Sunday May 30th Daily Picks

Hey there guys,

Well I had a pretty good day yesterday as far as my picks went as I racked up a 14-1 record (7-8 ATS). My one loss came as the Indians upset the Yankees 13-11. That sounds like a Baseball score right? But seriously what a fantastic baseball game. The Yankees were up 9-3 at one point! How often do you see a team down 9-3 come back and beat the Yankees? Lou Marson had an incredible day at the plate for the Indians going 3-5 with 3 RBI and likewise for the Yankees Robinson Cano had a great day going 3-4 with 3 RBI. And all of that came after Indians starting pitcher David Huff got hit upside the head by an Alex Rodriguez line drive. He is doing fine now though. But back to the game, that was a big loss for the Yankees as the Rays, Red Sox and even the Blue Jays won. Ladies and gentleman I know this sounds strange but the Toronto Blue Jays are a game behind the Yankees, and more importantly that Wild Card spot, as they beat the Orioles again, 5-2, behind 2 HR from Lyle Overbay and a great start by Brett Cecil, going 8 innings striking out 7 while allowing only 2 runs on 4 hits. Of course I can't forget to mention the 20th Perfect Game in Baseball history, as Roy Halladay struck out 11 as the Phillies defeated the Marlins 1-0. He is without a doubt a top 3 pitcher of our time and maybe one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Despite all of the talk about the Halladay's perfect game the Phils need to be careful though. They are not hitting the ball well as of late, in fact in their last 11 games they have scored 3 or more only 3 times while being shutout in 4. Their run average over that time frame is 1.9 runs per game. They are only 1 1/2 games ahead of the Braves, aka the Hottest team in Baseball, right now and they have to travel to Atlanta starting tomorrow. If their hitting continues to struggle they will leave Atlanta in 2nd place in the division. Maybe even worse. The NL East is so close right now, with the Last place Marlins only 5 games back, and 2 games from .500, so the Phighting Phils can't afford to many mistakes right now. Speaking of possible changes at the top there was one yesterday as the A's are now a 1/2 game up over the Rangers in the AL West as Orlando Hudson (2-4 1HR) and the Twins took out the Rangers, and Mark Ellis (3-4 1HR 4RBI) and the A's took out the Tigers. The AL West is an interesting division, filled mostly with pitching, and a lack of Offense. If the Rangers can develop some kind of pitching they could very well recover the lead and run away with the division. My Pick the Angels just need to get in a consistent habit of scoring runs, and the Mariners would just take the occasional hit at this point.

Well hopefully I can continue my winning ways today, there are some solid games today that include the 40 year old wonder Jamie Moyer going up against the Marlins Anibal Sanchez as the Phillies look to try and sweep the fish in Florida, Jake Peavy continues to try and get back to his dominant ways as he takes on James Shields and the Rays, Adam Wainwright and Ryan Dempster face off as the Rivals clash to decide the sereies, and in the pitching match up of the day Livan Hernandez and Jon Garland take the mound for the Nationals and Padres, respectively, in what should be a classic pitching duel. Should be fun.

Saturday May 29th Daily Picks

Hey there guys,

Well I am steadily getting better after a rocky re start. I went 8-7 yesterday (8-7 ATS). There were a couple of big surprises to me yesterday, like oh say, the Royals destroying the Red Sox 12-5. Didn't quite see that one coming. I know that Kansas City is one of the better hitting teams in the Majors but with Boston on the rise I figured they could match the Royals blow for blow. Now they face Greinke and the possibility of getting swept by the Royals in Boston. The Braves continue to be one of the Hottest teams in baseball with another win, granted it's over Pittsburgh, but a 7-3 win in a twice delayed game isn't bad. If the Marlins can protect home field and the Braves continue to win they could end up at the top of the NL East before the weekends over. And how about the Brewers??? They won a game at home!! Actually they have won 3 of their last 4, and this one against a good team! And what a game. 0-0 all the way to the bottom of the 9th before a Corey Hart 2 run walk off homer. But what a pitching battle, I mean you have Johan Santana going 8 innings of 3 hit shutout baseball, while Brewer Yovani Gallardo went 9 innings of shutout baseball, though he did give up 8 hits. All is not lost for Milwaukee thus far in the season. The Cardinals have proved anything but dominant, in part thanks to injuries, and who knows if the Reds are actually for real, and if not how long they'll be there. The Cubs will falter, because they are the Cubs. I mean against big rival Cardinals in Wrigley the Teddies lost 7-1. They need their bats to wake up immediately.

It's a big today, no really big games, I see only one upset, but there are some great pitching match ups today with Felix Hernandez facing Jered Weaver, C. J. Wilson of the Rangers taking the mound against the Twins' Carl Pavano, Zach Greinke going up against Clay Bucholz, and a battle of a couple NL Cy Young candidates with Roy Halladay and the Phiting Phils taking on the Josh Johnson and the Florida Fish. Should be an entertaining day.

Friday May 28th Daily Picks

Hey there guys,

Well yesterday was my best day since I have started back, as I went 8-4 (8-4 ATS), and I even went 4-2 in my Upset Picks as the Astro's gave up they tying run in the bottom of the 9th and then the winning run in the 10th as the Brewers came from behind to steal a 4-3 win; Ted Lilly surprised me as he ended up going 7 innings, allowing 3 hits while striking out 5, and not allowing a run, as the Cubs pulled the upset of the Dodgers 1-0. Although I missed those I did foresee that the Rockies would dismiss the Diamondbacks with ease, which they did 8-2 behind the bats of Ryan Spillborghs (3-4 1hr 2rbi), Carlos Gonzalez (3-4 1hr 1rbi) and Troy Tulowitzki (2-4 1hr 2rbi); I also called the Mets to sweep the Phillies which they did, shutting them out in all 3 games of their sweep, with Mike Pelfrey going 7 innings with 5 K's. Jose Reyes also played a big part, going 3-4 with 2 rbi, which is big because if Reyes gets going then this offense is going to pick up, and if they can continue to get better along with some decent pitching they have a shot at just maybe taking the NL East from the Phiting Phils. In my two Game(s) of they Day I also called a couple of upsets as the third time was a charm in my Minnesota over New York pick, which was mainly helped out by the fantastic day at the plate by Jason Kubel, who went 3/4 with 2 homers and 5 rbi; my other big game upset came with the Braves as I saw them completing the series win over the Marlins with an 8-3 final, as Yunel Escobar looked like he might be on his way back from injury as he went 2-3 with an rbi as well.

Today looks like it might provide some good action, granted I don't have any upsets for you but there are some solid match ups as the Cardinals head to Chicago in the 2nd biggest rivalry in baseball, the Yankees try to ward off the Red Sox hot run as they take on the Indians in New York, the White Sox are trying to turn things around as they head to Tampa to take on the Rays who are trying to recover after being swept by the Red Sox at home, the Reds try to keep atop of the NL Central as they take on the Astros, the Marlins and the Phillies play in a very big series at the Marlins as the Phils try to hold on to first place in the NL East with the Braves a game and a half back hosting the Pirates, and in what may be the game of the day the Rangers and the Twins meet up tonight in a battle of Division Leaders.

Hope you guys enjoy

Thursday May 27th Picks

Tim Hudson

Hey there guys,

Sorry for the no post yesterday, I had a lot on my plate and did not have much time to finish putting everything up. It's a good thing too. I have been pretty awful over the last couple of days, going 13-17, though I have gone 20-10 ATS. The Red Sox v Rays and Braves v Marlins have completely baffled me thus far but I think things are going to turn around as I have added in some components to my calculation which should really help out in the end. Things are really starting to get interesting now as some division leaders, ala the Twins, Phillies, and Rays, are on losing streaks while some teams are beginning to creep up, like the Rockies, Red Sox, and everyone in the NL East. What a competitive division huh? Every team in that division is over .500 and at most 3 games back. Should be fun to watch. Anyway. Here are today's picks. As always I would love to hear what you guys think.

Tuesday May 25th Daily Picks

Hey there guys,

This is running a little late today, mainly because I went to bed early for an interview, had some errands to run this afternoon, and then well I just fell asleep ha ha. Anyway yesterday was a decent start for the new calculation going 2-2 (2-2 ATS). I apparently should have paid more attention to how Clay Bucholz has pitched as of late as he continued to dominate going 6 innings and striking out 8 while only allowing 1 run in the Bo Sox 6-1 win. I also apparently gave too little credit to the Blue Jays bats against lefties, and while they were only able to manage 4 hits off of Jon Saunders they were able to get an early 2-0 lead and hold on for a 6-0 win. I did pick the White Sox defeating the Indians, though not by a 5 run margin, I'm really just looking for straight up accuracy at this point h ha. In my one bright moment from yesterday's games I picked Cinci to take out the Pirates 6-4 and they would win 7-5, oh so close from my prediction.
Hopefully I will be able to build off of that success tonight. There are some solid looking games tonight as Dallas Braden takes the hill for the A's as they head into Baltimore to take on the Orioles; the Red Sox are looking to keep up their hot streak as Jon Lester takes the mound against the Division Leading Rays; the Phillies head to New York where the Mets have been particularly dangerous as of late; Cincinnati looks to keep battling for the top spot in the NL Central as they host the Pirates tonight; in a game that I will definitely be keeping my eye on is the Dodgers at the Cubs, with Clayton Kershaw taking the hill against Ryan Dempster, should be an interesting one; the Yankees and the Twins continue to meet in what very well may be an AL Championship Series preview; Rich Harden tries to get back to the way he was pitching a few seasons ago tonight as he takes the hill for the Rangers in Kansas City; in what is probably the best pitching match up of the night Adam Wainwright takes the mound tonight for the Cardinals in San Diego against the Padres Jon Garland, this should be a fantastic duel that I can't wait to watch; in what is the SECOND best pitching match up a red hot Justin Verlander goes head-to-head with a very underrated but very good Doug Fister of the Mariners; and Livan Hernandez looks to keep up his career year as he takes on the Giants in San Fran. Should be fun to watch. Hope you guys enjoy.

May 24th MLB Power Rankings

Monday May 24th Daily Picks

Carl Crawford

Hey there guys,

Didn't mean to take a hiatus for so long but I have now learned some of the ins and outs of Microsoft Excel which means I can now do things A LOT more efficiently, even save a bunch of time doing my daily picks, which means more writing, and hopefully a better product. What is new that I am adding, for one is going to be a small preview on my games of the day and upsets, My Proj ERA for the Pitchers, which will be in (Parentheses) next to their name, and I'll also be showing the O/U as well. It will be next to the (-1.5) in a second set of parentheses. We'll see what you guys think.

5/19 Daily Thoughts NBA Edition

Future Washington Wizard?

Hey there guys,

Well first off I am going to say that I haven't been doing picks recently due to some struggles with blogger, some struggles with home internet and I've been tweaking my calculation so that I can try and be as accurate as possible. I am currently somewhere around 50%. Ish. Anyway. Today I've got some NBA thoughts on my mind, I am mainly going to talk about the impact of the draft lottery and I will also talk a little bit about the two series currently underway in the NBA. This is kind of long but then again I have a lot on my mind. Get a drink and snack, prepare to sit down and read roughly

Friday May 14th Picks

Hey there guys,

Running late putting this up.

Thursday May 13th Picks

Hey there guys,

Well I am back. At least this post is. I think my mind hasn't come back from vacation since I was in St. Louis. But my Daily Picks are back. Yesterday I went 9-7 (9-7 ATS). I had a couple of games taken from me in the end, as Washington and Colorado both won on 9th inning homers, and I didn't pick either one of them. Sigh. Speaking of teams I didn't pick the Canadiens upset the Penguins in game 7 as Montreal has eliminated the #1 Overall seed and the defending Stanley Cup Champions in the first two rounds of the Playoffs. I also picked the Bruins in 7 and after jumping out to a 3-0 lead they will now have to win in 7 if they plan on advancing. Tonight is a huge game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics, and while I am not buying into all of this hate being thrown towards LeBron I am going to say that as an Orlando Magic fan I am really hoping that Boston wins in 7 haha. Hope you guys enjoy.

Wednesday May 12th Picks

Hey there guys,

One game is already over and a bunch are already under way, tomorrow I get back to the way things were before I took my long break, daily recap, preview, daily thoughts, and every 3 days I'll do a 3 day transaction recap.

Tuesday May 11th Picks

Hey there guys,

Been real busy today. Keeping it short. Full Picks posts return on Thursday. Next two days will be late and no writing.

Monday May 10th Picks

Detroit Tiger 1B Miguel Cabrera

Hey there guys,

Well after this weekend it is apparent I still need to shake some of the rust off as I went 9-6 in MLB, 8-7 ATS, and 4-2 in SEC Baseball, finishing the weekend at 11-7. Ugh. I can definitely do better then that. I hope so at least. In a little update the from the day's playoff games the Suns took 4 in a row from the Spurs, as the #2 Seed "upset" the #7 seed in 4 straight, and Rajon Rondo was absolutely magnificent grabbing 18 rebounds as the Jekyll and Hyde Boston Celtics evened the series at 2-2 a piece. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs the Canucks won game 5 to make it 3-2 Blackhawks as they head back to Vancouver for Game 6. I am working very hard at finishing up some basketball stuff but most importantly I am preparing for this upcoming college, and for the first time Professional, football season. So occasionally I will have days like this with no writing, only picks, but know that I am working on the most important part of this blog, FOOTBALL.

Mother's Day Picks

Hey there guys,

It's Mother's Day so I am going to make this quick. Yesterday in I went 9-7 in the MLB (5-11 ATS), ugh, and I went 3-3 in SEC Baseball. Still rusty I guess. Anyway I am just going to put up picks today, not writing or anything special. It's Mothers day after all.

Saturday May 8th Picks

Hey there guys,

Well in my first day back I did pretty good going 8-5 in MLB, maybe a little rusty as I'd like to do a little better, but I did go 10-3 ATS. I also went 4-2 in SEC Baseball, although in both of my losses my picks were in the lead late in the game. In a little update of my Stanley Cup Predictions, the Penguins and the Cinderella Canadiens are tied up at 2 games a piece, I had the Pens in 5; Boston just missed out on sweeping the Flyers last night as Philly won 5-4 in overtime, but the series heads back to Boston with the Bruins up 3-1, I had the Bruins in 7; the Sharks got destroyed in their attempt to sweep the Red Wings the other night but they series picks back up in San Jose tonight as the Sharks are a game away from winning the series, I had the Sharks in 7; and finally the Blackhawks are up 3-1 over the Canucks, I had Chicago winning in 7. So things are looking good in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for me, I was tied with several of ESPN's NHL Experts after the first round and while many of them picked the Flyers, and Red Wings I might be able to grab the lead after round 2. In the NBA Playoffs, I had Cleveland in 6, and if the rest of the series plays out like it did last night the Cavs will win in 5. They are up 2-1 right now. I had the Magic sweeping the Hawks and as of right now all signs point to that happening as Orlando is up 2-0, including a 43 point win in Game 1, and a come from behind win that started in the 3rd that that ended up being a double digit win again for the Magic. The Lakers are also up 2-0 as they head to Utah now and the Jazz need a win because, despite the close scores, they Lakers have looked in control. Now everyone had the Spurs taking out the Suns, I picked Phoenix. Phoenix is up 3-0. Oh yeah. Well hopefully I can keep up my winning ways.

Friday May 7th Picks

Hey there guys,
It has been just over 3 weeks since I last posted my picks but I have since finished with my exams and am now back to picking some baseball, watching the NHL and NBA playoffs, and impatiently waiting the start of this upcoming football season. Let's see if I have any rust in me.

NBA Playoffs Second Round

Hey there guys,

Due to the 2nd Round of the Playoffs beginning before the first round of the playoffs ended I am already 3 games behind. Currently the Cleveland and Boston series is tied at 1 game a piece and th Lakers are up 1-0 over Utah. I am currently studying for exams so I will just review the results of the 1st round. In the East Cleveland in 5 over Chicago, Orlando in 4 over Charlotte, Atlanta in 7 over Milwaukee, and Boston in 5 over Miami. In the West the Lakers in 6 over Oklahoma City, San Antonio with a 6 game upset over #2 Dallas, Phoenix in 6 over Portland, and Utah with a 6 game upset over #5 Denver.