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00:00Live right here on this Monday on the early line on SportsGrid. It is time for that prop perspective to start off a new week.
00:08TV Tom Vecchio joins us live right here on TEL, of course, of SportsGrid, the host of Pro Baseball Today alongside Donny Rightside.
00:18How was the first show, Vecchio, during the full start of this MLB season with a full card on a Sunday for you and DRS to break down?
00:27Yeah, yesterday's show was awesome. We went through some big picture stuff. We went through every single game on the slate.
00:33You know, we got some good winners. We knew there was going to be plenty of offense between the Cubs and the Diamondbacks.
00:37Obviously, the Yankees are going to continue to score a million runs. That was great. We'll roll through that every Sunday, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., but we got a lot to get to today.
00:46Let's jump into it.
00:47Let's jump into it, Vecchio, and let's not forget the Final Four in San Antonio.
00:52You have been following the bracket. You have been paying attention to a tournament not known for its chaos this year, but rather its chalk.
00:59For just the second time ever in the history of the men's NCAA tournament, all 4-1 seeds have reached the Final Four.
01:07Vecchio, what do you make of that? What do you make of this weekend with so many good teams battling it out in San Antonio?
01:14We're getting awesome basketball, and that's what it comes down to.
01:17I said this on Saturday when I was betting around the rim, and I don't want to throw some shade, but this is what we want to see.
01:25Do we really want to see UAB versus UNC Wilmington in the Final Four?
01:30No, we want to see the best basketball possible, and that's ultimately where we're headed.
01:33Despite the Houston-Tennessee game being a little bit ugly, which I actually enjoyed, we were getting the best players and the best teams out there.
01:39The one takeaway I have, at least from the Auburn game, is Broome was awesome, but no one else did a tremendous amount on Auburn.
01:46If they run us out again, where is that production going to come from?
01:50Pound for pound, I think Florida's better, and I think they can outscore them if they can keep Broome under control at least some capacity.
01:57That's my instant takeaway from that. Of course, I'm going to be signing with both unders in both of the games.
02:02What are your expectations moving forward here, Tom? You mentioned it. Four of the best teams in the country.
02:10The four best teams, the four number one seeds. Are we talking about team with the ball last ends up winning both these games, or what are you thinking we're going to get?
02:20That's probably what I'm expecting. Frankly, I think there's going to be a really interesting spot, at least from the Houston-Duke game.
02:26If Duke can flex that offense and they get out to an early lead, I am going to be very interested in taking Houston.
02:32It's four and a half now. You can get about a six and a half or a seven.
02:35And then if Houston clamps down on the defense, brings back some points on the other side, you can get Duke maybe a minus one.
02:40So that's what I really want to find, like Duke a little bit of offense.
02:43You buy back in on Houston at a bigger number, and then we get buyback in at Duke.
02:47And I think we'll have a really nice spot to find the middle. And I think it'll be Duke versus Florida ultimately.
02:52And just to say, just for the idea of this tournament being chalk, we often see that by the time we reach this stage of the big dance.
03:00The cream does rise to the top entering this year's NCAA tournament.
03:0562 spots in the final four belonging to a one seed, more than 60 in total for seeds two through four.
03:13So we do often see a lot of ones. The idea of UAB and UNC Dub, not often what we will see anyway.
03:21So we have all four one seeds in San Antonio. We also have the opening weekend of this Major League Baseball season.
03:28Beccio, some of the big headlines, an offensive onslaught for the New York Yankees.
03:3315 home runs, 36 runs scored in total in the three game sweep over the Brewers.
03:41Rafi Devers off to a slow start. The Dodgers unbeaten, 5-0. The Padres unbeaten, 4-0.
03:48The Cardinals undefeated at 3-0 as well.
03:52What was your main takeaway? One of the biggest things that stood out to you this first weekend of the Major League Baseball season?
03:58What stood out to me is obviously the story with the Yankees' bats. And I said this to Don yesterday on Pro Baseball Today.
04:03The bats are the MLB version of the tush push. The bats are legal. They are within the confines of the MLB rule.
04:10One team is doing it. Everyone else has the ability to do it.
04:13Alex Corr, the Red Sox manager, said some of the Red Sox players were using those bats in spring training.
04:19Everyone can do it. Either get on board or figure out how to pitch better, because that's one thing.
04:23Two, I'm not worried about the Braves. They look terrible. They got one hit last night.
04:27They look terrible, but I'm not worried about them long term.
04:29And I think the younger players from the Red Sox are really going to be in a spot to carry them if Devers continues to struggle.
04:35Those are the takeaways I have. And the Cardinals are not this good.
04:38The Marlins are that good, though, Tom. They're 3-1 and every game's a walk-off.
04:45Like, if you don't put your foot on them, it's, oh my goodness here.
04:49Did you have the Marlins starting 3-1 to start the season here on your bingo card?
04:53I did not. And the Marlins are a team that, it's like a team, like a death by a thousand cuts, right?
04:58Like, they're never going to beat you with the long ball, right?
05:01They're never going to hit 15 home runs like the Yankees.
05:03But if you let them hang around, you know, some emerging young pitchers like Max Meyer yesterday,
05:07like, they have the pieces to make, to cause trouble to teams when they think they can take their foot off the gas.
05:12That's not going to be the case.
05:14Yeah. And Vecchio, we mentioned our guy, Jack McMullen, who has been a frequent guest here on the early line.
05:21The new radio play-by-play voice for the Marlins, calling three walk-offs in the first four games of a season.
05:27Every guy he announced scoring the game-winning run in dramatic fashion.
05:31I had never heard of. So the fish off to a great start this year with all of those young pieces.
05:38We've got a 14-game slate around MLB on this Monday.
05:41Four games, Vecchio, in the afternoon hours.
05:44So in that early portion of the MLB card, what are you liking the most?
05:49Let's go to the Phillies. They got, you know, a bit of a tough game yesterday.
05:52I was on them for multiple areas, props, you know, winning whatever might be.
05:57Let's go to Kyle Schwarber, two-plus total bases.
05:59He's going up against Germán Márquez.
06:01Last season, Germán Márquez only pitched four innings.
06:03The year before that, he only pitched 20 innings.
06:05He has been dealing with injuries the entire time.
06:07So we have to go all the way back to 2022 when we see he allowed a 493 slugging to lefties.
06:111.61 home runs per nine.
06:13Also, in spring training, Germán Márquez looked terrible.
06:17Absolutely terrible.
06:18So we can take Schwarber for two-plus total bases at plus 105.
06:21You could also look for him in RBI.
06:23Alec Baum, I'm also very interested in this year.
06:25He didn't come through yesterday, despite having massive exit velocities to start the year.
06:28I will also be on Alec Baum for two-plus total bases.
06:33Well, I'm guessing the Mets are going to try and take a little bit of a view
06:37and realize that we should probably put Miami away sooner rather than later.
06:41So give me a prop in this game that you're looking at.
06:45Yeah, that's going to be going to Pete Alonso.
06:47It's kind of the same situation where Alonso had some really nice exit velocities
06:50to start the season versus Houston.
06:52I'll take him in RBI at plus 125.
06:54Cal Contreras on the mound for the Marlins.
06:57I know he pitched for the Rockies last year, so some of his numbers are slightly inflated.
07:00But last year versus right, he's still a .464 slugging, 1.70 home runs per nine, and a .487 exfib.
07:05So the Mets are the better team.
07:07The Marlins are off to a great start, as we just spoke about.
07:09But the Mets are the better team, and the offense will be there.
07:11They have a 4.97 applied run total.
07:13I expect them to score today.
07:15A really big slate around the Major League Baseball card on this Monday.
07:19That's what you want for the first full week of the MLB campaign underway.
07:24Becky, we've got eight games in the NBA on this Monday night.
07:28As we go to the hardwood, what's one of your favorite plays for the day in the association?
07:32Yeah, let's go to Lakers-Rockets out west late night.
07:36And let's go to Alperin Chingun, under 19.5 points.
07:38It's minus 122.
07:40It's a little bit of juice, but I see this as a more defensive style of game,
07:43despite the offense that we've seen from the Lakers, obviously, versus Memphis the other night, the Rockets.
07:48This is a game that's, like, important.
07:50Both of these are playoff-bound teams.
07:51I'm hoping that we see a playoff-type environment.
07:53The Lakers are still around the ninth-fewest points.
07:55We're going to be opposing the Senators at 20.8.
07:57They're still 21st in the league when it comes to offense-based.
07:59Like, they're not playing super fast.
08:01I think their defense is slightly underrated, despite some losses they've had.
08:04And Chingun has been under this number in six out of the last ten games.
08:07I don't expect him to be the focal point on offense.
08:09I'm expecting a playoff vibe in this game.
08:11Becky, what else?
08:13We've got Major League Baseball.
08:15We've talked college basketball.
08:17And in the NBA, can we round it out, Jack of all trades?
08:20Is there a place you like on the ice tonight as the NHL regular season nears its conclusion as well?
08:26Yeah, let's go to the abs at home.
08:28Nathan McKinnon, one of the best players in the league.
08:30Two-plus points at plus-114.
08:32Over the last two weeks, he's going up against Calgary Flames.
08:35Flames are in the bottom half of the league.
08:362.81 goals allowed per six minutes in five-to-five situations.
08:39McKinnon's obviously awesome.
08:40He's tied for the league with 109 points.
08:42He's coming off the game with only one, coming off a loss.
08:44And I love Nate, the fact that he's in the spot, juggling back between him,
08:47Leon Dreisel, and Nikita Kutrov.
08:49For the most points in the league, let's take Nate at two-plus points at plus-114.
08:54Tom Vecchio, man, that's how you do it.
08:56On this Monday, we've got Major League Baseball props.
08:59We've got props in the NBA.
09:01We've got props on the ice as well.
09:03We call you the Jack of all trades, and the prop perspective delivered each and every time.
09:08TV Tom, as always, we thank you for being here on the early line on Sports Grid.
09:15We'll talk a little bit more around MLB up next here on TEL.
09:1914 games on this Monday around Major League Baseball.
09:23That means 28 of our 30 MLB clubs in action.
09:27First full week of this Major League Baseball season about to begin.
09:32And the Dodgers, Joe, as we might have expected,
09:35are already winning a ton of games to start this season.
09:38Both games in Tokyo, sweeping the Tigers in a three-game set
09:42over the opening weekend in the bigs as well.
09:45Make that a perfect five-for-five for the Dodgers.
09:48Will it be a perfect six-for-six against a Braves team in Atlanta
09:53looking for its first win of the year,
09:55having been swept in a four-game set elsewhere in Southern California
10:00against the Padres earlier this weekend.
10:03Late night at the Ravine in Los Angeles.
10:06The Dodgers a minus-220 favorite as Tyler Glass now gets the start.
10:12The over-under stands at eight for this game.
10:16Will the Dodgers start as the oddsmakers expect?
10:19A perfect six-for-six.
10:21Remember, Ben, when I think it was a couple of years ago,
10:24actually over the last couple of years,
10:26when it came to Dodger games, there became a point in the season
10:30where we're like, just lay the run in a half, guys.
10:32Just lay the run in a half.
10:33They're not losing one-run games.
10:35They're not winning one-run games.
10:38They're either going to win by a million or they'll lose outright.
10:41In this particular spot,
10:43I don't see how they're not covering the run line here.
10:46I like Glass now, only I'm going to cut this game in half,
10:50given the bullpen work that we saw them have to deploy
10:53against Detroit here.
10:55So I got no problem backing L.A. early in the first five,
10:59and I'll lay that half a run in this one,
11:02expecting that they get the homes before Atlanta gets the Glass now.
11:07I think it's a good look as well, Joe,
11:09just because of how hefty that price is now,
11:12Grant Holmes getting the start for the Braves.
11:14The Dodgers, of course, a very short favorite entering this year
11:17to win the NL, to win the World Series.
11:19That's where L.A. still stands at plus 135.
11:22The Braves did enter with the second-best price
11:24to win the National League pennant.
11:26Now, we saw some crazy moves in terms of the individual award races,
11:30most namely Aaron Judge, minus 110 to win AL MVP.
11:35After entering the year with the second-best price at 3-1,
11:38behind Bobby Witt Jr.,
11:40the Braves' price despite dropping each of their first four games
11:44to begin this year to win the National League pennant
11:46did not really move.
11:47That's probably sound.
11:48There's 162 games to be played, even 158 remaining.
11:53Atlanta still plus 550, Joe, second-best number
11:56to win that National League pennant.
11:58Yeah, and listen, I expect their offense to look a lot scarier
12:02than what we just witnessed here in the first weekend there, Ben.
12:07I think they're going to get healthier as the season goes on.
12:10The pitching will settle in, and they are going to be a tough out
12:14for anybody, including the Dodgers.
12:17Shut out twice, though, by San Diego, as Joe had been alluding to.
12:22Some interleague interesting matchups tonight early on in the year
12:26for two teams that won their opening weekend set.
12:30That would be Houston and San Francisco.
12:32Let me just make sure they didn't play each other to start this weekend.
12:36Let's make sure they did.
12:39I can't find it.
12:40They did not.
12:41So let's just make sure on that.
12:42Thank you very much.
12:43Houston played the best.
12:44The Giants played the rest.
12:46Thank you very much.
12:47Just making sure.
12:48A lot of bracket central focus for me this weekend.
12:51Houston did win two of their first three.
12:53San Francisco winning two of their first three as well.
12:56The Astros hosting the Giants to start off this set on this Monday.
13:00Minus 122 for Houston at home.
13:03Ronald Blanco gets the start for the Astros.
13:06The over understands at eight.
13:08How do you break down the opening game of this set in H-Town?
13:11Well, you know, it's funny because Houston didn't hit all that much
13:15against the Mets, and you had mentioned they still managed to rally
13:19and win two of three in that series there.
13:22And I would not be shocked.
13:24I mean, Alvarez had a couple of big hits during the season,
13:27but it's the pitching.
13:30And that rotation and that bullpen really showed me something.
13:34I think that's going to be what their calling card is.
13:37I think they're going to win a lot of 4-1, 5-2 kinds of games here.
13:42They're at home.
13:43Another first five for me.
13:45The bullpen did get a lot of work, Houston, there.
13:47But I think Blanco going up against Hicks,
13:50I think we're going to get fewer runs early in this.
13:54Little first five under four, four and a half for me here.
13:58Again, a 14-game slate around Major League Baseball on this Monday.
14:02Four in the afternoon hours.
14:04We'll talk a couple of those games as well.
14:06Let's go out to the Pacific Northwest.
14:08The Mariners in a divisional duel to start off their MLB campaign.
14:12Split a four-game series against the Athletics.
14:15The A's could be a feisty team this year.
14:18Both teams winning two games.
14:20The Tigers, as we shared, swept on the road in Los Angeles
14:23this weekend to begin.
14:25Jackson Jobe, the promising righty for Detroit,
14:29makes his first MLB career start today on the road in the Northwest
14:33against the Mariners.
14:34Total stands at 7.5.
14:36The M's a slight favorite.
14:38The Tigers, though, Joe, despite dropping their first three games,
14:41very high hopes.
14:43I know I bet them to win an American League pennant
14:45before this year got started last week.
14:48What do we think of this game in Seattle tonight?
14:51Yeah, I think whoever pitches against Seattle,
14:54I'm taking their strikeout prop over.
14:57This team is awful.
14:59I mean, they strike out more than I have seen anybody
15:02in the first couple of games against not great pitching, by the way,
15:06against Oakland there, and they couldn't hit water
15:09if they fell out of a boat.
15:11I don't know how that changes here.
15:13I do think Detroit gets off their snide, gets one here against Seattle
15:18and does it actually rather easily.
15:21The underdog today, Jobes Kaprop, by the way,
15:24for his MLB debut, 4.5, the over, having plenty of juice.
15:29Joe, let's talk a couple of those afternoon games.
15:31Our first game on the docket in Milwaukee.
15:34The Brewers very happy to leave the Bronx,
15:36head back to the state of Wisconsin.
15:38They will host the Royals.
15:39It's basically a pick-em between Milwaukee and KC.
15:42Slight edge for the Brewers in their home opener.
15:46Yeah, and listen, I mean, they got absolutely smoked,
15:49but again, we had asked, is the Milwaukee pitching this bad?
15:54It wasn't like the bats weren't there.
15:56They didn't have a problem scoring runs, putting some runners on base,
16:00but are they that bad?
16:03I think we'll have a better idea after this series.
16:06Feels like an over to me.
16:08I expect Kansas City to put some runs on the board,
16:11and I expect Milwaukee to do the same.
16:13Joe, you would certainly hope that if the Royals were watching
16:17anything that happened in the Bronx today,
16:19maybe a couple of torpedo bats finding their way to Milwaukee
16:22for the opener of this set for Kansas City.