New York Yankees (0-0) CC Sabathia +105, 9 O/U at Boston Red Sox
(0-0) Josh Beckett -115, 9 O/U, Fenway Park, Boston, Mass., 8:05
PM EST, Sunday, April 4th
by Badger of Predictem.com
Betting Line: Yankees -105/Red Sox -115
Total: 9
The 2010 season of Major League Baseball will try and take a little of the spotlight away from the NCAA Final Four on the off-night Sunday when they stage a made-for-television primetime affair for
ESPN between the networks two favorite baseball sons, the New York
Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
Yeah, thats right. Sox-Yankees opener from Fenway. Oh boy, the excitement.
At least we have a great pitchers duel to digest opening night, as the Yankees send ace lefty CC Sabathia up against Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett.
There are very few unknowns involved here, so the oddsmakers out in Las Vegas have staked the home Red Sox and Beckett as favorites to the tune of -115 on the moneyline. That makes Sabathia and the
Yankees a very tantalizing opening-night underdog for bettors to
digest at +105 if youre betting on a dimeline.
For what it’s worth, the two starters on opening night have had opposite springs.
Sabathia has been treated like every other Yankee starter this spring, cuffed around and less than awe-inspiring to say the least.
Beckett has been solid of late this spring, but the odds indicate
only a little bit of faith against Yankee nation.
Beckett has had moderate to reasonable success against the Yankees.
In his career he has held them to a .276 batting average, has a .643
career win percentage against them and has been tough to beat at home
in Fenway Park (.300 opponents OBP).
But the Yankee lineup has certainly seen him enough that they know what they are getting into, and both Robinson Cano (5 2B, 3 HR, 10
RBI in 44 AB) and Alex Rodriguez (3 2b, 2 HR, 10 RBI in 43 AB) have
done more than well against one of the games best pitchers.
Sabathia is a notorious slow-starter on the season (1-2 in 5 starts
in 2009), but he did perform well under the Sox-Yankee microscope
last season going 3-1 in four starts with a .281 OBP in his two
starts at Fenway, so saying that the lefty could dial it up when the
bell rings on Sunday is not a stretch at all.
The Red Sox order has had its share of issues, with Dustin Pedroias
injury and newcomers Mike Cameron and Adrian Beltre continued
struggles during the spring, that they might not be able to take
advantage of Sabathias early season struggles.
With the weather expected in the 50s, it might be a little cold for
both Beckett and Sabathia to get loose. Plus the fact that neither of
them is fully stretched out to pitch a full game, means the bullpens
will be used early and often to decide this one.
Badgers Pick: Ill take my chances with the Yankees as underdogs in
early season play, with a strong lean toward the over of 9 in Fenway.
