MLB

This is all fun and games, as I have given up sports gambling since moving from Las Vegas. If you are going to gamble, remember a few things:

1. Don't pick your own team to win (we are all homers.)

2. Watch out for hooks (a push is better then a loss)

3. Five picks should be your maximum for any parlay.

Here are five MLB picks for Friday, June 11th 2010.

1005 ET: Seattle Mariners (+131) @ San Diego Padres (-141)

Over/Under: 6.5

When the Cleveland Indians traded 3B Casey Blake to the Los Angeles Dodgers back in the summer of 2008 for prospect Carlos Santana, I was really surprised. Santana was a rising prospect in the Dodgers’ organization and was hitting .323 with 14 home runs in High Single A at the time of the trade.

As many of you are now aware, Jonathon Niese pitched the 24th one-hitter in Mets history last night. Niese had six strikeouts during his outing and looked dominant.

Obviously, we cannot expect Niese to pitch this well every time he is on the mound. The real question is what can we expect from Niese the rest of the season? 

Neise had moderate success in the majors last season in five starts. He went 1-1 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. This small sample size does not give us a lot to predict Niese's future.

Like Jason Vorhees from the Friday the 13th films , the Cincinnati Reds are a hard bunch to kill. I think that's what I enjoy most about this season's version of the Redlegs (among many other items I thoroughly enjoy).

The Yankees can't wait to get back to the Stadium tonight, where they are 19-7 on the season.

The road however has been a very different story so far, with the Yanks being only 18-16 away from the big ballpark in the Bronx.

Their most recent road trip made three game stops in Toronto and Baltimore with New York going 3-3 along the way. But it really should have been a 5-1 road trip if you ask me.

The first game in Toronto was all Blue Jays, but the second game was much more winnable for the Yankees, but the offense continued to come up with zeros.

A serious Triple Crown candidate is emerging in Detroit.

Miguel Cabrera's 18 homers and 53 runs batted in pace the American League and he ranks fourth in batting average (.339).

I know precisely what you're thinking. It's the second week of June.

How dare you utter "Triple Crown"!

Well, let's look at it this way—with each mention of the feat, writers offer a refresher course in history.

Who was the last player to earn the Triple Crown?

Carl Yastrzemski.

When was this feat last achieved?

The Tigers head into this 2010 season with championship aspirations and a talented roster, but they have also relied heavily on the support of a few Tigers.

The club has recently floundered offensively, allowing more runs than they have scored. Most recently, the Tigers were shut out by the subpar Chicago White Sox.

In terms of pitching, the only bright spot has been the Tiger bullpen.

Fresh off the heels of rookie Jon Niese’s near-perfect one-hit complete game shutout, the Mets head to Baltimore tonight to resume interleague play.

After all the troubles the Mets have had on the road, the schedule softens up for the next week as they face the Orioles and Indians, two of the worst teams in baseball. If there was ever a time to remedy the putrid 8-18 road record the Mets are currently sporting, these six games are the time to do it.

Currently, the Minnesota Twins are one of two Major League teams who boast a roster with two MVP winners.  

Joe Mauer (MVP-2009) and Justin Morneau (MVP-2006) have led the Minnesota Twins to three AL Central Division Titles over the past five years.

Mauer already has three batting titles and two gold gloves, while Morneau has been leading the league in hitting for most of the season so far in 2010.

Where would this "Dynamic Duo" rank amongst some of the best in baseball history?

Seventh Round (212th) — Jeff Walters | RHP | University of Georgia | 11/6/87 | R/R | 6’3 190 lbs.