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Larry Ness' 10* Weekend Wipeout Winner-World Cup (6-1 WC 10*s)
My 10* Weekend Wipeout Winner is on Bosnia-Herzogovina at 6:00 ET.
Bosnia is in a very similar situation here, as Croatia was in when I used them this past Wednesday in that country’s 4-0 rout of Cameroon. While the Croats had the misfortune of catching host Brazil in the tournament opener, BH caught super-power Argentina, the top seed on the other side of the bracket. Bosnia came to play and gave Messi and company all they wanted, falling just 2-1. It will much easier pickins' today for BH against a Nigeria team that could only manage a draw against toothless Iran.
Bosnia had the confidence coming in that regardless of the result vs Argentina, it was the second-best team in this group, by a solid margin. The task was clear. Beat Nigeria and Iran and it’s through to the next round. Now it’s time to “put-up or shut-up!” Bosnia-Herzogovina starts taking care of business on Saturday with a convincing win here.
Good luck...Larry
Larry Ness' 10* TV Game of the Month-MLB (61-33-1 all 10*s s/May 1)
My 10* TV Game of the Month is on the Chi Cubs at 7:15 ET.
The Chicago Cubs will very likely NOT be able to make a run in the highly-competitive NL Central all season. After all, THREE teams (Cards, Pirates & Reds) made the 2013 postseason from this division and this year, the Brewers have added their name to the mix, opening 45-30 (thru games played Friday), giving them a 5 1/2-game lead on the 2nd-place Cards. As for the Cubs, they sit at 31-40 on the season, in last-place and 12 games back of Milwaukee. However, the Cubs have won NINE of 11 at home after starting 7-12 at Wrigley Field, plus they're an NL-best 18-13 since May 17 (who’da thunk that?).
"This is the nicest I've felt about this team since I've been here," Chicago manager Anthony Rizzo said. One can understand his sentiment, as after all, the Cubs' 96-136 record over Rizzo's first two seasons with them ranked as baseball's second-worst behind Houston. I’m not on the cubs often (I DOUBT I need to explain that statement) but there is a time and a place for playing every team, at some point during a 162-game season. Chicago has won FOUR of its last five, while posting a 1.80 ERA in those victories. Travis Wood (7-5, 4.48 ERA) looks for his SIXTH victory in eight starts, after his most impressive outing of the season.
The left-hander took a no-hitter into the sixth inning Sunday against Philadelphia, ultimately allowing three hits over eight innings in a 3-0 road victory. "It's what we expect out of him every time," Anthony Rizzo, who has 17 RBIs over his last 22 games, told the team's official website. "He's going to go out, throw strikes, usually work at a pretty fast tempo, and it's nice to play behind him." Wood gave up three runs and nine hits in 6.2 innings of a 7-3 win over the Pirates on June 10, improving to 3-2 with a 2.13 ERA over his last seven games (six starts) against them.
More importantly, take a closer look at Wood’s last seven starts. He’s 5-1 (team is 6-1) and take away that ‘ugly’ 11-5 loss to the Brewers (Wood allowed seven ERs on 10 hits in just 2.2 IP) and his ERA in the other six outings (all Chicago wins), is a superb 2.93! He’s struggled away from home this year (4-4 in eight starts with a 6.07 ERA and 1.63 WHIP) but here in Wrigley, he’s 3-1 in six starts (team is 4-2), posting a 2.58 ERA and 1.04 WHIP.
Pittsburgh starters have struggled lately, surrendering 19 runs over 20.1 innings in the last four games and Charlie Morton was charged with all six runs Friday in just six innings. Getting the ball for Pittsburgh here will be Vance Worley, who is filling in for the injured Francisco Liriano. You may remember Worley going 11-3 with a a 3.01 ERA for Philly in 2011 but he’s quickly faded from view. He fell to 6-9 with a 4.20 ERA in 2012 and then went 1-5 with a 7.21 ERA in 10 starts last year for the Twins (team was 3-7). The Pirates acquired him from the Minnesota Twins for cash March 25 and after going 3-2 with a 4.30 ERA in seven outings for Triple-A Indianapolis, Worley made his Pittsburgh debut last Sunday in Miami.
He was VERY good last Sunday, leaving with a 2-0 lead after throwing seven scoreless innings but didn't receive a decision in an eventual 3-2 Pittsburgh loss. However, I’m ‘selling’ that effort, as I won’t ignore his 6-9 record with a 4.20 ERA in 2012 for Philly or his 1-5 record with a 7.21 ERA in 10 starts last year for the Twins. Cubs Win, Cubs Win!
My 10* Weekend Wipeout Winner is on Bosnia-Herzogovina at 6:00 ET.
Bosnia is in a very similar situation here, as Croatia was in when I used them this past Wednesday in that country’s 4-0 rout of Cameroon. While the Croats had the misfortune of catching host Brazil in the tournament opener, BH caught super-power Argentina, the top seed on the other side of the bracket. Bosnia came to play and gave Messi and company all they wanted, falling just 2-1. It will much easier pickins' today for BH against a Nigeria team that could only manage a draw against toothless Iran.
Bosnia had the confidence coming in that regardless of the result vs Argentina, it was the second-best team in this group, by a solid margin. The task was clear. Beat Nigeria and Iran and it’s through to the next round. Now it’s time to “put-up or shut-up!” Bosnia-Herzogovina starts taking care of business on Saturday with a convincing win here.
Good luck...Larry
Larry Ness' 10* TV Game of the Month-MLB (61-33-1 all 10*s s/May 1)
My 10* TV Game of the Month is on the Chi Cubs at 7:15 ET.
The Chicago Cubs will very likely NOT be able to make a run in the highly-competitive NL Central all season. After all, THREE teams (Cards, Pirates & Reds) made the 2013 postseason from this division and this year, the Brewers have added their name to the mix, opening 45-30 (thru games played Friday), giving them a 5 1/2-game lead on the 2nd-place Cards. As for the Cubs, they sit at 31-40 on the season, in last-place and 12 games back of Milwaukee. However, the Cubs have won NINE of 11 at home after starting 7-12 at Wrigley Field, plus they're an NL-best 18-13 since May 17 (who’da thunk that?).
"This is the nicest I've felt about this team since I've been here," Chicago manager Anthony Rizzo said. One can understand his sentiment, as after all, the Cubs' 96-136 record over Rizzo's first two seasons with them ranked as baseball's second-worst behind Houston. I’m not on the cubs often (I DOUBT I need to explain that statement) but there is a time and a place for playing every team, at some point during a 162-game season. Chicago has won FOUR of its last five, while posting a 1.80 ERA in those victories. Travis Wood (7-5, 4.48 ERA) looks for his SIXTH victory in eight starts, after his most impressive outing of the season.
The left-hander took a no-hitter into the sixth inning Sunday against Philadelphia, ultimately allowing three hits over eight innings in a 3-0 road victory. "It's what we expect out of him every time," Anthony Rizzo, who has 17 RBIs over his last 22 games, told the team's official website. "He's going to go out, throw strikes, usually work at a pretty fast tempo, and it's nice to play behind him." Wood gave up three runs and nine hits in 6.2 innings of a 7-3 win over the Pirates on June 10, improving to 3-2 with a 2.13 ERA over his last seven games (six starts) against them.
More importantly, take a closer look at Wood’s last seven starts. He’s 5-1 (team is 6-1) and take away that ‘ugly’ 11-5 loss to the Brewers (Wood allowed seven ERs on 10 hits in just 2.2 IP) and his ERA in the other six outings (all Chicago wins), is a superb 2.93! He’s struggled away from home this year (4-4 in eight starts with a 6.07 ERA and 1.63 WHIP) but here in Wrigley, he’s 3-1 in six starts (team is 4-2), posting a 2.58 ERA and 1.04 WHIP.
Pittsburgh starters have struggled lately, surrendering 19 runs over 20.1 innings in the last four games and Charlie Morton was charged with all six runs Friday in just six innings. Getting the ball for Pittsburgh here will be Vance Worley, who is filling in for the injured Francisco Liriano. You may remember Worley going 11-3 with a a 3.01 ERA for Philly in 2011 but he’s quickly faded from view. He fell to 6-9 with a 4.20 ERA in 2012 and then went 1-5 with a 7.21 ERA in 10 starts last year for the Twins (team was 3-7). The Pirates acquired him from the Minnesota Twins for cash March 25 and after going 3-2 with a 4.30 ERA in seven outings for Triple-A Indianapolis, Worley made his Pittsburgh debut last Sunday in Miami.
He was VERY good last Sunday, leaving with a 2-0 lead after throwing seven scoreless innings but didn't receive a decision in an eventual 3-2 Pittsburgh loss. However, I’m ‘selling’ that effort, as I won’t ignore his 6-9 record with a 4.20 ERA in 2012 for Philly or his 1-5 record with a 7.21 ERA in 10 starts last year for the Twins. Cubs Win, Cubs Win!
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