The Theodore Newsletter

December 1, 2023

In case the reader doesn’t already know, I love to gamble. As to the title of this month’s piece, I offer the following: it is that time of year when baseball takes a 5-month sabbatical and  basketball takes center stage for the next (coming) 5 months. Here’s my take on both topics:

BASEBALL:   Baseball concluded its season with some really interesting stuff. As I predicted at the start of the season, Scherzer, Verlander, and DeGrom would turn out to be failures (I also predicted the same for Rodgers of the Jets). There were also some insane payrolls: the Mets, the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Padres, and the Angels. All were loaded but wound up duds. The Rangers and Diamondbacks made it to the series.

How did I fare? Prior to April 1, my key bet was on the Orioles and almost nearly got real lucky. I also had saver bets on the Reds, Tigers, Blue Jays, and Phillies. The grandkids had the Phillies (at 26-1) but Mary cashed with the Diamondbacks winning the National League (at 9-1).

My Mets? Ah, the Mets. I’ve always been a Met fan but I have consistently lost money betting on them. But this coming year may be different. Here’s what needs to be done, having thankfully fired the previous GM.

1. Keep Cohen out of any decision-making processes.
2. Bring in a power-hitting outfielder. I don’t think Marte will do the job.
3. Bring in a 2-inning reliever. Diaz remains the closer even through the won’t be as good as in the past.
4. Bring in a quality starter.
5. Bring in a quality hitting coach. Swinging at pitches displaced from the strike zone (in the dirt and 2 feet outside) is simply not acceptable.
6. Bring in a quality pitching coach. Leading the league in walks is also simply not acceptable…especially in later innings when leading by more than one run.

I’ll probably be betting on them…if the odds are right. Irrespective of Philadelphia and Atlanta (and even Miami) they should be competitive and possibly even more than that.

BASKETBALL:  But that was then and now is now. I got lucky last year with UCONN (45-1), although I also had Miami (90-1). What do I have going this year? Here’s my take.

So many players have transferred that it is  more difficult to make predictions at this time. My sources are telling me that players are being paid upwards of a ½ million to transfer. Good for them. More power to them. But how this is ultimately going to shake out is now hard to assess. Nonetheless, I offer the following:

1. St. Johns (with Pitino) will flop… at least I hope so.
2. I put some money on Miami (FL).
3. I put some money on North Carolina State.
4. I’ve bet Sacramento Kings 3 years in a row (ugh!). I’ll try one more time.
5. I couldn’t get a bet in on Yale.
6. I love the Rangers but they are too short.
7. I put some money on the Edmonton Oilers.

Wish me luck folks.

I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving and will have an even happier Christmas and New Year.

NOTE: Looking for a unique, inexpensive Christmas gift? There will be a book signing event on my new book ($9 from Amazon) “Winning at Casinos: The Definitive Guide” at the East Williston Library on Tuesday evening, December 5^th from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. Beverages and cookies will be served. This could be the book for you if interested in winning at casinos.

Visit the author at:

www.theodorenewsletter.com

and

Basketball Coaching 101 on Facebook

NEXT POSTINGS

JANUARY 1:             On Begin the Beguine

FEBRUARY 1:          The Biden Chronicles

MARCH 1:                 On Zzzabuu VI

APRIL 1;                    On Technical Writing

MAY 1:                      On Purely Random, Pristine Thoughts XXVIII

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 1st, 2023 at 1:00 am and is filed under Baseball, Basketball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.