July 11th, 2009 Picks

(toggle)

(skip to picks)1-1-0 today, picked up a win with Carpenter and the Cards then took the Chicago Sky on a random pick. I figured I've had 9 streaks of five or better now, I can get back to W6 easy enough. And that's what I'm faced with now as the Sky lost in a pathetic effort. So on to the picks.

Recaps

Albert Pujols, Ryan Ludwick Have A Delightful Day At Wrigley

St. Louis Cardinals 8 - 3 Chicago Cubs

Chris Carpenter gave up a three run homer to Derrek Lee but otherwise the Cubs did not really threaten to score.

``Harden (5-6) threw 101 pitches in five innings, giving up seven hits and four runs. Aaron Heilman relieved in the sixth and the Cardinals quickly added four more runs. St. Louis loaded the bases on a single and two walks and Ludwick delivered a two-run single that put St. Louis up 6-3. Rick Ankiel walked to reload the bases and the Cards got another run when Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano couldn't hold Yadier Molina's shallow fly. No error was charged on the play because Soriano picked the ball up and was able to force Ankiel at second. Heilman then threw a wild pitch to allow the fourth run to cross."

Read more....Box Score

The Sky Is Falling, Indiana Extend Winning Streak To Nine

Indiana Fever 83 - 54 Chicago Sky

Typical WNBA blowout.

``The Sky (6-7) took their fourth straight loss and first at home. Chicago shot only 22.9 (8 of 35) in the opening half and its 54 points were a season low. The torrid pace eased after Indiana used a 9-0 run to build a 42-11 lead early in the second period. The Fever shot 52 percent (9 of 17) in the period on the way to a 54-23 halftime lead as Murphy hit all five of her shots for 11 points. The Fever also set team records for most points in an opening quarter and most first-half points and first-half point margin on the road."

Read more....Box Score

Picks
1) Mark Calcavecchia vs. Woody Austin - Austin cards a lower or equal front 9 score
2) Grasshoppers @ FC Aarau - Grasshoppers win
3) Paula Creamer vs. Cristie Kerr - Kerr cards a lower third round score
4) Houston Dynamo @ Seattle Sounders FC - Houston win or draw
5) New York Yankees @ Los Angeles Angels - Los Angeles
6) Los Angeles Sparks @ Washington Mystics - Washington
7) Chicago White Sox @ Minnesota Twins - Chicago
8) Atlanta Dream @ New York Liberty - New York
9) Matt Grice vs. Shannon Gugerty - Gugerty
10) Kyle Busch vs. Tony Stewart - Busch has a better finishing position
11) Columbus Crew @ Chicago Fire - Chicago win
12) Atlanta Braves @ Colorado Rockies - Atlanta
13) Phoenix Mercury @ Sacramento Monarchs - Phoenix
14) Texas Rangers @ Seattle Mariners - Texas
15) Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping - Bisping
16) Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir - Mir

Previews

2) It's the first game of the new season of the Axpo Super League in Switzerland featuring the ever-popular Grasshoppers Club at F.C. Aarau's Brügglifeld. Last season Grasshoppers finished in 4^th place with a 12-14-10 (W-D-L) record with 57 goals scored and 48 goals conceded. They were also the 4^th best team in terms of away record. FC Aarau finished in 5^th place with an 11-11-14 record and 35 goals scored with 51 goals conceded. They also had the 5^th best home record. Grasshoppers were 1-2-1 against FC Aarau last season with the only victory being a 3-0 trouncing of Aarau at Brügglifeld.

Overall it would seem Grasshoppers are not much more dominant than Aarau, certainly they weren't last season. Indeed, oddsmakers have Grasshoppers at +135 to win the match with FC Aarau at +175 and the draw at +220 so that overall the Aarau win or draw is being given a 61.4% chance of occuring. FC Aarau have lost a number of players to off-season transfers, however, including Kristian Nushi, Mario Mutsch, Cristian Ianu, Rogerio and Frédéric Page. Rogerio was their most efficient offensive player in terms of goals and assists per minute and he made the move to Grasshoppers. Grasshoppers will have to do without their top goal man Vincenzo Rinnella who is still recovering from off-season knee surgery. They will also be missing offensive midfielder Alain Schultz and defender Boris Smiljanic. It will be the debut of new Grasshoppers head coach Ciriaco Sforza, their ninth coach in the six years since winning the title in 2003. A lot is being made of his arrival and hopes are high around Grasshoppers Club. Honestly, I think FC Aarau will still have the quality to at least secure a draw and Grasshoppers is my pick only because I'm a fan and would like to see them start the season off with a bang.