The final week of the Beat the Streak season is a relieving yet still depressing one. It gives a person time to reflect on all the poor choices they've made over the course of a year. From picking players going against Felix Hernandez and Clayton Kershaw to the dream murderer Allen Thomas Craig, I've made quite a few errors in 2014. I just want to end the Beat the Streak season trying to ready myself for next year. With that being said, I head back to the NL West for this fine Monday. Justin Morneau and Yasiel Puig delivered as a NL West twosome on Saturday. Can A.J. Pollock and Wilin Rosario repeat history? I think so. Rosario has been one of the hottest hitters in the National League the past week. He is 14-for-20 with 2 home runs and 9 runs batted in against the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks. Rosario steps into the the batter's box today against Eric Stults, a pitcher whom I've victimized before. He is 5-for-15 against Stults, or just 1-for-3 per game. The way the Dominican catcher has been raking, one hit is a low expectation. My other selection for today is Arizona's A.J. Pollock. Pollock has dealt with injuries this year but in his time on the field has crafted himself into quite the hitter. His average is over .300 for the first time in his career and takes on Ricky Nolasco and the Minnesota Twins tonight. Nolasco was brought in this offseason to be MInnesota's #1. He has been primarily a pile of #2 for his new employers in 2014. Pollock has just 3 at-bats against the right hander but got a hit in that small sample. Nolasco's 1.51 WHIP and .316 BAA leads me to believe that Pollock's career hits total against him will at least double or triple this evening.
I am going to need to really step my game up if I am going to get to the top of the Streak Leaderboard this month. My results from yesterday didn't help my cause. The Saints barely scraped by the double digit spread against the woe begotten Vikings. I was thinking I should have quit while I was ahead as the third quarter of the Seahawks/Broncos didn't produce a single point. The fourth quarter wasn't looking any more promising until a late surge got the total to...20. Of fucking course, 21 points or more and the total ends at 20. What the fuck else did I expect? I have probably the most hollow .679 winning percentage this month. A high streak of five and a continuing string of miserable failures have riddled my birthday month. I am hoping this month plays out like yesterday afternoon's game. I've been shut out for the first three quarters of the month. The Bears should be the start of my fourth quarter surge. Unlike the Bronocs however, I'll just need to get to 21 to win the money. HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!!
Image Credits: Pollock/Rosario (mlb.com), Streak pick (espn.com)