It is my birthday today. Joc Pederson must not have gotten the memo. My futile attempt at a Dastardly Dodger Double Down went down in flames as the much hyped Pederson put up a pedestrian 0-for-2 line for me. Adrian Gonzalez came through at least. Today I am back to just the single pick. That single pick is Milwaukee's Jonathan Lucroy. The Brew Crew backstop was my savior during my run to 16 but he has sat on my Streak sidelines since. His opposing pitcher tonight is Mr. Brad Penny. I like to refer to the Marlins' hurler as Brad "Worth A" Penny but that is neither here nor there. After a year in MLB exile, Penny made his return to his roots this past month with the Marlins. Let's just say the results so far have been less than desirable. 12 earned runs in 16 1/3 innings with more walks than strikeouts is not good by even the lowest of standards. His 1.96 WHIP is good for 599th out of all pitchers who have pitched in 2014. I commend Marlins' brass for keeping him up for at least one more start so that Lucroy can be my hero again and rid my BTS page of that vile red zero.
My day on Streak for the Cash was a fucking calamity. It started off bad as New Zealand were only able to put up a rec-leagueian nine points in the first quarter against Lithuania. Fortunately, I missed getting my pick in for the Patriots/Dolphins which would have put me at an L2. I decided that the pick of a kneel down for the end of the first half of the Colts/Broncos game was a good one even though only 7% of streakers agreed with me. I was rewarded for my boldness but then my phone made its own decision. It decided it was time for an update which didn't allow me to get my pick in for the Luck/Manning prop in the second half. I am not bitter that instead of being at a W2 this morning it is just a W1. I swear with how my picks were going yesterday I would have put a hex on Luck in the second half. They didn't need anything else going against them trying to come back on the reigning AFC Champions, a feat in which they were unsuccessful. I am only picking once today even though the MLB gave me several titillating options. My pick is Jeff Locke and the Pittsburgh Pirates against Kyle Kendrick and the Philadelphia Phillies. Locke was an All-Star last year but faded down the stretch. He's battled injuries and spells of ineffectiveness this year but as of now his numbers are on par with his final statistics from a year ago. I've been burned by the Phillies (and Kyle Kendrick) several times in the past month. That isn't deterring me from going against the Fightin' Phils again. I'll be in Philadelphia this weekend to tell them how I feel in person if they burn me again. HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
Image Credits: Lucroy (mlb.com), Streak Pick (espn.com)