Category: Dailies
Beat the Streak Report: May 10

It was a nightmare on Elm Street this weekend atop our BTS leaderboard, as our two top streakers, “olifante” and “bowl218” saw their streaks snap Friday night thanks to Hanley Ramirez’s hitless performance.
Was Hanley my top pick for Friday? Yes, yes, he was.
Sorry kids, you get what you pay for.
Our lone ranger atop the leaderboard now is “cruj”, who is currently rocking a 33-game streak thanks to Jayson Werth’s 1-for-3 day at the yard yesterday.
With “cruj” at 33 games, he is officially 57.9 percent on his way to buying one of the over-sized gigantic walking pianos like from the movie “Big”.
Just because he can.
Time for Monday’s picks.
Oh, hello there …
? Stephen Drew: .410 AVG (16-for-39) lifetime vs. Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley
? Joey Votto: .800 AVG (4-for-5) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Ross Ohlendorf
? Brian McCann: .364 AVG (4-for-11) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Doug Davis
? Russell Martin: .500 AVG (4-for-8) lifetime vs. D-backs starter Rodrigo Lopez
Feeling kinda spicy?
? Ronny Paulino: .538 AVG (7-for-13) lifetime vs. Cubs starter Ted Lilly. Backup catcher much?
You’ll thank me later …
? Hanley Ramirez: .100 AVG (1-for-10) lifetime vs. Cubs starter Ted Lilly
? Aaron Hill: .083 AVG (1-for-12) lifetime vs. Red Sox starter John Lackey
? Cristian Guzman: .000 AVG (0-for-13) lifetime vs. Mets starter John Maine
Leaderboard time!
A full nine games behind “cruj” is “jonnygoska”, who currently sits with a 24-game streak. Good luck with that.
Top MLB streakers
? Brett Gardner: 11 games
? Alex Rios: 11 games
? Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
? Elvis Andrus: 10 games
? Austin Jackson: 10 games
Beat the Streak Report: Weekend, May 7-9

Thursday was a beautiful day in the neighborhood for our Beat the Streakers.
Our top five most popular selections each got hits, combining to extend the streaks for about 35 percent of Streakland.
Dustin Pedroia, my, ahem, Pick of the Day, spearheaded “Operation: Hitsville,” going 2-for-4 to extend the streaks of 12.3 percent of our users all by his lonesome self.
It was also all sunshine atop the leaderboard, as “olifante” and “bowl218” each lived to see another day thanks to hits from Evan Longoria and Placido Polanco, respectively.
With “olifante”‘s streak now at 33 games, he is 57.9 percent on his way to the promised land. And you know what that means: All the infomercial knives that can cut through shoes that he ever dreamed of.
Will our fearless leader survive the weekend?
I have no clue. But I might as well give it a whirl …
Oh, hello there …
Friday
- Robinson Cano: .362 AVG (17-for-47) lifetime vs. Red Sox starter Josh Beckett
- Albert Pujols: .471 AVG (16-for-34) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Zach Duke
- Vernon Wells: .500 AVG (10-for-20) since ’05 vs. White Sox starter Mark Buehrle
- Hanley Ramirez: .857 AVG (6-for-7) lifetime vs. Nationals starter Craig Stammen
Saturday
- Michael Young: .500 AVG (10-for-20) since ’05 vs. Royals starter Gil Meche
- Hanley Ramirez: .462 AVG (6-for-13) lifetime vs. Nationals starter John Lannan
- David Wright: .727 AVG (8-for-11) lifetime vs. Giants starter Todd Wellemeyer
- Martin Prado: .556 AVG (5-for-9) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Joe Blanton
Sunday
- Matt Kemp: .409 AVG (9-for-22) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez
- Albert Pujols: .600 AVG (15-for-25) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Paul Maholm
- Ben Zobrist: .625 AVG (5-for-8) lifetime vs. A’s starter Dallas Braden
- David DeJesus: .714 AVG (5-for-7) lifetime vs. Rangers starter Scott Feldman
Feeling kinda spicy?
Friday
- Joe Inglett: .455 AVG (5-for-11) lifetime vs. D-backs starter Edwin Jackson. Yes, you can pretty much take anyone going against Edwin Jackson these days.
Saturday
- Fred Lewis: .444 AVG (4-for-9) lifetime vs. White Sox starter Jake Peavy. Yes, Fred Lewis has been on fire as of late.
Sunday
- Gabe Kapler: .444 AVG (4-for-9) lifetime vs. A’s starter Dallas Braden. Yes, starting sentences this way is getting to be painful.
You’ll thank me later …
Friday
- Troy Tulowitzki: .111 AVG (1-for-9) lifetime vs. Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda
- Adam Lind: .000 AVG (0-for-12) lifetime vs. White Sox starter Mark Buehrle
Saturday
- Stephen Drew: .100 AVG (1-for-10) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Randy Wolf
- Josh Hamilton: .100 AVG (1-for-10) lifetime vs. Royals starter Gil Meche
Sunday
- Matt Holliday: .071 AVG (1-for-14) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Paul Maholm
- Billy Butler: .182 AVG (2-for-11) lifetime vs. Rangers starter Scott Feldman
Leaderboard time!
Joining “olifante” and “bowl218” in the 30-streak club is “cruj,” who took Justin Morneau yesterday to reach this lovely milestone. Well played.
Top MLB streakers
- Evan Longoria: 12 games
- Albert Pujols: 11 games
- Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
- Bengie Molina: 10 games
Beat the Streak Report: Thursday, May 6

And down goes “dodger_blue.”
One day after being profiled in the Beat the Streak Report, John Phillips saw his 31-game streak go down in flames thanks to Ryan Theriot’s 0-for-4 performance on Wednesday. Thanks for playing John, enjoy that whole veterinarian school thing.
With Phillips out of the way, “olifante” is all alone in first place atop the leaderboard with a 32-game streak after selecting Albert Pujols, who went 1-for-3. “olifante” is now 56.1 percent on his way buying one of those vibrating, insanely comfortable, ridiculously expensive leather massage chairs that everyone sampled at The Sharper Image once upon a time. Those chairs were awesome.
User “bowl218” lived to see another day, extending his streak to a shiny 31 games thanks to Dustin Pedroia’s 2-for-3 evening.
As for the rest of the BTS world, Theriot and Robinson Cano combined to evaporate 25.4 percent of all streaks in the whole wide world. Eeesh!
Time for Thursday’s picks.
Oh, hello there …
- Chipper Jones: .520 AVG (13-for-20) lifetime vs. Nationals starter Scott Olsen
- Dustin Pedroia: .517 AVG (15-for-29) lifetime vs. Angels starter Scott Kazmir
- Placido Polanco: .412 AVG (7-for-17) since ’05 vs. Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse
- Russell Martin: .444 AVG (4-for-9) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Dave Bush
Feeling kinda spicy?
- Matt Diaz: .440 AVG (11-for-25) lifetime vs. Olsen. Don’t mind if I do.
- Willy Aybar: .500 AVG (4-for-8) lifetime vs. Mariners starter Ryan Rowland-Smith. Don’t mind if I do not.
You’ll thank me later …
- Edgar Renteria: .000 AVG (0-for-14) lifetime vs. Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco
- Adrian Beltre: .111 AVG (2-for-18) lifetime vs. Kazmir
- Bobby Abreu: .125 AVG (2-for-16) lifetime vs. Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka
- Chase Utley: .143 AVG (2-for-14) lifetime vs. Lohse
Leaderboard time!
Not far behind our fearsome twosome is “cruj,” who is flashing a 29-game streak after taking Albert Pujols yesterday.
Top MLB streakers
- Evan Longoria: 11 games
- Albert Pujols: 10 games
- Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
- David Freese: 9 games
- Bengie Molina: 9 games
- David Wright: 9 games
Beat the Streak Report: Wednesday, May 5

It was all sunshine for our streakers on Tuesday, as the seven most popular selections each hit safely to extend the streaks of about 42 percent of the BTS world alone.
The day’s biggest culprit was Aramis Ramirez, who went 0-for-4 to drown the streaks of 2.1 percent of users.
Meanwhile, our two fearless leaders, “dodger_blue” and “olifante,” each extended their runs to 31 games by picking Austin “Danger” Jackson and Ryan Theriot, respectively.
Speaking of which, “dodger_blue” was gracious enough to respond to our inquiries and give us a little information on the man behind the streak.
“dodger_blue,” also known as John Phillips, is an aspiring veterinarian and recent graduate of UCLA who currently lives in Orange County, Calif.
As his user name suggests, he is a Dodgers fan, with his favorite players being Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, James Loney and Russell Martin.
His strategy thus far has been picking players who bat in the top three of their lineups and are on the visiting teams, “so you are guaranteed a potential at-bat in the ninth.”
John has also been looking at lefty-righty matchups and at players who are sizzling at the plate.
One thing that severely stuck a needle in my ego balloon was that John revealed to me that he only read the “Beat the Streak Report” on Monday for the very first time.
Despite my most dogged attempts, I was unsuccessful in trying to hack into our computer database to reset his streak down to two.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to answer us, John, and thanks for the playing Beat the Streak.
Time for Wednesday’s picks.
Oh, hello there …
- Adrian Gonzalez: .367 AVG (11-for-30) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Aaron Cook
- Nick Markakis: .344 AVG (11-for-32) lifetime vs. Yankees starter Andy Pettitte
- Aaron Hill: .400 AVG (4-for-10) lifetime vs. Indians starter Fausto Carmona
- Matt Kemp: .435 AVG (10-for-23) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Dave Bush
- Jason Kubel: .643 AVG (9-for-14) lifetime vs. Tigers starter Rick Porcello
Feeling kinda spicy?
- Willie Bloomquist: .500 AVG (7-for-14) since ’05 vs. White Sox starter Freddy Garcia. Come on, it’s Freddy Garcia! I know you’re thinking about it …
- Fernando Tatis: .800 AVG (4-for-5) lifetime vs. Reds starter Johnny Cueto. I double dare you.
You’ll thank me later …
- Paul Konerko: .160 AVG (4-for-25) lifetime vs. Royals starter Brian Bannister
- Miguel Cabrera: .100 AVG (1-for-10) lifetime vs. Twins starter Kevin Slowey
- Hanley Ramirez: .100 AVG (1-for-10) lifetime vs. Giants starter Barry Zito
Leaderboard time!
Still riding high behind our top two leaders is “bowl218,” who rode a rejuvenated Alex Gonzalez to an impressive 30-game streak.
Top MLB streakers
- Ryan Theriot: 13 games
- Evan Longoria: 10 games
- Albert Pujols: 9 games
Four players tied with eight-game streaks.
Beat the Streak Report: Tuesday, May 4

With a full month of baseball in the books, two streakers, “dodger_blue” and “olifante,” have risen above the rest and are soaring like falcons through the desert with 30-game streaks.
That means that these two BTS Adonises are 52.6 percent on their way to the $3 million grand prize. And you know what that means? … 230,946 of these.
As for everyone else, it was a rough night in streakland.
Just when you thought it might be safe to bring Derek Jeter back into your life after he hit safely in five straight games, he breaks your heart (again) with an 0-for-4 performance, snapping the streaks of 12.6 percent of the BTS nation.
If that wasn’t enough, Robinson Cano, who seemingly enters each game with a hit before the opening pitch, followed suit, wiping away 8.3 percent of our streakers with him.
Add on hitless performances by Paul Konerko (4.3 percent) and Johnny Damon (1.3), and well, you get the idea.
What do all of these guys have in common? None of them were advocated in yesterday’s Beat the Streak Report. What do Magglio Ordonez, Ian Kinsler, Nick Swisher and Alex Rios have in common? They were, and they each got hits, going a combined 9-for-15.
I’m trying to help you here, folks.
Time for Tuesday’s picks.
Oh, hello there …
- Aramis Ramirez: .400 AVG (8-for-20) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Paul Maholm
- Chone Figgins: .353 AVG (6-for-17) lifetime vs. Rays starter James Shields
- Miguel Cabrera: .400 AVG (6-for-15) lifetime vs. Twins starter Nick Blackburn
- Chris Young: .385 AVG (5-for-13) lifetime vs. Astros starter Roy Oswalt
Feeling kinda spicy?
- Marcus Thames: .667 AVG (4-for-6) lifetime vs. Orioles starter Brian Matusz. I’m actually going to advocate for Thames here. He kills lefties, Matusz is a rookie. I just like it. So there.
You’ll thank me later …
- Matt Wieters: .000 AVG (0-for-8) lifetime vs. Yankees starter A.J. Burnett
- Alex Rios: .111 AVG (1-for-9) lifetime vs. Royals starter Luke Hochevar
- David Wright: .182 AVG (4-for-22) lifetime vs. Reds starter Bronson Arroyo
Leaderboard time!
Not far behind our two top dogs is “bowl218”, who smartly selected Alex Rios to extend his streak to 29 games. You’re welcome.
Top MLB streakers
- Ryan Theriot: 12 games
- Mike Fontenot: 10 games
- Orlando Hudson: 10 games
- Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
- Evan Longoria: 9 games
Beat the Streak Report: Monday, May 3

Sunday was funday, as nine of the day’s Top 10 choices either got hits or didn’t play (Joe Mauer), allowing for most of our streakers to live another day.
Ichiro was the biggest bearer of bad news, as Mr. BTS went 0-for-5 to press the reset button on 3.4 percent of all streaks.
I’m not done with Ichiro just yet. For as long as I can remember, Ichiro was the kingpin in the Beat the Streak hierarchy, the head honcho of the BTS brigade, the old reliable who we all … relied on.
But, it’s time to at least consider that Ichiro turns 37 this season (37!) and might not have that backbreaking speed that allowed him to leg out those infield dribblers for most of his career. Also, he’s now gone hitless in seven of the Mariners’ 25 games, which is to say, you’ve had a better than one-in-four chance of having your streak snapped if you’ve chosen Ichiro.
That’s not good.
To be fair, the lifetime .333 hitter is also a lifetime .299 hitter for April, so let’s just hope he’s off to just another slow start.
But at the very least, put the above trinkets in your back pocket and save them for a rainy day.
Time for Monday’s picks:
Oh, hello there …
- Alex Rios: .571 AVG (12-for-21) lifetime vs. Royals starter Gil Meche
- Magglio Ordonez: .489 AVG (22-for-45) lifetime vs. Twins starter Scott Baker
- Nick Swisher: .476 AVG (10-for-21) lifetime vs. Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie
- Ian Kinsler: .400 AVG (4-for-10) lifetime vs. A’s starter Dallas Braden
Feeling kinda spicy?
- Garrett Atkins: .625 AVG (5-for-8) lifetime vs. Yankees starter CC Sabathia. I’m gonna say this one just isn’t a very good idea, ‘k?
You’ll thank me later …
- Albert Pujols: .125 AVG (1-for-8) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Joe Blanton
- Kevin Youkilis: .222 AVG (4-for-18) lifetime vs. Angels starter Joe Saunders
- Dexter Fowler: .000 AVG (0-for-9) lifetime vs. Padres starter Kevin Correia
Leaderboard time!
And then there were three.
The weekend eliminated two from atop our leaderboard, leaving us with three top dogs reigning supreme with 29-game streaks. With that said, the following three BTSers are 50.9 percent on their way to having one of those licorice dispensers from “Wayne’s World” in their cars. Just because they can.
- dodger_blue
- kot2
- olifante
Top MLB streakers
- Ryan Theriot: 12 games
- Mike Fontenot: 10 games
- Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
- Jason Bay: 9 games
- Orlando Hudson: 9 games
- Evan Longoria: 9 games
Beat the Streak Report: Weekend, April 30 – May 2

A classic mistake ended the streaks of 7.8 percent of our Beat the Streak family.
The Twins played the Tigers on Thursday. Detroit sent Dontrelle Willis to the mound. Joe Mauer is a really good hitter. This appeared to be a primo matchup. Except that it wasn’t.
You see, it was an afternoon game. The Twins and Tigers played the evening before. Mauer is a catcher. Catchers normally sit out day games after night games. And Mauer sat. But then he didn’t.
In the top of the eighth inning, Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire summoned his 2009 AL MVP into the batter’s box to pinch-hit. Mauer struck out swinging. His day was over, along with the 7.8 percent of users who selected him.
New Beat the Streak Report rule: Don’t pick catchers on day games after night games.
Let’s move on to the weekend’s picks …
Oh, hello there …
Friday
- Colby Rasmus: .417 AVG (5-for-12) lifetime vs. Reds starter Johnny Cueto
- Alex Rodriguez: .600 AVG (6-for-10) since ’05 vs. White Sox starter Freddy Garcia
- Adrian Gonzalez: .778 AVG (7-for-9) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Dave Bush
Saturday
- Matt Kemp: .389 AVG (7-for-18) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Zach Duke
- Ryan Howard: .435 AVG (10-for-23) lifetime vs. Mets starter Mike Pelfrey
- Bobby Abreu: .533 AVG (8-for-15) since ’05 vs. Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman
Sunday
- Troy Tulowitzki: .417 AVG (5-for-12) lifetime vs. Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez
- Joe Mauer: .429 AVG (6-for-14) lifetime vs. Indians starter David Huff
- Joey Votto: .455 AVG (5-for-11) lifetime vs. Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter
Feeling kinda spicy?
Friday
- Tony Abreu: .500 AVG (4-for-8) lifetime vs. Cubs starter Randy Wells. Want to risk it all on the “other” Abreu?
Saturday
- Greg Dobbs: .538 AVG (7-for-13) lifetime vs. Mets starter Mike Pelfrey. Have you seen Pelfrey’s numbers this year???
Sunday
- Henry Blanco: .625 AVG (5-for-8) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Jamie Moyer. Backup catcher, anyone?
You’ll thank me later …
Friday
- Billy Butler: .000 AVG (0-for-7) lifetime vs. Rays starter Jeff Niemann
Saturday
- Nick Markakis: .000 AVG (0-for-12) lifetime vs. Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka
Sunday
- Johnny Damon: .182 AVG (4-for-22) lifetime vs. Angels starter Jered Weaver
Hey, look at who’s on the leaderboard!
The fab five is still alive, as the following five users sit atop our leaderboard with 26-game streaks and are 45.6 percent on their way to bathing in bottled Voss water for the rest of their lives. Just because they can:
- ALbundy
- djbloom
- dodger_blue
- kot2
- olifante
Top MLB streakers
- Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
- Ryan Doumit: 9 games
- Pablo Sandoval: 9 games
- Ryan Theriot: 9 games
Six players are tied with eight-game streaks.
Beat the Streak Report: Thursday, April 29

Sleepless in Seattle, no more.
An incredible, stupendous, fantastic, ridiculous, tell-your-little-brother 26.2 percent of all Beat the Streakers put their hopes and dreams in the hands of the man they call Ichiro. And boy, did it pay off.
Lattes were flying, rain was pouring, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan were awkwardly laughing and somewhere Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton were smiling, as Ichiro rewarded their astounding faith by going 3-for-5.
In fact, it was pretty much Candyland across the board for our Streakers, as the top six choices for the day each compiled hits, which extended the streaks of almost 50 percent of our users alone.
Dustin Pedroia ended the most streaks with an 0-for-2 performance against Brett Cecil and Co., but that only accounted for 2.4 percent of our Streakers.
So pump your fist, shake your tail-feather and let it ride. (Almost) all of us are one step closer to that all-you-can-eat Red Lobster buffet.
Let’s check out Thursday’s picks.
Oh, hello there …
- Matt Holliday: .538 AVG (7-for-13) lifetime vs. Braves starter Jair Jurrjens
- Magglio Ordonez: .429 AVG (6-for-14) lifetime vs. Twins starter Carl Pavano
- Billy Butler: .429 AVG (6-for-14) lifetime vs. Rays starter Matt Garza
- Adam LaRoche: .400 AVG (6-for-15) lifetime vs. Cubs starter Ted Lilly
- Yuniesky Betancourt: .500 AVG (5-for-10) lifetime vs. Rays starter Matt Garza
Feeling kinda spicy?
- Laynce Nix: .417 AVG (5-for-12) lifetime vs. Astros starter Roy Oswalt. Care to do the dance of joy with Roy? Didn’t think so.
- Omar Infante: .667 AVG (4-for-6) lifetime vs. Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright. You don’t get bonus points for riskiness, folks.
You’ll thank me later …
- Adrian Gonzalez: .226 AVG (7-for-31) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Doug Davis
- Vladimir Guerrero: .222 AVG (4-for-18) lifetime vs. White Sox starter Gavin Floyd
Leaderboard time!
The fab five is intact.
Yesterday’s top five all survived, as four of them picked Ichiro to extend their streaks to 25. Amazingly, user “kot2” put his humongous streak in the hands of Derek Jeter, who’s pretty much been the bane of all Streakers’ existence this season; I like your style. With that said, the following five are now 43.9 percent on their way to the big bucks:
- ALbundy
- djbloom
- dodger_blue
- kot2
- olifante
Top MLB streakers
- Johnny Damon: 15 games
- Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
- Geoff Blum: 9 games
- Pablo Sandoval: 9 games
Beat the Streak Report: Tuesday, April 27

It wasn’t the kindest of Mondays for a good chunk of our Beat the Streak aspiring multi-millionaires.
Thanks to Franklin Gutierrez, Chipper Jones and Kelly Johnson, an eye-wincing 17.2 percent of our BTSers pressed the reset button in their quest for the mega bucks. And just to pour some Tabasco sauce on some open wounds, Derrek Lee, Chase Utley and Matt Kemp combined to eliminate an additional 6.4 percent of the field.
To quote Coldplay (oh boy), “Nobody said it was easy.”
And it shouldn’t be.
On with Tuesday’s picks.
Oh, hello there …
- Matt Holliday: .563 AVG (18-for-32) lifetime vs. Braves starter Derek Lowe
- Chase Utley: .636 AVG (7-for-11) lifetime vs. Giants starter Todd Wellemeyer
- Ryan Ludwick: .600 AVG (6-for-10) lifetime vs. Lowe
- Aramis Ramirez: .379 AVG (11-for-29) lifetime vs. Nationals starter Livan Hernandez
- Adrian Beltre: .462 AVG (6-for-13) lifetime vs. Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum
- Geoff Blum: .588 AVG (10-for-17) lifetime vs. Reds starter Aaron Harang
Feeling kinda spicy?
- Adam LaRoche: .500 AVG (4-for-8) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez. Who wants to dance with Ubaldo the Incredible?
- Randy Winn: .611 AVG (11-for-18) lifetime vs. Orioles starter Kevin Millwood. Winn should get a hit, ya know, assuming he’s in the lineup.
- Ryan Garko: .480 AVG (12-for-25) lifetime vs. White Sox starter Mark Buehrle. I mean, come on.
You’ll thank me later …
- Dustin Pedroia: .111 AVG (2-for-18) lifetime vs. Marcum
- Prince Fielder: .111 AVG (1-for-9) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Jeff Karstens
- Franklin Gutierrez: .067 AVG (1-for-15) lifetime vs. Royals starter Zack Greinke
Leaderboard time!
And then there were seven.
Seven Beat the Streakers are rocking 23-game streaks and are 40.4 percent on their way to buying pet zebras. Just because they can.
- ALbundy
- djbloom
- dodger_blue
- halofan4liphe
- j4trieze
- kot2
- olifante
Top MLB streakers
- Johnny Damon: 13 games
- Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
- Matt Wieters: 8 games
- Geoff Blum: 7 games
- Carl Crawford: 7 games
- Carlos Guillen: 7 games (DL)
- Conor Jackson: 7 games
Beat the Streak Report: Monday, April 26

He may not don the black cloak or rock a scythe, but for the third time in six days, Derek Jeter has been the grim reaper for our streakers worldwide. After an 0-for-4 Sunday, Jeter annihilated 4.5 percent of the BTS pool, while his teammate, Mark Teixeira, went hitless in two at-bats to kick the bucket on 7.2 percent of our users.
I can understand why Teix was such a popular choice, as he entered Sunday’s contest with a ridiculous .583 (7-for-12) lifetime average vs. opposing starter Scott Kazmir.
Jeter is another story, as the Captain was just 6-for-38 (.158 AVG) against the hard-throwing southpaw and, ya know, IS IN THE MIDST OF A 5-for-29 SLUMP.
Whoa, sorry I blacked out.
Anyway, the denouement is not to be blinded by the star-power highfalutin names and to just look at the numbers.
I’m trying to help you here.
Let’s move on to Monday’s picks …
Oh, hello there …
- Michael Young: .500 AVG (6-for-12) since ’05 vs. Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman
- Shin-Soo Choo: .381 AVG (8-for-21) lifetime vs. Angels starter Jered Weaver
- Franklin Gutierrez: .500 AVG (8-for-16) lifetime vs. Royals starter Kyle Davies
- Kelly Johnson: 1.000 AVG (5-for-5) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Jason Hammel
- Adam Lind: .455 AVG (5-for-11) lifetime vs. Red Sox starter Josh Beckett
- Ryan Braun: .417 AVG (5-for-12) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Zach Duke
Feeling kinda spicy?
- Mark Grudzielanek: .545 AVG (6-for-11) lifetime vs. Angels starter Jered Weaver. I double-dog dare you.
- Ryan Spilborghs: .400 AVG (10-for-25) lifetime vs. D-backs starter Dan Haren. You’d be sick to go with Spilborghs. In a good way.
- David DeJesus: .375 AVG (6-for-16) lifetime vs. Mariners starter Felix Hernandez. Seriously, take a cold shower before pressing the “enter pick” button for DeJesus. It’s King Felix, for crying out loud!
You’ll thank me later …
- Stephen Drew: .000 AVG (0-for-7) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Jason Hammel
- Aramis Ramirez: .000 AVG (0-for-8) lifetime vs. Nationals starter John Lannan
- Andre Ethier: .000 AVG (0-for-6) lifetime vs. Mets starter Oliver Perez
Leaderboard time!
We have reached a final 10! The following 10 streakers are atop the leaderboard with 22-game streaks and are 38.6 percent on their way to riding gold-plated ponies into the sunset:
- ALbundy
- GMAN09
- dave
- djbloom
- dodger_blue
- halofan4liphe
- j4trieze
- kot2
- mitchlisad
- olifante
Top MLB streakers
- Johnny Damon: 12 games
- Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
- Matt Wieters: 8 games
- Geoff Blum: 7 games
- Carl Crawford: 7 games
- Carlos Guillen: 7 games (DL)
- Conor Jackson: 7 games