Aloha Gang.....Dam its early in the morning here in Hawaii....but due to me pounding to many Malt Liquors last night and then passing out early, I am up early...LOL...So here we go....Yesterday sucked, as I lost some of my games to the long dingers by the opposing teams...Fvck I just hate that....The one hurting the most had to be Texas...Sorry Kid, I had to say that....Anyways, thats how the game goes some times, but you pick your shit up, dust you shit off, and get your shit back in gear....When the Man dishes the shit out, you dish the shit right back at him....Ok, enough motivational speech for todays community counsil meeting.....Lets get to serving up the shit up....LET ROCK-N-ROLL EARLY HAWAIIAN MORNING STYLE.
**TOP 3 UNIT PLAYS ON:
St Louis -150
-Kip Wells has been very inconsistant all year and hasn't gotten back to back solid outings yet on the year....He is probably on his worst inconsistant stretch of the year as his last 4 starts have led to Pirate's losses...In his last 4 starts, he lasted only past 6 innings once...The other 3 previous starts he was yanked after ONLY 5 innings, 4.2 innings, and 4.1 innings....His last start vs an average hitting team in Cincy, was a good outing for him as he gave up only 3 hits, 2 runs, got 7 K's, and walked only 2, but the Pirates still ended up losing that one...
Looking back on those games which Wells pitched well in(no pun intended), in his next start following, he ended up stinking up the joint once again either by allowing more runs, hits, or a lot of walks.....Today is the next start following one of his solid starts...So if his trend follows suits, he should not do well(pun intended.lol) again today....
Adding to his problems, is now he will be facing a very motivated and angry St Louis team who is going to play hard to avoid getting swept, by the last place team in their division....He also will be facing a St Louis team that is ranked 8th in the League in hitting %, 4th in runs, 5th in hits, 15th in OBP, and 4th in stolen bases.....this should help to make Well's work double time today....
In Kip's last start vs the Cards, he lasted just 5 innings giving up 4 hits, 3 runs, 5 walks, 1 K, and 1 HR....These 5 walks probably did him in, and today vs this Card lineup he doesnt have enough of what it takes to over power this lineup and that gives me more reason to back the Cards today....
The only fear I have with Morris, is that he gives up a lot of Bombs....Still, Pitt is not a powerful HR hitting team, as they are ranked in the bottom 6 in the League in HRs this year....Whew, I hope they dont sway away from this stat today....I feel they wont, and Morris and the Cards should avoid that embarrassing sweep today...
*Other Stats I like favoring the Cards today:
-STL is 5-1 in Morris last 6 starts vs Pitt...
-Pitt is 1-5 in Wells last 6 starts...
-Wells last 3 games he is 0-3 w/ a 8.62 ERA...
-Morris last 3 games is 2-1 w/ a 5.14 ERA...
-STL vs RHP is hitting .273 their last 10 games...
-Pitt vs RHP is hitting .227 their last 10 games...
-STL's BP last 3 games has a WHIP of .97 and a 3.05 ERA...
-Pitt's BP last 3 games has a WHIP of 1.58 and a 3.98 ERA...
CUBS -105
-Well the Cubs gave me a big win yesterday off of a big error by Biggio, so I am going to ride it and back the Cubs today over the lately not so dominant Roger "the Rocket" Clemons today....I think that teams are starting to figure the Rocket out, just like the Big Unit, and especially the good hitting teams....In fact, in the Rockets last two losses vs two top 10 hitting teams in the Cubs and the Angels, the Rocket gave up 10 & 9 hits, 10 runs total, and 3 HRs total....Also vs these good Offensive teams, which he suffered defeats at home, he recorded losses and had the lowest pitch count of the year...Hmmm, like I stated, I think the Rocket's Top Secret Stuff seems to have been exposed...
Well, what will make it harder for him today in trying to disguise what he got, is the fact that this will be the 3rd time this year that this Cub lineup will see him this year, so no secrets....In their last meeting, they smacked the shit out of the Rocket, getting 10 hits, 5 runs, 2 HRs, in just 6 innings...Oh Boy, Houston, we may have a problem...LOL...You get it, the Rocket, Houston, Nasa...Ah fvck it!..lol..
Anyways Clement, on the other hand, also was smacked hard by this Astro team earlier in the year at home more or less....In that one, he gave up 11 hits, 4 runs, and 3 walks...Still, he was able to bounce back with solid performance in his next 4 starts vs very solid teams in ST Louis(twice), Oaktown, and the Angel's, making them all work hard to get anything off of him....In fact, in his last 3 games vs ST Louis, A's, and Angels, Matt has allowed ONLY 4 ER's, 2 walks, while Striking Out 21 in 20 innings on the hill....His ERA in his last 3 games is a SOLID 1.80....The Rockets ERA in his last 3 games is 5.60....Houston we have a problem...lol..
Today, I like the surging Cubs led by slamming Sammy and the highly motivated Clement to take it to the Rocket and solidify their hold on second place in the NL Central....The Cub's also Top the Astro's in most statistical Offensive catergories, and this is a plus being at home sweet home, and this should spell WIN today....
*Other stats I like favoring the Cubs today:
-Houston ONLY 2-5 in their last 7 road games...
-Chicago is 5-0 in their last 5 meetings...
-Cub's is 7-3 in their last 10 home games...
-Cub's vs RHPs is hitting .278 their last 10 games vs them...
-Houston vs RHPs is hitting .250 their last 10 games vs them...
-Cub's BP last 3 games has an ERA of 3.42 in 26.1 innings..
-Houston's BP last 3 games has an ERA of 4.86 in ONLY 16.2 innings...
**Ok Gang, this my early plays...I will be back like always with more later.....Until then, lets do some damage with these BAD BOYS.....Good luck to ALL today....and lets remember Gang, our battles are with the Man and not eachother....Now, LETS GO GET EM!....ALOHA CC.
[This message was edited by Co-Captain on June 30, 2004 at 12:36 PM.]