September 25th, 2013

Today's slate.

The Big Hurst - Hisashi Iwakuma

skoormit - Cole Hamels

La Osa Rosa - Ervin Santana

The Big Hurst: I'm picking Iwakuma, but secretly rooting for the Royals.  It's win-win, I guess.  Unless the game is 11-6 Marliners by the end of the first inning or something.  The vast majority of the "Cinderella" hype this season has been about the Pirates, but when's the last time the Royals ended a season with a winning record?  (I checked this out and learned an odd fact.  Going back to 1993, the Royals only have winning records in years ending in a "3".  That's 2013, 2003, and 1993.  Go figure.)  Or - *ahem* - ended with more wins than the Yankees?  And for around $150M less in salary?  Umm, $150M might buy you the whole Detroit Tigers roster.  So for the $230M Yankee payroll, I could buy the whole Tigers roster and add it to the whole Royals roster, but they're still out of the playoffs in 2013.
La Osa Rosa: I want to pick Ervin Santana. Ervin Santana always gets us 3 points. skoormit has 3 points from him and I have 6 points (from two 3-point picks). The Royals are definitely into 3’s.
The Big Hurst: I couldn't resist doing it.  If you bought the Tigers and Royals for their combined $230M payroll and combined them into one team, this might be the core of the team you could field.  These guys would probably win over 100 games.  Santana barely missed the cut with a 2.9 WAR.  That Detroit rotation is awfully good.

• C Perez (4.0 WAR)
• C Avila (0.7)
• 1B Hosmer (3.7)
• 2B Infante (2.5)
• 3B Cabrera (7.3)
• SS Peralta (3.5)
• UT Santiago (1.0)
• OF Gordon (4.2)
• OF Jackson (3.3)
• OF Cain (3.2)
• OF Lough (2.5)
• DH Butler (1.6)
• SP Scherzer (6.1)
• SP Sanchez (5.9)
• SP Verlander (4.2)
• SP Fister (3.9)
• SP Shields (3.7)
• RP Holland (2.9)
• RP Benoit (2.8)
• RP Smyly (2.4)
• RP Hochevar (1.9)
• RP Coleman (1.3)

RESULTS

The Big Hurst: Is this my last points of 2013?  If so, I'm glad it's Iwakuma.  I consider us friends, Hitachi. *sniff*

		Tm	Opp	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	GSc	Pit	ERA
K.Lohse	W	MIL	ATL	9.0	2	0	0	0	5	0	88	89	3.35
H.Iwakuma	W	SEA	KCR	8.0	4	0	0	1	9	0	82	101	2.66
M.Scherzer	W	DET	MIN	7.0	2	0	0	6	10	0	77	123	2.90
D.Matsuzaka	W	NYM	CIN	7.2	4	0	0	2	6	0	75	105	4.42
M.Latos	L	CIN	NYM	7.0	4	1	1	2	7	0	70	113	3.16
D.Price	W	TBR	NYY	7.0	6	2	2	0	8	1	65	108	3.39
J.Weaver	W	LAA	OAK	7.0	5	1	1	1	2	0	64	92	3.27
I.Kennedy	W	SDP	ARI	7.0	6	2	2	1	7	0	63	102	4.91
K.Correia	L	MIN	DET	7.0	7	1	1	0	1	0	60	107	4.18
S.Miller	W	STL	WSN	6.0	4	1	1	3	3	0	60	90	3.06
M.Perez	W	TEX	HOU	7.0	6	3	3	1	8	1	60	100	3.55
J.Arrieta	W	CHC	PIT	6.0	4	1	1	2	1	0	59	84	4.78
C.Hamels		PHI	MIA	6.0	5	2	2	2	6	0	58	103	3.60
P.Maholm	L	ATL	MIL	7.0	8	3	3	0	7	1	56	100	4.41
D.Salazar	W	CLE	CHW	5.1	6	2	2	1	8	1	55	89	3.12
D.Straily	L	OAK	LAA	6.2	7	3	1	2	5	0	55	100	3.96
B.Zito	W	SFG	LAD	5.0	4	2	1	0	1	0	54	77	5.75
B.Hand		MIA	PHI	6.1	7	2	2	1	3	0	53	86	3.05
J.Zimmermann	L	WSN	STL	7.0	6	4	4	0	2	1	51	94	3.25
E.Santana	L	KCR	SEA	6.0	5	4	4	4	2	1	44	103	3.24
F.Liriano	L	PIT	CHC	5.0	8	4	4	1	8	1	42	104	3.02
B.Norris		BAL	TOR	4.0	7	3	3	2	5	0	39	96	4.18
J.Peavy	W	BOS	COL	6.0	8	5	5	4	5	1	37	110	4.17
D.Axelrod	L	CHW	CLE	5.2	8	5	3	2	1	1	36	90	5.68
R.Nolasco	L	LAD	SFG	5.2	8	6	6	1	7	1	35	95	3.72
R.Delgado	L	ARI	SDP	5.0	7	6	6	0	4	2	33	89	4.26
D.Keuchel	L	HOU	TEX	5.2	6	7	6	3	5	1	33	97	5.15
P.Hughes	L	NYY	TBR	2.0	7	3	3	1	2	0	31	51	5.19
E.Rogers	L	TOR	BAL	4.1	8	6	6	1	2	2	24	76	4.77
J.Chacin	L	COL	BOS	4.0	9	7	7	2	3	1	17	91	3.47

 

September 24th, 2013

Today's slate.

The Big Hurst - Ubaldo Jimenez

skoormit - Yu Darvish

La Osa Rosa - Zach Miner

skoormit: Pick stealer!
The Big Hurst: I think my reconflabulated goal is just not to end the year with the Blarfy Kitty.  So I'm just cheering against y'all.  (Of course, this childish behavior may be essentially taunting the Kitty, and we all know what happens when you taunt the Kitty.)  Maybe, then, I should change my short-term goal just to pick a second gem?  (Of course, this may also taunt Fate.  What can a good person do? The horror, the horror!)

RESULTS

The Big Hurst: According to YCPB, there have been three no-hitters broken up at the 8.2 mark this year.  I also think there have been sixteen 90+ game scores this year in the time we've been playing, and we've picked exactly 1 of them.

		Tm	Opp	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	GSc	Pit	ERA
M.Wacha	W	STL	WSN	8.2	1	0	0	2	9	0	89	112	2.78
J.Vargas	W	LAA	OAK	9.0	4	0	0	1	5	0	83	110	4.01
J.Paxton	W	SEA	KCR	7.0	4	0	0	0	10	0	79	97	1.50
T.Ross		SDP	ARI	8.0	3	1	1	3	6	1	75	90	3.10
C.Tillman		BAL	TOR	7.0	5	1	1	1	9	0	71	113	3.62
T.Chatwood	W	COL	BOS	7.0	3	1	0	1	2	0	70	104	3.15
W.Miley		ARI	SDP	6.0	4	0	0	1	7	0	70	107	3.63
H.Ryu	W	LAD	SFG	7.0	4	1	1	1	6	1	70	104	2.97
G.Gonzalez	L	WSN	STL	7.0	6	2	2	0	6	0	63	110	3.36
T.Thornburg		MIL	ATL	7.0	7	2	2	1	8	0	62	96	2.03
H.Alvarez	L	MIA	PHI	7.0	5	2	2	3	5	0	61	109	3.94
F.Garcia		ATL	MIL	6.2	6	2	2	1	7	1	60	81	4.37
U.Jimenez		CLE	CHW	6.1	5	2	2	3	7	0	59	98	3.38
M.Moore	W	TBR	NYY	5.0	3	0	0	6	4	0	59	107	3.23
J.Niese	W	NYM	CIN	7.0	8	2	2	1	6	0	58	113	3.74
Y.Darvish		TEX	HOU	5.1	4	2	2	4	9	1	57	101	2.82
M.Cain	L	SFG	LAD	7.0	7	2	2	3	4	2	56	100	4.00
G.Cole	W	PIT	CHC	6.0	7	2	2	1	6	0	55	94	3.22
D.Fister	W	DET	MIN	6.1	8	2	2	1	7	1	55	109	3.68
B.Peacock	L	HOU	TEX	6.0	6	3	3	1	7	1	54	95	5.18
A.Griffin	L	OAK	LAA	5.0	5	3	3	1	7	1	51	95	3.83
Z.Miner		PHI	MIA	4.0	4	1	1	2	3	0	51	76	3.08
J.Lackey	L	BOS	COL	6.0	6	4	4	1	5	3	48	87	3.52
H.Santiago		CHW	CLE	6.1	6	3	3	2	1	1	48	97	3.56
T.Redmond		TOR	BAL	5.2	8	2	2	2	2	2	45	89	3.77
H.Kuroda	L	NYY	TBR	5.2	5	5	5	2	5	1	42	99	3.31
S.Diamond	L	MIN	DET	6.1	9	4	4	1	3	3	41	101	5.54
B.Chen	L	KCR	SEA	5.0	7	4	4	3	5	1	39	97	3.31
C.Rusin	L	CHC	PIT	2.1	6	4	4	1	1	1	29	51	3.93
M.Leake	L	CIN	NYM	1.2	8	4	4	0	2	1	25	54	3.37

 

September 23rd, 2013

Today's slate.

The Big Hurst - Adam Wainwright

skoormit - Justin Verlander

La Osa Rosa - Jose Quintana

La Osa Rosa: What a bee-utiful game in Anaheim yesterday. The bum again? skoormit will never give up on the bum. Meanwhile, The Big Hurst will never give up on betting against the Marliners. Meanwhile, meanwhile, I should probably just give up. But I’ll pick Jose Quintana.
The Big Hurst: Nobody wants Tanner Roark?  But he's a beast this year! Meanwhile, meanwhile, meanwhile, I want to comment about team payrolls.  Here's a 2013 payroll chart, based on this site, for all current, serious playoff contenders:

• NYY $229M
• LAD $216M
• BOS $159M
• DET $149M
• TEX $127M
• STL $117M
• CIN $111M
• ATL $89M
• CLE $83M
• KAN $80M
• OAK $69M
• PIT $66M
• TAM $57M

   These totals are always fun to cross-reference with team wins.  How amazing is it that right now the Oakland A's ($69M) have more wins than anyone in major league baseball, except for the Boston Red Sox ($159M)?  They're also whomping the Angels ($142M) and the Rangers ($127M) in their own division.  This is a heck of an accomplishment.  In the ancient, ongoing conflict between money versus talent, I'd probably prefer the money.  But this demonstrates that sheer talent can still sometimes win.  There must be some inherent problems with having money, but I sure don't know them.

RESULTS

The Big Hurst: When you can coax points out of The Bum, I think I have to concede that your mojo may be stronger than mine - at least this year.  That'll do, pig.  That'll do.

		Tm	Opp	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	GSc	Pit	ERA
D.Holland	W	TEX	HOU	9.0	6	0	0	1	9	0	83	113	3.33
N.Eovaldi	W	MIA	PHI	7.2	3	0	0	2	5	0	76	109	3.50
M.Estrada	W	MIL	ATL	7.0	2	0	0	3	6	0	76	115	4.02
C.Morton		PIT	CHC	7.0	3	0	0	1	5	0	75	89	3.14
J.Verlander		DET	MIN	6.0	6	0	0	3	12	0	69	107	3.56
B.Maurer		SEA	KCR	7.0	4	2	1	1	6	0	68	95	6.48
J.Cueto		CIN	NYM	7.0	3	2	1	3	5	1	67	99	2.82
J.Quintana	W	CHW	TOR	7.1	5	2	2	1	6	1	65	105	3.45
Y.Ventura		KCR	SEA	5.2	2	1	1	3	6	0	64	81	1.59
J.Samardzija		CHC	PIT	6.0	5	1	1	4	7	1	61	94	4.33
M.Pelfrey		MIN	DET	6.0	6	1	1	3	5	0	58	102	5.19
E.Stults	W	SDP	ARI	6.1	7	1	1	2	5	0	58	116	3.94
A.Wainwright	W	STL	WSN	7.0	7	3	3	0	5	1	56	112	3.01
M.Minor	L	ATL	MIL	7.0	8	3	3	0	6	2	55	96	3.22
T.Milone	W	OAK	LAA	5.1	5	5	2	1	8	1	51	88	4.14
A.Harang		NYM	CIN	6.0	5	2	2	6	1	0	49	104	5.57
W.Chen		BAL	TBR	4.1	6	2	2	2	4	0	45	83	4.03
R.Halladay	L	PHI	MIA	0.1	0	1	1	2	0	0	45	16	6.82
C.Archer		TBR	BAL	4.1	5	4	4	2	7	2	42	89	3.21
B.McCarthy	L	ARI	SDP	6.0	8	4	4	0	2	1	42	89	4.64
J.Happ	L	TOR	CHW	5.0	8	3	3	3	5	2	41	110	4.85
T.Roark	L	WSN	STL	5.0	9	4	4	1	5	1	37	97	1.74
G.Richards	L	LAA	OAK	4.2	8	7	7	2	1	2	19	93	4.09
J.Lyles	L	HOU	TEX	3.0	7	7	7	3	2	0	16	74	5.59

 

September 22nd, 2013

Today's slate.

The Big Hurst - Stephen Strasburg

skoormit - Zack Greinke

La Osa Rosa - No pick

The Big Hurst: I guess I'll stick with the rainout ace.

RESULTS

The Big Hurst: The Mariners/Angels game was delayed multiple times due to bees and a beekeeper fan came out of the stands to take care of it.  Truth is stranger than fiction and the article is worth reading.  Meanwhile, I'm going to lose this game, aren't I?  I guess I could get 30+ points this week, but I'd say it's doubtful.  Baseball: A universe where it's possible and ordinary to root for the unlikely and improbable.

		Tm	Opp	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	GSc	Pit	ERA
A.Ogando		TEX	KCR	7.0	2	0	0	1	5	0	77	77	2.93
A.Cashner	L	SDP	LAD	7.0	4	1	0	0	7	0	74	110	3.09
J.Shields		KCR	TEX	8.0	6	0	0	1	2	0	71	105	3.21
A.Pettitte	L	NYY	SFG	7.0	2	2	2	1	6	1	70	104	3.88
J.Teheran	W	ATL	CHC	6.0	4	1	1	0	7	0	67	91	3.09
Z.Greinke		LAD	SDP	5.0	2	0	0	1	3	0	65	72	2.67
C.Wilson	L	LAA	SEA	8.1	8	3	3	1	9	1	63	123	3.36
F.Hernandez		SEA	LAA	4.0	1	1	1	4	10	0	62	92	2.99
Y.Petit		SFG	NYY	6.1	6	1	1	2	7	1	62	102	2.84
F.Doubront	W	BOS	TOR	7.0	4	2	2	2	2	1	61	97	4.08
R.Dickey	L	TOR	BOS	8.0	6	5	5	1	11	2	60	110	4.27
C.Lee	L	PHI	NYM	7.0	8	3	2	0	8	0	59	88	2.93
E.Romero		TBR	BAL	4.2	1	0	0	4	0	0	58	70	0.00
T.Koehler	W	MIA	WSN	6.0	3	2	2	1	0	1	57	79	4.45
S.Feldman	L	BAL	TBR	6.1	6	3	3	2	7	1	54	91	3.51
C.Kluber	W	CLE	HOU	5.1	6	2	2	1	6	1	53	81	3.61
C.Torres	W	NYM	PHI	6.0	7	2	2	3	6	0	53	95	3.36
S.Strasburg		WSN	MIA	6.0	6	3	3	2	6	1	52	109	3.02
E.Jackson	L	CHC	ATL	6.0	8	3	3	0	6	2	50	109	4.74
E.Johnson	W	CHW	DET	6.2	9	2	2	0	1	1	49	97	2.82
B.Flynn		MIA	WSN	4.0	4	2	2	3	5	0	48	79	8.50
D.Haren	L	WSN	MIA	6.0	8	3	3	1	5	2	48	99	4.87
B.Arroyo	W	CIN	PIT	5.0	5	3	3	2	3	2	46	92	3.60
J.Kelly	L	STL	MIL	7.0	7	6	3	2	2	0	45	95	2.81
W.Peralta	W	MIL	STL	5.0	5	3	3	5	3	1	43	88	4.37
A.Sanchez	L	DET	CHW	5.0	8	4	4	2	6	0	39	99	2.64
S.Gray	W	OAK	MIN	5.0	7	4	4	2	3	1	38	94	2.90
E.Bedard	L	HOU	CLE	5.0	8	6	6	2	8	0	33	103	4.81
P.Corbin		ARI	COL	4.1	10	4	4	2	3	0	28	73	3.28
J.Locke	L	PIT	CIN	1.0	3	5	5	2	1	1	26	27	3.52
C.De Vries	L	MIN	OAK	2.0	4	6	6	3	1	1	22	56	11.7
J.Nicasio	L	COL	ARI	2.1	7	7	7	2	1	0	14	62	5.32