2010 FINAL STANDINGS

It's official! Jud Ehrbar becomes the sixth different person to win the pool in our six year history. How's that for parity? Jud's record-breaking performance of nine correct picks earns him a record-breaking grand prize of $460.

Thanks to everyone for playing! It was another fun year, and also one in which our collective average of 5.5 correct picks per participant shattered the previous record of 3.8, established in 2006. We look forward to everyone returning next year, and hopefully adding a couple more entrants to bring the pot to the $500 mark.

Happy postseason everyone!

October 3, 2010

October 2, 2010

Friday night was a rough night for Dave. Jered Weaver notched four strikeouts, just enough to overtake Felix Hernandez for the AL lead. So, unless Seattle changes their mind (unlikely) about shutting down Hernandez, that point is lost. Also, the Yankees were rained out, and now will play a doubleheader with the Red Sox starting at 4pm today. It's highly unlikely that Jeter and A-Rod will play in both games.

Technically, Dave now stands in fourth place, but he's still the only one with a shot at beating Jud. He needs two of the following three things to happen to be victorious:

• Albert Pujols loses the NL RBI crown (Carlos Gonzalez still trails by one).
• Alex Rodriguez wins or ties for the AL RBI crown (he stands three behind Miguel Cabrera).
• Derek Jeter wins or ties for the AL runs lead (he's one behind Cabrera and Mark Teixeira).

Of course, this means Dave is rooting hard for Gonzalez, Jeter and A-Rod for the remainder of this weekend. $460 is on the line.

October 1, 2010

Heading into the season's final weekend, the pool's standings give the appearance of a wide-open battle for the top spot. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving, as there doesn't seem to be a realistic scenario that would involve anyone but Jud or David finishing in first.

In a somewhat unprecedented move, I'm going to handicap the categories that are still in question and make a prediction as to the final outcome of this year's pool. Considering my (Dan's) performance in the pool over the course of the last six years, you should probably choose to take these prognostications with a grain of salt.

Between our two top contenders, it basically comes down to the following four statistical categories:

AL RBI: With Miguel Cabrera out for the season, and leading a red-hot Alex Rodriguez (26 RBI in 22 September games) by just three in this category, it's looking like David has a chance to grab another point. Prediction: A-Rod rests one of the Yankees' final three games and comes up short of the league lead.

AL Runs: Cabrera is tied with Mark Teixeira for the league lead, but they're only one ahead of Derek Jeter, another development that could benefit Mr. Jones. Prediction: One D.J. comes through for another.

AL Strikeouts: Felix Hernandez leads Jered Weaver by three, but Hernandez has been shut down for the season and Weaver pitches tonight. Jones really needs King Felix to hang on to this category. Prediction: Weaver grabs the lead with four or more Ks, costing David a much-needed point in the standings.

NL RBI: Albert Pujols leads Carlos Gonzalez by one. As far as I can tell, both players should be in the lineup all weekend. Prediction: Pujols hangs on to the top spot, which in turn helps Jud hang on to win the pool.

September 27, 2010

September 25, 2010

Jud falls out of first place, by just a three HBP margin, as Albert Pujols falls one RBI behind Carlos Gonzalez. Meanwhile, Sid Harris takes exception to the idea that someone could break his record for correct picks. With just over a week to go in the season, three participants are tied with a pool record eight correct categories. But, as things stand right now, David Jones's HBP total gives him a tenuous hold on the top spot.

There are still quite a few categories to watch, but two players in particular whose performance will have a major impact on the pool's outcome are Albert Pujols and Felix Hernandez. Put simply, Dave needs Hernandez to maintain his AL strikeout margin over Jered Weaver, and Jud needs Pujols to reclaim his NL RBI lead. Sid's chances are a little more of a long-shot at this point.

September 19, 2010

With just two weeks to go in the year, Jud is making a run at the pool record for number of correct picks in a season, a mark established when Sid Harris recorded eight in our inaugural season of 2005. However, that's not to say he has this thing wrapped up, as David Jones trails him by only one category and six other participants are just two back.

As always, the tiebreaker category looks to play a significant role in the pool's outcome, as all six of those in places 3-8 trail both Jud and David by at least four HBP, making the deficit a little harder for them to overcome. David, although trailing by one category, holds a three HBP advantage over Jud, so he'll probably only need to tie for the top spot to take this year's prize.

September 12, 2010

Jud grabs the lead back from David, by virtue of 3 RBI by Albert Pujols in the Cards' tough loss to Atlanta yesterday. Former champs Jon Pauley and Sid Harris still lurk with 7 correct picks, along with pool vet Steve Craig.

On the AL side, Felix Hernández recovered his strikeout lead and maintained his league-best ERA, despite yielding seven runs (four earned) to the Angels in 6 1/3 IP.

Still lots of categories up for grabs... check http://mlbpool.blogspot.com/ for pool standings during the week.

-Dan & Jud
 
 

September 11, 2010

September 6, 2010

David Jones reclaims the top spot as the AL strikeout seesaw tips back to Felix Hernández. David and Jud are the only entrants in our top ten with 40+ HBP...

The AL runs race looks pretty exciting, with the top four (Teixeira, Crawford, Jeter, Cabrera) all pool picks and separated by only 5 runs. On the NL side, the Triple Crown dreams of Albert Pujols are in serious jeopardy as his mini-slump continues (6 for 35, 4 RBI in last 10 games).

Starting pitching's all about Felix and CC, Halladay and Wainwright at this point, although Lincecum could still scrape together another strikeout title. NL saves is showing some separation, as the Padres continue to plummet.

We'll send updates every weekend until late September, when we'll email more frequently. Our blogsite at http://mlbpool.blogspot.com/ is the best bet for the latest pool standings and other news.

Good luck!!!

-Dan & Jud

September 5, 2010

September 2, 2010

August 29, 2010

It seems as though there have been plenty of pool participants in the past who've counted entirely too much on Albert Pujols's dominance of NL batting categories. Well, this would have been the year to do so, as Pujols not only leads in HR, RBI and runs, but he's in the running for the batting title as well. The primary beneficiary of Albert's tremendous 2010 is Jon Pauley, as he's the only one to pick Pujols in all three categories he's leading.

August 27, 2010

August 25, 2010

August 22, 2010

Ryan Howard missed almost three weeks due to injury, but he's still only six RBI behind Albert Pujols for the NL lead. Of course, there's a lot more that could happen with over a month remaining in the season, but the Pujols-Howard RBI race figures to have a major impact on the pool outcome.

With Jud Ehrbar capturing a solid lead in our standings this week, his hold on the top spot would be significantly impacted by a Howard run on the RBI crown. All else remaining equal, John Agnello would be the primary beneficiary of such a development, as this would vault him past Jud by just a few HBP.

August 18, 2010

August 15, 2010

Quite a few new developments this week, including Alex Rodriguez taking over the AL RBI lead and a new unique pick—Ali Armstrong's selection of Adam Wainwright for NL ERA—but the big pool story is Aaron Smith.

Last Saturday, Aaron sat in 22nd place out of 23. Then, his unique pick of Joakim Soria for AL saves moved in and out of the money during the week. Meanwhile, Wainwright continued his torrid second half, notching his 17th win, tying Ubaldo Jimenez for the NL lead. But, both of these developments didn't come together until today's standings, resulting in 8th place in the pool for Smith.

John Agnello's quest to repeat continues, as he takes over first place by a few HBP over Jud Ehrbar, who very briefly held the top spot uncontested last Sunday.

August 14, 2010

August 13, 2010

August 8, 2010

August 7, 2010

A few pretty significant changes this week: Derek Jeter moves into a tie for the AL runs lead, Albert Pujols moves past Ryan Howard for the NL RBI lead, and Heath Bell falls out of a tie with Brian Wilson for NL saves.

More importantly, David Jones goes from tied for first place on July 12, to 16th on July 23, then back to first just two weeks later. In a roller coaster season in which 9 of 23 pool participants have spent at least one update in first place, Jones has led the way about one-third of the time.

August 6, 2010

August 1, 2010

With this year's trade deadline being one of the most active in recent memory, there were really only two inter-league moves which will have any impact on the pool.

Dan Haren was only 14 IP behind Roy Halladay at the time of his trade from the Diamondbacks to the Angels, so he still had a chance to reward Ali Armstrong, Sid Harris, Jim Kushner and Jon Pauley for picking him. Not anymore.

No one picked Matt Capps for NL saves, but his trade from the Nationals to the Twins ensures that he won't be challenging Brian Wilson, Heath Bell and Francisco Cordero for the lead in that category.

On the standings front, Tony Wight moves into first place in the pool, mainly on the strength of Mark Teixeira's AL runs lead.

July 30, 2010

July 29, 2010

July 23, 2010

It should come as no surprise that Tim Lincecum, once again, has fallen out of the NL strikeouts lead. That see-saw ride has been going on for the entire season thus far. It's probably already been pointed out here that only three pool participants did not make that pick, but what's interesting is that two of those three were identified for their uniqueness just two weeks ago.

Aaron Smith and Steve Craig still own bragging rights for the only two currently correct unique picks, Joakim Soria (AL saves) and Carl Crawford (AL runs), respectively. They're also among the three who did not pick Lincecum for NL strikeouts, so that development benefits them as well, although it's only good for vaulting them to the middle of the pack.

Defending champion John Agnello still holds onto first place, by seven HBP over relative newcomer Jason Zelesky. The standing of David Jones, though, shows us that two-plus months to go in the season are an eternity, as he moves from first place on July 12 to 16th place, less than two weeks later.

Happy Hall of Fame Weekend!

July 18, 2010

Just as last year, when Jon Pauley made a run at repeating as pool champion, the second half of 2010 kicks off with last year's champion, John Agnello, at the top of the standings, as of the beginning of play today.

July 12, 2010 (All-Star Break)

July 10, 2010

Ryan Howard's power is back. After ending the first two months of the season with just 8 HR and 33 RBI in 50 games, Howard has added 9 HR and 32 RBI to his totals in 35 games since. In moving into a tie for first place in the NL RBI race, he is the difference between Michael Orobona and David Jones for the top spot in the pool's standings.

Of course, about half of the pool's participants picked Howard for NL RBI, so relatively speaking it's not as big of a deal as Joakim Soria moving into the AL saves lead (a week ago) and Carl Crawford climbing to the top of the AL runs list. These two stand as the only currently correct unique picks, for Aaron Smith and Steve Craig, respectively. Unfortunately, at the moment, they're all the glory Aaron and Steve, who rank 18th and 19th in our standings, can claim.

July 8, 2010

July 5, 2010

July 3, 2010

Besides a real shakeup in the actual leader boards—Albert Pujols moving to the top of the NL home run race and Francisco Cordero sliding into a three-way tie in NL saves—the real story is Sid Harris's almost worst-to-first turnaround. In 22nd place (out of 23) just two weeks ago, Sid has climbed to 5th place as of this morning. Although not quite as HBP-challenged as Amy Gill, Sid is still a little deficient in the tiebreaker category, so it's going to take a little more magic for him to climb to the peak of the standings.

Of course, thanks to Pujols, Cordero and Tim Lincecum's see-saw moving to the "up" position, the pool as a whole is up to an almost season high of 3.74 correct picks per person. At just short of the season's mid-point, David Jones is back on top, but only by a few HBP over Jud Ehrbar and Michael Orobona.

June 30, 2010

June 28, 2010

June 26, 2010

Roy Halladay has held the NL innings pitched lead for every update so far this year, and Michael Bourn has led the NL in stolen bases since the May 23 update, but a few other categories have been a little more back-and-forth. This week's big stories are Felix Hernandez re-capturing the AL innings pitched lead and Tim Lincecum, once again, dropping out of the NL strikeout lead.

Despite their apparent pool dominance, Bourn only leads by three stolen bases and Halladay by nine innings pitched, so they are far from locks. Of course, with injuries always possible, nothing's really a lock.

Robinson Cano is bidding to become a mainstay in the AL batting race, but with three AL hitters north of .350, it would be a little premature to count on Cano as a sure bet.

These recent developments have Michael Orobona standing alone at the top of the standings for the first time this year, and Jud Ehrbar—who’s been lurking near the top, but finally gets a mention—trailing Orobona by just a few HBP.

June 19, 2010

June 13, 2010

June 12, 2010

Miguel Cabrera's Triple Crown candidacy could have a huge upside for Amy Gill, but for now his ascension to a share of the AL home run lead has Tony Wight in first place, and Tim Farrell tied for second with Michael Orobona.

That's the main story this week, that and the fact that Tim Lincecum is once again leading the NL in strikeouts, even if it looks as though Ubaldo Jimenez is a lock to end his bid for a third straight Cy Young award. Amy boldly picked Cabrera in all three Triple Crown categories—a distinction normally reserved for the likes of Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez—and the Tigers slugger currently trails Vladmir Guerrero by one RBI, and isn't insurmountably behind in the batting race either.

June 5, 2010

Ugh. It's not a season low—1.70 correct picks per person compared to 1.65 on May 15—but you know we're in trouble when we can't even count on Tim Lincecum.

May 30, 2010

This week's update has Rajai Davis reclaiming a share of the AL SB lead, a category that looks like it's going to be a dogfight between Davis and several others, including Brett Gardner and Carl Crawford; and Ryan Braun taking over the NL batting lead, another race that looks like it's way up for grabs.

These two developments have vaulted David Jones and Rob LaColla to the top of the standings, but David's 2 HBP lead looks to be brief, with Jon Lester taking the mound for the Red Sox today, trailing Jered Weaver by two strikeouts for the AL lead (as of yesterday's standings, Lester and LaColla were on top). That would benefit several people, one of whom is LaColla, who is poised to recapture first place as a result.

A short two months down, and a long four to go.

May 29, 2010

May 23, 2010

Given that Tampa Bay Rays hold all the top spots in AL pitching categories—with Texas's Neftali Feliz tied with Rafael Soriano for the saves lead—and that, collectively, we've picked zero Tampa Bay pitchers, this begins to tell the story of the pool so far this year.

Things are looking a little better than last week, though, thanks mostly to Michael Bourn adding a point to all but three participants. Prior to today's action, second-year pooler Tim Farrell spends his first week atop the leader board, with his hold on first place hanging on the tenuous lead of Evan Longoria in AL RBI—he’s actually tied with Miguel Cabrera in that category.

May 15, 2010

What a difference a week makes.

If you happened to check in on the blog last week, you may have noticed that our average correct picks per person had increased from 2.48 on May 1 to 4.09 on May 8. Well, as of today, only one week later, that average is down to 1.65. No longer does Felix Hernandez lead the AL in IP, so we're down to Roy Halladay (NL IP) and Tim Lincecum (NL SO) as the two pitchers preventing us from being nearly completely shutout.

Two of those three unique picks (Miguel Cabrera - AL BA, Jose Valverde - AL Saves) are what has David Jones and Michael Orobona on top of the leader board. Hopefully next week brings us a little better luck. It's a long season, of course.

May 8, 2010

May 1, 2010

In this, our first update of the 2010 season, the top of the standings has a certain redundancy to it. That is, eight of the top ten are there because they picked Felix Hernandez for AL IP, Roy Halladay for NL IP and Tim Lincecum for NL SO.

Believe it or not, pool leader Amy Gill is one of only five entrants who hasn't picked at least two of those three guys. This makes Amy's performance, so far, all the more remarkable. She has only Lincecum as one of her five correct categories, including three unique ones: Miguel Cabrera (AL RBI), Brett Gardner (AL SB) and David Aardsma (AL Saves). She's already looking vulnerable in the HBP department, though, but it's way early.

Unfortunately, those three previously mentioned stud pitchers are just about all we've gotten right so far, with Robinson Cano (AL BA), Rajai Davis (AL SB), and Pablo Sandoval (NL BA) being the only other exceptions.

It's looking like we have another exciting baseball season in store for us, with the pool adding just a little spice to the real deal. Good luck everyone, and thanks for being on board.

Welcome to the 2010 MLB Pool

Welcome to this year's pool, our sixth year of thinking, "I should be able to pick 10 out of 20 categories correctly," but being dead wrong. In fact, out of approximately 150 entries in our five years so far, the best anyone's been able to do is make eight correct picks. So, let's not forget that this is far from easy. Another important fact to remember is that we've had five different champions in our five years of existence:

2005: Sid Harris
2006: Matt Lucas
2007: Joe Maissel
2008: Jon Pauley
2009: John Agnello

There are definitely no haves and have-nots in this contest, so even if you think of yourself as the Pittsburgh Pirates of the pool, this could be your year. Congratulations to last year's winner, John Agnello, and to all of our past winners, and looking forward to seeing who will be in contention for this year's prize.

Speaking of this year's prize, it will be a pool record $460, as we have 23 participants at the increased $20 entry fee. So, your chances of winning that record reward are higher than they've ever been...a win-win for all.

Be sure to take a look at the grid of everyone's picks here, to see how unique (or not) yours are. We'll still be sending out emails, of course, but if you want more frequent updates, the blog is where it's at. You can subscribe as an RSS feed (from the upper right corner of this page), or if you want to receive blog email updates, just let us know and we'll set you up for that.

Most importantly, good luck, and thanks for choosing to participate once again.

2010 Complete Pool Picks