Beat the Streak: Weekend, July 31-Aug. 2
Today’s recommended picks
Chone Figgins, 3B, Angels
.583 AVG (7-for-12) lifetime vs. Twins starter Nick Blackburn
Joe Mauer, C, Twins
.533 AVG (8-for-15) lifetime vs. Angels starter Ervin Santana
Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Tigers
.455 AVG (10-for-22) over last 5 G; .333 AVG in ’09
Saturday’s recommended picks
Luke Scott, OF, Orioles
.538 AVG (7-for-13) lifetime vs. Red Sox starter Josh Beckett
Chipper Jones, 3B, Braves
.400 AVG (4-for-10) since ’04 vs. Dodgers starter Randy Wolf
Orlando Hudson, 2B, Dodgers
.385 AVG (10-for-26) since ’04 vs. Braves starter Derek Lowe
Sunday’s recommended picks
Bobby Abreu, OF, Angels
.600 AVG (6-for-10) lifetime vs. Twins starter Glen Perkins
Cristian Guzman, SS, Nationals
.500 AVG (5-for-10) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Paul Maholm
Joe Mauer, C, Twins
.417 AVG (5-for-12) lifetime vs. Angels starter Jered Weaver
BTS all-time leader: Michael Karatzia, 49
MLB all-time leader: Joe DiMaggio, 56
Yesterday’s results
For the second day in a row, a hitless day from one player ended the streaks of a good chunk of the BTS field.
This time, the culprit was Ichiro Suzuki. Normally a BTS favorite due to his combination of contact skills and speed, Ichiro couldn’t get anything going on a career day from Texas pitcher Derek Holland. Ichiro’s 0-for-4 effort derailed 21 percent of the day’s contestants, including brian2460 and squallgohan413, who both fell from the Top 5.
But the upheaval didn’t affect leader rbgoulet1, who received an eighth-inning single from Derek Jeter to extend his streak to 38 games. bigshowmarko pushed his second-place streak to 32 games with a 1-for-4 effort from Joey Votto, and eggman3131 took over possession of third, at 29 games, thanks to another big day from Matt Holliday (2-for-3).
Yesterday’s Top 5 most selected players
1. Ichiro Suzuki (SEA): 21.0%, 0-for-4
2. Derek Jeter (NYY): 7.3%, 1-for-4
3. Alex Rodriguez (NYY): 6.7%, 0-for-4
4. Dustin Pedroia (BOS): 6.1%, 0-for-5
5. Manny Ramirez (LAD): 5.4%, 0-for-5
Beat the Streak Report 
If you add them all up from the bigger chart (there’s four or five more, including all three Ramirez…Manny, Hanley, Aramis), over 51% of all contestants dropped back to zero yesterday!
How many people IS that? How many are in this contest?
(fyi. I dropped from 23 to zero. But I can’t complain, it was a fun run. And it’s nothing compared to how that woman must be feeling after Wednesday. She had just hit 35, and her next BTS pick, Joey Votto, gets ejected for arguing a strikeout call in his first at bat. Yow. I can’t imagine.)
If you add them all up from the bigger chart (there’s four or five more, including all three Ramirez…Manny, Hanley, Aramis), over 51% of all contestants dropped back to zero yesterday!
How many people IS that? How many are in this contest?
(fyi. I dropped from 23 to zero. But I can’t complain, it was a fun run. And it’s nothing compared to how that woman must be feeling after Wednesday. She had just hit 35, and her next BTS pick, Joey Votto, gets ejected for arguing a strikeout call in his first at bat. Yow. I can’t imagine.)
The Kings at the Plate for Sat. 8/1 actually has a logical pick. Orlando Hudson vs. Derek Lowe. Hudson has batted 26 times v. Lowe. This is enough at bats to see that Hudson is a good hitter v. Lowe. Lowe gives up more hits than innings pitched. This is a logical pick for today. I’m going outside the 6 guys I usually choose from because they are all matched against top line pitchers on Sat. Let’s see what happens? This game makes going to the race track look simple :)………………..
What a great comparison by Mr. Dragbunt. This game is very similar to picking winners at thoroughbred tracks; there is so much information to sift through, and so many difficult-to-predict variables (i.e. a jockey falling from his mount vs. some hot batter getting kicked out for arguing a call). Someone complained a day or so ago about the King’s choices. They are useful for someone taking the 15-seconds-a-day approach and as an overview, like the Daily Racing Form’s selections at the track. No one capable of winning BTS would rely on them, I don’t think, but they would be wise to review them. Finally, Mr. Dragbunt, I prefer Rafael Furcal today. Granted, Furcal only has six at-bats against Lowe (with three hits), not nearly as significant as Hudson’s 26, but he is hot ? has hit in 11 consecutive games and has 51 at-bats in those games, comparable to Ichiro’s rate of plate appearances. LA is at Atlanta, so will get a minimum of nine innings of offense. Furcal should get five at-bats. Good luck.
Hey PPerkins,
Just saw your post about Rafael Furcal in today’s game v. Braves. Your selection is well thought out. Good luck today as I hope that Furcal doubles and is driven in by a bloop single by Hudson. Furcal’s batting average of .267 is negated by the fact that you know he is on a hitting streak etc. We need to help each other. That is the only way to Beat the Streak. Saw your comment after the NYY v. White Sox game began Sat 8/1 at 3:05pm central time – I could not switch my pick to Furcal! I agree with your assessment of the King’s at the Plate info – important to look at but you can not rely on it completely.
Dragbunt104
Sunday August 2nd
Take a look at Dustin Pedroia today. He faces a pathetic lefty who was with the Cubs last season, Rich Hill. As a Cub fan, we had high hopes when Hill came up but as usual his crash to the ground was really bad. Hill’s ERA is 7.00 plus and he is a home run target waitng to happen (Youkils). Good luck to all on Sunday!
Dragbunt104
Joe Mauer Strikes Again!
As I mentioned a few days ago. Mauer is ‘streaky” from game to game. He goes 3 for 4 on Friday and then on Saturday he goes 0 for 5. Mauer was the only Twin in the line up not to get a hit on Saturday.
I’m stumped for Monday 8/3 – Big Baller and perrkins help out dragbunt with a pick for Monday.
I’m locked in on Sunday with Dustin Pedroia.
dragbunt
Only 7 days left including today. If you hit zero on next Sunday (the 9th), you cannot win the grand prize. Starting that day, there are exactly 57 games left. Even then, you will have to worry about the rain out and the rest day. I imagine even Suzuki will be given a day off somewhere down the line.
Monday August 3rd – Come on guys I know you are out there! Let’s help each other out with info about “our” team. As a Cub fan, here is my input for Monday, August 3rd.
—-Kings at the Plate – Do not be fooled On Monday 8/3
—-Koske Fukadome – Stay away from him. Looks like Ichirio about 1 game out of 20. Now batting lead off for Cubs but take a pass on him v. Harang.
2. Joey “Black Cat Syndrome” Votto v. Cub starter Randy Wells. The rookie, Wells, has really come into his own in the last month or so. He is tough on hitters. Stay away from “The Black Cat” Votto on Monday.
I was hoping that BigBaller or pperkins would help me with my pick on Monday, all 6 guys I follow have the day off. So, I’m taking Hanely (injured) Ramirez out of my 6 man “pickpool” and I’m replacing him with Ranger Michael Young. I’m going with Young on Monday.
A wild guess on the odds to win “Beat the Streak” is 100 million to 1. If we help each other it could reduce the odds and one of us may actually can win it. Let’s work together and maybe one of us can wipe the smile off the face of the insurance company CEO who is collecting on his policy insuring Burger King from the $1,000,000 loss they would take when there is a winner.
Condolences to all the leaders in “Survivor” The Astros beat the Cardinals and it was a “Leader Board Massacre” on Sunday.
Dragbunt104