Hey there guys,
I really don't even want to talk about how I did yesterday. I mean it was just awful. 2-9 (7-4 ats) in MLB? Ouch. Maybe I need rethink what I am doing here. Lucky for me this is just one series into the year so I should get a lot better before the season is over. The NBA and NHL are actually in what I think are the toughest parts of the schedule for people like me who pick the games, because now teams have already clinched or have been eliminated from the playoffs so it is hard to tell who is going to rest their star players more, and who is going to really play hard now that there is nothing really left to fight for in the regular season. That might explain why I went 2-1 (1-2 ats) in the NBA and 4-5 (5-4 ats) in the NHL. Oh well. At least for the day yesterday I would've made some money if I was a betting man as I went 13-10 for the day ATS. 1-6 in my upset picks though. Woof. Yeah maybe today will be better. Let's go with that for now.
*in Picks the Games in COLOR are the recommended games to watch; teams in BOLD are the teams that I Pick to win
SEC Baseball
Midweek Recap and 4/9 Preview and Picks
*the (#) is the teams current rpi
This past week had some solid wins for teams and some surprising losses but the Alabama Crimson Tide had a rough middle of the week going 1-1 as they lost to UAB (85) 4-11 but followed that up with a win over Jacksonville State (190) 10-4, their 2nd win over the Gamecocks this season; after taking the last two games of the Kentucky series the Arkansas Razorbacks followed that up by going 1-0 in the midweek with a blowout win over St. Louis (191) 32-8!; the Auburn Tigers had a solid midweek after losing the series at Alabama, by destroying Georgia State (212) 22-7 and then took out a tough South Alabama squad (46) 6-2; the Florida Gators went 1-0 this past week with a 12-2 win over Jacksonville (102); the Georgia Bulldogs are going through one of the toughest stretches of any team in the country as they just had a 3 game series at LSU and this week they had a home and away with Clemson (4), losing both 5-15 adn 6-14; the Kentucky Wildcats got a big win this past week by upsetting Louisville (5) 5-0; the LSU Tigers grabbed a couple of midweek wins as they took out Alcorn State (256)17-5 and won a close one with Southern Miss (63) 6-5; the Ole Miss Rebels continue to struggle after losing the series this past weekend to Tennessee they blew another one this time to Arkansas-Little Rock (144) 6-9; Jackson State didn't know what hit them as they lost to the Mississippi State Bulldogs 18-2; the South Carolina Gamecocks won a huge game as they took out the College of Charleston (18) 6-3; the Tennessee Volunteers took on a tough Western Carolina (25) team and lost 9-14; and the Vanderbilt Commodores took out inner city Rival Belmont (181) 12-5.
This week there are some solid games as #8 Florida heads to Tennessee, #10 Arkansas heads to Mississippi State, #24 Alabama travels to Kentucky, #15 Ole Miss takes on Georgia in Athens, Auburn plays host to #5 LSU, and in the Series of the Weekend the #11 South Carolina Gamecocks take their 1st place lead in the Eastern Division on the road to Nashville to take on the #20 Vanderbilt Commodores. Should be a fantastic series. This should be a great weekend.
*Series of the Week*
#11 South Carolina 23-6 (7-2) @ #20 Vanderbilt 25-6 (5-4)
6:00 PM
Starting Pitchers
SC: Blake Cooper, 5-0 3.11 era
Vandy: Sonny Gray, 4-3 2.33 era
My Pick: Vanderbilt 8-5
The Rest
#24 Alabama 20-9 (4-5) @ Kentucky 19-11 (2-7)
6:30 PM
Starting Pitchers
Bama: Adam Morgan, 4-0 3.60 era
Kent: Logan Darnell, 3-2 4.50 era
My Pick: Alabama 7-6
#10 Arkansas 23-6 (6-3) @ Mississippi State 16-13 (3-6)
6:30 PM
Starting Pitchers
Ark: Drew Smyly, 3-0 1.60 era
MSU: Caleb Reed, 0-2 4.20 era
My Pick: Arkansas 8-6
#5 LSU 25-4 (7-2) @ Auburn 20-10 (5-4)
7:00 PM
TV: CSS
Starting Pitchers
LSU: Anthony Ranaudo, 0-0 0.90 era
Aub: Cole Nelson, 4-1 3.29 era
My Pick: Auburn 7-6
#8 Florida 21-7 (6-3) @ Tennessee 15-15 (2-7)
7:00 PM
Starting Pitchers
Flo: Alex Panteliodis, 5-1 1.93 era
Tenn: Bryan Morgado, 2-3 5.06 era
My Pick: Florida 7-5
#15 Ole Miss 21-9 (5-4) @ Georgia 10-19 (2-7)
8:00 PM
TV: ESPNU
Starting Pitchers
Miss: Drew Pomeranz, 5-0 1.65 era
UGA: Justin Grimm, 2-3 4.46 era
My Pick: Ole Miss 8-5
MLB
4/8 Recap and 4/9 Preview and Picks
Yesterday was full of surprises and the MLB looked more like the NHL as far as Vegas goes as there were more upsets than there was chalk as the Blue Jays took the series from the Rangers with a 3-1 win despite the pitching of Texas starter C.J. Wilson who went 7inn of 5 hit shutout baseball, mowing down 9 on the way, but his bullpen failed him giving up 3 in the 9th; the Cubs avoided the sweep as they took down the (my) Braves 2-0; Miguel Cabrera (4/5 1hr 4rbi) and Magglio Ordonez (3/4 1hr 1rbi) each went yard as the Tigers took out the Royals 7-3; the Reds also avoided the sweep as they upset the Cardinals 2-1, Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo had a solid outing (8inn 1er 4hit 6k); the Athletics open up the season 3-1 after taking game 4 from the Mariners; Ronnie Belliard (3/5 1hr 4rbi) helped the Dodgers avoided an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Pirates as LA won 10-2; the Orioles played the Rays close all series long and finally came away with a 5-4 win to avoid the sweep; the Nationals sprinted out of the gate to a 3 run lead after 1 and would hold on to upset the Phillies 6-5 and avoid the sweep as well; the Indians took the series from the White Sox with a 5-3 win in extra innings; the Marlins have opened up the season well as they took the series from the Mets after a 3-1 win last night; and finally the Twins dominate the Angels 10-1 to take 3 of 4 in LA.
Today there are some solid games as the Blue Jays try to continue their solid start to the season as they take on the Orioles in Baltimore, the Braves and the Giants go head to head in San Francisco in a battle of two teams with pretty good pitching, the Dodgers try to turn things around as they head to Florida to take on the Marlins, the Mariners take on the Rangers in a battle of struggling division rivals, the Twins take their 3 game winning streak into Chicago as they take on the White Sox, and the A's does the same as they head to LA to take on the Angels.
*Game(s) of the Day*
BLUE JAYS @ orioles <----- UPSET
B. Morrow vs. B. Bergesen
braves @ GIANTS <----- UPSET
T. Hudson vs. J. Sanchez
dodgers @ MARLINS <----- UPSET
H. Kuroda vs. C. Volstad
MARINERS @ rangers <----- UPSET
J. Vargas vs. C. Lewis
ATHLETICS @ angels <----- UPSET
G. Gonzalez vs. M. Palmer
The Rest
indians @ TIGERS
D. Huff vs. R. Porcello
padres @ ROCKIES
C. Reed vs. J. De La Rosa
cubs @ REDS
C. Silva vs. H. Bailey
nationals @ METS
C. Mock vs. M. Pelfrey
YANKEES @ rays
J. Vasquez vs. D. Price
PHILLIES @ astros
J. Happ vs. B. Norris
TWINS @ white sox <----- UPSET
F. Liriano vs. J. Danks
RED SOX @ royals
T. Wakefield vs. K. Davies
cardinals @ BREWERS <----- UPSET
K. Lohse vs. D. Bush
pirates @ DIAMONDBACKS
C. Morton vs. R. Lopez
NBA
4/8 Recap and 4/9 Preview and Picks
Yesterday was a short day for the NBA that saw it's two MVP Puppets sit out as Joakim Noah (17pts 15rebs 4blks) and Bulls took hold of the 8th spot in the playoffs with a 1 point win over the LeBron James-less Cavaliers 109-108, as Mo Williams (35pts 10asst) really stepped up with the absence of the King; Tyreke Evans (28pts) lead the Kings to dominant performance with a 116-94 over the Clippers; and in the Finale the Nuggets moved into the #2 spot in in Western Conference Playoffs as Carmelo Anthony (31pts) lead Denver to a 98-96 win over the Kobe Bryant-less Lakers, who did get a solid performance from their other star Pau Gasol (26pts 13reb).
Today there are some pretty good games as the Raptors try take back the 8th spot in the East but they won't get it easy as they have to take on the Hawks in Atlanta, the Heat try to make it 10 in a row as they host the Pistons, the Suns and the Thunder battle in a game between two playoff bound teams, the Bobcats try to improve on the road performance as they head to Houston and take on the Rockets, who are not a bad team they just have the misfortune of playing the Western Conference, and finally the Trail Blazers and the Mavericks play in another crucial game that will go along way in determining the seeding in the Western Conference.
*Game(s) of the Day*
SUNS by 1 @ thunder (-4) <----- UPSET
BOBCATS by 1 @ rockets (-2.5) <----- UPSET
mavericks @ TRAIL BLAZERS (-5) by 3
The Rest
knicks @ MAGIC (-11.5) by 14
BUCKS (-4.5) by 7 @ 76ers
raptors @ HAWKS (-10.5) by 9
wizards @ CELTICS (-11.5) by 10
pacers @ CAVALIERS (-3) by 10
pistons @ HEAT (-11.5) by 12
JAZZ (-7) by 6 @ hornets
LAKERS (-7) by 11 @ timberwolves
BULLS @ (-5.5) by 7 @ nets
NHL
4/8 Recap and 4/9 Preview and Pick
Yesterday was a big day in the NHL as the Bruins gave themselves a big boost towards the playoff as they took out the Sabres 3-1; Eric Staal's FANTASTIC night, 3 goals 2 assists, and Chad LaRose's 4 points (2 goals 2 assists) helped the Hurricanes upset the Canadiens 5-2 and keep Montreal still fighting to clinch a playoff spot; the Penguins destroyed the Islanders 7-3 as Sidney Crosby racked up 4 points (1 goal 3 assists); the Lightning upset the Senators 4-3 in a shootout in Tampa Bay; Scott Clemmensen stopped 42 shots as the Panthers upset the Devils 3-2; the Stars took out the Ducks 3-2 in a shootout despite Anaheim Goalie Jonas Miller stopping 49 shots in the game; the Wild are closing out the season in good fashion, taking out the Flames 2-1 in a shootout; the Coyotes secured a 50 win season as they took out the Kings in a shootout in Los Angeles 3-2; and finally the Sharks took another big step towards clinching the top spot in the West by defeating the Canucks 4-2.
Today there are only 5 games today as the NHL is closing in on it's last day of the regular season, and there are two that I am going to be paying attention to as the Blackhawks head to Colorado to take on the Avalanche, a win would tie Chicago with San Jose for the top spot in the Western Conference with a game to go, but the most important game tonight is between the Flyers and the Rangers. Philadelphia is up 2 points in the Eastern Conference standings for that last playoff spot and each team has 2 games remaining. Both against each other. Including this one tonight in New York. The Rangers need to win them both to get in. Huge game tonight.
*Game(s) of the Day*
flyers @ RANGERS
The Rest
thrashers @ CAPITALS
RED WINGS @ blue jackets
ducks @ BLUES
BLACKHAWKS @ avalanche
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Alright guys, again I am sorry that this is up so late but I was at work forever, have not felt good today, and this new format takes a little bit more time than I am accustomed too. I will work on getting these up sooner over the next few days. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas just leave a comment below, text me at (256) 653-2393 or email us at wherethelandsharksare@gmail.com
Thank you for Reading
Batteman
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