Beat the Streak Report: Weekend, July 23-25

kinslerBTS2.jpg

And now I eat humble pie.

After boasting my talents and comparing my streak skills to a “hit
dragon”, my streak evaporated faster than a case of Cheesy Gordita
Crunches in a frat house thanks to an 0-fer from Orlando Hudson.

This is what I get for eschewing my own advice, avoiding a blue-chip player and now chewing on a donut.

You see what I just did with “chew” there?

Alright, let’s just get to the weekend’s picks

Oh, hello there …

Friday

? Ian Kinsler: 15-game hitting streak; .429 AVG (9-for-21) lifetime vs. Angels starter Joe Saunders

? Derrek Lee: .429 AVG (24-for-56) lifetime vs. Cardinals starter Jeff Suppan

? Ryan Howard: .400 AVG (8-for-20) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Aaron Cook

Saturday

? Ryan Zimmerman: .633 AVG (7-for-11) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Manny Parra

? Michael Young: .413 AVG (19-for-46) lifetime vs. Angels starter Ervin Santana

? Albert Pujols: .353 AVG (6-for-17) career vs. Cubs starter Tom Gorzelanny

Sunday

? Chipper Jones: .464 AVG (13-for-28) lifetime vs. Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco

? Matt Holliday: .500 AVG (6-for-12) lifetime vs. Cubs starter Ryan Dempster

? Jayson Werth: .500 AVG (5-for-10) since ’05 vs. Rockies starter Jeff Francis

Feeling kinda spicy?

Friday

? Coco Crisp: .378 AVG (14-for-37) lifetime vs. White Sox starter Mark Buehrle

Saturday

? Mike Napoli: .524 AVG (11-for-21) lifetime vs. Rangers starter Scott Feldman

Sunday

? Skip Schumaker: .400 AVG (14-for-35) lifetime vs. Cubs starter Ryan Dempster

You’ll thank me later …

Friday

? Shane Victorino: .063 AVG (1-for-16) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Aaron Cook

? Ichiro Suzuki: .111 AVG (2-for-18) lifetime vs. Red Sox starter Josh Beckett

Saturday

? Josh Hamilton: .133 AVG (2-for-15) lifetime vs. Angels starter Ervin Santana

? Nick Markakis: .200 AVG (3-for-15) lifetime vs. Twins starter Scott Baker

Sunday

? Chris Young: .074 AVG (2-for-27) lifetime vs. Giants starter Tim Lincecum

? Adam Dunn: .167 AVG (3-for-18) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Dave Bush

Leaderboard time!

Our leader, “cwlarson”, joined the masses in selecting Mark Teixeira to
extend his streak, along with 10.1 percent of the BTS Nation with him.

“cwlarson” is now riding a 34-game streak, and if he/she survives the
weekend, I’ll e-mail a questionnaire so I can feature “cwlarson” in the
BTS Report and watch the streak evaporate into the abyss so we can learn more about our leader. \

Top MLB streakers

? Buster Posey: 16 games

? Ian Kinsler: 15 games

? Nelson Cruz: 11 games

? Aubrey Huff: 9 games

? Paul Konerko: 9 games

? Scott Podsednik: 9 games

? Justin Upton: 9 games 

Beat the Streak Report: Thursday, July 22

480x270_teix.gif

The bad news is that Wednesday was another tough day in Streakland, with Ichiro Suzuki, Omar Infante, Josh Hamilton and Vlad Guerrero eating donuts for dinner and destroying the hopes and dreams of about 15 percent of our nation-wide audience combined.

The medium news is that Carl Crawford put up an 0-for-0, pressing the pause button 7.5 percent of all streaks — that’s a lot of pausing — an incredible amount of pausation.

The great news is that Derrek Lee went 2-for-5 to extend my streak to a season-high 10 games. Did someone say I’m gaining some street cred around here? Have I possibly started to figure this whole thing out? Am I contemplating quitting my job so that I’ll be eligible for the $3,000,000 grand prize?

These are all good questions to ponder as we look at Thursday’s picks.

Time for Thursday’s picks

Oh, hello there …

 

? Mark Teixeira: .636 AVG (7-for-11) lifetime vs. Royals starter Bruce Chen

? Adrian Gonzalez: .500 AVG (7-for-14) lifetime vs. Braves starter Tim Hudson

? David Wright: .556 AVG (5-for-9) lifetime vs. Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda

? Orlando Hudson: .636 AVG (7-for-11) lifetime vs. Orioles starter Kevin Millwood

? Ichiro Suzuki: .346 AVG (18-for-52) since ’05 vs. Red Sox starter John Lackey

Feeling kinda spicy?

? Nick Punto: .458 AVG (11-for-24) lifetime vs. Orioles starter Kevin Millwood.

You had me at Millwood until I did some recon and saw that Punto is hitting .192 over his last 10.

You’ll thank me later …

 

? Nelson Cruz: .208 AVG (5-for-24) lifetime vs. Angels starter Jered Weaver

? Albert Pujols: .176 AVG (3-for-17) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Cole Hamels

? Ryan Howard: .182 AVG (2-for-11) lifetime vs. Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright

Leaderboard time!

 

“cwlarson” kept his gravy train flowing, riding Robinson Cano’s coattails to reach a 33-game streak. And he better keep it up if he wants to avoid the fire breathing out of this hit dragon.

Yeah, I was referring to myself as a mythical creature there. This has to stop.

Side note: The thought of a dragon holding a baseball bat is funnier than I initially imagined.

Top MLB streakers

? Buster Posey: 15 games

? Ian Kinsler: 14 games

? Adam Lind: 14 games

? Nelson Cruz: 10 games

? Orlando Hudson: 10 games

Beat the Streak Report: Wednesday, July 21

480x270_Cano.jpg

It isn’t often when I put on my sagacious sweater vest and dole out
some advice. But you know what? I’m riding a nine-game streak right and
feeling cocky, so why not?

Two of Tuesday’s most popular selections — Mark Teixeira and Derek
Jeter — went a combined 0-for-5 to give a proverbial wedgie to 12.9
percent of streakers in the galaxy.

The opposing starter Tex and Jeter were facing last night was the
seemingly innocuous Sean O’Sullivan, a 22-year-old right-hander who was
making his first start of the ’10 campaign in place of the Artist
Formerly Known as Scott Kazmir.

Why such a high percentage of streakers would take a swim in the
O’Sullivan pool is insane to me. Yes, I recognize that Sully has a
lifetime 5.15 ERA. But more importantly, I also recognize that these two
Yankees teammates had never, ever in the history of the whole wide
world stepped in batter’s box to face Sully.

Not to get too Robin Williams from “Good Will Hunting” on you but, Tex
and Jete might have known that Sully throws a curveball, but they
definitively had never seen his curveball spin in the flesh. They likely
knew that he throws a 77 miles-per-hour changeup, but they definitively
have never seen how he disguises it. And they may have flipped through a
picture book of Michaelangelo laying around Jorge Posada’s coffee
table, but I’ll bet they can’t tell me what it smells like in the
Sistine Chapel.

What I’m getting at is that it’s rarely a bad move to veer away from
batters facing pitcher’s whom they’ve never faced before. You just never
know how certain hitters see certain pitchers.

This game allows you to select any Major League player your angelic
hearts desire — there’s no need to put your fork in the mystery meat
when a filet is sitting their for the taking.

Time for Wednesday’s picks

Oh, hello there …

? Derrek Lee:
.469 AVG (15-for-32) lifetime vs. Astros starter Brett Myers

? Robinson
Cano: .615 AVG (8-for-13) lifetime vs. Angels starter Joel
Pineiro

? Matt Kemp:
.457 AVG (16-for-35) lifetime vs. Giants starter Barry Zito

? Ichiro
Suzuki: .474 AVG (9-for-19) lifetime vs. White Sox starter Gavin
Floyd

? Adam Jones:.474
AVG (9-for-19) lifetime vs. Rays starter James Shields

? Ryan Braun:
.429 AVG (6-for-14) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Zach Duke

? Omar
Infante: .425 AVG (17-for-40) lifetime vs. Padres starter Jon
Garland

? Hanley
Ramirez: .833 AVG (5-for-6) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Jason
Hammel

Feeling kinda spicy?

? Ronny
Cedeno: .533 AVG (8-for-15) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Randy
Wolf

? Mark
Kotsay: .438 AVG (7-for-16) lifetime vs. Mariners starter Felix
Hernandez

You’ll thank me later …

? James
Loney: .050 AVG (1-for-20) lifetime vs. Giants starter Barry
Zito

? Delmon
Young: .133 AVG (2-for-15) lifetime vs. Indians starter Jake
Westbrook

? Albert
Pujols: .167 AVG (2-for-12) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Joe
Blanton

Leaderboard time!

Joe Mauer’s 1-for-5 evening upped “cwlarson”‘s streak to a robust 32
games. That sounds incredible until you realize that 13 other streakers
have reached the 32-game plateu and fell flat on their faces.

Too grim?

Top MLB streakers

? Buster
Posey: 14 games

? Ian
Kinsler: 13 games

? Adam Lind:
13 games

? Placido
Polanco: 12 games

? Nelson
Cruz: 9 games

? Orlando
Hudson: 9 games 

Beat the Streak Report: Tuesday, July 20

480x270_AdJones1.jpg

It was Gravy Train Monday in Streakland, as the day’s top four picks
— Miguel Cabrera, Joe Mauer, Carl Crawford and Ichiro Suzuki — each
hit safely to up the streaks of 42.9 percent of all streakers nationwide
combined.

Ryan Braun was the night’s biggest Negative Nelly, as his 0-for-4 vs.
Jeff Karstens and the Pirates bullpen erased 6.5 percent of all streaks
— including our leader, “ftwaynealbert”, and his 34-gamer.

With a full slate of games scheduled for Tuesday, all the top dogs are
ripe for the taking. But as things peculiarly stand, there aren’t as
many top tasty options as one would imagine.

Time for Tuesday’s picks

Oh, hello there …

? Adam Jones:
.333 AVG (6-for-18) lifetime vs. Rays starter Matt Garza

? Jason
Giambi:.533 AVG (8-for-15) lifetime vs. Marlins starter Nate
Robertson

? Jose Lopez:
.421 AVG (8-for-19) lifetime vs. White Sox starter John Danks

? Jack Cust:
.455 AVG (10-for-22) lifetime vs. Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield

? Corey
Patterson: .625 AVG (5-for-8) lifetime vs. Rays starter Matt
Garza

? Michael
Cuddyer: .385 AVG (5-for-13) lifetime vs. Indians starter Justin
Masterson

Feeling kinda spicy?

? Marco
Scutaro: .545 AVG (6-for-11) lifetime vs. Athletics starter
Dallas Braden

? Jeff
Keppinger: .458 AVG (11-for-24) lifetime vs. Ryan Dempster

You’ll thank me later …

? Nick
Markakis: .143 AVG (4-for-28) lifetime vs. Rays starter Matt
Garza

? Lance
Berkman: .167 AVG (5-for-30) since ’05 vs. Cubs starter Ryan
Dempster

? James
Loney: .200 AVG (4-for-20) lifetime vs. Giants starter Tim
Lincecum

? Carlos
Gonzalez: .111 AVG (1-for-9) lifetime vs. Marlins starter Nate
Robertson

Leaderboard time!

With “ftwaynealbert” fallen on the sword, or new leader is “cwlarson”,
who is riding a 31-game streak after Miguel Cabrera’s fruitful night.

“cwlarson” is officially 54.4 percent on the way to the big bucks and
living a life of bathtubs overflowing with Whole Foods guacamole.

Top MLB streakers

? Buster
Posey: 13 games

? Ian
Kinsler: 12 games

? Adam Lind:
12 games

? Placido
Polanco: 11 games

? Johnny
Damon: 10 games 

Beat the Streak Report: Monday, July 19

LeeBTS480.jpg

Rough day in Streakland yesterday, as Miguel Cabrera (9.8 percent),
Ichiro Suzuki (6.4 percent) and Albert Pujols (2.1 percent) combined to
vaporize 18.3 percent of all streaks in the universe.

And now, a little public service announcement from yours truly.

Often times when one of you lovely streakers reach a 35-game streak, I
will e-mail you with a little questionnaire filled with questions about
yourself, your streak, your hometown, etc. so that all of Streakland can
learn little chewy morsels about our leader.

Our leader entering Friday was “respy”, aka Ryan Espy, who had a 32-game
streak. Ryan took the initiative and decided to e-mail me and provide
some great details about his life as a grad student at Purdue and a nice
little tale about how his wife begrudgingly let him make his Beat the
Streak picks while on their honeymoon.

It really was a heartfelt tearjerker, one that surely would have fogged
the screens of many Streakers nationwide — except for the part that
Espy only had a 32-game streak and e-mailed me instead of vice versa.

With Espy’s count-my-eggs-before-they-hatch fate now squarely in the
hands of the BTS magical forces, his questionable pick for the day was
Ryan Theriot, who is hitting .246 for July. Furthermore, Espy basically
conceded that his pick was less-than-stellar on the Beat the Streak blog
on Friday, stating that he picked Theriot because he was “anxious at
work and I want[ed] to watch my player get a hit.”

Do you see where this thing is going? Do I need to even say that Theriot
proceeded to go 0-for-4 vs. the Phillies, eliminating Espy and likely
his chances at $3,000,000.

Now, I know with “Inception” dominating the box office this weekend that
we currently live in a society that touts things that sound cool but
really don’t make sense. But I’m afraid Espy might have taken this a
little too far.

Also, did I mention that you all should check out my (and Ian Kay’s) new blog, “The Fantasy Goodness“? It’s really good. Ya know, if you like baseball. 

Time for Monday’s picks

Oh, hello there …

? Derrek Lee
: .438 AVG (14-for-32) lifetime vs. Astros starter Wandy
Rodriguez

? Ryan Braun:
.462 AVG (6-for-13) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Jeff Karstens

? Denard
Span: .462 AVG (6-for-13) lifetime vs. Indians starter Aaron
Laffey

? Joe Mauer:
.471 AVG (8-for-17) lifetime vs. Indians starter Aaron Laffey

Feeling kinda spicy?

? Travis
Hafner: .382 AVG (13-for-34) lifetime vs. Twins starter Scott
Baker

You’ll thank me later ...

? Corey Hart:
.125 AVG (2-for-16) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Jeff Karstens

? Alfonso
Soriano: .050 AVG (1-for-20) lifetime vs. Astros starter Wandy
Rodriguez

? Vladimir
Guerrero: .208 AVG (5-for-24) lifetime vs. Tigers starter Jeremy
Bonderman

Leaderboard time!

“ftwaynealbert” is the current BTS King of the Castle, rocking a stellar
34-game streak. Should “ftwaynealbert” select a player who gets a hit
tonight, he’ll receive an email from me tomorrow. And that’s how it
works.

Top MLB streakers

? Buster
Posey: 12 games

? Ian
Kinsler: 11 games

? Adam Lind:
11 games

? Placido
Polanco: 10 games

? Johnny
Damon: 9 games

? Corey Hart:
9 games 

Beat the Streak Report: Weekend, July 16-18

Chipper480BTS.jpg

Rusty might be the name of a Griswold but it isn’t an appropriate
adjective for our Streakers, as hits were-a-flyin’ in Day 1 of the
second season.

Villagers of Streakville put most of their eggs in the Ichiro
Suzuki, Josh Hamilton, Vlad Guerrero, Martin Prado, Albert Pujols and
Alex Rios baskets, and these six delivered to press the forward button
on over 50 percent streaks nationwide.

As if you money-hungry folks needed any better news, Mr. Beat
the Streak himself — Miguel Cabrera — has a tasty matchup tonight,
facing Jake Westbrook, who Miggy has steamrolled over with a .800 AVG
(4-for-5) in his career.

Odds Cabrera extends his streak to 20 games tonight? I like ’em, Johnny.

Time for the weekend’s picks

Oh, hello there …

Friday

? Miguel Cabrera: 19-game hitting streak; .800 AVG (4-for-5) lifetime vs. Indians starter Jake Westbrook

? Robinson Cano: .448 AVG (13-for-29) lifetime vs. Rays starter James Shields

? Chipper Jones:.392 AVG (20-for-51) lifetime vs. Braves starter Randy Wolf

? Ben Zobrist: .375 AVG (6-for-16) lifetime vs. Yankees starter CC Sabathia

Saturday

? Lance Berkman: .500 AVG (8-for-16) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Ross Ohlendorf

? Denard Span: .458 AVG (11-for-24) lifetime vs. White Sox starter Mark Buehrle

? David Wright:.444 AVG (8-for-18) lifetime vs. Giants starter Matt Cain

Sunday

? Miguel Tejada: .474 AVG (9-for-19) lifetime vs. Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum

? Brandon Phillips: .429 AVG (6-for-14) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Aaron Cook

? Hanley Ramirez:.600 AVG (6-for-10) lifetime vs. Nationals starter Craig Stammen

Feeling kinda spicy?

Friday

? Matt Diaz: .538 AVG (7-for-13) lifetime vs. Braves starter Randy Wolf

Saturday

? Ryan Theriot: .357 AVG (5-for-14) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Cole Hamels

Sunday

? Adam LaRoche: .385 AVG (5-for-13) lifetime vs. Padres starter Kevin Correia

You’ll thank me later …

Friday

? Jose Reyes: .091 AVG (1-for-11) lifetime vs. Giants starter Barry Zito

? Albert Pujols: .167 AVG (2-for-12) lifetime vs. Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley

Saturday

? Adrian Beltre: .154 AVG (4-for-26) lifetime vs. Rangers starter Cliff Lee

? Adam Dunn: .190 AVG (4-for-21) lifetime vs. Marlins starter Josh Johnson

Sunday

? Derek Jeter: .143 AVG (2-for-14) lifetime vs. Reds starter Bronson Arroyo

? Bobby Abreu: .167 AVG (2-for-12) lifetime vs. Mariners starter Jason Vargas

Leaderboard time!

“Respy” is alive and kicking after selecting Vlad Guerrero last
night. While it wasn’t such a risky pick to take Vlad considering his
career .480 average vs. opposing pitcher Tim Wakefield, I’m always
leery of picking against a knuckleballer because you just never know
when he’s going to have one of those days when that ball is just
dancing its little seamed heart out.

Perhaps moronic nuances like this one can help explain why my longest streak of the season is just seven games.

Top MLB streakers

? Miguel Cabrera: 19 games

? Ichiro Suzuki: 14 games

? Jon Jay: 12 games

? Jonathan Herrera: 11 games

? Aaron Cunningham: 10 games

? Buster Posey: 9 games 

Beat the Streak Report: Thursday, July 15

And we’re back.

So how’d you spend your summer vacation? Finally visited that aunt
whose house smells like soup? Finally got around to mowing the backyard
grass in one of those lawnmower golf-cart things from Forrest Gump that
look awesome?

Good. You deserve it. Each and every one of you.

A few things before we get our knees dirty and get down to business:

? I, along with fantasy guru Ian Kay, started a blog called “The Fantasy Goodness”.
It’s pretty much a one-stop shop for all things fantasy baseball, it’s
updated pretty frequently and I know you all are just thirsting for
another outlet to read my stuff. Well cotton mouth no more, click here
for your oasis of liquid information. We’ve tackled a list of
second-half breakout hitters, all first-half value teams, the Yunel
Escobar-Alex Gonzalez deal and we’ll have a full real second-half mock
draft coming up later today. Who doesn’t love mock drafts? Exactly. Oh,
also, if you ever have any fantasy questions or are looking for some
advice, leave them in the comments section of a post or just email me
at david.feldman@mlb.com and I’ll write up a full post for you guys.
I’m just that kind of a guy!

? In the spirit of the All-Star Game (and boredom), I wrote up a blog post unveiling the Beat the Streak All-Star Team. There will be a few surprises in there. LEAVE ICHIRO ALONE!

Alright, alright, time for Thursday’s picks

Oh, hello there …

? Ichiro Suzuki: 13-game hitting streak.

? Rafael Furcal: .431 AVG last 14 games; .357 AVG (5-for-14) since ’06 vs. Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter.

? Michael Cuddyer: .500 AVG (18-for-36) lifetime vs. White Sox starter John Danks

? Vladimir Guerrero: .435 AVG (10-for-23) lifetime vs. Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield

? Alexei Ramirez: .417 AVG (5-for-12) lifetime vs. Twins starter Kevin Slowey

Feeling kinda spicy?

? Jamey Carroll: .375 AVG (6-for-18) lifetime vs. Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter

Utility infielder vs. All-Star pitcher? Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.

You’ll thank me later …

? Brian McCann: .091 AVG (1-for-11) lifetime vs. Brewers starter Dave Bush

? Marlon Byrd: .183 AVG (2-for-11) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Jaime Moyer

? Paul Konerko: .176 AVG (3-for-17) lifetime vs. Twins starter Kevin Slowey

? Ian Kinsler: .154 AVG (2-for-13) lifetime vs. Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield

Leaderboard time!

Our fearsome leader starting off the second half is “respy”, who
is currently rocking a 32-game streak. May your second half be full of
hits, Jamba Juice smoothies and advice from Dick George.

Top MLB streakers

? Miguel Cabrera: 19 games

? Ichiro Suzuki: 13 games

? Jonathan Herrera: 11 games

? Jon Jay: 11 games

? Aaron Cunningham: 10 games 

Beat the Streak Report: All-Star Break Edition

480x270_Vlad.jpg

Let’s face it — not a lot is going on right now.

Baseball’s on break, LeBron’s on the Heat, NFL training camp is a few weeks away, I forgot to write a BTS Report yesterday and The Real Housewives of New York has been on hiatus for a good fortnight or two already.
So what do we do until Thursday night in Streakland?
Why not compile a quick BTS All-Star Team and stir a little debate?
Good, and while you are here — please check out my new blog I just started with MLB.com’s fantasy guru, Ian Kay called “The Fantasy Goodness“.  There’s a lot of good stuff there that I think you all will like so go get your fix in.
Now, on with the BTS All-Stars …
Catcher — Joe Mauer Nobody — When Joe Mauer is batting “only” .293 on the year and goes hitless in almost 30 percent of his games, it’s time to reenact the (almost) never-select-a-catcher BTS rule that we all hold near and dear to our hearts.
First Base — Miguel Cabrera — This one is easy. Cabrera’s .346 leads the Majors, his 19-game hitting streak is the best in baseball right now and he’s shown great consistency by going hitless in only 17 of 83 games. That means that you’ve had about an 80 percent chance success rate with Miggy this year.  Not too shabby.
Second Base — Robinson Cano — Cano edges Martin Prado for the BTS Midseason All-Star nod as he holds the higher batting average (.336 vs. 325) and the lower hitless rate (20.7 percent vs. 24.1 percent). For what it’s worth, Prado has six more hits on the year, as they both have been BTS staples for Streakers all season long.
Shortstop — Rafael Furcal — With an astounding 81 hits in just 58 games to go with a tasty .333 average, Furcal is an easy choice for the top BTS shortstop at the midsummer pause. Yeah, he’s really been that good. Sorry Mr. Jeter, your 26.7 hitless rate will not take you far here. 
Third Base — Adrian Beltre — Few players, let alone hot cornermen, have been as consistent in stimulating the Beat the Streak gravy train as Beltre. Beltre’s .333 batting average is tops among all full-time eligible third basemen, and his 107 hits puts him in second place behind Michael Young’s 109. 
Designated Hitter — Vlad Guerrero — We’re all members of Vlad Guerrero’s rejuvenation nation and there’s nothing we can do about it. The Impaler has been BTS gold this year, sporting a stellar 21.7 hitless rate to go with his .319 average.
Outfield — TIE — Josh Hamilton and Ichiro — I know three players man a normal Major League outfield, but for BTS purposes these two guys are the only ones worthy of the honor. Hamilton’s 20.0 hitless rate means he’s been Cabrerian at the plate and his 23-game hitting streak has been the best in the biz ‘tiz season. Meanwhile, despite earning the ire of the BTS nation seemingly all season long, Ichiro’s gone hitless in only 17 of 88 games, as his 19.3 hitless rate is tops among all BTS All-Stars.  

Beat the Streak Report: Weekend, July 9-11

480x270_Miggy.jpg

Who’s got two thumbs and watched Brandon Phillips go 0-for-5 to snap a five-game streak?

This guy. And apparently 10.9 percent of Streakland too.

Phillips, the day’s most popular pick, tag teamed with Jorge Cantu (4.6
percent) and Hanley Ramirez (2.2 percent) to zap the streaks of about
18 percent of the universe combined.

The good news is that our old reliable, Miguel Cabrera, is back
in action tonight and takes his Major League-leading 16-game streak to
Comerica Park to face Francisco Liriano.

And Cabrera (.357 AVG; 5-for-14 lifetime) <3s hitting off Liriano

Over/under on percent of streakers who select Miggy tonight as their choice: 20.5 percent.

I’ll take the over, Johnny.

On to the weekend’s picks …

Oh, hello there …

Friday

? Miguel Cabrera: 16-game hitting streak; .357 AVG (5-for-14) lifetime vs. Twins starter Francisco Liriano

? Denard Span: .435 AVG (10-for-23) lifetime vs. Tigers starter Justin Verlander

? David Ortiz: .500 AVG (6-for-12) lifetime vs. Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero

Saturday

? Brian McCann: .419 AVG (13-for-31) lifetime vs. Mets starter Mike Pelfrey

? Martin Prado: .467 AVG (7-for-15) lifetime vs. Mets starter Mike Pelfrey

? Miguel Cabrera: .455 AVG (10-for-22) lifetime vs. Twins starter Nick Blackburn

Sunday

? Matt Diaz: .522 AVG (12-for-23) lifetime vs. Mets starter Johan Santana

? Magglio Ordonez: .444 AVG (8-for-18) lifetime vs. Twins starter Carl Pavano

? David Wright: .368 AVG (7-for-19) lifetime vs. Braves starter Derek Lowe

Feeling kinda spicy?

Friday

? Ryan Theriot: .545 AVG (6-for-11) lifetime vs. Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley

? Willie Bloomquist: .455 AVG (15-for-33) lifetime vs. White Sox starter Mark Buehrle

Saturday

? Jhonny Peralta: .471 AVG (8-for-17) lifetime vs. Rays starter Matt Garza

? A.J. Pierzynski: .419 AVG (13-for-31) lifetime vs. Royals starter Brian Bannister

Sunday

? Aaron Rowand: .450 AVG (9-for-20) lifetime vs. Nationals starter Livan Hernandez

? Milton Bradley: .429 AVG (6-for-14) lifetime vs. Yankees starter CC Sabathia

You’ll thank me later …

Friday

? Carlos Lee: .043 AVG (1-for-23) lifetime vs. Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright

? David DeJesus: .181 AVG (13-for-72) lifetime vs. White Sox starter Mark Buehrle

? Dexter Fowler: .000 AVG (0-for-12) lifetime vs. Padres starter Kevin Correia

Saturday

? Paul Konerko: .161 AVG (5-for-31) lifetime vs. Royals starter Brian Bannister

? Adrian Gonzalez: .176 AVG (3-for-17) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Jason Hammel

Sunday

? Brandon Phillips: .111 AVG (2-for-18) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Cole Hamels

? Alexei Ramirez: .150 AVG (3-for-20) lifetime vs. Royals starter Zack Greinke

Leaderboard time!

The good news is that Josh Hamilton’s hit fiesta vs. the
Orioles vaulted our Beat the Streak leader, “scott.fredrickson” to a
36-game streak.

The bad news is that our Home Run Beat the Streak Miss Cleo
extraordinaire, “tpw”, is donesky, after Corey Hart was unable to go
yard off Manny Parra and Co.

But a big hearty round of applause for “tpw”, everyone. An eight-game streak is quite the swank accomplishment.

Top MLB streakers

? Miguel Cabrera: 16 games

? Austin Jackson: 11 games

? Ichiro Suzuki: 10 games

Five players tied with eight-game streaks.                              

Beat the Streak Report: Thursday, July 8

480x270_Phillips.jpg

While our Beat the Streak leader (“scott.fredrickson”) pushed pause
on his 35-gamer after watching Justin Morneau sit last night’s contest
out, our Home Run Beat the Streak leader made moves.

For the eighth consecutive day, “tpw” got his Miss Cleo on
(hello, reference from 2004) and used his psychic powers in selecting
Ryan Howard, who proceeded to tater off Kris Medlen in the fifth inning
last night.

With an eight-game homer streak, “tpw” is now riding solo with
the season lead and is in the driver’s seat for two tickets to the 2011
All-Star Game in Phoenix with a shot at $10,000.

Did I mention how unpredictably insane this feat is? Odds “tpw” has been stocking up on Powerball tickets?

As for my debut Ryan Braun Home Run BTS Pick of the Day? Yeah, the other LeBraun went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts.

Glad I could help.

Time for Thursday’s picks

Oh, hello there …

? Brandon Phillips:.455 AVG (5-for-11) lifetime vs. Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick

? Jorge Cantu: .500 AVG (7-for-14) lifetime vs. Diamondbacks starter Rodrigo Lopez

? Franklin Gutierrez: .417 AVG (5-for-12) lifetime vs. Yankees starter Andy Pettitte

? Michael Young: .400 AVG (6-for-15) lifetime vs. Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie

? Juan Pierre: .347 AVG (4-for-15) lifetime vs. Angels starter Ervin Santana

Feeling kinda spicy?

? Mark Kotsay: .417 AVG (10-for-24) lifetime vs. Angels starter Ervin Santana.

Hits in six of last seven games makes me say yes to Kotsay.

You’ll thank me later …

? Paul Konerko: .182 AVG (4-for-22) lifetime vs. Angels starter Ervin Santana

? Prince Fielder: .167 AVG (2-for-12) lifetime vs. Giants starter Barry Zito

? Andrew McCutchen: .167 AVG (1-for-7) lifetime vs. Astros starter Roy Oswalt

? Vladimir Guerrero: .059 AVG (1-for-17) lifetime vs. Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie

Leaderboard time!

Our second-place streaker, “trisha0087”, also selected Justin Morneau to freeze a 29-game streak.

What’s going on here? Why all the Morneau love? Has anyone seen
Miguel Cabrera hit lately? Was Brad Bergersen scaring you all THAT
MUCH?

HEY, ALL CAPS, GO AWAY!

THAnks.

Top MLB streakers

? Miguel Cabrera: 16 games

? Clint Barmes: 14 games

? Austin Jackson: 11 games

? Erick Aybar: 10 games

? Jeff Keppinger: 9 games

? Sean Rodriguez: 9 games

? Ichiro Suzuki: 9 games