Well, HEY! I hit yesterday - Cowboys won. Astros won. Braves won (even though I predicted a Cubs win)... so the world is good. Arizona did loose and Philly lost, as well. So sad that Philly lost... OH WELL, I'LL GET OVER IT, I AM SURE... ha, ha, ha... so, let's look at what is going on today.
Rangers vs. Mariners - Young vs. Moyer - Rangers have a good chance for today... the meat of the lineup does well against Moyer. Sorry has a poor average against Moyer, but when he connects, he makes it count (4 dingers). As a whole, the team has a .251 ave against Moyer and 18 walks, but we strikeout a lot (52 times in 243 at bats). Young hates Suzuki who is the only Mariner to have any real success against Young (.429 ave). Mariners hold a .250 ave against Young. I think this is really a tough call, due to the recent mess the Rangers have been in as of late, but I think this game could be a step in the right direction. Rangers 7-2.
Braves vs. Cubs - Thomson vs. Williams - Key stat for this would be that Thomson gives up the long ball. 6 homers in 99 at bats to the Cubs. Cubs have a .263 ave against Thomson (26 for 99). Barrett and Blanco have 2 dingers each against Thomson. Williams isn't much better, though. Thus far, in 34 at bats for the Braves, they have mustered up 2 dingers themselves. They hit .324 against him (11 for 34), but only 4 runs. Still, I think that Williams may luck out on this, not sure why, my gut, I guess. Cubs over Braves in a close one 5-4.
D-Backs vs. Mets - Vargas vs. Zambrano - Now this may be the best matchup I have seen in a good long time... both pitchers do well against these hitters, a ton of success. A TON OF SUCCESS. They should both pitch late into the game and hand it over to the bullpen. This may even go into extra innings. And if that is the case... Well, let's look at numbers first. Zambrano holds the D-Backs to a .159 ave (7 for 44). Not much for the D-Backs there. Vargas holds the Mets hitters to .077 ave (2 for 26)... Point made? Yeppers. So, the bullpen. Arizona has an ERA of 5.86 out of the pen, and the Mets 3.98 ERA out of the pen. AND, against the D-Back, the Mets have a 2.50 ERA this year. BUT, the D-Backs have a 2.91 ERA against the Mets... Wow, this would be a very tough call... too many stats. But, I am going to go with the Mets... most of the intangibles seem to point in their direction. I am going to say Mets 3-2 in 10 innings.
Astros vs. Padres - Clemens vs. Peavy - Clemens. Nuff Said. He did me wrong last time... won't happen twice in a row. Astros 4-2. (one given up by the Rocket).
Minor Leaguers:
Philly vs. Giants - Padilla vs. Tomko - Padilla has doen well his last 3 games, a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings. Tomko has done well himself, but still not good enough to win. He is 0-3 with a 3.50 ERA. If he was a Ranger, maybe 3-0? I guess we will never know. But alas, everything is actually pointing to a rough start for both pitchers. Giants have a .317 ave against Padilla and 4 dingers and 14 RBI in only 104 at bats. OUCH. Now the Phillies (isn't a Philly a female horse?) have a .298 ave against Tomko, 7 super touches (homers), and a whopping 22 RBI's in only 131 at bats. I would be surprised to say the least if both of these starters make it through 5 innings. Both teams FEAST off these starters. They will be padding the offensive numbers today. Philly 10-7.
Rangers vs. Mariners - Young vs. Moyer - Rangers have a good chance for today... the meat of the lineup does well against Moyer. Sorry has a poor average against Moyer, but when he connects, he makes it count (4 dingers). As a whole, the team has a .251 ave against Moyer and 18 walks, but we strikeout a lot (52 times in 243 at bats). Young hates Suzuki who is the only Mariner to have any real success against Young (.429 ave). Mariners hold a .250 ave against Young. I think this is really a tough call, due to the recent mess the Rangers have been in as of late, but I think this game could be a step in the right direction. Rangers 7-2.
Braves vs. Cubs - Thomson vs. Williams - Key stat for this would be that Thomson gives up the long ball. 6 homers in 99 at bats to the Cubs. Cubs have a .263 ave against Thomson (26 for 99). Barrett and Blanco have 2 dingers each against Thomson. Williams isn't much better, though. Thus far, in 34 at bats for the Braves, they have mustered up 2 dingers themselves. They hit .324 against him (11 for 34), but only 4 runs. Still, I think that Williams may luck out on this, not sure why, my gut, I guess. Cubs over Braves in a close one 5-4.
D-Backs vs. Mets - Vargas vs. Zambrano - Now this may be the best matchup I have seen in a good long time... both pitchers do well against these hitters, a ton of success. A TON OF SUCCESS. They should both pitch late into the game and hand it over to the bullpen. This may even go into extra innings. And if that is the case... Well, let's look at numbers first. Zambrano holds the D-Backs to a .159 ave (7 for 44). Not much for the D-Backs there. Vargas holds the Mets hitters to .077 ave (2 for 26)... Point made? Yeppers. So, the bullpen. Arizona has an ERA of 5.86 out of the pen, and the Mets 3.98 ERA out of the pen. AND, against the D-Back, the Mets have a 2.50 ERA this year. BUT, the D-Backs have a 2.91 ERA against the Mets... Wow, this would be a very tough call... too many stats. But, I am going to go with the Mets... most of the intangibles seem to point in their direction. I am going to say Mets 3-2 in 10 innings.
Astros vs. Padres - Clemens vs. Peavy - Clemens. Nuff Said. He did me wrong last time... won't happen twice in a row. Astros 4-2. (one given up by the Rocket).
Minor Leaguers:
Philly vs. Giants - Padilla vs. Tomko - Padilla has doen well his last 3 games, a 1.35 ERA in 20 innings. Tomko has done well himself, but still not good enough to win. He is 0-3 with a 3.50 ERA. If he was a Ranger, maybe 3-0? I guess we will never know. But alas, everything is actually pointing to a rough start for both pitchers. Giants have a .317 ave against Padilla and 4 dingers and 14 RBI in only 104 at bats. OUCH. Now the Phillies (isn't a Philly a female horse?) have a .298 ave against Tomko, 7 super touches (homers), and a whopping 22 RBI's in only 131 at bats. I would be surprised to say the least if both of these starters make it through 5 innings. Both teams FEAST off these starters. They will be padding the offensive numbers today. Philly 10-7.
2 Random Thoughts:
the d'backs will win tonite. vargas is about the only pleasant surprise of the season, other than clark's hitting.
final score will be 7-4 d'backs. hey, we have to win at least one of these, and wed and thurs match-ups don't look good.
btw, i was close on last night's game. our bull-pen performed as expected - 9.00 ERA. what i didn't expect was for webb to stay in there through 8 innings. undoubtedly he didn't want to turn it over to our run-an-inning bullpen. can't say as i blame him.
I don't know... I just don't see that many runs in this game... I see to be a lot lower. Now it could be 3-2 D-Backs... 4 runs for either team in 9 would be a lot against these two starters. If Vargas could go 8, then the D-Backs have it... If he goes 9 then it is in the bag. That is, of course, Zambrano does the same... Zambrano isn't chump change.
Post a Comment