Today the Florida Marlins look to complete the sweep of the Giants. Barry Bonds has sat out a couple of games and could be back in the line up today. The Giants are sending out solid starter Jason Schmidt, while the Marlins counter with Josh Johnson. Marlins Pitcher Josh Johnson is interesting, because he has only a few starts this season and has mainly worked in the bull pen. He appears to have the stamina as he’s pitched about 6 innings per start on average including a seven inning performance in his last outing—against the Mets.

The Marlins have been playing better ball of late as their hitting has heated up. Meanwhile, the Giants have hit a mini slump, but Jason Schmidt just might help them out of it. It’s a bit difficult to Handicap this game on pitching, because Josh Johnson has so few starts. He looks like he has good stuff and can control teams the first time around. This has all the makings of a classic pitchers duel. Jason Schmidt has really turned it up lately and is in great form.

As far as the teams go, the Marlins are 6-4 over their last 10 and the Giants are 5-5 over their last 10. In the past 10 days, the Marlins hitters are doing fairly well and the lineup is consistent. The Giants have a few hot hitters in their lineup and some very cold ones. This game almost looks to be a toss up. The Marlins are the underdog at +133 and the Giants are -143. The under/over is moderately low at 7.5 runs. This game has all the makings of a 3-2 type affair. This game might be a signal if the Marlins are really developing or if they were simple over-playing for a bit.

Race 4 at Hollywood Park is 6 Furlongs and a Maiden 32000. For those newer to horse racing, a maiden is a horse that has not won a race ever. One of these horses is going to win for the very first time. The field for this race is nine and there are many potential prices. There are four first time starters in this race—Scotch Suite at 20-1, Dixie Pixel at 20-1, Clever Cahill at 10-1 and Blow it Up at 5-1.

I am not going to select a first time starter in this race, but if I were, Dixie Pixel would be it. She has shown some promise in the workouts, but it’s really a crap shoot with first time starters. Workouts don’t mean too much past the fact that the horse is getting exercise. Still, this might be a good horse to put on your exotics.

My selection for this race is Miss Northern Dawn. The morning line has her at 5-2. Not too much of a price here, but she has speed. In fact, I think she is the lone speed in this race and at 6 furlongs; she might just go wire to wire. She has, in my opinion, raced better than any other horse in the field that has raced at least once. I am looking for her to run away here with Emotion and Nasty Mood finishing behind her. If you are looking for a horse racing play today, check out Miss Northern Dawn in the 4th race at Hollywood Park.

Well, it finally happened. Today, Barry Bonds his number 715. He is now in second place all time for home runs (no asterisk there yet). His 445 foot shot put him all alone in second place—leaving the Babe behind. After the game, Bonds toasted with Champagne with his fellow teammates. While it’s not a huge deal, in my book, it is a very nice personal accomplishment.

I am glad to see Bonds get 715 finally. It is highly doubtful that he will tie the record or become the sole record holder though. He is 41 and his body has begun to break down at an accelerated pace. The years of abuse have finally kicked in. He is a free agent after this year and many are starting to predict that some AL team will try to sign him as a DH. This is the only chance Bonds has for getting the home run record. He simply can’t play every day in the NL.

There was a Seattle Times article the other day pitching the idea of Bonds coming to Seattle since the Mariners might need a DH next year and it’s just up the way from San Francisco. I don’t see that happening. He might also consider the Angels. However, the real questions are who would want him as a DH and what are they willing to pay? He’s fast become just a name brand player and at the rate he is going, the team that signs him might get 20 home runs tops. Time will tell.

In a couple hours, the Gold Rush Derby stakes race is going off at Los Alamitos Race Course. The race (race 9 tonight) has a purse of $62,900 and is for Quarter Horses and Appaloosas. The favorite is Snowbound Superstar. It’s possible that this gelding will go off at 1-9, which means you need to bet 9 to win 1. Why? Well, in his last two races—Maiden 9100 and Dtr 6000—he ran away from the field.

Many are predicting that Snowbound Superstar is a Grade I horse in the making. In the Dtr 6000, he handily beat two other horses that are in tonight’s race—Bee Candys Girl and Dashing Baja. Looking at the tote board, this race is a foregone conclusion. If you like any of the other horses, there’s value there.

One horse that I like to challenge is Dashing Baja. Tonight’s Gold Rush Derby at Los Alamitos is 870 yards and Dashing Baja’s last four races were at this distance. This Filly has done pretty well, finishing 2nd in three of the four races. Some other horses in the field are suspect, because of time off or lack of time off.

Morning Line:

Snowbound Superstar 1-5
Dashing Baja 12-1
Shalimar Roger 8 -1
I Like it Already 6-1

There are eight horses in the field.

Today the Indians are at the Twins. The Twins are sending Johan Santana to the mound to counter the Indians’ Cliff Lee. The Twins are a moderate favorite at -170, which is higher than I personally like to play teams. However, there are some interesting notes to this game that may point to the -170 as being a fair to decent value. It’s worth pointing out that one can take the Twins on the Run Line for +130.

Minnesota has been scoring about five runs per game. However, over their last ten games, they have been trending higher—6.1 runs per game. They are sending to the mound a solid pitcher who has been trending upward as well. The season started so-so for Santana, but he’s really been on his game lately. Over his last three starts, Santana has pitched an average of seven and one-third innings. He has given up 2, 1 and 2 runs to the Tigers, White Sox and Tigers again respectively. These two teams are currently the in the premier teams group in the league.

The Indians have been struggling of late. They score 4.88 runs per game on average and over the last ten games they are trending downward—4.4 runs per game. While it’s not a huge one run drop, it is about half a run and something to look at. Furthermore, they are sending a pitcher in Lee to the mound that has been on a downward trend. Over his last three starts, Lee has given up 4, 5 and 4 runs to the Mariners, Tigers and Royals (of all teams). He is pitching about 6 and a third innings over this span. The Tigers are a hot team, the Mariners are treading water and the Royals are the worst in the league.

Trending Up and Down

It’s time for another installment of teams that are trending up and down. There are some teams that are really shooting for the bottom of the barrel this year. Let’s get right to it.

American league East

The Red Sox are trending slightly up after their win against the Yankees. They are 6-4 over their last ten and they are holding their own. The Yankees on the other hand are trending down. They are 4-6 over their last 10 and losers of two straight. They are now 2.5 games back.

American league Central

Who let the Tigers out? Detroit is red hot, going 9-1 over their last ten and winners of three in a row. Still waiting for them to crash and burn? They are winning at a .682 clip and lead the White Sox by one game. It should go without saying, but the Royals are 0-10 in their last 10 and have a .238 winning percentage—they are beyond ice cold.

American league West

The Mariners are heating up, winners of 4 straight. They swept the Padres recently and beat the Orioles last night in an offensive game. The Angels have fallen from grace—2-8 over their last 10.

National league East

The Mets have cooled slightly. They are 4-6 over their last 10 and their lead in the East is slowly shrinking. The Braves have caught fire by going 7-3 over their last 10, including winning two in a row. They are just 4 back now.

National league Central

St. Louis remains a solid club, while the Reds have imploded. They are 3-7 over their last 10 and they are now 3 games behind the Cardinals.

National league West

There’s a race going on in the West. The Dodgers have heated up by going 8-2 over their last 10 and winning 5 games in a row. They are just a half of a game out of first now. The Giants have heated up as well. They are winners of 3 straight and they have went 7-3 over their last 10—they are 1.5 games back.