Value Play of The Day

[figue]

another good call on sf ,do you like sf today again ??

[BeatingBaseball]

Sunday's Game 4 Results

We cash all 3 plays on Game 4 – First Five, ML and RevRL.

Plus our +1.25 Series play is now in high cotton - up 3 games to 1.


As stated yesterday, “Madison Bumgarner is simply better than Tommy Hunter.”
If there was any argument on that point - there’s a lot less today. Not a bad 4th starter.

Value Play of The Day post season selections are now 11-4 overall on Sides vs the ML.

Our Favs have gone 3-0. Our Dogs have gone 8-4. Our Totals have split 1-1.


Game 4 Observations/Notes

Nice move by Bochy in getting Burrell out of the lineup - getting more LHers in there and also improving his defense. You lose very little in playing weaker hitting, defensive type, LH backups vs a RHer as eminently hittable as Tommy Hunter. (Looking back - probably would have had a better shot at Colby Lewis with this lineup as well – but he made the quick adjustment last night.)

Amazing stat that says it all about Tommy Hunter’s stuff – he got his 1st swing and miss on his 79th pitch of the night. There were 2 outs in the Giants' 4th when Schierholtz swung and missed a first ball FB - it was the first time in the game that a SF hitter swung and did not at least get a piece. Don’t believe I’ve ever seen that before from a big league starter.

LH rookie 1st baseman Mitch Moreland can HIT some LH pitching. After hitting the game winning bomb off Sanchez in Game 3 he had the best TEX swing of the game vs Bumgarner last night.

Gotta love Edgar Renteria – now hitting .429 for the Series - and still not fully recovered from a torn left biceps (believe the injury has shown at times in the series with a little weak glove hand work).

If Josh Hamilton doesn’t make the diving catch to end the SF 2nd – the game would have been decided even sooner.

Hamilton is now hitting .125 for the Series – just better than Guerrero’s .100.

What can you say about Madison Bumgarner and his 3 hitter except that he is somebody’s ace and another record breaking contract waiting to happen.

The only other pitcher to shut out TEX at home all year was another good LH - Dallas Braden.

The combined ages of last night’s SF battery (21+23) – was less than you’ll see in some college games – let alone the World Series.

For anyone who did not realize just how good the SF arms were – they missed an early clue: When a healthy LH pitcher who has a $126 million major league contract (read Barry Zito) cannot make his team’s World Series roster – even for use out of the pen - it tells you something about the quality of that team’s pitching. Zito surely would have been in the starting rotation for Texas – might have started Game 2 or 3.

Justifiably, the Rangers did not like the work of Jeff Kellogg at 1st last night. Kellogg will have the plate tonight for Game 5 – and I'm guessing that Rangers’ pitchers are going to like his strike zone even less. SF pitchers are not going to like it either.

[BeatingBaseball]

11-01-10 Monday's Gm 5 Value Play of The Day

Gm 5 - First Five UNDER 3 1/2

This World Series was expected to be the Lincecum and Lee show – but Matt Cain and Maddy Bumgarner appear to have stolen it – at least so far.

The original headliners are out there again tonight, however, and this figures to be a great pitcher’s duel.

Cliff Lee is still Cliff Lee – still the best big game pitcher in baseball.
To those who think they can take something away from his Game 1 performance that may inform otherwise - I would say be careful. As stated back in post #47, I believe Dr. Lee was operating under the influence of the “Guerrero effect” in Game 1. Tonight you can expect him to be using BOTH sides of the plate. He also didn’t have his CV in Gm 1 – only threw 11 of them – almost none for strikes. I don’t see that happening twice.

As to Tim L – I think he’ll have a great outing as well. When #2 (Cain) and #4 (Maddy Bum) both go out there and throw shutouts – it tends to amp up the ace as well. I expect he will come out focused and dealin’ - getting the big FB hitters like Cruz, Hamilton and Young with his CH and SL – just showing them his FB out of the zone. Also expect him to stay focused thru the bottom of the lineup guys – half the 8 hits he gave up in Gm 1 were to the 7 & 8 spots in the lineup. He'll be pitching them much tougher tonight.

Bottom line – tough going for the hitters early – and I say this despite tonight’s plate umpire – Jeff Kellogg is hitter friendly to say the least. McCarver and Joe Buck made a big point of contrasting Mike Winters’ Game 4 strike zone to that of Bill Miller’s more pitcher friendly zone from Game 3. Well, they ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. Kellogg has by far the smallest K-zone on this crew – one of the tightest in the game today. But I think these two extraordinary pitchers will deal with it.

My greatest concern on this play is the possibility of the TEX hitters come out with great plate discipline vs Lincecum. With Kellogg calling balls and strikes - that would be a heady approach – if Tim is constantly in hitter’s counts we may have a problem – but I’m betting the Rangers will be aggressive at the plate. If they are – we could see 0-0 after 5 tonight.

[jbofcb]

Good analogy BB.

the booking beating thing is to keep the bookie beating thing the bookie beating thing

[BeatingBaseball]

That's it, jb.

Beating the Book is the main thing - and proud to say that, in baseball, that's precisely what we do.

[figue]

good work BB

[figue]

BB ,do you cap football and basketball on another thread ??

[BeatingBaseball]

Value Play Results/Record

Value Play of The Day caps off a successful 2010 with a winner on last night's FF UNDER 3 1/2 call.

The play was never in jeopardy as Lincecum/Lee both dealt nothing but 0's for the First Five.


We also cash our +1.25 series play on Giants To Win 2010 World Series.


Post season selections on this thread finish 11-4 overall on Sides vs the ML.

Our Favs went 3-0. Our Dogs went 8-4. Our Totals went 2-1.


It was a great baseball season for us - in the green for the 1st half - 2nd half - and post season.

If you tailed here - Congratulations on your good judgement - you can clearly distinguish chicken from feathers - and you will always be able to say that you participated in the final season of free selections from BeatingBaseball.

[BeatingBaseball]

good work BB

Thanks for the kind words, figue. Hope you did well with the plays here.

As to having a thread on other sports - I do not. My focus is baseball.

I do some capping of Big Ten Basketball and the NCAA tourney but just for personal play.

Good Luck to You.

[BeatingBaseball]

R I P Captain Hook

Rest In Peace, Sparky.

Some of his best:

"Don't let yourself get beat by Superman."

"The players make the manager - it's never the other way around."

"I've changed my mind about the DH - instead of being bad, it stinks."

"If you have to choose between power and speed - and it often turns out you have to make that choice - you've got to go for speed."

"People who live in the past generally can't compete in the present. I've got my faults, but living in the past is not one of them. There's no future in it."

"This game has taken a lot of guys over the years who would have had to work in factories and gas stations and made them prominent people. I only had a high school education, and believe me, I had to cheat to get that. There isn't a college in the world that would have me and yet in this business you can walk into a room with millionaires, doctors, professional people and get more attention than they get. I don't know any other business where you can do that."

And my personal favorite...

"I can't believe they pay us to do this."


And BTW - Where else but in baseball can a grown man be known as "Sparky" his entire adult life.

[figue]

Bb ,are you going to make a new thread for this mlb season ??