Tuesday, May 16, 2017 New York Mets vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB) - 9:40 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Money Line: -166 Arizona Diamondbacks Pick Title: 9 Star MLB Play Of The Night (WIN) The New York Mets are in a tailspin for a reason. They are the walking wounded right now with 10 or more players on the DL including Yoenis Cespedes & closer Jeurys Familia. Curtis Granderson (hitting just .148) is in a major slump & no one has stepped up amid a 5-game losing streak. Even though the D'Backs did lose lead-off hitter A.J. Pollock to a groin injury yesterday, they still have quite the pop left with Paul Goldschmidt & dependable company like Brandon Drury, Chris Owings & David Peralta. The Mets' bullpen has been getting rocked as witnessed by their 5.26 & ballooning ERA. Tonight, they start Brewers send-off LHP Tommy Milone whose lost 6 of his last 7 starts & has a 7.71 ERA during night games this season. My bottom line points out to Arizona's great resilience @ home. Last night's win over New York gave the Diamondbacks their 20th victory in the last 28 tries. Now enter Manager Torey Lovullo's RHP & ace of the staff Zack Greinke (who the team committed more than $200 million to). To say Greinke is pitching well has to be an under- statement. His mechanics & speed has been excellent as his 2.06 ERA over the last 5 starts. He's looked considerably better than his current 4-2 record & 2.79 ERA & is over his oblique & shoulder problems he endured last season. Like I said earlier, this club has a decent shot for the last wild card under new GM Mike Hazen (who came over from Boston) IF their pitching staff performs well for the long haul. Let's take the trek to Chase Field in Phoenix to put up some green backs on the ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS as my 9 Star MLB Play Of The Night! Sunday, May 14, 2017 Nashville Predators vs. Anaheim Ducks (NHL) - 7:30 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Money Line: -115 Anaheim Ducks Pick Title: 9 Star Public Missed Perception Play (WIN) The public clearly sees that Nashville has looked the part & has built enough momentum to sustain a chain of wins. However, these 2 teams are very similar to what we've already seen in the Washington-Pittsburgh series. I feel that Nashville had an advantage over Anaheim in being fresher since the Ducks just came off of a grueling 7 games versus Edmonton. That's NOT the case here as Anaheim WON'T show up flatter than a pancake in the first 20 minutes of Game 1. If it wasn't for that deflected Game 1 OT goal, the Ducks might be holding that 1-0 lead. Remember, Anaheim holds the defensive, penalty kill & face-off edges & that will come to fruition here. Despite their 4-game winning streak heading into this one, they are an under .500 (21-22-2-2) roadie. The Ducks, with brief lapses of domination, are still 33-10-3-2 @ home for HC Randy Carlyle. They will devise a game plan that should neutralize James Neal with the proper juggling of lines that will steal back the momentum in this series. I also DON'T expect Anaheim's power play drought to continue that's @ 0-4 last game & 0-for-their last 20. My bottom line says revenge is king & we'll see better play between the pipes by goalie John Gibson. This may be a low-scoring game but I see Pekka Rinne (and not Gibson) giving up the winning goal this time around. Captain Ryan Getzlaf plays a key role in igniting the Ducks so the home crowd stays in it. What Jon Q. Public & the MUSHES fail to understand is its about the percentages more than early momentum. Besides the revenge mode (Anaheim lost 2 here last season to Nashville in the playoffs which they lost the series in 7), the winning percentage of a Game 2 roadie in the Conference Finals after a Game 1 road win stands @ a ticket-ripping 37.2%! Look for Jacob Silfverberg to continue his scoring successes versus the Predators. Let's go to the Honda Center to play the ANAHEIM DUCKS as my 9 Star Public Missed Perception Play! Saturday, May 13, 2017 Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox (MLB) - 1:05 PM EDT Premium Pick Pick: Money Line: -235 Boston Red Sox Pick Title: 10 STAR Blowout Game Of The Weekend (WIN) It's no secret that Tampa Bay has had major troubles putting wins together. Not only are they 0-4 in that category but you'd have to go back to the beginning of the month since they last put 2 together @ NL patsie Miami. The Rays have several deficiencies that include a leaky defense (several multi-error games) & a spotty bullpen (4.34 ERA). Besides Tampa Bay's 6-10 road record coming in, they have struggled against LHP hitting just above the Mendoza Line @ .223 that's translated into a 4-8 overall record but losers of 4 of the last 5. Winless southpaw Blake Snell (0-3 & a 3.96 ERA) takes to the mound for the Rays & is coming off a 4-3 setback on April 17th his last time @ Fenway. Snell has also struggled on the road losing 7 of his last 9 roadies. Note that Snell has also NOT recorded an out past the 5th inning since his 1st outing back on April 6th & was just shelled for 10 hits on Monday versus weak-hitting Kansas City (Royals hitting .217-last in the majors). On the flip side of the coin, enter opposing LHP Chris Sale (3-2, 1.96 ERA). Sale has won his last 3 starts versus Tampa Bay including a 2-1 decision where he scattered 3 singles & striking out 12 in 7 innings back on April 15th. I like him coming off a loss (gave up 4 ER in a 17-6 loss to the Twins Sunday). He should get tremendous support since his BoSox are tattooing LHP hitting .265 in winning 9 of their last 10 versus southpaws @ Fenway. My bottom line says Boston has feasted on the patsies going 20-7 of late & should get run production from their Killer B's this afternoon. Xander Bogaerts rides a 15-game hitting streak & is 6-for-his-last-12 with a string of 3 multi-hit games in a row. Bogaerts will meet the challenge today to erase a 2-game no-hit record versus Snell. Look for rookie sensation Andrew Benintendi to break out of his current 0-for-12 mini-slump since he's hitting a ton in his home confines. Mookie Betts rounds out a solid 3 up in the order for the Red Sox that should put up numbers versus Snell & a leaky pen. With Sale facing a team hitting .223 versus LHP & the Red Sox having a reliant pen (2.44 ERA), look for Boston to excel late. My 10 Star Blowout Game Of The Weekend goes to Fenway Park to play the BOSTON RED SOX! NOTES: Still hard @ work trying to handicap figures (more than a few rested horses) for Saturday's 142nd running of the Preakness Stakes @ Pimlico Race Track in Baltimore. This has been my race to master over the past decade + even though we're coming off an off year. Patience in MLB, NHL & the NBA ALWAYS pay off. There will be days where Vegas just doesn't make many mistakes. And, there will be days when major advantages are clearly missing from the board. THESE are the times when your average joe & glamour boy- handicappers play for action to get sales & usually lose most of their plays & money. Here, we'll stay disciplined, patient & strike when warranted. The following are our accurate records (with games taken buy points into account) of currently active sports: 2017 MLB Overall Seasonal Record: 8-1----89%---- 2016-17 NHL Overall Seasonal Record: 28-20----58%---- 2016-17 NBA Overall Seasonal Record: 13-2----87%---- Last 2 Seasons Combined Overall NBA Record: 26-5----84%---- Late Game April 18th thru May 16th All Sports Record Combined: 24-3----89%---- Thank You to all my faithful customers who believe in the system. Invest & you won't be disappointed. Mike Handzelek
 

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