Ghosts Move From Yankee Stadium to Metlife

A 103 win season went by the wayside last Saturday, as Aroldis Chapman's 2-1 slider to Jose Altuve was deposited into right-center field at Minute Maid Park for a walk-off two run homer. The play hurt even more after DJ Lemahieu had one more Yankee moment in him after tying the game in the top of the 9th with a two run blast of his own. The 2010's will end as the first decade without a Yankee World Series appearance.

Reality has started to settle in that this isn't the franchise I grew up watching. Yankee postseason magic has gone away along with the House That Ruth Built. Some fans may say we didn't have the starting pitching, but more damning is the fact that when push came to shove we were in all but one game when Cole, Verlander, or Greinke left the mound. The bats Cashman built this team around became limp with runners in scoring position, much like they did against the Red Sox last season.

The more difficult question to answer is how can the Bronx Bombers take a step up from 100+ win regular season and carry that success in October. After a decade of failures in the playoffs something has to give. Pettitte, Mariano, and Jeter aren't walking into the clubhouse next season. Another dark offseason will begin and this team currently has more questions than answers.

As high as I was feeling after the Cowboys win is how low I am after getting embarrassed in prime time again by the Patriots. All Jets fans had the sinking feeling in their stomach watching Brady march down the field with a surgeon's like precision on the first drive. Then, in typical Gang Green fashion our first drive ended in an interception, along with four other drives ending in turnovers and another in a safety.

Ghost-gate has been overblown however. Belichick has sowed his oats making life a living hell for young quarterbacks, and Darnold won't be the last that sees ghosts against this Patriots defense. Coach Gase and the Jets do have a right to be salty with NFL Films allowing that moment to be shown on ESPN on Monday Night. We just have to hope "Seeing ghosts" doesn't follow Darnold the way the Butt-Fumble followed Sanchez around.

I'm seeing Hamburglars trying to make my picks the last few weeks. 4-4 last week keeps me at .500 for the season at 18-18.

Jets +6.5 and Moneyline @ Jaguars - The best way to put Monday Night behind us would be to beat the Jags in Jacksonville Sunday. The Jets defense has been strong this season, and I can see us winning the turnover battle against Minshew. A heavy dose of Lev Bell is in order for Sunday along with the Jets winning outright.

Bears -3.5 v Chargers - The Chargers o-line is banged up, and I see the Bears front seven licking their chops. Matt Nagy's job hangs on if he can figure out how to win the Trubisky.

Giants +6.5 @ Lions - Rumors out of Detroit is that the team is upset after the trade of captain Quandre Diggs. Can this be the Golden Tate revenge game?

Panthers +5.5 @ 49ers - The undefeated Kyle Allen takes on the undefeated 49ers. The irresistible force meets the immovable object. I see this game being a defensive slugfest, so I'll take Carolina getting the points with the possible MVP in Christian McCaffery.

Chiefs +3.5 v Packers - Arrowhead is one of the toughest places to play in football and the Packers have played a lot of tight games this season. Matt Moore still has Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce at his disposal Sunday night and I'll take them with the hook.

NFL Week 7: 8 Picks Everyone Knows the Rules

Mistakes were made last week and I went 3-4 for my first below .500 week of the year. My record isn’t where I hoped it would be at 14-14, but in the league where they  pay for play (ughkay) it’s not how you start it’s how you finish. I like a season high 8 plays this week after hitting a ML/Spread bet on KC Thursday.

Rams -3 @ Falcons - Dan Quinn and the Falcons find new ways to lose games, including a missed extra point last week against the Cardinals. The Falcons defense could cure what ails Jared Goff and the rest of the Rams offense that’s looked more like the team we saw in the Super Bowl than the rest of the 2018 season. The addition of Jalen Ramsey, who has cured his nagging back in the LA sun, should be able to stop the Falcons biggest weapon in Julio Jones.

Raiders +5 @ Packers - Are the Packers good? Rodgers has looked almost pedestrian this season and the Green Bay D has settled back down to earth after a hot start. Jon Gruden and the swashbuckling Derek Carr has a week to prepare coming off their bye, and are riding a two game winning streak. This should be a one possession game and I’ll be happy taking Oakland with the points.

Vikings -1 @ Lions - Kirk Cousins has looked much better the last two games and the Vikings have rallied around their QB. Detroit was screwed by the refs on Monday Night but they still have the feel of a team that’s always the bridesmaid and never the Bride.

Colts -1 v Texans - Houston followed Indy’s game plan to beat the Chiefs last week. Both teams are riding high in an early matchup that could determine the AFC South winner. Indy has rallied around Jacoby Brissett after Andrew Luck’a sudden retirement and I see them squeaking out a win at home.

Giants -2.5 v Cardinals - This will be a big test to see how Danny Dimes bounces back from some adversity, after throwing four interceptions and going 0-2 the past two weeks. Saquon, and safety blanket Evan Engram should be back against a bad Cardinals defense. This is a fun matchup of rookie QBs that will hopefully see each other a lot in the next ten years, and I give the first round to Jones and the G-Men.

Saints ML @ Bears - News has come out that Mitch Trubinsky is questionable after practicing this week. This will be a battle of two of the top defenses in the league, and I trust the veteran Teddy Bridgewater to not make the mistake the Bears QB will.

Eagles ML @ Cowboys - Dallas is banged up right now, and it's even worse their injuries are in clusters. 2 WR, 2 CB and 2 OT are out. I saw first hand what the Eagles front 7 can do against a bad line, and I see Big D continuing their downfall.

Jets +9.5 v Patriots - The Jets lost by 16 without Darnold, they can't lose by more than 10 with him, right? In all seriousness I have to think Jetlife is one of the stadiums Brady has performed the worst in the past 10 years. Adam Gase also gave the Pats some trouble during his tenure as Dolphins HC. CJ Mosley is trending to come back and Gang Green is riding high after getting  their QB back and the first win of the season at home against Dallas last week. Jets fans have amnesia about weeks two through five,  and a moral victory would be huge here as they head into a cupcake schedule in the second half.

ALCS and NFL Week 6

The 2017 ALCS rematch starts tonight with the Yankees facing off against the Astros for right to make it to the 2019 World Series. These are the two teams most analysts predicted would face each other after Houston won the season series 4-3. However, neither team was at full strength at the time. I will compare both teams position by position, and put the team with the edge in bold.


Infield

Catcher
Gary Sanchez
Robinson Chirinos

First Base
DJ Lemahieu
Yuli Gurriel

Second Base
Gleyber Torres
Jose Altuve
Push

Shortstop
Didi Gregorious
Carlos Correa
Push

Third Base
Gio Urshela
Alex Bregman

These two teams may have the best infields in the majors, with a who's who at each position. I think it's likely whichever team's middle infield performs better will win the series.

Outfield

Right Field
Aaron Judge
Josh Reddick

Center Field
Brett Gardner
George Springer

Left Field
Giancarlo Stanton
Michael Brantley

Designated Hitter
Edwin Encarnacion
Yordan Alvarez

Aaron Judge and George Springer are each squads respective best outfielder. I still believe a more patient Stanton can be a difference maker in this series if he can shake off his playoff jitters. It will be interesting to see where the returning Aaron Hicks fits into Aaron Boone's plans.

Starting Pitchers

Yankees
Masahiro Tanaka
James Paxton
Luis Severino

Houston
Zack Greinke
Justin Verlander
Gerrit Cole
Jose Urquidy

The Yankees best chance to win this series would be to work the count and get the Astros starters out of the game as quickly as possible. Aaron Boone has a slight advantage after sweeping the Twins to set up the rotation as he sees fit, while the Astros were forced to use ace Gerrit Cole in a winner take all Game 5 Thursday.

Relief Pitchers

Yankees
Aroldis Chapman
Zach Britton
Adam Ottavino

Astros
Roberto Osuna
Ryan Pressly
Will Harris

The Yankees put a lot of stock into keeping and improving their bullpen from last season, even with the injury to Dellin Betances. If the Bombers can keep games close after 6 they have huge edge in the pen. Boone got creative in the ALDS throwing Ottavino for only one batter twice, and will have to find the edge here also.

Prediction

The homer in me is predicting Yankees in six. I believe they beat Greinke and Urquidy as well as stealing one from Verlander. Worst case for the Yankees is letting Houston get to Game Seven where they can throw the possible Cy Young winner in Gerrit Cole. This should be like a heavyweight boxing title match with the two best teams in the majors slugging it out until only one is left standing.

Week 6 Picks

Another .500 week last week brings my season total to 11-10.

Panthers -2.5 v Buccaneers -  Gotta bet the the 9:30 AM football game, breaking out the kegs and eggs. I'll be all for a London game every week. Last time these two teams played Cam Newton was the worst player on the field. Kyle Allen has shown that he is a very serviceable backup and I expect Christian McCaffery to find more success this week than he did in the first time these two teams met.

Jaguars -1.5 v Saints - Minshew Magic faces off against Big Dong Teddy Bridgewater. The Saints are a different team out of the dome and Kamara is questionable after not practicing this week. I believe the Sacksonville D makes enough stops to win the game. 

Texans +4 @ Chiefs - Dashaun Watson broke out against the Falcons last week, while Patrick Mahomes was dinged up by an ankle injury in the Sunday night loss to Indy. It's possible Tyreek Hill returns Sunday, but I don't trust the Chiefs defense to make enough stops to cover the four.

Eagles +140 @ Vikings - Both teams beat up against bad New York football teams last week. The Eagles are rounding back into Super Bowl contender form, while I still don't trust the Vikings after picking on the Giants defense.

Jets +7 v Cowboys - "Sam isn't a magic wand" "I want to make sure I'm not going to die" "If his spleen bursts, we have a problem" Welcome to 2019 Jets football. Maybe I'm smoking something, but after seeing the Cowboys let Aaron Jones run all over them, I believe Bell will have his breakout game with an actual NFL quarterback back behind center. Jets may not win, Sam may die, but Gang Green will cover.

Titans +115 @ Broncos - The Titans seem to play great one week and terrible the next. I'm following that pattern and see them beating a bad Broncos team on the road.

Packers -4 v Lions - I told you to ride Green Bay last week, and a consecutive pick from the Chippa is their reward. Aaron Rdogers in primetime in Lambeau won't lose twice this season. Lions have improved but the Packers are still the better team, period.

Spleens and Savages

Welcome to October where the only thing scarier than Pennywise and the Joker is the Jets offense trying to get a first down. It would be very short-sighted for Adam Gase to play Sammy Spleen Muffins this week in Philly. Throwing Darnold behind this offensive line after only a few days of practice is a death sentence, and hopefully someone in Florham Park has our long term future in mind. Even if Sam is cleared by doctors our odds to leave Scumbag Philly with a win are minimal. Let’s get him to 100 % and see if we can make a run with our cupcake schedule after Week 7. This Jet season has to be the most disappointing since the Testaverde achilles injury in 1999.

Onto something positive, the best part of October is that the Bronx comes alive where we do Playoff Baseball like no other city in the majors. Once the calendar changes, Aura and Mystique are not just dancers at Hott 22, and the ghosts come alive at the Stadium. The Yankees didn’t have to play in the put all your chips on the table Wild Card game this season after winning the AL East for the first time since 2012. They draw a fairly easy matchup in the ALDS against a Twins franchise that knows we are their master (MASTER!)  . Aaron Boone has done a tremendous job navigating one of the strangest seasons in recent memory. The Bombers are at the healthiest they’ve been all season and it would surprise me if they don’t take the series in 3 or 4. 

Week 5 Picks

After another 3-3 week, I'm now 9-8 on the season.There's plenty of games left to bet. Just have to keep plugging along, and a few bounces my way and we'll start making some money. Not really loving the board this week, so I'm going to limit my plays.

Ravens -3 @ Steelers - People are starting to forget how good the Ravens looked the first two games of the season after consecutive losses to the Chiefs and Browns. The Steelers came up with a good gameplan Monday to beat the lowly Bengals, but the Ravens defense is simply too good.

Bears -5 v Raiders - They say defense travels, and I believe it also counts when you travel to Jolly Old England. The Bears and Raiders play the first game this season across the pond. Is it possible Chase Daniels is better than Mitch? Mack has been waiting to show Jon Gruden he should still be in the Silver and Black and will dominate Oakland's O-line.

Viking -5.5 @ Giants - Hungry dogs run faster. Giants fans are living in a world of lollipops and rainbows watching Daniel Jones mesmerize defenses. I've been on the right side of all four G-Men games this season, and don't see them winning Sunday. The Vikings are having their own issues with their QB. Fans are already anticipating Kirk Cousins' three year $84 million contract to end next season. That's exactly why I'm backing them here. Minnesota is too talented offensively and the Giants defense will be a cure to their ailments here.

Packers +4 @ Cowboys - Rodgers almost led the Packers into Overtime last Thursday, and the talking heads are questioning Matt LaFleur's playcalling in the loss to Philly. I feel the Cowboys' loss of LT Tyron Smith will result in some struggles to get Zeke going. This should be a close game, but I'll take The Pack with the points.