Thursday, September 15, 2005

Thursday and Friday Picks

Today

Rangers vs. Mariners – Loe vs. Harris – I like Loe. I think he is going to be huge and not just in height. Harris has done decent this year; one of his two wins was against the Rangers who hit only .182 against him. Adrian Gonzalez is the only one who did any real damage against him and has the only RBI against him. Gonzalez, by the way, would have over 30 homeruns if he had played the entire season with the Rangers. I think the number would be 37 dingers. Impressive, I must say. Loe does some damage against the M’s too. He has a win against them, 6 strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings (WOW) and holds them to a .167 average. They have only 1 run against him as well. I like the Rangers in this one 3-1.

Braves vs. Phillies – Sosa vs. Myers – Sosa is hot, Myers is average. I go with the hot stuff. Braves over Phillies 4-2.

Astros vs. Marlins – Pettitte vs. Vargas – Pettitte is on fire (2.48 ERA season and 1.40 ERA over his last 3), Vargas is throwing a medicine ball (8.25 ERA in his last 3)… Astros dominate this one 7-2.

Brewers vs. D-Backs – Ohka vs. Estes – Fairly even on this overall, but Estes is a little colder than Ohka. Ohka notably is better on the road in comparison to Estes at home. I will go with the alcoholics and say the D-Backs bullpen will loose to the Brewers starter: 6-4.

Tomorrow

Rangers vs. Mariners – TBA vs. Hernandez – I have done some vast research and I have come up empty for the Rangers starter for 9/16. But I did dig up in one place and they said Rogers for this game. But the same resource also said Rogers for Saturday. Rogers is not Cy Young in that he can throw a doubleheader one day and then pitch again the next. So, when I find out for certain, I can make a better guess on this. I would like the match up of Rogers vs. Hernandez, Hernandez looks good. He has a 2.33 ERA this year and even though Rogers isn’t as hot as he was earlier this year, I think he would still be the best guy for the job. But it is not my call (but it should be).

Braves vs. Mets – Smoltz vs. Trachsel – Smoltz is just better than Trash-el, has better numbers and is very consistent. Probably the most consistent of any pitcher I have seen (and when I say consistent, I mean consistently good – there are plenty who are consistently bad). Braves with a win over the Mets, say 5-2.

Phillies vs. Marlins – Lieber vs. Moehler – Moehler hasn’t started since 8/20. Lieber is very hot right now. Everything points to the female horse and a good win for them. I do, however, think this isn’t going to be a cakewalk for the Phillies. The Big Fish loose to the female horses, going with 7-5.

Astros vs. Brewers – Oswalt vs. Helling – Helling is an alcoholic, hard to swallow. But it is good to see him out there again. Dude is on fire, too. He has a 0.98 ERA over his last 3. Oswalt is a good match up for him. This could hand him his first loss this year. But, I honestly think this will go to the bullpen and some extra time on the diamond. Astros with a walk off run in the 11th, 4-3.

D-Backs vs. Rockies – Nippert vs. Day – Battle of the bottom, is what I call these types of games. Oh, how I can remember the days of the 13 win seasons for the Mavs, battling the lowly Timberwolves (I would call them the Feather Wolves, he he he). I looked over the goods, Nippert looks better than Day, although that isn’t saying too much. But the numbers don’t lie, Day has an ERA of almost 7, and Nippert is in the mid 5’s. Day also has been throwing in low 8’s over his last 3 games. Nippert has only one appearance. I think in this game he will shine. D-Backs 10-6.

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