Brushing Up the Fundamentals
A lot of winning handicappers pick up a few winners a week just by knowing
which major league baseball teams either thrive or struggle versus
left-handed starting pitchers. There are always teams every season that show
some clear tendencies in this regard.
Today I wanted to run through a list of teams who qualify for either case
thus far this season. Now, I'm not saying that all will absolutely,
positively continue the trend in the second half of the season. And some
teams who struggle against lefties will still kill BAD lefties, while those
who beat lefties will still get shut down by GREAT lefties. You've got to
use your handicapping discretion when applying an angle like this.
Here's a list of a few teams who have shown the biggest percentage
discrepancy between their won-lost performance against lefties as compared
to righties heading into this past weekend.
GOOD VERSUS LEFTHANDED STARTERS
DETROIT (16-6 vs. lefties): The Tigers have a .727 winning percentage vs.
lefthanded starters, and a still-impressive win percentage vs. right
handers. Yes, the Tigers have been beating up on everybody! But, you should
be aware that they're beating up on lefties at a better pace.
NEW YORK YANKEES (16-6 vs. lefties): The Yankees have a .727 winning
percentage vs. lefthanded starters, and a .510 mark against righties. Here
we have another good team, but one that's having more success vs. southpaws.
HOUSTON (11-6 vs. lefties): This one has snuck by some people. The Astros
have a .647 winning percentage vs. lefthanded starters, and a .458 mark
against righties. This is a BIG percentage difference. From what I've seen,
the oddsmakers haven't really adjusted for this at all.
TEXAS (12-5 vs. lefties): The Rangers have a .706 winning percentage vs.
lefthanded starters, and a .475 mark vs. righties.
Make sure you red flag those teams on your schedule every day to see if
they're facing a left-handed starter. You should definitely plan on
investing in them when they face a struggling lefthander, or one from their
own division that they've hit well in the past.
Now here's a list of five teams who have had inordinate struggles vs.
southpaws.
BAD VS. LEFTHANDED STARTERS
BALTIMORE (6-19 vs. lefties): Were you aware of this? The Orioles are
playing just .240 ball vs. lefthanded starters, but are .526 against
righties. That's a big dichotomy you should definitely be paying attention
to.
SEATTLE (8-16 vs. lefties): The Mariners are playing .333 ball vs.
lefthanded starters, but a sturdy .527 vs. righties. Another team with a
dramatic difference that doesn't seem to have been noticed by the
oddsmakers.
FLORIDA (5-11 vs. lefties): Resurgent Florida is still likely to have
trouble with southpaws. They're playing .312 ball vs. lefthanded starters,
and .481 ball vs. righties this season.
Others who fit the go-against but their struggles won't offer much value
with the opposition:
CUBS (8-17 vs. lefties)
PIRATES (6-20 vs. lefites)
ROYALS (7-15 vs. lefties)
D'RAYS (8-14 vs. lefites)
You can take good lefthanders with confidence against teams on this list,
and probably even the average ones as well.
I hope this helps as you handicap baseball games in the coming days and
weeks. Be sure to monitor developments on your own on this site just in case
other teams start showing similar tendencies after injuries or other
personnel changes.
Knowing this information is worth a few winners a week. In a six month
season, that adds up!
|
|
