SFTC picks for Friday, May 17

Holy cow what a crappy day yesterday.  Ok, so it wasn't that bad.  We went 9 - 8.  We would have gotten every baseball pick right though if the Angels hadn't given up 3 runs in the 8th inning!  We hope you had a good day yesterday, though it was tough.  Many of the clear favorites lost, including Canada and the 9 or more field goals made.  Oh well, today is a new day and chance to start over!

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Now on to sports.  The remaining props will be posted soon.  We wish you the best of luck!

Our top stash pick:

1. MLB:  Arizona Diamondbacks
2. MLB:  Kansas City Royals

Our picks for every prop:

1. Golf:  Padraig Harrington or tie 
• Yesterday I didn't take the tie option and got burned.  Bradley actually had an incredible 1st round, shooting a -10.  Getting back to this prop, Leishman shot a -1 on these holes (10 - 18) yesterday, while Harrington shot a +1 for these holes.  One thing I've noticed about golf is that prior rounds are often no indication for future rounds and in fact can be completely opposite.  Harrington shot a +3 on hole 15 yesterday.  You can't count on the happening again.  If I get burned for the tie option this time, so be it.
• Confidence: 60%
2. Soccer:  VPS Win or Draw
• Ok look, I like to consider myself a pretty big soccer fan.  I am always game to watch a match in just about any level of any league in the world, but sadly, living in the US, we pretty much only get the EPL, La Liga, and the occasional Bundesliga, Serie A or Ligue 1 match.  But that's pretty much it.  So this pick is for the Finnish Veikkausliiga, yeah that's right, unless you are from Finalnd, you probably haven't heard of this league either.  So I am not going to waste much of my time researching this pick cause anything I say about it is likely to be wrong considering I don't even know how to pronounce the name of the league.  So yeah, that's all I'm gonna say about that, pick at your own risk.
• Confidence: 2%
3. Golf:  Angel Cabrera or tie
• The results from round 1 are these: Cabrera shot a -5 and Schwartzel a -7.  I think Cabrera can at least tie Schwartzel in round 2 if not beat him.  
• Confidence: 50%
4. Other:  Any Other Horse
• I'm guessing they changed this prop because since two horses scratched, the winner from position 1 - 5 would have been too easy.  At any rate, this is basically a race between Emollient and Fiftyshadesofhay.  Taking any other horse also gives you 5 other horses that have a shot at winning.  
• Confidence: 70%
5. Soccer:  Any other Result
• In the final of the Copa del Rey we have the Madrid Derby.  Now this is not the biggest rivalry in La Liga, but it nevertheless is a big rivalry and the fans of these two teams do not like each other.  Atletico Madrid has always been in the little brother to Real Madrid.  Even though Athletico has its own fair share of trophies, they are far and away behind the amount that Real has, including having never won the Champions League, something RM has done 9 times (more than any other squad).  This season Real won both meetings against Atletico 2-0 and 2-1.  Neither match was a blow out and I expect the result to be similar today.  For Real, this may be the last chance with Jose Mourinho as Manager to win a trophy.  After what may be considered a disappointing season for RM, this would not make up for losing La Liga or the Champions League, but at least the season wouldn't be empty.  I think Real will win, but I expect it to be close. Let's just hope they can hold onto the trophy.
• Confidence: 55%
6. Soccer:  Any other number
• Real Madrid has Ronaldo.  Atletico Madri has Falcao.  These two strikers are two of the best in the world and are ranked number 2 and 3 on the total goals scored list in La Liga this season behind Lionel Messi.  But to go along with Ronaldo, Real has Di Maria, Benzema, Higuain, Ozil, and a host of other players who can score as well.  I think there is too much fire power on the pitch to assume that only one player will score.
• Confidence: 60%
7. Soccer:  Real Madrid
• Just above I listed some of the great Real players who are capable of scoring.  I stopped at like 5 guys, but I could have named plenty more.  I don't know how the flow of this game will be, but I do know that RM has more players with the ability to score, so given the players on the pitch, I have to pick RM.  But if they have a 2 goal lead going into the half, I would probably change my pick to Atletico who would come out desperate to get back into the match quickly.
• Confidence: 60%
8. Other:  Baylor Lady Bears
• In all honesty, who really knows that much about women's softball?  On a serious note though, Baylor obviously has the better record and has played tougher competition.  The game is also in College Station, so Baylor will have more fans there and will want to impress in front of their "home" crowd.
• Confidence: 60%
9. MLB:  Cincinatti Reds
• The Reds have been quietly putting a good streak together.  They've won their last 7 straight.  They also swept the Phillies in their previous series back in mid April.  The starting pitchers for this game have pretty even numbers.  Lee just hasn't been quite the same as last year, and Cingrani has been surprisingly good.  The Phillies are favored at -120, but they've been so inconsistent this season that I have to go with the more consistent, hotter team.
• Confidence: 70%
10. MLB:  Baltimore Orioles
• I'm hesitant to pick the Orioles after they lost their last two games to the Padres that they should have easily won.  However, with Hellickson pitching for the Rays and the Orioles favored at -120, I'm going to give them another shot.  Hellickson hasn't won a start in over a month and is 1 - 2 with a 5.25 ERA on the season.  Hammel for the Orioles is 5 - 1 with a 4.93 ERA.  The Orioles have also won 4 of the 6 games they've played against the Rays this season, and for what it's worth, they have won the first and last games of both previous series against the Rays.  
• Confidence: 70%
11. MLB:  Cleveland Indians
• The Indians have been one of the hottest teams in baseball this season.  They have won 9 of 11 at home and 14 of their last 18 overall.  They just split a two-game set with the Phillies and now return home for a little while.  Jimenez has won his last 3 starts and looks to continue his success at home.  Maurer on the other hand has lost his last two starts and is 2 - 5 with a 5.97 ERA this season.  The Mariners have a chance to finally get back to .500 after winning two against the Yankees, but I think they fall short again tonight, as the Indians will just be too much at home.
• Confidence: 70%
12. MLB:  Arizona Diamondbacks
• The Diamondbacks have been one of the best road teams in baseball with an 11 - 7 mark, including winning their last 3.  The Marlins are one of if not the worst team in baseball, positng a dismal 5 - 14 record at home, including losing their last 5 straight and 8 of 9 overall.  Cahill has the higher overall ERA between these two pitchers but has gone 2 - 1 with a 1.80 ERA in his last 4 starts.  Slowey got beat up by Detroit in his last start.  The DBacks are favored at -140, and I just can't see them losing to the lowly Marlins, even on the road.
• Confidence: 80%
13. MLB:  Los Angeles Dodgers
• The line is currently at Braves -150, which are pretty good odds in favor of the Braves.  I'm not buying it.  The Braves have been terrible lately, losing 5 of their last 6 games.  Their scheduled starter, Paul Malhom is 4 - 4 with a 3.94 ERA overall, but is just 1 - 4 with a 6.83 ERA over his last 5 starts.  Ryu for the Dodgers is 4 - 2 with a 3.40 ERA on the season.  The Braves could get Jason Heyward back from surgery tonight, but he is only a .111 career hitter against the Dodgers, so I doubt his return will have an impact. 
• Confidence: 65%
14. NHL:  Ottawa Senators Win or lose by 1
• This is the exact same prop from a couple of days ago.  We had the senators win or lose by 1 that time too, and they were blown out 4 - 1.  The main reason for the Penguins' success is their power play.  They scored two of their goals in their last game off the power play, and Ottawa will need to find a way to stop the power play if they hope to have a chance in this series.  If Ottawa loses again tonight, you can basically count them out of this series because they have never overcome an 0 - 2 hole.  Because of this, the Senators will definitely do everything they can to win this game.  I really don't think it will be a blowout again.  If it is, this series is over.
• Confidence: 60%
15. Other:  Texas A&M wins by 5+ runs
• I really don't know much about these teams, especially Penn.  From what I could find, they haven't played any common opponents this season.  Penn is 30 - 18 on the season and Texas A&M is 39 - 15.  A&M have won a lot of games this season by 5+ and this is pretty much a home game for them, so I'm taking them to cover here.
• Confidence: 65%
16. Other:  Yes Texas A&M score 1+ runs in the 1st inning
• Texas A&M has scored in the 1st inning in nearly half of their games.  Penn has not faced tough competition like A&M this season.  A&M should come out striking early.
• Confidence: 65%
17. MLB:  Kansas City Royals
• The Royals' scheduled starter, James Shields, has been much better than his record shows.  He hasn't gotten much run support, which is why he's 2 - 3.  He does have only a 2.48 ERA though.  The Royals seem to have come alive in California.  They just won two games against the Angels in impressive fashion and should do the same tonight.  The A's have lost 8 of their last 10, and Parker is 2 - 5 with a 6.86 ERA.
• Confidence: 75%
18. MLB:  Chicago White Sox
• The White Sox seem to have found their offense lately, and it's coming at just the right time.  The last time Sale faced the Angels he nearly pitched a no-hitter.  He should be dominant again, and the White Sox take 2 in a row.  
• Confidence: 65%