Two top ten finishes in a row! You gotta stop letting me doubling up Razzball Nation! Now I can leave the roadkill rest in peace and afford to make SPAM or canned sardines gravy on my big biscuits. SPAM is pretty much good on everything, right?
We’re back with another RAZZBALL EXCLUSIVE CAN YOU BEAT RUDY GAMBLE contest, getting you one step closer to the $100,000 Sweet Spot for a shot at a $20,000 top prize – which is like, two million cans of SPAM. Tickets to the Sweet Spot are $100 otherwise, so you’re winning a huge value if you can can the Razzball players. First time I’ve ever said “can can” without meaning the dance, which according to Wikipedia is “physically demanding.” After years of malnutrition and roadkill dinners, I guess it’s “can’t can’t” for me… It’s the usual game, $5.00 an entry, up to two per person, and you can only get in through our exclusive link. Spots 2-10 double up, and get you enough money to start eating healthier…
HItting up Guy Pearce’s time machine to get to last week’s picks:
SP – Matt Garza W 7 IP 7 H 1 BB 4 ER 8 Ks (22.95 Pts)
CI – Billy Butler 3-5 1 RBI 1 2B R (15 Pts)
MI – Troy Tulowitzki 1-2 R 2 BB (9 Pts)
OF1 – Jayson Werth 1-3 R 2 BB (9 Pts)
OF2 – Carlos Gomez 1-2 2 R SB BB (14 Pts)
UTIL – A.J. Pierzynski 2-5 1 RBI (8 Pts)
TOTAL – 77.95 (Previous three weeks: 55.8, 60.4, 67.2)
Wooo! A solid week from my picks, a solid 6th place finish, and a DraftKings just all around solid night last Friday. Solid as a rock! Or as a Brock… That’s what the B stands for… Thank’s random italicized detective! Take that Grey, mine solves crimes! While Garza didn’t exactly mow down the Astros, he surely didn’t drop a Turd Ferguson either racking up 8 Ks in a win and leading my team in points. Even though none of my hitters had particularly big games, I got across the board production to double up my duckets. Here’s to hoping I can at least do that again, but still shooting for that Sweet Spot Ticket. On Friday I likey:
SP – R.A. Dickey ($8,700) – As I mentioned on this week’s podcast (and let’s just be glad I’m back so we don’t have to hear Nick does his Oklahoma schtick again) I think with Dickey’s price tag in the $8K range, he’s an absolute steal. I’ve been all out on Dickey since only a few starts into the season, which you’d know if you saw my daiquiri-fueled twitter battle with JayWrong a few months back, but Dickey absolutely owns the Rays who he’s going against on Friday Night. He pitched one of those complete game no-hitters with 12 Ks against them last year and in 4 starts against them this year has 24 Ks in 29 IP with a 2.48 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. Knuckling in the pitcher-friendly Trop, I think Dickey is a sure-fire pitcher to go with Friday night.
CI – Miguel Cabrera ($6,900) – Listen, I know Cabrera is the most expensive hitter, but I’ve saved a few dollars nabbing Dickey and ready to put a big investment in the league’s best hitter. Cabrera went on a huge homer binge over the weekend with homers in 4 straight games from Friday to Monday, and this upcoming Friday he’s hitting against James Shields who he’s owned in his career. Miggy is 15-35 (.429) off him with 5 doubles and 2 homers, along with 3 walks and only 5 Ks against a power/strikeout pitcher. I’m putting it all in he carries my O.
MI – Chase Utley ($4,300) – While Zack Greinke is turning what was a struggling season around, pitching in hitter friendly Citizen’s Bank has me seeing a guy with big power on the left side like Utley having a big game. Utley is a career 3-7 off Greinke with a homer in there. Just have a feeling.
OF1 – Jonny Gomes ($3,600) – With some big spending, I’m starting to tone down my budget with a cheaply priced Gomes going against the ghost of Andy Pettitte. Gomes hits .357 off Pettitte in 28 at-bats, throw in 2 homers and 9 RBIs, and even as a platoony-tune, I think Gomes plays in this one as a righty hitting against the lefty with those nice career numbers (be sure to check Rudy’s suggested handy-dandy line-up tool Friday afternoon!). Great power upside in Fenway for a cheap price.
OF2 – Robbie Grossman ($3,300) – I know, I know, I’ve spent more frivolously than Beyonce at a titanium straw or red toilet paper store… I’m going to have to round out my line-up with some spot-starting scrubs – it’s tough to know who those guys will be two days in advance – so right now one of them will be Grossman, who’s playing every day and leading off for the Astros, which could bring him an extra at bat hitting atop the order. He’s got some power, he’s got some speed, and is against Jerome Williams who isn’t exactly mowing em down anymore. Nice cheap option.
UTIL – Billy Butler ($4,500) – Another guy I’m going with in what would’ve been quite the pitching duel in 2009, I love Butler going against Justin Verlander on Friday night. Even when Verlander was good, Butler raked against him, with a career .424 4 doubles 2 homers 10 ribbies (yum ribs!) assault, and 7 walks to 8 Ks. This season alone he’s 4-6 off him. I don’t have Butler on any of my fantasy teams this year, and the assumption is he’s been a big disappointment, but you look up and now he’s hitting .289, with an unreal 61 walks to only 71 Ks for a fantastic .381 OBP. Yeah the homers are down, but he still has 11 with an above-average, well AVG, this year. Hoping for a double, a single and a walk in this game, which would be a fantastic 10 point game right there.
Shoot your DraftKings questions below or tweet me @jbgilpin. And if you’re gearing up for football, start up a Football RCL League for a weekly top scorer shout out on the Razzball Football Podcast, along with DraftKings for Football coming this season (!) with my picks/me playing/another weekly Razzball exclusive contest. DraftKings is throwing a huge Week 1 Kickoff Bash, which includes a huge NFL Kickoff Million contest with a $1,000,000 paid out and a $150,000 top winner! It’s the biggest week 1 event in fantasy football so get geared up for daily fantasy football contests to keep your daily league fix going year round!
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