Featuring Trevor Utley and Alfred deCiutiis
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By Trevor Utley I had high hopes for yesterday. I had a Beat the Streak stalwart paired up with some solid Streak for the Cash picks. Where did it all go so awry? Did a baseball version of the Monstars come down yesterday afternoon and just drain the ability for certain players to play baseball. Dee Gordon would of course be the Muggsy Bogues in this scenario of talent theft while I am still debating whether or not John Lackey is Shawn Bradley or Larry Johnson. Either way, both were less than stellar last night, leaving me in the red in both endeavors entering today's action. I've been wary of double downs of late, but I am going to try one today with my two most picked players from 2014: Miguel Cabrera and Jose Altuve. Miggy is 3-2 for me this year, although one of those losses wasn't his fault (the Adrian Gonzalez W14 streak murder). Altuve is making his seventh appearance on SIP thus far, going 4-2 before today. Both are facing quality left handers from Chicago (Jon Lester vs Cabrera, Carlos Rodon vs Altuve) tonight, but have good track records against each. Let's hope my 2014 BTS All-Stars can continue their good work in 2015. I have no words for what happened last night between the Cardinals and Rockies. Outside of my Monstars reference from the opening paragraph, last night's drubbing left me otherwise speechless. It was 10-0 before I even knew what hit me. I was tempted to just forfeit and try picking a later game but figured if a SIP favorite of mine could get shellacked like that, nobody else stood a chance. Tonight I will be picking the last prop available so that if I fall into a similar pitfall, I have no choice but to just ride it out again. Hopefully the Cavs and Warriors start some fireworks in the second half tonight as Game 3 of the NBA Finals takes place. Speaking of the NBA Finals, my Drive to the Finals pick tonight makes me physically ill. That is because that pick is none other than J.R. Smith. Don't try to untie anybody's shoes tonight you prick. HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!!! Image Credits: Cabrera/Altuve BTS (mlb.com), Streak pick (espn.com), Smith DTTF (nba.com) By Trevor Utley I can't quite say I've found June's pulse yet. Every time I think I have trends figured out, I get suplexed by an 0-fer or in the case of yesterday a bricked penalty. At least I still got the Mets. My sad attempt at humor yesterday proved unfruitful as Ben Paulsen wasn't able to produce a hit against Miami. Granted, he only got one at-bat as a pinch hitter, but a loss is a loss. Now that I got that bit of cheekiness out of my system, it is back to winning time. Oh god, I just reminded myself of the Reggie Miller documentary. **BASHES HEAD AGAINST WALL WHILST TRYING TO COME UP WITH REASONS WHY DEE GORDON IS A GOOD PICK I HATE YOU REGGIE HATE YOU HATE YOU** On Streak for the Cash, I'll try to reverse my Women's World Cup fortunes of yesterday with the good old U.S. of A! I will be picking the Lady Yanks to score before the 22nd minute against Australia. The Americans are the second ranked team in the world. The first ranked team, Germany, put up a 10 burger on poor Ivory Coast yesterday afternoon. The Red, White, & Blue cannot be outdone. Sorry about your damn luck Socceroos. While the WWC hurt me, I knew I had a Streak mainstay for me going in the afternoon: Jacob deGrom and the New York Mets. The Amazins aren't on the board today so I have to go with the next best thing, the St. Louis Cardinals. John Lackey takes the hill against David Hale. This is as slam dunky as they come. W3 for me please! HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!!! Image Credits: Gordon BTS (mlb.com), Streak picks (espn.com) By Trevor Utley It is a sunny yet brisk day today in little Rhody which is how my streak life has been going of late. Streak for the Cash has been the sunny experience the past few days. Beat the Streak however, has been that stiff breeze that sends a chill down your spine that lets you know you have no control over anything. Hopefully the return of the NBA Finals tonight can be my Streaking In Public windbreaker to stabilize things. I can pick former MVPs, perennial BTS favorites, and even personal favorite players. Nothing seems to be going right for me on Beat the Streak right now. Therefore today, I went with the first person I didn't recognize against a pitcher with a miserable ERA. As you can see, the results came out pretty Magnum PI-esque. My selection for today is Colorado's Ben Paulsen. The platoon first baseman has had a solid bench season so far for the Rox with a .321 batting average, four home runs, and nine RBIs. That's all I got. Over on Streak for the Cash, I will continue to tempt fate with the Women's World Cup and hopefully continue on the green wave (not to Tulane) later this afternoon with a familiar friend. Canada needed a dodgy penalty in second half stoppage time yesterday to win their opener of the 2015 Women's World Cup. I was watching horse racing but had the gamecast on my phone. I nearly squeezed the life out of it on several occasions as the clock ticked (or refreshed) ever so closer to the final whistle. Nevertheless, I put my nice shiny red star on the line today with Norway to cover a 4.5 goal spread against Thailand. Now I don't know if Thailand is this tournament's Tahiti (see 2013 Confederations Cup) but they have to be pretty on par with that to be giving that big of a goal spread this early. I like my chances. I also like my chances with the Mets this afternoon with Jacob deGrom on the mound versus the Diamondbacks. This is the eighth time I have chosen the Metropolitans on Streak for the Cash, far and away the most of any team. deGrom is coming off yet another masterful outing against the Padres (8 innings, 0 ER, 2 hits, 8 K/0 BB) and should replicate that tonight against an up and down Diamondbacks team. Rounding out the day is Game 2 of the NBA Finals tonight on Drive To The Finals. After Harrison Barnes kinda no-showed Game 1, I am not taking a second tier guy again today. I'll be going with one half of the Splash Brothers: Klay Thompson. He may have had a lackluster opener, but I'll chalk that up to battling concussion symptoms in the lead up to that game. An additional half week's rest can't hurt, and now he may have to deal with less LeBron James defense as Kyrie Irving's injury may force the King onto Stephen Curry. Here's to Thompson trying to win his own MVP award tonight with a big PRA for me! HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!!!! Also be sure to look out for Episode Two of Streak Sharks coming out in the next couple of days. If you haven't watched the uber-long premiere yet: Here ya go! Image Credits: Paulsen BTS (mlb.com), Streak picks (espn.com), Thompson DTTF (nba.com) By Trevor Utley It is a busy sports day this Saturday giving me a plethora of options over both streak games. I will be doubling down in both offering coming off a pair of different results on Friday. Without further ado, let's get to the picks. I don't know what I've done to Mike Trout to make him so aggravated at me on Beat the Streak. He has gone hitless in three of the five times I've picked him now. That is a much less than acceptable return from the reigning AL MVP. Instead of resting on past laurels, today I'll be doubling down on two of the most locked in hitters in the American League. Josh Donaldson has brought the rain north of the border this year. The Jays as a team may be in limbo, but Donaldson is raking to the tune of a .311 batting average. He faces off with Houston's Brett Oberholtzer today. Donaldson tattooed the Astros' lefty last year (both were in the AL West) with a .400 BA (6 for 15) with five of the six hits going for extra bases (4 doubles, 1 home run). Fielder has a slightly smaller sample size against Kansas City's Yordano Ventura, but has been even more effective. He went 3-for-4 with a homer in their only previous meeting on May 13th, a Rangers victory. My two picks on Streak for the Cash for today come from the end of one prestigious tournament and the beginning of another. The UEFA Champions League Final is early this afternoon pitting the Italian Serie A's Juventus FC against the Spanish La Liga's FC Barcelona. (CHEAP PLUG: Here's a last second primer for the game) Juventus took down the defending champions, Real Madrid, in the semi-finals. Barcelona ousted the 2013 champion Bayern Munich in the other final four matchup. Even though I think the game may turn on its head if Juve can get on the board first (and early), Barca will be too much for the Italian giants and the Blaugrana will be taking home their 5th UCL crown. While a tournament on the men's side ends, the woman's game begins their biggest spectacle. The Women's World Cup begins today across Canada as the month long showcase features the best the female game has to offer. The 2015 edition kicks off as the hosts take on 1999 runners-up China. The game is a Streak staple, WIN vs WIN/DRAW. I will be taking the WIN option paired up with Canada. Like Brazil showed on their home turf with the men, the home team is at a distinct advantage on the opening day of the tournament. While Canada may not want to suffer the same fate as the Brazilians last summer, I think they'll copy them in winning their opening match. HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!!!! Image Credits: Donaldson/Fielder BTS (mlb.com), Streak picks (espn.com) By Trevor Utley Well it took less than a week for my first feeling of despair from Streak games this month. Sure, I've already lost a few in June's first four days. None will sting as much as the tank job that Shakhtar Donetsk put me through yesterday afternoon. I'd normally say more about it here, but I'll save that for this week's Streak Sharks. What?!? You haven't heard of our show Streak Sharks yet? Check out the first episode here. I apologize in advance for its length, they all won't be this long! Jose Altuve got me back in the green yesterday on Beat the Streak. I'll be trying to keep that going with another multi-time Streaking In Public man, Mike Trout. Both Trout and Altuve were successful in my latest nine day winning streak so I am hoping this combination will prove fruitful again as I mount yet another assault on Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak. Trout is 4-for-6 lifetime against his opposition this evening, New York's Nathan Eovaldi. The former Dodger's rocky peripherals (4.40 ERA, 1.57 WHIP) make me sweat less when looking towards that W2. I'll be once again picking a two-fer of games today. It will once again be the format of soccer in the early afternoon and baseball at night. I am hoping for a different result from the former today as I stay in eastern Europe with an international friendly between Hungary and Lithuania. Now Hungary is no giant of the game, but Lithuania is just garbage at soccer. They are about as bad at futbol as they are good at basketball. Even in a "friendly" atmosphere, Hungary should win this one going away. In my late game, I hope that I can make my second consecutive correct baseball pick in a row. It was a Happy Harvey Day last night so I am hoping to make it a Magnificent Morton Day today. Nah, doesn't have the same ring to it. HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!!!!! Image Credits: Trout BTS (mlb.com), Streak picks (espn.com) By Trevor Utley As expected, I was not going to replicate my torrid start to May in June. I am in the red in both Streak for the Cash and Beat the Streak. The Cleveland Indians push themselves nearer and nearer to the I Hate You Entirely Because Of Streak For The Cash Hall of Fame and a stupid Hydra joke backfired. Today I'm going to try to slow the pace a bit, especially with the NBA Finals starting up bringing back with it the Drive To The Finals game. If I would have just stuck with my original solo pick of Dustin Pedroia, I'd be back on the good side of Beat the Streak. But noooooooooooo, I had to make a dumb pun and add Paul Goldschmidt to the mix. Granted, Goldschmidt had been bludgeoning people for a solid two weeks. He did just the opposite last night even though a late Diamondbacks rally gave him more opportunities than he normally would have had. Today I will be once again trotting out Jose Altuve. Now a six-time 2015 SIP selection, Altuve takes on Baltimore's Wei-Yin Chen this afternoon. Chen has been much better than his 1-4 record suggests, but Altuve is 6-for-13 lifetime against the Taiwanese left hander. I'll be going for a delightful double today on Streak for the Cash. This afternoon my entry travels to the Ukraine for the finals of the Ukranian Cup. Shakhtar Donetsk takes on Dynamo Kiev, a battle of two of Ukraine's best sides. The two have gone back and forth with wins the last four games, but I think Shakhtar will buck that trend with a win today. In my late game, I'll be taking the Mets for the seventh time in 2015. It wasn't a Happy Harvey Day for me last time I picked the Mets with The Dark Knight on the mound. I lost a W12 on a bases loaded Jeurys Familia walk in the ninth inning. I'm hoping it won't come to that against the D'Backs this evening as Harvey faces off with Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson has struggled for consistency although he's won his last two starts. One thing is consistent with Hellickson though. He doesn't go deep into games. That leaves a suspect Arizona pen to do more work. The Finals are here which means Drive To The Finals has finally reached its destination. I have quite the roster left at my disposal for this series, but I'm playing it conservative in Game 1. I'm taking Golden State's Harrison Barnes as the Cavs and Dubs play that opening game of cat and mouse. As each side tries to slow the other's star, a guy like Barnes could slip through the cracks and easily get a 40 or so PRA game. Or he could be undercut by Matthew Dellavedova and his series be over. HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!!!! Image Credits: Altuve BTS (mlb.com), Streak picks (espn.com), Barnes DTTF (nba.com) Featuring Trevor Utley and Al deCiutiis By Trevor Utley I've decided to start treating my streaks like Hydra: cut off one head and two take its place. I've had to get the ax out on Beat the Streak. Let's hope it won't be until July that I have to start swinging at my Streak For The Cash entry. Jason Kipnis may have scored the winning run in Cleveland's victory over Kansas City last night, but he was still a loser in my book. He went 0-for-4 against Jeremy Guthrie and the Royals pen and ended my streak at nine. Therefore due to my new mantra, I'll be doubling down this afternoon. The Red Sox play a doubleheader today against the Twins. I will be taking Dustin Pedroia, for the first time since SIP 88, to continue his ownership of Twins starter Phil Hughes in the first half of that twin bill. The Laser Show is a .342 lifetime hitter against Hughes with five home runs and three doubles. He has also struck out just four times in 38 career showdowns. Paul Goldschmidt gets a rare early start time (3:40 ET) as his Diamondbacks take on Mike Foltynewicz and the Atlanta Braves. Goldschmidt has been white hot lately hitting .488 with five home runs in his last 12 games. Even though there is no history between him and the Atlanta starter (didn't feel like writing that last name again), there is about to be an ugly start to it. Although I was done in by an Indian in one game, I'll be relying on them in the other today. The Astros fell behind 4-0 real quick to the Orioles yesterday. However, they made up that deficit just as swiftly and eventually went on to a 6-4 victory brandishing me with a W2 on Streak for the Cash. Corey Kluber has been snakebitten in his follow-up to winning the AL Cy Young Award last year. As the Tribe scratch back to .500, they are going to need to take advantage when their ace gets matched up with someone like Jason Vargas. HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!!! Image Credits: Pedroia/Goldschmidt BTS (mlb.com), Streak pick (espn.com) By Trevor Utley Hey June, don't make it bad. Take some sad picks, and make them better. Remember to let me on to good streaks. Then I can start, to make some money. I got off to the right kind of start to the month with a double shot of wins yesterday. It is dreary outside, but I am hoping to keep it sunny here on Streaking In Public. Adrian Gonzalez made more than an adequate showing last night for me on Beat The Streak. Gonzalez (4-for-4) and company pummeled Kyle Kendrick and the Rockies to the tune of 18 total hits. Even Clayton Kershaw got in on the act with three base knocks. Every person that came to the plate for the Dodgers got on base with pinch hitter Yasmani Grandal the only one held hitless (he walked). I am hoping a similar performance is in the cards today for the Indians offense as they take on the equally inept Jeremy Guthrie. Guthrie is fresh off a historic pounding at the hands of the Yankees in his last start, going 1+ innings and giving up 11 earned runs on 9 hits. It seriously inflated his poor peripherals but to be frank they were quite poor already. He pitches to contact which should give Jason Kipnis plenty of hit opportunities. I also began June on a high note on Streak for the Cash. The Cubs made easy work of the Marlins with Jason Hammel's stellar pitching. The NL Central has done right by me in recent months on Streak, but I'm going today with a team no longer in that division. The Houston Astros continue to defy the experts at 32-20, good for the second best record in baseball. They'll send the reliable Collin McHugh to the hill tonight against Baltimore's Mike Wright. Baltimore's pitching has been their problem thus far in 2015, but Wright has been quality in his three starts since his mid-May promotion. This is by no means a slam dunk pick, but I have faith in the 'Stros to eke the game out. Imagining writing that sentence in 2015 still seems weird to me. HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!!! Image Credits: Kipnis BTS (mlb.com), Streak pick (espn.com) |
THE FANTASY ARCADE
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