Monday, October 7, 2002

Russ Ortiz will beat Kevin Millwood tonight: Giants 4, Braves 2 Giants Will Win Tonight OK, despite my somewhat dismal recent record in such things, I am going out on a public limb (all eight of you who read this Weblog) and predict that the San Francisco Giants will win tonight's game in Atlanta, 4-2. The difference: starting pitching. Kevin Millwood is going on three days' rest. Shouldn't be a big deal for a pro, but it is. Statistically, in fact, it's huge. Russ Ortiz, OTOH, goes with the customary four days' rest. Some of the media have made a big issue of the fact that Millwood was sent to Atlanta early Sunday to rest up for the game while Ortiz was held back and had to red-eye to Atlanta with the rest of the team. I don't think that's nearl as big a deal as three-days-rest is. At least there's no statistical evidence of it. And we all know stats don't lie, right? Right. 12:22:20 PM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

Hard to Believe I Could Be This Wrong So the A's lose in the first round to the Twins. Huh? There's no way that should have happened. The A's are far and away the better team of these two. But the two teams I love to hate -- the Yankees and the Diamondbacks -- are out in the first round. High payroll --- early exit. I love it! So now it's Twins-Angels in the AL, Cards and either Giants or Braves in the NL. I like my Giants' chances given Ortiz on the mound with four days' rest and the Braves having to use a non-ace starter on three days' rest. The home field advantage in Atlanta is all but zero. I may have to give up altogether this predicting business. I used to do it for a living. I think I was better at it then. 8:25:06 AM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

If the Giants Let Bake Get Away, They Deserve to Lose Forever If the Giants Let Bake Get Away, They Deserve to Lose Forever OK, forever could be a bit of an exaggeration. But for a long time, OK? The inevitable barrage begins. My prediction: Dusty will be back with the Giants and he'll get a longer-term deal. He deserves it, the fans and players want him here, he wants to stay in SF if he can. But the Mets job could be interesting to him if the Giants balk. Giants' Baker On Mets' List. The Mets will likely contact Giants Manager Dusty Baker after the playoffs. Baker is in the final year of his contract. By The New York Times. [New York Times: Sports] 1:57:07 AM    Add your viewpoint [ comments so far]

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