Posts
Good morning, everyone. Thanks for coming back and, if you are new, welcome. We have been averaging about 250 views a day for a while now and yesterday was exactly one month after I started this. Your respose has been tremendous and I am very happy that you guys find it worth your time to drop by. Please keep one thing in mind if you will. While all comments and suggestions are welcome, this is not a message board. If you would like to comment on baseball, the blog, ot BBC in general, please do so. Positive or negative, all suggestions are good suggestions. That being said, please keep your comments constructive and do not criticize previous comments or the people who post them. Let's save the smack talk for the real message boards, whichever one you prefer. I myself come from the Country Club. However, anyone who plays this game is welcome here and will be treated equally, no matter who you are or what your alliance is. Thank you.
YESTERDAY
I was very adamant about how good I felt about my bats yesterday. For some reason, though, Jamie Moyer decided he was tired of being a whipping post and most of my bats curled up like a dried up worm. Justin Upton gave me 10, but the rest pretty much busted out. It just goes to show that no matter how much we think we know, baseball will always have the upper hand. If it was easy, we wouldn't play. Fortunately, Lince kicked in 32 and, as promised, movement was minimal for most of us. In the end, my 55 points was not too bad, but dropped me to 8th overall, in the middle of that pack of about 7 teams, jockeying for position to see who can reach the next level first.
TODAY
Today will be different as the Red Sox carry about 45% of the staffs and Zona has another 30% or so. This leaves a good few of you to share the rest. I also see that the popular position picks are a little more diverse today than they have been. Could be a moving day. Here's the final...
C: Weiters
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Rolen
SS: Zobrist
LF: Crawford
CF: Wells
RF: Pence
DH: Stewart
PS: Lester
TOMORROW
Weather:
Cubs/Tigers 50%
Dodgers/White Sox 50%
Indians/Pirates 50%
It looks like the weathermen have no idea at this point, but 50% doesn't scare me in the least.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Tigers, Cardinals, Dodgers, Mariners, Padres, Braves, Pirates, Rays, Reds, Marlins, Orioles
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Twins vs. Burris (1st career start, but 46 relief appearences in previous years)
Mariners vs. Leblanc (0-0 9.00 in debut)
Reds vs. Cecil (2-1 4.26 in 5 starts)
Rays vs. Bastardo (2-2 5.21 in 4 starts)
Orioles vs. West (2-2 3.96 in 6 starts)
Bats to avoid:
N. Johnson (6-32. HR vs. starter)
R. Belliard (3-17)
Dunn (2-12, HR)
C. Guillen (4-22)
Inge (1-9)
Tatis (0-8)
Ludwick (2-15)
Counsell (1-12)
Teix (0-9)
Swisher (1-9)
Pitchers:
Lilly (7-4 3.04, 3-3 4.40 on road, 1-0 1.98 in June, 1.06 WHIP, at Det)
Carp (5-1 1.53, 2-1 2.15 on road, 2-1 2.43 in June, 0.72 WHIP, at Mets)
Johan (8-5 3.22, 97 K in 89 IP, 5-2 2.18 at home, 1-1 7.33 in June, vs. StL)
Bills (9-3 2.83, 96 K in 98 IP, 3-1 2.27 on road, 3-0 2.92 in June, at CWS)
Bannister (5-4 3.89, 2-2 4.55 on road, 1-2 4.01 in June, at Hou)
Washburn (3-5 3.24, 2-2 3.00 at home, 0-2 2.77 in June, vs. SD)
Smoltz (Welcome back Smoltzie! will be on a pitch count, at Was)
Lee (4-6 2.94, 2-2 3.83 on road, 2-0 2.40 in June, Kerry FU Wood, at Pitt)
Cueto (6-4 2.55, 5-2 1.53 on road, 2-1 2.63 in June, 1.12 WHIP, at Tor)
Carp, Bills and Washburn look like the best of the bunch. Lee would be a very good pickas well, but there is no way that I am going to fall forthat one again. The fact that the Mets are using a minor league lineup is all I need to know. Carp.
First:
Lee (n/a)
Pujols (2-4, HR vs good lefty)
Prince (5-15, HR)
Morneau (n/a)
Youk (n/a)
Votto (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Howard (n/a)
C. Davis (3-5, 2HR)
This one is automatic for me. Without any serious consideration for the others, I want Prince.
Second:
Castillo (6-20 vs. good starter)
Phillips (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Utley (n/a)
Roberts n/a vs. lefty rook)
I am jumping off the Jays duo today for sure. Phillips looks safe, but I like Utley at the Trop.
Third:
Chipper (7-19 vs. good lefty)
ARoid (7-24 vs. good starter)
Longoria (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Chipper never performs when I take him, plus it's a day game and he tends to puss out. ARoid sucks and Longoria doesn't impress me inthis matchup. To save dough, I'll roll with Michael Young.
Short:
Jeter (15-52 vs. good starter)
Zobrist (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Bartlett (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Hanley (n/a vs. lefty)
Bartlett is decent, Jeter sees a good pitcher, and Zo is cold as ice this week (see stat corner). Give me Hanley by default.
Left:
Pierre (n/a vs. lefty)
Anderson (32-80, 3HR vs. lefty)
Damon (5-11 vs. good starter)
Bay (n/a)
Bay is hands down the best of this bunch. Watch out if you want Anderson. He rarely sees lefties in favor of Diaz.
Center:
Cameron (2-5, 2HR)
Sizemore (1-1)
Upton (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Jones (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Upton is hot,but struggles vs. lefties. Jones doesn't sound good to me. I could go with cameron, but Sizemore is a steal at less than 5 mil. You know what? Serious cap issues are in the works, make it Cameron.
Right:
Hart (2-6)
Guillen (6-16)
Francouer (3-6, HR vs. good lefty)
Bruce (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Cake (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Upton (n/a)
Upton is the only one I am considering here.
DH:
Matsui (12-22, HR vs. good starter)
Blalock (10-33, HR)
Byrd (5-10)
I can't be sure any of these will play. Give me Billy Butler whohits .292 vs. righties and is facing a turn in the form of a starter.
Catcher:
McCann (1-3 vs. good lefty)
VMart (1-1)
Salty (2-6)
Money is still a big issue for me. I'll take Salty in the night game.
Guys, be very careful tomorrow with the day games. Many starters could get the day off, especially if they are of the older variety.
FINAL LINEUP
C: Salty
1B: Prince
2B: Utley
3B: Young
SS: Hanley
LF: Bay
CF: Cameron
RF: Upton
DH: Butler
PS: Carp
STAT CORNER
Struggling bats over the last 7 days:
Zobrist .120
Reynolds .125
Rollins .130
Cruz .160
VMart .174
Soriano .179
Chipper .182
Zimmerman .185
Wright .185
Barmes .185
Ad. Jones .192
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, tell a friend, and.....
FU For Like Kerry Wood!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Tuesday, the 23rd
Good morning, everyone. I hope you enjoyed your uneventful Monday and I also wish you a good uneventful Tuesday. More on that later. Are my eyes decieving me, or have the Rockies really won 17 of 18 games. Sadly enough, they are still 9 games behind the Dodgers. On the bright side, they only train the Giants by 1/2 a game for the wild card. Who would have thought that those two would be in the position they are in. This is why I love this game. I also see that we had close to 300 views again yesterday. Your partonage is once again greatly appreciated.
YESTERDAY
Like I promised, yesterday was kind of a wash. The vast majority picked up 28 ugly points from the Braves staff, myself included. The second most popular pick (Oakland) did pretty much the same. Most of us had the same bats as well. Hawpe gave me 10, Tulo 6, and everyone got at least two, giving me a total of 65 on the day. This was good enough to move me up to 6th overall. Unfortunately, I am about 50 points behind the next pack and am only a handful of points away from being out of the top ten altogether. No complaints, though.
TODAY
I speculated yesterday that 75% of the Leaderboard would have Lincecum today. Boy was I wrong. It's 88%. This will give us yet another day of little movement unless you went against the grain. The bats will be the factor that decides your fate today and, fortunately, I love the ones I have lined up. Here they are...
C: Pudge
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Longoria
SS: Bartlett
LF: Crawford
CF: McLouth
RF: Upton
DH: Rasmus
PS: Lince
TOMORROW
Weather:
Orioles/Marlins 60%
I see no reason for concern at this time.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Nationals, Indians, White Sox, Angels, Rockies, A's, Giants
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Boston vs. Stammen (1-2 4.76 in 6 starts)
Florida vs. Berken (1-3 6.84 in 5 starts)
Bats you might want to avoid:
Hinske (1-9 vs. starter)
Bartlett (2-14)
Stairs (1-10)
Olivo (2-11)
Guillen (0-9)
Vizquel (3-26)
Abreu (3-21)
Holliday (2-17)
Pitchers:
Saunders (7-4 3.80, 3-2 3.12 at home, 1-1 5.19 in June, vs. Col)
Joba (3-2 3.80, 64 K in 69 IP, 6 IP or less in 9 of last 10, 3-0 2.72 on road, 1-1 3.75 in June, at Atl)
Porcello (8-4 3.54, 2 R in last 2 starts, 3-2 4.22 at home, 2-1 3.08 in June, vs. CHC)
Lester (5-6 4.69, 100 K in 86 IP, 1.67 in last 4 starts, 2-5 5.36 on road, at Was)
Duke (7-5 3.18, low K's, 5-2 2.77 at home, 2-1 4.33 in June, vs. Cle)
Richmond (5-4 3.79, 2-2 4.22 at home, 0-1 4.60 in June, some is bullpen work, vs. Cin)
Garza (4-5 3.83, 3-2 3.52 at home, 0-1 4.60 in June, vs. Phi)
Thompson (2-1 3.89, Bullpen guy, 2-1 3.63 in June, vs. NYM)
Nieve (2-0 1.84 in 2 starts, vs. StL)
Blackburn (6-2 3.09, low K's, 3-2 3.46 on road, 1-0 1.88 in June, at Mil)
Wolf (3-2 3.29, 3-1 2.28 on road, 0-1 4.63 in June, vs. CWS)
Haren (6-4 2.23, 96 K in 101 IP, 4-3 1.87 at home, 2-0 1.50 in June, vs. Tex)
Marquis (9-4 3.71, low K's, 5-2 3.10 on road, 2-1 3.18 in June, at LAA)
Outman (4-1 3.48, 2-1 4.43 in June, 0-1 6.00 vs. SF this year)
What I see here is a large number of second rate starters that is just are just as likely to blow up as they are to pitch shutouts. Haren, Wolf, and Lester are the best of the bunch in my opinion. I can't risk Haren vs. Texas. Wold is probably fairly safe,but I have to give the ball to Lester the way he has been going lately.
First:
Tex (n/a vs. Kawakami)
Youk (n/a vs. rook)
Overbay (1-1)
Pena (4-7)
Pujols (0-1)
Huff (1-3, HR)
Morneau (1-1)
Berkman (n/a)
Gonzo (2-3)
I would be happy to drop Pujols, but there is not anyone who's numbers give me a good enough reason to do so.
Second:
Cano (n/a vs. Kawakami)
Polanco (5-7 vs. good starter)
Hill (3-9)
Roberts (3-4)
Again, I'll stay put here. Cano and Roberts are good options, but they don't have Hill's power and cost considerably more.
Third:
DeRosa (7-20 vs. good lefty starter)
Rolen (9-25, 2HR)
Longoria (1-3)
Wright (2-6, HR)
Young (11-28, HR vs. good starter)
I am going to pass on everyone else and save money with Rolen, who is hot and hits righties well against a poor pitching Arroyo. He also has multiple hits in 6 of his last 7 games.
Short:
Zobrist (1-3)
Hanley (n/a vs. rook)
Hardy (2-3, HR vs. good starter)
Tejada (n/a)
Renteria (3-5 vs. good lefty)
Big Ben's power is vs the righties and that's who he's facing tomorrow in Blanton. Because of this, I will continue to try topick the right side of Tampa's SS combo.
Left:
Damon (n/a vs. Kawakami)
Bay (n/a vs. rook)
Lind (1-1)
Crawford (7-22)
Braun (2-3 vs. good starter)
Lee (n/a)
Pierre (3-6)
I like Lind, Crawford, and Pierre the best among this group. Give me the hot hitting Lind over Pierre unless I need the money later.
Center:
Granderson (1-3, HR vs. good starter)
Wells (8-28, 2HR)
Kemp (2-4, HR)
I want to go with Kemp,but Wells has more power and isa steal at his current price. This does give me four Jays however, which I do not want. I may have to drop Lind before its all said and done.
Right:
Rios (2-5, HR)
Church (2-6)
Hart (2-3, 2HR vs. good starter)
Cuddyer (1-3)
Pence (n/a)
Upton (n/a)
I always talk about Pence, but rarely take him. Tomorrow, I will. No real good reason for this one, just a hunch.
DH:
Byrd (6-11 vs. good starter)
Rivera (1-3 vs. good lefty)
Rivera is probably the best pick here because of his numbers vs. lefties, but Marquis has been surprisingly good and I don't care much for that matchup. I could keep Rasmus, but Stewart is really hitting well and deserves a chance to play.
Catcher:
VMart (1-2 vs. good lefty)
Mauer (3-3, HR)
Martin (2-5, HR)
Benji (2-3 vs. good lefty)
Schneider (3-9, HR)
I can't afford the ones I really want, so let's get crazy. Nolasco really blows and it's enough that Weiters might just go deep for me.
YESTERDAY
Like I promised, yesterday was kind of a wash. The vast majority picked up 28 ugly points from the Braves staff, myself included. The second most popular pick (Oakland) did pretty much the same. Most of us had the same bats as well. Hawpe gave me 10, Tulo 6, and everyone got at least two, giving me a total of 65 on the day. This was good enough to move me up to 6th overall. Unfortunately, I am about 50 points behind the next pack and am only a handful of points away from being out of the top ten altogether. No complaints, though.
TODAY
I speculated yesterday that 75% of the Leaderboard would have Lincecum today. Boy was I wrong. It's 88%. This will give us yet another day of little movement unless you went against the grain. The bats will be the factor that decides your fate today and, fortunately, I love the ones I have lined up. Here they are...
C: Pudge
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Longoria
SS: Bartlett
LF: Crawford
CF: McLouth
RF: Upton
DH: Rasmus
PS: Lince
TOMORROW
Weather:
Orioles/Marlins 60%
I see no reason for concern at this time.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Nationals, Indians, White Sox, Angels, Rockies, A's, Giants
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Boston vs. Stammen (1-2 4.76 in 6 starts)
Florida vs. Berken (1-3 6.84 in 5 starts)
Bats you might want to avoid:
Hinske (1-9 vs. starter)
Bartlett (2-14)
Stairs (1-10)
Olivo (2-11)
Guillen (0-9)
Vizquel (3-26)
Abreu (3-21)
Holliday (2-17)
Pitchers:
Saunders (7-4 3.80, 3-2 3.12 at home, 1-1 5.19 in June, vs. Col)
Joba (3-2 3.80, 64 K in 69 IP, 6 IP or less in 9 of last 10, 3-0 2.72 on road, 1-1 3.75 in June, at Atl)
Porcello (8-4 3.54, 2 R in last 2 starts, 3-2 4.22 at home, 2-1 3.08 in June, vs. CHC)
Lester (5-6 4.69, 100 K in 86 IP, 1.67 in last 4 starts, 2-5 5.36 on road, at Was)
Duke (7-5 3.18, low K's, 5-2 2.77 at home, 2-1 4.33 in June, vs. Cle)
Richmond (5-4 3.79, 2-2 4.22 at home, 0-1 4.60 in June, some is bullpen work, vs. Cin)
Garza (4-5 3.83, 3-2 3.52 at home, 0-1 4.60 in June, vs. Phi)
Thompson (2-1 3.89, Bullpen guy, 2-1 3.63 in June, vs. NYM)
Nieve (2-0 1.84 in 2 starts, vs. StL)
Blackburn (6-2 3.09, low K's, 3-2 3.46 on road, 1-0 1.88 in June, at Mil)
Wolf (3-2 3.29, 3-1 2.28 on road, 0-1 4.63 in June, vs. CWS)
Haren (6-4 2.23, 96 K in 101 IP, 4-3 1.87 at home, 2-0 1.50 in June, vs. Tex)
Marquis (9-4 3.71, low K's, 5-2 3.10 on road, 2-1 3.18 in June, at LAA)
Outman (4-1 3.48, 2-1 4.43 in June, 0-1 6.00 vs. SF this year)
What I see here is a large number of second rate starters that is just are just as likely to blow up as they are to pitch shutouts. Haren, Wolf, and Lester are the best of the bunch in my opinion. I can't risk Haren vs. Texas. Wold is probably fairly safe,but I have to give the ball to Lester the way he has been going lately.
First:
Tex (n/a vs. Kawakami)
Youk (n/a vs. rook)
Overbay (1-1)
Pena (4-7)
Pujols (0-1)
Huff (1-3, HR)
Morneau (1-1)
Berkman (n/a)
Gonzo (2-3)
I would be happy to drop Pujols, but there is not anyone who's numbers give me a good enough reason to do so.
Second:
Cano (n/a vs. Kawakami)
Polanco (5-7 vs. good starter)
Hill (3-9)
Roberts (3-4)
Again, I'll stay put here. Cano and Roberts are good options, but they don't have Hill's power and cost considerably more.
Third:
DeRosa (7-20 vs. good lefty starter)
Rolen (9-25, 2HR)
Longoria (1-3)
Wright (2-6, HR)
Young (11-28, HR vs. good starter)
I am going to pass on everyone else and save money with Rolen, who is hot and hits righties well against a poor pitching Arroyo. He also has multiple hits in 6 of his last 7 games.
Short:
Zobrist (1-3)
Hanley (n/a vs. rook)
Hardy (2-3, HR vs. good starter)
Tejada (n/a)
Renteria (3-5 vs. good lefty)
Big Ben's power is vs the righties and that's who he's facing tomorrow in Blanton. Because of this, I will continue to try topick the right side of Tampa's SS combo.
Left:
Damon (n/a vs. Kawakami)
Bay (n/a vs. rook)
Lind (1-1)
Crawford (7-22)
Braun (2-3 vs. good starter)
Lee (n/a)
Pierre (3-6)
I like Lind, Crawford, and Pierre the best among this group. Give me the hot hitting Lind over Pierre unless I need the money later.
Center:
Granderson (1-3, HR vs. good starter)
Wells (8-28, 2HR)
Kemp (2-4, HR)
I want to go with Kemp,but Wells has more power and isa steal at his current price. This does give me four Jays however, which I do not want. I may have to drop Lind before its all said and done.
Right:
Rios (2-5, HR)
Church (2-6)
Hart (2-3, 2HR vs. good starter)
Cuddyer (1-3)
Pence (n/a)
Upton (n/a)
I always talk about Pence, but rarely take him. Tomorrow, I will. No real good reason for this one, just a hunch.
DH:
Byrd (6-11 vs. good starter)
Rivera (1-3 vs. good lefty)
Rivera is probably the best pick here because of his numbers vs. lefties, but Marquis has been surprisingly good and I don't care much for that matchup. I could keep Rasmus, but Stewart is really hitting well and deserves a chance to play.
Catcher:
VMart (1-2 vs. good lefty)
Mauer (3-3, HR)
Martin (2-5, HR)
Benji (2-3 vs. good lefty)
Schneider (3-9, HR)
I can't afford the ones I really want, so let's get crazy. Nolasco really blows and it's enough that Weiters might just go deep for me.
I said before that I didn't want to have so many Blue Jays and I still don't. Drop Lind for Crawford. Now this leaves me .6 mil unused. Please remember the following. You do not always have to use it all. Changing your team simply for the sake of spending money is a bad move. If you like it, leave it.
FINAL LINEUP
C: Weiters
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Rolen
SS: Zobrist
LF: Crawford
CF: Wells
RF: Pence
DH: Stewart
PS: Lester
STAT CORNER
As promised, we will check out the best pitchers thus far in June.
ERA Leaders (with at least 20 IP)
Millwood 0.94
Lannan 1.16
King Felix 1.19
Contreras 1.23
Haren 1.50
Floyd 1.57
Zambrano 1.66
Lester 1.71
Mazzaro 1.75
Blackburn 1.88
Beckett 1.88
Lilly 1.98
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. 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
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, the 22nd
Good morning, everyone. I see that we crossed 5000 views late last night. I must say again that I am pretty impressed by that. I thank you all for coming and especially for coming back day after day. The fact that you read in and seem to enjoy it makes it well worth my time. If you look to your left, you will see the "follow" link. Please join if you like. It let's me know who's reading. I'm not too sure what else it does, but it doesn't cost anything. Below that you will see a new feature I added last night that will send you updates everytime there is a new post on here. Check it out if you like. It could be helpful to some of you. Thanks again for coming guys, I really mean that.
YESTERDAY
King Felix did his job for me once again. Yeah, he had one bad pitch, but I don't often complain when my staff gives me 27 points. Hell, he was so good he even outscored Pujols (19). If you didn't have him yesterday, I am really sorry. He was the difference between moving up and moving down for most. Aside from Fat Al, the pats were pretty poor. Rivera, Bartlett and Hunter helped out though and I totalled 37 offensive points for a grand total of 64. This was good enough to move me back into the top ten for the first time since May 4th, I believe. I only hope that I can stay there this time. Gene Ducette, you're in my sights pal.
TODAY
Once again, it is a lame day with only foue games going. From looking at the Leaderboard and the Suspect list, it appears that we all have pretty much the same lineups. I would not expect to see a lot of movement today, aside from a brave few that went against the grain. So relax today, take it easy and don't sweat this one. I've not seen this many on board of the Braves' PS train since I don't know when. Here's the final again.....
C: Ianetta
1B: Pujols
2B: Schumaker
3B: Wright
SS: Tulowitzki
LF: Holliday
CF: Hunter
RF: Hawpe
DH: Cust
PS: Vazquez
TOMORROW
Weather:
Orioles/Mets 60%
I see no reason for significant worry at this time.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Red Sox, Pirates, Reds, Rays, Phillies, Orioles, Brewers, Dodgers, DBacks, Padres
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Yankees vs. Hanson (2-0 4.08 in 3 starts)
Pirates vs. Huff (2-2 7.09 in 7 starts)
Reds vs. Mills (0-0 9.82 in 1 start)
Phillies vs. Price (see "pitchers")
Giants vs. Mazzaro (see "pitchers")
Players to avoid:
Greene (3-20, HR vs. starter)
Yadi (2-11)
C. Lee (1-9)
Everett (3-29)
Polanco (1-10)
Dunn (5-28, 2HR)
Dmitri Young (1-11)
Kearns (1-9)
Church (2-11)
Pitchers:
Z (4-2 3.44, 1-0 1.66 in June, 3-1 2.58 on road, vs. Det)
Jackson (6-4 2.39, 2 R or less in 6 of last 8 starts, 1-1 2.70 in June, 3-1 3.00 at home, vs. CHC)
Lannan (4-5 3.38, 2-0 1.72 at home, 2-0 1.16 in June, vs. Bos)
Price (1-1 3.46, 31 K in 26 IP, rocked in last start, 1-0 1.80 at home, vs. Phi)
Pinero (5-8 3.76, 3 R or more in 4 of last 5, 2-5 5.27 on road, 1-0 2.25 vs. Mets this year)
Greinke (8-3 1.96, 106 K in 101 IP, 3 R or more in last 4, 2-2 2.29 on road, at Hou)
Ortiz (3-2 3.60, 1-0 1.45 in June, vs. KC)
Kuroda (1-3 3.86, 9 R allowed in last 2 starts, 1-1 4.09 on road, at CWS)
Sherzer (4-4 3.58, 74 K in 73 IP, 2-0 0.96 in June, 2-2 5.73 at home, vs. Tex)
Jiminez (6-6 3.73, 2 R or less in 3 of last 4, 2-4 3.67 on road, at LAA)
Lince (6-2 2.72, 112 K in 96 IP, 1-0 0.00 vs. Oak this year, 2-1 2.05 in June)
Mazzaro (2-1 2.75, 2-1 1.75 in June, 1-0 0.00 at home, vs. SF)
There are a few solid picks here that may very wellput up 30 point nights. Jackson and Greinke would be most likely to do so, but there isno way Ican pass on Lince right now. I would guess that 75% of the leaders will have him and I willbe one of the majority.
First:
Tex (vs. rook)
Pena (10-20, 2HR)
Pujols (11-32, 3HR)
Morneau (1-3)
Branyan (1-3)
I really feel good about Pena tomorrow vs. Moyer, but he is currenyly 5.9 mil and I have a red hot Pujols locked in at 6.0. No way I'm changing, not tonight anyway.
Second:
Hill (n/a)
Scutaro (n/a)
Phillips (n/a vs. lefty rookie)
Hill has more power vs. righties than Phillips has vs. lefties. Hill has been hitor miss forme,but when he hits, it's usually good for big numbers.
Third:
Chipper (2-4 vs. Wang)
Wright (5-12 vs. good starter)
Longoria (vs. Moyer)
Derosa (5-10)
As much as I am a big fan of Derosa, I have to take a big bat against Moyer. Longoria is the man. On top of that, Chipper and Wright have let me down on multiple occasions lately.
Short:
Zobrist (1-2 vs. lefty)
Bartlett (1-3 vs. lefty)
Tejada (3-6, HR vs. good starter)
Betancourt (5-12, HR)
Zobrist hits .350 vs. lefties. Bartlett hits .400 vs. lefties. Zo has more power. However, I have a feeling that Zo is due for a day off. I have nothing to prove this, just a feeling. Because of that, I will take Bartlett.
Left:
Damon (vs. rook)
Bay (2-4 vs. good lefty)
Lind (n/a)
Crawford (9-19 vs. lefty)
Pierre (1-3 vs. lefty)
Holliday (8-25 vs. good starter)
I can go with either Crawford, Lind or Pierre here and feel good about it. Pierre kills lefties, Lind is on fire, and Crawford has the numbers vs. Moyer. I'll stick with the Rays theme and add Crawford.
Center:
McLouth (n/a vs. Wang)
Wells (n/a)
Upton (3-5 vs. lefty)
Beltran (5-16 vs. good starter)
Ankiel (2-3, HR)
Kemp (1-1 vs. lefty)
I am determined to have at least 1 player going against Wang tomorrow and I also need to save some cap room. Hence - McLouth inan easy one.
Right:
Rios (n/a)
Bruce (n/a vs. rookie lefty)
Upton (n/a vs. lefty)
Cruz (n/a)
Cruz has cooled some and I don't trust Bruce or Rios much at all. It's not them, it's me. Upton hits .367 vs. lefties and that's my pick.
DH:
Johnson (3-5)
Rasmus (1-3)
Kubel (2-3)
Jr. (2-6, HR)
Johnson doesn't have the power to justify his value. Check out the stat corner today and you will see why I want Rasmus vs. a washed up Livan tomorrow.
Catcher:
McCann (1-3 vs. Wang)
VMart (n/a)
Mauer (2-5)
Pudge (10-27, HR vs. good starter)
Money is a major issue now. I can only spend 3.0 mil here. I know he's facing Greinke, but Pudge has great numbers against him and I am fairly certain he will play. Fudge it. Guys, I feel really good about this team for tomorrow. Surely you have been in the same boat before, only to see it blow up in your face, but I really like this one. We'll see. Here's the final.
FINAL LINEUP
C: Pudge
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Longoria
SS: Bartlett
LF: Crawford
CF: McLouth
RF: Upton
DH: Rasmus
PS: Lince
STAT CORNER
Lets look today at the best performers in June offensively:
Average (50 ab minimum):
McGehee .432
Mauer .420
Figgins .412
Sandoval .403
Rasmus .400
Rolen .393
Fielder .382
D. Lee .375
Wright .373
Lind .352
Home Runs:
Pujols 10
Kubel 7
Zobrist 7
Lee 6
Cust 6
Olivo 6
Howard 6
Lind 6
Braun 6
Stewart 6
Reynolds 6
RBI:
Pujols 26
Fielder 19
Reynolds 19
Overbay 18
Rivera 18
Barmes 18
Kouzmanoff 18
Braun 18
C. Lee 17
Derosa 17
VMart 17
Bay 17
Stewart 17
Tomorrow, we will look at the pitching leaders for June.
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thank you for reading, please come agaun, make a suggestion if you have one and.....
FU For Life Kerry Wood!
YESTERDAY
King Felix did his job for me once again. Yeah, he had one bad pitch, but I don't often complain when my staff gives me 27 points. Hell, he was so good he even outscored Pujols (19). If you didn't have him yesterday, I am really sorry. He was the difference between moving up and moving down for most. Aside from Fat Al, the pats were pretty poor. Rivera, Bartlett and Hunter helped out though and I totalled 37 offensive points for a grand total of 64. This was good enough to move me back into the top ten for the first time since May 4th, I believe. I only hope that I can stay there this time. Gene Ducette, you're in my sights pal.
TODAY
Once again, it is a lame day with only foue games going. From looking at the Leaderboard and the Suspect list, it appears that we all have pretty much the same lineups. I would not expect to see a lot of movement today, aside from a brave few that went against the grain. So relax today, take it easy and don't sweat this one. I've not seen this many on board of the Braves' PS train since I don't know when. Here's the final again.....
C: Ianetta
1B: Pujols
2B: Schumaker
3B: Wright
SS: Tulowitzki
LF: Holliday
CF: Hunter
RF: Hawpe
DH: Cust
PS: Vazquez
TOMORROW
Weather:
Orioles/Mets 60%
I see no reason for significant worry at this time.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Red Sox, Pirates, Reds, Rays, Phillies, Orioles, Brewers, Dodgers, DBacks, Padres
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Yankees vs. Hanson (2-0 4.08 in 3 starts)
Pirates vs. Huff (2-2 7.09 in 7 starts)
Reds vs. Mills (0-0 9.82 in 1 start)
Phillies vs. Price (see "pitchers")
Giants vs. Mazzaro (see "pitchers")
Players to avoid:
Greene (3-20, HR vs. starter)
Yadi (2-11)
C. Lee (1-9)
Everett (3-29)
Polanco (1-10)
Dunn (5-28, 2HR)
Dmitri Young (1-11)
Kearns (1-9)
Church (2-11)
Pitchers:
Z (4-2 3.44, 1-0 1.66 in June, 3-1 2.58 on road, vs. Det)
Jackson (6-4 2.39, 2 R or less in 6 of last 8 starts, 1-1 2.70 in June, 3-1 3.00 at home, vs. CHC)
Lannan (4-5 3.38, 2-0 1.72 at home, 2-0 1.16 in June, vs. Bos)
Price (1-1 3.46, 31 K in 26 IP, rocked in last start, 1-0 1.80 at home, vs. Phi)
Pinero (5-8 3.76, 3 R or more in 4 of last 5, 2-5 5.27 on road, 1-0 2.25 vs. Mets this year)
Greinke (8-3 1.96, 106 K in 101 IP, 3 R or more in last 4, 2-2 2.29 on road, at Hou)
Ortiz (3-2 3.60, 1-0 1.45 in June, vs. KC)
Kuroda (1-3 3.86, 9 R allowed in last 2 starts, 1-1 4.09 on road, at CWS)
Sherzer (4-4 3.58, 74 K in 73 IP, 2-0 0.96 in June, 2-2 5.73 at home, vs. Tex)
Jiminez (6-6 3.73, 2 R or less in 3 of last 4, 2-4 3.67 on road, at LAA)
Lince (6-2 2.72, 112 K in 96 IP, 1-0 0.00 vs. Oak this year, 2-1 2.05 in June)
Mazzaro (2-1 2.75, 2-1 1.75 in June, 1-0 0.00 at home, vs. SF)
There are a few solid picks here that may very wellput up 30 point nights. Jackson and Greinke would be most likely to do so, but there isno way Ican pass on Lince right now. I would guess that 75% of the leaders will have him and I willbe one of the majority.
First:
Tex (vs. rook)
Pena (10-20, 2HR)
Pujols (11-32, 3HR)
Morneau (1-3)
Branyan (1-3)
I really feel good about Pena tomorrow vs. Moyer, but he is currenyly 5.9 mil and I have a red hot Pujols locked in at 6.0. No way I'm changing, not tonight anyway.
Second:
Hill (n/a)
Scutaro (n/a)
Phillips (n/a vs. lefty rookie)
Hill has more power vs. righties than Phillips has vs. lefties. Hill has been hitor miss forme,but when he hits, it's usually good for big numbers.
Third:
Chipper (2-4 vs. Wang)
Wright (5-12 vs. good starter)
Longoria (vs. Moyer)
Derosa (5-10)
As much as I am a big fan of Derosa, I have to take a big bat against Moyer. Longoria is the man. On top of that, Chipper and Wright have let me down on multiple occasions lately.
Short:
Zobrist (1-2 vs. lefty)
Bartlett (1-3 vs. lefty)
Tejada (3-6, HR vs. good starter)
Betancourt (5-12, HR)
Zobrist hits .350 vs. lefties. Bartlett hits .400 vs. lefties. Zo has more power. However, I have a feeling that Zo is due for a day off. I have nothing to prove this, just a feeling. Because of that, I will take Bartlett.
Left:
Damon (vs. rook)
Bay (2-4 vs. good lefty)
Lind (n/a)
Crawford (9-19 vs. lefty)
Pierre (1-3 vs. lefty)
Holliday (8-25 vs. good starter)
I can go with either Crawford, Lind or Pierre here and feel good about it. Pierre kills lefties, Lind is on fire, and Crawford has the numbers vs. Moyer. I'll stick with the Rays theme and add Crawford.
Center:
McLouth (n/a vs. Wang)
Wells (n/a)
Upton (3-5 vs. lefty)
Beltran (5-16 vs. good starter)
Ankiel (2-3, HR)
Kemp (1-1 vs. lefty)
I am determined to have at least 1 player going against Wang tomorrow and I also need to save some cap room. Hence - McLouth inan easy one.
Right:
Rios (n/a)
Bruce (n/a vs. rookie lefty)
Upton (n/a vs. lefty)
Cruz (n/a)
Cruz has cooled some and I don't trust Bruce or Rios much at all. It's not them, it's me. Upton hits .367 vs. lefties and that's my pick.
DH:
Johnson (3-5)
Rasmus (1-3)
Kubel (2-3)
Jr. (2-6, HR)
Johnson doesn't have the power to justify his value. Check out the stat corner today and you will see why I want Rasmus vs. a washed up Livan tomorrow.
Catcher:
McCann (1-3 vs. Wang)
VMart (n/a)
Mauer (2-5)
Pudge (10-27, HR vs. good starter)
Money is a major issue now. I can only spend 3.0 mil here. I know he's facing Greinke, but Pudge has great numbers against him and I am fairly certain he will play. Fudge it. Guys, I feel really good about this team for tomorrow. Surely you have been in the same boat before, only to see it blow up in your face, but I really like this one. We'll see. Here's the final.
FINAL LINEUP
C: Pudge
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Longoria
SS: Bartlett
LF: Crawford
CF: McLouth
RF: Upton
DH: Rasmus
PS: Lince
STAT CORNER
Lets look today at the best performers in June offensively:
Average (50 ab minimum):
McGehee .432
Mauer .420
Figgins .412
Sandoval .403
Rasmus .400
Rolen .393
Fielder .382
D. Lee .375
Wright .373
Lind .352
Home Runs:
Pujols 10
Kubel 7
Zobrist 7
Lee 6
Cust 6
Olivo 6
Howard 6
Lind 6
Braun 6
Stewart 6
Reynolds 6
RBI:
Pujols 26
Fielder 19
Reynolds 19
Overbay 18
Rivera 18
Barmes 18
Kouzmanoff 18
Braun 18
C. Lee 17
Derosa 17
VMart 17
Bay 17
Stewart 17
Tomorrow, we will look at the pitching leaders for June.
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thank you for reading, please come agaun, make a suggestion if you have one and.....
FU For Life Kerry Wood!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sunday, the 21st
Good morning, everyone. I hope you all are having a great Fathers Day today. Kick back, enjoy some golf, and make the best of your afternoon. There are three weeks left until the All Star Game and the end of the first half, so get your game faces on and prepare for a strong finish. This is where it counts.
YESTERDAY
I missed everything yesterday and didn't see the first score until about 1 a.m. due to a family outing. On top of that, I drank way, way too much to really comprehend anything at all. So I am pleasantly surprised to see this morning that Beckett pitched a shutout last night. 34 points from my pitcher along with 42 more from the bats led by Braun (12), Lee (9) and Mauer (8). Tejada was my only bust and the 76 points bumped me up to #11 overall. Damn good effort. My hangover says we need to move on.
TODAY
I have King Felix on the hill today as I imagine most will. Fortunately, interleague play is coming to an end soon and we can get back to normal baseball. Here's the final again...
C: Napoli
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Chipper
SS: Bartlett
LF: Lee
CF: Hunter
RF: Cruz
DH: Rivera
PS: King Felix
TOMORROW (slow day)
Weather:
none
Teams Facing Lefties:
Oakland
Teams Facing Rookies:
none
Players to Avoid:
R. Johnson (3-19 vs. starter)
Bradley (3-18)
Crosby (0-7)
Pitchers:
Dempster (4-4 3.92, 2 R or less in 5 of last 7 starts, 0-1 1.89 in June, .200 BAA at Atl)
Vazquez (4-6 3.41, 112 K in 92 IP, 0-2 2.86 in June, 2 R or less in 6 of last 8, .283 BAA vs. CHC)
This is a tough call. Both pitchers are doing well, but both teams are starting to hit better. I can almost guarantee that Fonzie goes deep tomorrow as he always hits one in Atlanta, but Vazquez has the K's behind him and I think he is the safest pick.
First:
Lee (20-50, 3 HR vs. good starter)
Pujols (11-27, HR)
Since Lee is facing my starter, I will go with Fat Al.
Second:
Castillo (3-6)
Schumaker (1-3)
There is not much to choose from here, but Skip did me right the first time I took him, so he gets another shot.
Third:
Wright (7-10)
Since he's the only one with a hit vs. his opposing starter, I guess I'll take Wright. Chipper, Figgins, and Sandoval are options as well, but they aren't 7-10 vs. the starter either.
Short:
I have nothing here. Escobar, Theriot, OC, Renteria........blah. I think I'll go with Tulowitzki as he has been heating up a little.
Left:
Holliday (4-16 vs. lefty)
Fonzie (hits well in Atlanta)
I hope Soriano doesn't hit one because I am going Halliday.
Center:
Beltran (3-11)
Hunter (1-3)
McLouth
I'll stick with Torii. Cook can't strike anyone out so balls will be in play and that can't be a bad thing.
Right:
Hawpe (1-1)
Again, there are no good stats to go by here, so I will use my gut feeling and roll with the hottest bat - Hawpe.
DH:
Cust (1-4, HR vs. lefty)
Stewart
Rasmus
I'll take Cust, by default
Catcher:
Yadi (2-6)
Napoli (2-3)
Benji
Ianetta
I want to go with Napoli, but he seems to let me down too often. Let's give Ianetta a shot, just for kicks. Again, it is a piss poor day to pick a team and there are very few stats to go by. We'll wing it today and see what happens. Here's the final...
FINAL LINEUP
C: Ianetta
1B: Pujols
2B: Schumaker
3B: Wright
SS: Tulowitzki
LF: Holliday
CF: Hunter
RF: Hawpe
DH: Cust
PS: Vazquez
STAT CORNER
In a battle of stats vs. Waffle House, the greasy spoon wins. My 5 year old is taking me there for Father's Day. Great for a hangover. If I come up with some stats as the day goes on, I will post them. Please accept my apologies if I don't get to it though. I promise - good stats tomorrow.
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, tell a friend and....
FU for life, Kerry Wood
YESTERDAY
I missed everything yesterday and didn't see the first score until about 1 a.m. due to a family outing. On top of that, I drank way, way too much to really comprehend anything at all. So I am pleasantly surprised to see this morning that Beckett pitched a shutout last night. 34 points from my pitcher along with 42 more from the bats led by Braun (12), Lee (9) and Mauer (8). Tejada was my only bust and the 76 points bumped me up to #11 overall. Damn good effort. My hangover says we need to move on.
TODAY
I have King Felix on the hill today as I imagine most will. Fortunately, interleague play is coming to an end soon and we can get back to normal baseball. Here's the final again...
C: Napoli
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Chipper
SS: Bartlett
LF: Lee
CF: Hunter
RF: Cruz
DH: Rivera
PS: King Felix
TOMORROW (slow day)
Weather:
none
Teams Facing Lefties:
Oakland
Teams Facing Rookies:
none
Players to Avoid:
R. Johnson (3-19 vs. starter)
Bradley (3-18)
Crosby (0-7)
Pitchers:
Dempster (4-4 3.92, 2 R or less in 5 of last 7 starts, 0-1 1.89 in June, .200 BAA at Atl)
Vazquez (4-6 3.41, 112 K in 92 IP, 0-2 2.86 in June, 2 R or less in 6 of last 8, .283 BAA vs. CHC)
This is a tough call. Both pitchers are doing well, but both teams are starting to hit better. I can almost guarantee that Fonzie goes deep tomorrow as he always hits one in Atlanta, but Vazquez has the K's behind him and I think he is the safest pick.
First:
Lee (20-50, 3 HR vs. good starter)
Pujols (11-27, HR)
Since Lee is facing my starter, I will go with Fat Al.
Second:
Castillo (3-6)
Schumaker (1-3)
There is not much to choose from here, but Skip did me right the first time I took him, so he gets another shot.
Third:
Wright (7-10)
Since he's the only one with a hit vs. his opposing starter, I guess I'll take Wright. Chipper, Figgins, and Sandoval are options as well, but they aren't 7-10 vs. the starter either.
Short:
I have nothing here. Escobar, Theriot, OC, Renteria........blah. I think I'll go with Tulowitzki as he has been heating up a little.
Left:
Holliday (4-16 vs. lefty)
Fonzie (hits well in Atlanta)
I hope Soriano doesn't hit one because I am going Halliday.
Center:
Beltran (3-11)
Hunter (1-3)
McLouth
I'll stick with Torii. Cook can't strike anyone out so balls will be in play and that can't be a bad thing.
Right:
Hawpe (1-1)
Again, there are no good stats to go by here, so I will use my gut feeling and roll with the hottest bat - Hawpe.
DH:
Cust (1-4, HR vs. lefty)
Stewart
Rasmus
I'll take Cust, by default
Catcher:
Yadi (2-6)
Napoli (2-3)
Benji
Ianetta
I want to go with Napoli, but he seems to let me down too often. Let's give Ianetta a shot, just for kicks. Again, it is a piss poor day to pick a team and there are very few stats to go by. We'll wing it today and see what happens. Here's the final...
FINAL LINEUP
C: Ianetta
1B: Pujols
2B: Schumaker
3B: Wright
SS: Tulowitzki
LF: Holliday
CF: Hunter
RF: Hawpe
DH: Cust
PS: Vazquez
STAT CORNER
In a battle of stats vs. Waffle House, the greasy spoon wins. My 5 year old is taking me there for Father's Day. Great for a hangover. If I come up with some stats as the day goes on, I will post them. Please accept my apologies if I don't get to it though. I promise - good stats tomorrow.
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, tell a friend and....
FU for life, Kerry Wood
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Saturday, the 20th
Good afternoon, everyone. You know, it has certainly been a tough week for the pitching staffs. I guess that is why I have seen a lot of talk about "quitting" in the last few days. You know, if that's what you want to do, knock yourself out but I just don't get it. Maybe it's me, but the thought of giving up has never crossed my mind. Yeah, it's easy to say that when you're doing well, as I am now. Still, this is by far my best half, the exception to the rule, and I never even considered throwing in the towell in the previous 6 years I have played this game. My best finish ever for a half is #192 and I usually end up in the 400-600 range. Ultimately, having someone quit just makes the competition that much easier for me, but I honestly can't figure out why someone would give in with only 3 weeks to go. For me, it's kind of like a suicide threat. Do what you gotta do brother, just don't expect me to try to talk you out of it. To each his own, I guess. For me though, it's never that bad.
YESTERDAY
That mother fucker.........I knew it was going to happen. As soon as thy cut it to 7-6, I told my wife it was inevitable. Kerry mf'n Wood. That sumbitch! I tell you now that I will never, ever again take any staff that has this jackass on their side. I don't care if Cliff Lee is facing the Ukranian Little League Champs and they are hitting with sawed off broomsticks. I will never, ever let it happen again. The sad thing is that Lee was the smartest pick. The best pitcher ofthe day against the coldest bats in the league. Ah well, at least the other popular staffs were just as bad. My bats did OK and gave me 32 led by Bay (10) and VMart(8). Ortiz, Ellsbury and Hill busted out for me. It really could have been much worse. I dropped from 12th to 13th (have been trading off with Zeus for a few days) but extended my lead on 50th to 107 points. Still: never, ever again............
TODAY
Weather:
Rays/Mets 70%
Orioles/Phillies 60%
Braves/Red Sox 60%
I will probably stay away from the Mets game just to be safe, but the other two games do not concern me at this time.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Reds, Nats, Orioles, Twins, Astros, Cubs, Mariners, Rockies, Pirates, Padres, Rangers, Marlins and Angels
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Nationals vs. Romero (see "pitchers")
Indians vs. Wells (see "pitchers")
Players to avoid:
Kinsler (1-11 vs. starter)
Cantu (1-11)
Blake (2-16)
Pierre (1-11)
Kemp (0-9)
Hawpe (1-9)
Spilborghs (1-9)
Rowand (1-8)
Stairs (3-18)
Greene (1-9)
Freel (1-10)
Pitchers:
Millwood (7-4 2.62, 3-0 0.42 in June, 2-3 3.32 on road, at SF)
CC (6-4 3.67, 3 R or more in last 5 starts, 4-3 3.35 on road, at Fla)
Braden (5-5 3.31, 2 R or less in last 5, 1-3 3.61 at home, vs. SD)
Gallardo (7-3 2.93, 85 K in 83 IP, 4-1 2.89 on road, 2-1 2.00 in June, at Det)
Verlander (7-3 3.39, 110 K in 90 IP, 3-0 0.82 at home, 1-1 2.57 in June, vs. Mil)
Buehrle (6-2 3.43, 3 R or more in last 4, 2-1 4.64 on road, at Cin)
Harang (5-6 3.65, 4-2 2.70 at home, 0-1 1.53 in June, vs. CWS)
Jurrjens (5-5 2.89, 0-3 4.20 in June, 3-2 2.38 on road, at Bos)
Romero (3-3 3.73, 1-0 3.10 in June, 0-2 3.71 on road, at Was)
Wainwright (7-4 3.33, 2-1 3.15 in June, 4-1 4.38 on road, at KC)
Meche (4-5 3.31, 2 R or less in last 6, 2-0 0.41 in June, vs. StL)
Wandy (5-6 3.33, 79 K in 83 IP, rocked in 4 of last 5, at Min)
Wells (0-3 2.55, 0-2 3.24 at home, 0-1 3.63 in June, vs. Cle)
Davis (3-8 3.72, les than 7 IP in last 3, 1-2 4.02 in June, at Sea)
Felix (7-3 2.77, 90 K in 94 IP, 1 R or less in last 5, 2-0 0.78 in June, vs. Zona)
There are 3 good options here. Gallardo and Verlander both face good bats in an AL park, so does King Felix, but he is only facing the DBacks. He has quietly been one of thebest starters in the league over the last 6 weeks. This one isa no brainer for me.
First:
Horard (n/a)
Pujols (1-4)
Morneau (vs. good lefty starter)
Berkman (n/a vs. lefty)
Branyan (4-8, 2HR vs. lefty)
Tex (2-3)
Tex has been struggling a little and Branyan - as much as I want him - has a lefty/lefty matchup. I'll roll with Pujols for now, but keep Big Russ in mind if money becomes a problem.
Second:
Hill (n/a)
Scutaro (n/a)
Roberts (2-2, HR vs. good lefty)
Sanchez (4-8 vs. lefty)
I really like the Sanchez matchup, but since he is basically the same price as Hill, I will take Aaron. Home Run power breaks all ties.
Third:
Wright (n/a in bad weather)
Longoria (n/a)
Chipper (4-9)
Utley (n/a)
DeRosa (n/a vs. rook, but back in Chicago)
I think Chipper gets it done against the knuckler. He usually lets me down, but I like him barely over D-Ro.
Short:
Zobrist (n/a)
Bartlett (n/a)
Tulowitzki (3-6 vs. lefty and heating up)
Renteria (13-39, 2HR vs. good starter)
Tejada (n/a vs. lefty)
Troy can't hit lefties, so which of the Rays is it? Bartlett its righties better. I said before that I will bail on this game, but being that it's the last game of an interleague series, I'll risk it. I will, however, double check the weather before the end of the night.
Left:
Lind (n/a)
Lee (n/a vs. lefty)
Holliday (5-17)
Carlos hits .393 vs. lefties.
Center:
Beltran (n/a with weather)
Hunter (1-3 vs. lefty)
Torii hits .352 vs. lefties and is the only one I feel good about here.
Right:
Dye (1-2)
Cuddyer (1-2 vs. good lefty starter)
Pence (n/a vs. lefty)
Ichiro (6-17, HR vs. lefty)
Winn (9-14, 2HR vs. good starter)
Cruz (3-6, 2HR vs. lefty
There are a number of good options here but I can't pass on Cruz.
DH:
Rivera (0-2 vs. lefty)
There are no good matchups here, so I will stick with the hottest bat.
Catcher:
Mauer (1-3 vs. good lefty)
Martin (2-9 in night game)
Napoli (night game)
I really don't like having 3 bats against Kershaw, but when there is not much else to go by, what can you do?
FINAL LINEUP
C: Napoli
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Chipper
SS: Bartlett
LF: Lee
CF: Hunter
RF: Cruz
DH: Rivera
PS: King Felix
STAT CORNER
I'm a little pressed for time today, but will bring back some decent stats tomorrow. I will ask you this, though. How many current major leaguers, including managers and coaches, have college degrees? The answer will be after the Kerry FU Wood shoutout.
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks a ton for reading, please come again, feel free to comment, become a "follower" if you like, and.......
FU Kerry Wood - For Life you Rat Bastard!
Stat answer: 26
YESTERDAY
That mother fucker.........I knew it was going to happen. As soon as thy cut it to 7-6, I told my wife it was inevitable. Kerry mf'n Wood. That sumbitch! I tell you now that I will never, ever again take any staff that has this jackass on their side. I don't care if Cliff Lee is facing the Ukranian Little League Champs and they are hitting with sawed off broomsticks. I will never, ever let it happen again. The sad thing is that Lee was the smartest pick. The best pitcher ofthe day against the coldest bats in the league. Ah well, at least the other popular staffs were just as bad. My bats did OK and gave me 32 led by Bay (10) and VMart(8). Ortiz, Ellsbury and Hill busted out for me. It really could have been much worse. I dropped from 12th to 13th (have been trading off with Zeus for a few days) but extended my lead on 50th to 107 points. Still: never, ever again............
TODAY
Weather:
Rays/Mets 70%
Orioles/Phillies 60%
Braves/Red Sox 60%
I will probably stay away from the Mets game just to be safe, but the other two games do not concern me at this time.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Reds, Nats, Orioles, Twins, Astros, Cubs, Mariners, Rockies, Pirates, Padres, Rangers, Marlins and Angels
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Nationals vs. Romero (see "pitchers")
Indians vs. Wells (see "pitchers")
Players to avoid:
Kinsler (1-11 vs. starter)
Cantu (1-11)
Blake (2-16)
Pierre (1-11)
Kemp (0-9)
Hawpe (1-9)
Spilborghs (1-9)
Rowand (1-8)
Stairs (3-18)
Greene (1-9)
Freel (1-10)
Pitchers:
Millwood (7-4 2.62, 3-0 0.42 in June, 2-3 3.32 on road, at SF)
CC (6-4 3.67, 3 R or more in last 5 starts, 4-3 3.35 on road, at Fla)
Braden (5-5 3.31, 2 R or less in last 5, 1-3 3.61 at home, vs. SD)
Gallardo (7-3 2.93, 85 K in 83 IP, 4-1 2.89 on road, 2-1 2.00 in June, at Det)
Verlander (7-3 3.39, 110 K in 90 IP, 3-0 0.82 at home, 1-1 2.57 in June, vs. Mil)
Buehrle (6-2 3.43, 3 R or more in last 4, 2-1 4.64 on road, at Cin)
Harang (5-6 3.65, 4-2 2.70 at home, 0-1 1.53 in June, vs. CWS)
Jurrjens (5-5 2.89, 0-3 4.20 in June, 3-2 2.38 on road, at Bos)
Romero (3-3 3.73, 1-0 3.10 in June, 0-2 3.71 on road, at Was)
Wainwright (7-4 3.33, 2-1 3.15 in June, 4-1 4.38 on road, at KC)
Meche (4-5 3.31, 2 R or less in last 6, 2-0 0.41 in June, vs. StL)
Wandy (5-6 3.33, 79 K in 83 IP, rocked in 4 of last 5, at Min)
Wells (0-3 2.55, 0-2 3.24 at home, 0-1 3.63 in June, vs. Cle)
Davis (3-8 3.72, les than 7 IP in last 3, 1-2 4.02 in June, at Sea)
Felix (7-3 2.77, 90 K in 94 IP, 1 R or less in last 5, 2-0 0.78 in June, vs. Zona)
There are 3 good options here. Gallardo and Verlander both face good bats in an AL park, so does King Felix, but he is only facing the DBacks. He has quietly been one of thebest starters in the league over the last 6 weeks. This one isa no brainer for me.
First:
Horard (n/a)
Pujols (1-4)
Morneau (vs. good lefty starter)
Berkman (n/a vs. lefty)
Branyan (4-8, 2HR vs. lefty)
Tex (2-3)
Tex has been struggling a little and Branyan - as much as I want him - has a lefty/lefty matchup. I'll roll with Pujols for now, but keep Big Russ in mind if money becomes a problem.
Second:
Hill (n/a)
Scutaro (n/a)
Roberts (2-2, HR vs. good lefty)
Sanchez (4-8 vs. lefty)
I really like the Sanchez matchup, but since he is basically the same price as Hill, I will take Aaron. Home Run power breaks all ties.
Third:
Wright (n/a in bad weather)
Longoria (n/a)
Chipper (4-9)
Utley (n/a)
DeRosa (n/a vs. rook, but back in Chicago)
I think Chipper gets it done against the knuckler. He usually lets me down, but I like him barely over D-Ro.
Short:
Zobrist (n/a)
Bartlett (n/a)
Tulowitzki (3-6 vs. lefty and heating up)
Renteria (13-39, 2HR vs. good starter)
Tejada (n/a vs. lefty)
Troy can't hit lefties, so which of the Rays is it? Bartlett its righties better. I said before that I will bail on this game, but being that it's the last game of an interleague series, I'll risk it. I will, however, double check the weather before the end of the night.
Left:
Lind (n/a)
Lee (n/a vs. lefty)
Holliday (5-17)
Carlos hits .393 vs. lefties.
Center:
Beltran (n/a with weather)
Hunter (1-3 vs. lefty)
Torii hits .352 vs. lefties and is the only one I feel good about here.
Right:
Dye (1-2)
Cuddyer (1-2 vs. good lefty starter)
Pence (n/a vs. lefty)
Ichiro (6-17, HR vs. lefty)
Winn (9-14, 2HR vs. good starter)
Cruz (3-6, 2HR vs. lefty
There are a number of good options here but I can't pass on Cruz.
DH:
Rivera (0-2 vs. lefty)
There are no good matchups here, so I will stick with the hottest bat.
Catcher:
Mauer (1-3 vs. good lefty)
Martin (2-9 in night game)
Napoli (night game)
I really don't like having 3 bats against Kershaw, but when there is not much else to go by, what can you do?
FINAL LINEUP
C: Napoli
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Chipper
SS: Bartlett
LF: Lee
CF: Hunter
RF: Cruz
DH: Rivera
PS: King Felix
STAT CORNER
I'm a little pressed for time today, but will bring back some decent stats tomorrow. I will ask you this, though. How many current major leaguers, including managers and coaches, have college degrees? The answer will be after the Kerry FU Wood shoutout.
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks a ton for reading, please come again, feel free to comment, become a "follower" if you like, and.......
FU Kerry Wood - For Life you Rat Bastard!
Stat answer: 26
Friday, June 19, 2009
Friday, the 19th
Isn't interleague over after this weekend? I sure hope it is. I don't care what anyone says, it's just not interesting. These players switch teams so often these days that it's not like we haven't seen them before. I know some folks like it, but I just don't give a damn. On top of that, it makes fantasy ball miserable. On top of that, only in interleague play do we see a 5 hour rain delay like they had in New York yesterday. If Bud Selig is not the biggest jackass of all time, I don't know who is. He has fudged up pretty much everything he has touched since he has been the commissioner. Anyway, good morning and welcome back.
YESTERDAY
Yesterday has to have been the most uneventful day of the season. The vast majority had not only the same staff, but the same bats as well. By the time the Rangers game began, I had really lost interest in the whole night. Nonetheless, Haren came through with 14 pitching points (Chad Qualls sucks by the way). I got a lamw 23 from the bats, led by Young and Beltran with 7 each. Everyone else was pretty much useless. The Rangers/'Stros game was a classic game of hype. Most players loaded up with 3-5 bats in this one based on less than average starters. When these games come up, it is very common that we all end up disappointed. So this morning I am still #12 overall and now have a 104 point Leaderboard insurance policy. It feels good. It really does. However.....
TODAY
I went against every bit of good judgement I have and took the Indians again. I have only done that once this year and, after Lee pitched a gen, you know who f'd it all up. But what's done is done. I can only hope that the Cubbies bats continue to be dormant and that Lee goes the distance. If not, I'm sunk. It appears that pitching is wide open today. The LB and the Suspects appear to be totally torn between the Tribe, the Dodgers, and the A's. It could be one Hell of a moving day. I have a really, really bad feeling about this. Here's the final.....
C: VMart
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Longoria
SS: Bartlett
LF: Bay
CF: Ellsbury
RF: Hart
DH: Ortiz
PS: Lee
TOMORROW
Weather:
Rays/Mets 80%
Orioles/Phillies 60%
Brewers/Sox 60%
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Indians, Rays, Reds, Nats, Jays, Phillies, Orioles, Giants, Padres, DBacks
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Brewers vs. Fagaro (MLB debut)
Nats vs. Cecil (2-1 4.38 in 4 starts)
Jays vs. Detwiler (0-3 5.23 in 6 starts)
A's vs. Silva (0-0 6.52 in 2 starts)
Batters to Avoid:
Hafner (2-12 vs. starter)
Crawford (3-19)
Bay (0-10)
Lowell (1-8)
Chipper (4-25, 2HR)
McCann (2-11)
Pudge (2-18)
Cantu (0-9)
Ethier (1-11)
Pitchers:
Lilly (7-4 2.94, 1-0 1.27 in June, 4-1 1.48 at home, vs. Cle)
Carp (4-1 1.59, 1-1 2.86 in June, 1-1 2.40 at home, at KC, due for another injury)
Shields (5-5 3.52, 1-3 4.15 on road, 1-1 3.48 in June, at Mets)
Johan (8-4 3.29, 94 K in 82 IP, no more than 7 IP in last 10, 5-1 2.14 at home, vs. TB)
Richard (2-1 3.76, has only gone 7 IP once, at Cin)
Cueto (6-4 2.17, less than 7 IP in 2 of 3, 2-1 0.93 in June, vs. CWS)
Beckett (7-3 4.15, 81 K in 82 IP, on fire till last start, .224 BAA vs. Atl)
Johnson (6-1 2.76, 7 + IP in last 5, 3-1 2.02 at home, 2-0 3.04 in June, vs. NYY)
Weaver (7-2 2.08, 1 R or less in 6 of last 8, 5-0 1.01 at home, 3-0 1.23 in June, vs. LAD and his brother)
Cain (9-1 2.39, 3-0 2.66 in June, 5-1 2.66 at home, vs. Tex)
Thie one is going to be tough. I like Lilly, Carp, Cueto, Becket and Weaver myself. I can take out Carp and Weaver due to Al parks, and Lilly because he has no bats behind him. You know, as I think about this more, Beckett is the pick. The braves top 2 hitters hit .167 against him combined. He also has the K's to back it up. That's my pick, weather permitting. I will check it again before the end of the night.
First:
Lee (7-20, 3HR and hot)
Miggy (2-6, HR)
Prince (vs. rookie)
Pujols (2-8)
Berkman (n/a)
Helton (n/a at Coors)
I'm going to take a chance here. With a high dollar PS, I have to do it eventually. Give me hot Derek Lee vs. Ohka
Second:
Polanco (2-5)
Schumaker (4-9)
Hill (vs. rookie lefty)
Scutaro (vs. lefty rookie)
I will stay with Hill here. He has done me right more than a few times.
Third:
I have nothing here at this time. Reynolds is a thought and Sandoval is worth a look, as is Figgins, but Scott Rolen is hot, hitting .358 vs. lefties, is on a good batting team, costs only 3.8mil and it's a night game. I'll take him and maybe trade up on the Lee deal if I have money later on.
Short:
Tejada (2-5)
I don't like this position at all tomorrow. I'll take Tejada by default.
Left:
Soriano (2-2)
Braun (vs. rookie)
Lind (vs. rookie lefty)
I really don't feel too good about Braun and his bad back, but I will take him for now. He is in the lineup tonight, so I assume he will go tomorrow as well.
Center:
Wells (vs. rookie lefty)
Hunter (12-25, 2HR if healthy)
Hunter is a must unless I see a reason to believe he won't play.
Right:
Hart (vs. rookie)
Pence (n/a)
Hawpe (n/a at Coors)
Vlad (6-19, HR)
Upton (n/a)
Mathews ( 6-12, 2HR)
I like Hart against a weak ass pitcher at home.
DH:
Rivera (2-3)
I like Luke Scott as well, But taking Rivera will allow me to get Mauer at catcher.
Catcher:
VMart (3-8 vs. good lefty starter)
Mauer (n/a)
Like I said above, Mauer it is.
FINAL LINEUP
C: Mauer
1B: Lee
2B: Hill
3B: Rolen
SS: Tejada
LF: Braun
CF: Hunter
RF: Hawpe
DH: Rivera
PS: Beckett
STAT CORNER
Let's look again at the best and worst bullpens year to date:
The best:
Red sox 2.90 ERA
Mariners 3.23
Mets 3.34
Dodgers 3.36
Cincy 3.37
The worst:
Angels 5.83
Nats 5.57
Indians 5.02
Rockies 4.93
DBacks 4.92
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, tell a friend and.....
I can't do it until after the game is over - bad juju.
YESTERDAY
Yesterday has to have been the most uneventful day of the season. The vast majority had not only the same staff, but the same bats as well. By the time the Rangers game began, I had really lost interest in the whole night. Nonetheless, Haren came through with 14 pitching points (Chad Qualls sucks by the way). I got a lamw 23 from the bats, led by Young and Beltran with 7 each. Everyone else was pretty much useless. The Rangers/'Stros game was a classic game of hype. Most players loaded up with 3-5 bats in this one based on less than average starters. When these games come up, it is very common that we all end up disappointed. So this morning I am still #12 overall and now have a 104 point Leaderboard insurance policy. It feels good. It really does. However.....
TODAY
I went against every bit of good judgement I have and took the Indians again. I have only done that once this year and, after Lee pitched a gen, you know who f'd it all up. But what's done is done. I can only hope that the Cubbies bats continue to be dormant and that Lee goes the distance. If not, I'm sunk. It appears that pitching is wide open today. The LB and the Suspects appear to be totally torn between the Tribe, the Dodgers, and the A's. It could be one Hell of a moving day. I have a really, really bad feeling about this. Here's the final.....
C: VMart
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Longoria
SS: Bartlett
LF: Bay
CF: Ellsbury
RF: Hart
DH: Ortiz
PS: Lee
TOMORROW
Weather:
Rays/Mets 80%
Orioles/Phillies 60%
Brewers/Sox 60%
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Indians, Rays, Reds, Nats, Jays, Phillies, Orioles, Giants, Padres, DBacks
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Brewers vs. Fagaro (MLB debut)
Nats vs. Cecil (2-1 4.38 in 4 starts)
Jays vs. Detwiler (0-3 5.23 in 6 starts)
A's vs. Silva (0-0 6.52 in 2 starts)
Batters to Avoid:
Hafner (2-12 vs. starter)
Crawford (3-19)
Bay (0-10)
Lowell (1-8)
Chipper (4-25, 2HR)
McCann (2-11)
Pudge (2-18)
Cantu (0-9)
Ethier (1-11)
Pitchers:
Lilly (7-4 2.94, 1-0 1.27 in June, 4-1 1.48 at home, vs. Cle)
Carp (4-1 1.59, 1-1 2.86 in June, 1-1 2.40 at home, at KC, due for another injury)
Shields (5-5 3.52, 1-3 4.15 on road, 1-1 3.48 in June, at Mets)
Johan (8-4 3.29, 94 K in 82 IP, no more than 7 IP in last 10, 5-1 2.14 at home, vs. TB)
Richard (2-1 3.76, has only gone 7 IP once, at Cin)
Cueto (6-4 2.17, less than 7 IP in 2 of 3, 2-1 0.93 in June, vs. CWS)
Beckett (7-3 4.15, 81 K in 82 IP, on fire till last start, .224 BAA vs. Atl)
Johnson (6-1 2.76, 7 + IP in last 5, 3-1 2.02 at home, 2-0 3.04 in June, vs. NYY)
Weaver (7-2 2.08, 1 R or less in 6 of last 8, 5-0 1.01 at home, 3-0 1.23 in June, vs. LAD and his brother)
Cain (9-1 2.39, 3-0 2.66 in June, 5-1 2.66 at home, vs. Tex)
Thie one is going to be tough. I like Lilly, Carp, Cueto, Becket and Weaver myself. I can take out Carp and Weaver due to Al parks, and Lilly because he has no bats behind him. You know, as I think about this more, Beckett is the pick. The braves top 2 hitters hit .167 against him combined. He also has the K's to back it up. That's my pick, weather permitting. I will check it again before the end of the night.
First:
Lee (7-20, 3HR and hot)
Miggy (2-6, HR)
Prince (vs. rookie)
Pujols (2-8)
Berkman (n/a)
Helton (n/a at Coors)
I'm going to take a chance here. With a high dollar PS, I have to do it eventually. Give me hot Derek Lee vs. Ohka
Second:
Polanco (2-5)
Schumaker (4-9)
Hill (vs. rookie lefty)
Scutaro (vs. lefty rookie)
I will stay with Hill here. He has done me right more than a few times.
Third:
I have nothing here at this time. Reynolds is a thought and Sandoval is worth a look, as is Figgins, but Scott Rolen is hot, hitting .358 vs. lefties, is on a good batting team, costs only 3.8mil and it's a night game. I'll take him and maybe trade up on the Lee deal if I have money later on.
Short:
Tejada (2-5)
I don't like this position at all tomorrow. I'll take Tejada by default.
Left:
Soriano (2-2)
Braun (vs. rookie)
Lind (vs. rookie lefty)
I really don't feel too good about Braun and his bad back, but I will take him for now. He is in the lineup tonight, so I assume he will go tomorrow as well.
Center:
Wells (vs. rookie lefty)
Hunter (12-25, 2HR if healthy)
Hunter is a must unless I see a reason to believe he won't play.
Right:
Hart (vs. rookie)
Pence (n/a)
Hawpe (n/a at Coors)
Vlad (6-19, HR)
Upton (n/a)
Mathews ( 6-12, 2HR)
I like Hart against a weak ass pitcher at home.
DH:
Rivera (2-3)
I like Luke Scott as well, But taking Rivera will allow me to get Mauer at catcher.
Catcher:
VMart (3-8 vs. good lefty starter)
Mauer (n/a)
Like I said above, Mauer it is.
FINAL LINEUP
C: Mauer
1B: Lee
2B: Hill
3B: Rolen
SS: Tejada
LF: Braun
CF: Hunter
RF: Hawpe
DH: Rivera
PS: Beckett
STAT CORNER
Let's look again at the best and worst bullpens year to date:
The best:
Red sox 2.90 ERA
Mariners 3.23
Mets 3.34
Dodgers 3.36
Cincy 3.37
The worst:
Angels 5.83
Nats 5.57
Indians 5.02
Rockies 4.93
DBacks 4.92
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, tell a friend and.....
I can't do it until after the game is over - bad juju.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Thursday, the 18th
"I don't know a steroid from a reefer." - Lou Pinella on Sammy Sosa
And with that, good morning everyone. John Smoltz will be making his first start for the Sox against the Nats about a week from now. I know, he's too old. And he's recovering from another surgery. But mark my words, the Sox fans will absolutely love him when he comes back better than expected. By August, he will be an intrical part of that organization - guaranteed. I have seen him come back too many times before in Atlanta and have absolutely no doubt that this will happen.
YESTERDAY
It's the way the ball bounces, man. If you have been unfortunate to be double dipped by Verlander and Greinke, you have my deepest sympathies. Seriously. I, on the other hand, have been fortunate enough to avoid both of them. It's luck, I assure you and my day is coming. For now though, I will take my luck and run to the hills with it. Even with a miserable 8th inning, Lincecum came through with 20 for me and my bats pitched in 33 more led by Hill (12) and Dunn (7). If Beltran, Wright and McCann had brought any game at all, it would have been a great night. Nonetheless, my 53 was good enough to move me up another spot to #12 overall and I now have a 98 point safety net on the Leaderboard. Damn, it feels good. Unfortunately, I have to earn the right to keep it.
TODAY
If you were brave enough to play against the New York and Philly weather, I wish you the best. It appears that the vast majority took Haren of the Desert, including 80% of the Leaderboard. I am really happy to see this. At least I won't be alone if he goes down. Day baseball is on the way. Nothing makes the work day go faster. Here's the final.....
C: Varitek
1B: Berkman
2B: Kinsler
3B: Young
SS: Zobrist
LF: Bay
CF: Beltran
RF: Cruz
DH: Scott
PS: Haren of the Desert
TOMORROW
Weather:
Brewers/Tigers 60%
Braves/RedSox 60%
I am not worried about either of these right now and will pick freely.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Cubs, Nationals, Phillies, Marlins, Yankees, Dodgers, Padres, Rangers
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Orioles vs. Bastardo (2-1 5.23 in 3 starts)
Yankees vs. West (2-1 3.00 in 5 starts)
Matchups to avoid:
Helms (1-11 vs. starter)
Ryan (0-8)
An. LaRoche (1-9)
Hunter (1-8)
Blake (0-8)
Pitchers:
Lee (4-6, 2.88, 3 R or more in 3 of last 5, 2-0 1.96 in June, 2-2 3.83 on road, at CHC)
Marquis (8-4 3.77, Low K's, 2 R or less in 5 of last 6, 4-3 4.62 at home)
Bills (9-3 2.72, 93 K in 92 IP, 3-0 2.41 in June, at LAA)
Saunders (7-4 3.66, roughed up in 3 of last 4, 3-2 2.74 at home)
Outman (4-1 3.43, 2-1 4.34 in June, Less than 7 IP in all but 1 start, at SD)
Washburn (3-5 3.30, 1 R or less in 3 of last 4, banged up)
Feldman (5-1 3.70, has not gone 7 IP this year, 1-1 3.12 in June, at SF)
I really kind oflike Marquis tomorrow, but Coors is still Coors. I think Bills will have a good game, but being on the road at an AL park makes me really nervous. So here is where I drive myself crazy. i have not taken Lee since Kerry FU Wood blew up on him a few months ago. And after all the shit I have given that jackass, I am sure there is some bad juju headed my way. On the other hand, if the FU stuff is deserved, which it surely is, would I really deserve the bad juju? This is the kind of stuff that has been in my head all afternoon. Fudge it, the Cubs suck. Keep Kerry FU Wood out of it and hope for the best. on top of that, maybe tomorrow is the day my run is supposed to end. By going against my instincts (any team that doesn't have Kerry FU Wood) maybe I can get around it.
First:
Miggy (4-14, GR)
Prince (never faced starter)
Youk (n/a)
Pujols (2-5)
Berkman (n/a)
Since Pujols has 5 HR in 35 bats at Kaufman in the past three years, I have to take him over the unknown matchups
Second:
Hill (n/a)
Scutaro (n/a)
Utley (2-4, HR vs. lefty)
Roberts (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Pedroia (n/a)
Phillips (1-1)
Cano (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Hill and Scutaro have the best matchups and are coincidently are hottest of the group here. Since Hill has more power, is cheaper, and hits righties better, he is my pick. 47 RBI's at 4.5 mil is with a favorable matchup.....
Third:
Wright (n/a)
Longoria (n/a)
ARoid (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Beltre (6-19, HR)
ARoid is sucking it up and Wright hits lefties only and has let me down a few times lately. Meanwhile, Longoris hits .370 vs. righties and this one does not impress me.
Short:
Rollins (3-8, HR vs. lefty)
Bartlett (0-1)
Zobrist (n/a)
Hanley (5-7 vs. lefty)
Tejada (n/a)
Betancourt (9-20)
Hanley has no HR's vs. lefties all year. Rollins isn't worth the money at all. While bartlett is fresh off the DL, he has comebackpretty well already. I am ready to take him again.
Left:
Soriano (3-8, HR vs. good starter)
Braun (n/a and left game last night with bad back)
Lind (n/a)
Ibanez (0-3 vs. lefty) WENT ON DISABLED LIST TODAY
Bay (n/a)
Crawford (n/a)
Lee (n/a)
Of this group, I think Bay will blow up Kawakami. The Braves pitcher will come at him with that weak offspeed stuff as the Asian pitchers often do on the first pitch and it will land out on the street.
Center:
Jones (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Ellsbury (n/a)
McLouth (n/a vs. Dice)
Beltran (n/a)
I don't care much for this position at all. Give me Ellsbury, just because he is the cheapest and therefore the lowest risk.
Right:
Mags (3-5, HR)
Cake (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Francouer (3-3, HR vs. Dice)
Pence (n/a)
Hawpe (n/a)
Ethier (1-3, HR vs. good lefty starter)
Hart (n/a)
I like Hawpe the best, but Corey Hart is on a tear (see stat corner). Remember that streak he went on last April was it? Maybe this is one of those.
DH:
Hafner (2-4, HR but may sit in NL park)
Ortiz (n/a)
Thome (1-2, HR but in NL park)
Sheff (3-6, HR)
Kubel (2-4 vs. good starter)
The bottom line here is that Ortiz may, just may be coming out of it. This is his chance to prove it to me.
Catcher:
McCann (0-2 vs. Dice)
Yadi (1-3)
Mauer (1-3 vs. good starter)
Martin (2-5, HR vs. good lefty starter)
I really don't care for any of these either. I am going to take a chance on VMart vs. Harden. I'll need his help anyway with Kerry FU Wood waiting in the wings to blow up my night.
As you can see, there isn't squat to choose from. Be wise and go with your gut.
FINAL LINEUP
C: VMart
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Longoria
SS: Bartlett
LF: Bay
CF: Ellsbury
RF: Hart
DH: Ortiz
PS: (gulp) Lee
STAT CORNER
The longest current hitting streaks and the numbers that come with them:
D. Lee 14 games, .357 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI
Bartlett 12 games, .400 AVG, 2 HR, 17 RBI
Mauer 10 games, .442 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI
Hunter 10 games, .389 AVG, 4 HR, 9 RBI
Furcal 10 games, .294 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Hart 8 games, .443 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI
Flores 8 games, .400 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Blake 8 games, .375 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI
C. Pena 8 games, .393 AVG, 4 HR, 7 RBI
Kubel 8 games, .385 AVG, 4 HR, 6 RBI
DISCLAIMER
And with that, good morning everyone. John Smoltz will be making his first start for the Sox against the Nats about a week from now. I know, he's too old. And he's recovering from another surgery. But mark my words, the Sox fans will absolutely love him when he comes back better than expected. By August, he will be an intrical part of that organization - guaranteed. I have seen him come back too many times before in Atlanta and have absolutely no doubt that this will happen.
YESTERDAY
It's the way the ball bounces, man. If you have been unfortunate to be double dipped by Verlander and Greinke, you have my deepest sympathies. Seriously. I, on the other hand, have been fortunate enough to avoid both of them. It's luck, I assure you and my day is coming. For now though, I will take my luck and run to the hills with it. Even with a miserable 8th inning, Lincecum came through with 20 for me and my bats pitched in 33 more led by Hill (12) and Dunn (7). If Beltran, Wright and McCann had brought any game at all, it would have been a great night. Nonetheless, my 53 was good enough to move me up another spot to #12 overall and I now have a 98 point safety net on the Leaderboard. Damn, it feels good. Unfortunately, I have to earn the right to keep it.
TODAY
If you were brave enough to play against the New York and Philly weather, I wish you the best. It appears that the vast majority took Haren of the Desert, including 80% of the Leaderboard. I am really happy to see this. At least I won't be alone if he goes down. Day baseball is on the way. Nothing makes the work day go faster. Here's the final.....
C: Varitek
1B: Berkman
2B: Kinsler
3B: Young
SS: Zobrist
LF: Bay
CF: Beltran
RF: Cruz
DH: Scott
PS: Haren of the Desert
TOMORROW
Weather:
Brewers/Tigers 60%
Braves/RedSox 60%
I am not worried about either of these right now and will pick freely.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Cubs, Nationals, Phillies, Marlins, Yankees, Dodgers, Padres, Rangers
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Orioles vs. Bastardo (2-1 5.23 in 3 starts)
Yankees vs. West (2-1 3.00 in 5 starts)
Matchups to avoid:
Helms (1-11 vs. starter)
Ryan (0-8)
An. LaRoche (1-9)
Hunter (1-8)
Blake (0-8)
Pitchers:
Lee (4-6, 2.88, 3 R or more in 3 of last 5, 2-0 1.96 in June, 2-2 3.83 on road, at CHC)
Marquis (8-4 3.77, Low K's, 2 R or less in 5 of last 6, 4-3 4.62 at home)
Bills (9-3 2.72, 93 K in 92 IP, 3-0 2.41 in June, at LAA)
Saunders (7-4 3.66, roughed up in 3 of last 4, 3-2 2.74 at home)
Outman (4-1 3.43, 2-1 4.34 in June, Less than 7 IP in all but 1 start, at SD)
Washburn (3-5 3.30, 1 R or less in 3 of last 4, banged up)
Feldman (5-1 3.70, has not gone 7 IP this year, 1-1 3.12 in June, at SF)
I really kind oflike Marquis tomorrow, but Coors is still Coors. I think Bills will have a good game, but being on the road at an AL park makes me really nervous. So here is where I drive myself crazy. i have not taken Lee since Kerry FU Wood blew up on him a few months ago. And after all the shit I have given that jackass, I am sure there is some bad juju headed my way. On the other hand, if the FU stuff is deserved, which it surely is, would I really deserve the bad juju? This is the kind of stuff that has been in my head all afternoon. Fudge it, the Cubs suck. Keep Kerry FU Wood out of it and hope for the best. on top of that, maybe tomorrow is the day my run is supposed to end. By going against my instincts (any team that doesn't have Kerry FU Wood) maybe I can get around it.
First:
Miggy (4-14, GR)
Prince (never faced starter)
Youk (n/a)
Pujols (2-5)
Berkman (n/a)
Since Pujols has 5 HR in 35 bats at Kaufman in the past three years, I have to take him over the unknown matchups
Second:
Hill (n/a)
Scutaro (n/a)
Utley (2-4, HR vs. lefty)
Roberts (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Pedroia (n/a)
Phillips (1-1)
Cano (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Hill and Scutaro have the best matchups and are coincidently are hottest of the group here. Since Hill has more power, is cheaper, and hits righties better, he is my pick. 47 RBI's at 4.5 mil is with a favorable matchup.....
Third:
Wright (n/a)
Longoria (n/a)
ARoid (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Beltre (6-19, HR)
ARoid is sucking it up and Wright hits lefties only and has let me down a few times lately. Meanwhile, Longoris hits .370 vs. righties and this one does not impress me.
Short:
Rollins (3-8, HR vs. lefty)
Bartlett (0-1)
Zobrist (n/a)
Hanley (5-7 vs. lefty)
Tejada (n/a)
Betancourt (9-20)
Hanley has no HR's vs. lefties all year. Rollins isn't worth the money at all. While bartlett is fresh off the DL, he has comebackpretty well already. I am ready to take him again.
Left:
Soriano (3-8, HR vs. good starter)
Braun (n/a and left game last night with bad back)
Lind (n/a)
Ibanez (0-3 vs. lefty) WENT ON DISABLED LIST TODAY
Bay (n/a)
Crawford (n/a)
Lee (n/a)
Of this group, I think Bay will blow up Kawakami. The Braves pitcher will come at him with that weak offspeed stuff as the Asian pitchers often do on the first pitch and it will land out on the street.
Center:
Jones (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Ellsbury (n/a)
McLouth (n/a vs. Dice)
Beltran (n/a)
I don't care much for this position at all. Give me Ellsbury, just because he is the cheapest and therefore the lowest risk.
Right:
Mags (3-5, HR)
Cake (n/a vs. lefty rook)
Francouer (3-3, HR vs. Dice)
Pence (n/a)
Hawpe (n/a)
Ethier (1-3, HR vs. good lefty starter)
Hart (n/a)
I like Hawpe the best, but Corey Hart is on a tear (see stat corner). Remember that streak he went on last April was it? Maybe this is one of those.
DH:
Hafner (2-4, HR but may sit in NL park)
Ortiz (n/a)
Thome (1-2, HR but in NL park)
Sheff (3-6, HR)
Kubel (2-4 vs. good starter)
The bottom line here is that Ortiz may, just may be coming out of it. This is his chance to prove it to me.
Catcher:
McCann (0-2 vs. Dice)
Yadi (1-3)
Mauer (1-3 vs. good starter)
Martin (2-5, HR vs. good lefty starter)
I really don't care for any of these either. I am going to take a chance on VMart vs. Harden. I'll need his help anyway with Kerry FU Wood waiting in the wings to blow up my night.
As you can see, there isn't squat to choose from. Be wise and go with your gut.
FINAL LINEUP
C: VMart
1B: Pujols
2B: Hill
3B: Longoria
SS: Bartlett
LF: Bay
CF: Ellsbury
RF: Hart
DH: Ortiz
PS: (gulp) Lee
STAT CORNER
The longest current hitting streaks and the numbers that come with them:
D. Lee 14 games, .357 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI
Bartlett 12 games, .400 AVG, 2 HR, 17 RBI
Mauer 10 games, .442 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI
Hunter 10 games, .389 AVG, 4 HR, 9 RBI
Furcal 10 games, .294 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Hart 8 games, .443 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI
Flores 8 games, .400 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Blake 8 games, .375 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI
C. Pena 8 games, .393 AVG, 4 HR, 7 RBI
Kubel 8 games, .385 AVG, 4 HR, 6 RBI
DISCLAIMER
FU Detroit and KC Staffs! ( one time, for good karma)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Wednesday, the 17th
Wow! I really never saw that coming. To all of you Verlander takers, you have my deepest sympathy. Again, it's a humbling and unpredictable game. On a side note, Sammy Sosa tested positive for steroids in 2003. My guess is that it is time for his ability to speak English to vanish once again. "Beisbol and hypodermic needles have been berry, berry good to me". The floodgates are ready to open, folks. I would be willing to bet that either right before or right after the All Star Game, we get to see the rest of that list and all Hell will break loose. Stay tuned.
YESTERDAY
I am really beginning to get nervous. The streak I have been on lately has to come crashing to an end sometime and the longer this run goes, the worse I fear it will be. Led by Zobrist (12) and a handful of 5's and 6's, my bats combined for 42 last night. King Felix was once again a stud and his 32 gave me a total of 74 on the day. This was good enough for a 9 spot jump, up to #13 overall (I hate that number, though). I feel pretty safe on the Leaderboard for now, with a 75 point lead over 50th place. So when are people going to start believing in Felix again? If he was anywhere other than Seattle, he would be an automatic pick.
TODAY
Weather:
Blue Jays/Phillies 70%
Nats/ Yankees 70%
Marlins/Red Sox 60%
I will be watching this closely tonight and suggest that you do the same. Since these are interleague games, I would think that they will do everything they can to get them in, but be extremely careful here. It is now 7 pm and neither the Yankees or the Phillies games look very promising. I believe I will stay away from both of them. If I make a late night change, I will update you at the top of the page, but I really don't think it will happen.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Braves, Twins, Marlins, A's
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Reds vs. Hanson (1-0 6.17 in 2 starts)
Braves vs. Maloney (0-1 4.50 in 2 starts)
Yankees vs. Stammen (0-2 5.86 in 5 starts, but weather is in play)
Mets vs. Berken (1-3 7.32 in 4 starts)
Dodgers vs. Mizzaro (2-1 1.37 in 3 starts)
Matchups to avoid:
A. Hill (1-12)
Laird (1-10)
C. Lee (0-8)
Guillen (2-16)
DeJesus (0-13)
Pitchers:
Joba (3-1 3.84, 58 K in 63 IP, 6 IP or less in 7 of last 8, 0-1 5.33 at home, weather is issue)
Duke (7-4 3.10, 2-2 3.51 on road, 2-0 4.29 in June, at Minn)
Blackburn (5-2 3.31, low K's, 2 R or less in 4 of last 5, 2-0 3.86 at home, vs Pitt)
Z (4-2 3.39, 1-0 0.61 in June, 1-1 4.62 at home, vs. CWS)
Garza (4-4 3.63, at Coors)
Jimenez (5-6 3.92, 2-0 2.74 in June, vs. Tampa)
Porcello (7-4 3.71, 4-2 3.25 on road, 1-1 4.41 in June, at StL)
Pinero (5-7 3.99, low K's, 3 R or more in 6 of last 7, vs. Det)
Haren (5-4 2.20, 9p K in 94 IP, 1-1 1.17 in June, 1-1 2.63 on road, .204 BAA at KC)
Wolf (3-2 3.41, rocked in 3 of last 5, 0-1 4.53 at home)
My final three choices here are Blackburn, Zambrano, and Haren. As well as I have done lately, I don't want to blow it by trying to be a hero, so Blackburn is out. Since Big Z is, in my opinion unreliable, I will go with Haren of the Desert again. I think that, in the end, he will be the most popular pick and I think that is the safest play in this case.
First:
Tex (vs. rookie with weather in play)
Howard (1-2 with weather)
Overbay (3-9, HR with weather)
Morneau (vs. good lefty starter)
Lee
Konerko (7-22. 4HR vs. good starter)
Gonzalez (0-1 and hasn't homered in a while = due)
Huff (5-8, 2HR)
Youk (weather)
Pujols (vs. good starter)
Berkman (10-18, 2HR)
Giambi (2-2, 2HR)
I can eliminate a few guys due to weather and a few more who are struggling to get down to Youk, Gonzalez, Pujols and Berkman. Fat Al has a good pitcher to face and Berkman's numbers are way too good to pass on.
Second:
Phillips (vs. rookie)
Cano (vs. rookie with weather)
Utley (0-3 with weather)
Roberts (4-8)
Pedroia (weather)
Uggla (1-3 vs. lefty)
Kinsler (1-3 and smokes it at home)
While I like Roberts alot, he costs more thanKinsler and has no where near the same amount of power. Kinsler is an easy one.
Third:
ARoid (vs. rookie with weather)
Longoria (at Coors)
Wright (vs. rookie)
Young (10-13, 2HR)
Wright has been doing a great job for me and I have taken him alot lately, but even though Young has been struggling a little, his numbers are again too good to pass up. He is also cheap at only 4.2 mil.
Short:
Jeter (vs. rookie with weather)
Zobrist (at Coors)
Bartlett (at Coors)
Hanley (1-3 vs. lefty)
Tejada (4-12, HR)
Cabrera (12-38 vs. lefty)
Lester is too good right now for me to spend that kind of money on Hanley, so it's either Zo, Bartlett, or Tejada. I want Zo at Coors.
Left:
Damon (vs. rookie with weather)
Ibanez (0-2 with weather)
With both of my guys in the weather zone, I have to look outside the box on this one. Man, this position sucks tomorrow. I'll come back to it.
Center:
Beltran (vs. rookie)
Ellsbury (weather)
Beltran - no brainer.
Right:
Bruce (vs. rookie)
Rios (5-15, HR with weather)
Magglio (9-22)
Cruz (N/A)
Upton (0-2)
I don't trust Mags or Bruce and while Cruz has been slumping, Backe is miserable and I think he will have men on all day.
DH:
Matsui (vs. rookie with weather)
Thome (4-12 vs. good starter)
Scott (1-3, HR)
I'm not touching Thome, but Luke Scott is a very serviceable option against Livan.
Catcher:
Mauer (vs. good lefty starter in a day game)
AJ (5-15. Hr vs. good starter in day game)
Yadi (night game vs. good starter)
Martin (night game, but is 1 for his last 16)
Varitek (night game with weather)
Pudge (night game)
Varitek is amazingly having a decent season and will surely start for the Sox. Book it.
YESTERDAY
I am really beginning to get nervous. The streak I have been on lately has to come crashing to an end sometime and the longer this run goes, the worse I fear it will be. Led by Zobrist (12) and a handful of 5's and 6's, my bats combined for 42 last night. King Felix was once again a stud and his 32 gave me a total of 74 on the day. This was good enough for a 9 spot jump, up to #13 overall (I hate that number, though). I feel pretty safe on the Leaderboard for now, with a 75 point lead over 50th place. So when are people going to start believing in Felix again? If he was anywhere other than Seattle, he would be an automatic pick.
TODAY
Weather:
Blue Jays/Phillies 70%
Nats/ Yankees 70%
Marlins/Red Sox 60%
I will be watching this closely tonight and suggest that you do the same. Since these are interleague games, I would think that they will do everything they can to get them in, but be extremely careful here. It is now 7 pm and neither the Yankees or the Phillies games look very promising. I believe I will stay away from both of them. If I make a late night change, I will update you at the top of the page, but I really don't think it will happen.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Braves, Twins, Marlins, A's
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Reds vs. Hanson (1-0 6.17 in 2 starts)
Braves vs. Maloney (0-1 4.50 in 2 starts)
Yankees vs. Stammen (0-2 5.86 in 5 starts, but weather is in play)
Mets vs. Berken (1-3 7.32 in 4 starts)
Dodgers vs. Mizzaro (2-1 1.37 in 3 starts)
Matchups to avoid:
A. Hill (1-12)
Laird (1-10)
C. Lee (0-8)
Guillen (2-16)
DeJesus (0-13)
Pitchers:
Joba (3-1 3.84, 58 K in 63 IP, 6 IP or less in 7 of last 8, 0-1 5.33 at home, weather is issue)
Duke (7-4 3.10, 2-2 3.51 on road, 2-0 4.29 in June, at Minn)
Blackburn (5-2 3.31, low K's, 2 R or less in 4 of last 5, 2-0 3.86 at home, vs Pitt)
Z (4-2 3.39, 1-0 0.61 in June, 1-1 4.62 at home, vs. CWS)
Garza (4-4 3.63, at Coors)
Jimenez (5-6 3.92, 2-0 2.74 in June, vs. Tampa)
Porcello (7-4 3.71, 4-2 3.25 on road, 1-1 4.41 in June, at StL)
Pinero (5-7 3.99, low K's, 3 R or more in 6 of last 7, vs. Det)
Haren (5-4 2.20, 9p K in 94 IP, 1-1 1.17 in June, 1-1 2.63 on road, .204 BAA at KC)
Wolf (3-2 3.41, rocked in 3 of last 5, 0-1 4.53 at home)
My final three choices here are Blackburn, Zambrano, and Haren. As well as I have done lately, I don't want to blow it by trying to be a hero, so Blackburn is out. Since Big Z is, in my opinion unreliable, I will go with Haren of the Desert again. I think that, in the end, he will be the most popular pick and I think that is the safest play in this case.
First:
Tex (vs. rookie with weather in play)
Howard (1-2 with weather)
Overbay (3-9, HR with weather)
Morneau (vs. good lefty starter)
Lee
Konerko (7-22. 4HR vs. good starter)
Gonzalez (0-1 and hasn't homered in a while = due)
Huff (5-8, 2HR)
Youk (weather)
Pujols (vs. good starter)
Berkman (10-18, 2HR)
Giambi (2-2, 2HR)
I can eliminate a few guys due to weather and a few more who are struggling to get down to Youk, Gonzalez, Pujols and Berkman. Fat Al has a good pitcher to face and Berkman's numbers are way too good to pass on.
Second:
Phillips (vs. rookie)
Cano (vs. rookie with weather)
Utley (0-3 with weather)
Roberts (4-8)
Pedroia (weather)
Uggla (1-3 vs. lefty)
Kinsler (1-3 and smokes it at home)
While I like Roberts alot, he costs more thanKinsler and has no where near the same amount of power. Kinsler is an easy one.
Third:
ARoid (vs. rookie with weather)
Longoria (at Coors)
Wright (vs. rookie)
Young (10-13, 2HR)
Wright has been doing a great job for me and I have taken him alot lately, but even though Young has been struggling a little, his numbers are again too good to pass up. He is also cheap at only 4.2 mil.
Short:
Jeter (vs. rookie with weather)
Zobrist (at Coors)
Bartlett (at Coors)
Hanley (1-3 vs. lefty)
Tejada (4-12, HR)
Cabrera (12-38 vs. lefty)
Lester is too good right now for me to spend that kind of money on Hanley, so it's either Zo, Bartlett, or Tejada. I want Zo at Coors.
Left:
Damon (vs. rookie with weather)
Ibanez (0-2 with weather)
With both of my guys in the weather zone, I have to look outside the box on this one. Man, this position sucks tomorrow. I'll come back to it.
Center:
Beltran (vs. rookie)
Ellsbury (weather)
Beltran - no brainer.
Right:
Bruce (vs. rookie)
Rios (5-15, HR with weather)
Magglio (9-22)
Cruz (N/A)
Upton (0-2)
I don't trust Mags or Bruce and while Cruz has been slumping, Backe is miserable and I think he will have men on all day.
DH:
Matsui (vs. rookie with weather)
Thome (4-12 vs. good starter)
Scott (1-3, HR)
I'm not touching Thome, but Luke Scott is a very serviceable option against Livan.
Catcher:
Mauer (vs. good lefty starter in a day game)
AJ (5-15. Hr vs. good starter in day game)
Yadi (night game vs. good starter)
Martin (night game, but is 1 for his last 16)
Varitek (night game with weather)
Pudge (night game)
Varitek is amazingly having a decent season and will surely start for the Sox. Book it.
So now I come back to left. I can have anyone I want here, but who? Ultimately, Jason Bay is the best choice. Add him to the lineup and here is the final.....
FINAL LINEUP
C: Varitek
1B: Berkman
2B: Kinsler
3B: Young
SS: Zobrist
LF: Bay
CF: Beltran
RF: Cruz
DH: Scott
PS: Haren of the Desert
STAT CORNER
Every point counts. Lets look at the leaders in WHIP over the last 30 days:
Carp 0.73
Haren 0.74
Floyd 0.82
Vazquez 0.87
Beckett 0.89
Bergeson 0.95
Lester 0.96
Outmann 0.97
Baker 0.98
Lince 0.98
CC 0.99
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, feel free to make a suggestion, please come again and.....
FU Kerry Wood!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tuesday, the 16th
My impending doom is near. If you have been reading daily, you may have noticed that I have improved my rank 9 days in a row. It's surely not a record streak, but a pretty damn good one nonetheless. Remember a few weeks ago when I talked about how this game keeps us humbled? Well I have to feel that my next ass kicking is overdue. I just hope that when it happens, everyone else has the same staff as me. I have added a new segment as well, that you will see in the "tomorrow" category. It's guys to stay away from. I will list batters who have really been owned by the starter they are facing. I thought about this when I saw yesterday that McLouth is 1-20 in his career vs. Harang. Keep an eye out for this new feature. I also see that our veiwership crossed well over 200 yesterday. I posted this link again on the pineapple board. For those of you that came from there, welcome, and please come again for a little more than what Hula Boy wants you to see.
YESTERDAY
It kind of felt like a doubleheader didn't it? The bats were going wild and the staffs all blew. Unfortunately, we all had the same guys anyway. I put up 74 from my bats, led by Braun (19), VMart (14), Prince (14), Choo (12), and Rivers (10). Too bad I missed out on D-ro. However, after a great start and a 8-0 lead, Lackey and the boys came back to earth and I only got 8 from the pitching. So, after all that excitement, I am still # 22 overall, but have improved my lead over 50th to 69 points. I should be safe for a day or two anyway. Like I said above, doom is eminent.
TODAY
It appears that among the Suspects and the Leaderboard, Felix and CC have split the majority of the pot, with Verlander in third. I really can't see why so many took CC in that matchbox of a park they play in, but I could be wrong. What's amazing to me is that so many of you, just like me, laid off of Verlander. I bet that it was all in fear of Pujols, too. Here's the final again.....
C: McCaan
1B: Tex
2B: Castillo (El Cheapo Especial)
3B: Wright
SS: Zobrist
LF: Ibanez
CF: Ellsbury
RF: Hawpe
DH: Rivera
PS: King Felix
TOMORROW
Weather:
Brewers/Indians 60%
Mets/ Orioles 60%
I see no reason to worry, but will check it again near the end of the night.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Brewers, Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Astros, Pirates, Rockies, Padres
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Brewers vs. Huff (2-2 7.39 in 6 starts)
Rockies vs. Price (see "pitchers" below)
Players To Avoid:
Wigginton (0-12 vs. starter)
Carroll (1-10)
Byrd (0-11)
Pitchers:
Dempster (4-3 3.87, 2 R or less in 5 of last 6 starts, 3-0 4.06 at home, vs. CWS)
Lincecum (6-1 2.66, 103 K in 88 IP, 3 R total in last 5, 2-0 1.59 in June, vs. LAA)
Lannan (3-5 3.51, 1-6 6.30 on road, at Yanks)
Richmond (4-3 3.90, less than 7 Ip in 5 of last 6, at Philly)
Vazquez (4-5 3.31, 105 K in 84 IP, 2 R or less in 6 of 7, 3-1 2.87 on road, at Cin)
Ortiz (3-2 3.48, mostly pen work, at Tex)
Sherzer (3-4 3.63, 69 K in 67 IP, 1-0 0.00 in June, 1-2 1.55 on road, at KC)
Greinke (8-2 1.72, 97 K in 94 IP, 3 R or more in last 3, 6-0 1.37 at home, vs. Zona)
Jackson (6-3 2.24, 2 R or less in 6 of 7, 3-2 1.55 on road, at StL)
Price (1-0 2.37, has not gone more that 5.2 IP, 26 K in 19 IP, at Coors)
Kuroda (1-2 2.86, 19 K in 22 IP, hasn't gone past 6 IP, 0-1 1.64 at home, vs. Oak)
It is easy to narrow it down to Lince and Greinke, but then it gets tough. Initially, I like Greinke vs. Zona's bats and he has been insanely good at home. However, he has struggled lately and with Hunter out and Lince in a NL park, he is my pick once again.
First:
D. Lee
Dunn (vs. Wang)
Howard
Overbay (6-13, HR vs. Lefty)
Youk (vs. Lefty)
Pujols
Fat Al faces a good starter, for what that's worth, so I am torn between Youk, RyHo and Dunn. I have to take someone against Wang. Dunn it is.
Second:
Roberts (2-3)
Derosa (4-11)
Cano (vs. Lefty)
Utley
Scutaro (11-29, 3HR vs. lefty)
Hill (6-16 vs. lefty)
Utley is tempting, but Moyer sucks. Hill is my man.
Third:
Wright
ARoid (vs. lefty)
Zimmerman (2-4, HR vs. Wang)
Rolen (2-6 vs. lefty)
Chipper (3-6, HR but in 0-21 slump)
Young (3-8)
I'm going to stay with Wright, but Rolen kills lefties and I will keep him in mind if I need to save cap room later.
Short:
Jeter (vs. lefty)
Hanley (1-3)
Zobrist
Bartlett
I have ridden Zo pretty hard lately. Hanley is heating up and does his best work vs. lefties. The Green Monster better be ready.
Left:
Quentin (3-6)
Braun (vs. lefty)
Ibanez
Bay (vs. lefty)
C. Lee (vs. lefty)
Crawford (4-6)
Holliday (5-8)
Bruan hits over .400 vs. lefties and is hot as a firecracker. Holliday and Lee are struggling, while Bay hits righties better.
Center:
Beltran
Wells (13-38, 2HR)
McLouth (4-8)
Granderson (3-8)
If Wells was doing anything lately, I would have him vs. Moyer. But, he's not, so 'Tran is my man.
Right:
Dye (3-7)
Rios (9-19, HR vs. lefty)
Cruz (0-2)
Cuddyer (2-3)
Of this group, Rios is the only one hitting well this week. He also kills Moyer and I really want 2 Jays.
DH:
Scott (1-4)
Matsui (vs. lefty)
Johnson (vs. Wang)
A. Jones (10-24)
Blalock (1-3)
Burrell (11-16, HR)
If I knew for sure that Burrell or Andruw would play, I would take them. Since I don't Blalock is my pick. Ortiz blows and Hank the Tank is due to go deep twice.
Catcher:
AJ (4-10, HR)
VMart
McCaan (1-3)
Mauer (1-3)
Johjima (4-13, HR)
Due to cap restrictions, I think I will stay with the combo of McCaan and Wright over VMart and Rolen.
FINAL LINEUP
C: McCaan
1B: Dunn
2B: Hill
3B: Wright
SS: Hanley
LF: Braun
CF: Beltran
RF: Rios
DH: Blalock
PS: Lince
STAT CORNER
The top 10 in on base percentage year to date:
Youkilis .463
Wright .459
Pujols .442
Utley .438
Beltran .437
Fielder .421
VMart .420
N. Johnson .417
Chipper .416
Branyan .415
Braun .415
The bottom 10 in on base percentage:
C. Young .248
Rollins .254
Betancourt .263
C. Davis .266
Benji .259
Kouzmanoff .278
Giles .279
J. Lopez .279
Pudge .280
O. Cabrera .280
Atkins .282
Francouer .282
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, register as a follower if you like and.....
FU Kerry Wood
YESTERDAY
It kind of felt like a doubleheader didn't it? The bats were going wild and the staffs all blew. Unfortunately, we all had the same guys anyway. I put up 74 from my bats, led by Braun (19), VMart (14), Prince (14), Choo (12), and Rivers (10). Too bad I missed out on D-ro. However, after a great start and a 8-0 lead, Lackey and the boys came back to earth and I only got 8 from the pitching. So, after all that excitement, I am still # 22 overall, but have improved my lead over 50th to 69 points. I should be safe for a day or two anyway. Like I said above, doom is eminent.
TODAY
It appears that among the Suspects and the Leaderboard, Felix and CC have split the majority of the pot, with Verlander in third. I really can't see why so many took CC in that matchbox of a park they play in, but I could be wrong. What's amazing to me is that so many of you, just like me, laid off of Verlander. I bet that it was all in fear of Pujols, too. Here's the final again.....
C: McCaan
1B: Tex
2B: Castillo (El Cheapo Especial)
3B: Wright
SS: Zobrist
LF: Ibanez
CF: Ellsbury
RF: Hawpe
DH: Rivera
PS: King Felix
TOMORROW
Weather:
Brewers/Indians 60%
Mets/ Orioles 60%
I see no reason to worry, but will check it again near the end of the night.
Teams Facing Lefty Starters:
Brewers, Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Astros, Pirates, Rockies, Padres
Teams Facing Rookie Starters:
Brewers vs. Huff (2-2 7.39 in 6 starts)
Rockies vs. Price (see "pitchers" below)
Players To Avoid:
Wigginton (0-12 vs. starter)
Carroll (1-10)
Byrd (0-11)
Pitchers:
Dempster (4-3 3.87, 2 R or less in 5 of last 6 starts, 3-0 4.06 at home, vs. CWS)
Lincecum (6-1 2.66, 103 K in 88 IP, 3 R total in last 5, 2-0 1.59 in June, vs. LAA)
Lannan (3-5 3.51, 1-6 6.30 on road, at Yanks)
Richmond (4-3 3.90, less than 7 Ip in 5 of last 6, at Philly)
Vazquez (4-5 3.31, 105 K in 84 IP, 2 R or less in 6 of 7, 3-1 2.87 on road, at Cin)
Ortiz (3-2 3.48, mostly pen work, at Tex)
Sherzer (3-4 3.63, 69 K in 67 IP, 1-0 0.00 in June, 1-2 1.55 on road, at KC)
Greinke (8-2 1.72, 97 K in 94 IP, 3 R or more in last 3, 6-0 1.37 at home, vs. Zona)
Jackson (6-3 2.24, 2 R or less in 6 of 7, 3-2 1.55 on road, at StL)
Price (1-0 2.37, has not gone more that 5.2 IP, 26 K in 19 IP, at Coors)
Kuroda (1-2 2.86, 19 K in 22 IP, hasn't gone past 6 IP, 0-1 1.64 at home, vs. Oak)
It is easy to narrow it down to Lince and Greinke, but then it gets tough. Initially, I like Greinke vs. Zona's bats and he has been insanely good at home. However, he has struggled lately and with Hunter out and Lince in a NL park, he is my pick once again.
First:
D. Lee
Dunn (vs. Wang)
Howard
Overbay (6-13, HR vs. Lefty)
Youk (vs. Lefty)
Pujols
Fat Al faces a good starter, for what that's worth, so I am torn between Youk, RyHo and Dunn. I have to take someone against Wang. Dunn it is.
Second:
Roberts (2-3)
Derosa (4-11)
Cano (vs. Lefty)
Utley
Scutaro (11-29, 3HR vs. lefty)
Hill (6-16 vs. lefty)
Utley is tempting, but Moyer sucks. Hill is my man.
Third:
Wright
ARoid (vs. lefty)
Zimmerman (2-4, HR vs. Wang)
Rolen (2-6 vs. lefty)
Chipper (3-6, HR but in 0-21 slump)
Young (3-8)
I'm going to stay with Wright, but Rolen kills lefties and I will keep him in mind if I need to save cap room later.
Short:
Jeter (vs. lefty)
Hanley (1-3)
Zobrist
Bartlett
I have ridden Zo pretty hard lately. Hanley is heating up and does his best work vs. lefties. The Green Monster better be ready.
Left:
Quentin (3-6)
Braun (vs. lefty)
Ibanez
Bay (vs. lefty)
C. Lee (vs. lefty)
Crawford (4-6)
Holliday (5-8)
Bruan hits over .400 vs. lefties and is hot as a firecracker. Holliday and Lee are struggling, while Bay hits righties better.
Center:
Beltran
Wells (13-38, 2HR)
McLouth (4-8)
Granderson (3-8)
If Wells was doing anything lately, I would have him vs. Moyer. But, he's not, so 'Tran is my man.
Right:
Dye (3-7)
Rios (9-19, HR vs. lefty)
Cruz (0-2)
Cuddyer (2-3)
Of this group, Rios is the only one hitting well this week. He also kills Moyer and I really want 2 Jays.
DH:
Scott (1-4)
Matsui (vs. lefty)
Johnson (vs. Wang)
A. Jones (10-24)
Blalock (1-3)
Burrell (11-16, HR)
If I knew for sure that Burrell or Andruw would play, I would take them. Since I don't Blalock is my pick. Ortiz blows and Hank the Tank is due to go deep twice.
Catcher:
AJ (4-10, HR)
VMart
McCaan (1-3)
Mauer (1-3)
Johjima (4-13, HR)
Due to cap restrictions, I think I will stay with the combo of McCaan and Wright over VMart and Rolen.
FINAL LINEUP
C: McCaan
1B: Dunn
2B: Hill
3B: Wright
SS: Hanley
LF: Braun
CF: Beltran
RF: Rios
DH: Blalock
PS: Lince
STAT CORNER
The top 10 in on base percentage year to date:
Youkilis .463
Wright .459
Pujols .442
Utley .438
Beltran .437
Fielder .421
VMart .420
N. Johnson .417
Chipper .416
Branyan .415
Braun .415
The bottom 10 in on base percentage:
C. Young .248
Rollins .254
Betancourt .263
C. Davis .266
Benji .259
Kouzmanoff .278
Giles .279
J. Lopez .279
Pudge .280
O. Cabrera .280
Atkins .282
Francouer .282
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, register as a follower if you like and.....
FU Kerry Wood
Monday, June 15, 2009
Monday, the 15th
Good morning everyone. Welcome to the beginning of the last month of the first half. There are 4 weeks left to make your move, or to not fudge it up depending on your current status. Unfortunately, it begins with more interleague. Lets get to it.
YESTERDAY
I was out for most of the day and missed pretty much everything, but was pleased to see that Dream Weaver did a terrific job, pitching a complete game shutout for me. This is the second time I have taken him and the second time he has performed well. He may have to be added to the automatic list in the near future. My bats did ok as well, let by Berkman (9) and Tejada (8). McCaan, Chipper, Soriano and Upton combined for only 3 points but I still took home 34 from the bats and ended the day with a 65. This was good enough to bump me up a little further to #22 overall and 61 points ahead of 50th. My demise is surely eminent as I have been on fire for over a week. Look out.
TODAY
When in doubt, play it safe. That's what I tried to accomplish with today's lineup. There are only 2 games and neither of them are what I would consider to be good. I, and I suspect you as well, will be happy just not to be on the wrong side with the staff. If that happens, it won't be all that bad. Here's the final.....
C: VMart
1B: Prince
2B: Buriss
3B: Figgins
SS: Hardy
LF: Braun
CF: Hunter
RF: Choo
DH: Rivera
PS: Angels
TODAY
Weather:
White Sox/Cubs 60%
Braves/Reds 50%
Tigers/Cards 60%
I don't see anything her worth worrying about, but I suggest you check it again before the end of the night. I know I will.
Teams facing Lefty starters:
Brewers, Nats, Phillies, Blue Jays, Rangers, Cubs, Royals, Rays, Dodgers, A's, Angels
Teams facing rookie starters:
Phillies vs. Romero (3-3 3.71 in 7 starts)
Pitchers:
Felix (6-3 3.06, 84 K in 85 IP, 3 R in last 28 IP, 3-1 2.36 on road)
Gallardo (6-3 2.88, 77K in 78 IP, 2 R or less in last 4, 3-1 2.81 on road, At Cle)
CC (5-4 3.68, 3 R or more in last 4, 1-1 4.07 at home, .203 BAA vs. Was)
Romero (3-3 3.71, 0-2 3.66 on road, 1-1 2.70 in June, at Phi)
Braden (5-5 3.33, 2 R or less in last 3, 1-3 3.72 on road)
Jurrjens (5-2 2.85, rocked in 2 of last 3, 3-1 2.27 on road)
Harang (5-6 3.74, 4-2 2.84 at home, 0-1 1.72 in June)
Wandy (5-5 2.82, 75 K in 79 IP, rocked in 3 of last 4, at Tex)
Millwood (6-4 2.72, 2 ER in last 19 IP, 4-1 2.19 at home)
Z (4-2 3.39, 2 ER in last 21 IP, 1-1 4.62 at home)
Davis (3-7 3.65, 2 R or less in 3 of last 4, 2-2 3.77 on road)
Meche (3-5 3.70, 2 R ot less in 4 of last 5, 0-3 5.93 at home)
Verlander (7-3 3.02, 106 K in 86 IP, 2 R or less in 9 of last 10, 4-2 4.39 on road, at StL)
Wainwright (6-4 3.49, poor in 2 of last 3)
It's no day to try tobe a hero on this one. I can easily narrow it down to CC, Gallardo, Felix and Verlander. I don't want any part of any pitcher at Coors East and I don't want Yoga in an AL park, so it it Justin ot Kinf Felix? Either are going to be solid choices, but in the end I have to go with Felix at Dan Diego. Fat Al alone scares me off of Verlander and Felix has been just as solid inhis last 3 starts.
First:
Huff (1-2)
Tex
Youk
Berkman (8-24, HR vs. good starter)
Konerko (7-22, 4HR vs. good starter)
Morneau
Pujols (3-5 vs. good starter)
Helton
A Gonzales (7-17, HR vs. good pitcher)
When looking at the matchups, it is clear to me that Tex has notonly a good opportunity vs. Martis, buthe's inthe besthitters park in the league.
Second:
Roberts
Castillo (2-2)
Cano
Utley (vs. Lefty)
Pedroia
Phillips (1-3, HR vs. good starter)
Kinsler (7-10 vs. good starter)
Roberts and cano hit righties equally well, but for now I'll take Roberts. I will also keep Castillo in mind if I need to save dough later.
Third:
Wright
ARoid
Cantu (7-21, HR)
Reynolds (1-2 vs. good starter)
Longoria (vs. lefty)
Beltre (3-7, HR)
I lose out on ARoid every time I take him. Wright is an easy one for me.
Short:
Jeter
Hanley (1-3)
Zobrist (vs. lefty)
Renteria (4-15)
I think Hanley will have a big day, but can't pass on Zo at Coors right now.
Left:
Braun (vs. Lefty)
Damon
Ibanez (vs. lefty)
Bay
Lee (2-4 vs. good starter)
Pierre (kills lefties)
Holliday (2-5 vs. lefty)
Man, I'm going to be way over the cap. I would take Pierrs, but Braun is only 0.1 more. Braun also went deep tonight already, so I have to take Raul for now.
Center:
Jones
Beltran
Victorino (vs. lefty)
Granderson (1-1 vs. good starter)
Upton (vs. lefty)
Hunter
At the moment, I like Victorino - the ugly bastard can play some ball and I almost never take him.
Right:
Cake
Bruce (2-3 vs. good starter)
Pence (2-6 vs. good starter)
Upton (0-3 vs. good starter)
Hawpe
It's Hawpe or Cake for me and Hawpe is hitting better.
DH:
Matsui
Kubel
Stewart
Griffey (3-5, HR)
I really like Matsui more than anyone else, but can't afford him. I think I'll stay with Rivera who is absolutely hammering lefties.
Catcher:
McCaan (7-13, HR)
Soto (1-2 vs. Lefty)
AJ (5-15, HR, vs. good starter)
Mauer
Yadi (3-5 vs good starter)
Benji (2-5)
I want McCaan here. This is an easy one for me and it saves me some cash.
Now, I'm considerably over the cap andhave to get creative. However, I don't want to sell the farm to meet the limit. I'll take the two guys who have the least power, Roberts and Victorino, and trade them off for Castillo and Ellsbury. Cool. I'm set.
FINAL LINEUP
C: Mccaan
1B: Tex
2B: Castillo
3B: Wright
SS: Zobrist
LF: Ibanez
CF: Ellsbury
RF: Hawpe
DH: Rivera
PS: King Felix
STAT CORNER
Who's hot:
Last 7 days:
M. Olivo, KC8-for-21, 4 HR, 8 RBI
A. Pujols, STL7-for-23, 4 HR, 6 RBI
M. Reynolds, ARI10-for-23, 3 HR, 9 RBI
Last 30 days:
J. Broxton, LAD2 W, 7 SV, 14.0 IP, 2 ER
M. Cain, SF6 W, 0 SV, 41.2 IP, 8 ER
J. Verlander, DET4 W, 0 SV, 36.0 IP, 5 ER
Who's not:
Last 7 days:
W. Taveras, CIN0-for-22, 0 HR, 0 RBI
W. Harris, WSH1-for-17, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Last 30 days:
F. Carmona, CLE0 W, 0 SV, 13.1 IP, 20 ER
M. Parra, MIL1 W, 0 SV, 27.1 IP, 34 ER
DISCLAIMER
YESTERDAY
I was out for most of the day and missed pretty much everything, but was pleased to see that Dream Weaver did a terrific job, pitching a complete game shutout for me. This is the second time I have taken him and the second time he has performed well. He may have to be added to the automatic list in the near future. My bats did ok as well, let by Berkman (9) and Tejada (8). McCaan, Chipper, Soriano and Upton combined for only 3 points but I still took home 34 from the bats and ended the day with a 65. This was good enough to bump me up a little further to #22 overall and 61 points ahead of 50th. My demise is surely eminent as I have been on fire for over a week. Look out.
TODAY
When in doubt, play it safe. That's what I tried to accomplish with today's lineup. There are only 2 games and neither of them are what I would consider to be good. I, and I suspect you as well, will be happy just not to be on the wrong side with the staff. If that happens, it won't be all that bad. Here's the final.....
C: VMart
1B: Prince
2B: Buriss
3B: Figgins
SS: Hardy
LF: Braun
CF: Hunter
RF: Choo
DH: Rivera
PS: Angels
TODAY
Weather:
White Sox/Cubs 60%
Braves/Reds 50%
Tigers/Cards 60%
I don't see anything her worth worrying about, but I suggest you check it again before the end of the night. I know I will.
Teams facing Lefty starters:
Brewers, Nats, Phillies, Blue Jays, Rangers, Cubs, Royals, Rays, Dodgers, A's, Angels
Teams facing rookie starters:
Phillies vs. Romero (3-3 3.71 in 7 starts)
Pitchers:
Felix (6-3 3.06, 84 K in 85 IP, 3 R in last 28 IP, 3-1 2.36 on road)
Gallardo (6-3 2.88, 77K in 78 IP, 2 R or less in last 4, 3-1 2.81 on road, At Cle)
CC (5-4 3.68, 3 R or more in last 4, 1-1 4.07 at home, .203 BAA vs. Was)
Romero (3-3 3.71, 0-2 3.66 on road, 1-1 2.70 in June, at Phi)
Braden (5-5 3.33, 2 R or less in last 3, 1-3 3.72 on road)
Jurrjens (5-2 2.85, rocked in 2 of last 3, 3-1 2.27 on road)
Harang (5-6 3.74, 4-2 2.84 at home, 0-1 1.72 in June)
Wandy (5-5 2.82, 75 K in 79 IP, rocked in 3 of last 4, at Tex)
Millwood (6-4 2.72, 2 ER in last 19 IP, 4-1 2.19 at home)
Z (4-2 3.39, 2 ER in last 21 IP, 1-1 4.62 at home)
Davis (3-7 3.65, 2 R or less in 3 of last 4, 2-2 3.77 on road)
Meche (3-5 3.70, 2 R ot less in 4 of last 5, 0-3 5.93 at home)
Verlander (7-3 3.02, 106 K in 86 IP, 2 R or less in 9 of last 10, 4-2 4.39 on road, at StL)
Wainwright (6-4 3.49, poor in 2 of last 3)
It's no day to try tobe a hero on this one. I can easily narrow it down to CC, Gallardo, Felix and Verlander. I don't want any part of any pitcher at Coors East and I don't want Yoga in an AL park, so it it Justin ot Kinf Felix? Either are going to be solid choices, but in the end I have to go with Felix at Dan Diego. Fat Al alone scares me off of Verlander and Felix has been just as solid inhis last 3 starts.
First:
Huff (1-2)
Tex
Youk
Berkman (8-24, HR vs. good starter)
Konerko (7-22, 4HR vs. good starter)
Morneau
Pujols (3-5 vs. good starter)
Helton
A Gonzales (7-17, HR vs. good pitcher)
When looking at the matchups, it is clear to me that Tex has notonly a good opportunity vs. Martis, buthe's inthe besthitters park in the league.
Second:
Roberts
Castillo (2-2)
Cano
Utley (vs. Lefty)
Pedroia
Phillips (1-3, HR vs. good starter)
Kinsler (7-10 vs. good starter)
Roberts and cano hit righties equally well, but for now I'll take Roberts. I will also keep Castillo in mind if I need to save dough later.
Third:
Wright
ARoid
Cantu (7-21, HR)
Reynolds (1-2 vs. good starter)
Longoria (vs. lefty)
Beltre (3-7, HR)
I lose out on ARoid every time I take him. Wright is an easy one for me.
Short:
Jeter
Hanley (1-3)
Zobrist (vs. lefty)
Renteria (4-15)
I think Hanley will have a big day, but can't pass on Zo at Coors right now.
Left:
Braun (vs. Lefty)
Damon
Ibanez (vs. lefty)
Bay
Lee (2-4 vs. good starter)
Pierre (kills lefties)
Holliday (2-5 vs. lefty)
Man, I'm going to be way over the cap. I would take Pierrs, but Braun is only 0.1 more. Braun also went deep tonight already, so I have to take Raul for now.
Center:
Jones
Beltran
Victorino (vs. lefty)
Granderson (1-1 vs. good starter)
Upton (vs. lefty)
Hunter
At the moment, I like Victorino - the ugly bastard can play some ball and I almost never take him.
Right:
Cake
Bruce (2-3 vs. good starter)
Pence (2-6 vs. good starter)
Upton (0-3 vs. good starter)
Hawpe
It's Hawpe or Cake for me and Hawpe is hitting better.
DH:
Matsui
Kubel
Stewart
Griffey (3-5, HR)
I really like Matsui more than anyone else, but can't afford him. I think I'll stay with Rivera who is absolutely hammering lefties.
Catcher:
McCaan (7-13, HR)
Soto (1-2 vs. Lefty)
AJ (5-15, HR, vs. good starter)
Mauer
Yadi (3-5 vs good starter)
Benji (2-5)
I want McCaan here. This is an easy one for me and it saves me some cash.
Now, I'm considerably over the cap andhave to get creative. However, I don't want to sell the farm to meet the limit. I'll take the two guys who have the least power, Roberts and Victorino, and trade them off for Castillo and Ellsbury. Cool. I'm set.
FINAL LINEUP
C: Mccaan
1B: Tex
2B: Castillo
3B: Wright
SS: Zobrist
LF: Ibanez
CF: Ellsbury
RF: Hawpe
DH: Rivera
PS: King Felix
STAT CORNER
Who's hot:
Last 7 days:
M. Olivo, KC8-for-21, 4 HR, 8 RBI
A. Pujols, STL7-for-23, 4 HR, 6 RBI
M. Reynolds, ARI10-for-23, 3 HR, 9 RBI
Last 30 days:
J. Broxton, LAD2 W, 7 SV, 14.0 IP, 2 ER
M. Cain, SF6 W, 0 SV, 41.2 IP, 8 ER
J. Verlander, DET4 W, 0 SV, 36.0 IP, 5 ER
Who's not:
Last 7 days:
W. Taveras, CIN0-for-22, 0 HR, 0 RBI
W. Harris, WSH1-for-17, 0 HR, 0 RBI
Last 30 days:
F. Carmona, CLE0 W, 0 SV, 13.1 IP, 20 ER
M. Parra, MIL1 W, 0 SV, 27.1 IP, 34 ER
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. 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, June 14, 2009
Sunday, the 14th
Good morning, everyone. Thanks for coming again. Today begins our fourth week of doing this and we are now over 3100 views. I am seriously impresed with that. Thank you all for coming. It certainly makes it well worth my time to put this out everyday. I hope you all enjoyed Zeus' article on piching yesterday. It was a great read and I certainly look forward to his next entry. Thanks again, folks.
YESTERDAY
Posada, Tex, Braun, Ethier, Rasmus. Nice job, ladies. The five of you didn't get the first point yesterday. I'll remember this. Thanks the these clowns, I only put up 21 points from the bats. Pujols and ARoid could have matched that themselves. On the bright side, I was on the right end of the much heralded Ratface/Outman battle and made up some of the deficit. The Big Unit gave me 25 and has managed not to do me right both times I have taken him. I better not risk it again. This morning I see that, while I did drop 2 spots to #27, I have added to my safety net and am now 42 points ahead of 50th place. Today,I would like to continue building on that.
TODAY
We had some pretty respectable staffs to pick from yesterday. It will probably be a fairly diverse breakdown today, although it did seem last night, from what I saw, that Cain and Weaver were the top choices. I took the Dream Weaver Express myself and hope he takes care of me again. Here's the final again.....
C: McCaan
1B: Berkman
2B: Sanchez
3B: Larry Jones Jr
SS: Tejada
LF: Soriano
CF: Hunter (bum rule for sure)
RF: Upton
DH: Scott
PS: Dream Weaver
TOMORROW
Wow, I just really don't know where to start. There are only 2 games to choose from and nary a one has a pitcher worth a damn. I'll list pretty much everything there is to list, but this will be one of those days where it is a good idea to ignore stats and go with the sensible pick. Trust your instincts on this one. Here goes.
Weather:
There will be no weather tomorrow.
Teams facing Lefty starters:
Angels
Teams facing Rookie starters:
none
Pitchers:
Bush (3-3 4.58, 3 R or more in last 4 starts)
Pavano (6-5 5.40, ( 9 earned in last start but 3 R or less in 5 previous to that)
Lackey (1-2 6.61, 15 earned in last 19 IP)
Zito (3-6 4.09, less than 7 IP in last 4 starts, 0-2 2.70 at home)
I want to stay in the NL park, so Lackey and Zito are the only ones for me. I like neither so I will go with the one that is on the best team. Lackey it is.
First:
Prince
Morales (0-5)
Catalanotto (3-6)
Garko
Aurillia (1-3)
Ishikawa
This one is easy - Prince.
Second:
ATTENTION!!! I just found out that Howie Kendrick was sent down this weekend. Sorry for the delay inposting this and thanks, Monk, for letting me know.
Carroll
Grafanino
Buriss
By default, and only because he will surely play, its Buriss.
Third:
DeRosa (4-15, HR)
Figgins
Sandoval
Counsell (0-2)
McGehee
Uribe
Hall (2-3)
This one is a little harder. I think Figgins is probably the best pick (hitting .432 in June), but I have always been a big fan of DeRosa and, since he is facing the weaker pitcher I will take him.
Short:
Hardy
Peralta (2-3)
Renteria (0-5)
Izturis (1-5)
Aybar (1-2)
I like none of them, but would think that JJ has thebest chance to hit one out.
Left:
Braun
Abreu (1-5)
Francisco
Lewis
Abreu is hitting better and Braun has screwed me a few times, but common sense says Braun.
Center:
Hunter
Rowand (6-11)
Cameron (1-10)
Gerut
You have to go with the best player here as well, and that's Torii.
Right:
Choo
Vlad
Hart
Winn (10-35)
Matthews
I really want to take Vlad, but Choo does most of his damager vs. righties and is the smart pick.
DH:
Hafner (1-6)
Rivera
Pronk might be the more sexy pick, but Rivera is hitting .391 vs. lefties and I haven't really seen Hafner do too much in the last few years.
Catcher:
VMart (0-6)
Molina (0-3)
Napoli (1-9)
Shoppach
Kendall (9-26)
Mathis
I have to take VMart here. The problem is that, and I have no idea how, I am over the cap. I'll dump DeRosa for Figgins. It's probably a safer pick anyway as hot as Chone has been this month. Here's the final.....
C: VMart
1B: Prince
2B: Buriss
3B: Figgins
SS: hardy
LF: Braun
CF: Hunter
RF: Choo
DH: Rivera
PS: Lackey
STAT CORNER
Did you know that Willie Mays began his career 0-23?
Lets look at ERA leaders over the last 30 days (starters only):
Beckett 0.76
Verlander 1.25
Carpenter 1.59
Zambrano 1.75
Jackson 1.87
Cain 1.93
Halladay 1.93
Lincecum 2.06
Marquis 2.08
Weaver 2.12
And the leaders in batting average over the last 30 days:
Wright .413
Ichiro .410
Figgins .409
Mauer .388
Branyan .376
Tejada .376
Tex .374
Rowand .370
Sandoval .370
D. Lee .365
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, make a suggestion if you have one and.....
FU Kerry Wood
YESTERDAY
Posada, Tex, Braun, Ethier, Rasmus. Nice job, ladies. The five of you didn't get the first point yesterday. I'll remember this. Thanks the these clowns, I only put up 21 points from the bats. Pujols and ARoid could have matched that themselves. On the bright side, I was on the right end of the much heralded Ratface/Outman battle and made up some of the deficit. The Big Unit gave me 25 and has managed not to do me right both times I have taken him. I better not risk it again. This morning I see that, while I did drop 2 spots to #27, I have added to my safety net and am now 42 points ahead of 50th place. Today,I would like to continue building on that.
TODAY
We had some pretty respectable staffs to pick from yesterday. It will probably be a fairly diverse breakdown today, although it did seem last night, from what I saw, that Cain and Weaver were the top choices. I took the Dream Weaver Express myself and hope he takes care of me again. Here's the final again.....
C: McCaan
1B: Berkman
2B: Sanchez
3B: Larry Jones Jr
SS: Tejada
LF: Soriano
CF: Hunter (bum rule for sure)
RF: Upton
DH: Scott
PS: Dream Weaver
TOMORROW
Wow, I just really don't know where to start. There are only 2 games to choose from and nary a one has a pitcher worth a damn. I'll list pretty much everything there is to list, but this will be one of those days where it is a good idea to ignore stats and go with the sensible pick. Trust your instincts on this one. Here goes.
Weather:
There will be no weather tomorrow.
Teams facing Lefty starters:
Angels
Teams facing Rookie starters:
none
Pitchers:
Bush (3-3 4.58, 3 R or more in last 4 starts)
Pavano (6-5 5.40, ( 9 earned in last start but 3 R or less in 5 previous to that)
Lackey (1-2 6.61, 15 earned in last 19 IP)
Zito (3-6 4.09, less than 7 IP in last 4 starts, 0-2 2.70 at home)
I want to stay in the NL park, so Lackey and Zito are the only ones for me. I like neither so I will go with the one that is on the best team. Lackey it is.
First:
Prince
Morales (0-5)
Catalanotto (3-6)
Garko
Aurillia (1-3)
Ishikawa
This one is easy - Prince.
Second:
ATTENTION!!! I just found out that Howie Kendrick was sent down this weekend. Sorry for the delay inposting this and thanks, Monk, for letting me know.
Carroll
Grafanino
Buriss
By default, and only because he will surely play, its Buriss.
Third:
DeRosa (4-15, HR)
Figgins
Sandoval
Counsell (0-2)
McGehee
Uribe
Hall (2-3)
This one is a little harder. I think Figgins is probably the best pick (hitting .432 in June), but I have always been a big fan of DeRosa and, since he is facing the weaker pitcher I will take him.
Short:
Hardy
Peralta (2-3)
Renteria (0-5)
Izturis (1-5)
Aybar (1-2)
I like none of them, but would think that JJ has thebest chance to hit one out.
Left:
Braun
Abreu (1-5)
Francisco
Lewis
Abreu is hitting better and Braun has screwed me a few times, but common sense says Braun.
Center:
Hunter
Rowand (6-11)
Cameron (1-10)
Gerut
You have to go with the best player here as well, and that's Torii.
Right:
Choo
Vlad
Hart
Winn (10-35)
Matthews
I really want to take Vlad, but Choo does most of his damager vs. righties and is the smart pick.
DH:
Hafner (1-6)
Rivera
Pronk might be the more sexy pick, but Rivera is hitting .391 vs. lefties and I haven't really seen Hafner do too much in the last few years.
Catcher:
VMart (0-6)
Molina (0-3)
Napoli (1-9)
Shoppach
Kendall (9-26)
Mathis
I have to take VMart here. The problem is that, and I have no idea how, I am over the cap. I'll dump DeRosa for Figgins. It's probably a safer pick anyway as hot as Chone has been this month. Here's the final.....
C: VMart
1B: Prince
2B: Buriss
3B: Figgins
SS: hardy
LF: Braun
CF: Hunter
RF: Choo
DH: Rivera
PS: Lackey
STAT CORNER
Did you know that Willie Mays began his career 0-23?
Lets look at ERA leaders over the last 30 days (starters only):
Beckett 0.76
Verlander 1.25
Carpenter 1.59
Zambrano 1.75
Jackson 1.87
Cain 1.93
Halladay 1.93
Lincecum 2.06
Marquis 2.08
Weaver 2.12
And the leaders in batting average over the last 30 days:
Wright .413
Ichiro .410
Figgins .409
Mauer .388
Branyan .376
Tejada .376
Tex .374
Rowand .370
Sandoval .370
D. Lee .365
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. If you choose to follow my lead, do so at your own risk. Thanks for reading, please come again, make a suggestion if you have one and.....
FU Kerry Wood
Saturday, June 13, 2009
ATTENTION!!! ZEUS IS BACK!!!
Guys, I would like you all to welcome Zeus back to the site. He has posted a terrific article on how and how not to pick a pitching staff. I just finished reading it and agree whole heartedly.
Thanks, Zeus, and great work once again. We look forward to your next entry.
Folks, please check this out and feel free to comment if you have one. My usual acount of the day is at the bottom of the page.
Thanks, Zeus, and great work once again. We look forward to your next entry.
Folks, please check this out and feel free to comment if you have one. My usual acount of the day is at the bottom of the page.
Picking Pitching Staffs
Hi everyone, it's Zeus again, and today I will attempt to shed some light on how I go about picking my staffs, particularly on days when there isn't a clear cut choice.
Before we get to that, I want to state this one fact: On any given day in BBC, anything can happen, and the results of such a day shouldn't alter your strategy that you have to apply day in and day out. If you pick all the right matchups for your hitters, and you even choose the most obvious staff, sometimes it won't work out. No matter how bad a day ends up, you should still push through with your strategy, not go off the wall, give up and try something crazy.
With that being said, here's the logical step by step approach I try to use when picking the best pitching for a given day.
From most important priority to least:
1a) Stud
1b) Opponent
2) Streak
3) Strikeouts, Opponent Strikeout Potential
4) Home/Away
5) NL/AL
6) Righty / Lefty P
For now just ignore #'s 2 through 6. Let's look at how the caliber of the pitcher can be just as important as the caliber of the opposition. To illustrate this, think of Justin Verlander facing a strikeout prone team, at home, with how hot he's been lately. The team he's facing happens to be the Texas Rangers. Do you still take him? Probably not. The Yankees or Red Sox? Absolutely not. So while it's very obvious not to pick against very good teams, it should be just as obvious to take against very bad teams.
So at this point hopefully you've got a stud or at least a good pitcher against a bad team.
If you're not clear cut yet, you've obviously got it narrowed down to a few staffs.
The number one tiebreaker at this point should be how hot each starting pitcher has been. I look as far as the last five games to determine this. Keep a watchful eye for implosions too. A 2.2 IP start in the midst of a few good ones should raise some flags.
Sometimes your choices have been equally hot/cold, so move on to strikeout potential for both sides of the ball. As we all know, K's can go a long way towards a good score, and it is quite important for determining your pick. However it shouldn't fall higher or lower than at this point in the priority list. Also if one of your choices K's 4 per 9 inning, and the other K's 5 per 9, just ignore the strikeout factor. You should only consider this when the differential is high enough to make a difference.
As far as home and away staffs, people tend to give this a lot more importance than it truly holds. For me it falls after strikeouts as far as importance goes. Yes, a staff should feel more comfortable at home, and they do get the assured 9 innings instead of 8. But you can get into a lot of trouble ignoring other factors and going out of your way to pick a home staff. Be wary of home/road splits, but also be careful not to put too much importance into it.
The extra position batter (DH) in the American League should sway you sometimes to take an NL staff, but at an even rarer rate than home/away should. There's not much to say here, except that if you get to this point, just take solace in the fact that AL bests the NL in just about every offensive category (and even strikes out less, so far in 2009). GO NL over AL at this junction.
If you've reached the bottom of the barrel and you still can't make the decision, take the righty. Most hitters bat right and picking a lefty just gives them an added advantage. There should be almost no situation in which you would use L/R as a tiebreaker, although I personally have used it before.
To recap, consider the caliber of each pitcher and each opponent. This should be enough to guide you about half the time. Then in this order: K's, hot/cold, home/road, AL/NL, L/R; consider the other choices and make the right decision.
Hopefully, this will help you make better PS choices from this point forward. Thanks for reading and good luck!
** As a footnote, I'd like to point out this post comes on the day after I mostly ignored my own rules by picking Halladay over Lincecum to the tune of a -4. The Giants were facing a lesser opponent, and Timmy has a much higher K/9 than Roy. I also ignored AL/NL rules. My only defense is that Roy had been riding a much hotter streak than Timmy lately, and the fact that he did leave due to injury. **
Before we get to that, I want to state this one fact: On any given day in BBC, anything can happen, and the results of such a day shouldn't alter your strategy that you have to apply day in and day out. If you pick all the right matchups for your hitters, and you even choose the most obvious staff, sometimes it won't work out. No matter how bad a day ends up, you should still push through with your strategy, not go off the wall, give up and try something crazy.
With that being said, here's the logical step by step approach I try to use when picking the best pitching for a given day.
From most important priority to least:
1a) Stud
1b) Opponent
2) Streak
3) Strikeouts, Opponent Strikeout Potential
4) Home/Away
5) NL/AL
6) Righty / Lefty P
For now just ignore #'s 2 through 6. Let's look at how the caliber of the pitcher can be just as important as the caliber of the opposition. To illustrate this, think of Justin Verlander facing a strikeout prone team, at home, with how hot he's been lately. The team he's facing happens to be the Texas Rangers. Do you still take him? Probably not. The Yankees or Red Sox? Absolutely not. So while it's very obvious not to pick against very good teams, it should be just as obvious to take against very bad teams.
So at this point hopefully you've got a stud or at least a good pitcher against a bad team.
If you're not clear cut yet, you've obviously got it narrowed down to a few staffs.
The number one tiebreaker at this point should be how hot each starting pitcher has been. I look as far as the last five games to determine this. Keep a watchful eye for implosions too. A 2.2 IP start in the midst of a few good ones should raise some flags.
Sometimes your choices have been equally hot/cold, so move on to strikeout potential for both sides of the ball. As we all know, K's can go a long way towards a good score, and it is quite important for determining your pick. However it shouldn't fall higher or lower than at this point in the priority list. Also if one of your choices K's 4 per 9 inning, and the other K's 5 per 9, just ignore the strikeout factor. You should only consider this when the differential is high enough to make a difference.
As far as home and away staffs, people tend to give this a lot more importance than it truly holds. For me it falls after strikeouts as far as importance goes. Yes, a staff should feel more comfortable at home, and they do get the assured 9 innings instead of 8. But you can get into a lot of trouble ignoring other factors and going out of your way to pick a home staff. Be wary of home/road splits, but also be careful not to put too much importance into it.
The extra position batter (DH) in the American League should sway you sometimes to take an NL staff, but at an even rarer rate than home/away should. There's not much to say here, except that if you get to this point, just take solace in the fact that AL bests the NL in just about every offensive category (and even strikes out less, so far in 2009). GO NL over AL at this junction.
If you've reached the bottom of the barrel and you still can't make the decision, take the righty. Most hitters bat right and picking a lefty just gives them an added advantage. There should be almost no situation in which you would use L/R as a tiebreaker, although I personally have used it before.
To recap, consider the caliber of each pitcher and each opponent. This should be enough to guide you about half the time. Then in this order: K's, hot/cold, home/road, AL/NL, L/R; consider the other choices and make the right decision.
Hopefully, this will help you make better PS choices from this point forward. Thanks for reading and good luck!
** As a footnote, I'd like to point out this post comes on the day after I mostly ignored my own rules by picking Halladay over Lincecum to the tune of a -4. The Giants were facing a lesser opponent, and Timmy has a much higher K/9 than Roy. I also ignored AL/NL rules. My only defense is that Roy had been riding a much hotter streak than Timmy lately, and the fact that he did leave due to injury. **
Saturday, the 13th
Good morning everyone. Ok, who had the sack to take Lester last night? Yeah, me either. It just goes to show how great this game is. On the bright side, hockey season is over so baseball will get that much more coverage for the rest of the summer. Once the hoops finals end, we'll be the only show in town till football season. That, my friends, is a good thing. If my math is right, there are 30 days left in the first half. Time to put on your game faces and get down to business. The home stretch is already here.
YESTERDAY
From the look of things, it seems that the 37 points my bats gave me was pretty average. Bats were doing well everywhere. Amazingly, of those 37 points, I only had one home run. That doesn't happen too often. Everyone I had pitched in at least 3 aside from ARoid and Vlad, who had 2 apiece. I was also fortunate enough to be on the right side of the Doc/Lince discussion. Lince was not perfect by any means, but 32 is 32. Enjoy watching that kid folks, as he sure looks like one of the future greats of the game. I'm sure the Yankees are already preparing their offer. My 69 total points moved me up 2 spots to #25, but more importantly added to my Leaderboard cushion. I am now 40 points ahead of 50th place.....for now.
TODAY
Why did I say "for now"? Well, for starters.....there are no starters today, none that I trust anyway. I hated to do it, but for some reason a 46 year old rat looked like the safest option today. Where we usually look for the best chance to get 30 from the mound, today I am pretty sure we all tried to pick the one lease likely to put us in thenegatives. Here is my misery.....
C: Posada
1B: Tex
2B: Utley
3B: Wright
SS: Zobrist
LF: Braun
CF: Beltran
RF: Ethier
DH: Rasmus
PS: RJ
TODAY
Weather:
No games are currently scheduled for more than a 40% chance of rain.
Teams facing Lefty starters:
Yankees, Marlins, Red Sox, Pirates, Rays, Brewers, Twins, Rockies, Giants, Cardinals
Teams facing Rookie starters:
Rays vs. Detwiler (0-3 5.06 ERA, 23 K in 26 IP)
Dodgers vs. Holland (6.54 ERA in 12 appearences and 3 starts)
Pitchers (and lots of them):
Lee (3-6 3.17, 3 R or more in 3 of last 4, vs. StL)
Carp (4-0 1.23, 1-0 1.96 on road, 1-0 2.41 in June, at Cle)
Cain (8-1 2.55, less than 7 IP in 4 of 5, rocked last start, vs. Oak)
Weaver (6-2 2.31, 2 R or less in 6 of last 7, 4-1 1.21 at home, vs SD)
Johan (8-3 2.39, 91 K in 79 IP, 3 R or more in 4 of last 5, at Coors East)
Johnson (5-1 2.73, 77 K in 89 IP, 7+ Ip in last 4, vs. Tor)
Lowe (7-3 3.44, 7+ ip in last 5, .240 BAA at Balt)
Beckett (7-2 3.77, 76 K in 76 IP, 3 ER total in last 5 starts, at Phi)
Happ (4-0 2.98, has only gone 7 IP once, vs. Bos)
Shields (5-3 3.36, 2 R or less in 5 of last 6, vs. Was)
Buehrle (6-2 3.24, 3 R or more in last 3, 0-1 5.65 in June, at Mil)
Cueto (6-3 2.33, 7+ IP in 9 of last 10, 2-0 1.35 in June, 5-1 1.72 on road, at KC)
Lilly (7-4 3.00, 2 R total in last 3, 1-0 0.66 in June, 4-1 1.29 at home, vs. Minn)
Bills (8-3 2.73, 90 K in 85 IP, less than 7 Ip in 4 of last 5, at Tex)
Vargas (2-1 2.35, less than 6 IP in 4 of 6, at Col)
I eliminate Lee, Carp, Johan, Lowe, Happ, Buehrle, Lilly, Bills, andVargas because of who they play, but still I have 6 to choose from. Beckett is probably the best pick on the board, but I hate to take him in that park. My final 3 are going tobe Cain, Weaver and Cueto. Because Weaver plays on the best team of the 3 and the teams they are facing are equally crappy, I think I will take Weaver again. I know he's in an Al park, but he has beenas good as anyone in the last month or so.
ANNOUNCEMENT: The batter matchups are horrid today. I will lis who I think is a good pick, but very little of it will be based on BVSP. Who hits lefties/righties and who's hot will play more of a factor for me with these picks. The only possible load up I see is with the 'Stros.
First:
Youk (hot)
Berkman ( 3 multi hit games in last 5, vs. Crap starter)
Branyan (12 Hr vs. righties, at Coors)
Lee (coming around, 11 game hit streak and very, very cheap)
Derek is only 3.6 mil and Baker is no stud by any means. I'll pencil him in for now to save money for later. However, I may upgrade if I can after I've worked my way around the horn.
Second:
Sanchez (10-17 vs. Willis)
Every good hitter here is either struggling or facing a good starter. Damned if you do........gimme Sanchez for the time being.
Third:
Reynolds (hot)
Figgins (.439 in June)
Chipper (vs. rookie)
He shits on me every time I do it, but let me have Chip again.
Short:
Zobrist (hits lefties for average)
Escobar (hot, but got hit on hand last night)
Tejada (hitting .344 and I like the 'Stros tomm)
I'll take Tejada over Zo, just a feeling I have
Left:
Pierre (on road vs. Lefty, hitting .447 vs. Lefties)
Lee (does most of his damage vs. righties)
Soriano (Baker is a turd)
Abreu (hitting well but power has disappeared)
Only because Lee always seems to short me, I'll give Fonzie a shot)
Center:
Kemp (vs. lefty rook, .377 vs. lefties)
Hunter (hits righties well)
McLouth (warming up a little)
Torii is hitting better than Kemp right now.
Right:
Ichiro (3-4)
Vlad (10-17, 4HR)
Upton (hits best vs. righties)
Dye (.314 vs. righties)
Pence (.335 vs. right)
I have to go with Upton...Moehler sucks.
DH:
Sheff (8-28, 3HR)
I'm going to take Scott here, only becasue I think there is a chance Sheff could sit.
Catcher:
McCaan (vs rookie, should at least DH)
I'll take it, can't afford Mauer.
I have some money left, so I'm going to jump back to first and take Berkman over Lee. I think he has a better chance to go deep in that one. Again, I am sorry for the lack of batter info here, but there just isn't much to go by. Here is the final.....
FINAL LINEUP
C: McCaan
1B: Berkman
2B: Sanchez
3B: Larry Jones Jr
SS: Tejada
LF: Soriano
CF: Hunter
RF: Upton
DH: Scott
PS: Dream Weaver
STAT CORNER
Did you know that Matt Stairs has hit 246 home runs since he turned 29 years old? Leads the majors. WTF? I never realized he had hit that many.
It's time to look again at the best and worst hitters at home and away.
Top and bottom 10 at home (100 ab minimum):
M. Cabrera .400 Wells .162
Youkilis .390 Duncan .172
Sandoval .375 Swisher .183
Tejada .367 Giles .188
Morneau .365 Eckstein .189
Lind .357 Werth .191
Castillo .356 Rollins .193
Pujols .348 Beltre .193
Kinsler .347 Dunn .195
Zimmerman .346 Sizemore .202
Top and bottom 10 on the road (100 ab minimum)
Wright .417 Bruce .157
Ichiro .393 Ad. LaRoche .165
Beltran .385 Ortiz .171
Figgins .382 Atkins .177
Hanley .378 Griffey .180
Braun .374 Uggla .182
VMart .358 Kinsler .182
Bartlett .354 BJ Upton .189
Hill .353 C. Davis .196
A. Cabrera .352 Castillo .198
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. 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
YESTERDAY
From the look of things, it seems that the 37 points my bats gave me was pretty average. Bats were doing well everywhere. Amazingly, of those 37 points, I only had one home run. That doesn't happen too often. Everyone I had pitched in at least 3 aside from ARoid and Vlad, who had 2 apiece. I was also fortunate enough to be on the right side of the Doc/Lince discussion. Lince was not perfect by any means, but 32 is 32. Enjoy watching that kid folks, as he sure looks like one of the future greats of the game. I'm sure the Yankees are already preparing their offer. My 69 total points moved me up 2 spots to #25, but more importantly added to my Leaderboard cushion. I am now 40 points ahead of 50th place.....for now.
TODAY
Why did I say "for now"? Well, for starters.....there are no starters today, none that I trust anyway. I hated to do it, but for some reason a 46 year old rat looked like the safest option today. Where we usually look for the best chance to get 30 from the mound, today I am pretty sure we all tried to pick the one lease likely to put us in thenegatives. Here is my misery.....
C: Posada
1B: Tex
2B: Utley
3B: Wright
SS: Zobrist
LF: Braun
CF: Beltran
RF: Ethier
DH: Rasmus
PS: RJ
TODAY
Weather:
No games are currently scheduled for more than a 40% chance of rain.
Teams facing Lefty starters:
Yankees, Marlins, Red Sox, Pirates, Rays, Brewers, Twins, Rockies, Giants, Cardinals
Teams facing Rookie starters:
Rays vs. Detwiler (0-3 5.06 ERA, 23 K in 26 IP)
Dodgers vs. Holland (6.54 ERA in 12 appearences and 3 starts)
Pitchers (and lots of them):
Lee (3-6 3.17, 3 R or more in 3 of last 4, vs. StL)
Carp (4-0 1.23, 1-0 1.96 on road, 1-0 2.41 in June, at Cle)
Cain (8-1 2.55, less than 7 IP in 4 of 5, rocked last start, vs. Oak)
Weaver (6-2 2.31, 2 R or less in 6 of last 7, 4-1 1.21 at home, vs SD)
Johan (8-3 2.39, 91 K in 79 IP, 3 R or more in 4 of last 5, at Coors East)
Johnson (5-1 2.73, 77 K in 89 IP, 7+ Ip in last 4, vs. Tor)
Lowe (7-3 3.44, 7+ ip in last 5, .240 BAA at Balt)
Beckett (7-2 3.77, 76 K in 76 IP, 3 ER total in last 5 starts, at Phi)
Happ (4-0 2.98, has only gone 7 IP once, vs. Bos)
Shields (5-3 3.36, 2 R or less in 5 of last 6, vs. Was)
Buehrle (6-2 3.24, 3 R or more in last 3, 0-1 5.65 in June, at Mil)
Cueto (6-3 2.33, 7+ IP in 9 of last 10, 2-0 1.35 in June, 5-1 1.72 on road, at KC)
Lilly (7-4 3.00, 2 R total in last 3, 1-0 0.66 in June, 4-1 1.29 at home, vs. Minn)
Bills (8-3 2.73, 90 K in 85 IP, less than 7 Ip in 4 of last 5, at Tex)
Vargas (2-1 2.35, less than 6 IP in 4 of 6, at Col)
I eliminate Lee, Carp, Johan, Lowe, Happ, Buehrle, Lilly, Bills, andVargas because of who they play, but still I have 6 to choose from. Beckett is probably the best pick on the board, but I hate to take him in that park. My final 3 are going tobe Cain, Weaver and Cueto. Because Weaver plays on the best team of the 3 and the teams they are facing are equally crappy, I think I will take Weaver again. I know he's in an Al park, but he has beenas good as anyone in the last month or so.
ANNOUNCEMENT: The batter matchups are horrid today. I will lis who I think is a good pick, but very little of it will be based on BVSP. Who hits lefties/righties and who's hot will play more of a factor for me with these picks. The only possible load up I see is with the 'Stros.
First:
Youk (hot)
Berkman ( 3 multi hit games in last 5, vs. Crap starter)
Branyan (12 Hr vs. righties, at Coors)
Lee (coming around, 11 game hit streak and very, very cheap)
Derek is only 3.6 mil and Baker is no stud by any means. I'll pencil him in for now to save money for later. However, I may upgrade if I can after I've worked my way around the horn.
Second:
Sanchez (10-17 vs. Willis)
Every good hitter here is either struggling or facing a good starter. Damned if you do........gimme Sanchez for the time being.
Third:
Reynolds (hot)
Figgins (.439 in June)
Chipper (vs. rookie)
He shits on me every time I do it, but let me have Chip again.
Short:
Zobrist (hits lefties for average)
Escobar (hot, but got hit on hand last night)
Tejada (hitting .344 and I like the 'Stros tomm)
I'll take Tejada over Zo, just a feeling I have
Left:
Pierre (on road vs. Lefty, hitting .447 vs. Lefties)
Lee (does most of his damage vs. righties)
Soriano (Baker is a turd)
Abreu (hitting well but power has disappeared)
Only because Lee always seems to short me, I'll give Fonzie a shot)
Center:
Kemp (vs. lefty rook, .377 vs. lefties)
Hunter (hits righties well)
McLouth (warming up a little)
Torii is hitting better than Kemp right now.
Right:
Ichiro (3-4)
Vlad (10-17, 4HR)
Upton (hits best vs. righties)
Dye (.314 vs. righties)
Pence (.335 vs. right)
I have to go with Upton...Moehler sucks.
DH:
Sheff (8-28, 3HR)
I'm going to take Scott here, only becasue I think there is a chance Sheff could sit.
Catcher:
McCaan (vs rookie, should at least DH)
I'll take it, can't afford Mauer.
I have some money left, so I'm going to jump back to first and take Berkman over Lee. I think he has a better chance to go deep in that one. Again, I am sorry for the lack of batter info here, but there just isn't much to go by. Here is the final.....
FINAL LINEUP
C: McCaan
1B: Berkman
2B: Sanchez
3B: Larry Jones Jr
SS: Tejada
LF: Soriano
CF: Hunter
RF: Upton
DH: Scott
PS: Dream Weaver
STAT CORNER
Did you know that Matt Stairs has hit 246 home runs since he turned 29 years old? Leads the majors. WTF? I never realized he had hit that many.
It's time to look again at the best and worst hitters at home and away.
Top and bottom 10 at home (100 ab minimum):
M. Cabrera .400 Wells .162
Youkilis .390 Duncan .172
Sandoval .375 Swisher .183
Tejada .367 Giles .188
Morneau .365 Eckstein .189
Lind .357 Werth .191
Castillo .356 Rollins .193
Pujols .348 Beltre .193
Kinsler .347 Dunn .195
Zimmerman .346 Sizemore .202
Top and bottom 10 on the road (100 ab minimum)
Wright .417 Bruce .157
Ichiro .393 Ad. LaRoche .165
Beltran .385 Ortiz .171
Figgins .382 Atkins .177
Hanley .378 Griffey .180
Braun .374 Uggla .182
VMart .358 Kinsler .182
Bartlett .354 BJ Upton .189
Hill .353 C. Davis .196
A. Cabrera .352 Castillo .198
DISCLAIMER
My picks are my picks. 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
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