New York Post - 13.08.2019

New York Post, Tuesday, August 13, 2019

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By JEFF FOGLE

Perfect timing!

Amid the now-daily reminiscences of

the “Miracle Mets” of 1969, the red-hot

2019 Mets open a three-game series

Tuesday night in Atlanta. The Braves

were New York’s NLCS victim 50 years

ago on the way to an unforgettable

world championship.

Those ’69 Mets provide a valuable

reminder about the importance of

focusing on skill sets when

handicapping and betting. The team

wasn’t highly though of entering the

season. It had finished 73-89 the year

before, the first time the franchise even

had cracked 70 wins in its short

existence.

But, that roster was loaded with young

stars, particularly pitchers, coming into

their own. This wasn’t some Disney

story about a dog who hit home runs or

angels flying down from the heavens to

make plays (though, it’s possible that

did happen on Ron Swoboda’s World

Series catch). The 1969 Mets were a

National League juggernaut:

They finished with a 100-62 record,

seven games better than the NL West

champion Braves at 93-69.

They had the best record in the NL

against teams at .500 or better

according to Baseball-Reference.

New York finished 64-50 for a .561 clip.

The Braves were just behind at .550.

They had the best road record in the

league, with a 60 percent victory rate

that outclassed the field.

You could characterize jumping from

73 wins to 100 as a miracle. But, once

the Mets had proved for several months

they were really that good, beating

Atlanta to win the NL pennant

shouldn’t have surprised anyone. New

York was tangibly superior. The Mets

had a better run differential (plus-0.6

per game at 3.9 to 3.3, compared to

plus-0.4 per game at 4.3 to 3.9), better

frontline pitching, and had won eight of

12 regular-season meetings.

That ’69 NLCS would be a quick

sweep. New York won 3-0 with a

combined 27-15 scoreboard edge.

Surprisingly high-scoring, but the first

two games were played at the

“launching pad” in Atlanta.

As bettors evaluate the 2019 playoff

chase, it’s important to focus on current

lineups, current starting rotations and

current bullpens. VSiN talked about the

potential “reversal of fortune” for the

Mets just before the All-Star break.

It doesn’t matter that the team stunk

in the first half of the season because of

a horrible bullpen and the offensive

anvil of Robinson Cano batting third.

Today’s team is better. Though,

investors must remember that an in-

season schedule shifting from “brutal”

to “easy” may be creating illusions

about true playoff potential.

Beating up on the Marlins, Pirates and

White Sox won’t mean much if the Mets

can’t compete with the Braves, Indians

and Cubs between now and the end of

the month. Do they have the skill sets to

do that?

Be sure you monitor betting lines in

Atlanta to evaluate how oddsmakers and

sharps see this “live” version of the Mets.

Get more betting information like this

by signing up for VSiN’s free daily

newsletter at VSiN.com/newsletter.

BET SMART

ODDS & ENDS

NFL

Odds to win 2019

regular-season MVP

PLAYER ODDS

Patrick Mahomes 7/2

Andrew Luck 8/1

Aaron Rodgers 17/2

Tom Brady 12/1

Drew Brees 12/1

Carson Wentz 14/1

Russell Wilson 18/1

Jared Goff 18/1

Philip Rivers 18/1

Baker Mayfield 20/1

Ben Roethlisberger 22/1

Matt Ryan 25/1

Deshaun Watson 30/1

Derek Carr 30/1

Saquon Barkley 40/1

Jimmy Garoppolo 40/1

Ezekiel Elliott 60/1

Mitchell Trubisky 60/1

Le’Veon Bell 75/1

Todd Gurley 75/1

Christian McCaffrey 75/1

Cam Newton 75/1

Alvin Kamara 75/1

Kirk Cousins 75/1

Odell Beckham Jr. 100/1

Matthew Stafford 100/1

Lamar Jackson 100/1

Jameis Winston 100/1

Dak Prescott 100/1

Sam Darnold 150/1

DeAndre Hopkins 150/1

Michael Thomas 150/1

Antonio Brown 150/1

Mike Evans 150/1

Nick Foles 150/1

Marcus Mariota 150/1

Julio Jones 150/1

Kyler Murray 150/1

Khalil Mack 150/1

Myles Garrett 150/1

Aaron Donald 150/1

Melvin Gordon 150/1

David Johnson 200/1

Tyreek Hill 200/1

J.J. Watt 200/1

JuJu Smith-Schuster 250/1

Davante Adams 300/1

Joe Mixon 300/1

Josh Allen 300/1

Field 10/1

WNBA

Odds to win 2019

championship

TEAM ODDS

Washington Mystics 6/5

Connecticut Sun 9/5

Los Angeles Sparks 9/2

Las Vegas Aces 5/1

Chicago Sky 35/1

Phoenix Mercury 40/1

Seattle Storm 50/1

Minnesota Lynx 75/1

New York Liberty 1,000/1

Indiana Fever 1,000/1

Dallas Wings 2,500/1

Atlanta Dream 5,000/1

TERRIFIC TEAM: The 1969 World Series title for Tom Seaver and the Mets was hardly

a miracle when considering data such as record on the road and versus winning teams.

Home Team Lineups HOME AWAY

 TODAYAug. 13 Aug. 14WED Aug. 15THU Aug. 16FRI Aug. 17SAT Aug. 18SUN Aug. 19MON

Baltimore

7:05

YES Network

WFAN 660 AM/

101.9 FM

Balt.

1:05

YES

WFAN

Clev.

7:05

YES

WFAN

Clev.

7:05

PIX11

WFAN

Clev.

1:05

YES

WFAN

Clev.

1:05

PIX11

WFAN

NO

GAME

Atlanta

7:20

SNY

WCBS 880 AM

Atl.

7:20

SNY

WCBS

Atl.

7:20

SNY

WCBS

K.C.

8:15

SNY

WCBS

K.C.

7:15

PIX11

WCBS

KC

2:15

SNY

WCBS

NO

GAME

NO

GAME

NO

GAME

NO

GAME

NO

GAME

NE

7:00

MSG

NO

GAME

NO

GAME

NO

GAME

NO

GAME

NO

GAME

NO

GAME

Cinc.

7:30

YES

WNYE

NO

GAME

NO

GAME

Minnesota

7:00

No TV

NO

GAME

NO

GAME

Dal.

8:00

CBSSN

NO

GAME

Pho.

6:00

No TV

NO

GAME

Brooklyn

7:00

No

Radio

Low.

7:00

No

Radio

Low.

Noon

No

Radio

Low.

7:00

No

Radio

HV

6:05

No

Radio

HV

4:35

No

Radio

HV

7:05

No

Radio

Staten Island

7:00

No

Radio

VT

7:00

No

Radio

VT

7:00

No

Radio

VT

7:00

No

Radio

Tri-C.

6:00

No

Radio

Tri-C.

4:00

No

Radio

Tri-C.

7:00

No

Radio

Friday Thursday

Exh. Bears

7:30

TV - Ch.4, NFLN

Radio - WFAN 660 AM

Exh. Falcons

7:30

TV - Ch. 2

Radio - ESPN 98.7 FM

Today's Sports on the Air

MLB 7 p.m. Cubs at Phillies MLBN

7:05 p.m. Orioles at Yankees YES,

WFAN (660 AM/101.9 FM)

7:20 p.m. Mets at Braves SNY, WCBS (880 AM)

Little

League

Softball

7 p.m. World Series Semifinal: Teams TBD ESPN2

9:30 p.m. World Series Semifinal: Teams TBD ESPN2

Tennis 11 a.m.

Western & Southern Open: Early Rounds

TENNIS

TENNIS

Odds to win 2019U.S. Open championship

WOMEN’S SINGLES ODDS

Serena Williams 3/1

Simona Halep 6/1

Naomi Osaka 17/2

Ashleigh Barty 10/1

Bianca Andreescu 15/1

Karo lina Pliskova 16/1

Petra Kvitova 17/1

AngeliqueKe rber 17/1

Sloane Stephens 18/1

MadisonKeys 20/1

Elina Svitolina 25/1

Aryna Sabalenka 25/1

JohannaKonta 40/1

Garbine Muguruza 30/1

Belinda Bencic 30/1

Amanda Anisimova 30/1

Kiki Bertens 30/1

Victoria Azarenka 30/1

Coco Gauff 35/1

Field 5/1

MENS ’ SINGLES ODDS

Novak Djokovic -110

Rafael Nadal 4/1

Roger Federer 5/1

AlexanderZverev 15/1

StefanosTsitsipas 25/1

NickKyrgios 25/1

Daniil Medvedev 25/1

Dominic Thiem 25/1

Marin Cilic 30/1

Milos Raonic 50/1

Kei Nishikori 40/1

StanWawrinka 40/1

Andy Murray 40/1

Kare n Khachanov 40/1

Kevin Anderson 60/1

Felix Auger-Aliassime 60/1

Borna Coric 100/1

David Goffin 100/1

John Isner 100/1

Field 10/1