Wednesday, May 09, 2007

3 Picks: Knuckleballs and Humidors


Thursday, May 10: Tim Wakefield (3-3)(BOS) vs. Roy Halladay (4-1)(TOR)

It's knuckleball versus the early front runner for the AL Cy Young Award.(Win Probability graphing by Fangraphs)
Tim Wakefield: 7.0IP, 3H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 5SO, 0HR - W

Roy Halladay: 5.0IP, 11H, 8R, 7ER, 0BB, 2SO, 1HR - L

Halladay did not look like himself at all in this one. With Chacin on the DL and BJ Ryan getting Tommy John elbow surgery the Blue Jays have been getting a lot of bad breaks lately. Even when they had the bases loaded in the first inning in this one - when it looked like they would get to Tim Wakefield - Troy Glaus got picked off on a snap throw to end the inning and that just looked bad in a way that injured pitching doesn't account for. Wakefield, on the other hand, is probably the most under rated talent in the American League as the Red Sox are looking like early favorites to take the pennant this year.

Friday, May 11: Scott Kazmir (2-1)(TB) vs. AJ Burnett (2-3)(TOR)

Nice match up on this one. Both of these guys have an explosive fast ball in their arsenal and the ability to dominate when their command is on.(Win Probability graphing by Fangraphs)
Scott Kazmir: 6.1IP, 9H, 5R, 4ER, 3BB, 6SO, 1HR - L

AJ Burnett: 6.2IP, 5H, 1R, 1ER, 5BB, 10SO, 1HR - W
Casey Janssen: 1.1IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1SO, 0HR - H

This one was a pleasure to watch. And the Jays needed a start like this from Burnett to put the brakes on their skid. 10 big strike outs in 6 and two-thirds!

Saturday, May 12: Barry Zito (3-3)(SF) vs. Jeff Francis (1-4)(COL)

Barry Zito brings his muffins to the Mile High to throw a little humidor ball.(Win Probability graphing by Fangraphs)
Barry Zito: 6.0IP, 6H, 6R, 6ER, 3BB, 0SO, 3HR - L

Jeff Francis: 8.0IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 5SO, 1HR - W

Barry's transition to the National League looked pretty rough at the mile-high. No strike outs over 6 innings of work - with 6 earned runs allowed. Giving up three home runs will do a number on his season ERA.

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