good stuff. It didn't show early on but over the last month the southpaw has been great. He was hit a little in that last start at Yankee Stadium but all in all this guy is really blossoming into a top flight hurler and a guy that is a must play when getting a chunk of change back.


Obviously Boston wins this game more times than they don't as they are that much better than the now Matt Holliday-less Athletics but Oakland does have enough to plate some runs against a fairly now mediocre Penny and therefore Hairston, Cust, Cabrera and the visitors have my backing today.




2. John Lackey scares me as he is a bulldog who seems to have shaken off the rust after missing the first month on the DL. Early on the perennial All-Star struggled but the last three outings have been of the quality variety and now seems to be the Lackey of old.


But with the above said it's still a bit too steep of a price if you ask me as the Indians have finally started to play some decent baseball.


I don't love Aaron Laffey but I also do not buy into this Angel offense without Vlad or Hunter. They have been great for sure winning a bunch of games without their guys but I still do not think this is a good offense, I just don't.


Cleveland had been in a freefall mode but looked excellent in Safeco and came back nicely in that first game in the 9th against Fuentes. Are they for sure going to win this game as well? No of course not but at this price with a decent enough southpaw on the hill and talented hitters like Sizemore, Hafner, Choo and Martinez there is without a doubt a chance and at this price I'm all for it!



3. Nobody is a bigger Josh Johnson fan then I am because this kid is really really really good. he seems to hurl quality starts every time out and is clearly superior to Kenshin Kawakami. But I still believe that Bobby Cox' squad is superior to the Fish and to get such a handsome price back is a no-brainer.


Nate McClouth has really added a nice dimension to the Bravos and Chipper Jones and Brian McCann are clearly upper eschelon players. Throw in a Yunel Escobar and a few others and you can see how the boys from Hotlanta are a better team than they showed for a lot of the first half.


The Marlins bullpen is pretty poor unlike the Braves who have a guy in Soriano closing who has been great. Add in Mike Gonzalez, Peter Moylan and a few others and Atlanta's bullpen is not bad.


All in all the Braves plus anything tonight, even against a half stud in Johnson, is a very solid value. And if you know me you know how I love teams coming off of bad losses and last night's walkoff loss was just that for the Braves.

[G-men]

Matt Rivers

Complimentary Selection

For Wednesday take the Yankees at the Trop.


I know how good Matt Garza can be at home and the Rays are a very quality team that will compete with the Yankees and Red Sox as we have seen over the past season plus. But the way Joe Girardi's squad has been performing over the past few months I can't help but grab them at this cheap cheap number.


Joba Chamberlain is close to being great. He is not all that and does not eat up a ton of innings but the righty was filthy in that last start, is very good overall and should go six strong here. I do expect the talented Rays to plate a few runs as Crawford, Upton, Longoria and Pena are very very good but it's not like Garza is going to hurl a complete game shutout over Arod and the visitors.


When push comes to shove at a near pick you just have to back the Yankees every time right now. Besides that lost series in Anaheim before the Break (but the Bombers never win there) New York has been easily the best team on the planet, save only possibly the Phillies last month.


Tampa can win this game but I just don't see them doing it at the rate that the oddsmaker seems to believe.

1♦ Yankees (out of 5♦)