Like anybody who loses their smile, I come back better than ever. I bounced back from the crushing loss of my 16 in a row streak and doubled down yesterday through Adrian Beltre and David Peralta. Today I go with Team Jose: Reyes and Abreu. Though the Jays have fell back in the standings in the AL East, Jose Reyes got plenty of hits in August. He takes on Chris Archer and the Rays today. Reyes has six hits in fourteen at-bats against the Rays right hander. Archer has been sharp for the majority of 2014 but he is coming off a massacring at the hands of Boston. I am banking on there being a bit of a hangover effect and Reyes capitalizing. My other pick, Jose Abreu of the White Sox, has never faced Twins starter (and my namesake) Trevor May. Luckily for Abreu, those who have faced May this year have beat his brains in. The 24 year old has a 0-4 record with abysmal peripherals (10.42 ERA, 2.32 WHIP). I expect the Cuban Abreu to continue the assault on poor Trevor so that this poor Trevor can get one step closer to $5.6 million. With under a month left in the season, I can't screw up again. Team Jose, arriba!
Brad Peacock got me again. CJ Wilson and the Angels were shredded by the Astros and once again the immortal Brad Peacock humbled me. With that in mind, I decided to go against the grain with my pick this morning. Puerto Rico is the overwhelming pick against the Philippines. People remember how much trouble they gave the United States and recognize some of the players on their roster. They probably don't realize that Puerto Rico is 0-3, just like the Philippines, and have been the worst team in Group B so far. That is why I am taking Andray Blatche and the Philippines to win. Or I just couldn't pick a team that Renaldo Balkman starts on. Either way, this game will probably have been going on for five minutes by the time this posts so I am sorry for not getting this up sooner to influence your decision. It is probably for the best though since it is well documented (literally now) how shoddy my picking prowess can be. There is also a delightful amount of day baseball today. I'm looking forward to King Felix vs. Jon Lester at 3:35 but I couldn't dare pick a side with any confidence. I can however pick the Giants at 3:10. The Rox have all but thrown in the towel on 2014 and I think Ryan Vogelsong can beat Christian Bergman. Vogelsong hasn't been a high caliber starter this year but well, Christian Bergman hasn't either. I'm going with the better team, nah nah nah boo boo. HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!
Image Credits: Reyes/Abreu (mlb.com), Streak picks (espn.com)