1. #1
    Psycho_sighT
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    Handicapping Chicago baseball’s sideshows

    Go to any Las Vegas sports book or Web site that caters to those of us who "invest," and you'll find hundreds of propositional plays on baseball.
    There are some intriguing props this year, as always. Put me down for the under on saves for Bobby Jenks and Carlos Marmol. Both go off at 30.5, and I'm unconvinced either will be closing when July arrives.
    But let's leave the quantifiable stuff alone. Locally, it's the sideshows that interest me, which is why I've chosen to set some of my own lines.

    Carlos Zambrano meltdowns: I'm setting the over/under at 6.5. Big Z earns a meltdown point for an ejection, punching a teammate or an inanimate object and any act of insubordination. The latter would include not taking treatment, missing a team flight, swinging for the downs in batting practice or jawing with Lou Piniella when the manager asks for the ball.
    Smart money is on the over. Until proven otherwise for a full season, I'm not buying the new Zambrano he's been selling in Arizona.
    Ozzie Guillen mini-dramas: The White Sox skipper earns a point for an ejection, mentioning his dismissal or retirement, engaging in any social networking soap opera, insulting somebody in the media or expressing his disdain for the Cubs or Wrigley Field.
    Let's set the O/U at 10.5. Given Guillen's growing tug of war with Kenny Williams, the over looks like free money.
    Cubs fans vs. Sox fans: It's the race to aberrant behavior. Neither side of town finds it easy making it through the season without knuckleheads running on the field, tackling a first base coach, throwing beer at an opposing outfielder or littering the field with trash after a questionable call.
    I call this one a pick 'em. And I want to wish the Chicago police department good luck when the Sox and Cubs play a rare night game against each other June 26 at the Cell. If I'm a copper, I ask for that day off.

  2. #2
    Jon825
    YTD: 59-43-2
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    I'll take under 6.5 for big Z. he said he has been working on his behavior on the mound. that being said, i would take some of those meltdowns if it meant his numbers would return to his old form.

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