Thursday, August 20, 2009

Thursday, the 20th

Good morning, everyone. After this week, there are only 6 weeks left in the season. For that I would like to say Thank GOD! I'm really ready for it to end. I am also beginning to feel like testing the load-up theory again, just out of boredom. From now on, I may try to take at least 6 bats from one team every night, just for kicks. I'll let you know for sure tonight when I post the final lineup. Anyway, here we go..........

YESTERDAY

You've got to take a chance every once in a while. I did that yesterday with Jurrjens who, aside from a few two out fudge-ups, did pretty well. At least he equalled Verlander with 21. Unfortunately, Cliff Lee turned into Bob Feller and smoked the DBacks for 41 points. My bats were pretty weak as well, led by McCann (10), and totalling a measly 25. My 46 points for the night left me ranked #26 overall and #522 in the half.

TODAY

As expected, Johan is the top pitcher with 30%, but he is closely trailed by Johnson at 25%. Lester and Cain, both at 14% also had good showings. There could be some movement today for sure, especially with possible rain issues all over the league. Here's my final again, along with the top picks...

C: VMart*
1B: Pujols*
2B: Kinsler*
3B: Longoria*
SS: Tulo (Hanley*)
LF: Bay*
CF: Hunter (Hamilton*)
RF: Willingham (Werth*)
DH: Vlad (Ortiz*)
PS: Johan*

TOMORROW

Weather:
Reds/Pirates scattered t-storms
Brewers/Nats scattered
O's/Chisox pm showers
Yanks/Bosox scattered
Phils/Mets scattered
Marlins/Braves scattered

Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Indians, Mariners, Angels, Red Sox, Mets, Rangers, Rocks, Tigers, Cards, Cubs

Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Indians vs. French (2-3 3.74 in 8 starts)
Brewers vs. Martin (2-2 4.61 in 6)
Jays vs. O'Sullivan (3-1 5.98 in 8)
Angels vs. Rzepczynski (1-3 3.98 in 8)

Possible Load-ups:
Tigers vs. Gonzalez (4-3 5.88, .357 BAA)

Bats You May Want to Avoid:
Kinsler (2-16, HR)
Young (2-15)
Tracy (4-21)
Winn (5-29)
Eckstein (2-18)
Willingham (2-11, HR)
Pedroia (6-32)
Pagan (2-11, HR)
Pudge (2-16)

Pitchers:
Vazquez (10-8 2.99, 1.04 WHIP, 178 K in 162 IP, 2-1 2.86 August, 0-1 7.94 vs. SF)
Floyd (10-7 3.94, 5-2 2.38 home, 3-1 2.57 post break, vs. Bal)
Jackson (9-5 2.85, 1.19 WHIP, 3-4 2.79 road, 2-0 4.50 August, 1-0 1.29 at Oak)
Wells (9-5 3.01, 4-2 2.98 road, 0-1 2.57 at LAD)
Wolf (7-6 3.43, 1.14 WHIP, 1-2 4.03 home, 1-0 1.29 vs. CHC)
I think Vazquez is the best pick here at home, and Jackson would be a good second choice.

First:
Prince (1-3, HR vs. rook)
Youk (9-25, HR vs. lefty)
Howard (6-17, HR)
Gload (10-25 vs. Vazquez)
Pena (1-2, HR)
AGonz (7-17, HR)
Also worth a look are Pujols, Miggy, and Morales.

Second:
J Lopez (2-3 vs. lefty)
Sanchez (3-7 vs. Vazquez)
Polanco (2-5 vs. lefty)
Also worth a look are Hill and Utley.

Third:
Zimm (2-5)
Lowell (8-24 vs. lefty)
Crede (2-2, HR)
Atkins (7-19 vs. lefty)
Sandoval (2-5 vs. lefty)
Also worth a look are ARod, Beckham, and Kouz.

Short:
Jeter (3-6)
Escobar (3-10)
Renteria (7-14)
Drew (7-17)
Tulo (5-12, HR vs. lefty)
Also worth a look are Scutaro and Aybar.

Left:
Bay (12-27, HR vs. lefty)
Ibanez (3-9)
G Anderson (2-4)
DeJesus (6-12)
Quentin (3-6, HR)
Also worth a look are Braun, Holliday and Crawford.

Center:
Ellsbury (5-12 vs. lefty)
Upton (2-3, HR)
Hamilton (3-9 vs. lefty)
Also worth a look are Morgan, Cameron and Sizemore.

Right:
Drew (12-32, 3HR vs. lefty)
Werth (5-14)
Church (8-16, HR)
Dye (4-11, HR)
Cake (2-5, HR vs. Floyd)
Mags (2-3, HR vs. lefty)
Also worth a look are Abreu, Ichiro and Hawpe.

DH:
Ortiz (17-46, HR vs. lefty)
Thome (3-12, 2HR)
Also worth a look are Lind and Matsui.

Catcher:
Doumit (3-5, HR)
Varitek (17-55, 2HR vs. lefty)
McCann (4-11, HR)
Olivo (6-11, 2HR)
Mauer (2-6)
AJ (4-13)
Benji (5-17 vs. lefty)
Also worth a look is Napoli.

FINAL LINEUP (League Wide Trek - Day 1)

Picking just as I promised I would, I am going to take Jackson as my starter tomorrow, eliminating the rest of the Tigers for the next 29 days (including Verlander). The only other decent choice is Vazquez, but the Braves have a lot of games left with the Mets and I will save their staff for one of those.

Bats are more difficult. I narrowed it down to the Mariners, Royals, and Rockies to start the journey. I want to save the Rocks for a time when they face a weaker pitcher at home and even though the Royals face my nemesis Blackburn, he can be good at times. So the Mariners it is. I can pick six of them pretty easily, but it is difficult to find a seventh that is sure to play. I am lacking at short, left, and catch. Short is out, as Josh Wilson sucks eggs. Left is no better, so I am stuck at catcher with Johjima, who has only caught one of French's 3 starts, but hits much better than lefties. I hope he plays. Here is what I have for tomorrow...

C: Johjima (s)
1B: Branyan (s)
2B: Lopez (s)
3B: Hannahan (s)
SS: Tulo
LF: Bay
CF: Gutierrez
RF: Ichiro
DH: Griffey
PS: Jackson

STAT CORNER

The Longest Current Hitting Streaks and ther Stats That Match:
Hanley - 14 games, .456 avg, 2 HR, 13 RBI
B Pena - 11 games, .366, 1 and 4
Ichiro - 10 games, .400, 1 and 6
Cantu - 10 games, .311, 2 and 8
J Baker - 9 games, .472, 1 and 6
Roberts - 9 games, .381, 2 and 6

DISCLAIMER

My picks are exactly that, my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, you are welcome to do so at your own risk. Thanks as always for reading, please come again, and pass the word if you will.

FU HALL OF FAME

Kerry MF'n Wood (Founder, -14, -11, -7, -6)
Nick MF'n Blackburn (record holder at -43)
Jake MF'n Peavy (2 time offender at -8 and -2)
Houston MF'n Astros Staff(-4)
Los Angeles MF'n Dodgers Staff (-11)
Zach MF'n Greinke (-4)

14 comments:

  1. Hi Gomer, I said a few days ago that I believed in “the load-up theory”, it has worked very well for me and I use it every time I see a chance. Now, when you say “I may try to take AT LEAST 6 bats from one team every night”, do you really mean it? Not many teams have 4 good bats, so it's difficult to pick 6 or more (sometimes it's difficult even for a doubleheader). Also, it is not easy nowadays to find pitchers to load up against. Smoltz was a good one (sorry to say this because you said you liked him, and I liked him too, but I believe he should retire for good, it is sad to see him roughed up - anyway, that’s a different story). So I guess we can consider taking 3, maybe 4 bats from one team a load-up?
    Also I have a question for you (maybe a request?). I've heard about “the other board”, I mean, a different one from the BBC. What do I have to do or who do I have to talk in order to join it?
    Thanks in advance for your help and your reply
    JJ

    ReplyDelete
  2. J, i have done loadups over the years, but check the top post from today - it lays out my master plan.

    with the Country Club, I am not the decision maker, but it's a hell of a lot different than what you are used to. give me the name you go by on the bbc board and i will pass it along to those in charge. unfortunately, that's the best i can do. hope you understand.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Gomer.
    My BBC board name is elcatire5 (elcatire5@hotmail.com)
    Don´t worry about the results in helping me to join the Contry Club board, good intentions are what count for me the most
    JJ

    ReplyDelete
  4. gomer...have seen JJ on the BBC board and really seems like good people to me. I know my O does not count, but he seems like a really good dude and deserves to be freeded from the shackles of the BBC board.
    I also like what he has to say in this thread. I think we all have to keep in mind that these are only your L/U's and can be used for referance. They are not set in stone. Also, I can not beleive there are only a few weeks left in the season. Jeeper's, I always looked forward to the season, now with all the crap in MLB, not so much.
    I do want to say Congrats on this social experiment. Also to JT and Zeus and everyone else who has been a part of this.
    I think all in all, this has been a breath of fresh air compared to the BBC board.
    I have really enjoyed it...
    THANKS GUYS and GUYETTE'S
    PEACE :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gomer Pyle, I went with your pick Santana, but I just found out there is 40 pct chance of rain in that game, one thing you have to check is the weather for your pick before you pass it on to us, your Kinsler pick suck, he can't hit righty, you still have not tell me what your rank is, try to aviod it??? by the way, I moved up to 1300's without following your picks


    God bless
    Panamanian

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous.....do you READ the post Gomer does everyday? He gives his rank for overall and 2nd half everyday!!! Like today he wrote "My 46 points for the night left me ranked #26 overall and #522 in the half."

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yesterday I read something here that I didnt like, and it was about Panama, not this guy that posts everyday, but the about the country. I went there twice and I can say that people are real nice and friendly, and I dont mean only natives but also a lot of americans who still live there. I´m not defending anybody or anything and no one pays me to say this (there are lawyers for that), just trying to be objective here. Now, is it fair to judge a hole country and it´s people, native or foreign, for just 1 person? I believe it´s not.
    This guy Panamian once said he didnt speak english, kind of difficult to believe, but let me try spanish with him, which he should speak:
    Panameño, el clima y la posición de Gomer SIEMPRE estan al principio de lo que Gomer escribe.
    Weather es clima en ingles.
    La posición de Gomer es #26 en el total y #522 en la segunda parte.
    Hay algo mas en que te pueda ayudar?
    JJ

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  8. j - if you are referring to what i said about panama, it was "i'vs never been there, prolly never will". not a judgement against anyone.
    thanks for translating, though :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Not that one Gomer (it wasnt your comment and probably wasnt yesterday - my mind is still scrambled, you know, too many pineaplehead nonsense posts at BBC board LOL)
    I just thought it was the right time to post my opinion about that matter
    JJ

    ReplyDelete
  10. remember, j, everything pretty much stays the same, only my lineups will be all fucked up. it should be a fun ride.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I know, and I´d like to see his stupid face trying to figure out what to do by himself LOL (By the way, is he also a member of the CC? - hope hi is not)

    ReplyDelete
  12. JJ

    Yo soy Panameno y vivo en America por 13 anos. No tengo nada contra Gomer, pero sus
    Selecciones de beisbol son malas y estupidas. De donde vienes JJ. Panama es un pais muy
    Bonito. Me alegro que te guste. Espero que lo visites pronto.

    God bless
    Panamanian

    ReplyDelete
  13. Gomer

    It look like this Panamanian guy can write pretty good Spanish With good grammar, let me translate one sentence to you, he said "Gomer's pick sometimes are stupid and dumb" I doubt Pineapple can write good Spanish with good grammar like that

    ReplyDelete