July 31st, 2013

Today's slate.

The Big Hurst - Clayton Kershaw

skoormit - Adam Wainwright

La Osa Rosa - Hisashi Iwakuma

The Big Hurst: If I wasn't so beaten down by the fact that this game is maddening, I'd say that Kershaw at home against the Yankees is a grade-A recipe for a gem.  Of course, writing that out pretty much dooms me to receive the Blarfy Kitty Award.
La Osa Rosa: I’ll pick Hisashi Iwakuma. I am very down trodden and considered not picking today, but really, how much worse could it get? I’ve already received the Blarfy Kitty Award many, many times.
skoormit: The Blarfy Kitty Award has no memory. The only recipient is the most recent recipient. And that's The Big Hurst, for backing Chad Gaudin last week.
skoormit: On Gaudin--he went from the best score in MLB on July 19th (with a 79) to the worst score in his next start, on the 24th (with a 19). I wonder just how uncommon that feat is.
The Big Hurst: "The Blarfy Kitty Award has no memory."  That's beautiful. And I'd bet it's pretty uncommon, at least, for a pitcher to shift from the top of the chart to the bottom, or vice versa, in two starts.

RESULTS

The Big Hurst: Who's this Oberholtzer guy?

		Tm	Opp	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	GSc	Pit	ERA
M.Minor	W	ATL	COL	7.0	2	0	0	0	6	0	79	95	2.75
C.Kershaw		LAD	NYY	8.0	5	0	0	0	5	0	77	97	1.87
B.Oberholtzer	W	HOU	BAL	7.0	3	0	0	0	6	0	77	87	3.77
H.Bailey	W	CIN	SDP	8.1	6	1	0	0	7	0	76	116	3.55
H.Kuroda		NYY	LAD	7.0	5	0	0	1	8	0	74	103	2.38
W.Miley	W	ARI	TBR	6.1	2	0	0	5	8	0	72	116	3.68
C.Gaudin	W	SFG	PHI	7.0	4	1	1	1	5	1	69	98	2.64
M.Perez		TEX	LAA	7.1	4	1	1	2	4	1	68	95	3.93
E.Jackson	W	CHC	MIL	8.0	8	1	1	0	4	0	66	94	4.65
J.Verlander	W	DET	WSN	6.0	4	1	1	5	6	0	61	103	3.88
R.Dickey		TOR	OAK	6.0	6	2	0	1	3	0	58	95	4.66
C.Kluber		CLE	CHW	8.2	8	4	4	0	6	0	58	95	3.77
J.Williams		LAA	TEX	7.2	8	1	1	2	1	1	58	95	4.60
H.Alvarez	W	MIA	NYM	7.1	6	2	2	2	1	0	57	100	2.61
J.Guthrie	W	KCR	MIN	6.0	6	2	2	2	5	1	55	107	4.22
J.Lackey		BOS	SEA	7.0	8	3	3	1	6	0	54	95	3.23
H.Iwakuma		SEA	BOS	5.2	7	2	0	2	4	0	53	102	2.76
J.Mejia	L	NYM	MIA	6.0	6	3	3	1	4	1	51	96	2.08
B.Colon		OAK	TOR	6.0	7	2	1	3	1	0	50	97	2.50
A.Wainwright		STL	PIT	7.0	8	4	4	1	6	1	50	108	2.61
E.Stults	L	SDP	CIN	6.2	10	4	1	0	5	1	49	109	3.55
K.Correia		MIN	KCR	6.0	10	2	2	0	3	0	47	94	4.49
W.Peralta	L	MIL	CHC	5.0	5	4	3	2	5	2	46	87	4.57
J.Quintana		CHW	CLE	5.0	7	3	3	2	6	0	45	109	3.62
J.Hellickson	L	TBR	ARI	4.1	7	4	4	2	3	1	34	92	4.60
J.Locke		PIT	STL	4.0	10	4	4	1	6	0	31	89	2.36
M.Gonzalez	L	BAL	HOU	3.2	9	9	4	2	5	2	20	86	3.88
K.Kendrick	L	PHI	SFG	2.0	8	7	6	1	0	0	13	58	4.29
T.Chatwood	L	COL	ATL	2.1	10	8	7	1	1	1	7	60	3.15
G.Gonzalez	L	WSN	DET	3.1	11	10	10	1	3	2	0	77	3.57

 

July 30th, 2013

Today's slate.

The Big Hurst - Wei-Yin Chen

skoormit - Zack Wheeler

La Osa Rosa - Anibal Sanchez

La Osa Rosa: I’m going to pick Anibal Sanchez today. I’m going with the stubborn monkey trick of choosing the person with the lowest ERA.

RESULTS

The Big Hurst: My hunch is that the stubborn monkey becomes less accurate in August and September, but I don't really know.  It's a testable proposition, if anyone wants to give it a shot.

		Tm	Opp	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	GSc	Pit	ERA
B.Cumpton	W	PIT	STL	7.0	3	0	0	1	5	0	75	87	2.78
R.Hernandez	W	TBR	ARI	9.0	5	2	2	1	6	1	74	102	4.71
A.Burnett		PIT	STL	7.0	3	1	1	3	9	0	73	113	2.86
M.Buehrle	W	TOR	OAK	7.0	5	0	0	0	2	0	69	93	4.27
E.Santana	W	KCR	MIN	7.0	4	2	2	1	8	0	68	113	3.03
L.Lynn		STL	PIT	6.0	3	1	1	2	7	0	67	97	3.87
T.Thornburg		MIL	CHC	6.0	4	0	0	3	6	0	67	93	2.22
Z.Greinke		LAD	NYY	7.0	5	2	2	0	7	1	66	101	3.43
Z.Wheeler		NYM	MIA	7.0	3	2	2	3	5	0	65	87	3.55
A.Rienzo		CHW	CLE	7.0	5	3	0	3	6	0	64	99	0.00
B.Workman	W	BOS	SEA	6.0	6	1	1	1	9	0	64	103	3.54
J.Arrieta		CHC	MIL	6.0	2	1	1	3	2	1	63	93	6.07
A.Sanchez	W	DET	WSN	7.0	5	1	1	2	1	0	62	95	2.59
W.Chen	W	BAL	HOU	7.1	7	3	3	1	9	0	60	119	2.87
A.Wood	W	ATL	COL	7.0	6	3	3	1	7	1	59	99	3.51
M.Latos		CIN	SDP	6.0	6	2	2	2	6	0	56	104	3.38
A.Pettitte		NYY	LAD	7.0	8	2	2	0	3	1	56	91	4.28
N.Eovaldi		MIA	NYM	6.0	4	2	2	5	4	0	55	112	3.47
E.Volquez		SDP	CIN	6.1	4	2	2	5	3	0	55	105	5.56
J.Lannan	W	PHI	SFG	7.0	7	3	3	2	3	0	52	103	4.10
S.Strasburg	L	WSN	DET	7.0	6	5	5	3	7	1	49	98	3.04
C.Villanueva		CHC	MIL	6.1	6	4	4	2	6	2	49	102	4.33
I.Kennedy	L	ARI	TBR	5.0	6	3	3	3	7	1	47	97	5.23
L.Harrell	L	HOU	BAL	5.1	2	4	4	5	3	1	46	101	5.24
T.Lyons	L	STL	PIT	6.0	8	4	3	1	5	1	46	108	5.35
D.Holland		TEX	LAA	6.0	8	4	4	2	6	2	44	102	3.18
Y.Gallardo		MIL	CHC	4.2	6	3	3	3	1	0	38	89	4.91
D.Straily	L	OAK	TOR	4.2	6	5	2	2	2	2	38	96	4.41
S.Kazmir		CLE	CHW	5.0	9	4	4	0	3	0	36	87	4.11
B.Zito	L	SFG	PHI	3.1	5	4	4	2	2	1	34	82	5.09
M.Pelfrey	L	MIN	KCR	4.0	8	4	4	2	4	1	32	93	5.31
J.Saunders	L	SEA	BOS	5.0	9	6	5	1	5	2	31	99	4.65
C.Wilson		LAA	TEX	4.0	11	6	6	3	6	0	19	109	3.48
J.Nicasio	L	COL	ATL	4.0	10	8	8	3	4	2	11	92	4.92

 

July 29th, 2013

Today's slate.

The Big Hurst - Zach McAllister

skoormit - Mike Leake

La Osa Rosa - Jorge de la Rosa

The Big Hurst: This is a good article on the chemical use witch hunt in baseball.  Dear sports media, please fire Buster Olney and writers like him.  Please cover baseball for the magical, entertaining product it is, and don't treat it like a gossip column.  The chemical stories are mean, stupid, and lazy.  This kind of schlock turns me off to your product, makes me dislike and distrust your so-called "experts", and sends me to other sources.
La Osa Rosa: I’ll pick Jorge de la Rosa. I had luck with him before!

RESULTS

		Tm	Opp	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	GSc	Pit	ERA
D.Price	W	TBR	BOS	7.1	2	1	1	0	8	1	78	90	3.57
J.Samardzija		CHC	MIL	7.0	3	0	0	2	7	0	76	109	3.75
M.Leake		CIN	SDP	7.0	4	0	0	2	5	0	72	106	2.59
F.Liriano	W	PIT	STL	7.0	4	1	1	2	8	0	71	102	2.16
J.Weaver		LAA	TEX	7.0	5	1	1	1	6	0	68	104	2.84
K.Lohse		MIL	CHC	6.0	5	0	0	3	6	0	65	106	3.22
J.Danks		CHW	CLE	6.0	2	2	1	4	3	0	61	101	4.57
Z.McAllister		CLE	CHW	7.0	5	2	2	1	2	0	60	90	3.48
M.Garza		TEX	LAA	7.0	5	3	3	3	6	1	58	107	2.95
A.Griffin	W	OAK	TOR	7.0	4	4	4	2	5	3	56	99	3.90
S.O'Sullivan		SDP	CIN	6.0	5	1	1	5	1	0	54	96	3.72
J.Turner		MIA	NYM	6.1	5	3	3	3	4	0	52	94	2.65
F.Doubront	L	BOS	TBR	5.0	8	2	2	3	4	0	44	104	3.77
J.Hefner		NYM	MIA	5.1	4	5	3	5	4	0	43	111	4.21
J.Westbrook	L	STL	PIT	5.0	4	4	4	3	2	1	42	100	3.18
J.De La Rosa		COL	ATL	5.0	10	8	5	2	3	0	22	84	3.21
B.Beachy		ATL	COL	3.2	8	7	7	1	5	2	21	84	17.2
E.Rogers	L	TOR	OAK	4.1	9	8	6	3	3	0	17	97	4.16

 

July 28th, 2013

Today's slate.

The Big Hurst - Jose Fernandez

skoormit - Todd Redmond

La Osa Rosa - Bruce Chen

The Big Hurst: Yep, you talked me into him.
La Osa Rosa: I just want to cry.  Especially after yesterday's fiasco.
The Big Hurst: Don't cry, sweet baby angel.

RESULTS

The Big Hurst: Yesterday, I noted that we've had recent days where we needed a 77, 76, and 74.  That brutal trend continued today.  Add a 75 to that list.  But overall another good day for us predictirs.  The Marliners are still frustrating.  I didn't hear Fernandez's good first inning, but I turned it on for the 2 ER second inning.  In disgust, I turned it off again, because they were saying he wasn't pitching well.  So I missed the rest of his good outing.  The moral: when I'm paying attention to my pitchers, they stink.  Don't watch the games.  According to YCPB, the last pitcher under 21 to strike out 13+ in a game was Kerry Wood, back in 1998.

		Tm	Opp	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	GSc	Pit	ERA
T.Cingrani		CIN	LAD	7.0	1	0	0	1	11	0	85	99	2.90
T.Ross	W	SDP	ARI	8.0	3	0	0	1	7	0	82	101	2.90
U.Jimenez	W	CLE	TEX	8.0	2	0	0	3	6	0	81	110	4.17
J.Fernandez	W	MIA	PIT	8.0	5	2	2	0	13	0	77	97	2.71
J.Lester	W	BOS	BAL	7.0	4	0	0	2	8	0	75	99	4.27
P.Corbin	L	ARI	SDP	8.0	6	1	1	0	8	0	74	102	2.24
C.Capuano		LAD	CIN	6.2	3	0	0	0	4	0	72	83	4.54
T.Redmond		TOR	HOU	6.0	3	1	1	2	10	1	70	102	3.81
T.Wood	W	CHC	SFG	7.0	4	1	0	4	7	0	70	107	2.79
T.Lincecum	L	SFG	CHC	7.0	4	2	2	2	10	2	69	115	4.61
T.Jordan	W	WSN	NYM	6.0	5	1	1	1	7	0	64	87	3.31
G.Cole	L	PIT	MIA	7.0	4	3	3	2	8	1	63	95	3.56
B.Chen		KCR	CHW	6.0	3	2	2	2	5	1	61	94	2.09
H.Santiago		CHW	KCR	6.2	5	2	2	4	7	0	59	105	3.33
J.Cosart		HOU	TOR	6.0	4	1	1	5	1	0	56	109	0.86
J.Chacin		COL	MIL	7.0	8	3	3	1	4	1	52	97	3.54
K.Medlen	W	ATL	STL	6.0	8	2	2	1	4	0	51	95	3.74
S.Miller	L	STL	ATL	5.2	6	3	2	2	6	1	51	112	2.79
A.Ogando	L	TEX	CLE	4.2	6	1	1	2	1	0	47	92	3.05
R.Porcello	W	DET	PHI	6.0	7	3	3	2	3	0	47	86	4.49
D.Hand		MIL	COL	6.0	8	3	3	0	2	3	46	79	3.56
E.Ramirez	W	SEA	MIN	6.0	7	4	4	2	6	1	46	106	7.71
J.Hammel	L	BAL	BOS	5.1	6	3	3	5	3	1	42	97	5.20
T.Hanson		LAA	OAK	4.2	4	5	5	5	7	0	38	102	5.15
J.Pettibone		PHI	DET	5.0	7	3	3	4	1	0	38	78	4.04
K.Gibson	L	MIN	SEA	5.0	7	5	5	1	3	2	35	95	6.21
M.Moore		TBR	NYY	5.0	8	5	5	0	3	2	34	91	3.41
J.Parker		OAK	LAA	5.0	5	6	6	7	3	0	29	95	4.07
P.Hughes		NYY	TBR	4.0	9	5	5	2	4	2	26	92	4.58
C.Torres	L	NYM	WSN	3.0	9	8	8	1	2	1	10	59	3.13

 

July 27th, 2013

Today's slate.

The Big Hurst - Madison Bumgarner

skoormit - Max Scherzer

La Osa Rosa - Chris Sale

RESULTS

The Big Hurst: Between the three of us, we averaged a Game Score of 77 and 2 points.  I haven't checked, but that's got to be up there with our best day of predictions.  Sale should've been in the money with a 75, but it was another tough day to get on the leaderboard.  According to YCPB, the four 1-0 games today ties a record for the most 1-0 games in a day.  The last times were in 1915 and 2001.  Recently, we've had days where we needed a 77, 76, and 74.  That kind of competition is pretty brutal, where you pitch a 71 and, come to find out, you find yourself in eleventh place.  Is this Rosa today?

		Tm	Opp	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	GSc	Pit	ERA
C.Archer	W	TBR	NYY	9.0	2	0	0	0	6	0	89	97	2.39
M.Bumgarner		SFG	CHC	8.0	4	0	0	2	7	0	79	116	2.76
J.Teheran		ATL	STL	7.0	2	0	0	1	6	0	78	88	3.07
H.Ryu	W	LAD	CIN	7.0	2	1	1	1	9	1	77	109	3.14
M.Scherzer	W	DET	PHI	6.0	1	0	0	0	7	0	77	75	3.01
J.Masterson	W	CLE	TEX	7.2	5	0	0	1	8	0	76	113	3.42
C.Sale	L	CHW	KCR	9.0	7	1	1	1	7	0	75	115	2.69
S.Deduno	W	MIN	SEA	7.0	3	0	0	3	6	0	74	110	3.18
D.Haren	W	WSN	NYM	7.0	3	1	1	1	6	0	72	103	5.49
C.Rusin		CHC	SFG	7.0	3	0	0	2	3	0	72	90	2.93
W.Davis	W	KCR	CHW	7.1	4	0	0	3	4	0	71	101	5.50
Y.Darvish	L	TEX	CLE	6.0	3	1	1	4	11	1	69	123	2.80
T.Milone	W	OAK	LAA	7.0	4	1	1	4	6	1	67	114	4.03
I.Nova	L	NYY	TBR	7.0	6	1	1	3	8	0	66	105	3.41
G.Richards		LAA	OAK	5.0	3	0	0	2	4	0	63	78	4.33
A.Harang	L	SEA	MIN	5.0	3	1	1	2	5	0	60	107	4.89
J.Kelly		STL	ATL	6.1	7	0	0	3	3	0	59	86	3.44
A.Cashner	W	SDP	ARI	6.0	4	3	3	5	5	2	52	103	3.88
D.Gee	L	NYM	WSN	7.0	6	4	4	0	2	3	51	80	4.13
R.Dempster	W	BOS	BAL	5.1	6	2	2	2	4	0	50	84	4.24
T.Gorzelanny	W	MIL	COL	5.1	6	4	4	1	4	1	43	83	2.83
C.Morton	W	PIT	MIA	5.0	9	4	3	0	6	0	41	82	3.59
B.Arroyo	L	CIN	LAD	5.1	8	3	3	2	1	1	39	94	3.26
D.Keuchel	W	HOU	TOR	7.1	10	6	6	1	6	3	39	100	4.63
S.Feldman	L	BAL	BOS	5.0	6	4	4	2	1	1	38	90	3.89
J.Johnson	L	TOR	HOU	5.2	7	7	7	2	8	3	33	105	6.08
T.Koehler	L	MIA	PIT	5.0	9	5	5	3	6	0	32	109	4.67
T.Skaggs	L	ARI	SDP	3.2	3	7	7	5	5	1	27	85	5.35
C.McHugh	L	COL	MIL	5.0	9	6	6	1	2	1	26	84	10.5
R.Valdes	L	PHI	DET	3.2	12	9	9	0	3	2	4	80	9.72