August 4th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)2-1-0 today though my blog picks got back to .750, I took Edwards in NASCAR and passed on Hamlin, Tampa Bay, and Gefle IF. *d'oh!* At least Verlander and the A's made up for that poor luck. And so on to the picks.

Denny Hamlin Comes From Behind At Pocono

Kurt Busch 9^th, Carl Edwards 18^th

Carl Edwards just didn't have the car to win this race. He consistently lost spots out of the restart.

``Having said Friday that he expected to win the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway, Hamlin charged to the front from the sixth position with 13th laps left in Monday's rain-postponed race and ended a 50-race drought in the Sprint Cup Series. After beating Juan Montoya to the checkered flag by .869 seconds, Hamlin wept in Victory Lane, overcome with emotion in the aftermath of the recent deaths of his grandmother, Thelma Clark, and the mother of tire specialist Patrick Mullen at Joe Gibbs Racing. With the strongest car in the field car at the 2.5-mile triangular track, Hamlin passed Clint Bowyer for the lead off Turn 1 on Lap 191 of 200 and stayed in front the rest of the way. Montoya slipped past Bowyer for the second spot on Lap 192."

Read More....LeaderboardLap-By-Lap CommentaryPhotosHighlights

Haren, D-Backs Bullpen Survive Mets Rally Arizona Diamondbacks 6 - 5 New York Mets Dan Haren - 7 IP, 3 K

Verlander Hangs Strong, Clete Belts One Past Baltimore Detroit Tigers 6 - 5 Baltimore Orioles Justin Verlander - 8 IP, 8 K

The Mets stayed true to form and kept with their ability to put the ball into play. ``Arizona won three of four in the series behind Reynolds, who put up impressive numbers despite resting during Sunday's 5-2 victory. The slugger went 5-for-12 with four homers and five RBIs against New York. Reynolds has seven long balls in his last seven games to give him 32 on the year and is batting .387 (24-for-62) with eight homers since the All-Star break. He is tied with Wright with four homers at Citi Field this season. Four relievers combined to shut out the Diamondbacks after Figueroa left, giving New York a chance to rally. Castillo hit a two-run single in the Mets' three-run fifth and Murphy went deep for his seventh homer to make it 6-5 in the sixth. New York had a chance to tie it in the eighth but couldn't come up with a big hit." Read More....Box ScorePhotos

Justin Verlander probably would have been pulled early if his poor inning had been the sixth instead of the first. ``For 15 minutes Monday, the Baltimore Orioles made Justin Verlander look like one of baseball's worst pitchers. It didn't last. The Detroit ace allowed five runs before getting his second out, but didn't give up another in his eight innings of work, allowing the Tigers to rally for a 6-5 victory. The Orioles stunned Verlander by scoring the five runs in the first, starting the game with four hits. Brian Roberts led off with a homer, and the next three batters singled to load the bases. Aubrey Huff made it 2-0 by grounding into a force at second before Ty Wigginton doubled in the third run and Luke Scott added a two-run double. "After that, he was a completely different pitcher," Huff said. Baltimore only got three more hits in the game." Read More....Box ScorePhotos

Rajai Davis Caps Oakland Rally With Two Run Triple

Oakland Athletics 3 - 2 Texas Rangers

That was wholly unexpected, considering the A's had 2 hits and 4 total baserunners the entire game going into the 9^th a 3 run rally was... a nice surprise.

``Pinch hitter Rajai Davis tripled down the right field line to drive in two runs and lift the Oakland Athletics to a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Monday night. A's starter Brett Anderson gave up six hits over 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and three walks. Dustin Nippert, who started in place of the injured Kevin Millwood, gave up a hit in five innings. He walked two and struck out five. C.J. Wilson (4-5) blew his third save in 16 chances after allowing singles to Jack Cust, Tommy Everidge and Mark Ellis, before Davis' triple. `We had the right people in the game to end it right there," Rangers' manager Ron Washington said. "But they pulled it off. We brought in our closer and they beat him.'"

Read More....Box ScorePhotos

Picks
1) FC Vaslui @ Omonia Nicosia - FC Vaslui win or draw
2) Sporting Lisbon @ Twente Enschede - Sporting Lisbon advances
3) San Antonio Silver Stars @ Los Angeles Sparks - Los Angeles
4) Arizona Diamondbacks @ Pittsburgh Pirates - Pittsburgh
5) Boston Red Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays - Tampa Bay
6) St. Louis Cardinals @ New York Mets - St. Louis
7) New York Liberty @ Detroit Shock - 147 points or fewer
8) San Francisco Giants @ Houston Astros - Houston
9) Los Angeles Angels @ Chicago White Sox - Los Angeles
10) Cappie Pondexter vs. Lauren Jackson - Pondexter scores more points
11) Milwaukee Brewers @ Los Angeles Dodgers - Los Angeles
12) How Many Home Runs Will Be Hit In Innings 4 through 6 (Braves @ Padres): Zero vs. 1 or more - Zero

August 3rd, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)1-2-0 today. Started off nicely with win courtesy of Ukraine in Donetsk but I overslept the Brondby pick. I took the Mets hoping they'd continue to streak but they reverted back into impotent form. A lot of poor plate discipline allowed Garland to take a complete game easily. Really my baseball picks were shytt yesterday so Atlanta had no chance. Billingsley dominated and Jurrjens got blown up in the 5^th. It was no good unless you're a Dodgers fan in which case it was good to see Billingsley kicking ass again. I think he'll be fine too, just a cramp. And so on to the picks.

Ukraine Jumps On England Early Once Again To Claim Under-19 Euro Championship

Ukraine U-19 2 - 0 England U-19

The sentiment here seems to be Ukraine just played a better game and may well have the more talented team.

``Ukraine became the first team to win the UEFA European Under-19 Championship on home soil as a goal early in each half from Denys Garmash and Dmytro Korkishko earned a clinical victory against England in Donetsk. As they had done in their semi-final, Yuriy Kalitvintsev's team made the perfect start with Garmash – whose double against Serbia on Thursday sealed Ukraine's place in the final – supplying another assured finish to Korkishko's near-post corner in the fifth minute. Provider turned scorer five minutes after half-time, Korkishko's perfectly-executed free-kick putting the home team in complete command and inflicting more final misery on England."

Read More....England RecapCoaches' CommentsUkraine's Korkishko CommentsMinutesPhotos

Garland Dominates Mets In Complete Game

Arizona Diamondbacks 5 - 2 New York Mets

So much for that blip of offense the Mets had managed to muster this past week.

``Jon Garland pitched his first complete game in more than a year and Chad Tracy hit a two-run double, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-2 victory over the New York Mets on Sunday. With streaking slugger Mark Reynolds getting a scheduled rest, Augie Ojeda started at third base for the Diamondbacks and reached base safely all five times up from the No. 8 spot in the lineup. Jeff Francoeur homered for the Mets (50-54), who had won six of eight. David Wright grounded into two double plays and finished 0 for 4, ending an 11-game hitting streak."

Read More....Box ScorePhotos

Dodgers Find Their Groove To Take Series In Atlanta

Los Angeles Dodgers 9 - 1 Atlanta Braves

Billingsley was on a major roll when he left the game with a leg cramp. Chances are it's nothing.

``Kemp had three hits, including a three-run homer in the fifth and a two-run single in the eighth as the Dodgers outhit the Braves 19-5. Andre Ethier and James Loney also had three hits. Chad Billingsley (11-6) threw five scoreless innings before leaving with a cramp in his right hamstring. Billingsley gave up only two hits with one walk and nine strikeouts in five innings. After leaving a combined five runners on base in the third and fourth innings, Jurrjens' luck ran out in the fifth. After leaving a combined five runners on base in the third and fourth innings, Jurrjens' luck ran out in the fifth."

Read More....Box ScorePhotos

Picks
1) Kurt Busch vs. Carl Edwards - Edwards has a better final position
2) Jeff Gordon vs. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin has a better final position
3) Kansas City Royals @ Tampa Bay Rays - Tampa Bay
4) Djugården @ Gefle IF - Gefle IF win
5) Dan Haren (v. Mets) vs. Justin Verlander (v. Orioles) - Verlander records more strikeouts
6) Chicago Cubs @ Cincinnati Reds - Chicago
7) Atlanta Braves @ San Diego Padres - Atlanta
8) Texas Rangers @ Oakland Athletics - Oakland

Previews
1,2) More or less just going by these odds from BetUs. Edwards seems to be favored quite a bit more than Kurt most places I've looked at while Hamlin and Gordon is predicted to be much closer. Here's the lineup for the race as well. Busch starts 4^th, Edwards 5^th, Jeff Gordon is 3^rd and Hamlin is 6^th.

Plate appearances per strikeout through August 2nd, 2009. Click image for larger view.

5) Looking at this matchup it seems to be a fairly close one. Dan Haren has an 8.88 K/9 and averages 6.95 strikeouts per game. Justin Verlander has a 10.65 K/9 and averages 7.82 strikeouts per game. That's especially impressive for Verlander considering he's pitching against a designated hitter each time out while Haren gets a couple shots at the pitcher each game. Combine that with the fact that Haren is pitching on the road against the Mets while Verlander is at home and I have to give the advantage to Verlander, hands down. Looking at the graph on the right the Mets take more plate appearances to strike out than any other team in the league. The Orioles are right up there as well but for the past month alone the Orioles are down to 5.56 PA/SO while the Mets are still league leaders at 7.06. Even if the Orioles hadn't been striking out more often I still wouldn't bet on the Mets swinging and missing or watching the ball slide into the zone more often than Baltimore. Of course, Verlander could possibly get chased early by Baltimore and end up with a low strikeout count but I think Haren will have to pitch a complete game to get more than 6.

August 2nd, 2009 Picks

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Picks
1) England U19 @ Ukraine U19 - Ukraine U19 win or draw
2) FC Midtjylland @ Brøndby IF - Brøndby IF win
3) Arizona Diamondbacks @ New York Mets - New York
4) Buick Open Winning Score: 22 under or lower vs. 21 under or higher - 21 under or higher
5) Kurt Busch vs. Carl Edwards - Edwards has a better final position
6) New York Yankees @ Chicago White Sox - Chicago
7) Los Angeles Angels @ Minnesota Twins - Minnesota
8) Indiana Fever @ Washington Mystics - Indiana
9) Toronto Blue Jays @ Oakland Athletics - Toronto
10) Chicago Cubs @ Florida Marlins - Florida
11) Connecticut Sun @ Detroit Shock - Detroit
12) Los Angeles Dodgers @ Atlanta Braves - Atlanta

Random Notes
First off, check out Chad Billingsley's game log. In the past month and more he's got a couple of nice quality starts... against Cincinnati and the Padres. Against St. Louis, Houston, Milwaukee he was knocked around, badly. 6 walks against the Cards? 5 outs to 6 earned runs against the Astros? With Jurrjens pitching and Manny in an ever longer slump Atlanta seems like a good pick there.
Same with the Marlins. The Cubs were expected to contend and win the NL Central but Dempster is not the most reliable pitcher to roll with if you're calling a road win. Nolasco, on the other hand, has done well lately. Well enough to make this a close game through 6 innings.
I do like Toronto on the road as Vin Mazzaro has been shown to be quite hittable. The Athletics have been rock solid offensively scoring 5+ runs in each of their last 5 games. Plus Toronto's bullpen is never a safe bet to hold a lead. I'm almost talking myself out of this one but am counting on Ricky Romero to go deep in the game.
Weaver's right handed. If he's not 100% on with his stuff today Mauer, Morneau, and the rest, could take advantage. Seriously.
Damn you SM, are you seriously going to leave this Mets game locked through a rain delay? Inconsistent much?

August 1st, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)3-1-0 today. Finally had a real solid day on the blog. The previews of the matchups have been rather sparse lately and that's a combination of being busy with other things like differential equation proofs (I know they work for real world problems but the Ivories like a bit more rigor). That will probably be the case for a few days but I'll try and get up some bare bones previews at least. Started off with Tiger Woods' incredible start on the back 9, then SV Ried disappointed themselves and me, but Volstad and the Marlins got me back on track followed by the Phillies breaking out of their funk (kind of) just in time to give Cliff Lee the win. And so it's on to a new month and a new day of picks. Good luck you monthly maniacs!

Tiger Roars Back Up The Leader Board With 63, John Senden Takes Weekend Lead

Tiger Woods' First 9 Holes: 30

Tiger Woods was just in a career best kind of mood to start the day. I really think his early morning start helped out while his afternoon start hurt him in the first round and will limit his success in the third round.

``Tiger Woods had the best five-hole start of his career, chipping in for eagle and making four birdies. Woods finished with a season-low 9-under 63 Friday in the Buick Open to shoot up the leaderboard. The round was his best round in relation to par in four years. Woods was coming off what he said was probably the worst putting day of his career on Thursday, leading to a lackluster 71 in his first competitive round since missing the cut at the British Open. He quickly clawed back into contention with his birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie tear and finished the day 10 under for the tournament. John Senden shot a 66 to take the second-round lead at 14 under, two shots ahead of Michael Letzig (65) and another stroke in front of Vaughn Taylor (68) and Bill Lunde (65). Woods entered the weekend four strokes back in a pack of six, including Kevin Stadler, who shot his second straight 67. Senden is shooting for his second PGA TOUR title and first in three years. The Australian has four top-10 finishes this season, including a pair of fourth-place ties."

Read More....LeaderboardPhotosTiger's Round HighlightsOther Highlights

Newcomers SC Magna Put SV Ried's Six Match Streak To An End

SC Magna Wiener Neustadt 2 - 1 SV Josko Ried

SV Ried had some golden opportunities slip by such as Jonathon taking a shot with no defenders except the keeper in front of goal. He booted it right to the goalie. "Unglaublich!" (unbelievable!) cried the announcers. Bummer for them.

It was a nerve-wracking end to the game. It was an extremely important victory because we were exposed by Graz [last week]. Now we're back in the championship race. ---SC Magna Wiener Neustadt coach Helmut Kraft
I can't really criticize our effort. Our defense appeared to be a little arrogant. Their offense was just of a higher quality. ---SV Ried coach Paul Gludovatz
It was a great game. We turned things around and I got a shot on goal. We showed character today. We'll try to take the first half also next game. ---Diego Viana, SC Magna
I had faith I could score a goal even when I was on the sidelines. We showed we can succeed even without the lead and win a game. We're sure better at home than away. ---Tomas Simkovic, SC Magna
We were inattentive to their counter attack and that's something you can't afford away from home. They were two careless goals. We may as well have made the goals for them. We had the game wrapped up and have only ourselves to blame for the loss. ---Herwig Drechsel, SV Ried

Quotes & CommentarySC Magna RecapSV Ried Recap

Marlins Wrestle One Away From Cubs

Florida Marlins 5 - 2 Chicago Cubs

Chris Volstad was solid and the Cubs relievers were uncharacteristically poor. Volstad at home was the main reason for taking the Marlins here I thought.

``Volstad retired the first 12 batters and took a shutout into the seventh, but Jake Fox's two-out, two-run homer tied the score at 2-all. The hit brought a roar from the crowd of 25,024, with many of the fans clad in Cubs blue. It was the 22nd homer allowed by Volstad, who went 6 ²/₃ innings. The score was 2-all when Carlos Marmol (2-2) came into the game in the eighth with a scoreless streak of 8 1/3 innings, but he walked the first two batters. Dan Uggla scored from second on Baker's hit, and Helms doubled to hike his average as a pinch-hitter to .387. Florida won despite striking out 13 times, stranding nine runners and committing an error for the first time in nine games."

Read More....Box ScorePhotos

Stellar Cliff Lee Completes Game In First Start With Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies 5 - 1 San Francisco Giants

Thankfully Philadelphia finally managed to get a hit with men on base sometime in the latter stages of the game. Ibañez and Howard were still slugs though. Thankfully Lee was practically unhittable.

``Jayson Werth homered to put Philadelphia ahead early and added a two-run single in the seventh, Raul Ibanez drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh for an insurance run and Lee did the rest. Lee pitched a four-hitter, carrying a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and even adding two hits with the bat, and the Philadelphia Phillies felt an immediate impact two days after acquiring the left-hander from Cleveland, beating the San Francisco Giants 5-1 on Friday night. Lee doubled in the eighth for his first career extra-base hit and that gave him his first multihit game; he doubled his previous career hit total. Fittingly, it was Ben Francisco -- who also came to the Phillies from the Indians on Wednesday -- whose sacrifice fly helped Lee score his first career run."

Read More....Box ScorePhotos

Picks
1) FC Sion Sitten @ Neuchâtel Xamax FC - Neuchâtel Xamax FC win
2) New Zealand @ South Africa - South Africa
3) Winnipeg @ Toronto - 44 points or fewer
4) Tiger Woods' 3^rd Round Score: 66 or lower vs. 67 or higher - 67 or higher
5) Los Angeles Dodgers @ Atlanta Braves - Atlanta
6) New York Yankees @ Chicago White Sox - New York
7) Carl Edwards vs. Brad Keselowski - Edwards has a better finishing position
8) Los Angeles Angels @ Minnesota Twins - Minnesota
9) Arizona Diamondbacks @ New York Mets - Arizona
10) Toronto F.C. @ New England Revolution - Toronto F.C. win or draw
11) Phoenix Mercury @ Minnesota Lynx - Minnesota
12) Seattle Mariners @ Texas Rangers - Seattle
13) Saskatchewan Roughriders @ Calgary Stampeders - Saskatchewan wins or loses by 9 or less points
14) Los Angeles Sparks @ Sacramento Monarchs - Sacramento

July 31st, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)1-2-0 again today. Started off on the wrong foot with Scott Verplank. Then took the Santana pick in lieu of the two Audi Cup games. It was nice to have one in the bag early on rather than going through two penalty kick situations though I would have had two wins out of it instead one. I waited until the evening to take the 55 points or over and this one turned out like so many other tease-ems with the scoring amping up in the final minutes of the game only to fall three points short. My picks have been way off lately. After the past few weeks of heavy favorites winning practically every game I've been slow to adjust back to the norm of actual 50/50 toss ups where the apparent underdog pulls off the win fairly often. And so on to the picks.

Steve Lowry Makes Early Morning Run To Top Leaderboard At -9, Tiger Woods Outside Cut For Now

Front 9 Scores: S. Appleby 35, S. Verplank 36

I really figured Verplank, with a series of top 10 finishes the past few weekends, would outhit Appleby who hadn't played at Warwick Hills since 2005. Mid-range putting is such a big factor towards your final score.

``Two weeks ago in the British Open, Woods was 7 over during a six-hole span and ended up missing a cut for the first time in three years. If Woods fails to break 70 in the second round on Friday, he will put himself in danger of missing cuts in consecutive tournaments for the first time as a pro. It's too early, though, to count him out for the weekend at Warwick Hills even though the cut is usually 3 or 4 under. He opened the 2005 Buick Open with a 71, bounced back with a course-record tying 61 and finished tied for second. Lowery took advantage of perfect conditions -- smooth, receptive greens and calm winds -- in the morning by tying a course record with a 29 on the front nine and finishing 9-under 63. John Senden also did, making five straight birdies in the morning and finishing with nine to end up only a shot off the lead. Y.E. Yang, James Nitties, Vaughn Taylor, Brian Vranesh were two strokes back with 65s."

Read More....LeaderboardPhotosHighlights

Rockies Remain Feeble In New York As Santana Joins 12-Win Club

New York Mets 7 - 0 Colorado Rockies

Colorado finally won a game in New York in the second game of the doubleheader, so they're something like 4-24 now in their last 28 in New York against the Mets.

``Santana (12-8) struck out eight and walked one in his first career outing against Colorado, allowing just four hits. The two-time Cy Young Award winner closed out July with a 3-2 record and a sparkling 1.82 ERA in five starts. Bobby Parnell and Tim Redding each pitched an inning to finish the four-hitter. New York, posted its highest run total in a Santana start since they beat the Nationals 7-4 on June 27. The Rockies have lost three straight for the first time since they dropped four in a row from May 31-June 3. They haven't scored since Clint Barmes' solo homer in the fifth inning of Monday night's 7-3 loss in the series opener. Ian Stewart narrowly missed a grand slam with a long foul ball off Santana in the fourth, then struck out to end the inning."

Read More....Box ScorePhotos

Ray Stamps Out Alouettes' Perfect Season

Edmonton Eskimos 33 - 19 Montreal Alouettes

Things got off to an ominous start for anyone hoping these teams combine for 55+ points. Montreal marched down the field on their first two possessions only to be stopped once they got within striking distance.

``Montreal efficiently marched the ball up the field on its first two possessions, but Edmonton held them to a pair of Damon Duval field goals. Eskimos kicker Noel Prefontaine responded with a field goal of his own and the Alouettes held a 6-3 lead after the opening quarter. Montreal recorded its first touchdown of the game with 7:40 to play after a 39-yard punt return by Larry Taylor eventually led to a one-yard TD run by Avon Cobourne to cut the score to 26-16. The Eskimos looked like they were going to restore their lead after a 65-yard kick return from Arkee Whitlock, but Ray was picked off at the Alouettes 15 by Jerald Brown. A 31-yard field goal by Duval to cut the lead to a converted touchdown with three and a half minutes to play. However the Eskimos rebounded under pressure as Ray was able to hit a wide-open Stamps for a 48-yard TD pass with two minutes remaining to put Edmonton back ahead with a comfortable margin."

Read More....Box Score

Picks
1) Tiger Woods' Score On The Back 9: 33 or lower vs. 34 or higher - 33 or lower
2) West Indies vs. Bangladesh - Bangladesh
3) Y.E. Yang vs. Jim Furyk - Yang cards a lower or equal front 9 score
4) SV Josko Ried @ SC Magna Wiener Neustadt - SV Josko Ried win or draw
5) Will A MotoX Rider Land A Front Flip: Yes vs. No - No
6) Boston Red Sox @ Baltimore Orioles - Boston
7) Chicago Cubs @ Florida Marlins - Florida
8) Minnesota Lynx @ Detroit Shock - Detroit
9) Julio Diaz vs. Victor Manuel Cayo - Cayo
10) Los Angeles Angels @ Minnesota Twins - Minnesota
11) New York Yankees @ Chicago White Sox - Chicago
12) Milwaukee Brewers @ San Diego Padres - San Diego
13) Philadelphia Phillies @ San Francisco Giants - Philadelphia
14) Toronto Blue Jays @ Oakland Athletics - Oakland records more hits in innings 4 through 6

July 30th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)1-2-0 today with Man U doing right by me but then just pure patheticry. First the danger in picking Duke I pointed out, they like to pull him early, was spot on. 7 shutout innings, 87 pitches, 6 hits. I guess that's not the kind of pitcher you want to keep in, not when you can pinch hit for them with two outs and nobody on base. Cain got a complete game shutout and a no-decision. Sad. Philadelphia then decided to celebrate the acquisition of Cliff Lee by tickling one another's taints in the dugout while spazzing out at bat, allowing Yusmeiro Petit to dominate them. I guess they figure pitching is their strength now. Hahah, but seriously nice one Petit, way to save your job. And on to the picks.

Recaps

Anderson, Valencia Tally First Career Red Devils Goals In Defeat Of Boca

Manchester United 2 - 1 Boca Juniors

Manchester United showed they'll still be a tough club with or without Ronaldo and Tevez though Alex Ferguson did express some concern over their play.

``Anderson, whose 75 senior appearances for United have so far produced not a single goal, ended his barren run, albeit in a non-competitive fixture, with a curling left-foot free-kick on 23 minutes of this Audi Cup clash in the Allianz Arena. Had Ronaldo still been a United player, it is unlikely that Anderson would have been allowed anywhere near the set-piece, yet the former Porto midfielder displayed rare accuracy to send the ball past the statuesque goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri. Ferguson has conceded that expecting Valencia to prove a direct replacement for Ronaldo would be a tall order, but the 23 year-old was bright and positive before he extended United's lead with a long range strike on 42 minutes. Having received the ball from Wayne Rooney 40 yards from goal, Valencia raced past two Boca defenders before aiming a right-foot effort goalwards from the edge of the penalty area. Abbondanzieri should have saved comfortably, but ball squirmed under the Argentina No 1's body, enabling Valencia to claim a welcome debut goal."

Read More....`Boca Were The Better Team In The Second Half'Manchester RecapBoca RecapHighlights

See Anderson's 1^st Goal
See Valencia Put ManU Up 2-0

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Cain Misses Chance For 13^th Win As Giants Finally Tally In The Tenth

San Francisco Giants 1 - 0 Pittsburgh Pirates (in 10)
M. Cain 9 IP, 0 ER; Z. Duke 7 IP, 0 ER

It's difficult to truly criticize Pittsburgh for pulling Duke after 87 pitches even though he had not given up a run. His replacement, Grabow, pitched two perfect innings before Capps blew it in the 10^th.

``Randy Winn lined an RBI single down the first-base line with two outs in the 10th inning and the San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 on Wednesday for a three-game sweep. Cain, named an NL All-Star but unable to participate because of an arm injury, struck out four and walked two in an impressive 111-pitch outing. He hasn't lost in six starts since a June 26 defeat at Milwaukee. Pirates left-hander Zach Duke hung tough with Cain, working out of some tough jams to keep the game scoreless. The Giants squandered scoring chances in the second, fourth, fifth and seventh innings."

Read More....Box ScorePhotos

Phucking Phillies Dominated By Yusmeiro

Arizona Diamondbacks 4 - 0 Philadelphia Phillies

Petit is a guy who got chased by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 4¹/₃ innings in his last start. This kind of shit really happens in baseball. 9 runs in one inning against Cueto one day, zero runs in 9 innings against YPet the next.

``Facing the potent Phillies lineup, Petit gave up a leadoff single to Jimmy Rollins, then began to cruise. He allowed a single to Raul Ibanez leading off the second before retiring 15 of the next 16 batters, including 13 straight at one point. `It feels good, especially against that team,' Petit said through an interpreter. `It's a strong and pretty good-hitting club. It makes you feel good about yourself.' After Ryan Howard singled and Ibanez doubled to open the seventh, Petit left to a standing ovation from the Chase Field crowd. Juan Gutierrez came on and struck out Jayson Werth and Greg Dobbs before walking Carlos Ruiz to load the bases. Gutierrez escaped the jam by retiring pinch-hitter Pedro Feliz on a fly to center. `To come out of that unscathed is pretty much the story of the game in that one inning,' Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said."

Read More....Box ScorePhotos

Picks
1) Stuart Appleby vs. Scott Verplank - Verplank cards a lower front 9 score
2) Colorado Rockies @ New York Mets - New York
3) Boca Juniors vs. AC Milan - Boca Juniors
4) Kansas City Royals @ Baltimore Orioles - Kansas City
5) Tiger Woods' Score On The Four Par 5's: 18 strokes or fewer vs. 19 strokes or more - 18 or fewer
6) Larry Mize vs. Tom Watson - Watson cards a lower first round score
7) San Antonio Silver Stars @ Sacramento Monarchs - Sacramento
8) Manchester United @ Bayern Munich - Bayern Munich
9) Phoenix Mercury @ Atlanta Dream - Phoenix
10) Los Angeles Dodgers @ St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis
11) Montreal Alouettes @ Edmonton Eskimos - 55 points or more
12) Philadelphia Phillies @ San Francisco Giants - Philadelphia
13) How Many Runs Will Be Scored In Innings 4 Through 6 (Philles @ Giants): 2 or less vs. 3 or more - 3 or more

Previews

Tiger Woods' Par 5 Scores
2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
17	19	19	20	17
16	14	20	16	19
19	17	16	17	18
17	16	16	19	18

5) Tiger Woods has played this course each year from 2002 to 2006, making the cut all four years, and winning the tournament twice. This is his first year playing the Buick Open since then, however. In those five years he played 20 rounds and managed to complete the four par 5's in 18 strokes or fewer 13 times. In 2003 he took 14 strokes on the par 5's one round, carding two eagles and two birdies. In the five first rounds he played he took 18 or fewer strokes only twice, however. The par 5's on this course are all fairly easy with the most difficult of them being the 13^th most difficult over the past 24 years. The average score on all four par 5's over those 24 years is under par. One might wish to look at completed rounds on the leaderboard to get a sense of how many players are taking 18 or fewer strokes on these holes but I imagine that list will include players who are not even going to make the cut. In other words, it won't take Tiger being Tiger to go under here today.

July 29th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)Gah, I knew I shouldn't have drowned that baby kitten the other day as I'm currently being raped by karma for it. 0-2-0 today with the Braves and Blue Jays. Two walk off hits, two losses. Whether it was a home run or a single chipped off the dirt (check out the Mariners video to see the hit) the team I picked against got what it needed. Oh well, I'm going to drown a baby kitten tomorrow anyways. Take that karma!

Recaps

Glooooaaaaad!!

Florida Marlins 4 - 3 Atlanta Braves

Gload pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth and gave Rafael Soriano his second blown save in 18 tries this season. This kind of thing just happens.

``Starters Jair Jurrjens and Ricky Nolasco departed with the score 2-2. Jurrjens pitched six innings, Nolasco seven. Atlanta's Garret Anderson hit a go-ahead homer to lead off the top of the ninth against Leo Nunez (3-3). Pinch-hitter Ross Gload hit a two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth, and the Florida Marlins rallied past the Atlanta Braves 4-3 on Tuesday night. Cody Ross walked against Rafael Soriano (1-2) to start the ninth and advanced on a sacrifice. Gload pulled a 3-1 pitch into the right-field seats and was mobbed by teammates when he reached the plate. Soriano blew a save for only the second time in 16 chances."

Read More....Box ScorePhotos

Ichirroooooo!!

Seattle Mariners 4 - 3 Toronto Blue Jays

First off, I can't believe Ichiro hasn't had a walk-off hit before today. Second of all, check the 'read more' link. What a great hit. I still think baseball players are the least athletic of any sport though. Look at the medium trot the Blue Jays fielders use to try and get to that one. Plops down right between them.

``Ichiro Suzuki dumped an 0-2 pitch from Toronto reliever Scott Downs into center field with two outs in the ninth inning to score Rob Johnson, and the Seattle Mariners snapped their four-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Blue Jays on Tuesday night. Suzuki golfed the pitch nearly off the dirt and served it over the head of shortstop Marco Scutaro and in front of center fielder Vernon Wells. It was the first game-ending hit of Suzuki's career. Seattle loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth off Downs. He got two quick outs, but couldn't sneak the last pitch past the league leader in hits."

Read More....Box Score

Picks
1) Boca Juniors vs. Manchester United - Manchester United win
2) AC Milan @ Bayern Munich - Bayern Munich win
3) Zach Duke vs. Matt Cain - Duke pitches more innings
4) Kansas City Royals @ Baltimore Orioles - Kansas City
5) New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays - Tampa Bay
6) Los Angeles Sparks @ Chicago Sky - Chicago
7) Detroit Tigers @ Texas Rangers - Detroit
8) Los Angeles Dodgers @ St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis
9) Everton vs. MLS All-Stars - MLS All-Stars win
10) Philadelphia Phillies @ Arizona Diamondbacks - Philadelphia
11) Result Of Ryan Howard's 2^nd Plate Appearance: Hit or Walk vs. Any Other Result - Hit or walk

Previews

This shows how often Duke and Cain have pitched a certain number of innings. Note: `6' is 6 to 6.2 innings. Click image for larger view.

3) The graph on the right is a histogram showing how often Zach Duke and Matt Cain have pitched a certain number of innings. They've each started 20 games this season. Matt Cain's starts add up to 19 because he has one start where he pitched 1²/₃ innings and had to leave after being struck in the arm with a line drive. That was on July 11^th and since then he's come back to pitch two games for 7 innings so he's fine, health-wise. Aside from that one game Cain is averaging 6.8 innings per start while Duke is averaging 7 innings per start. The graph shows that Cain has a couple more complete games under his belt but that Duke has finished 8 innings six times while Cain has gone through the 8^th in only those three complete games. San Francisco has shown a greater willingness to let Cain finish games but Duke has shown a greater ability to get through innings efficiently.

Duke really is a more economical pitcher and that is the main reason I give him the nod in this prop. So far this season batters are swinging at 29% of his pitches outside the zone and making contact with 69% of those pitches. Compare that with Cain who is getting batters to chase on only 25.3% of his pitches. Batters are only making contact with 59.5% of those pitches. Overall, Duke gets batters to put the ball into play with fewer pitches then and with a 1.23 WHIP those are generally turning into outs. One can also look at each team's plate discipline. The Giants are `tops' in the league when it comes to swinging at pitches outside of the strike zone. The Pirates aren't great but nowhere near as bad as the Giants. The last time Duke pitched against San Francisco he used up 82 pitches to complete 7 innings. Matt Cain also pitched 7 innings in that game but it took him 107 pitches to get there. The one danger picking Duke is that Pittsburgh likes to relieve Duke early in his pitch count, especially in close games. They have a lot of faith in the bullpen.