Must See Sports – Second Weekend of July 2012

Last week's advantage/disadvantage record: 5-0
Must See Sports 2012 record (excluding series): 50-29
Advantage/disadvantage record in series, 2012: 2-1 

Slim pickings, folks…. The good news is that baseball is back from the All-Star break.

Friday, July 13

Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees
Angels – C.J. Wilson (9-5, 2.43 ERA, 88 Ks) vs Yankees – Hiroki Kuroda (8-7, 3.50 ERA, 83 Ks)

Both teams are playing well. The Yankees, however, are in position to completely pull away with the A.L. East race. Still, C.J. Wilson has been on a roll of his own. Albert Pujols (.268, 14 HR, 51 RBI) is getting hotter, and Mike Trout (.341, 12 HR, 40 RBI) appears to be getting better with each passing day.

Advantages – Game: Angles, Series: Angels

Pujols (right), back in the game; Trout (left), changing the game! 1

Saturday, July 14

New York Mets at Atlanta Braves
Mets – R.A. Dickey (12-1, 2.40 ERA, 123 Ks) vs Braves – Tommy Hanson (10-5, 3.71 ERA, 93 Ks)

Yes, there are 162 games in the MLB regular season. When the Wild Card race is tight and the division race is tight, every game between divisional opponents is important and counts!

The Mets and Braves are separated by only a half game, in pursuit of the first place Washington Nationals. The Braves pitching got off to a pedestrian start this year, relative to years past, but appears to be back in gear. R.A. Dickey of the Mets, however, has been in high gear all year. The Braves have a tall order.

I expect this series to be extremely close, but I think the three pitchers up in the Mets’ rotation have a slim advantage.

Advantages – Game: Mets, Series: Mets



Good luck hitting R.A. Dickey's knuckleball. 2

 Sunday, July 15

St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds
Cardinals – Jake Westbrook (7-7, 3.75 ERA) vs Johnny Cueto (10-5, 2.39 ERA, 91 Ks)

There are three teams vying for the National League Central crown: the first place Pittsburgh Pirates, the second place Reds, and the third place Cardinals, with 2.5 games separating first from third. If the Cardinals bullpen does not tighten up in the second half of the year, they will be the first team to bow out.

Cueto appeared to turn a corner last season and he has not turned back. Pitching will be the difference maker in this game. In fact, it will be the difference in the Central race.

Advantages – Game: Reds, Series: Reds

2011 and 2012 have been the best two seasons of Cueto's career. 3

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1) Image from www.dailypress.com
2) Image from www.stltoday.com
3) Image from www.zimbio.com