Spring Sports, Where Every Game Is A MASTERpiece ⛳

PLUS: How Has New MLB Rules Changed The Game?

Author

Andy Elliott
April 07, 2023

Well, well, well, we meet again. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’m not soaking wet right now after stepping outside and running to the nearest coffee shop without a rain jacket on in the pouring rain. Now everyone’s looking at me in here as if I can’t afford an essential rain jacket from Walmart to prevent me from looking like a wet dog. However, I may have to tell them I used the rest of my balance in my Fan Duel account and placed a future on Miami to win it all with +490 odds, and will have to wait until next week’s paycheck to purchase the appropriate attire for future circumstances. I'm kidding; I have a rain jacket. I just chose fashion - or lack thereof - today. Go Huskies, by the way, I guess.

ANYWAYS, there’s a lot to go over and, as always, another opportunity to put more money in our pockets. The MLB season is officially on its way, with cup snakes replaced with beer bats, the greatest golf tournament in the world is this weekend, and the NBA play-in tournament starts next week. Let’s break it all down.

A TRADITION UNLIKE ANY OTHER ⛳

$1.50 pimento cheese sandwiches, $5 beers, hole-in-one Par 3’s, familiar faces, competitive Sundays, and green jackets. How can you beat that? As we head into this weekend’s 87th Masters, the field is flooded with past champions like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, and let's not forget defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who’s listed as the favorite right now at +650.

However, one slight obstacle may get in the way of a perfect weekend. Can you guess it? The weather.

Thursday's opening round shouldn't be a problem, with temperatures in the mid-80s and a 30% chance of thunderstorms in the late afternoon. Then things get a little bit dicey. There's a 50% chance of showers Friday morning and 70% in the afternoon.

Saturday's forecast calls for a 90% chance of rain, with rain building up three-quarters of an inch to 1 ½ inches. Temperatures are expected to go down and won't get out of the low 50s for the rest of the weekend before partly cloudy skies finally clear in the afternoon. Yikes.

How will that affect Tiger’s odds of winning it all at +5000? Probably won’t, to be honest, considering Woods is still recovering from multiple surgeries from his severe car accident back in 2021.

On the other hand, how does it affect other players like Rory McIlroy, who sits equally with Scheffler with +650 odds, and Tony Finau at +2200? They’ve claimed to favor the soft grass instead of a fast and firm green, unlike pretty boy Jordan Speith (+1600), who expects everything in life to be perfect. I don’t know why I said that, actually. Seems like a good dude.

With a tee time starting at 8 am est Thursday morning, let’s take a look at where the betting value is and if the favorites can prevail.

MY TOP 5 PREDICTIONS AND ODDS 🤑

Scottie Scheffler (+650)

  • We have no choice but to start with who the majority of the public has their money on. Defending champ, Scottie Scheffler. Even now, as the best player in the world, Scottie doesn't get the respect he deserves. He’s a dog. More bets have been placed on Scheffler to win the tournament than on any other golfer at most sportsbooks, and as of Tuesday, he had attracted twice as much money to win the tournament as any other golfer at Caesars. But what’s the fun in betting on the favorite? And the guy who won it last year? Sprinkle if ANYTHING.

Rory McIlroy (+650)

  • Tied with Scottie at +650, McIlroy’s a great pick in this tournament. A four-time major champion, Rory has six top-10s in 13 appearances at the Masters, which remains the only major the 32-year-old hasn't won. Completing the career grand slam would be one of the most memorable moments in recent Masters history. He finished 2nd last year behind Scottie, and now the question is, is the long-awaited Masters glory finally ready for him? He seemed to get his driver and putter figured out at match play two weeks ago, and if they're working at Augusta National, I think he finally gets it done.

Jon Rahm (+900)

  • Extremely talented, strong, and is a good driver and putter. Great combination for this course. It hasn't been that long since Rahm won at Riviera in February, and shortly after, everyone was all ready to declare him the favorite at Augusta. Even though what Scheffler has done the last month has been remarkable, and McIlroy's whole season so far has been building up to the Masters, I think the guy who has won three times this season has a decent shot.

Jordan Speith (+1600)

  • The 2015 champion knows his way around the course, which creative shots he needs to hit, and his season is trending toward a big win. His iron game is in a good place, and he's a great pitcher and chipper.

Cam Smith (+2200)

  • Wouldn’t it be funny if a guy who switched to LIV Golf beat his former colleagues? On top of that, the reigning Open champion has performed well at Augusta, finishing in the top 10 in four of his past five Masters starts. If you’re looking for value, this is the play. Sprinkle a little bit on Cam Smith at +2220.

SLEEPERS 💤💤💤

Jason Day (+2400)

  • Here’s why Jason Day can win. He’s played incredible golf this season because he's finally healthy. And here’s a stat for you. He's third on Tour in scoring average (69.488) behind only Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler. He’ll be making his 12th start at Augusta, so he knows the course reasonably well. It's also not like he hasn't performed well here, either, as he has four top-10 finishes in his career here. I don’t hate the pick.

Tony Finau (+2200)

  • His nickname isn’t “Top-10 Tony” for no reason! In his five starts at Augusta, he’s had three top-ten finishes. Finau has been playing some incredibly consistent golf lately, posting nine consecutive top-25 finishes since his November win at the Cadence Bank Houston Open.

FROM LAST WEEK’S POLL: WHO WILL WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP?

Results from last week’s poll

MLB RULE CHANGES ⚾

With the 2023 MLB regular season underway, fans have already been talking about the effect of some of the league’s rule changes. Yet, what are they, and what has their impact on the game been since their implementation? Below are the three central rule changes the MLB has implemented this year. And, keep in mind, these changes come in response to growing criticism of the length of games - they’ve got longer and longer - as well as the rise in walks and strikeouts.

Pitch Timer:

  • 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on base

Limit On Extreme Shifts:

  • Two infielders on each side of second base with both feet on the dirt or infield grass

Larger Bases:

  • Base size increased to 18 inches x 18 inches from 15 inches x 15 inches

Regarding the pitch timer, across the first few days of the 2022 season, the average game clocked three hours and eight minutes. Here and now, we’ve seen an average of two hours and 38 minutes. You do the math.

With the new limit on extreme shifts, the number of hits has jumped significantly and it’s clearly observable in the stats. Across the initial days of last season, we saw a batting average of .230 and it’s now up to .246. That’s also the case with left-handed batters, in case you’re wondering. This year’s average sees them hitting .254 compared to last year’s .230.

And, regarding the bigger bases, everyone loves watching someone steal a base. It’s one of the most exciting things in baseball. The increase in base size has closed the distance between bags by 4 1/2 inches. And guess what? The average stolen bases per game are up from 0.6 last year to 1.4 this season already.

If you want some future picks, here’s what I got:

  • Trae Turner most steals

  • Yankees under win total

  • Pete Alonso homerun champion

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