Weekend College Ball

[Mr. Poon]

Updated Record: 27-23 for +18.1 units

With some of the weekend series starting early, have two plays today:

Texas -130 (@ Nebraska) for 3 units ? amazing that Texas has a 21-8 record and #9 ranking despite possessing a pretty anemic offense. On the season Texas has hit .269 as a team and scored less than 5 runs per game. They are able to get by due to their superb pitching staff that has a 2.18 ERA and holding opponents to a .216 batting avg. Nebraska has a bit better offense on paper, but that isn?t saying much. The Husker pitching staff has not been reliable across the board and should be an issue for this weekend series. Starting today for the Huskers is Freshman Yost, making his 3rd start of the season. Yost has a 7.83 ERA; 1.52 WHIP; .293 opponents avg. and 24 K?s in 23 IP. Yup, that?s their Friday starter. Yost started out the season as a reliever but has started the last two weekends. He gave up 3 ER in 4 IP last weekend against Kansas State and 5 ER in 2 1/3 IP against Oklahoma the weekend prior. Kansas State and Oklahoma both have better offenses than Texas, but it wouldn?t surprise me to see the Longhorn bats a little more lively today and all series. The ace of Texas? staff goes tonight in Sophomore Chance Ruffin. Ruffin has a 2.48 ERA; 1.07 WHIP; .224 opponents avg. and 45 K?s in 54 1/3 IP. Nebraska was able to take one game from the previous ranked foes they have faced (Oklahoma, Okie St. and Ark.). They may be able to match that this weekend, but it will be difficult in my mind with Texas lock down pitching staff.

San Diego +100 (@ Gonzaga) for 3 units ? The upstart Zags baseball squad looks to knock off conference leader San Diego. Offensively the edge goes to San Diego. They have the nod in basically all statistical categories while playing a tougher schedule. Bullpens are pretty even for both teams. Should be a pretty good battle of starting pitchers tonight. Gonzaga sends Senior Matt Fields to the mound. Fields has a 2.54 ERA; 1.28 WHIP; .247 opponents avg. and 39 K?s in 46 IP. San Diego sends their ace Sophomore Kyle Blair to the mound. Blair has a 3.16 ERA; 1.07 WHIP; .201 opponents avg. and 59 K?s in 51 1/3 IP. Fields is good and has pitched out of trouble a lot this year, but Blair is definitely the better pitcher and should win this head to head matchup. Gonzaga has impressed starting out with a 21-9 record, but they have still not knocked off a really decent team. San Diego has the experience of being on the road at a tough venue (@ Rice earlier in the year) and should be able to handle the Zags this weekend and I like their chances of sweeping all three.

GL guys.

 

[Mr. Poon]

Gonzaga ripped San Diego last night and the Texas/Nebraska game was postponed until this afternoon, so I lost 3 units yesterday. Updated record 27-24 for +15.1 units.

Today?s plays:

Texas -120 (@ Nebraska) for 3 units ? 2:00 cst game make-up of last night?s postponement. Same play as yesterday, they just lowered the price a tad but that doesn?t change my opinion. The Nebraska pen that got ripped mid-week by Creighton gets an extra day of rest, but that won?t make a big difference.

North Carolina -105 (@ Florida St.) for 3 units ? I?m just not as high on Florida State as others are. They have a good offense, but their pitching is very questionable this year. They do have a better offense than UNC, but the Tar Heels are still a good hitting club putting up 7.5 runs/game and batting .306. The one offensive area that FSU isn?t better at is control/selection as they strike out over 8 times a game, and that will likely come into play tonight. UNC has a definite edge in the pen. Starting pitching they have the edge too despite the #?s of the starters. UNC has Junior Alex White going tonight. White has 3.94 ERA; 1.34 WHIP; .247 opponents avg. and 53 K?s in 45 2/3 IP. Decent #?s, but they aren?t up to the high expectations for White coming into the season. However, White did have a great outing last Friday against Georgia Tech, who?s offense is just as potent as FSU?s. He gave up 2 runs and struck out 8 over 8 innings last Friday and I think he can have another great outing tonight. FSU starts Freshman Sean Gilmartin. Gilmartin has a 3.27 ERA; 1.23 WHIP; .223 opponents avg. and 45 K?s in 44 IP. He?s a good pitcher but no where near as polished as White is. Nice low price for the #4 Tar Heels as they can handle this FSU club.

Virigina +130 (@ Georgia Tech) for 2 units ? Talked a bit about how good Georgia Tech?s offense is, Virginia?s has just as gaudy #?s on the stat sheet scoring over 9 runs per game and hitting .358 as a team. Virginia has played against a weaker schedule, but both teams can put up runs basically. Will be interesting to see if either of the offenses can get going tonight as two really good pitchers, with almost identical stats, are starting. Georgia Tech starts Sophomore Deck McGuire. McGuire has a 2.36 ERA; 1.23 WHIP; .225 WHIP and 59 K?s in 45 2/3 IP. Virginia counters with Freshman Danny Hultzen. Hultzen has a 2.17 ERA; 1.25 WHIP; .243 opponents avg. and 58 K?s in 45 2/3 IP. Hultzen is the best Freshman pitcher in the country in my mind. He reminds quite a bit of Zach Greinke for the Royals. He?s not going to intimidate you on the mound by his physical stature, but the guy plain knows how to pitch and has a good mix. Hultzen was drafted by the Diamondbacks last spring but decided against going straight to the pros. Oh, he also plays 1B and has a .363 avg so far this year. This play is basically on Hultzen. Georgia Tech is a good team as shown by their #13 ranking, but I?ll make a play on UVa at a dog price with Hultzen pitching unless they are going against one of the elite teams in the country.

Looking into a couple of the other games. GL guys.

 

[T OFF]

keep me informed poon

keep me informed poon

on texas have um parlayed with cubbies

appreciate it!


like bama auburn and rice tonight!

 

[Mr. Poon]

One more play:

East Carolina +105 (vs. Rice) for 2 units ? two really good offenses going in this one. Small play on the home Pirates as they have a little better starting pitching going today. ECU has their normal Friday starter Chris Heston going. Heston?s stats are a 2.68 ERA; 1.21 WHIP; .223 opponents avg. and 42 K?s in 43 2/3 IP. Rice still has their top two pitchers (Berry and Ojala) on the shelf for the 3rd straight weekend. Rice will be starting Jared Rogers who has a 7.43 ERA in 13 1/3 IP. Rogers was good last weekend against Tulane but didn?t fare well two weeks ago in his first start against Memphis. ECU is wanting to dethrone Rice form the CUSA championship seat, and this series will be a big step if they can take advantage of Rice having their studs out.

GL guys.

 

[Mr. Poon]

T OFF - like ECU tonight as stated above but will likely pound Rice tomorrow as I really like the Freshman Wall they have pitching. Would love to see an ECU win tonight to drive the price down to around 100 and go big on that one tomorrow.

I haven't seen Auburn this year so I stayed away from that. Florida's pitching is pretty shaky though so that's not a bad play.

Thought long and hard about LSU, especially since I love Ranaudo pitching for them, but Bama's bats are scary. Reports are that it is very windy down in Tuscaloosa today and though the reports are it is coming straight in from CF, a little swirl from RF to LF could help those right handed mashers for the Tide and spell a big offensive day for them.

GL man. Texas started out strong but has let Nebraska in it a bit.

 

[T OFF]

SCORE?

SCORE?

TEX / NEB :shrug:

 

[Mr. Poon]

Texas wins 7-5!

 

[kegray1]

If you are ever looking to watch a game then this is a great site to goto.
Free,no registration,no downloading of any sort.

http://www.atdhe.net/

They have 6 games on there right now.

 

[Mr. Poon]

kegray - what's the word out of Houston about Ojala and Berry? Rice can walk over most of CUSA without them, but they need those guys to get to Omaha. Two really talented pitchers and it stinks not being able to see them perform.

 

[kegray1]

I saw this article in the paper awhile back:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6347986.html

Here is an update:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/college/rice/6364946.html

 

[T OFF]

LSU SCORED 4 IN TOP 9TH TO WIN GAME 8-5 WERE TRAILING 5 - 2 GOING INTO 8TH

DAMN COONASS'S!

 

[Mr. Poon]

It was a day of blown leads. UNC lets FSU score 2 in the bottom of the 9th to lose that one. ECU was up 11-4 going into the 6th and ended up losing the game 15-11.

Texas did win, and UVa was up before the game was postponed. 1-2 on the day for -2.15 units.

Back later with todays plays.

 

[Mr. Poon]

One early play that gets off at 1:00 cst:

Georgia -150 (@ Kentucky) for 2 units ? Georgia?s offense is the dominating factor in this one. They are hitting .325 as a team, scoring over 9 runs a game and averaging almost 2 HR?s per game. Kentucky got off to a decent start and their pitching was a big reason, but in their last 11 games they have given up almost 8 runs per game. Georgia has a big edge in the bullpen as well. Starting pitching is pretty even today. Georgia has their veteran ace Senior Trevor Holder throwing. Holder has a 3.48 ERA; 1.31 WHIP; .250 opponents avg. and 39 K?s in 41 1/3 IP. Kentucky has highly touted Freshman Alex Meyer going in his second Friday start. Meyer has a 4.04 ERA; 1.43 WHIP; .202 opponents avg. and 38 K?s in 35 2/3 IP. Meyer is very good (was a top 10 high school prospect and all American a year ago), but lacks a bit of control. He has issued more walks (26) than hits (25) so far this season. He?ll get a few strike outs today vs. a Georgia offense that likes to swing, but Georgia has some powerful veteran bats that are going to make him pay eventually.

Looking into a couple others and should have those in a bit. GL guys.

 

[T OFF]

GOOD LUCK POON

GOOD LUCK POON

will tail you on this one and THROW you

OLE MISS.

 

[Mr. Poon]

another play:

North Carolina +100 (@ Florida St.) for 4 units ? Coming back again with the Tar Heels. They lost a tough one 3-2 last night, but FSU has had a tendency to win the Friday night game and then stink it up the rest of the weekend. UNC still has a big bullpen advantage as their relievers only threw 1 pitch last night (albeit the pitch ended up in a sac fly that decided the game). Senior Adam Warren goes for UNC while FSU throws Freshman Brian Busch. Both of the guys stats are solid, and pretty even so I?m not going to list them. Busch stats are a bit propped up by the fact he started the year as a mid-week starter and he?s faced easier competition than Warren. Since moving to the weekend rotation Busch has been average. With an edge in starting pitching and a strong pen, like UNC to bounce back in this one.

Still looking into a couple others. T OFF ? I?m likely also on Ole Miss. Want to look a bit further into it.

 

[Mr. Poon]

Just one more small one:

Virginia +110 (@ Georgia Tech) for 1 unit - like UVa's starting pitcher Carraway vs. Tech's Von Tersch. Von Tersch hasn't fared well his last couple of outings, so I think Virginia can get to him.

GL guys.

 

[Mr. Poon]

good day going 3-0 picking up 7.1 units.

Updated Record: 31-26 for +20.05 units

 

[Mr. Poon]

North Carolina -125 (@ Florida St.) for 2 units ? small play on the Tar Heels based on pitching. Mike McGee starts for Florida St. and has a 5.74 ERA, a .287 opponents avg. and 21K?s in 26 2/3 IP. Matt Harvey goes for UNC and has a 6.82 ERA, a .262 opponents avg. and 43 K?s in 31 2/3 IP. Obviously neither starter has avoided being hit or letting the runs score. I like Harvey?s strike out potential against a free swinging FSU club. Also UNC?s pen is so strong, that they can be called on to go long innings if necessary as hardly any of them have been used this series.

Georgia -150 (@ Kentucky) for 2 units ? Georgia goes for the sweep today. Their offense has been motoring along and no reason for it to stop today. James Paxton starts for Kentucky. Paxton?s stats are a 6.08 ERA; a 1.43 WHIP; a .292 opponents avg. and 55 K?s in 37 IP. Paxton started the year as Kentucky?s Friday starter but has been demoted down the rotation due to his recent performances. Georgia?s #3 starters is still a good one in my mind in Justin Grimm. Grimm?s stats are a 4.58 ERA; a 1.27 WHIP; a .241 opponents avg. and 39 K?s in 35 1/3 IP. Grimm and the Georgia offense should have more than enough to get it done today.

Looking into a couple of the other games and will likely have at least one more play. GL guys.

 

[T OFF]

LSU -125


LSU HAS WON LIKE 9 SEC SERIES'S DATEIN BACK TO LAST YEAR WIN GEORGIA TOOK THE SERIES.



GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PLAYS POON!

 

[Mr. Poon]

T OFF - that's the one I was looking at. Think it is a real good play:

LSU -120 (@ Alabama) for 3 units - Bama has a slight edge in offense between these two clubs. Starting pitching heavily favors LSU in my mind. Louis Coleman goes for the Tigers and is the best Sunday pitcher in the country in my opinion. Coleman has a 2.11 ERA; 0.94 WHIP; .198 opponents avg. and 63 K's in 47 IP. Bama has a powerful offense, but I think Coleman can control them. Adam Scott is the starting pitcher for the Tide. he has decent stats with a 3.38 ERA; 1.12 WHIP; and a .261 opponents avg. However, he has only thrown 18 2/3 innings and only 2 starts. LSU is the best team he will have faced in a start and I think the Tigers can get to him.