Posted on 4/17/2008 2:00:41 PM

MLB Baseball Betting Tips – Whose Not?

By Mike Rose

1) Justin Verlander (0-3) (-$496.00) The 2008 season hasn’t gotten off to the start Detroit management would have liked, and Tigers ace Justin Verlander is one of the reasons why. The kid has been blown up every which way, but thankfully, he won’t have to face the White Sox for quite some time after they torched him in two of his three starts on the year. He hasn’t pitched as bad as his win/loss record indicates, but nonetheless, he’s 0-3 with a bloated 6.52 ERA allowing 15 hits and 19 runs (14 earned) with a K/BB ratio of 13/8 in 19.1 innings of work. He’s been installed a chalk of –210, -170, and –115 in his first three starts losing his supporters close to $500 on the year. He’ll look to pick up his first win of the season this Thursday night at Cleveland, but he’ll be squaring off against Fausto Carmona whose pitched brilliantly thus far.

2) Dustin McGowan (0-3) (-$386.00) The Blue Jay’s #3 starter, Dustin McGowan, has been a tough luck loser so far in 2008. He hasn’t pitched terribly whatsoever, yet the Jay’s are 0-3 in all of his starts and lost their backers close to $400.00 in the process. He boasts a decent 3.71 ERA and has only surrendered seven earned runs, but he’s only lasted 17 total innings forcing the BJ’s bullpen to ultimately decide the games winner. Look for his fortunes to turn around at some point since you can’t continue to lose games if you pitch like he has thus far. He’ll look to get off the mat this weekend at home against the Detroit Tigers.

3) Kenny Rogers (0-3) (-$371.00) Does it really come as a surprise to see another Detroit Tigers hurler in the “Who’s Not” article this week considering the brand of ball the Tigers have played to date? Well if you are, you shouldn’t be! Kenny Rogers nickname of “The Gambler” should be changed to “The Bluffer” because his stuff isn’t fooling anybody right now. Besides being 0-3 and owning a bloated 6.75 ERA, Rogers has allowed 20 hits and 11 ER’s in a shade under 15 total innings of work. On top of that, his control has been uncharacteristically wild already walking eight batters while striking out the same amount. He’ll look turn his fortunes around this week with a trip north of the border to take on A.J. Burnett and the Toronto Blue Jays.

4) Roy Oswalt (0-3) (-$364.00) Roy “O” is (0-3) for the first time in his career. The Houston ace has been hit hard, allowing 16 runs in as many innings and 32 baserunners. Opposing batters are hitting .400 against him, which equates to 142 points higher than the career batting average against the flamethrower. His K/BB ratio is still impressive at 12/2, but he’s uncharacteristically allowed five home runs after only giving up 14 all of last season. He’ll look to keep the ball within Citizen Bank’s Park in his next start Wednesday night where he’ll square off against the Phillies Kyle Kendrick.

5) Jason Jennings (0-3) (-$350.00) The beefy right-hander is now a perfect (0-3) on the year after putting forth an erratic start against the Angels Monday night that saw him surrender seven hits and six earned runs in a shade under five innings of work. He’s 2-23 his L/25 overall starts in the big leagues, and his command is flat out atrocious. He managed to walk four Angels last night, and it would have been more if LA showed some more patience at the plate. Along with his bloated 8.79 ERA, he’s allowed 19 hits and 15 runs with a K/BB ratio of 7/10 in just over 14 total innings of work. Texas is badly in need of some dependable starting pitching, and Jennings has been nothing of the sort to start the year. He’ll look to turn things around against Boston at Fenway Saturday night.

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