Odds On Most Any Matchup: 5dimesSkyBetBetFairBetUS

And So It Goes....

Overall: 7-1-0 (0.875)
Basis Function: Daubechies4

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Sunday, June 21, 2009

June 21st, 2009 Picks (Happy Fathers Day)

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(skip to picks)0-2-0 today for me. I utilized my special ability to select losing picks out of a crop of winners which is actually more helpful than it might seem at first glance. OK, it's really not helpful so much as frustrating but I try to put a positive spin on these kinds of things. Beckett got his first complete game shutout of the season and the Padres went down swinging. So on to the picks.

Recaps

Beckett Earns First Complete Game Shutout, Spoils Lowe's Return To Fenway
Boston Red Sox 3 - 0 Atlanta Braves (Beckett 7 K, 5 H)
``Josh Beckett allowed just five singles for his first shutout since joining the Red Sox, and Jason Varitek doubled twice against his ex-batterymate to lead Boston to a 3-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night. Beckett (8-3) rebounded after giving up a season-high 11 hits in his last outing, throwing just 94 pitches for his first complete game of the year and the sixth of his career. He struck out seven, walked none and only allowed one runner to reach second base to win for the sixth time in seven decisions. Lowe received a loud ovation when he left in the seventh, but Beckett's came at the end of the game, and it was even louder."
Read more....Box Score

San Diego's Interleague Woes Continue As Oakland Powers It's Way To A Win Away From Home
Oakland Athletics 6 - 3 San Diego Padres
Adrian Gonzalez continued his poor play and the Padres were fairly shut down by the Oakland pitching staff.
``Adam Kennedy tied his career high with four hits, including a home run, and scored three times as the Oakland Athletics beat San Diego 6-3 on Saturday night, continuing the Padres' interleague woes. San Diego scored two runs in the 3rd and had the bases loaded with no outs, but failed to score again when Adrian Gonzalez struck out looking followed by Chase Hundley grounding into a double play. Kennedy and Jack Cust hit back-to-back homers with two outs in the 8th off Greg Burke to seal the win. San Diego dropped to 1-7 in interleague play, the worst in the majors."
Read more....Box Score



Picks
1) Sri Lanka vs. Pakistan - Pakistan
2) Chicago White Sox @ Cincinnati Reds - Chicago
3) Atlanta Braves @ Boston Red Sox - Atlanta
4) Brazil vs. Italy - Brazil win
5) St. Louis Cardinals @ Kansas City Royals - St. Louis
6) Houston Astros @ Minnesota Twins - Houston
7) United States vs. Egypt - Egypt win
8) Texas Rangers @ San Francisco Giants - San Francisco
9) Oakland Athletics @ San Diego Padres - Oakland
10) Jeff Gordon vs. Juan Pablo Montoya - Montoya has a better finishing position
11) Seattle Storm @ Phoenix Mercury - Phoenix
12) Los Angeles Dodgers @ Los Angeles Angels - Angels
13) Sacramento Monarchs @ Los Angeles Sparks - Los Angeles

Previews

3) Where has the Red Sox offense gone? They still have some incredible power, but in their last three games they are batting an atrocious .130 with nearly all of their recent runs being scored from home runs. Sure they had a game shortened by rain in those past three, but it hardly explains the overall batting average dip. Today they will face off against Jair Jurrjens whose only experience against the Red Sox's lineup is 4 at bats against Jason Bay to whom he conceded one single while striking him out twice. Jurrjens has a 2.89 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP over 81 innings pitched this season, though he's struggled a bit over the past month. In fact, neither he nor Tim Wakefield
WakefieldFLANYYDET@TORNYMTOR
Gm.Score554349233769
Jurrjens@CINPITMIL@ARITORCOL
Gm.Score486048354972
Negative
Bad
Mediocre
Quality
Gem
Click here for a definition of game scores.
have performed particularly well over that time frame. I figure both pitchers will have a good game, but Jurrjens will be just a bit better on the day.