Posts
As promised, we had out first guest poset yesterday with a terrific article onhitting stats from Zeus. If you did not get a chance to see it, I highly recommend that you do. We saw close to 200 hits again yesterday and, again, I cannot tell you how good that is to see. I am truly overwhelmed with the response and positive feedback we have had thus far. I have said it before, but that is exactly why I am doing this. My wife is getting a little tired of the time spent in doing so, but dedication has its price. Please keep reading and expect the upgrades to continue over time.
YESTERDAY
What a night! I would be willing to bet that you had a good day at first, if nowhere else, as all of the top dogs put up at least 5 points. My bats were led be Kinsler who had 11 the hard way, Gonzo and Cruz with 8 and 7 from old man Matsui. Dexter Fowler, the El Cheapo Especial, gave me a decent 3 and my only bust was Raul of all people. In the end, my bats gave me 45 for the day. Add in another 25 from Carpenter and the 70 total points put me back on the Leaderboard in 41st place. However, I am only 6 points away from dropping off again. With that little of a cushion, I better have another good day.
TODAY
Today's winning lineups will see a good effort from the bats as the vast majority of teams will have Greinke on the stump. If you went in another direction, this could be a make or break kind of day. Go Greinke! Here is the final lineup:
C: Soto (Should start the night game)
1B: Cabrera
2B: Kinsler
3B: ARoid
SS: Zobrist
LF: Ibanez (Won't bust again, will he?)
CF: Sizemore (I see now that has has a sore elbow)
RF: Upton (Hitting very well)
DH: Scott (Probably a day late)
PS: Greinke (Join the club)
TOMORROW
Weather: Should not be in play. Pick freely.
Teams facing lefties: Yankees, Brewers, Mariners, Orioles
Teams facing rookie starters: White Sox vs. Cahill (2-5 4.45 ERA, 24K in 54 IP)
Pitchers:
Joba (has only gone past 6 IP once, 2-0 2.86 on road, 1-1 4.84 in May)
Oz (allowed 3 earned or more in last 5 starts, 5.34 ERA in May)
Colon (Oakland sucks, 2ER total in last 3 starts, .231 BAA)
Volquez (gave up 7 earned to the Cards on May 10th)
Kuroda (has been out since April, and is likely to be on a low pitch count)
Wellemeyer (up and down, lok K's, .216 BAA, Cincy sucks and Votto is out)
I don't feel good about it, but I am going to have to risk Wellemeyer over Colon. I just can't trust the Sox bats to support Bartolo.
First:
Swisher (2-4, 2HR)
Tex (2-3 and hot, .244 on road)
Berkman (6-17)
Pujols (2-6, 2HR)
Huff (13-40, HR, weak vs. lefties)
Aaron Cook rarely strikes anyone out, so Berkman will be putting balls in play. That's a good thing.
Second:
Cano (had an ice pack on his hand after Saturday's game)
Uggla (4-13, HR, his power is off of RHP)
Utley (pitchers park)
I think I'll go with Chase vs. poor pitching
Third:
ARoid (3-7)
Cantu (2-5)
It's an easy pick for me, Madonna's boy toy all the way
Short:
Jeter (5-8)
Hanley (5-12, HR)
Tejada (1-3 and very hot)
I'm very tempted now to load up on Yankees, but just can't pull it off. I'll take Miguel, no matter how old he might be. Hanley is struggling.
Left:
Damon (5-9)
N. Morgan (3-3)
Braun
Ibanez (1-1,HR)
Pierre
I don't feel good about Raul in that park, Braun has been on and off, and Pierre is back at home. I'm going with Damon for now, but Morgan may be a good money saver if I end up needing it.
Center:
McLouth
Victorino (3-5, HR)
Jones (3-7)
Jones hits righties best and Victorino is a fireplug.
Right:
Pence (3-9)
Cake (6-14, average vs. lefties)
Upton (2-3)
Upton is the only one for me today.
DH:
Sheff (only hits lefties well)
Scott (when will it end?)
Thome
I have no idea why, but I am going to take a flyer on Thome
C:
VMart ( looked good until he got hurt, is questionable at this time)
Posada (1-2)
Johjima (2-3)
Weiters (rookie phenom, or so they say)
I want to see what this rookie for the O's can do.
It is a very limited schedule tomorrow and is not going to be a day that I look forward to. No trustable pitchers are going, the batting matchups are not overwhelming, my God. I just hope it doesn't blow up on me. Here is the final:
C: Weiters
1B: Berkman
2B: Utley
3B: ARoid
SS: Tejada
LF: Damon
CF: Victorino
RF: Upton
DH: Thome
PS: Wellemeyer
STAT CORNER
The top 7 starters in WHIP in the last 30 days:
1. Verlander 0.76
2. Greinke 0.87
3. Peavy 0.87
4. CC 0.93
5. Cueto 0.95
6. Weaver 0.95
7. Bush 0.98
Strikeouts matter, but so do walks. The top 5 starters in K/BB ratio in the last 30 days:
1. Piniero 9.55
2. Greinke 9.25
3. Haren 8.75
4. Slowey 8.33
5. Buehrle 6.33
The top 6 in OBA allowed inthe last 30 days:
1. Verlander .214
2. Peavy .233
3. Greinke .238
4. CC .245
5. Weaver .251
6. Outman .260
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I do not tell anyone who to put on their teams. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, tell a friend and.....
FU Kerry Wood
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Blog Update - Two for Saturday!
I would like you all to welcome our new contributor, Zeus, to the blog. He has just published his first post and will bring a different feel towhat you have been reading. Zeus is currently 10th on the leaderboard, that bastard, and will be giving his thoughts on the game and what it takes to be successful with it. Below, you will see his article, followed by my usual daily update. Please give it a read and continue to make suggestions as you feel they are needed. Also, I am looking to possibly add other contributors to write weekly articles as well. If you would be interested, please drop me a line. Let me know how I may know you (or what name I know you by) and what you would liketo contribute. I will get back to you shortly. As always, thanks for reading.
Hitting statistics
Baseball overflows with statistics. That's part of why we love the game. OPS, runs created, ISOP (Slugging percentage minus batting average) are just some of the (oftentimes unnecessary) bunch of numbers that statisticians produce.]
As BBC players we try to use these to our advantage to set our lineups. But how important are statistics to BBC, and which ones should we pay more attention to? After all there's a stat for just about any situation and any time of day.
Let's start with hitting statistics, we will cover pitching another time. Pay attention to these stats when setting your batters:
-Home and road BA
-Batting average against righthanders and lefthanders
-Multi hit games in the last 10 games
-The stud pitcher/bad pitcher factor
You might ask yourself, that's it? I can rely on FOUR sets of stats to produce the best lineup? Well, yes and no. Yes, because I consider these to be the best indication of how a hitter or set of hitters will perform on a game by game basis. No, because there are an infinite number of external factors that will negate them (weather, rest, place in the batting order are just some of these).
I want to break down each of these areas.
1. Home BA vs road BA
It's not hard to conclude that generally a hitter will bat better at home than on the road. What you want to look for are players that derive a majority of their relatively high BA from home at bats. Ian Kinsler is a great example of this (.275 BA, .381 @ home, .167 road). You know who else? Brad Hawpe; he bats a massive .423 at home, but his overall is .336. You can probably guess what he does on the road. This doesn't work in the same way for road statistics, however. Most often a player who bats a ton better away than at home is an anomaly that will regress.
2. BA vs LHP/RHP
Works in almost the same way as home/road splits. Here, you'll want to look for righty or lefty 'killers.' Matt Diaz and Scott Hairston kill lefties. Hawpe and Joe Mauer crush righthanders. You get the drill.
3. Multi hit games in last 10 games
Some people may not agree with me on this, but I consider this stat very important. It's a very good indication of how well a player is seeing the ball. A player can be having a horrible season and I would consider him just for having a few of these recently. I cut off this number at 4 or 5. You can do likewise, and tweak it based on other 3 stats. This is how I consider if someone is hot or cold. Chris Davis crushing 5 homers in 10 games should let you know RBIs and home runs alone aren't a good indicator of performance for BBC. Same thing with a 10 game hit streak. If a player only has 1 two-hit game during that span, don't consider him hot.
4. Stud/bad pitching
Here's where I think some people rely too much on how good or bad a pitcher is doing. Basically it breaks down like this: You NEVER want to pick against a stud pitcher, and you never want to 'load up' more than four players on any bad pitcher. My definition of a stud pitcher is a lights out, proven non-rookie, who hasn't been crushed in any of his starts. To put it in easier terms, think of this pitcher as someone you would not hesitate to choose as your pitching staff. As of this writing, I can only think of four: Dan Haren, Johan Santana, Tim Lincecum, and Zack Greinke. There's a few close ones, but not close enough.
So when it comes to bad pitching you'll want to consider not loading up very seriously. Things have to come together almost perfectly for me to consider a loadup. Look to the other statistics to help you know when to do this, but never ever choose more than 4 (possibly, rarely 5) batters from one team.
So after knowing these four areas, you'll want to strike a balance between them, while not ignoring any of them. A quick example: Let's say Brad Hawpe has 5 multi hit games over his last 10, going against a right hander at Coors Field. Only problem is that right hander is Tim Lincecum. It's pretty obvious that you don't pick Hawpe in this situation, but keep in mind if you do, you ignored the pitching rule, even though you satisfied 3 of the other 4 areas.
As a side note, I don't consider any one of these stats the most important or least important of the four. I usually try to toss in a few gut choices here and there and balance it with salary and external factors to make my hitting lineup.
Hopefully a little of my strategy will work for you as well. Good luck and thanks for reading!
As BBC players we try to use these to our advantage to set our lineups. But how important are statistics to BBC, and which ones should we pay more attention to? After all there's a stat for just about any situation and any time of day.
Let's start with hitting statistics, we will cover pitching another time. Pay attention to these stats when setting your batters:
-Home and road BA
-Batting average against righthanders and lefthanders
-Multi hit games in the last 10 games
-The stud pitcher/bad pitcher factor
You might ask yourself, that's it? I can rely on FOUR sets of stats to produce the best lineup? Well, yes and no. Yes, because I consider these to be the best indication of how a hitter or set of hitters will perform on a game by game basis. No, because there are an infinite number of external factors that will negate them (weather, rest, place in the batting order are just some of these).
I want to break down each of these areas.
1. Home BA vs road BA
It's not hard to conclude that generally a hitter will bat better at home than on the road. What you want to look for are players that derive a majority of their relatively high BA from home at bats. Ian Kinsler is a great example of this (.275 BA, .381 @ home, .167 road). You know who else? Brad Hawpe; he bats a massive .423 at home, but his overall is .336. You can probably guess what he does on the road. This doesn't work in the same way for road statistics, however. Most often a player who bats a ton better away than at home is an anomaly that will regress.
2. BA vs LHP/RHP
Works in almost the same way as home/road splits. Here, you'll want to look for righty or lefty 'killers.' Matt Diaz and Scott Hairston kill lefties. Hawpe and Joe Mauer crush righthanders. You get the drill.
3. Multi hit games in last 10 games
Some people may not agree with me on this, but I consider this stat very important. It's a very good indication of how well a player is seeing the ball. A player can be having a horrible season and I would consider him just for having a few of these recently. I cut off this number at 4 or 5. You can do likewise, and tweak it based on other 3 stats. This is how I consider if someone is hot or cold. Chris Davis crushing 5 homers in 10 games should let you know RBIs and home runs alone aren't a good indicator of performance for BBC. Same thing with a 10 game hit streak. If a player only has 1 two-hit game during that span, don't consider him hot.
4. Stud/bad pitching
Here's where I think some people rely too much on how good or bad a pitcher is doing. Basically it breaks down like this: You NEVER want to pick against a stud pitcher, and you never want to 'load up' more than four players on any bad pitcher. My definition of a stud pitcher is a lights out, proven non-rookie, who hasn't been crushed in any of his starts. To put it in easier terms, think of this pitcher as someone you would not hesitate to choose as your pitching staff. As of this writing, I can only think of four: Dan Haren, Johan Santana, Tim Lincecum, and Zack Greinke. There's a few close ones, but not close enough.
So when it comes to bad pitching you'll want to consider not loading up very seriously. Things have to come together almost perfectly for me to consider a loadup. Look to the other statistics to help you know when to do this, but never ever choose more than 4 (possibly, rarely 5) batters from one team.
So after knowing these four areas, you'll want to strike a balance between them, while not ignoring any of them. A quick example: Let's say Brad Hawpe has 5 multi hit games over his last 10, going against a right hander at Coors Field. Only problem is that right hander is Tim Lincecum. It's pretty obvious that you don't pick Hawpe in this situation, but keep in mind if you do, you ignored the pitching rule, even though you satisfied 3 of the other 4 areas.
As a side note, I don't consider any one of these stats the most important or least important of the four. I usually try to toss in a few gut choices here and there and balance it with salary and external factors to make my hitting lineup.
Hopefully a little of my strategy will work for you as well. Good luck and thanks for reading!
A little intro
First off, thanks and congratulations to Gomer for providing us with a site that provides detailed breakdown and conversation on BBC happenings. It's an interesting and fun read that I'm sure everyone can appreciate.
As for what I'll be doing, I will try to contribute a post weekly or semi-monthly that talks about BBC strategy or musings on it. This will probably occur mostly on weekends so keep reading and you won't miss it! As always comments are welcome, and I will have the first of these out before the week starts.
Good luck to everyone this BBC season!
As for what I'll be doing, I will try to contribute a post weekly or semi-monthly that talks about BBC strategy or musings on it. This will probably occur mostly on weekends so keep reading and you won't miss it! As always comments are welcome, and I will have the first of these out before the week starts.
Good luck to everyone this BBC season!
Saturday, the the 30th
Good morning, gents, enjoy your DH? We had 145 views again yesterday, not too bad. Thanks for coming again. Time has gotten away from me a little bit in the last few days, but I am hoping to have our first guest writer on board by Monday. You may know him - Zeushigh! Please leek a look out for it and I will announce it when it is a done deal. The real hold up is that I have to decide exactly how I want to do it, as well is how to do it. Again, I am a computer 'tard.
YESTERDAY
Damn, so close. The DH went well for me as I managed to put up a strong 83 points. Young was pretty much a total bust and I wish I had gone with Scott again (4 HR's in 2 days?), but the insanely stupid Rangers PS pick did me well. With a little assistance from Billingsley and his mediocre effort, I climbed to #51 overall and am only 1 point off the Leaderboard. Could today be the day for my long awaited return? Sure hope so.
TODAY
I don't really know how I feel about today's lineup. Its Carp vs. Verlander for the most part, although quite a few went with Hamels. I really don't get that one too much with the other options out there. I don't feel too good about my bats, but who knows? Here is the lineup again:
C - Mauer (solid)
1B - Gonzalez (Coors)
2B - Kinsler (due)
3B - Crede (eh?)
SS - Jeter
LF - Ibanez (how could you not?)
CF - Fowler (El Cheapo Especial)
RF - Cruz (swingin' the hot bat)
DH - Matsui (best of the worst)
PS - Carp (feel good about this one)
We'll see. Good luck to you and yours, provided that they are on this list.
TOMORROW
You better make the right picks with your bats, as I think just about everyone will have the same staff.
Weather - None - Pick freely
Teams facing lefties -Toronto, Boston, Philly, Wash, Pitt, Houston, KC, Texas, SD, the Angels, St. Louis, the Cubs, the Dodgers
Teams facing rookies - Boston vs. Romero (2-1, 3.08 but rocked in his first start off theDL), Detroit vs. Berken (1-0, 3.60 in one start), Zona vs. Medlin (who flat out sucks)
Pitchers - Jackson - .304 BAA, 4-3 2.58 on the year, 2-2 1.62 on road
Garza - 60 K in 66 IP, 4-3 3.65 ERA on the year
Gallardo - Rocked by Cincy in April, 4-2, 3.32 on the year, .167 BAA, 56K in 59 IP
Greinke - 81K in 75 IP, 8-1 .84 ERA, what else do you need to know?
Millwood - 3-1, 2.52 at home, 2-2 4.50 in May
Wainwright - 3 straing starts with 1 run or less and 7+ IP, 2-2 3.53 on the year
Sherzer - 53K in 50 IP, helt Atlanta scoreless for 6 IP once this year
As soon as I saw his name, I decided on Greinke - especially against the batless Chisox
First - Tex, Youk, Miggy, Prince (6-9), ZPujols (2-3)
These are all good options, but I'm going to take Miggy vs. the rookie
Second - Cano, Roberts, Utley (6-18, 2HR), Kinsler
Ian hits .407 vs. Lefties and .381 at home
Third - ARoid, Wright, Longoria
I'll get back on the ARoid train after a few days. Pavano still sucks.
Short - Jeter, Rollins (6-18, HR), Zobrist, Hardy (3-6)
Since I know I am going to need to sae money somewhere, Zobrist is an easy one for me
Left - Damon (4-9), Bay, Ibanez (3-4), Braun (5-9, HR), Soriano (6-12), Pierre
Braun and Fonzie are struggling, Damon gives me too many Yanks, Bay is booring me right now, I have to stick with Raul as he is hitting lefties and righties equally as hard
Center - Sizemore, Granderson, Victorino (6-17), McLouth, Cameron (4-12, 2HR), Hamilton
Hambone has had a little more bark than bite lately. For not, I will go with Grady
Right - Rios (6-17), Cake (4-6), Pence (4-12), Upton vs. the rook
I just have to go wit Upton on this. Cake has cooled some, Pence doesn't thrill me and Rios busts every time I take him
DH - Scott (2-6, HR), Byrd (5-13)
I need to save cash and just have to hope that Scott has a few more long ones in him
C - VMart, Mauer, Martin, Soto
This one is easy for me. Martin and Soto are playing a night game, so both should start. I only have money for Soto
I really like what I see here. I realy only sacrificed at the catcher position, which is often a crapshoot anyway. Here is the final:
C - Soto
1B - Miggy
2B - Kinsler
3B - ARoid
SS - Zobrist
LF - Ibanez
CF - Sizemore
RF - Upton
DH - Scott
PS - Greinke
Sorry there weren't more stats with these guys today, but there just wasn't much to report. Sometimes it just happens that way.
STAT CORNER
Who's Hot
Last 7 days:
L. Scott, BAL7-for-11, 5 HR, 12 RBI
N. Cruz, TEX8-for-21, 2 HR, 5 RBI
J. Pierre, LAD12-for-27, 0 HR, 7 RBI
Last 30 days:
J. Verlander, DET4 W, 0 SV, 35.1 IP, 4 ER
J. Peavy, SD3 W, 0 SV, 42.1 IP, 10 ER
F. Rodriguez, NYM1 W, 9 SV, 15.0 IP, 0 ER
Who's Not
Last 7 days:
B. Molina, SF2-for-20, 0 HR, 0 RBI
J. Kendall, MIL0-for-12, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Last 30 days:
J. Moyer, PHI0 W, 0 SV, 24.1 IP, 26 ER
D. Cabrera, ---0 W, 0 SV, 15.2 IP, 14 ER
courtesy of MLB.com
Coming early next week will be the best and worst of May
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I do not tell anyone who to put on their teams. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, all suggestions are welcome, and.........
FU Kerry Wood
YESTERDAY
Damn, so close. The DH went well for me as I managed to put up a strong 83 points. Young was pretty much a total bust and I wish I had gone with Scott again (4 HR's in 2 days?), but the insanely stupid Rangers PS pick did me well. With a little assistance from Billingsley and his mediocre effort, I climbed to #51 overall and am only 1 point off the Leaderboard. Could today be the day for my long awaited return? Sure hope so.
TODAY
I don't really know how I feel about today's lineup. Its Carp vs. Verlander for the most part, although quite a few went with Hamels. I really don't get that one too much with the other options out there. I don't feel too good about my bats, but who knows? Here is the lineup again:
C - Mauer (solid)
1B - Gonzalez (Coors)
2B - Kinsler (due)
3B - Crede (eh?)
SS - Jeter
LF - Ibanez (how could you not?)
CF - Fowler (El Cheapo Especial)
RF - Cruz (swingin' the hot bat)
DH - Matsui (best of the worst)
PS - Carp (feel good about this one)
We'll see. Good luck to you and yours, provided that they are on this list.
TOMORROW
You better make the right picks with your bats, as I think just about everyone will have the same staff.
Weather - None - Pick freely
Teams facing lefties -Toronto, Boston, Philly, Wash, Pitt, Houston, KC, Texas, SD, the Angels, St. Louis, the Cubs, the Dodgers
Teams facing rookies - Boston vs. Romero (2-1, 3.08 but rocked in his first start off theDL), Detroit vs. Berken (1-0, 3.60 in one start), Zona vs. Medlin (who flat out sucks)
Pitchers - Jackson - .304 BAA, 4-3 2.58 on the year, 2-2 1.62 on road
Garza - 60 K in 66 IP, 4-3 3.65 ERA on the year
Gallardo - Rocked by Cincy in April, 4-2, 3.32 on the year, .167 BAA, 56K in 59 IP
Greinke - 81K in 75 IP, 8-1 .84 ERA, what else do you need to know?
Millwood - 3-1, 2.52 at home, 2-2 4.50 in May
Wainwright - 3 straing starts with 1 run or less and 7+ IP, 2-2 3.53 on the year
Sherzer - 53K in 50 IP, helt Atlanta scoreless for 6 IP once this year
As soon as I saw his name, I decided on Greinke - especially against the batless Chisox
First - Tex, Youk, Miggy, Prince (6-9), ZPujols (2-3)
These are all good options, but I'm going to take Miggy vs. the rookie
Second - Cano, Roberts, Utley (6-18, 2HR), Kinsler
Ian hits .407 vs. Lefties and .381 at home
Third - ARoid, Wright, Longoria
I'll get back on the ARoid train after a few days. Pavano still sucks.
Short - Jeter, Rollins (6-18, HR), Zobrist, Hardy (3-6)
Since I know I am going to need to sae money somewhere, Zobrist is an easy one for me
Left - Damon (4-9), Bay, Ibanez (3-4), Braun (5-9, HR), Soriano (6-12), Pierre
Braun and Fonzie are struggling, Damon gives me too many Yanks, Bay is booring me right now, I have to stick with Raul as he is hitting lefties and righties equally as hard
Center - Sizemore, Granderson, Victorino (6-17), McLouth, Cameron (4-12, 2HR), Hamilton
Hambone has had a little more bark than bite lately. For not, I will go with Grady
Right - Rios (6-17), Cake (4-6), Pence (4-12), Upton vs. the rook
I just have to go wit Upton on this. Cake has cooled some, Pence doesn't thrill me and Rios busts every time I take him
DH - Scott (2-6, HR), Byrd (5-13)
I need to save cash and just have to hope that Scott has a few more long ones in him
C - VMart, Mauer, Martin, Soto
This one is easy for me. Martin and Soto are playing a night game, so both should start. I only have money for Soto
I really like what I see here. I realy only sacrificed at the catcher position, which is often a crapshoot anyway. Here is the final:
C - Soto
1B - Miggy
2B - Kinsler
3B - ARoid
SS - Zobrist
LF - Ibanez
CF - Sizemore
RF - Upton
DH - Scott
PS - Greinke
Sorry there weren't more stats with these guys today, but there just wasn't much to report. Sometimes it just happens that way.
STAT CORNER
Who's Hot
Last 7 days:
L. Scott, BAL7-for-11, 5 HR, 12 RBI
N. Cruz, TEX8-for-21, 2 HR, 5 RBI
J. Pierre, LAD12-for-27, 0 HR, 7 RBI
Last 30 days:
J. Verlander, DET4 W, 0 SV, 35.1 IP, 4 ER
J. Peavy, SD3 W, 0 SV, 42.1 IP, 10 ER
F. Rodriguez, NYM1 W, 9 SV, 15.0 IP, 0 ER
Who's Not
Last 7 days:
B. Molina, SF2-for-20, 0 HR, 0 RBI
J. Kendall, MIL0-for-12, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Last 30 days:
J. Moyer, PHI0 W, 0 SV, 24.1 IP, 26 ER
D. Cabrera, ---0 W, 0 SV, 15.2 IP, 14 ER
courtesy of MLB.com
Coming early next week will be the best and worst of May
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I do not tell anyone who to put on their teams. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, all suggestions are welcome, and.........
FU Kerry Wood
Friday, May 29, 2009
Friday the 29th
Good morning, everyone. Our hits dropped again, down to 145 yesterday, although I am not too surprised since there was so few games. I still think it is amazing that we are getting this kind of action. I thank you all for the support. If you decide not to come back, drop me a line and let me know why. I can use that information to save the next one, you know.
A few things to note: I have added to the left of you a few links to sites I use that you may find helpful. More will come in the near future. Also, I am working on having a guest poster or two pitch in with some interesting articles. You can look forward to seeing the first of these within the next week after I get the fine details worked out.
YESTERDAY
Did you have Luke Scott? Varitek? I sure didn't. Aside from them, the bats were pretty much worthless yesterday. Superstar Juan Pierre led my pack with a whopping 4 points. He continues to pay off day after day. Haren of the Desert came through with a fat 28, giving me a total of 43 for the day. As I said yesterday, it was a "tread water" kind of day. I moved up to # 76 overall, climbing for the 4th straight day, and am now only 17 off the Leaderboard pace.
TODAY
Doubleheader Friday! This will simply come down to only a few picks. I went "balls out" with the Rangers after simmering on it for most of the day. The last time the Rangers played a DH their pitchers combined for a -97 points. However, to my surprise, it looks like many of you followed suit. Well over 90% of the usual suspects and leaders have Kinsler, Young, Holliday, Hamilton and Cruz. Therefore, I could really care less what they do today. How about that? It's not even 10 a.m. and half of my team has no relevence whatsoever. Remember yesterday when I told you that DH's come down to only a few picks? In this case, it's 5. Here is the Lineup again:
C - Mauer (Salty was 2nd most popular)
1B - Giambi (Davis was 2nd)
2B - Kinsler
3B - Young
SS - Cabrera (Andrus was 2nd)
LF - Holliday
CF - Hamilton
RF - Cruz
DH - Blalock (Cust was the favorite)
PS - Texas (Dodgers were 2nd)
TODAY
Weather - Det/Balt 50%, Was/Philly 50%, Fla/Mets 60%. I see nothing here to be concerned about and will make my picks freely.
Teams facing lefties - Boston, The Cubs, Atlanta, Tampa, Minn, Cleveland, Wash, KC, Tex, StL
Teams facing rookies - Minnesota (Price went 3 1/3, walking 5 vs. the Indians earlier this week)
Pitcher - Many to choose from today, but I think this one is easy
Johnson - 2 runs or less in last 5 starts, 1-1 2.76 in May, .203 BAA, pitchers park
Vazquez - rocked in last start, 4.22 May ERA, 78 K in 64 IP, .167 BAA
Verlander - 85K in 63 IP, 6 straight Q starts, 4-0 1.02 in May, 2-2 5.17 on road, .109 BAA
CC - 3-1 2.33 in May, 7+ IP in last 4 starts
Hamels - .226 BAA, 2-0 2.88 in May, 43 K in 42 IP
Buerhle - 3-1 2.31 in May, 2-1 4.58 on road, no bats behind him
Carpenter - 23 scoreless IP this year, .195 BAA, almost perfect last time out
Felix - got railed by the Angers 10 days ago
Wandy - facing the lowly Bucs, but I'm not going to get 8 unearned again
I am most interested in Verlander, CC and Carpenter. In the end, between the Indians, O's and Giants, San Fran clearly has the worst bats, plays in a pitchers park, and is in the National League. I will be fishing with the Carp.
First - Tex (4-11,HR), Prince (9-30, 2HR), Howard (2-5, HR), Gonzales (Coors), Pujols (4-7, HR). Right now, I am leaning towards Fat Al. Onsecondthought, Coors isa much better park and AGon faces the weakest pitcher.
Second - K. Johnson (3-6 and hitting well), Cano (4-12 on the hottest team), Utley (2-4), Kinsler. This one will take some thought. I can't take Kelly against the lefty and Kinsler is a beast at home.
Third - Hall (16-44, 3HR), Young. Hall could be a nice El Cheapo Especial. Hall hasn't don anything lately though, so I'm going to roll with a surprise pick - Joe Crede at the low cost of 3.8.
Short - Jeter (4-11 and having a great week). He is the only one that looks good so far. Tejada is worth a look, but I have to have at least one Yankee. Jeter it is.
Left - Pierre (5-12), Ibanez (4-6). I love Juan, but it will be hard not to take Raul. So I will.
Center - Granderson (2-5), Cameron (5-17), Victorino (2-6), McLouth (2-2), Hamilton, Fowler (2-2). Fowler may be a money saving pick as well, if needed. Dexter Fowler at 3.4 mil. is the El Cheapo Especial of the day.
Right - Rios (5-8), Ethier (5-11, HR), Pence, Cruz. Nothing impresses me too much here. In looking at what they have done this week, Cruz is a must have.
DH - Matsui (4-6), Thome (10-31, HR). UGGHH! I hate to do it,but maybe the old man will come through. Thome
Catcher - McCann (4-11), Yadi (3-6), Johjima (2-3), Mauer if I can afford him. I also feel pretty good about Big Mac. As much as I like McCann, I have to pull the trigger for Mauer. Whoa! Over the cap! Someone has to go, and it's going to be Thome. When in doubt, drop the oldest one and replace him with.......Godzilla's old ass.
Tomorrow will be a moving day. The key to the day will be in the pitching. With many good options, the leaders will be split. Choose wisely.
FINAL LINEUP
C - Mauer
1B - Gonzales
2B - Kinsler
3B - Crede
SS - Jeter
LF - Ibanez
CF - Fowler
RF - Cruz
DH - Matsui
PS - Carp
STAT CORNER
Fact of the day - After last night's win, Cleveland has won 17 straight over Tampa Bay at the Jake. It is the longest streak of this kind in Baseball history. You would think they brought back Bob Feller.
There is nothing worse than having your staff killed by poor defense. Below are the top and bottom teams in errors comitted:
1. Philly 14
2. San Diego 19
3. Minn. 19
4. Dodgers 20
5. Yanks 20
30. Wash 45
29. Zona 40
28. Florida 39
27. Seattle 38
26. Mets 36
There is nothing like a good day from your starter that is blown by a weak pen either. Below are the top and bottom teams in saves blown:
1. Cincy 1 (who knew)
2. Texas 3
3. Boston 3
4. Oakland 4
5. Colorado 4
30. Wash 13
29. Houston 11
28. Dodgers 11 (amazing, with a 34-15 record)
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I do not tell anyone who to take for their teams. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, tell a friend and, as always.....
FU Kerry Wood
A few things to note: I have added to the left of you a few links to sites I use that you may find helpful. More will come in the near future. Also, I am working on having a guest poster or two pitch in with some interesting articles. You can look forward to seeing the first of these within the next week after I get the fine details worked out.
YESTERDAY
Did you have Luke Scott? Varitek? I sure didn't. Aside from them, the bats were pretty much worthless yesterday. Superstar Juan Pierre led my pack with a whopping 4 points. He continues to pay off day after day. Haren of the Desert came through with a fat 28, giving me a total of 43 for the day. As I said yesterday, it was a "tread water" kind of day. I moved up to # 76 overall, climbing for the 4th straight day, and am now only 17 off the Leaderboard pace.
TODAY
Doubleheader Friday! This will simply come down to only a few picks. I went "balls out" with the Rangers after simmering on it for most of the day. The last time the Rangers played a DH their pitchers combined for a -97 points. However, to my surprise, it looks like many of you followed suit. Well over 90% of the usual suspects and leaders have Kinsler, Young, Holliday, Hamilton and Cruz. Therefore, I could really care less what they do today. How about that? It's not even 10 a.m. and half of my team has no relevence whatsoever. Remember yesterday when I told you that DH's come down to only a few picks? In this case, it's 5. Here is the Lineup again:
C - Mauer (Salty was 2nd most popular)
1B - Giambi (Davis was 2nd)
2B - Kinsler
3B - Young
SS - Cabrera (Andrus was 2nd)
LF - Holliday
CF - Hamilton
RF - Cruz
DH - Blalock (Cust was the favorite)
PS - Texas (Dodgers were 2nd)
TODAY
Weather - Det/Balt 50%, Was/Philly 50%, Fla/Mets 60%. I see nothing here to be concerned about and will make my picks freely.
Teams facing lefties - Boston, The Cubs, Atlanta, Tampa, Minn, Cleveland, Wash, KC, Tex, StL
Teams facing rookies - Minnesota (Price went 3 1/3, walking 5 vs. the Indians earlier this week)
Pitcher - Many to choose from today, but I think this one is easy
Johnson - 2 runs or less in last 5 starts, 1-1 2.76 in May, .203 BAA, pitchers park
Vazquez - rocked in last start, 4.22 May ERA, 78 K in 64 IP, .167 BAA
Verlander - 85K in 63 IP, 6 straight Q starts, 4-0 1.02 in May, 2-2 5.17 on road, .109 BAA
CC - 3-1 2.33 in May, 7+ IP in last 4 starts
Hamels - .226 BAA, 2-0 2.88 in May, 43 K in 42 IP
Buerhle - 3-1 2.31 in May, 2-1 4.58 on road, no bats behind him
Carpenter - 23 scoreless IP this year, .195 BAA, almost perfect last time out
Felix - got railed by the Angers 10 days ago
Wandy - facing the lowly Bucs, but I'm not going to get 8 unearned again
I am most interested in Verlander, CC and Carpenter. In the end, between the Indians, O's and Giants, San Fran clearly has the worst bats, plays in a pitchers park, and is in the National League. I will be fishing with the Carp.
First - Tex (4-11,HR), Prince (9-30, 2HR), Howard (2-5, HR), Gonzales (Coors), Pujols (4-7, HR). Right now, I am leaning towards Fat Al. Onsecondthought, Coors isa much better park and AGon faces the weakest pitcher.
Second - K. Johnson (3-6 and hitting well), Cano (4-12 on the hottest team), Utley (2-4), Kinsler. This one will take some thought. I can't take Kelly against the lefty and Kinsler is a beast at home.
Third - Hall (16-44, 3HR), Young. Hall could be a nice El Cheapo Especial. Hall hasn't don anything lately though, so I'm going to roll with a surprise pick - Joe Crede at the low cost of 3.8.
Short - Jeter (4-11 and having a great week). He is the only one that looks good so far. Tejada is worth a look, but I have to have at least one Yankee. Jeter it is.
Left - Pierre (5-12), Ibanez (4-6). I love Juan, but it will be hard not to take Raul. So I will.
Center - Granderson (2-5), Cameron (5-17), Victorino (2-6), McLouth (2-2), Hamilton, Fowler (2-2). Fowler may be a money saving pick as well, if needed. Dexter Fowler at 3.4 mil. is the El Cheapo Especial of the day.
Right - Rios (5-8), Ethier (5-11, HR), Pence, Cruz. Nothing impresses me too much here. In looking at what they have done this week, Cruz is a must have.
DH - Matsui (4-6), Thome (10-31, HR). UGGHH! I hate to do it,but maybe the old man will come through. Thome
Catcher - McCann (4-11), Yadi (3-6), Johjima (2-3), Mauer if I can afford him. I also feel pretty good about Big Mac. As much as I like McCann, I have to pull the trigger for Mauer. Whoa! Over the cap! Someone has to go, and it's going to be Thome. When in doubt, drop the oldest one and replace him with.......Godzilla's old ass.
Tomorrow will be a moving day. The key to the day will be in the pitching. With many good options, the leaders will be split. Choose wisely.
FINAL LINEUP
C - Mauer
1B - Gonzales
2B - Kinsler
3B - Crede
SS - Jeter
LF - Ibanez
CF - Fowler
RF - Cruz
DH - Matsui
PS - Carp
STAT CORNER
Fact of the day - After last night's win, Cleveland has won 17 straight over Tampa Bay at the Jake. It is the longest streak of this kind in Baseball history. You would think they brought back Bob Feller.
There is nothing worse than having your staff killed by poor defense. Below are the top and bottom teams in errors comitted:
1. Philly 14
2. San Diego 19
3. Minn. 19
4. Dodgers 20
5. Yanks 20
30. Wash 45
29. Zona 40
28. Florida 39
27. Seattle 38
26. Mets 36
There is nothing like a good day from your starter that is blown by a weak pen either. Below are the top and bottom teams in saves blown:
1. Cincy 1 (who knew)
2. Texas 3
3. Boston 3
4. Oakland 4
5. Colorado 4
30. Wash 13
29. Houston 11
28. Dodgers 11 (amazing, with a 34-15 record)
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I do not tell anyone who to take for their teams. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, tell a friend and, as always.....
FU Kerry Wood
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Thursday, the 28th
It looks like it was a little slow here last night with about 170 views. We can’t be going backwards already, can we? I haven’t even started with the add-on’s yet. Guest posting, weather links, etc. are all coming soon. As usual, thanks for reading though, and please come again. We should cross 1000 views today, but 1100 would be better. All suggestions/critiques are welcome as well.
YESTERDAY
Last night was the third good one in a row as we put up another 65 points. How about the EL Cheapo Especial Ben Francisco? 13 points and very little overhead! Cano and Tex also went yard. Hamilton, Pence, Tejada and Blalock (DNP)) shorted me and only combined for 3 points. Dicks. In the pitching category, Johan bested Jake 26-12 and the final result is a jump to #80 overall and only a 22 point deficit to the Leaderboard. Not bad, not bad. On top of all that, Carlos Zabbrano threw the nutty of the year so far. Classic Z. Check it out here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/sportsminute
The blonde is a hot one too, but needs to take it easy on the botox.
TODAY
Let’s review the final lineup and hope that the weather does not jack everything up:
C – Mauer
1B – Pena
2B – Roberts
3B – Longoria
SS – Zobrist (El Cheapo Especial)
LF – Pierre
CF – Jones
RF – Mags
DH – Ortiz (yeah)
PS – Haren of the Desert
I don’t like it too much but with a limited schedule, it’s the best I could come up with. I would be happy to just tread water today.
TOMORROW – DOUBLE HEADER ALERT!
Oakland visits Arlington and the Rangers for two tomorrow! As we all know, a DH can be both the best and worst part of this game. It can make or break a week and sometimes a month for you. The key here is to be smart and to try to find the hidden gem. There is one in every DH (Nick Green in April), and most of the big shots will have pretty much the same lineup. I will not spend too much time with bat stats on the other games as I will load up heavily on the DH, but will list a few options for you. The big key is picking the proper staff. I’ll come back to this in a minute……
Weather - Tigers/O’s 50%, Nats/Phils 50%, Fish/Mets 60%. I don’t see anything to worry about at this time.
Teams facing Lefties – The Dodgers, Baltimore, Cleveland, the Yankees, Philly, Washington, the Mets, KC, the Angels and Texas in one of the two
Teams facing rookies –
Detroit - Bergeson's given at least 3 runs in his last 6 starts and has never gone more than 6 IP
Philly – Detwiler has had 2 starts, 11 IP, 3 ER
The Mets – West went 5IP and gave up 2 earned vs. Tampa last week
Pitcher (to DH or not to DH) –
Billingsley – is 2-2 3.51 ERA in May, 2-0 1.63 road ERA, 69 K in 67 IP
Oakland X 2 – No chance in Hell
Texas X 2 (Hunter and Feldman) – Damn, I want to. I really want to. The A’s are 25th or lower in runs, home runs, average and OBP. Then again, its Texas. Their bullpen has a 4.99 ERA and a .277 BAA. What’s worse is that these starters offer nothing of value.
Willis – not just yet
Lee – is 1-3 1.75 ERA at home, .287 BAA, facing the Yankees
Cueto – at least 7 IP in last 7 starts, 3-0 1.35 road ERA, at Milwaukee
Jurrjens – very low K’s, 1 bad start all year, 2-1 1.30 on road, .368 BAA
I will have to think this one over for most of the day. you know what? I don'treally like these options. Go big or go home. Rangers.
First – Tex (8-20, HR), Berkman (5-8, HR), Millar (13-30 4HR), AGonz (4-10), Giambi X 2, Davis x 2. When Davis hits it, he hits it hard. Late change, though. Giambi.
Second – Sanchez (9-15), Uggla (7-19), Kinsler X 2. This is an easy one.
Third – Aroid (5-13, 2HR), Young X 2. Survey says? Young
Short – Peralta (5-11 2 HR), Jeter (9-23), Tejada (8-11), Andrus X 2, Cabrera X 2. OC willget more at bats.
Left – Pierre (4-9 amd .552 vs. L), Quentin (3-5, 2HR), Holliday X 2. Holliday is the only choice.
Center – McLouth (7-13), Hamilton X 2. No brainer.
Right – Ross (5-12), Ichiro (24-77, HR), Cruz X 2. Cruz for me as he has had a really good week.
DH – Kubel (7-12, HR), Thome (7-18, 3HR), Blalock X 2, Cust X 2. I want to go with Jack, but he is a little banged up and hopes tobe back in the lineup tomorrow. Hank the Tank it is.
C – Mauer (4-11), Kendall, AJ (6-16), Salty X 2, Suzuki X 2. I doubt Salty plays two here, and I have the money for Mauer.
FINAL LINEUP
C - Mauer
1B - Giambi x2
2B - Kinsler x2
3B - Young x2
SS - Cabrera x2
LF - Holliday x2
CF - Hamilton x2
RF - Cruz x2
DH - Blalock x2
PS - Texas x2
You may be one of those that thinks I am crazy for picking threee bats against my PS. The bottom line with this neverending argument is that if, at the end of the day, Giambi has 8 points and Davis had 4, I made the right pick. Who my pitcher is has nothing to do with it. It makes it a little more annoying to decide who to root for, but that's about it. I fully expect the Rangers to give upsome runs. I just hope that when they do, I have the guys that drive them in.
STAT CORNER
The top 5 and bottom 5 teams in runs scored:
1. Tampa Bay 281 30. Seattle 180
2. LA Dodgers 276 29. San Fran 182
3. Yankees 266 28. San Diego 188
4. Cleveland 261 27. White Sox 189
5. Toronto 257 26. Houston 193
Top and bottom 5 home run parks year to date (HR per game):
1. Yankee Stadium 3.78 30. Turner (Atl) 0.87
2. Ameriquest (TEX) 3.00 29. AT&T (SF) 1.00
3. Citizens Bank(Phi) 3.00 28. PNC (Pitt) 1.33
4. Camden (Balt) 2.72 27. Petco (SD) 1.43
5. Chase Field(Zona) 2.52 26. Kauffman (KC) 1.44
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I do not tell people who to put on their team. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, feel free to comment and…….
FU Kerry Wood
YESTERDAY
Last night was the third good one in a row as we put up another 65 points. How about the EL Cheapo Especial Ben Francisco? 13 points and very little overhead! Cano and Tex also went yard. Hamilton, Pence, Tejada and Blalock (DNP)) shorted me and only combined for 3 points. Dicks. In the pitching category, Johan bested Jake 26-12 and the final result is a jump to #80 overall and only a 22 point deficit to the Leaderboard. Not bad, not bad. On top of all that, Carlos Zabbrano threw the nutty of the year so far. Classic Z. Check it out here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/sportsminute
The blonde is a hot one too, but needs to take it easy on the botox.
TODAY
Let’s review the final lineup and hope that the weather does not jack everything up:
C – Mauer
1B – Pena
2B – Roberts
3B – Longoria
SS – Zobrist (El Cheapo Especial)
LF – Pierre
CF – Jones
RF – Mags
DH – Ortiz (yeah)
PS – Haren of the Desert
I don’t like it too much but with a limited schedule, it’s the best I could come up with. I would be happy to just tread water today.
TOMORROW – DOUBLE HEADER ALERT!
Oakland visits Arlington and the Rangers for two tomorrow! As we all know, a DH can be both the best and worst part of this game. It can make or break a week and sometimes a month for you. The key here is to be smart and to try to find the hidden gem. There is one in every DH (Nick Green in April), and most of the big shots will have pretty much the same lineup. I will not spend too much time with bat stats on the other games as I will load up heavily on the DH, but will list a few options for you. The big key is picking the proper staff. I’ll come back to this in a minute……
Weather - Tigers/O’s 50%, Nats/Phils 50%, Fish/Mets 60%. I don’t see anything to worry about at this time.
Teams facing Lefties – The Dodgers, Baltimore, Cleveland, the Yankees, Philly, Washington, the Mets, KC, the Angels and Texas in one of the two
Teams facing rookies –
Detroit - Bergeson's given at least 3 runs in his last 6 starts and has never gone more than 6 IP
Philly – Detwiler has had 2 starts, 11 IP, 3 ER
The Mets – West went 5IP and gave up 2 earned vs. Tampa last week
Pitcher (to DH or not to DH) –
Billingsley – is 2-2 3.51 ERA in May, 2-0 1.63 road ERA, 69 K in 67 IP
Oakland X 2 – No chance in Hell
Texas X 2 (Hunter and Feldman) – Damn, I want to. I really want to. The A’s are 25th or lower in runs, home runs, average and OBP. Then again, its Texas. Their bullpen has a 4.99 ERA and a .277 BAA. What’s worse is that these starters offer nothing of value.
Willis – not just yet
Lee – is 1-3 1.75 ERA at home, .287 BAA, facing the Yankees
Cueto – at least 7 IP in last 7 starts, 3-0 1.35 road ERA, at Milwaukee
Jurrjens – very low K’s, 1 bad start all year, 2-1 1.30 on road, .368 BAA
I will have to think this one over for most of the day. you know what? I don'treally like these options. Go big or go home. Rangers.
First – Tex (8-20, HR), Berkman (5-8, HR), Millar (13-30 4HR), AGonz (4-10), Giambi X 2, Davis x 2. When Davis hits it, he hits it hard. Late change, though. Giambi.
Second – Sanchez (9-15), Uggla (7-19), Kinsler X 2. This is an easy one.
Third – Aroid (5-13, 2HR), Young X 2. Survey says? Young
Short – Peralta (5-11 2 HR), Jeter (9-23), Tejada (8-11), Andrus X 2, Cabrera X 2. OC willget more at bats.
Left – Pierre (4-9 amd .552 vs. L), Quentin (3-5, 2HR), Holliday X 2. Holliday is the only choice.
Center – McLouth (7-13), Hamilton X 2. No brainer.
Right – Ross (5-12), Ichiro (24-77, HR), Cruz X 2. Cruz for me as he has had a really good week.
DH – Kubel (7-12, HR), Thome (7-18, 3HR), Blalock X 2, Cust X 2. I want to go with Jack, but he is a little banged up and hopes tobe back in the lineup tomorrow. Hank the Tank it is.
C – Mauer (4-11), Kendall, AJ (6-16), Salty X 2, Suzuki X 2. I doubt Salty plays two here, and I have the money for Mauer.
FINAL LINEUP
C - Mauer
1B - Giambi x2
2B - Kinsler x2
3B - Young x2
SS - Cabrera x2
LF - Holliday x2
CF - Hamilton x2
RF - Cruz x2
DH - Blalock x2
PS - Texas x2
You may be one of those that thinks I am crazy for picking threee bats against my PS. The bottom line with this neverending argument is that if, at the end of the day, Giambi has 8 points and Davis had 4, I made the right pick. Who my pitcher is has nothing to do with it. It makes it a little more annoying to decide who to root for, but that's about it. I fully expect the Rangers to give upsome runs. I just hope that when they do, I have the guys that drive them in.
STAT CORNER
The top 5 and bottom 5 teams in runs scored:
1. Tampa Bay 281 30. Seattle 180
2. LA Dodgers 276 29. San Fran 182
3. Yankees 266 28. San Diego 188
4. Cleveland 261 27. White Sox 189
5. Toronto 257 26. Houston 193
Top and bottom 5 home run parks year to date (HR per game):
1. Yankee Stadium 3.78 30. Turner (Atl) 0.87
2. Ameriquest (TEX) 3.00 29. AT&T (SF) 1.00
3. Citizens Bank(Phi) 3.00 28. PNC (Pitt) 1.33
4. Camden (Balt) 2.72 27. Petco (SD) 1.43
5. Chase Field(Zona) 2.52 26. Kauffman (KC) 1.44
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I do not tell people who to put on their team. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, feel free to comment and…….
FU Kerry Wood
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Wednesday the 27th
Guys, we actually exceeded 200 hits yesterday and are averaging 179 per day. Wow! I would have been happy with 30-40 a day when I started this thing. I really appreciate all of you for checking it out. Feel free to register as a follower. I don’t know exactly what that does, but it doesn’t cost anything. And now that our hits are a high as they are, I’m beginning to expect it of you. Please keep coming back. Over the weekend, I will be making a few changes/new features maybe adding a guest writer or two, all in effort to keep improving it. If you have any suggestions, please drop me a line. On to the game……
YESTERDAY
Two good days in a row, gents, and I’m feeling good. The bats cashed in for 33, led by Sheff with 10 and 6 from the el cheapo of the day, Skip Shumaker. Bay and Benji were the only busts. Lincecum pitched in 33 of his own for a total of 66. This moves us up to #94 and 29 points off the Leaderboard pace. It’s no surprise that I didn’t move up more as all but one of the leaders had either Lince or Greinke. I’ll take it.
TODAY
With help from JT Shunta’s spectacular weather predicting, I was not scared off of the Johan pick and it appears that my entire team will play today. 74% of the leaders agreed. Thanks, JT. Here is the lineup again:
C – Mauer
1B – Tex
2B – Cano
3B – Aroid
SS – Tejada
LF – Francisco (el cheapo daily special)
CF – Hamilton
RF – Pence
DH – Blalock
PS – Johan
TOMORROW
Again, Weather could be an issue today, so keep an eye out while picking your teams and check for rainouts and possible DH’s before cashing in for the night. Due to scheduling, it appears unlikely, but you don’t want to be the guy who lost out because you didn’t double check.
As usual, weather comes first – Tampa/Cleveland 50%, Detroit/Balty 50%. I see no reason to be concerned about either of these getting in but, as usual, I will double check before the end of the night.
Teams facing lefties – Tampa and the Cubbies
Teams facing rookies – Cleveland, Tampa (Huff has had 2 starts combining for 6.2 IP and 17.55 ERA), Boston (although Swarzak went 7 scoreless innings in his debut), Detroit (D. Hernandez is 3-1, 2.91 ERA. 60 K in 43 IP at AAA Norfolk) and the Dodgers (Wells has given up only 3 earned runs total in three starts).
There are only 5 games tomorrow and the batter/pitcher match-ups are crap all around. When this happens, I usually like to go against the rookies and my lineup will probably follow that theme today.
Pitcher – I see 4 options:
Beckett - .333 BAA, 2-0 2.67 ERA in May, but a 6.08 road ERA and the twins are rolling
Wolf – 2-1 and 3.02 ERA, 2.87 road ERA, 2.59 May ERA, .256 BAA
Lowe – 6 of last 7 starts were quality, low K’s, .268 BAA
Haren – 63 K in 63 IP, last 3 starts were very average, 2-3 2.00 home ERA, Braves suck
At this time, Haren at home is the pick over 3 questionable options on the road and he's relatively cheap.
First – Morneau is 3-9 vs. Beckett. I also like Pena vs. the rook, or Miggy vs. rook. Pena looks like the bettr match-up
Second – I have nothing here. Pedroia and Cabrera vs. rooks. However, Roberts usually treats me right and I love tohave a leadoff hitter in my lineup.
Third – Reynolds is 6-19 vs. Lowe, but Longoria vs. rook looks better, or Inge vs. rook. Evan just drives in too many runs to pass up.
Short – Drew is 14-27 with a HR vs. Lowe, Furcal and Peralta face rooks. I just don't trust Drew and Zobrist hits .342 vs. lefties. Zobrist it is in the El Cheapo pick of the day (3.8 mil)
Left – Crawford or Bay vs. rooks, red hot Pierre. Bay hurt me a little with the bust out last night,but I don't want to have too many from the Rays. I also need some pop. One more chance for my favorite Canadian.
Center – Sizemore vs. rook, same with Granderson. Grandy had another good game today and Adam Jones hits just under .400 vs. RHP. Add another O.
Right – Upton? Mags? No clue here. Mags has quietly put together a 10 game hitting streak andis wayoverdue. After a slow start he has hit .294 in may although he has not gone deep. I need to save cash and he isonly 4.0. Book it.
DH – dare I take Ortiz? Have you noticed that Greg Norton is valued high than Big Papi right now? That shoull be insulting enough for him to go deep twice. Why not?
C – Mauer may have to work. I can't afford him though......unless I drop bay and go for Juan - has gone for 23 points in the three times I have taken him - Pierre. Done.
I really don't care too much for this team, but here it is. God help us all.....
FINAL LINEUP
C – Mauer
1B – Pena
2B – Roberts
3B – Longoria
SS – Zobrist
LF – Pierre
CF – Jones
RF – Mags
DH – Big Papi
PS – Haren of the Desert
STAT CORNER
Who knew? Do you know which pitcher Albert Pujols has faced the most times without hitting one out? Believe it or not, it’s Jeff Suppan. After last night Fat Al has faced him 35 times with no long ball success. Brandon Webb is second on this list with 23.
The top 5 innings eaters with average innings pitched per start ( I know, there is no such thing as 7.5 innings):
1. Holliday 7.5
2. Greinke 7.5
3. Duke 7.2 (really?)
4. Millwood 7.2
5. C.C. 7.1
6. Haren 7.0
The top 5 starting pitchers in BAA (minimum 40 IP)
1. Volquez .185
2. Gallardo .193
3. Garza .200
4. Greinke .203
5. Kershaw .207
The top 5 pitchers in fewest home runs allowed (minimum 40 IP)
1. Greinke 0/75.0 IP
2. Lincecum 1/65.1 IP
3. Wandy 1/63.0 IP
4. Billingsley 1/67.0 IP
5. Meche 1/55.1 IP
Tomorrow, we will look at the worst pitchers in each of these categories.
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I do not tell people who to take. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks again for taking your time to read this, please come again, tell your friends, and…….
FU Kerry Wood!
YESTERDAY
Two good days in a row, gents, and I’m feeling good. The bats cashed in for 33, led by Sheff with 10 and 6 from the el cheapo of the day, Skip Shumaker. Bay and Benji were the only busts. Lincecum pitched in 33 of his own for a total of 66. This moves us up to #94 and 29 points off the Leaderboard pace. It’s no surprise that I didn’t move up more as all but one of the leaders had either Lince or Greinke. I’ll take it.
TODAY
With help from JT Shunta’s spectacular weather predicting, I was not scared off of the Johan pick and it appears that my entire team will play today. 74% of the leaders agreed. Thanks, JT. Here is the lineup again:
C – Mauer
1B – Tex
2B – Cano
3B – Aroid
SS – Tejada
LF – Francisco (el cheapo daily special)
CF – Hamilton
RF – Pence
DH – Blalock
PS – Johan
TOMORROW
Again, Weather could be an issue today, so keep an eye out while picking your teams and check for rainouts and possible DH’s before cashing in for the night. Due to scheduling, it appears unlikely, but you don’t want to be the guy who lost out because you didn’t double check.
As usual, weather comes first – Tampa/Cleveland 50%, Detroit/Balty 50%. I see no reason to be concerned about either of these getting in but, as usual, I will double check before the end of the night.
Teams facing lefties – Tampa and the Cubbies
Teams facing rookies – Cleveland, Tampa (Huff has had 2 starts combining for 6.2 IP and 17.55 ERA), Boston (although Swarzak went 7 scoreless innings in his debut), Detroit (D. Hernandez is 3-1, 2.91 ERA. 60 K in 43 IP at AAA Norfolk) and the Dodgers (Wells has given up only 3 earned runs total in three starts).
There are only 5 games tomorrow and the batter/pitcher match-ups are crap all around. When this happens, I usually like to go against the rookies and my lineup will probably follow that theme today.
Pitcher – I see 4 options:
Beckett - .333 BAA, 2-0 2.67 ERA in May, but a 6.08 road ERA and the twins are rolling
Wolf – 2-1 and 3.02 ERA, 2.87 road ERA, 2.59 May ERA, .256 BAA
Lowe – 6 of last 7 starts were quality, low K’s, .268 BAA
Haren – 63 K in 63 IP, last 3 starts were very average, 2-3 2.00 home ERA, Braves suck
At this time, Haren at home is the pick over 3 questionable options on the road and he's relatively cheap.
First – Morneau is 3-9 vs. Beckett. I also like Pena vs. the rook, or Miggy vs. rook. Pena looks like the bettr match-up
Second – I have nothing here. Pedroia and Cabrera vs. rooks. However, Roberts usually treats me right and I love tohave a leadoff hitter in my lineup.
Third – Reynolds is 6-19 vs. Lowe, but Longoria vs. rook looks better, or Inge vs. rook. Evan just drives in too many runs to pass up.
Short – Drew is 14-27 with a HR vs. Lowe, Furcal and Peralta face rooks. I just don't trust Drew and Zobrist hits .342 vs. lefties. Zobrist it is in the El Cheapo pick of the day (3.8 mil)
Left – Crawford or Bay vs. rooks, red hot Pierre. Bay hurt me a little with the bust out last night,but I don't want to have too many from the Rays. I also need some pop. One more chance for my favorite Canadian.
Center – Sizemore vs. rook, same with Granderson. Grandy had another good game today and Adam Jones hits just under .400 vs. RHP. Add another O.
Right – Upton? Mags? No clue here. Mags has quietly put together a 10 game hitting streak andis wayoverdue. After a slow start he has hit .294 in may although he has not gone deep. I need to save cash and he isonly 4.0. Book it.
DH – dare I take Ortiz? Have you noticed that Greg Norton is valued high than Big Papi right now? That shoull be insulting enough for him to go deep twice. Why not?
C – Mauer may have to work. I can't afford him though......unless I drop bay and go for Juan - has gone for 23 points in the three times I have taken him - Pierre. Done.
I really don't care too much for this team, but here it is. God help us all.....
FINAL LINEUP
C – Mauer
1B – Pena
2B – Roberts
3B – Longoria
SS – Zobrist
LF – Pierre
CF – Jones
RF – Mags
DH – Big Papi
PS – Haren of the Desert
STAT CORNER
Who knew? Do you know which pitcher Albert Pujols has faced the most times without hitting one out? Believe it or not, it’s Jeff Suppan. After last night Fat Al has faced him 35 times with no long ball success. Brandon Webb is second on this list with 23.
The top 5 innings eaters with average innings pitched per start ( I know, there is no such thing as 7.5 innings):
1. Holliday 7.5
2. Greinke 7.5
3. Duke 7.2 (really?)
4. Millwood 7.2
5. C.C. 7.1
6. Haren 7.0
The top 5 starting pitchers in BAA (minimum 40 IP)
1. Volquez .185
2. Gallardo .193
3. Garza .200
4. Greinke .203
5. Kershaw .207
The top 5 pitchers in fewest home runs allowed (minimum 40 IP)
1. Greinke 0/75.0 IP
2. Lincecum 1/65.1 IP
3. Wandy 1/63.0 IP
4. Billingsley 1/67.0 IP
5. Meche 1/55.1 IP
Tomorrow, we will look at the worst pitchers in each of these categories.
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I do not tell people who to take. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks again for taking your time to read this, please come again, tell your friends, and…….
FU Kerry Wood!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Tuesday the 26th
Good evening. We had roughly 180 hits again yesterday. Man, it’s good to see that viewership is still going up. I must say I am quite surprised by the response. Please keep coming and tell your friends. The more, the merrier!
ALERT! Due to censorship in the workplace, I cannot work on this from the office. Please be advised that future entries will rarely come before 9:00 PM eastern on weekdays. On the weekend, I will try to have it done sooner. Sorry for the inconvenience.
YESTERDAY
Not too bad and we finally get to see a decent afternoon. I can’t possibly tell you how much I love unearned runs – especially when they come in groups of 8. Amazing luck there. Pierre does it again with 9 points and both Cruz and Granderson did the same. Blalock and Hill were my only busts, giving me a total of 59 for the day. I jumped from #114 to #103 and am now 35 points off the Leaderboard. Baby steps, man.
TODAY
Weather,weather, weather everywhere. But I think I will be fine today. Here is the lineup:
C – Benji (usually does me right)
1B – Pujols (pretty sure he goes deep tonight)
2B – Shumaker (cheap pick, see stat corner from yesterday about low value steals)
3B – Wright (beginning to trust him again)
SS – Jeter (should have taken more Yanks)
LF – Bay (my favorite Canadian)
CF – Hamilton (token Ranger)
RF – Upton (steady pick)
DH – Sheff ( better play)
PS – Lincecum (Braves suck vs. lefties)
TOMORROW
Weather – It’s everywhere again. Wash/Mets 60%, Tam/Cle 60%, Tor/Bal 50%, Fla/Phi 50%. Please remember also to check for rainouts tonight as they could very well lead to a double header tomorrow.
Teams facing Lefties – Cards, Jays, Cubs, Rocks, A’s, Nats, Yanks and Braves
Teams facing rookies – Rays (weather permitting here. The kid has had 2 starts and got shelled in both), Yanks, Pads and Giants
Pitcher – There are a few chices here but the weather will make this really difficult.
Peavy – 2-2, 1.50 ERA in May, .200 BAA, but is 2-3 with a 4.77 at Chase field since ‘06
Weaver - .123 BAA, ChiSox can’t hit, 3-0, 1.23 ERA at home.
Doc – 7IP and 1 run or less in last 4 starts, .288 BAA, weather is in play
Zambrano – ALERT! Will be on 85-90 pitch count
Kershaw – gave up 9 earned at Coors on 4-26
Bedard – skipped last start, 2 starts before were 5 IP or less, did shutout Oak in April
Johan – 0.81 home ERA
If the weather is clear I go Johan for sure. Will have to check it closely tonight. If not, I’m stumped right now. Nonetheless, let's pencil in the Met.
First – Pujols (6-13, 1HR), Miggy (6-20, 2HR), Howard, Berkman (13-41, 5HR), Branyan (2-5, HR), Tex (vs. rook), Morneau (5-9, HR), A Gonz. All goodoptions,butI have to take Tex vs.the rook.
Second – Utley, Uggla (12-33, 4HR), Cano (vs. rook). Possible weather issues in Philly so I have to take the red hot Cano. When in doubt, go against Texas pitching
Third – Longoria (vs. rook), Hanley (10-28, HR), Aroid (vs. rook), Chipper (13-33, 6HR but may be injured), Cantu 5-10, HR). Chipper is banged up and Aroid is still a steal at only 4.9 mil.
Short – Hardy (5-11 but may be out), Theriot (8-25), Furcal (3-8), Bartlett (vs. rook but may be out), Tejada (11-30, 2HR), Jeter (vs. rook). I can't go all Yanks and with Bartlett ailing, I am going to bust out Tejada again. He has been a favorite pick of minefor years.
Left – Braun (7-10,HR), Fonzie (14-25,2HR), Holliday (3-5 but poor vs. lefties), Francisco *(cheap special, 6-7, 4HR)*, Ibanez, Lee (11-31, 2HR), Damon (vs. rook). Braun and Soriano have had a poor run of late. Let's go Francisco! and save some dough.
Center – Granderson (4-13, 2HR), Kemp (6-14, HR), Hamilton (4-6, HR). Grandy did me right yesterday,but Hamilton is the cheapest of the three.
Right – Mags (6-16), Hawpe (2-4, HR), Pence (7-18). Hawpe seesa good starter and Mags is just getting too damn old. Pence it is because, if nothing else, Arroyo blows.
DH – Nothing stands out – kind of liking Blalock. I would take Sheff, but see the Stat Corner for why I won't. No one else I like but Hank the Bank.
C – Yadi (4-11), Laird (5-10, HR), Martin (6-17), Mauer (1-5). Gues what? I saved enough money with the Francisco pick that I can now afford Mauer.
I have 0.9 Mil left unspent. Sometimes it's better off that way. I really like this lineup - if the weather holds.
FINAL LINEUP
C – Mauer
1B – Tex
2B – Cano
3B – ARoid
SS – Tejada
LF – Francisco the cheapo
CF – Hamilton
RF – Pence
DH – Blalock
PS – Johan
STAT CORNER
Joe Mauer – In 2008, Mauer hit 9 home runs in 536 official at bats – 46.8 AB per HR. In 2009, he hit his first 9 home runs in only 77 at bats – 8.6 AB per HR. Pretty impressive. I wonder if a needle comes with that extra pop?
Who can’t hit lefties? Here are the ten lowest batting averages vs. lefties of batters who have had at least 25 at bats against them. I only included players who are commonly picked in BBC.
Chris Davis .136
Uggla .140
Soriano .143
Hardy .147
Dye .152
Quentin .167
Blalock .167
Ankiel .174
Huff .182
Rollins .186
Want the same numbers vs. righties? Here are the top 5:
Ian Stewart .160
Hall .176
Atkins .186
Ortiz .188
Sheff .197
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I do not tell people who to put on their teams. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk.
Please keep reading and pass along any suggestions you may have. Thanks for coming and……..
FU KERRY WOOD.
ALERT! Due to censorship in the workplace, I cannot work on this from the office. Please be advised that future entries will rarely come before 9:00 PM eastern on weekdays. On the weekend, I will try to have it done sooner. Sorry for the inconvenience.
YESTERDAY
Not too bad and we finally get to see a decent afternoon. I can’t possibly tell you how much I love unearned runs – especially when they come in groups of 8. Amazing luck there. Pierre does it again with 9 points and both Cruz and Granderson did the same. Blalock and Hill were my only busts, giving me a total of 59 for the day. I jumped from #114 to #103 and am now 35 points off the Leaderboard. Baby steps, man.
TODAY
Weather,weather, weather everywhere. But I think I will be fine today. Here is the lineup:
C – Benji (usually does me right)
1B – Pujols (pretty sure he goes deep tonight)
2B – Shumaker (cheap pick, see stat corner from yesterday about low value steals)
3B – Wright (beginning to trust him again)
SS – Jeter (should have taken more Yanks)
LF – Bay (my favorite Canadian)
CF – Hamilton (token Ranger)
RF – Upton (steady pick)
DH – Sheff ( better play)
PS – Lincecum (Braves suck vs. lefties)
TOMORROW
Weather – It’s everywhere again. Wash/Mets 60%, Tam/Cle 60%, Tor/Bal 50%, Fla/Phi 50%. Please remember also to check for rainouts tonight as they could very well lead to a double header tomorrow.
Teams facing Lefties – Cards, Jays, Cubs, Rocks, A’s, Nats, Yanks and Braves
Teams facing rookies – Rays (weather permitting here. The kid has had 2 starts and got shelled in both), Yanks, Pads and Giants
Pitcher – There are a few chices here but the weather will make this really difficult.
Peavy – 2-2, 1.50 ERA in May, .200 BAA, but is 2-3 with a 4.77 at Chase field since ‘06
Weaver - .123 BAA, ChiSox can’t hit, 3-0, 1.23 ERA at home.
Doc – 7IP and 1 run or less in last 4 starts, .288 BAA, weather is in play
Zambrano – ALERT! Will be on 85-90 pitch count
Kershaw – gave up 9 earned at Coors on 4-26
Bedard – skipped last start, 2 starts before were 5 IP or less, did shutout Oak in April
Johan – 0.81 home ERA
If the weather is clear I go Johan for sure. Will have to check it closely tonight. If not, I’m stumped right now. Nonetheless, let's pencil in the Met.
First – Pujols (6-13, 1HR), Miggy (6-20, 2HR), Howard, Berkman (13-41, 5HR), Branyan (2-5, HR), Tex (vs. rook), Morneau (5-9, HR), A Gonz. All goodoptions,butI have to take Tex vs.the rook.
Second – Utley, Uggla (12-33, 4HR), Cano (vs. rook). Possible weather issues in Philly so I have to take the red hot Cano. When in doubt, go against Texas pitching
Third – Longoria (vs. rook), Hanley (10-28, HR), Aroid (vs. rook), Chipper (13-33, 6HR but may be injured), Cantu 5-10, HR). Chipper is banged up and Aroid is still a steal at only 4.9 mil.
Short – Hardy (5-11 but may be out), Theriot (8-25), Furcal (3-8), Bartlett (vs. rook but may be out), Tejada (11-30, 2HR), Jeter (vs. rook). I can't go all Yanks and with Bartlett ailing, I am going to bust out Tejada again. He has been a favorite pick of minefor years.
Left – Braun (7-10,HR), Fonzie (14-25,2HR), Holliday (3-5 but poor vs. lefties), Francisco *(cheap special, 6-7, 4HR)*, Ibanez, Lee (11-31, 2HR), Damon (vs. rook). Braun and Soriano have had a poor run of late. Let's go Francisco! and save some dough.
Center – Granderson (4-13, 2HR), Kemp (6-14, HR), Hamilton (4-6, HR). Grandy did me right yesterday,but Hamilton is the cheapest of the three.
Right – Mags (6-16), Hawpe (2-4, HR), Pence (7-18). Hawpe seesa good starter and Mags is just getting too damn old. Pence it is because, if nothing else, Arroyo blows.
DH – Nothing stands out – kind of liking Blalock. I would take Sheff, but see the Stat Corner for why I won't. No one else I like but Hank the Bank.
C – Yadi (4-11), Laird (5-10, HR), Martin (6-17), Mauer (1-5). Gues what? I saved enough money with the Francisco pick that I can now afford Mauer.
I have 0.9 Mil left unspent. Sometimes it's better off that way. I really like this lineup - if the weather holds.
FINAL LINEUP
C – Mauer
1B – Tex
2B – Cano
3B – ARoid
SS – Tejada
LF – Francisco the cheapo
CF – Hamilton
RF – Pence
DH – Blalock
PS – Johan
STAT CORNER
Joe Mauer – In 2008, Mauer hit 9 home runs in 536 official at bats – 46.8 AB per HR. In 2009, he hit his first 9 home runs in only 77 at bats – 8.6 AB per HR. Pretty impressive. I wonder if a needle comes with that extra pop?
Who can’t hit lefties? Here are the ten lowest batting averages vs. lefties of batters who have had at least 25 at bats against them. I only included players who are commonly picked in BBC.
Chris Davis .136
Uggla .140
Soriano .143
Hardy .147
Dye .152
Quentin .167
Blalock .167
Ankiel .174
Huff .182
Rollins .186
Want the same numbers vs. righties? Here are the top 5:
Ian Stewart .160
Hall .176
Atkins .186
Ortiz .188
Sheff .197
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I do not tell people who to put on their teams. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk.
Please keep reading and pass along any suggestions you may have. Thanks for coming and……..
FU KERRY WOOD.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Monday the 25th
Wow, more views yesterday than the day before (170 yesterday, 330 total). I guess that must be a good thing. Thanks.
Can you say Titanic? I dropped last week Like Michael Spinks at a Tyson fight. Your know what? Fudge it. Last week was last week and in honor of Memorial Day, I'm coming out fighting.
YESTERDAY
Total bust. Verlander killed me. The late long ball by Prince helped a ton but, other than that, I I really just want to forget about it. If you took Felix - well done. In the end, 17 points. I dropped from 58 to 114 in rank, and am 34 points away from ther LB. Remember, 5 days ago, I was #11. It doesn't take long and it all started with Kerry Wood. I hope I don't have to take the Tribe again in order to break the hex 'cause it's not going to happen. I'll just suffer. FU Kerry Wood.
TODAY
On to bigger and better things, I hope. Rain could be an issue in a few places today and, if you saw my late night update yesterday, you know I got a little scared of the weather. It happens when things aren't going your way. Here's the final lineup:
c - McCann (Mauer got plunked last night)
1b - Morneau (Twins are killing the ball)
2b - Aaron Hill (late night upgrade from Roberts)
3b - Wright (guaranteed numbers today)
ss - Hanley (usually takes care of me)
lf - Pierre ( have had him twice for 14 pts so far)
cf - Granderson (eh?)
rf - Cruz (late night change)
dh - Blalock (late night change)
ps - Wandy (weather scared me in KC)
It will be better today. I can feel it and my climbing shoes are on. I'm coming back, starting today.
TOMORROW
Weather - It's everywhere. Fla/Phi, Pit/Chc, TB/Cle, and Tor/Bal all have a 70% chance of rain right now. Det/KC and Hou/Cin are at 60%. This will greatly effect what I do today. I'll post a lineup now, but may update it before the end of the night.
Teams facing Lefties - Baltimore, Pitt, Philly, Minnesota, Colorado, the White Sox, Seattle and Atlanta.
Pitcher - This is an absolute no brainer for me, but I did look at a few options.
Garza - 2-0, 2.93 ERA in May. 5 straight quality starts. .309 BAA
Wainwright - 8.1 IP, 2 h, 1 ER, 7 K vs. Mil last week, 2 straight great starts
Greinke - 2 runs or less in all 9 starts, .235 BAA, but weather could be a factor
Lincecum - Braves suck, and suck more vs. lefties, also have a rookie starting
Like I said, no brainer - Lincecum
first - Huff vs. Rook, Pujols 13-33 bvsp, Swisher 10-25 and 3 hr vs. starter, Teix, Morneau killing lefties, Youk, A Gonzales vs. rook. Huff has been a little off, as has Swisher. Teix faces a hot starter in Millwood. Fat Al hasn't gone deep in a while. Fat Al for now.
second - Utley, Roberts, Kinsler, Cano, Hudson. Weather scares me off of a few of them. Cano is the only one I still like, but again, Millwood. Suprise pick, Skip Schumacher hits over.300 vs. righties - and he's cheap.
third - Longoria, Wright, Young, ARoid, Zimmerman. Wright is playing well right now and facing a rook. I also have him on the cheap.
short - Peralta, Hanley, Bartlett, Tejada, Theriot. What do they all have in common? Weather issues. Jeter has hit .362 vs. Texas in the last 3 years and is hitting very well right now. I'm in.
left - Crawford, Lee, Braun, Duncan, Pierre, Bay. I like Pierre again, but have some money to spend with the cheap pick at 2nd. Since Youk seems back to form, I'm going to roll with Bay.
center - Victorino, Jones, Beltran, Cameron. Weather for the first three, Beltran has a knee issue. Again, let's pull one out of the hat and go with Hamilton. Good park and Joba is punk.
right - Ibanez, Cake, Pence, Hawpe, Cuddyer, Ethier, Upton. Hawpe hits great at home, Ethier kills the starter at Coors and Upton is hitting it well. Have to take Upton. Ethier and Hawpe were down last week.
dh - Sheff vs. rook. This is the only matchup i really like and weather is not an issue.
catcher - VMart, Yadi, Soto, Jojima, Benji, Mauer (may be hurt). I like Benji vs. the rook and the poor Braves pen.
FINAL LINEUP
C - Benji
1B - Pujols
2B - Shumacher
3B - Wright
SS - Jeter
LF - Bay
CF - Hamilton
RF - Upton
DH - Sheff
PS - Lincecum
I will check this again tonight for weather, but I doubt I willchange anything. Bad juju.
STAT CORNER
Just rediculous - The Baltimore Orioles have lost 27 of their last 30 games - ON SUNDAYS!
Need a cheap pick? Below is a list of the top 2 batters at each position in total BBC points that are currently priced at 4.o or less:
c - Vatitek (111, 3.6 mil), Suzuki (110, 3.8 mil)
1b - Overbay (112, 3.6 mil), Lee (100, 3.7 mil)
2b - Callaspo (121, 3.7 mil), Shumacher (107, 3.5 mil)
3b - Feliz (116, 3.8 mil), Bonaficio (115, 3.8 mil)
ss - Zobrist (121, 3.8 mil), Furcal (103, 3.9 mil)
lf - Morgan (127, 3.7 mil), Hermida (124, 3.7 mil)
cf - Spilborghs (120, 3.8 mil), Melky (117, 3.7 mil)
rf - Ross (124, 3.9 mil), Francouer (112, 3.8 mil)
dh - Kuber (129, 3.9 mil), Teahen (118, 3.8 mil)
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I am not telling you who to take. If you follow my lead, do so at your own risk, especially after last week. Thanks for coming, please keep reading, and all feedback is welcome.
FU Kerry Wood
Can you say Titanic? I dropped last week Like Michael Spinks at a Tyson fight. Your know what? Fudge it. Last week was last week and in honor of Memorial Day, I'm coming out fighting.
YESTERDAY
Total bust. Verlander killed me. The late long ball by Prince helped a ton but, other than that, I I really just want to forget about it. If you took Felix - well done. In the end, 17 points. I dropped from 58 to 114 in rank, and am 34 points away from ther LB. Remember, 5 days ago, I was #11. It doesn't take long and it all started with Kerry Wood. I hope I don't have to take the Tribe again in order to break the hex 'cause it's not going to happen. I'll just suffer. FU Kerry Wood.
TODAY
On to bigger and better things, I hope. Rain could be an issue in a few places today and, if you saw my late night update yesterday, you know I got a little scared of the weather. It happens when things aren't going your way. Here's the final lineup:
c - McCann (Mauer got plunked last night)
1b - Morneau (Twins are killing the ball)
2b - Aaron Hill (late night upgrade from Roberts)
3b - Wright (guaranteed numbers today)
ss - Hanley (usually takes care of me)
lf - Pierre ( have had him twice for 14 pts so far)
cf - Granderson (eh?)
rf - Cruz (late night change)
dh - Blalock (late night change)
ps - Wandy (weather scared me in KC)
It will be better today. I can feel it and my climbing shoes are on. I'm coming back, starting today.
TOMORROW
Weather - It's everywhere. Fla/Phi, Pit/Chc, TB/Cle, and Tor/Bal all have a 70% chance of rain right now. Det/KC and Hou/Cin are at 60%. This will greatly effect what I do today. I'll post a lineup now, but may update it before the end of the night.
Teams facing Lefties - Baltimore, Pitt, Philly, Minnesota, Colorado, the White Sox, Seattle and Atlanta.
Pitcher - This is an absolute no brainer for me, but I did look at a few options.
Garza - 2-0, 2.93 ERA in May. 5 straight quality starts. .309 BAA
Wainwright - 8.1 IP, 2 h, 1 ER, 7 K vs. Mil last week, 2 straight great starts
Greinke - 2 runs or less in all 9 starts, .235 BAA, but weather could be a factor
Lincecum - Braves suck, and suck more vs. lefties, also have a rookie starting
Like I said, no brainer - Lincecum
first - Huff vs. Rook, Pujols 13-33 bvsp, Swisher 10-25 and 3 hr vs. starter, Teix, Morneau killing lefties, Youk, A Gonzales vs. rook. Huff has been a little off, as has Swisher. Teix faces a hot starter in Millwood. Fat Al hasn't gone deep in a while. Fat Al for now.
second - Utley, Roberts, Kinsler, Cano, Hudson. Weather scares me off of a few of them. Cano is the only one I still like, but again, Millwood. Suprise pick, Skip Schumacher hits over.300 vs. righties - and he's cheap.
third - Longoria, Wright, Young, ARoid, Zimmerman. Wright is playing well right now and facing a rook. I also have him on the cheap.
short - Peralta, Hanley, Bartlett, Tejada, Theriot. What do they all have in common? Weather issues. Jeter has hit .362 vs. Texas in the last 3 years and is hitting very well right now. I'm in.
left - Crawford, Lee, Braun, Duncan, Pierre, Bay. I like Pierre again, but have some money to spend with the cheap pick at 2nd. Since Youk seems back to form, I'm going to roll with Bay.
center - Victorino, Jones, Beltran, Cameron. Weather for the first three, Beltran has a knee issue. Again, let's pull one out of the hat and go with Hamilton. Good park and Joba is punk.
right - Ibanez, Cake, Pence, Hawpe, Cuddyer, Ethier, Upton. Hawpe hits great at home, Ethier kills the starter at Coors and Upton is hitting it well. Have to take Upton. Ethier and Hawpe were down last week.
dh - Sheff vs. rook. This is the only matchup i really like and weather is not an issue.
catcher - VMart, Yadi, Soto, Jojima, Benji, Mauer (may be hurt). I like Benji vs. the rook and the poor Braves pen.
FINAL LINEUP
C - Benji
1B - Pujols
2B - Shumacher
3B - Wright
SS - Jeter
LF - Bay
CF - Hamilton
RF - Upton
DH - Sheff
PS - Lincecum
I will check this again tonight for weather, but I doubt I willchange anything. Bad juju.
STAT CORNER
Just rediculous - The Baltimore Orioles have lost 27 of their last 30 games - ON SUNDAYS!
Need a cheap pick? Below is a list of the top 2 batters at each position in total BBC points that are currently priced at 4.o or less:
c - Vatitek (111, 3.6 mil), Suzuki (110, 3.8 mil)
1b - Overbay (112, 3.6 mil), Lee (100, 3.7 mil)
2b - Callaspo (121, 3.7 mil), Shumacher (107, 3.5 mil)
3b - Feliz (116, 3.8 mil), Bonaficio (115, 3.8 mil)
ss - Zobrist (121, 3.8 mil), Furcal (103, 3.9 mil)
lf - Morgan (127, 3.7 mil), Hermida (124, 3.7 mil)
cf - Spilborghs (120, 3.8 mil), Melky (117, 3.7 mil)
rf - Ross (124, 3.9 mil), Francouer (112, 3.8 mil)
dh - Kuber (129, 3.9 mil), Teahen (118, 3.8 mil)
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I am not telling you who to take. If you follow my lead, do so at your own risk, especially after last week. Thanks for coming, please keep reading, and all feedback is welcome.
FU Kerry Wood
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Sunday the 24th
First of all, I see that we had quite a few hits yesterday. Thanks to all of you and I hope you keep coming back. Pretty cool. Lets move on.
YESTERDAY
It would have taken 35 bat points to stay on the LB, as predicted. I only got 27 and dropped from #49 to #58. Damn. Oh well, it's more fun chasing than being chased anyway. McCann, Roberts, Braun, Jones, and Kubel combined for only 4 points. ARoid and Choo bailed me out somewhat with 13. Haren of the desert was a bust. What a waste of a day.
TODAY
c - Kendall - night game
1b - Prince - Feeling good about this one
2b - Uggla - Had money left over, having a great week
3b - ARoid - riding it out
ss - Tejada - wonder if he has a new birth certificate yet
lf- Bay - need him to go deep x 2
cf - Beltran - not scared of Wake
rf - Cuddyer - probably a day late
dh - Sheff - again, x 2
ps - Bills - minimal risk
It should be a huge moving day. Good starters are everywhere today. I figure a 60 will get me backto the promised land. Thank God interleague goes away tomorrow.
TOMORROW
Weather - There is nothing with over a 50% chance of rain at this time. I see no concerns and will pick freely.
Teams facing lefties - Cincy, Baltimore, the Yanks, Colorado, the Dodgers, SD, Seattle, ATL, Cleveland, Florida, the Mets, the Cubs and the Angels. Wow, southpaws everywhere.
As always, let's start with the most important slot:
Pitcher -
Wandy - 1.83 ERA, 53 K in 59 IP, Cincy sucks, .200 BAA
Carp - Not just yet, I want to make sure he is healthy enough to go more than 6
Gallardo - Don't be fooled, 5.82 May ERA
Verlander - 5 straight quality starts, 3-0 1.27 inMay, 77 k in 56 IP
Vazquez - 73 k in 58 IP, 3-0 2.10 on the road, no run support
Santana - .185 BAA, vs. no bats
I believe I'll take Verlander. With Atlanta travelling this afternoon and a small park in Cincy, I have to. I do not feel too good about it though.
First - Prince, Pujols, Morneau, Lee, Branyan. Prince is 3-3 vs. Carp and Branyan hit .400 last week but I think I'll take Justin. Twins bats are insane right now and Penny sucks.
Second - Roberts, K. Jonson, Kinsler, Utley. Ian is hitting .425 at home but is in the toilet lately. Not trusting KJ even though he has stepped up a little this week. Utley faces decent PS. Roberts for now.
Third - Blum, Inge, Wright, Young, Reynolds. Good BVSP for Blum and Inge, Young hits over .400 at home and Reynolds is hot. However, Wright is heating up and is hitting .519 vs. lefties. Easy pick.
Short - ALERT - Bartlett is 0-13 vs. Carmona! Tulwitzki, Furcal, Renteria, Rollins, Hanley. J-Roll is 4-9 vs. Volstad and hit .433 last week. But, Hanley is 12-34 with 4 HR vs. Moyer in a hitters park. Done deal.
Left - Lee, Dunn Fonzie, Pierre. I usually like power here and Fonzie looks like the best pick (6-17, 3HR BVSP). Nonetheless, Pierre is my man. He's hitting .565 vs. lefties, .409 on the road and .440 in the last week.
Center - Wells, Granderson, Kemp. I have never liked Kemp too much and Granderson usually lets me down. Wells has taken Guthrie deep twice but has done nothing lately. UGH, pencil in Grandy.
Right - Rios, Church, Hawpe - Screw the Church idea. Rios and Hawpe have been bums lately. I'll take Cuddyer. 0-6 bvsp, but cheap and very hot right now.
DH - Sheff is hitting .407 vs. the lefties. Good enough for me.
C - Pudge, Yadi, Laird, Mauer, Suzuki, Jojima, McCann, Schneider,Soto, Napoli, VMart. I really want VMart and his .435 avg vs. lefties, but can't afford him. Drop Roberts for Aaron Hill at 2nd and I can afford Mauer with his .479 average vs. righties and .486 home average. Done deal.
10:06 PM - late change. Due to weather concerns in KC, I am going to drop Verlander for Wandy. Phillips is out and Votto is questionable. With the money that I saved there, 700k, I am going to also trae off Cuddyer for Nelson Cruz in right. What sucks is that late changes are always an automatic jinx. I only did it because ofthe weather, but I bet it comes backto haunt me. By the way, today was just pure shit.
11:00 PM - Later change. Mauer got plunked on thehand. With a day game tomorrow, I can't risk it. Dropped him for McCann and also bumped Sheff for Blalock. I think Texas willput up some numbers vs. Hughes.
FINAL LINEUP
c - McCann
1b - Morneau
2b - Hill
3b - Wright
ss - Hanley
lf - Pierre
cf - Granderson
rf - Cruz
dh - Blalock
ps - Wandy
We'll see.............. but I really like it right now.
STAT CORNER
Hot vs. Lefties - Pierre .565, Wright .519, Napoli .455, VMart .435, Sheff .407
Hot at home - Mauer .486, Kinsler .425, Hawpe .408, Young .405,
Hot last week - Teix .462, Morneau .440, D. Lee .435, Rollins .433, Ross .425, Berkman .421,
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I am not telling you who to take. if you follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Good luck today and please keep reading. Hope you enjoy.........
FU Kerry Wood.
YESTERDAY
It would have taken 35 bat points to stay on the LB, as predicted. I only got 27 and dropped from #49 to #58. Damn. Oh well, it's more fun chasing than being chased anyway. McCann, Roberts, Braun, Jones, and Kubel combined for only 4 points. ARoid and Choo bailed me out somewhat with 13. Haren of the desert was a bust. What a waste of a day.
TODAY
c - Kendall - night game
1b - Prince - Feeling good about this one
2b - Uggla - Had money left over, having a great week
3b - ARoid - riding it out
ss - Tejada - wonder if he has a new birth certificate yet
lf- Bay - need him to go deep x 2
cf - Beltran - not scared of Wake
rf - Cuddyer - probably a day late
dh - Sheff - again, x 2
ps - Bills - minimal risk
It should be a huge moving day. Good starters are everywhere today. I figure a 60 will get me backto the promised land. Thank God interleague goes away tomorrow.
TOMORROW
Weather - There is nothing with over a 50% chance of rain at this time. I see no concerns and will pick freely.
Teams facing lefties - Cincy, Baltimore, the Yanks, Colorado, the Dodgers, SD, Seattle, ATL, Cleveland, Florida, the Mets, the Cubs and the Angels. Wow, southpaws everywhere.
As always, let's start with the most important slot:
Pitcher -
Wandy - 1.83 ERA, 53 K in 59 IP, Cincy sucks, .200 BAA
Carp - Not just yet, I want to make sure he is healthy enough to go more than 6
Gallardo - Don't be fooled, 5.82 May ERA
Verlander - 5 straight quality starts, 3-0 1.27 inMay, 77 k in 56 IP
Vazquez - 73 k in 58 IP, 3-0 2.10 on the road, no run support
Santana - .185 BAA, vs. no bats
I believe I'll take Verlander. With Atlanta travelling this afternoon and a small park in Cincy, I have to. I do not feel too good about it though.
First - Prince, Pujols, Morneau, Lee, Branyan. Prince is 3-3 vs. Carp and Branyan hit .400 last week but I think I'll take Justin. Twins bats are insane right now and Penny sucks.
Second - Roberts, K. Jonson, Kinsler, Utley. Ian is hitting .425 at home but is in the toilet lately. Not trusting KJ even though he has stepped up a little this week. Utley faces decent PS. Roberts for now.
Third - Blum, Inge, Wright, Young, Reynolds. Good BVSP for Blum and Inge, Young hits over .400 at home and Reynolds is hot. However, Wright is heating up and is hitting .519 vs. lefties. Easy pick.
Short - ALERT - Bartlett is 0-13 vs. Carmona! Tulwitzki, Furcal, Renteria, Rollins, Hanley. J-Roll is 4-9 vs. Volstad and hit .433 last week. But, Hanley is 12-34 with 4 HR vs. Moyer in a hitters park. Done deal.
Left - Lee, Dunn Fonzie, Pierre. I usually like power here and Fonzie looks like the best pick (6-17, 3HR BVSP). Nonetheless, Pierre is my man. He's hitting .565 vs. lefties, .409 on the road and .440 in the last week.
Center - Wells, Granderson, Kemp. I have never liked Kemp too much and Granderson usually lets me down. Wells has taken Guthrie deep twice but has done nothing lately. UGH, pencil in Grandy.
Right - Rios, Church, Hawpe - Screw the Church idea. Rios and Hawpe have been bums lately. I'll take Cuddyer. 0-6 bvsp, but cheap and very hot right now.
DH - Sheff is hitting .407 vs. the lefties. Good enough for me.
C - Pudge, Yadi, Laird, Mauer, Suzuki, Jojima, McCann, Schneider,Soto, Napoli, VMart. I really want VMart and his .435 avg vs. lefties, but can't afford him. Drop Roberts for Aaron Hill at 2nd and I can afford Mauer with his .479 average vs. righties and .486 home average. Done deal.
10:06 PM - late change. Due to weather concerns in KC, I am going to drop Verlander for Wandy. Phillips is out and Votto is questionable. With the money that I saved there, 700k, I am going to also trae off Cuddyer for Nelson Cruz in right. What sucks is that late changes are always an automatic jinx. I only did it because ofthe weather, but I bet it comes backto haunt me. By the way, today was just pure shit.
11:00 PM - Later change. Mauer got plunked on thehand. With a day game tomorrow, I can't risk it. Dropped him for McCann and also bumped Sheff for Blalock. I think Texas willput up some numbers vs. Hughes.
FINAL LINEUP
c - McCann
1b - Morneau
2b - Hill
3b - Wright
ss - Hanley
lf - Pierre
cf - Granderson
rf - Cruz
dh - Blalock
ps - Wandy
We'll see.............. but I really like it right now.
STAT CORNER
Hot vs. Lefties - Pierre .565, Wright .519, Napoli .455, VMart .435, Sheff .407
Hot at home - Mauer .486, Kinsler .425, Hawpe .408, Young .405,
Hot last week - Teix .462, Morneau .440, D. Lee .435, Rollins .433, Ross .425, Berkman .421,
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. I am not telling you who to take. if you follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Good luck today and please keep reading. Hope you enjoy.........
FU Kerry Wood.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Saturday the 23rd
Well here we are, up and running. I will try to do this on a daily basis although some entries will be shorter than others due to time issues (with a wife, two kids and a job......). Here is how I kind of see this going: I will bgin with my laments from the previous day andan update on my rank in the game, just a quick review. Then I will review my lineup from today, along with some thoughts on it. I will finish by adding my thoughts on tomorrows games and post my lineup.
If you like it, let me hear it. and if you think I suck, say so. "I'm a man, I'm 40!" (actually 36, but close enough). Here goes...........
YESTERDAY
So yesterday sucked! How's that for a good start? Miggy, Kinsler and Granderson were kind enough to go 0-13 combined and Yadi took the day off.
bats 4, points 0.
Hardy, Braun and Dye pitched in with 6 points for me. Well done boys. Why do I pay you again?
Bats 7, points 6.
Sheff was a nice pick and should be all weekend with the DH in play at Fenway. He and AROID both went deep and gave me 16 more. Final tally -
Bats 9, Points 22.
Pretty shitty effort there.
On to the pitching. As most of you did, I went out on a limb with Doc Halliday. He did his job but, due to a piss poor attempt by the Jays offense only got me a 20. At the end of the day, I can handle that. I almost never complain about a 20 from my PS. Still, I wish I had rolled with Jake the Snake against thelowly Cubs. That was the pick of the day.
In the end, I picked up a weak 42 points. This week I have dropped from #11 on the leaderboard to a rather creepy #49. Actually I'm tied for 49th. I feel kind of like the fat girl at the prom. Yeah, I belong there but no one really cares if they notice it at all. Hell, at least I'm there. There are many people that would trade with me if they could. That said, after taking 7 years to get there, I'm not quite ready to give it up. On to today..........
TODAY
I really didn't get a good feel for my bats when setting my lineup last night. With interleague play there are not too many head to head numbers to go by. Yeah, Coors East is a solid option, but all I really wanted to do was to go with either a Baltimore or Milwaukee loadup. I won't spend too much time with this, but here is what I went with:
c - McCaan - I know, you took Mauer
1b - Prince - has always done me well and Teix can't keep it up for ever
2b - Roberts - Kinsler has sucked this week
3b - ARoid - on fire
ss - Jeter - hate him, but a good option
lf - Braun - better not let me down again
cf - Adam Jones - I really like this kid
rf - Choo - first time ever, should have gone with Cuddyer
dh - Kubel - solid option
ps -Haren - same as everyone
It's all about the bats today since the vast majority took Haren of the desert. I think it is going to take 33-35 to keep me on the LB.
TOMORROW
Lets start with the weather. Cincy and Atlanta currently have a 60% chance of rain. I'm not too worried about it and guarantee they will play here in Atlanta. Lets move on.
Teams facing lefties - Colorado, Philly, the Yanks, Pitt, Texas, Zona, SD and Seattle
Pitchers first -always. There are many options here.
Dontrelle Willis - has to be good a few more times before I am buying.
CC - man, I want to, but Coors East scares me. Then again, he has been automatic lately.
Lee - I love the matchup. He has 7 straight quality starts, but is only 2-5. FU Kerry Wood.
Cueto - .109 BAA, has gone at least 7 last 7 times out. Too many bats for the Tribe.
Shields - poor outings in 2 of last 3 - not enough K's.
Johnson - 1.24 ERA at home, but the Rays bats make me nervous.
Richmond - 4.56 May ERA, nah.
Jurrjens - Eventually he has to fall, also gets no run support
Wake - not against the Mets
Buerhle - 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA at home, no bats to support him
Bannister - shelled last outing,not against Pujols and Co.
Lilly - Interested in this one, vs. SD, but a 5.87 road ERA
Zito - not enough K's and has to show me more before I bite
Felix - vs. San Fran,but has a 6.75 May ERA
Bills - 6-1, 2.51 ERA, 9 for 9 in Q starts, 9k per 9 IP - this is my guy
First base - Pujols, Prince and Branyan. I don't like Fat Al's matchup with Bannister and I feel good about the Brew Crew tomorrow - Prince for now.
Second base - Polanco, Phillips, Uggla, Castillo. Phillips and Uggla face good pitching and I really don't care for Placido. I will need to save money somewhere. I'll pencil in Castillo.
Third base - ARoid, Lowell, Young, Hall. I'll give Alex a day off with Hamels going. I can see the Red Sox and Brewers going off, but I am going to go with Young. Hampton sucks. Nevermind, back to ARoid. Young has struggled a little lately and Madonna's boy toy is on fire.
Short - Jeter, Hanley, Tejada, O.C., Theriot, Hardy. Theriot has 2 HR's vs. Young, but has not been hot lately. Hardy burned me last night. Jeter and Hanley face good starters. O.C - not enough pop. Tejada is tearing it up right now and McCarthy is less than impressive. I'll take him.
Left - Damon, Bay, Fonzie. Soriano will either go for 20 or zero. I can't take 2 Yanks vs. Hamels and already have Alex. Bay for me.
Center - Beltran or Cameron. Simple - I don't trust Cameron and if Carlos gets a hold of one of those knucklers.......
Right - Drew, Pence, Upton, Cuddyer. Don't trust Drew, Pence is hot and Texas has shit PS, Upton faces a rook. Not so fast, my friend (Corso). Cincotta is as hot as Cuddyer and Mike C is 6-11 with a long ball vs. the starter. No brainer.
DH - Sheff or Cust - Sheff for me. Took care of me last night and earns another shot.
Catcher - I hate catchers. Pudge, Larue, Suzuki, Soto, Mauer, Kendall. Not enough in the bank to get Mauer. Kendall should start the night game and is 3-8 vs. the starter.
I have 800k left. Castillo is the pick I have the least confidence in. Uggla is en fuego this week. Let's get him.
FINAL LINUEP (unless something changes tonight)
C - Kendall
1B - Prince
2B - Uggla
3b - ARoid
ss - Tejada
LF - Bay
CF - Beltran
RF - Cuddyer
DH - Sheff
PS - Bills
Finally, and thanks for being patient. These articles will not always be this long I don't think.
My picks are my picks. I AM NOT telling you who to take so, if you follow my lead, do so at your own risk. If there is something you would like to see or if you see something you don't like - let me know.
If I change my lineup, it will be posted - unless I'm to hammered to do it. Tonight feels like a Crown and Coke kind of night.
Hope you enjoy............
FU Kerry Wood
If you like it, let me hear it. and if you think I suck, say so. "I'm a man, I'm 40!" (actually 36, but close enough). Here goes...........
YESTERDAY
So yesterday sucked! How's that for a good start? Miggy, Kinsler and Granderson were kind enough to go 0-13 combined and Yadi took the day off.
bats 4, points 0.
Hardy, Braun and Dye pitched in with 6 points for me. Well done boys. Why do I pay you again?
Bats 7, points 6.
Sheff was a nice pick and should be all weekend with the DH in play at Fenway. He and AROID both went deep and gave me 16 more. Final tally -
Bats 9, Points 22.
Pretty shitty effort there.
On to the pitching. As most of you did, I went out on a limb with Doc Halliday. He did his job but, due to a piss poor attempt by the Jays offense only got me a 20. At the end of the day, I can handle that. I almost never complain about a 20 from my PS. Still, I wish I had rolled with Jake the Snake against thelowly Cubs. That was the pick of the day.
In the end, I picked up a weak 42 points. This week I have dropped from #11 on the leaderboard to a rather creepy #49. Actually I'm tied for 49th. I feel kind of like the fat girl at the prom. Yeah, I belong there but no one really cares if they notice it at all. Hell, at least I'm there. There are many people that would trade with me if they could. That said, after taking 7 years to get there, I'm not quite ready to give it up. On to today..........
TODAY
I really didn't get a good feel for my bats when setting my lineup last night. With interleague play there are not too many head to head numbers to go by. Yeah, Coors East is a solid option, but all I really wanted to do was to go with either a Baltimore or Milwaukee loadup. I won't spend too much time with this, but here is what I went with:
c - McCaan - I know, you took Mauer
1b - Prince - has always done me well and Teix can't keep it up for ever
2b - Roberts - Kinsler has sucked this week
3b - ARoid - on fire
ss - Jeter - hate him, but a good option
lf - Braun - better not let me down again
cf - Adam Jones - I really like this kid
rf - Choo - first time ever, should have gone with Cuddyer
dh - Kubel - solid option
ps -Haren - same as everyone
It's all about the bats today since the vast majority took Haren of the desert. I think it is going to take 33-35 to keep me on the LB.
TOMORROW
Lets start with the weather. Cincy and Atlanta currently have a 60% chance of rain. I'm not too worried about it and guarantee they will play here in Atlanta. Lets move on.
Teams facing lefties - Colorado, Philly, the Yanks, Pitt, Texas, Zona, SD and Seattle
Pitchers first -always. There are many options here.
Dontrelle Willis - has to be good a few more times before I am buying.
CC - man, I want to, but Coors East scares me. Then again, he has been automatic lately.
Lee - I love the matchup. He has 7 straight quality starts, but is only 2-5. FU Kerry Wood.
Cueto - .109 BAA, has gone at least 7 last 7 times out. Too many bats for the Tribe.
Shields - poor outings in 2 of last 3 - not enough K's.
Johnson - 1.24 ERA at home, but the Rays bats make me nervous.
Richmond - 4.56 May ERA, nah.
Jurrjens - Eventually he has to fall, also gets no run support
Wake - not against the Mets
Buerhle - 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA at home, no bats to support him
Bannister - shelled last outing,not against Pujols and Co.
Lilly - Interested in this one, vs. SD, but a 5.87 road ERA
Zito - not enough K's and has to show me more before I bite
Felix - vs. San Fran,but has a 6.75 May ERA
Bills - 6-1, 2.51 ERA, 9 for 9 in Q starts, 9k per 9 IP - this is my guy
First base - Pujols, Prince and Branyan. I don't like Fat Al's matchup with Bannister and I feel good about the Brew Crew tomorrow - Prince for now.
Second base - Polanco, Phillips, Uggla, Castillo. Phillips and Uggla face good pitching and I really don't care for Placido. I will need to save money somewhere. I'll pencil in Castillo.
Third base - ARoid, Lowell, Young, Hall. I'll give Alex a day off with Hamels going. I can see the Red Sox and Brewers going off, but I am going to go with Young. Hampton sucks. Nevermind, back to ARoid. Young has struggled a little lately and Madonna's boy toy is on fire.
Short - Jeter, Hanley, Tejada, O.C., Theriot, Hardy. Theriot has 2 HR's vs. Young, but has not been hot lately. Hardy burned me last night. Jeter and Hanley face good starters. O.C - not enough pop. Tejada is tearing it up right now and McCarthy is less than impressive. I'll take him.
Left - Damon, Bay, Fonzie. Soriano will either go for 20 or zero. I can't take 2 Yanks vs. Hamels and already have Alex. Bay for me.
Center - Beltran or Cameron. Simple - I don't trust Cameron and if Carlos gets a hold of one of those knucklers.......
Right - Drew, Pence, Upton, Cuddyer. Don't trust Drew, Pence is hot and Texas has shit PS, Upton faces a rook. Not so fast, my friend (Corso). Cincotta is as hot as Cuddyer and Mike C is 6-11 with a long ball vs. the starter. No brainer.
DH - Sheff or Cust - Sheff for me. Took care of me last night and earns another shot.
Catcher - I hate catchers. Pudge, Larue, Suzuki, Soto, Mauer, Kendall. Not enough in the bank to get Mauer. Kendall should start the night game and is 3-8 vs. the starter.
I have 800k left. Castillo is the pick I have the least confidence in. Uggla is en fuego this week. Let's get him.
FINAL LINUEP (unless something changes tonight)
C - Kendall
1B - Prince
2B - Uggla
3b - ARoid
ss - Tejada
LF - Bay
CF - Beltran
RF - Cuddyer
DH - Sheff
PS - Bills
Finally, and thanks for being patient. These articles will not always be this long I don't think.
My picks are my picks. I AM NOT telling you who to take so, if you follow my lead, do so at your own risk. If there is something you would like to see or if you see something you don't like - let me know.
If I change my lineup, it will be posted - unless I'm to hammered to do it. Tonight feels like a Crown and Coke kind of night.
Hope you enjoy............
FU Kerry Wood
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