Saturday, July 19, 2008

MLB Baseball Picks: Saturday, July 19, 2008

Hello Players:

Looking forward to watching rounds 3 & 4 of the British Open to see how Norman does...


2008 MLB Current Record: 2-4 (-5.35 Units)

Pick: Milwaukee Brewers -140 (MLB)
Value: 5 Unit Play

Pick: Los Angeles Angels +110 (MLB)
Value: 2 Unit Play

Pick: Houston Astros +115 (MLB)
Value: 2 Unit Play

(The Visionary's plays are rated on a 1-5 unit scale)

Good Luck & Play The Winners Today!

-The Visionary

Friday, July 18, 2008

MLB Baseball Picks: Friday, July 18, 2008

What's up everyone:

Finally! Back to a full baseball schedule again.
Time to get the ball rolling and get things on track....

2008 MLB Current Record: 0-2 (-3.3 Units)

Pick: San Francisco Giants +1.5 -145 (MLB)
Value: 4 Unit Play

Pick: New York Mets -115 (MLB)
Value: 3 Unit Play

Pick: Seattle Mariners -1.5 +170 (MLB)
Value: 2 Unit Play

Pick: Baltimore Orioles -1.5 +190 (MLB)
Value: 2 Unit Play

(The Visionary's plays are rated on a 1-5 unit scale)

Good Luck & Happy Betting!

-The Visionary

Thursday, July 17, 2008

MLB Baseball Picks: Thursday, July 17, 2008

Good Morning Everyone:

Very small baseball schedule today.
Not a whole lot to work with here.

The Visionary has one play for today:

2008 MLB Current Record: 0-0 (-1.1 Units)
Pick: Baltimore Orioles -110 (MLB)
Value: 2 Unit Play

(The Visionary's plays are rated on a 1-5 unit scale)

Good Luck & Happy Betting!

-The Visionary

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

One Hell of an Exciting All-Star Game!

Sorry that we didn't come through with a winner for you in the All-Star game. However, that match-up is a perfect example of how equal the talent pool is in that game. That also may have been the best All-Star game that I have ever watched. How exciting was it to see those plays at the plate in the extra innings? It is very enjoyable to see so many talented athletes competing at such a high level. I have also never seen so many Hall of Famers in one place at one time. Has George Steinbrenner completely sunk it to senility or what? Very unclassy of the Yankee fans booing all the Red Sox players, but I guess that is to be expcted. That's it for me tonight. See you tomorrow....

I Had To Post This (Too Funny)...

UFC Champ. 'Rampage' Jackson Arrested

ESPN - Former MMA champ 'Rampage' booked after truck incident - MMA:

"COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Former mixed martial arts light heavyweight champion Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson has been arrested after a series of collisions allegedly involving the pickup truck he was driving in Orange County.

Police say Jackson was booked for investigation of felony evading, hit and run and
reckless driving. Bail was set at $25,000. Police received a report of an
accident on the 55 Freeway near 19th Street in Costa Mesa involving a large
pickup truck that had struck other vehicles and fled the scene.

A Costa Mesa officer spotted the pickup getting involved in another collision and fleeing toward Newport Beach. The pickup, which had a tire disabled in the collisions, was pulled over in Newport Beach. Police say Jackson was taken into custody without incident. No one was hurt."

More Evidence That Clemens is Guilty

ESPN - Receipts reportedly exist showing HGH shipment to Clemens - MLB:
"NEW YORK -- Convicted steroid distributor Kirk Radomski handed over
shipping receipts to federal investigators for a package of human growth
hormone that he claims he sent to Roger Clemens' home in Texas in 2002 or
2003, The Daily News reported late Tuesday night on its Web site......."

More proof that Clemens lied to a grand jury. What a shocker. When are they going to throw him in jail for purgery?

Monday, July 14, 2008

All-Star Game Odds: Where is the value?

Hey guys,

After giving you a winner with Justin Morneau in the Home Run Derby, I would liketo move on to some discussion and picks for the 2008 All-Star game. Here are the current odds (as of Monday morning) @ BetUS Sportsbook (100% bonus if you click here) for Tuesday Night's Major League Baseball All-Star Game:

American League -145
National League +125

Over 10 (-110)
Under 10 (-110)

As you may or may not know, the American League is 10-0-1 in the last 11 All-Star Games and the general consensus amongst sports fans and sports bettors is that the American League is the dominant league and should be able to handle the NL in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in the Bronx.

Based on public perception and how the odds-makers are instructed to post their Major League Baseball lines, they got it right. In fact based on the line movement, they should have set the number higher as -145 is up from where it opened. The Visionary believes that the public is way off here and watching the opening line move from AL -130 to -145 only made him wonder if the public looks for value at all when betting Major League Baseball. He believes that there is a lot of value in laying a small amount of doincassles on the National League.

The American League maybe the dominant league in Major League Baseball as a whole, but if you are just looking at just the top 5% of players in each league, it's a different story and the talent pool is fairly even. If you want to try and argue that it's not close to even and if you are someone who thinks that the AL's top players are a whole lot better then the NL's top players, he would ask that you simply look and compare the individual stats for the top 5 hitters in baseball today.

Batting Average Leaders:
1. Ian Kinsler .337 vs. Chipper Jones .376 = Winner NL
2. Justin Morneau .323 vs. Albert Pujols .350 = Winner NL
3. Joe Mauer .322 vs. Lance Berkman .347 = Winner NL
4. Johnny Damon .319 vs. Matt Holliday .337 = Winner NL
5. Milton Bradley .316 vs. Xavier Nady .321 = Winner NL

Home Run Leaders:
1. Grady Sizemore 23 vs. Ryan Howard 28 = Winner NL
2. Carlos Quentin 22 vs. Adam Dunn 26 = Winner NL
3. Jermaine Dye 21 vs. Chase Utley 25 = Winner NL
4. Josh Hamilton 21 vs. Pat Burrell 23 = Winner NL
5. Alex Rodriguez 19 vs. Hanley Ramirez 23 = Winner NL

Here is what we just found:
1. NL's top 5 hitters all have higher averages then the AL's top 5 hitters
2. NL's top 5 home run hitters all have more home runs then the AL's top 5 home run hitters

Sure, one could say, "Well maybe the AL just has better pitchers." or "You are just looking at the top 5 guys." You can make an argument for pretty much anything in sports. If you look at the ERAs and Wins for pitchers, we are sure that it will be very close or the NL will be better. We are just comparing the first set of offensive numbers that come to mind.

All that we are trying to prove here is that a match-up of the AL and NL's top players is pretty much an even match-up. The Visionary is simply trying to point out that there is no reason to lay 45% juice on an All-Star game. The real value is taking the National League in this game if you just step back and look at this realistically.

The Visionary says to take the value play in the National League +125 to reverse the trend on Tuesday night.

Anyone believe Donaghy is the only one??

Report: Donaghy called fellow ref over 100 times

Is anyone really naive enough to believe that Tim Donaghy is the only NBA referee that has had gambling on his mind when officiating games? Don't expect this story to die anytime soon.


NBA commissioner David Stern has called Donaghy a "rogue, isolated criminal" acting on his own, without the cooperation of any other referees or league officials.
Well now we have proof that David Stern told a flat out lie regarding Donaghy. Surprise Surprise.

BTW, The Visionary had one of the most successful NBA seasons of his betting career in 2008.

The Visionary's Home Run Derby Picks

Here are the current odds from BetUS Sportsbook (100% bonus when using this link) for tonight's Baseball Home Run Derby:

Lance Berkman +375
Chase Utley +450
Dan Uggla +700

Josh Hamilton +350
Ryan Braun +700
Grady Sizemore +500
Evan Longoria +750
Justin Morneau +450

There are a lot of new faces in this Derby making it the hardest in years to predict. The lack of big name players in this derby is the result of this thing not being as popular then it was in the past. Maybe the truth is that with steroids out of baseball for good, nobody wants to embarrass themselves in front of a national audience...

The Visionary thinks that the safest bet would be Lance Berkman as he has the most experience in this thing and was very close to winning it in 2004. If history has told us anything about the Home Run Derby, it is that experience goes a long way.

Therefore, The Visionary will go with Lance Berkman +375 & Justin Morneau +450 for two small plays. Remember, this is All-Star weekend and you should not be betting anything heavy. Enjoy the homers tonight!

Fans Rally In Support of Farve

ESPN - Rally held to pressure Packers to reinstate Favre - NFL

How pathetic are these idiots. Do they really think that they are going to make a difference? Seriously, get a life!

I am growing a greater respect for Arron Rodgers. In a time where athletes demand trades, complain to the media, and just flat out whine when thing don't go their way, Arron Rodgers has had hundreds reasons to complain. He really has handled the whole 'Brett Favre three-year retirement flip-flop' with nothing but class.

In response to more never-ending Brett Favre retirement nonsense:

"It's always difficult when your name is in the media all the time and there's a lot of speculation about different things,"

"I'm just trying to enjoy the weekend...I'm just focused on that, on working out and going back to Green Bay next week for training camp."

I give him a lot of credit and his programmed responses to this whole thing (which has to be driving him crazy) says a lot about his character. I really do believe this guy will be a special Quarterback when given the opportunity to show the Packers what he can do.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

News Reporting is a Dangerous Business

How many of you wish that you could watch that annoying news reporter just get slapped just once? Here's your chance...