Thursday Night Picks

Up 2 runs going into the bottom of the 7th inning, we were starting to feel pretty good about the Giants this afternoon. Unfortunately, the gambling gods decided that was a great time to remind us that sports gambling is a cruel hobby. Two in each sport for tonight:

MLB

Rays +118 (WSEX), 1 unit to win 1.18 units

If it were up to Grover, we would play the Rays every day. He's not from Tampa, and has no superficial affinity for the team, he just believes very strongly that they are consistently underrated by the linesmakers (or, more accurately, by how the linesmakers think the public is underrating them). Tonight, it's Grover night on Against All Odds because the two picks are right in his wheelhouse. Edwin Jackson is going to feel like he's pitching against a pony league lineup tonight after facing the Red Sox in his last 2 starts. Litsch is solid, but we think the hitting edge for the Rays makes the difference tonight.

Rangers +165 (Matchbook), 1 unit to win 1.65 units

Going against the Mariners? Grover is so happy he just passed out. Well, maybe it was the tequila, but he DID pass out. The last time we backed Gabbard, he got hurt in the 2nd inning and his replacement came in and got hammered, an incident the folks in Vegas are calling the Patriot's Day Massacre (OK, I made that up, but they should). Back from the DL, we are going with Gabbard again, because #1 we're masochistic idiots, and #2 we think there might be something wrong with King Felix. In his last 3 starts, against the modest lineups of the Orioles, A's, and the A-Rod-less Yankees, Hernandez has an ERA of 5.49 and a WHIP of 1.73. We don't know if he's hurt, or if there's something going on in his head, but with a big number like this, it looks like a good opportunity to go against him and Grover's hated Mariners.

NBA

Still kicking myself for not playing the Magic last night. I wrote a whole post about the home team winning the must-win Game 3. When I correctly picked Detroit in Game 1 of this series, I made a snide, parenthetical comment about how the Pistons would not be focused when Game 3 comes around. And then, of course, I let myself get talked out of playing it. As for the Jazz pick last night, it's not over yet, but it's not looking good - I think Kobe is still shooting free throws 20 hours later. Tonight:

Spurs 1st half -4 -110, 1.10 units to win 1 unit

I'm not playing this just because I said Jim Rome was a dumbass. A young team like the Hornets is not going to win the Spurs' must-win Game 3 tonight. It's not going to happen. But, because I'm a coward who fears the back-door cover, I'm playing this goofy first-half play instead of the -7 for the game.

Cavaliers +8.5 +100, 1 unit to win 1 unit

I liked them at +9.5/+10 in Game 1, so no reason not to like them at a similar number coming off the straight-up loss. ESPN needs to stop talking about what LeBron is going to do tonight. Ilgauskas is the key. Another big night for Big Z. Good luck everybody.