posted May 8, 2008 at 17:48 in MLB Betting Trends

1) Justin Verlander (1-5) (-$737.00) What the heck is going on in Motown? The Tigers were thought to have one of the most prolific offenses ever, and the pitching staff figured to set team records in wins this season. Neither has happened just yet, and shockingly, their ace the last couple seasons is the dog of the starting rotation. He boasts the second worst team ERA (6.28), and the Tigers have lost outright in six of his seven starts this season. He’s allowed 42 hits and 30 earned runs in just 43 innings of work, and boasts a woeful K/BB ratio of 25/20. His mechanics just seem off, but his last start showed some promise where he exhibited 90+ velocity with his fastball, and his breaking stuff was falling off the table. He’s alternated good and bad starts throughout his last four starts, and limited the Twins to just four runs through seven innings his last time out. However, his offense failed him in the 4-1 defeat. His next start goes Thursday night when he opposes Josh Beckett and the defending champs. If he can’t get himself up for that one, look for his troubles to continue.

2) Barry Zito (0-6) (-$600.00) This is not what the Giants signed up for when they locked Mr. Zito up with one of the most lucrative pitching contracts in MLB history. This guy has been an absolute nightmare forcing management to move him to the bullpen since his April 27th start against Cincinnati that saw him give up eight earned runs in just three innings of work. The former AL Cy Young winner has allowed at least four runs in all of his starts this season; his defense should be held accountable as well. Overall, Barry has given up 41 hits and 30 runs (24 earned) in 28+ innings of work with a K/BB ratio of 11/15. He never made a relief appearance throughout his 10 day demotion, and will look to start fresh Wednesday night when he toes the bump at PNC park to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Zito believes his problem has not been lack of velocity or movement, but not being aggressive around the strike zone early in the count. He deemed this a "mental" issue he was able to address in his bullpen sessions. Hopefully he did, so GM Brian Sabean doesn’t go down in history as making one of the worst baseball decisions of upper management.

3) C.C. Sabathia (1-5) (-$589.00) Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Sabathia hasn’t gotten off quite as well as he would have liked after having a monster campaign last season. The hefty lefty has looked mortal to say the least after dominating opponents with his stuff only a short season ago. The Indians have only managed to win two of his seven starts this season, and they’ve dropped four of his last five overall. However, "Sabs" has looked better than his W/L record suggests of late churning out three quality starts in a row. Despite his disappointment in the way his start against Kansas City ended, he said he has confidence again in commanding all of his pitches. And he was encouraged by his ability to make pitches when it mattered most to get out of several early jams. Overall, C.C has surrendered 50 hits and 32 earned runs in 38+ innings of work. His numbers have been much better in the day than at night, but look for his numbers to crash back down to earth as it looks like the reigning AL Cy Young has overcome his problems at the start of the season.

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