PPH Baseball Betting: Status of Kershaw, Pujols Will Impact L.A. Teams
The man who was considered to be the favorite to win the National League Cy Young award at WagerHome.com was Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but there is some question as to whether PPH bettors may have to recalculate.
Kershaw, who was last year's winner with a 16-9 record and microscopic 1.83 ERA, and won the award previously in 2011, was complaining about some back issues while throwing on Saturday and was immediately scratched from starting against San Diego on Sunday.
As baseball bettors had observed, Kershaw made the start for the Dodgers in the season's opener, which took place more than a week ago against Arizona in Australia, and had some soreness in his back upon returning, so it is not known at this time whether it was the trip itself that had him out of sorts.
This is the first time he has been on the disabled list in his career, but it doesn't mean that he will be out for a period of 15 days from now. The Dodgers exercised the option of putting it back retroactively to march 23, when he made the start, and so he would be eligible to come back on April 7.
Maybe he will, and maybe he won't. But many of us know how complicated and mysterious back problems can be, and if Kershaw has to endure these kinds of difficulties throughout the season, it is probably going to impact the Dodgers' chances of winning the World Series, which means something here because they had been the favorites in the baseball betting futures at WagerHome.com to do just that.
If they have to go through any period of time without their ace (and we should say ACE, because those guys are so hard to find these days), it would mean that they would have to come up with TWO starters on the back end of the rotation, where they admittedly have people with question marks, like Josh Beckett. The problem, as we discussed last week, is that there still may not be enough firepower elsewhere in the National League West for them to be sufficiently challenged.
The over/under on wins for the Los Angeles Angels in the baseball futures at WagerHome is 86.5 (-140 over, +110 under) and the way many people have set this thing up, their hopes for winning the AL West title (and getting the "over" in that baseball prop) could hinge on a big comeback season from Albert Pujols, the 34-year-old who will almost certainly reach the 500-homer plateau some time in May; that is, if he can keep himself of the DL.
Pujols is a career .321 hitter, but he has failed to hit .300 in any of the last three seasons. And after averaging 123 RBI's for his first ten seasons, he has had 99, 105 and 64 (in 99 games) the last three. Are we nitpicking? Not really; Pujols hit just .258 last season.
Baseball bettors have heard all the talk during spring training - about how determined the three-time MVP is to ascend to those previous numbers again, and how great he looks, according to his teammates. He actually may come off to WagerHome.com customers as a little jealous of all the attention teammate Mike Trout receives. manager Mike Scioscia says “He feels great, and he’s moving as well as he has for four or five years."
But the fact is, he is 34 and all of the indicators of offensive performance have gone downward for him over the last several seasons. He's a Hall of Famer, but now in danger of being considered a bust, based on the huge contract he signed before the 2012 season, which graduates to the point where it will bring him $30 million at the time he is 41. If he really is rejuvenated, he is a good longshot MVP candidate for WagerHome baseball bettors. Maybe Trout's performance, and the fact that writers are asking him if he can "keep up," will be a driving force. Can Josh Hamilton also keep up? That's a whole other kettle of fish.
Our favorite potential impact player, and a young man we will follow all season long, is rookie center fielder Billy Hamilton of the Cincinnati Reds, who is considered one of the prime candidates for the rookie of the year award in the baseball betting odds at WagerHome.com.
Hamilton is the best base-stealer to come into the majors since Vince Coleman, and has the ability to be one of the best ever. He had already built a legend in high school, as scouts heard stories of him starting from his shortstop position and catching fly balls on the warning track.
When he came up for his "cup of coffee" with the Reds last September, he had seven hits in 19 at-bats, but he also stole 13 bases, as he was primarily used as a pinch runner. In the minor leagues he was indeed legendary, stealing 103 bases in Class A ball in 2011 and then following that up with an incredible 155 stolen bases in 132 games in 2012. He had 75 steals for Triple-A Louisville last season before getting his call-up.
The Reds are in a loaded division (the NL Central), with St. Louis and Pittsburgh also making the playoffs last year. Expectations are lower this year, as Shin-Soo Choo moved on to Texas. But if Hamilton can take his place and hit just a little, he can really make things happen. Even if he becomes the next Coleman (.264 career hitter), WagerHome.com patrons know he can be someone who helps push Cincinnati over the top and into a playoff berth.
What do you think?
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