October 1st Picks, 2009

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(skip to picks)Again the soccer picks killed me. Took Australia to score first even though I knew Oceanic teams typically are weak, then hit the fail button again when I banked on Brazil's U-20 team to score early and often. They did not score at all. After that I took Manchester United at home, but they and Chelsea each won by one goal. Finally picked up a win when I switched my pick to Toronto with Boston resting nearly their entire starting lineup. Well, it's a new day of picks and a new chance to go for the monthly if that's how you want to swing it, so good luck and on to the picks!

Picks
1) Steve Elkington vs. Joe Durant - Elkington cards a lower or equal front 9 score
2) Aaron Baddeley vs. Dustin Johnson - Johnson cards a lower front 9 score
3) Spain vs. Venezuela - Venezuela wins, draws, or loses by 1 goal
4) Minnesota Twins @ Detroit Tigers - Detroit
5) Egypt vs. Italy - 2 goals or fewer
6) Dan Haren vs. Tim Lincecum - Haren pitches more innings
7) Washington Capitals @ Boston Bruins - Boston
8) Montreal Canadiens @ Toronto Maple Leafs - Montreal
9) Colorado Buffaloes Total Points @ West Virginia Mountaineers Winning Margin - Colorado total points
10) Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago Cubs - Chicago
11) Southern Miss Golden Eagles @ UAB Blazers - 61 points or more
12) Indiana Fever @ Phoenix Mercury - Phoenix
13) Vancouver Canucks @ Calgary Flames - Calgary
14) San Jose Sharks @ Colorado Avalanche - San Jose
15) Oakland Athletics @ Seattle Mariners - Seattle
16) Home Runs Hit In Innings 4 Through 6 (Athletics @ Mariners): Zero vs. 1 Or More - Zero

September 30th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)Wow, pretty awful day for my picks mostly thanks to the soccer matches. Liverpool got handled by Fiorentina and I lost my W6, then Verlander went 129 pitches strong. He had 8 strikeouts and 5 hits after 7 innings and 110 pitches but Tim Leyland determined he needed to go one more inning in which he gave up 3 hits and got zero strikeouts so I lost that pick. Then I picked up another win with Chad Billingsley one-hitting the woeful Padres through 5 innings. Well, hopefully soccer can put me out on a better foot today and so on to the picks!

Picks
1) Australia vs. Costa Rica - Australia scores first
2) Beşiktaş @ CSKA Moscow - 2 goals or fewer
3) Czech Republic vs. Brazil - Goal scored in the 29^th minute or earlier
4) Manchester United (v. VfL Wolfsburg) vs. Chelsea (@ APOEL Nicosia) - Manchester United have a larger margin of victory
5) Honduras vs. United Arab Emirates - United Arab Emirates win or draw
6) Minnesota Twins @ Detroit Tigers - Detroit
7) Will Joba Chamberlain Get The Win (Royals @ Yankees): Yes vs. No - Yes
8) Toronto Blue Jays @ Boston Red Sox - Toronto
9) Hawaii Warriors @ Louisiana Tech Bulldogs - Louisiana Tech
10) Los Angeles Dodgers (@ Padres) vs. San Francisco Giants (@ Diamondbacks) - Dodgers have a larger margin of victory
11) Oakland @ Seattle vs. Texas @ Los Angeles - Texas @ Los Angeles have more runs scored in innings 4-6

September 29th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)Well damn, that Pirates/Dodgers game sure did not go as expected. I mean, it's tough to get four straight wins, but Kuroda never even had a chance. I'm just glad this once I didn't get screwed by the pitcher who's throwing batting practice. After that I ended up taking the Witten/Smith prop and was just happy to walk away with the push at the end. Even though Witten caught all 9 passes thrown to him you can't fault the Cowboys for targeting him just once in the second half. I mean, the offense they were running was definitely working. Still, just one more pass to the guy would ya? UEFA Champions League is back in action tomorrow and there are a couple of baseball props up on the board which are always fun. I took Billingsley because the Padres are batting .220 at home this season while the Athletics are hitting .268 on the road. And so on to the picks!

Picks
1) Germany vs. Korea - 2 goals or more scored in the 1^st half
2) Minnesota Twins @ Detroit Tigers - Detroit
3) Inter Milan @ FK Rubin Kazan - 2 goals or fewer
4) Cameroon vs. United States - Cameroon win
5) Liverpool @ Fiorentina - Liverpool win
6) Minnesota Twins Hits Off Verlander Or Tie vs. Justin Verlander Strikeouts - Verlander strikeouts
7) St. Louis Cardinals @ Cincinnati Reds - St. Louis
8) Indiana Fever @ Phoenix Mercury - Phoenix
9) Felix Hernandez (v. Oakland) vs. Chad Billingsley (@ San Diego) - Billingsley allows fewer hits after 5 innings
10) Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants - Arizona
11) Total Runs Scored In Innings 4 Through 6: 2 Runs Or Fewer vs. 3 Runs Or More - 3 or more

September 28th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)I had a helluva Saturday night up on the mountains, hence the lack of picks for Sunday. I figured picks are pretty useless after the fact so fugeddaboutit, yea? Picked up a win with Sunderland this morning and went on to win with Mark Sanchez and the Jets at home to bring my streak to 5. So far there are only six picks on the board for tomorrow but I figure they'll throw up a couple more props before the end of the day. Probably. So on to the picks!

Picks
1) Will Hiroki Kuroda Get The Win (Dodgers @ Pirates): Yes vs. No - No
2) IF Elfsborg @ Halmstads BK - Halmstads BK win or draw
3) West Ham United @ Manchester City - Manchester City win by 2 or more goals
4) União Leiria @ Vitória Guimarães - Vitória Guimarães win
5) Minnesota Twins @ Detroit Tigers - Detroit
6) Carolina Panthers 2^nd Half Points vs. Dallas Cowboys Winning Margin - Panthers 2^nd half points
7) DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart vs. Felix Jones and Tashard Choice - Jones/Choice score a TD first
8) Steve Smith vs. Jason Witten - Witten records more 2^nd half receptions
9) Texas Rangers @ Los Angeles Angels - Los Angeles

September 26th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)2-1-0 as Paraguay's teens (under-20's) held Italy to a scoreless draw in Egypt at the U-20 World Cup. I picked up my win two with the over under prop featuring Spain playing Tahiti. Oceania is traditionally the weakest soccer zone and Tahiti was no exception. Spain opened up the scoring with a goal in the 11^th minute and was up 4-0 before the first half was over. By the end Spain had three players with a brace and two others on the score sheet to win 8-0. Of course I got greedy, but not greedy enough as I let the Yankees and Rangers slide past me to settle on the Phoenix Mercury. Call me paranoid, but I just know Phoenix were paid off to throw that game, I just know it! Plenty of college football to keep you happy until the pros start up tomorrow so enjoy and on with the picks!

Picks
1) Bolton Wanderers @ Birmingham - Bolton Wanderers win or draw
2) #22 North Carolina Tar Heels @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets - North Carolina
3) Michigan State Spartans @ Wisconsin Badgers - Wisconsin
4) #9 Miami(FL) Hurricanes @ #11 Virginia Tech Hokies - Miami(FL)
5) #6 California Golden Bears @ Oregon Ducks - California
6) #14 TCU Horned Frogs @ Clemson Tigers - Clemson
7) Pittsburgh Panthers @ North Carolina State Wolfpack - Pittsburgh
8) Carl Edwards vs. Denny Hamlin - Edwards has a better final position
9) Chicago Cubs @ San Francisco Giants - San Francisco
10) Troy Trojans @ Arkansas State Red Wolves - Arkansas State
11) Detroit Shock @ Indiana Fever - Detroit
12) Detroit Tigers @ Chicago White Sox - Chicago
13) Notre Dame (@ Purdue) vs. Penn State (v. Iowa) - Notre Dame has a larger winning margin
14) Tampa Bay Rays @ Texas Rangers - Texas
15) #24 Washington Huskies @ Stanford Cardinal - Stanford
16) Texas Tech Red Raiders @ #17 Houston Cougars - Houston

September 25th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)2-4-0 yesterday, started the day with a Mike Weir loss followed by Egypt and Trini scoring in the 30^th minute. What gets me is they scored 3 times in the next 27 minute period. I got off the losing way with Genoa getting the draw against Juventus then Tiger carding par on the 18^th. After that I made a stupid mistake in going with Verlander's hits though it turned out to be a decent selection. Toronto was just swinging and missing all night, a team in the top 5 in strikeouts delivered Hernandez his season high in the stat. Then I fell asleep to van Damme in "Double Impact" while Brian Wilson blew a save to give me another loss. Really glad I wasn't watching that game. According to the recap the Giants are now 73-2 when leading after 8 innings *scoff*. Well, I feel a return to over .500 coming so on to the picks.

Picks
1) Italy U20 vs. Paraguay U20 - Paraguay win or draw
2) Heath Slocum vs. Phil Mickelson - Slocum cards a lower or equal front 9 score
3) Sporting Braga vs. Olhanense - Olhanense win or draw
4) Spain vs. Tahiti - 4 goals or more
5) Tiger Woods' Back 9 Score: 33 Or Lower vs. 34 Or Higher - 34 or higher
6) Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees - New York
7) Tampa Bay Rays @ Texas Rangers - Texas
8) Minnesota Twins @ Kansas City Royals - Kansas City
9) Missouri Tiger's Winning Margin vs. Nevada Wolfpack's TDs and FGs - Missouri winning margin
10) Blaine Gabbert's Passing Yards: 265 Or Fewer vs. 266 Or More - 265 or fewer
11) BC Lions @ Calgary Stampeders - 55 points or more
12) Los Angeles Sparks @ Phoenix Mercury - Phoenix
13) Will Tim Lincecum Be The Winning Pitcher (Cubs @ Giants): Yes vs. No - Yes

September 24th, 2009 Picks

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(skip to picks)Well, I bust out the previews and end up with my worst day in two weeks. Fortunately the Detroit Shock kept my streak alive after the Angels extended the losing to two games thanks to some lousing hitting with RISP. Golden Arrows did nothing to change it. I'll probably preview a few today including the Verlander prop but mostly they'll just be quickies. So on to the picks!

Picks
1) Luke Donald vs. Mike Weir - Weir cards a lower front 9 score
2) Cincinnati Reds @ Pittsburgh Pirates - Pittsburgh
3) First Goal Scored (Trinidad & Tobago @ Egypt): 27^th Minute Or Earlier vs. 28^th Minute Or Later - 27^th or earlier
4) Tiger Woods' Front 9 score: 33 Or Lower vs. 34 Or Higher - 33 or lower
5) Juventus @ Genoa - Genoa win or draw
6) Texas Rangers @ Oakland Athletics - Oakland
7) Tiger Woods' Par-3 18^th Score: Par (3) vs. Any Other Score - Par (3)
8) Felix Hernandez Strikeouts (@Blue Jays) vs. Justin Verlander Hits Allowed (@Indians) - Verlander hits allowed
9) #4 Mississippi Rebels @ South Carolina Gamecocks - Mississippi
10) Will J.A. Happ Be The Winning Pitcher (Phillies @ Brewers): Yes vs. No - Yes
11) Chicago Cubs @ San Francisco Giants - San Francisco
12) How Many Runs Scored In Innings 5 Through 9 (Cubs @ Giants): 3 Or Fewer vs. 4 Or More - 3 or fewer

Previews

Dempster has a 3.12 ERA in the 5th and 6th innings while Penny's is 3.16 there.

12) I'll try and post some numbers on Ryan Dempster's and Brad Penny's ERA in innings 5 and 6 this season and some bullpen numbers, for now I just don't trust the bullpens to keep this low.

Well, Dempster has a 3.12 ERA in innings 5 and 6 and has pitched them as shutout innings in 17 of 25 starts this season. The Cubs bullpen has a 4.14 ERA which comes out to about 1.4 runs allowed in innings 7 through 9. Brad Penny has an ERA of 3.16 in innings 5 and 6 and pitched them as shutout innings in 13 of 24 starts. The Giants bullpen has a stellar 3.51 ERA so overall 2 or 3 runs scored would be most likely, statistically (yeah, I hate that disclaimer too).