June 28, 2014

Daltry/Lovejoy remain on top in week nine, followed by Jason Salavon and Jim Kushner. We won’t see much change at the top as long as Troy Tulowitzki hovers above .350, which he’s been doing for the entire month of June.

Charlie Morton is beaning batters at a potentially historic rate. The highest recorded HBP total for a pitcher chosen in our pool is 19 by A.J. Burnett in 2010, which four entrants collected; Morton already has 15 at the halfway point this year. The last major league pitcher to hit more than 25 batters in a season was Jack Warhop, who hit 26 in 1909 with the New York Highlanders.

Enjoy the weekend…

-Dan and Jud

June 20, 2014

It’s eight weeks at the top for Daltry/Lovejoy, with Jason Salavon and Jim Kushner swapping their 2-3 positions from last week. Adam Wainwright’s missed start (elbow) and a superb losing effort by Felix Hernández (7IP, 3H, ER, 10K) account for the slight movement within our leaderboard.

Clayton Kershaw’s astounding no-hitter on Wednesday probably made a few of us scratch our heads and wonder, “Wow, could he actually win a category after missing the entire month of April?” The Dodger lefty is only three wins behind current leader Alfredo Simón, trails Strasburg by 27 Ks, and would place around seventh in ERA if he qualified… Keep scratching and we’ll revisit this one from time to time.

Summer!!!

-Dan and Jud

June 12, 2014

Daltry/Lovejoy log their seventh consecutive week atop the leaderboard, with Jim Kushner and Jason Salavon sitting second and third. Jim and Jason have each finished either second or third in five updates this year.

Kushner and Salavon might look to the NL RBI category for help, where Paul Goldschmidt is just 5 RBI behind leader Giancarlo Stanton. Another resource is the tight AL BA race, with Miguel Cabrera (and two other players) within 6 points of Robinson Cano. The rest of us should pay attention too! Sixteen entrants picked Goldschmidt and/or Miggy in the aforementioned categories. Speaking of popular picks, Yu Darvish is making up for lost time in AL strikeouts (30 Ks over his last three starts)…

See you next week!

-Dan and Jud

June 7, 2014

June looks a lot like May with Daltry/Lovejoy still on top of the 2014 MLB Predictions Pool. Jason Salavon and Jim Kushner take second and third, with both entrants topping Dalt/Love in HBPs. Frank Gatland makes his top 5 update debut right below Dan McCloskey…

After last Sunday’s action, it appeared that Yasiel Puig would indeed overtake Troy Tulowitzki in the crucial NL BA race we highlighted in last week’s update. The Dodger slugger was within just three points of Tulo’s MLB-best .350 average on Monday morning; since then, Daltry/Lovejoy’s prized shortstop has gone 8-for-18 versus Puig’s 3-for-15. The two players go head-to-head this weekend at Coors Field.

See you next week!

-Dan and Jud

May 30, 2014

Daltry/Lovejoy top their fifth consecutive update to complete their May sweep. Their unique Troy Tulowitzki NL BA pick has been the difference, as followers Jim Kushner, Jason Salavon, and Jud Ehrbar all easily beat Dalt/Love in the HBP tiebreaker.

Tulowitzki may see some competition soon from another entrant’s unique NL BA pick. Yasiel Puig is up 15 points to .348 since May 20^th, while Tulo has dropped 14 over the same span… If the trend continues, Jeff Gatland might gain a valuable point to complement his 30 HBPs.

Next week’s update will probably go out on Saturday instead of Friday. See you then!

-Dan and Jud

May 23, 2014

The May dominance of Daltry/Lovejoy continues, with John Agnello and Jeff Gatland close behind. Our leaders face several challengers, as our @PredictionsPool Twitter timeline shows Stephen Craig leading on May 19^th, and Jason Salavon in first on May 21^st. Jeff’s HBP total exceeds those of Dalt/Love and Agnello combined…

While today’s update average of 0.52 points is easily the lowest in several years, at least things are pretty close. Give the red-hot Miguel Cabrera one point on his batting average and John Agnello leads the pool with three points. If Zack Greinke beats the Mets last night Rob LaColla and Will Rice are suddenly in the mix. Don’t give up hope!

See you next Friday.

-Dan and Jud

May 16, 2014

Daltry/Lovejoy rule the roost for the third straight update, followed by Jason Salavon and Will Rice. It appears that Chris and Michael’s unique Troy Tulowitzki NL BA pick will pay dividends for a while, although the duo’s HBP profile doesn’t compare favorably with Jason’s and several other entrants in our top third.

Miamiphenom José Fernández is scheduled to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery today, making the Marlin our third pool pitcher to exit for the year. Fernández was tied with Stephen Strasburg for the NL lead in strikeouts when he was shut down.

Thanks to all entrants for paying your dues!

-Dan and Jud