September 7th Picks

September 6th "Possible pick" results

China- loss 2-1
Texas- Won 8-0

Record for day 1-1
Overall record for month 8-3

     I have to say, this has been one of the driest months I have played in a while on SFTC. Streakmaster has put up some pretty difficult props. I havn't even put up a single sure pick in the last couple of days and I have yet to risk my measly W4 on anything. I may be taking such a low streak to seriously, but there has just been nothing I have felt very good about. I havn't made a pick in 2 days! I really missed out on Texas yesterday though. I told myself I would pick them no matter what, but got cold feet within the last 30 minutes before the game.

     Also I just have to apologize for how little I have been able to put into this blog the last few days. This blog hasn't looked near as it did at the start of last month. Work has really picked up and I have had so little time to squeeze in writeups. I am going to try to work out a schedule to where I can make posts at a consistant hour of the day.

Moving on to the picks...

Another day of iffy picks. Here is what I have so far.

Possible Pick #1 San Francisco Giants

    Cain (2.85 ERA, 11-9, 157 strikeouts, 1.07 whip) is a good pitcher. Plain and simple. However he has struggled a bit against the Padres (1-2 against them this season). The Padres just look horrible right now though, I cant really find a great reason to pick them. They will be starting Aaron Harang (3.86 ERA, 12-5, 109 so, 1.41 whip) today against the Giants, who struggled against the Giants last time he played. Both pitchers have struggled to get wins in each of their last 10 games (Cain 4-6 , and Harang 5-5). Both teams are horrible at batting ranking near the bottom of the MLB. So why do the Giants have the advantage? Their bullpen and the fact that they have been hitting like a team ranked in the top 20th for batting. Pretty weak I know, but when you look at how much the Padres have been struggling lately, and how slightly improved the Giants have been, San Francisco is to me the best choice. I just have no reason to go with the Padres in this one (not to mention their 29-42 home record).

Possible pick #2 No run scored in the 3rd

More to come and I pan on getting this site back to where it was a month ago. I have just not had as much free time

September 6th Picks

September 5 pick results

Peru W/D- Won (drew 1-1)

USA Nationality of tournament winner- Won

Arizona Diamondbacks- Won 10-7

Record for day 3-0

Record for month 7-2

I will have to get September 6th's picks up tomorrow sometime. Today was just to hard to get to it and I am busy tomorrow morning. In the meantime I have to say China looks like a pretty good pick at a glance.

Possible Pick #1- China

  China (8-2-1) will play Jordan (4-2-1) today. The percents are extremely skewed if you ask me. From what I saw last night, I thought China was a pick that was to good to be true. Turns out it probably is, sadly. With this being an international friendly, it can really be hard to pin-point exactly what is most likely going to happen. I think most people are picking China mainly based on their record. However, Jordan has one of their best teams they have had in years. This game will more than likely be a draw, but Jordan will definitely have a great shot at winning by a point. I say China, but dont be shocked if Jordan wins. I wish I could go into more detail on this game, but I have to be somewhere right now and can't go much further. You get the idea of the pick though.

Possible Pick #2 Texas Rangers

   Texas (80-62, 36-34 away) will head into Tampa Bay, where the Rays (77-63, 38-32 home) will host Texas. C.J. Wilson (3.28 ERA, 14-6, 173 so, 1.20 whip) will look to help Texas rebound from last night's 5-1 loss in the series opener. Wilson is 2-0 this season against the Rays recording a combined 4.08 ERA. Also he has made 13 relief appearances against the Rays.

   Tampa Bay will start Jeff Niemann (3.69 ERA, 9-6, 91 so, 1.20 whip) who lost to Texas 2-7 in his last game pitched last Thursday. He gave up five runs and two homers in that game.

Texas' batting batting ranks (by far) this season; 3rd in runs, 2nd in batting average, 5th on base, 3rd in slugging percent

Tampa Bay's batting ranks (by far) this season; 14th in runs, 26th in batting average, 15th on base, 15th in slugging percent.

    Overall I think Texas is the best pick. Tampa is a good team and is very good at home, but I think with Wilson and the Ranger's batting they take this in a close one

More to come...


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September 5th Picks

September 3rd pick results

Pick #1 Minnesota; Total points or tie in 2nd half- Won (final score 19-17 USC)

Pick #2 LSU- Won 40-27

Record for day 2-0
Record for month 4-2

Fan request pick- AOR (OSU vs. Akron) Loss 42-0

LSU looked strong even without Jordan Jefferson (QB) and Russell Sheppard (WR). If they play like that all year, I could easily see them in the BCS National Championship game this season. Jarret Lee played pretty well Saturday night for the Tigers. Even with his relatively simple performance(s), he has still proven to be a very effective quarterback. Even against elite teams such as Oregon.

Minnesota was somewhat a shocker. Lane Kiffin loves to run up the score when he is winning, and score every point he can when he is losing. I mean, even in the sense of it being a completely meaningless touchdown or feild goal, he is just trying to make it a pretty loss as best as he can. So I have no doubt USC wasnt taking it easy as far as playcalls and coaching was concerned. Minnesota just showed up to play and came pretty close to winning.

Today I took Bubba Watson and should have had him up today on my blog. It was a solid pick to make. He had the tie option, but ended up scoring higher than Charl Swartzel. 

I think for future reference I will put up at least one pick if I decide to take a day off. 

I hope all of you are enjoying your labor day weekend and had a successful weekend of picking as well.

Here is what I have for tomorrow...

Pick #1 Peru win/draw

  I'm still trying to figure out why Peru has the draw option. Bolivia hasn't won in 14 games, and Peru is a pretty solid team. Last week these 2 teams drew in an international friendly. Peru may win.


Possible Pick #1 USA Nationality of Tournament winner (post pending)

Possible Pick #2 Arizona Diamondbacks

  Arizona will place Miley Cyru... I mean Wade Miley (3.94 ERA, 2-1 record, 12 SO, 1.75 WHIP) on the mound tomorrow for Arizona. Judging by previous records (his last game actually), he pitched pretty well against Colorado helping his team overcome the Rockies 9-4 (3.94 ERA, 0 hr). Colorado will start Esmil Rogers (5.94 ERA, 6-4 record, 53 SO, 1.79 WHIP), who suffered a 2-4 loss to Arizona last week (5.94 ERA, 1 hr). Arizona has performed well on the road this season. Arizona in a close one (I dont know why the pick % is so high for Arizona).

Much more tomorrow...


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September 3rd Picks/Overview of September 2nd

Wow rough day. I almost just skipped the day altogether because there was nothing I liked. However, I felt obligated to make a pick since the month was so young, and bit on the Boston game. Worst pick I have made in a while outcome-wise. You may have noticed all of my picks today were "possible" picks, and tomorrow's pick so far don't seem a whole lot better...

Possible Pick #1- LSU

 With all the drama that has occured at LSU recently, Oregon may be the best pick. I will be pulling for LSU as an SEC football fan, but with a couple key players out (QB Jordan Jefferson, WR Russell Shepard) it puts a lot more pressure on the rest of the LSU offense and team. Oregon will be without cornerback and punt returner Cliff Harris.

LSU is still a solid team and stands a pretty good shot at winning. If Les Miles has the kind of luck he did last season (against Tennessee and Florida), LSU has this easy. If it comes down to circumstances and typical feild performance (which is what I expect) I like Oregon here. I probably wont pick this game just because I hate picking against teams I want to win. Unless the odds are ridiculously stacked against them.

*Update for this pick

I just changed my prediction to LSU. Their defense is ridiculous and stacked. Jefferson didn't really have a huge impact last season. Jarrett Lee was a good QB last season. Better than Jefferson at times. The biggest loss to me for LSU is Shepard.

Possible Pick #2- Minnesota total points or tie

    I think USC will do a majority of their scoring in the first half, and Minnesota will score enough toatal points to contend with USC's 2nd half points. Despite Minnesota losing Adam Weber to the Broncos, they will still have a few of their key offensive players from last season. Including their dual running game with running backs DeLeon Eskridge and Duane Bennett. The biggest concern for me though is their offensive line. USC really underperformed last year. I dont see them being a lot different this year. Also Minnesota should be about the same as well, but I think they will have a slighlty better defense (9 returning starters). We will see. After watching TCU, it made me realise how little we know about some of these teams with the season so young.

Pick Request (picks requested by followers) #1 Any Other Result  (Akron at Ohio State

 If this was last season, I would have said Ohio State. However, with everything that has been circulating around the Ohio State program, I think Akron can keep it within 35. Ohio State is in the process of a rebuilding season. With the scandal involving Jim Tressel and all of the trouble Ohio State got into almost a year ago costing them suspentions and players jumping ship, Ohio State wont be bring their A-game as they did last season.

I will have more soon...

Today will be a little different. Since I cant really guarantee any picks for tomorrow, you can leave a comment, or email me a pick or two you would like me to discuss. Granted it isnt golf...


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More September 2nd Picks will be up soon

Septmber 1st pick results

Phillies- Won 6-4
Texas- Won 7-2

Record for day- 2-0
Record for month- 2-0

 I will have tomorrow's picks up soon tonight or tomorrow morning. I already have a couple picked out. I may post one tonight.

Until then, be sure to officially follow by clicking "follow" in the corner of this page if you are not a follower yet, and help spread the word about this blog in the discussions boards and such.


Possible Pick TCU-

   Finally I get to research a football game. With that said, I really don't know for sure about this one yet. I still need to research Baylor a little more. Here is what I have dug up on TCU so far...

"TCU has entered a new level of prominence and stature as a program, but even with ample resources, the 2011 season will be a thorny one for the Horned Frogs. Head coach Gary Patterson had quite a run with quarterback Andy Dalton over the past four seasons. In 2011, Patterson must replace not only the winningest quarterback in school history, but a plethora of talented wide receivers in Jeremy Kerley, Jimmy Young, and Bart Johnson. Pitching and catching the pigskin is going to be a lingering issue, especially in the face of Boise State’s potency and defensive prowess.

Running back, however, will not be a concern in Fort Worth, Texas. Ed Wesley is back for TCU, along with Matthew Tucker and home-run threat Waymon James. Defense is the Frogs’ mainstay, and they have two of the best linebackers in the nation returning in Tank Carder and Tanner Brock. The defense returns just five starters from last season, but history is on the side of Patterson and defensive guru Dick Bumpas. TCU’s defense will be just fine, and that’s what will keep this program a factor in the top tier of the sport.

TCU has found itself in the top 7 of the final Associated Press ballot in each of the last three seasons. Folks in Fort Worth have become accustomed to success. The Frogs have won at least 10 games eight times during the past decade. With a swan song in the MWC on the docket for 2011, it will be interesting to see how the Frogs respond. TCU will find itself on the road or in a neutral site for all of its most difficult games. The Frogs travel to old Southwest Conference rival Baylor and Mountain West foe Air Force during the first two weeks of the year. TCU plays former MWC rival BYU in late October at Cowboys Stadium. Two weeks later, the Frogs travel to Boise in what should be the deciding game in the MWC. The real test is this: Can TCU fight through a tough road slate while breaking in a new quarterback? We shall see soon enough."

 "The #15 TCU Horned Frogs (0-0) might be the team coming off an undefeated season where they might have been the best college football team in the country, but that hasn’t stopped the online sportsbooks from releasing odds that indicate the Baylor Bears (0-0) might get the victory here.  TCU originally opened up as 10-point favorites on the spread before a huge line move knocked the odds down to -3.5 where they currently sit.  Close to 65% of tracked college football bettors are on the Horned Frogs, and our preview and score predictions will get this game figured out.

TCU was at home last season and destroyed Baylor to the tune of 45-10, while outgaining the Bears by 295 yards in the process.  You know Baylor will be looking for some revenge this time around and they should have a high-powered offense that can both run and pass the ball.  TCU lost quite a bit from their defense but this is a team that has a great scheme.  It’s nearly impossible to gain rushing yards on the Horned Frogs, but Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin should be able to find some room in the passing game.

The Horned Frogs lost long-time starting quarterback Andy Dalton to the NFL but I don’t think all is lost.  The points scored per game will go down for TCU but they have some highly touted quarterbacks on the roster.  Baylor’s defense was very poor at stopping the run last season but I see some potential for improvement with some experienced guys coming back on that side of the ball.

Predictions on the final score were not easy to make here, but I think TCU will be able to score some points while Baylor has the passing game to also get on the board.  This won’t be the blowout that we saw last season but I also don’t believe that the Bears have come far enough to win this game or cover the college football odds.  Look for TCU to have a more balanced offense than last season while Baylor will be forced to abandon the run in a pass-heavy game plan for the home team."

sources:

www.theonlinewire.com

www.streakhelp.blogspot.com

Possible Pick # 2 Boston


  This one is a little tricky. It is hard to pick against Texas' Derek Holland, but the Sox do have a pretty good shot at winning tonight.


  Boston (83-53, 41-27 home) will host the Texas Rangers (78-60, 34-32 away) tonight it what appears will be a good game. Boston will start Andrew Miller (4.42 ERA, 6-1, 39 so, 1.69 whip), who did well against Texas on August 27th (Boston won 6-0). Definetely his best game of the season. Tonight however, Texas will be starting Derek Holland (4.30, 12-5, 127 so,1.43 whip) who has been pretty consistant through this season. Though Holland hasn't played Boston this season, I think he will give Boston batters a bit of trouble tonight at the plate. I don't think it will be a huge problem for Boston, who in my opinion has the best batting in the MLB (2nd in runs, 1st in batting average, 1st on base, and 1st in slugging percent), but a significant amount to keep them in the game. Miller, who I mentioned pitched very well against Texas last time they played, did so against a team top 5 in everything when it comes to batting (3rd in runs, 2nd in batting, 5th on base, 3rd in slugging percent). If Miller shows up like he did last time against Texas when he played them on the road, then I think Boston will be able to ad another W to thier record. Boston for the pick.






I will have more up soon on the TCU pick and 1 other game I like. Sorry for the sketchy posts, its been a very busy day.

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