Category: Dailies
Beat the Streak Report: Monday, June 7 — Draft Day!
With the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft set for Monday night, it’s time for an all-Draft edition of the Beat the Streak Report.
Why not, right?
I mean, I know as aspiring multi-millionaires you’ve been doing your due diligence on Bryce Harper for years, just to see how viable of a BTS option he’ll be in 2013, right?
And I double-know you’re all jonesin’ to see if there’s any correlation between being a top Draft pick and being a top BTS pick, right?
Exactly.
Time for Monday’s picks
Oh, hello there …
? 2005 No. 1 Pick Justin Upton: .625 AVG (5-for-8) lifetime vs. Braves starter Derek Lowe (1991 No. 214 Pick)
? 2000 No. 1 Pick Adrian Gonzalez: .294 AVG (5-for-17) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Cole Hamels (2002 No. 17 Pick)
? 1999 No. 1 Pick Josh Hamilton: .308 AVG (4-for-13) lifetime vs. Mariners starter Cliff Lee (2000 No. 105 Pick)
(other picks)
? 1999 No. 57 Pick Brandon Phillips: .400 AVG (4-for-13) lifetime vs. Giants starter Barry Zito (1999 No. 9 Pick)
? 2004 No. 15 Pick Stephen Drew: .484 AVG (15-for-31) lifetime vs. Braves starter Lowe.
? 1995 No. 8 Pick Todd Helton: .500 AVG (11-for-22) lifetime vs. Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez*
Feeling kinda spicy?
? 1990 No. 1 Pick Chipper Jones: .300 AVG (3-for-10) lifetime vs. D-backs starter Dan Haren (2001 No. 72 pick). That’s a 71-pick difference! Come on!
? 1992 No. 1 Pick Pat Burrell: Zero at-bats lifetime vs. Reds starter Johnny Cueto*. Cueto wasn’t even drafted! How good could this guy possibly be …?
* = International free agent
Ohhhhh …
You’ll thank me later …
? 2004 No. 64 Pick Dustin Pedroia: .167 AVG (1-for-6) lifetime vs. Indians starter Fausto Carmona*
? Vladimir Guerrero*: .167 AVG (4-for-24) since ’05 vs. Mariners starter Lee
? Orlando Cabrera*: .103 AVG (3-for-29) lifetime vs. Giants starter Zito
Leaderboard time!
Sunday’s top six options each laced hits to help extend the streaks of about 35 percent of the BTS universe combined.
Robinson Cano, who saw his 17-game streak snap on Friday, was back in his just-ate-a-star, now-I’m-sparkling Invincible Mario mode, going 3-for-4 to advance 10 percent of our aspiring entrepreneurs to the next level; perhaps Bowser’s castle.
Anyway, we headed into the weekend with a six-way battle atop the leaderboard. We said auf wiedersehen to “lisaacco17” on Friday, but the rest survived, leaving the following fivesome atop our leaderboard with stellar 30-game streaks:
? bathetruth
? jshoreyinsurance
? khouryboysan
? scan15
? steveellis24
Each of these villagers of Streakville are officially 52.6 percent on their way to the big bucks! Big bucks! No whammies!
Top MLB streakers
? Vernon Wells: 14 games
? Elvis Andrus: 12 games
? Martin Prado: 11 games
Five players tied with 10-game streaks.
Beat the Streak Report: Weekend, June 4-6
Can’t stop, won’t stop.
Residents of Streakville are either getting smarter or baseball hitters are just getting better, because the Beat the Streak gravy train was flying down the speedway in top gear yesterday.
Thanks to hits from each of the top eight selections, an approximate 55 percent of our residents extended their streaks, making their truffled lobster tail dreams all the more realistic.
Can you even put truffles on lobster tail? I don’t know, but I’m guessing if you had $3,000,000 you could find out pretty easily.
Anyway, Robinson Cano extended his streak to 17 games with a first-inning double off Kevin Millwood. Cano will look to keep it rollin’ tonight against Brett Cecil and the Blue Jays bullpen.
Oh, did I mention Cano is 4-for-5 lifetime against Cecil?
Who said this game wasn’t easy?
On to the weekend picks.
Oh, hello there …
Friday
? Robinson Cano: 17-game hitting streak; .800 AVG (4-for-5) lifetime vs. Blue Jays starter Brett Cecil
? Johnny Damon: .563 AVG (9-for-16) lifetime vs. Royals starter Bruce Chen
? Stephen Drew: .462 AVG (13-for-32) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Aaron Cook
? Carlos Lee: .382 AVG (21-for-55) lifetime vs. Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano
Saturday
? Miguel Cabrera: .571 AVG (8-for-14) lifetime vs. Royals starter Luke Hochevar
? Billy Butler: .414 AVG (12-for-19) lifetime vs. Tigers starter Justin Verlander
? Ichiro Suzuki: .340 AVG (17-for-50) lifetime vs. Angels starter Ervin Santana
Sunday
? Derrek Lee: .517 AVG (15-for-29) lifetime vs. Astros starter Brett Myers
? Jose Reyes: .400 AVG (14-for-35) lifetime vs. Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco
? Matt Holliday: .429 AVG (6-for-14) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Dave Bush
Feeling kinda spicy?
Friday
? Chris Snyder: .591 AVG (13-for-22) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Aaron Cook
Saturday
? Ryan Doumit: .467 AVG (7-for-15) lifetime vs. Giants starter Todd Wellemeyer
Sunday
? Yuniesky Betancourt: .474 AVG (9-for-19) lifetime vs. Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman
You’ll thank me later …
Friday
? Lance Berkman: .147 AVG (10-for-68) lifetime vs. Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano
? Ryan Braun: .226 AVG (7-for-31) lifetime vs. Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright
Saturday
? Brian McCann: .111 AVG (1-for-9) lifetime vs. Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley
? Nick Markakis: .211 AVG (8-for-38) lifetime vs. Rex Sox starter Jon Lester
Sunday
? Derek Jeter: .125 AVG (1-for-8) lifetime vs. Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow
? Josh Hamilton: .167 AVG (2-for-12) lifetime vs. Rays starter Matt Garza
Leaderboard time!
All six of our leaders are walking with a hop in their steps today, as each of their selections collected hits.
27-game streaks are nothing to scoff at, folks. I have a feeling one of these six will be around for a long time …
? bathetruth
? jshoreyinsurance
? khouryboysan
? lisacco17
? scan15
? steveellis24
May the best streaker win.
Top MLB streakers
? Robinson Cano: 17 games
? Vernon Wells: 11 games
? Daric Barton: 10 games
? Jose Lopez: 10 games
? Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
Beat the Streak Report: Thursday, June 3
The roughly 25 percent of streakers who selected Robinson Cano, Ichiro Suzuki or Michael Young feasted like kings yesterday, as each of these sure-swinging batsmen collected hits last night.
Cano is currently riding high with a 16-game streak and is one away from tying Jorge Cantu for the season’s longest run. This leads us to perhaps the biggest dilemma that an aspiring Beat the Streak entrepreneur can face:
Do you keep dancing with the guy/girl you took to the prom, or do you scavenge for other options before your date turns into a pumpkin?
Clearly, Cano is beyond locked in right now, batting .525 over his last 10 games and an absurd .373 for the season. But in all likelihood, he isn’t going to last you the entire 57-game run …right?
So when do you cut bait and look at other options?
I’m not exactly sure, but I can tell you that it won’t be today with Kevin Millwood on the mound.
Gravy train all around! Who’s with me?
Also, if you haven’t already, take a look at yesterday’s Beat the Streak mailbag. I posted it in the late afternoon so there is a pretty decent chance you missed it.
As always, keep the e-mails coming at david.feldman@mlb.com.
Time for Thursday’s picks
Oh, hello there …
? Robinson Cano: 16-game hitting streak; .381 AVG (8-for-21) lifetime vs. Orioles starter Kevin Millwood
? Joe Mauer: .526 AVG (10-for-19) lifetime vs. Mariners starter Felix Hernandez
? Ryan Zimmerman: .500 AVG (6-for-12) lifetime vs. Astros starter Brian Moehler
? Jose Guillen: .444 AVG (8-for-18) lifetime vs. Angels starter Jered Weaver
? Nick Swisher: .355 AVG (11-for-31) lifetime vs. Orioles starter Kevin Millwood
Feeling kinda spicy?
? Garrett Atkins: .636 AVG (7-for-11) lifetime vs. Yankees starter CC Sabathia. Is this even possible?
? Erick Aybar: .455 AVG (5-for-11) lifetime vs. Royals starter Zack Greinke. Yeah, I think I’ll pass.
You’ll thank me later …
? Kevin Youkilis: .111 AVG (1-for-) lifetime vs. Athletics starter Brett Anderson
? Shin-Soo Choo: .167 AVG (2-for-12) lifetime vs. Tigers starter Rick Porcello
? Hanley Ramirez: .000 AVG (0-for-9) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Chris Capuano
Justin Morneau: .143 AVG (3-for-21) lifetime vs. Mariners starter Felix Hernandez
Leaderboard time!
Another one bites the dust, as Adrian Beltre’s 0-fer pushed the reset button on “agentstjohn”‘s 28-game streak last night.
This means we now have a six-way tie for the BTS leaderboard, as each of the following villagers of Streakville are rocking 26-game streaks:
? bathetruth
? jshoreyinsurance
? khouryboysan
? lisacco17
? scan15
? steveellis24
May the best streaker win.
Top MLB streakers
? Robinson Cano: 16 games
? Vernon Wells: 11 games
? Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
? Daric Barton: 9 games
? Casey Blake: 9 games
? Jose Lopez: 9 games
Beat the Streak Report: Mail time!
If there is one thing I learned from asking for some Beat the Streak-related comments, it’s that ohmygütness do you people really really love this little fantasy game. I mean, you people love Beat the Streak more than the Real Housewives of New York love being insane. Or more than I loved busting out that u with the two dots on top of it.
Ü
How spectacular is that? It’s like a smiley face with an oversized mouth and no nose. Or like some strange math symbol you’ve never seen before that just appears on your Calculus final exam and immediately punches you in the stomach and makes you cross-eyed.
I love those.
Anyway, here are real e-mails sent from real villagers of Streakville:
Hello. Since you invited questions, there are a couple of things I’ve been wondering. First, when someone does get to 57, what happens to Beat the Streak? Will it end there? Be replaced with something else? Also, as long as no one gets it, will the prize money continue to increase year by year (if you have any idea)?
-Daniel M
Interesante. Daniel, I like your style. I’ll be totally honest – I have no idea as to the answer of either of these pointed questions. What I do like is Daniel’s unabashed confidencehere. Asking what happens to Beat the Streak when someone actually beats the streak and gets to 57 is like asking a nuclear scientist, “So, once you solve cold fusion, are you going to tackle human teleporting next?” Maybe it’s just me and it’s because it’s my job to monitor the game up close on a day-to-day basis, but let’s not count our chickens before they hatch, ya know? We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. And I’ll stop using nonsensical clichés …NOW.
As for Part II, I also don’t know. Glad, I’m here. We’re at $3 million now. Last year we were at $1 million and upped that to $1,500,000. So we are currently on pace so that in the year 2025, the Beat the Streak prize money will be somewhere around $85 billion, also known as the opposite of what MacGruber took down at the box office last week; we’re the anti-MacGruber.
What is the longest non-hitting streak in the game?
-Jeff J.
Love this. This is actually an idea we have toyed around with for some time – creating Beat the Streak: Bizarro Edition. It’d become a game where research entails:
Well, I don’t know if I can take Jason Kendall, his .184 average against Ian Snell is just too high! Snell’s ERA is ONLY 5.28?? Anyone know who Roy Halladay is facing? Is anyone playing a tripleheader?
And while we’re here, here’s my Bizarro Beat the Streak starting lineup:
C: Gerald Laird (.162 AVG)
1B: Carlos Pena (.176)
2B: Luis Valbuena (.134(!))
SS: Adam Everett* (.189)
3B: Brandon Wood (.156)
RF: Willie Harris (.179)
CF: Nate McLouth (.179)
LF: Kyle Blanks (.157)
DH : Ken Griffey Jr. (.184 )
* = Captain
And don’t think it was easy leaving Garrett Atkins off this list.
It wasn’t.
Hi Dave – I think you’re doing an AWESOME job with the report – keep up the great work!! The reports are entertaining as well as informative and I look forward to reading them.
– Carol-Ann S. (nardberg)
Oh, well, hello to you …
Oh, wait, there’s more …
One question that I’ve heard a lot (and I wonder as well) is….how many active players are there???
Thanks for the compliments, Carol, and thanks even more for the excess question marks, I can’t ever get enough of those.
I’ll be real. I don’t have an exact number, but I will say that there are a lot of Beat the Streak active players. Tons, really. At least double the highest number kids ever count to when they see if they can count to a million.
And that’s pretty high.
As far as doubleheaders go, I think that you should be credited with 2 games if your player
gets a hit in each game, rather than needing hits in both games to just get credit for 1 game.
-David S.
Couldn’t agree with you more, David. In fact, I’m pretty sure “lavolpe” is still writing his Beat the Streak Ph. D dissertation, “Doubleheaders: Double the fun, but double the risk” on the BTS blog as we speak. I kid, “lavolpe,” I love the enthusiasm.
Anyway, I too think that if your player gets a hit in each of the doubleheader games you should get credited with two hits for the price of one. It’s a fun all-or-nothing strategy and an easy way to get your streak up to a respectable number in a hurry. It’s like going for the special video bonus round on “Cash Cab”. Who wouldn’t risk it all and go for the special video bonus round on “Cash Cab”? And furthermore, would you ever want to be friends with somebody that didn’t go for the special video bonus round?
Exactly. And here at Beat the Streak, we want to be your friend.
In short, I’ll see what we can do for next year.
Hi David,
Can you get this done?
Add Carlos Zambrano to Chi Cubs list hitters to pick from in HR BTS. He swings a mean bat and now that he is returning to the starting rotation he will be batting again. As tough as HR BTS is he would be someone I would take as my streak is usually at zero anyway!
–dragbunt104
Why not, right? My question is, why limit it to Home Run Beat the Streak?
If you have the audacity to risk everything and bank on a pitcher getting a hit in one of our games, you should not only be saluted, but you should be rewarded exponentially. I’d actually be in favor of crediting you with a +7 on your streak. In fact, I think it’s time we vary up the rewards for your player getting a hit into tiers.
Here’s what I’m thinking:
If you select a pitcher, say Carlos Zambrano, and he gets a hit, that’s +7 onto your streak.
If you select a backup catcher, say Alex Avila, you get +5.
If you select someone that should be a backup catcher, say Matt Treanor, you get +3.
And, of course, if you select a Molina brother, you get +2.
How is this not an incredible idea?
What happens if a player is removed after 2 at bats with no hits? (2 strikeouts) Is the streak over?
Thanks!
Brian Gelman
Yes. And while we’re here, I’d like to address the exclamation mark (!) at the end of “Thanks!” issue. It’s a problem we all deal with every day. We e-mail a co-worker, co-worker does a favor for us, we are appreciative that said favor has been completed, we want to show appreciation for the completed favor and we end up panicking and drop the (!) at the end of thanks. This happens to us all.
Not that it wakes me up at night in a pool of sweat, but I think it’s time we pump the brakes on this little procedure; I just always feel like a five-year-old whenever I toss around !s.
I refuse to believe I’m alone here.
And I understand the lack of alternatives – you don’t want to come off as rude and you don’t want to go with an all-caps “THANKS” since it looks like you are yelling at the guy.
I don’t have an easy solution. A period (.) somewhat gets the job done, but doesn’t hammer the point home strong enough.
Which brings us back to Ü.
Perfect.
Thanks Ü
Anyway, thanks for all the e-mails. Feel free to drop be a line at david.feldman@mlb.com whenever you desire.
Also, please start following our new Twitter account: @Beat_the_Streak
-Dave
Beat the Streak Report: Wednesday, June 2
Hi-fives all around Streakland yesterday, as an incredible 13 of the top 15 selections for the day each laced hits, combining to extend the streaks of about 45 percent of the universe.
Magglio Ordonez was the day’s biggest Debbie Downer, going 0-for-4 against the Indians and disproving the common misnomer that despite what most think, Beat the Streak is not like the SATs — you don’t automatically get a hit by just writing in your name and selecting a batter vs. the Indians.
Anyway, my mailbox was incredibly flooded yesterday with e-mails from you folks with stellar ideas, questions and changes you’d like to see with the BTS Report and the BTS game in general. I’ll post a full mailbag edition on the Beat the Streak blog update later in the day, so there is still time for you to send in your splendid and definitely way-smarter-than-anything-I-could-dream-of ideas to me, just drop me a line at david.feldman@mlb.com.
Time for Wednesday’s picks
Oh, hello there …
? Robinson Cano: 15-game hitting streak; 0-2 lifetime vs. Orioles starter Brad Bergesen. But, come on, it’s Brad Bergesen.
? Chase Utley: .444 AVG (12-for-27) lifetime vs. Braves starter Derek Lowe
? Chipper Jones: .438 AVG (7-for-16) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick
? Ryan Doumit: .471 AVG (8-for-17) lifetime vs. Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano
? Denard Span: .462 AVG (6-for-13) lifetime vs. Mariners starter Cliff Lee
? Nick Markakis: .353 AVG (6-for-17) lifetime vs. Yankees starter Phil Hughes
Feeling kinda spicy?
? Ryan Theriot: .359 AVG (14-for-39) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Zach Duke. I could not be more confident in The Riot in this one.
You’ll thank me later …
? Brandon Phillips: .167 AVG (4-for-24) lifetime vs. Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter
? Brad Hawpe: .107 AVG (3-for-28) lifetime vs. Giants starter Matt Cain
? Carlos Gonzalez: .000 AVG (0-for-11) lifetime vs. Giants starter Matt Cain
Leaderboard time!
Well, there goes the whole 27-game streak jinx.
“agentstjohn” rode Derek Jeter’s 2-for-3 performance to extend his BTS journey to 28 games.
“agentstjohn” is now officially 49.1 percent on his way to kingdom come.
Top MLB streakers
? Robinson Cano: 15 games
? Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
? Vernon Wells: 10 games
? Derek Jeter: 9 games
? Reed Johnson: 8 games
? Daric Barton: 8 games
? Casey Blake: 8 games
? Jose Lopez: 8 games
Beat the Streak Report: Tuesday, June 1
I don’t know what’s better news: The fact that the top six player selections each laced hits to extend the streaks of about 35 percent of Streakland combined, or that I keep thinking it’s Monday only to repeatedly hover my mouse over the clock thing on the bottom right corner of my monitor and it reads “Tuesday, June 1, 2010.”
That clock is so wise and just the bearer of the bestest news.
And what better way to celebrate a great start to a shortened Beat the Streak workweek then to reach out to the BTS world for a little Q&A?
That’s right, I’m asking all of you fantasy game multi-million-dollar entrepreneurs out there to send in any questions, comments, qualms or just incredible ideas that have anything to do with Beat the Streak to david.feldman@mlb.com.
Think the Beat the Streak Report needs a little face lift? Some lipo? One of those sounds-amazingly-painful gastric band surgeries?
Let me know and drop me a line at david.feldman@mlb.com.
I will post them in tomorrow’s Beat the Streak Report and we can all get wiser together.
Just like the clock thing.
Time for Monday’s picks
Wait a second …
Time for Tuesday’s picks
So wise!
Oh, hello there …
? Manny Ramirez: .548 AVG (17-for-31) lifetime vs. Diamondbacks starter Dan Haren
? Chone Figgins: .563 AVG (9-for-16) lifetime vs. Twins starter Nick Blackburn
? Carl Crawford: .467 AVG (7-for-15) lifetime vs. Blue Jays starter Brian Tallet
? Chipper Jones: .409 AVG (9-for-22) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Cole Hamels
? Ty Wigginton: .355 AVG (11-for-31) lifetime vs. Yankees starter Javier Vazquez
Feeling kinda spicy?
? Casey Blake: .351 AVG (13-for-37) lifetime vs. Diamondbacks starter Dan Haren. It’s pretty much Octoberfest when it comes to Dan Haren these days.
You’ll thank me later …
? Troy Tulowitzki: .152 AVG (5-for-33) lifetime vs. Giants starter Barry Zito
? Bobby Abreu: .167 AVG (2-for-12) lifetime vs. Royals starter Brian Bannister
? Albert Pujols: .182 AVG (2-for-11) lifetime vs. Reds starter Johnny Cueto
Leaderboard time!
“kneetgm”, our leader entering the weekend, saw his/her streak bite the dust at 27 games to become the fifth BTSer who was KO’d at the 27-game mark.
Anybody else find this a smidgen interesting? Just me? Alright, just checking …
Anyway, let’s see if our new leader, “agentstjohn” can buck the trend and eclipse the 27-game mark tonight.
Top MLB streakers
? Robinson Cano: 14 games
? Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
? Jose Reyes: 9 games
? Vernon Wells: 9 games
? Derek Jeter: 8 games
? Reed Johnson: 8 games
? David Ortiz: 8 games
? Denard Span: 8 games
Beat the Streak Report: Memorial Day Weekend Edition
It was a big gravy train in Streakland yesterday, as six of the top seven picks each got hits to combine to extend the streaks of about 40 percent of the whole wide world.
Justin Morneau was far and away the biggest knight in shining armor, single handedly upping the streaks of a ridiculous 19.7 percent of our users just by his lonesome self.
WARNING TIME:
We have reached Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day weekend is glorious.
There will be tons of traveling, family time, frisbees, etc. But, really, all anybody cares about are the BBQs, hot dogs, hamburgers and the 43 percent chance of baked beans being involved. And baked beans are spectacular.
Anyway, this is no time to lose your focus because you are preoccupied trying to see how many skirt steaks you can fit in your mouth.
The key is to make all your weekend selections beforehand so you can live in a worry-free, skirt-steak self-gorging world.
And isn’t that the kind of world you want to live in?
On to the weekend picks.
Oh, hello there …
Friday
? Chipper Jones: .524 (11-for-21) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Zach Duke
? Nick Markakis: .450 AVG (9-for-20) lifetime vs. Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum
? Ryan Braun: .538 AVG (7-for-13) lifetime vs. Mets starter Johan Santana
Saturday
? Carlos Lee: .405 AVG (15-for-37) lifetime vs. Reds starter Aaron Harang
? Manny Ramirez: .375 AVG (6-for-16) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Aaron Cook
? Conor Jackson: .563 AVG (9-for-16) lifetime vs. Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez
Sunday
? Stephen Drew: .636 AVG (7-for-11) lifetime vs. Giants starter Todd Wellemeyer
? Dustin Pedroia: .571 AVG (5-for-14) lifetime vs. Royals starter Gil Meche
? Ryan Ludwick: .421 AVG (8-for-19) lifetime vs. Cubs starter Ryan Dempster
Monday
? Brian McCann: .412 AVG (7-for-17) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Joe Blanton
? Todd Helton: .474 AVG (9-for-19) lifetime vs. Giants starter Tim Lincecum
? Ichiro Suzuki: .353 AVG (6-for-17) lifetime vs. Twins starter Francisco Liriano
Feeling kinda spicy?
Friday
? Ramon Hernandez: .385 AVG (5-for-13) lifetime vs. Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez. Duck …
Saturday
? Geoff Blum: .600 AVG (12-for-20) lifetime vs. Reds starter Aaron Harang. Duck …
Sunday
? Skip Schumaker: .419 AVG (13-for-31) lifetime vs. Cubs starter Ryan Dempster. Duck …
Monday
? David DeJesus: .439 AVG (9-for-21) lifetime vs. Angels starter Ervin Santana. Goose!
You’ll thank me later …
Friday
? Miguel Cabrera: .167 AVG (3-for-18) lifetime vs. Athletics starter Ben Sheets
? Chase Utley: .167 AVG (2-for-12) lifetime vs. Marlins starter Chris Volstad
Saturday
? Kevin Youkilis: .100 AVG (1-for-10) lifetime vs. Royals starter Zack Greinke
? Joe Mauer: .091 AVG (1-for-11) lifetime vs. Rangers starter C.J. Wilson
Sunday
? Troy Tulowitzki: .111 AVG (2-for-18) lifetime vs. Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw
? Shane Victorino: .182 AVG (4-for-22) lifetime vs. Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez
Monday
? Troy Glaus: .095 AVG (2-for-21) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Joe Blanton
? Brad Hawpe: .231 AVG (6-for-26) lifetime vs. Giants starter Tim Lincecum
Leaderboard time!
Mark Teixeira’s 2-for-4 evening bumped “kneetgma”‘s streak to an impressive 27 games. “kneetgma” is now officially 47.4 percent on the way to having $3,000,000. Also known as roughly what “MacGruber” took in at the box office last weekend.
MacGruber!
Top MLB streakers
? Adam Jones: 13 games
? Travis Hafner: 12 games
? Michael Young: 12 games
? Troy Tulowitzki: 11 games
? Robinson Cano: 10 games
? Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
Beat the Streak Report: Thursday, May 27
Tough day in the Beat the Streak neighborhood, as about 22 percent of our aspiring multi-millionaires had the rest button pushed on their streaks, thanks to hitless performances from Ichiro Suzuki (11.2 percent), Albert Pujols (3.3 percent), Torii Hunter (3.2 percent), Vladimir Guerrero (2.0 percent) and Justin Morneau (1.8 percent).
As for me, well, I rode Troy Tulowitzki’s 1-for-2 evening to up my streak to a shiny six games which puts me in a tie for third place in “The Bloggers” groups.
I know I wasn’t asked, but I know you care. Admit it, you do. You really do.
And just to make unprovoked predictions, Hunter Pence will ride me to a seven-game streak with a hit this afternoon. Why am I picking Pence? Well his numbers against opposing starter Dave Bush are stellar (.500 AVG, 7-for-14), but truthfully, I have no patience and need instant satisfaction and absolutely positively must take someone playing in that 1:10 EST game.
How you like those strats?
Time for Thursday’s picks
Oh, hello there …
? Justin Morneau: .353 AVG (12-for-34) lifetime vs. Yankees starter Javier Vazquez; .442 AVG last 14 games.
? Adrian Beltre: .455 AVG (5-for-11) lifetime vs. Royals starter Brian Bannister
? Hunter Pence: .500 AVG (7-for-14) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Dave Bush
? Mark Teixeira: .800 AVG (8-for-10) lifetime vs. Twins starter Nick Blackburn
? Ryan Howard: .440 AVG (11-for-25) lifetime vs. Mets starter Mike Pelfrey
Feeling kinda spicy?
? Dan Uggla: .333 AVG (11-for-33) lifetime vs. Braves starter Tim Hudson. Would you ever roll the dice with a career .259 hitter against a guy like Tim Hudson? Think not.
You’ll thank me later …
? Matt Holliday: .000 AVG (0-for-4) lifetime vs. Padres starter Wade LeBlanc
? Evan Longoria: .167 AVG (1-for-6) lifetime vs. White Sox starter Gavin Floyd
? Ryan Zimmerman: .200 AVG (2-for-10) lifetime vs. Giants starter Barry Zito
Leaderboard time!
Wednesday’s leader “postbud32” saw his 26-game streak disappear under rug swept thanks to an 0-fer from Jayson Werth.
DOES ANYBODY WANT TO WIN THIS GAME?
Whoa, sorry for the ALL CAPS. I get excited sometimes.
Anyway, this means that “kneetgma” is now king of the BTS castle with a 26-game streak of his own.
Let’s see how long that one lasts …
Top MLB streakers
? Travis Hafner: 12 games
? Adam Jones: 12 games
? Michael Young: 12 games
? Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
? Troy Tulowitzki: 10 games
? Robinson Cano: 9 games
? Nelson Cruz: 9 games
Beat the Streak Report: Wednesday, May 26
Suspended games are one of my favorite things in the whole wide world; the Beat the Streak universe goes absolutely ballistic and reaches DEFCON 5.
And dear sweet sassy, the Yankees and Twins game was suspended after the fifth inning yesterday.
Does my hit count? Does my 0-for-2 count? If my guy gets a hit on Tuesday but goes hitless on Wednesday, is my streak alive? If my guy get 34 hits on Wednesday but strikes out 87 times on Tuesday, is my streak alive? TELL ME NOW!!!
Simmer.
Let’s go to the rule book, shall we?
According to the rules, “In the event any Suspended Game(s) is subsequently completed within three (3) calendar days immediately following the date on which any such game(s) was suspended, for purposes of this Contest, all hits officially scored as hits for such Suspended Game(s) shall count as valid hits for the Game Day on which such Suspended Game(s) was originally scheduled.”
I’m sorry, I don’t speak alien lawyer talk either. How about an example, Mr. Rule Book?
If “participant selects Dustin Pedroia to hit on the May 4th game that is suspended. Pedroia goes 0-for-2 in the first part of the game that is suspended on May 4th, but gets a hit in the portion of the Suspended Game that is resumed the next day, May 5th. In this case, although Pedroia’s hit took place on May 5th, for purposes of this Contest, the hit would count as a valid hit for May 4th, Game Day on which such Suspended Game(s) was originally scheduled.”
THIS I UNDERSTAND!
You give me names, teams, stats and actual dates and I turn into Doogie Howser. You give me sophisticated jargon and weird parenthesis at the end of words and my brain turns into mush.
Bottom line: If you took any player from the Yankees or Twins yesterday and they get a hit in that very same game, whether from last night or tonight, you’re golden.
Time for Wednesday’s picks
Oh, hello there …
? Ryan Braun: .500 AVG (7-for-14) lifetime vs. Astros starter Roy Oswalt
? Carl Crawford: .412 AVG (14-for-34) lifetime vs. Red Sox starter John Lackey
? Corey Hart: .500 AVG (8-for-16) lifetime vs. Astros starter Roy Oswalt
? Joey Votto: .571 AVG (4-for-7) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Ross Ohlendorf
? Luis Castillo: .563 AVG (9-for-16) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Joe Blanton
Feeling kinda spicy?
? Delmon Young: .563 AVG (9-for-16) lifetime vs. Yankees starter Andy Pettitte. Oh Delmon, how much you love to torture us all.
You’ll thank me later …
? Dustin Pedroia: .189 AVG (7-for-37) lifetime vs. Rays starter Matt Garza
? Billy Butler: .154 AVG (2-for-13) lifetime vs. Rangers starter Scott Feldman
? Prince Fielder: .147 AVG (5-for-34) lifetime vs. Astros starter Roy Oswalt
Leaderboard time!
Vlad Guerrero’s two-homer fiesta yesterday upped the streak of our leader, “postbud32” to 26 games. “postbud32” is now 45.6 percent on the way towards buying a dunk tank to place in his/her house.
Dunk tanks are never not fun.
Top MLB streakers
? Travis Hafner: 12 games
? Adam Jones: 11 games
? Michael Young: 11 games
? Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
? Torii Hunter: 10 games
? Ian Kinsler: 9 games
? Troy Tulowitzki: 9 games
Beat the Streak Report: Tuesday, May 25
We might just get off this island, after all.
Despite a seemingly insurmountable hurdle of a four-game Monday, our fearless streakers prevailed in spades.
Eight of our top nine most popular selections each got hits, combining to extend the streaks of about 65 percent of our users combined.
Atta boy!
Is it possible that those in Streakland become more focused when their selection pool shrinks by 75 percent?
Is it possible that the real reason Monday was Funday was because both Albert Pujols and Derek Jeter, the game’s biggest messengers of doom, had days off?
Is it possible that Jack, Hurley, Locke & co. all died in the initial plane crash in Season 1 and the entire series of Lost was just an account of purgatories and sideways purgatories?
Alright, that’s enough …
Time for Tuesday’s picks
Oh, hello there …
? Dustin Pedroia: .462 AVG (12-for-26) lifetime vs. Rays starter James Shields
? Joe Mauer: .467 AVG (7-for-15) lifetime vs. Yankees starter A.J. Burnett
? Ichiro Suzuki: .424 AVG (14-for-33) lifetime vs. Tigers starter Justin Verlander
? Michael Young: .383 AVG (18-for-47) lifetime vs. Royals starter Gil Meche
Feeling kinda spicy?
? Humberto Quintero: .667 AVG (4-for-6) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Randy Wolf. Check, please!
You’ll thank me later …
? Nick Markakis: .071 AVG (1-for-14) lifetime vs. Athletics starter Dallas Braden
? Kevin Youkilis: .115 AVG (3-for-26) lifetime vs. Rays starter James Shields
? Joey Votto: .077 AVG (1-for-13) lifetime vs. Reds starter Paul Maholm
Leaderboard time!
Alex “hey, all my former teammates in Toronto are going absolutely bonkers at the plate, so I’ll follow suit and go on a tear even though my newish teammates in Chicago have been colder than Siberia on a Thursday night in December” Rios went 1-for-4 to extend the streak of our leader, “postbud32”, to 25 games.
“postbud32” is now 43.8 percent on his/her way to buying as many of these that exist in the whole wide world.
Because why not? Right?
Top MLB streakers
? Travis Hafner: 11 games
? Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
? Alex Gonzalez: 10 games
? Torii Hunter: 10 games
? Adam Jones: 10 games
? Michael Young: 10 games
Beat the Streak Report 