They don’t call these the dog days of summer for nothing. I actually looked up why they call these days the dog days and it has something to do with the Romans who referred to the hottest days as ‘days of the dog star’ which translates to ‘dog days.’ Fascinating, right?
My dog doesn’t like to take walks during the hottest days. He walks out onto the porch, stares at me and, like a Hollywood writer or Providence nurse, refuses to go to work.
‘What am I, stupid?’ I imagine him saying. ‘You think all dogs just walk no matter what? We have rights too ya know.’
Good thing we don’t live in Phoenix where I’ve heard temperatures have risen to over 110 degrees for 10+ days in a row. Can you imagine? Why would anyone in their right mind want to live in Phoenix? I know they just signed Bradley Beal but he’s as soft as butter on Arizona summer asphalt. The whole thing just sounds miserable which also sums up the lives of millions of gamblers as we patiently wait for football and basketball season to start again.
The only thing that’s left is baseball’s second half. Here’s a few wagers I’m making to give me something to root for in July and August.
Baltimore Orioles over 90.5 wins (+100)
They went 54-35 in the first half with a run differential of +48 and are only two games back of the Rays. They just have to go 37-36 the rest of the way to win this bet. I’m sure Jim Palmer, Ken Singleton and Eddie Murray are making this bet.
Reds over 84.5 wins (+100)
On the downside, they have a -9 run differential. On the plus side, they went 7-3 in their last 10, the division sucks and De La Cruz recently stole three bases and my heart. They just have to go 35-36 the rest of the way. I like the Orioles bet more but this is a decent possibility.
Division Forecast
1st Milwaukee/2nd Cin (+180)
1st Cin/Wnd Mil (+220)
I’ll sprinkle a little on both these bets and if the Cubs have a good second half and finish top 2, then I’ll be happy with that too as I have a Cubs season win total over 78 bet outstanding.
It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing as we await the college football season.
