Saturday MLB Weather/Umpires

[Willie Bee]

Tigers at White Sox (Chicago, 1:05 pm ET)
Nasty weather that should worsen as day goes on. Low 40s for the temp at game time, 80% chance of rain that should turn to a rain/snow combo. Doug Eddings behind the plate who was a bit on the Under side last year, got to think his zone might be a bit larger hoping to get this game in and over with in a hurry, winds blowing out towards left though. I still like the Under 9½ (10 at some shops) based just on the weather.

[Willie Bee]

Braves at Nationals (Wash DC, 1:05 pm ET)
Muggy in the mid-to-upper 70s, winds blowing out to right-center at 10-20 MPH. Marvin Hudson behind the plate in this one; he was 15-15 O/U last year, started this year 2-0 to the Over and 2-0 to the Visitors. Total set at 9, with Hudson 2-5 O/U in games with that total last season.

[Willie Bee]

Brewers at Mets (Queens, NY, 1:10 pm ET)
Upper 60s at game time, slight chance of t-storms, winds 10-20 MPH out to right. Phil Cuzzi behind the plate, 1-1 O/U to start season, 19/14 O/U in 2007. Big name pitchers have total on the bottom side at 7. Key batters for Ben Sheets will be Luis Castillo and David Wright; Rickie Weeks has had some success against Johan Santana, albeit it very limited action, while Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Corey Hart having yet to face the southpaw.

[Willie Bee]

Yankees at Red Sox (Boston, 3:55 pm ET)
Slight chance of rain, not much wind, cloudy with temps in mid-to-upper 50s at first pitch. Paul Nauert calling balls and strikes, 1-1 O/U to start season, 19/13 O/U in 2007 (11-7 O/U with totals 9-9½). Mike Lowell has been the toughest out among Red Sox hitters for Mike Mussina over the years, but Lowell is out with a thumb injury. Josh Beckett has had trouble with Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada and Jason Giambi.

[Willie Bee]

Rockies at Diamondbacks (Phoenix, 3:55 pm ET)
Should be a beautiful, sunny and warm (mid-to-upper 80s) afternoon in Phoenix, slight wind blowing in from RF corner. Brian Gorman behind the plate, 1-2 O/U so far this year and 19/15 O/U in 2007. Total set at 9, with two teams combining for 10 last night (8-2 Arizona, Webb over Francis). Colorado's Franklin Morales 2-hit this D-Backs lineup at Coors for six innings on Apr 6, but Arizona rallied to win against Rockie relievers. This will be Dan Haren's third career start vs. Colorado, first in an Arizona jersey, and he has lost the other two outings.

[Willie Bee]

Cardinals at Giants (San Francisco, 4:05 pm ET)
Should be a great day for baseball by the bay with the temperature in mid-70s, clear and slight breeze in from left. Ron Kulpa gets his second call behind the plate with a 1-0 O/U this season and 17/16 O/U record a year ago. The Under is going to be in everyone's mind when they hear the word Giants this season, and books are going to keep it as low as possible in their games with this one at 7½.

[Willie Bee]

Athletics at Indians (Cleveland, 7:05 pm ET)
Good chance of rain tonight at Jacobs Field, first pitch temp about 48° and dropping as evening progresses, winds 10-15 MPH out to right. Just Greg Gibson's second game behind plate on season, with his first one an Under and a 16-15 O/U mark in 2007. Wonder about Fausto Carmona's mindset in this one after getting a new contract extension this past week, plus the fact that Jack Cust, Mike Sweeney and Kurt Suzuki have not been fooled by him in the past.

[Willie Bee]

Marlins at Astros (Houston, 7:05 pm ET)
A Chamber of Commerce night in Houston with clear skies, first pitch temp in low 70s, but a good North wind (in from right-center) this afternoon gusting to 30 MPH but forecast to slack off by game time. Alfonso Marquez behind the plate with an Over in his only game this season and 14-15 O/U last year. Total set at 9½-10, with Marlins ripping right now and off a franchise record 6 HR game last night. Darin Erstad only Astros player to have seen FLA lefty Andrew Miller to date with just Luis Gonzalez and Wes Helms a combined 1-for-6 against HOU Brandon Backe, the only Fish batters to have faced him.

[Willie Bee]

Cubs at Phillies (Philadelphia, 7:05 pm ET)
Chance of rain this afternoon, decreasing as the sun goes down. Winds shift from blowing out to right-center in afternoon to blowing in from left-center this evening. Plate ump is Adrian Johnson who is in his first full season making the MLB circuit. He is 0-2 O/U so far this year after a 7-8 O/U mark as a fill-in/call-up in 2007. Alfonso Soriano hitting just .250 (20 AB) vs. Phils lefty Cole Hamels, but has 3 HR, with both Ryan Theriot (5-10) and Aramis Ramirez (4-8) batting .500 against Hamels. Cubs southpaw Ted Lilly off to rough start, but only hitter in this lineup to give him trouble is Pedro Feliz who was 3-for-8 with a homer while playing for the Giants.

[Willie Bee]

Reds at Pirates (Pittsburgh, 7:05 pm ET)
One of my favorite stadiums, PNC Park, won't be such a wonderful place to be tonight with a good chance of rain, first pitch temperature in upper-40s and winds out of West at 10-20 MPH (out to left). Veteran umpire Tim McClelland is calling the balls and strikes with one Over to his credit this season and 13-20 O/U last year, with the home team cashing 24 of his last 39 games. Total set at 8½. Neither pitcher (CIN Bronson Arroyo, PIT Ian Snell) has done too well against the opposing lineups.

[Willie Bee]

Twins at Royals (Kansas City, 7:10 pm ET)
Ugly night at Kauffman Stadium forecast, chance of rain/snow mix, temps dipping into low-to-mid 30s as evening goes on, winds 15-25 MPH from NNW (in from left-center). Marty Foster calling balls and strikes in this one, assuming they play it. Foster is 2-0 on home team and 0-2 O/U this year after going 11-20 against the home squad in 2007 with a 13-17-1 O/U mark. Rematch of last Sunday's starting pitchers in Minnesota with KC's Brett Tomko going five scoreless for the win over the Twins' Boof Bonser who worked seven and allowed three earnies.

[Willie Bee]

Orioles at Rays (Tampa, 7:10 pm ET)
Indoors, so weather will not be a factor. Total set at 9½ with a couple of hurlers -- BAL Daniel Cabrera, TAM Jason Hammel -- who wouldn't seem likely to hold that mark on the low side. O's hitters Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis and Ramon Hernandez already liking their chops to face Hammel. Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton and Carlos Peña doing same as they await offerings from Cabrera. Plate ump will be Ed Hickox who is 0-2 O/U so far this season (game totals were 9 and 9½) and Hickox is known for having a large zone coming off a 12-19 O/U campaign in 2007 with over 62% of pitches going for strikes. Got to play against the umpire stats in this one and favor the Over.

[Willie Bee]

Blue Jays at Rangers (Arlington, TX, 8:05 pm ET)
Clear night in the D-FW Metroplex, mid-to-upper 60s for first pitch, afternoon winds dying off to light breeze blowing from LF corner to RF corner. Total set at 9½ with Roy Halladay on the hill for Toronto against Texas' Luis Mendoza who is making his 2008 debut after starting year on DL (blister) and having a solid tune-up/rehab start for Rangers Triple-A club in OK City to get ready for this one. Mendoza faced Marco Scutaro and Shannon Stewart last year when they were with the A's, holding them to 0-for-3 combined. No other Jays hitter has faced Mendoza on MLB level. Meanwhile Rangers hitters have hit Halladay over the years but he is 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA against them his last six starts. Plate umpire will be Laz Diaz, his second game to call pitches this season (Under on a game with total of 9) and was a pitcher's best friend in 2007 with a 14-24 O/U mark and more than 64% of pitches he saw going in the Strike column.

[Willie Bee]

Angels at Mariners (Seattle, 9:10 pm ET)
Bit cloudy with a game time temp around 60, winds light. Roof can close if it does rain, but only a 20% chance for tonight in current forecast. Jim Reynolds will call the pitches thrown by Angels' Jon Garland and Mariners' Carlos Silva. Reynolds is 1-0-1 O/U so far this season and 21-13 O/U in 2007. Total set at 9 and neither bullpen is doing well so far this year. Combine bullpen with umpire and I like the Over.

[Willie Bee]

Padres at Dodgers (Los Angeles, 10:10 pm ET)
Typical sunny day in LaLa Land, no humidity to speak of, first pitch should be in the upper-60s, maybe low 70s, and what breeze there is will be be light and blowing in from RF, RF corner. Mark Wegner calls this pitching matchup between SD's Chris Young and LA's Derek Lowe. Wegner is 1-1 O/U in his two games this season and was 17-14 O/U in 2007, and it's worth noting he only called four games with a total set at 8 or lower, with this one sitting at 8 right now.

[MiamiBoy86]

great write-ups, valuable info, thanks a lot!!!