NFL 2013: Week 2 Picks

We got off to a rough start to the 2013 season.  Only our 9-7 showing in picking the games straight up could be termed “mildly successful”.  Here were the failures: knocked out in the Knockout Pool after Week 1, 6-10 against the spread, 0-4 picking local games against the spread, and losing 137-100 in our Start ‘Em/Anti Start ‘Em game.  Just awful.

You have heard some of our picks on the Sports With The StatMan Saturday morning show, “This Week in Fantasy Sports”, but here are all of our picks for the week.

JOIN US!

It is never too late to join and see how you measure up against me and other listeners who participate.  You can enter your picks and join the groups I created for the show.  The winner will be touted on the Saturday show and, if you top the charts, you could even call in to give me your picks!  Here is how:

Game	Goal	Where to Play	Group to Join
Eliminator Challenge	Pick 1 winner per week, no repeat picks (a.k.a. Knockout Pool)	ESPN.com	Sports With The StatMan
Pigskin Pick’Em (Straight Up)	Pick a winner for each game, every week	ESPN.com	Sports w/the StatMan-Str
Pigskin Pick’Em (Against the Spread)	Pick a winner against the point spread for each game, every week	ESPN.com	Sports w/the StatMan-ATS
NFL Gridiron Challenge	Pick a team of players with a $50 million salary cap	ESPN.com	Sports With The StatMan

KNOCKOUT POOL/ESPN.com ELIMINATOR CHALLENGE

It is a new year and definitely different luck this time around.  Tampa Bay, admittedly a questionable pick, was done in by a personal foul penalty to put the Jets into field goal range.  Nick Folk made the kick and the Jets pulled off an improbable 18-17 opening week win.

This week’s pick: Cincinnati defeating Pittsburgh

The Bengals are on the way up and the Steelers are on their way down.  Ben Roethlisberger is still on the team, but the rest of the team is not as easy to recognize.  The biggest issue for Pittsburgh is their lack of a running game, as Isaac Redman is the head of a committee that includes the released-then-re-signed Jonathan Dwyer.  I am going with the Bengals on Monday night to even their record and push Pittsburgh to 0-2.

PAST PICKS

Week 1: Tampa Bay (L at NYJ)

GAME PICKS/ESPN.com PIGSKIN PICK ‘EM

Here are the game picks for this week.  We talk about the local games and the three of the other most important games, our “Big Games”, on our weekly This Week in Fantasy Sports segment on Saturdays, but we pick every game, every week here on the blog.  New this year is the listing of our preseason pick we made for our NFL Preview series on the show.  This will give you an idea on what I thought of each team before the season and what I am thinking of each team during the season.

LOCAL GAMES

LAST WEEK’S RESULTS	Straight Up	Against the Spread	Preseason Pick
Week 1	1-3	0-4	2-2
WEEK 2 LOCAL GAME PICKS	Straight Up	Against the Spread	Preseason Pick
N.Y. Jets at New England (Thursday night)	NE	NE (-12.5)	NE
San Diego at Philadelphia (Sunday 1pm)	PHL	PHL (-7.5)	PHL
Denver at N.Y. Giants (Sunday 4pm)	DEN	DEN (-5.5)	DEN

BIG GAMES

LAST WEEK’S RESULTS	Straight Up	Against the Spread	Preseason Pick
Week 1	2-1	1-2	2-1
WEEK 2 BIG GAME PICKS	Straight Up	Against the Spread	Preseason Pick
Dallas at Kansas City (Sunday 1pm)	DAL	DAL (+2.5)	DAL
San Francisco at Seattle (Sunday night)	SFO	SFO (+2.5)	SEA
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (Monday nght)	CIN	CIN (-7.5)	PIT

OTHER GAMES

LAST WEEK’S RESULTS	Straight Up	Against the Spread	Preseason Pick
Week 2	6-3	5-4	8-1
WEEK 1 OTHER GAME PICKS	Straight Up	Against the Spread	Preseason Pick
St. Louis at Atlanta (Sunday 1pm)	ATL	ATL (-7.5)	ATL
Carolina at Buffalo (Sunday 1pm)	BUF	BUF (+2.5)	CAR
Minnesota at Chicago (Sunday 1pm)	CHI	MIN (+6.5)	CHI
Cleveland at Baltimore (Sunday 1pm)	BAL	BAL (-6.5)	BAL
Washington at Green Bay (Sunday 1pm)	GBY	GBY (-7.5)	GBY
Tennessee at Houston (Sunday 1pm)	HOU	TEN (+9.5)	HOU
Miami at Indianapolis (Sunday 1pm)	IND	IND (-3.5)	IND
Detroit at Arizona (Sunday 4pm)	DET	DET (-0.5)	ARZ
New Orleans at Tampa Bay (Sunday 4pm)	NO	NO (-3.5)	NO
Jacksonville at Oakland (Sunday 4pm)	OAK	JAX (+6.5)	OAK

START ‘EM/ANTI-START ‘EM/ESPN.com GRIDIRON CHALLENGE

We are participating in the ESPN Gridiron Challenge on ESPN.com.  The object is to pick the best team possible with a $50 million salary cap.  However, we have added another wrinkle.  The object of the ESPN.com is to buy low and sell high and the more you accomplish that, the more money you get in your salary cap.  My goal is to put together a nine-man unit (2 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DEF) that is better than another nine-man unit at a similar price.

Week 1 did not go all that well overall and the Gridiron Challenge was no different.  We scored 100 as a “team”, but the anti-start team, the team that I thought would perform worse than our “team”, scored 137 points.  If you look at each lineup slot, the start team only outperformed the anti-start team two out of nine times.

WEEK 1: Head-to-Head – L, 100-137; By Position: 2-7

Here is the Week 2 entry in the Gridrion Challenge, our “Start ‘Em” team, along with our comparable “Anti-Start ‘Em” team, which is our “opponent” for the week.

 (all dollar figures in millions)

Start ‘Em Team	POS	Anti-Start ‘Em Team
Eli Manning NYG (vs. DEN) ($6.2)	QB	Robert Griffin III WSH (at GBY) ($6.3)
Alex Smith KCY (vs. DAL) ($5.3)	QB	Carson Palmer ARZ (vs. DET) ($5.7)
LeSean McCoy PHL (vs. SDG) ($6.0)	RB	Trent Richardson CLE (at BAL) ($5.9)
DeAngelo Williams CAR (at BUF) ($5.2)	RB	Fred Jackson BUF (vs. CAR) ($5.1)
Victor Cruz NYG (vs. DEN) ($5.6)	WR	Reggie Wayne IND (vs. MIA) ($5.5)
Miles Austin DAL (at KCY) ($5.0)	WR	Steve Johnson BUF (vs. CAR) ($5.1)
Jared Cook STL (at ATL) ($4.9)	TE	Greg Olsen CAR (at BUF) ($5.0)
Randy Bullock HOU (vs. TEN) ($4.2)	K	Rian Lindell TBY (vs. NO) ($3.9)
Cincinnati Bengals CIN (vs. PIT) ($4.9)	DEF	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. NO) ($4.8)
$47.3 million	TOTAL	$47.3 million

Catch me on "Sports With The StatMan" on Wednesdays at 11pm ET and Saturdays at 11am ET. We'll break down these picks and look ahead to next week on our This Week in Fantasy Sports segment, Saturday morning at 11am ET.

Sports With The StatMan: 2013 Football Games

JOIN US!

It is never too late to join and see how you measure up against me and other listeners who participate in our Football Games this season.  You can enter your picks and join the groups I created for the show.  The winner will be touted on the Saturday show and, if you top the charts, you could even call in to give me your picks!  Here is how:

Game	Goal	Where to Play	Group to Join
Eliminator Challenge	Pick 1 winner per week, no repeat picks (a.k.a. Knockout Pool)	ESPN.com	Sports With The StatMan
Pigskin Pick’Em (Straight Up)	Pick a winner for each game, every week	ESPN.com	Sports w/the StatMan-Str
Pigskin Pick’Em (Against the Spread)	Pick a winner against the point spread for each game, every week	ESPN.com	Sports w/the StatMan-ATS
NFL Gridiron Challenge	Pick a team of players with a $50 million salary cap	ESPN.com	Sports With The StatMan

Catch me on "Sports With The StatMan" on Wednesdays at 11pm ET and Saturdays at 11am ET. We'll break down these picks and look ahead to next week on our This Week in Fantasy Sports segment, Saturday morning at 11am ET.

NFL 2013: Week 1 Picks

Welcome to the 2013 NFL season!  We are back with our weekly picks, which you can hear on the Sports With The StatMan Saturday morning show, “This Week in Fantasy Sports”.

JOIN US!

It is never too late to join and see how you measure up against me and other listeners who participate.  You can enter your picks and join the groups I created for the show.  The winner will be touted on the Saturday show and, if you top the charts, you could even call in to give me your picks!  Here is how:

Game	Goal	Where to Play	Group to Join
Eliminator Challenge	Pick 1 winner per week, no repeat picks (a.k.a. Knockout Pool)	ESPN.com	Sports With The StatMan
Pigskin Pick’Em (Straight Up)	Pick a winner for each game, every week	ESPN.com	Sports w/the StatMan-Str
Pigskin Pick’Em (Against the Spread)	Pick a winner against the point spread for each game, every week	ESPN.com	Sports w/the StatMan-ATS
NFL Gridiron Challenge	Pick a team of players with a $50 million salary cap	ESPN.com	Sports With The StatMan

KNOCKOUT POOL/ESPN.com ELIMINATOR CHALLENGE

Last year, a Week 14 loss kept us from a perfect season.  I know the adage of never picking a road team in the Knockout Pool, but when the home team is the Jets, and the road team has one of its few “gimmes” on the schedule, you pick them because you may not get a chance to pick them again.

This week’s pick: Tampa Bay defeating N.Y. Jets

What was my one loss in the Knockout Pool last year?  It was the Buccaneers against the Eagles, and it was a last-minute Eagles come-from-behind win.  So, what better a way to start this year than to pick the Buccaneers?  I am trying to right a wrong this week, so I am going with the Buccaneers to stop the Jets and rookie QB Geno Smith, as well as use last year’s super rookie, Doug Martin, to control the clock and the game.

GAME PICKS/ESPN.com PIGSKIN PICK ‘EM

Here are the game picks for this week.  We talk about the local games and the three of the other most important games, our “Big Games”, on our weekly This Week in Fantasy Sports segment on Saturdays, but we pick every game, every week here on the blog.  Here they are:

LOCAL GAMES

Last Season: 39-21 straight up, 30-29-1 against the spread

WEEK 1 LOCAL GAME PICKS	Straight Up	Against the Spread	Preseason Pick
New England at Buffalo (Sunday 1pm)	NE	NE (-6.5)	NE
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Jets (Sunday 1pm)	TBY	TBY (-1.5)	NYJ
N.Y. Giants at Dallas (Sunday night)	NYG	NYG (+2.5)	NYG
Philadelphia at Washington (Monday 7pm)	WSH	WSH (-4.5)	WSH

BIG GAMES

Last Season: 38-14 straight up, 30-22 against the spread

WEEK 1 BIG GAME PICKS	Straight Up	Against the Spread	Preseason Pick
Atlanta at New Orleans (Sunday 1pm)	ATL	ATL (+2.5)	NO
Cincinnati at Chicago (Sunday 1pm)	CHI	CHI (-3.5)	CIN
Green Bay at San Francisco (Sunday 4pm)	SFO	SFO (-4.5)	SFO

OTHER GAMES

Last Week: 93-51 straight up, 74-70 against the spread

WEEK 1 OTHER GAME PICKS	Straight Up	Against the Spread	Preseason Pick
Baltimore at Denver (Thursday night)	DEN	BAL (+8.5)	DEN
Miami at Cleveland (Sunday 1pm)	CLE	CLE (+0.5)	MIA
Minnesota at Detroit (Sunday 1pm)	MIN	MIN (+3.5)	DET
Tennessee at Pittsburgh (Sunday 1pm)	PIT	TEN (+6.5)	TEN
Oakland at Indianapolis (Sunday 1pm)	IND	IND (-6.5)	IND
Kansas City at Jacksonville (Sunday 1pm)	KCY	KCY (-2.5)	KCY
Seattle at Carolina (Sunday 1pm)	SEA	SEA (-2.5)	SEA
Arizona at St. Louis (Sunday 4pm)	STL	ARZ (+5.5)	ARZ
Houston at San Diego (Monday 10pm)	HOU	HOU (-2.5)	HOU

START ‘EM/ANTI-START ‘EM/ESPN.com GRIDIRON CHALLENGE

We are participating in the ESPN Gridiron Challenge on ESPN.com.  The object is to pick the best team possible with a $50 million salary cap.  However, we have added another wrinkle.  The object of the ESPN.com is to buy low and sell high and the more you accomplish that, the more money you get in your salary cap.  My goal is to put together a nine-man unit (2 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DEF) that is better than another nine-man unit at a similar price.

Here is the Week 1 entry in the Gridrion Challenge, our “Start ‘Em” team, along with our comparable “Anti-Start ‘Em” team, which is our opponent for the week:

TOTALS: W-L: 9-7-1, PF: 1677, PA: 1511, By Position: 73-72-8 (.503)

(all dollar figures in millions)

Start ‘Em Team	POS	Anti-Start ‘Em Team
Matt Ryan ATL at NO ($6.2)	QB	Michael Vick PHL at WSH ($5.8)
Carson Palmer at STL ARZ ($5.6)	QB	Philip Rivers SDG vs HOU ($5.5)
C.J. Spiller BUF vs NE ($5.8)	RB	Arian Foster HOU at SDG ($6.9)
David Wilson NYG at DAL ($5.5)	RB	Matt Forte CHI vs CIN ($5.6)
Julio Jones ATL at NO ($5.7)	WR	Randall Cobb GBY at SFO ($5.4)
Miles Austin DAL vs NYG ($5.0)	WR	Steve Smith CAR vs SEA ($5.2)
Jared Cook STL vs ARZ ($4.9)	TE	Jermichael Finley GBY at SFO ($4.9)
Randy Bullock HOU at SDG ($4.2)	K	Matt Bryant ATL at NO ($4.5)
Cincinnati Bengals CIN at CHI ($4.9)	DEF	New York Giants NYG at DAL ($4.8)
$47.8 million	TOTAL	$48.6 million

Catch me on "Sports With The StatMan" on Wednesdays at 11pm ET and Saturdays at 11am ET. We'll break down these picks and look ahead to next week on our This Week in Fantasy Sports segment, Saturday morning at 11am ET.

Sports With The StatMan and Out of the Park Baseball

We welcomed Brad Cook, Public Relations and Marketing Manager at OOTP Developments, to the show on August 10th.  OOTP Developments makes the baseball simulation game Out of the Park Baseball 14.

For those of you who do not know about this game, you should.  It is the next generation of baseball for those of us who grew up with Strat-O-Matic, APBA, MicroLeague Baseball, Diamond Mind Baseball, and Baseball Mogul.  Any aspect that you loved with any of the games above, whether it is the managerial gameplay, roster management, historical accuracy, or being able to own players from the game's great past, they are all integral parts of OOTP 14.

Play any season in history, assemble a team of the game's greats, or put together a fictional baseball world with fictional baseball players.  Any and all combinations are possible.  There is a reason why they call each game a "baseball universe".  Not a world, a universe.  Full minor leagues can be set up to support your league.  You can institute feeder leagues like high school and college leagues.

If you are a player of the game, you know what I mean.

We talked with Brad about the game, the burgeoning OOTP community, online leagues, and a lot more.  You can listen to the 30-minute interview on Sports With The StatMan Episode #383.  We thank Brad for being on the show and also providing us with a couple of copies of OOTP 14 to give away.

We have TWO copies of the game to give away and we have thought of creative ways to get you your own copy of OOTP 14.  Read on to find out how!

Contests for free copies of OOTP14

#1: To get a free game, "Like" us on Facebook and reply to our post: "What is your favorite 'what-if' baseball scenario?"  Examples could be something like "what if Babe Ruth faced Pedro Martinez?" or "what if Shoeless Joe Jackson not suspended?".  Be creative, but explain your answer.  The best reply on Facebook will win a copy of OOTP 14.  Replies will be accepted until September 30th at 11:59pm ET.  But, remember, you also have to "Like" the show!

#2: For those who are not on Facebook or do not care much for the history of the game, we will concentrate on the here and now.  If you listen to the show, you know about our participation in ESPN.com's Baseball Challenge, where you pick a weekly lineup with a salary cap or a daily lineup without a cap.  Their performances in the games during the entire week or the games of that day are worth points that are added to your score.  For the giveaway, we will participate in the 2013 Baseball Playoff Challenge, which will start on October 1st, 2013.  We will create a "StatMan" group, which I will link to on this blog post when the challenge is available online.  Here's what you have to do: join the group, play along, and the top score (other than myself and the winner of contest #1 above) will win a free copy of OOTP 14.  It's that easy!

So, there you have it.  You can win if you love the rich history of baseball or if you are a current aspiring GM.  Thanks for playing and good luck!

Out of the Park Baseball 14 is available on Windows, Mac, Linux operating systems for $39.99, with all seasons and players included. A mobile version with a couple of seasons included is also available for just $4.99 for iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch).

For more information on the game and OOTP Developments, or to purchase the game, go to ootpdevelopments.com.  You can Like them on Facebook  at https://www.facebook.com/ootpbaseball and you can follow OOTP Developments on Twitter (@ootpbaseball).

And, you can always listen to me on Sports With The StatMan Wednesday nights at 11pm ET for our sports talk segment and Saturday mornings at 11am ET for our This Week in Fantasy Sports segment.  Our show is also on iTunes and the Stitcher Smart Radio app.  We are also on Twitter (@gstatman).

Fantasy Today: July 11, 2013

FANTASY BASEBALL

BEST HITTERS

1^st Star: OF Josh Hamilton LAA (at CHC): 14 points – 2-for-5 (.229), 2 HR (14), 5 RBI (39), 2 R (48), K

2^nd Star: 2B Robinson Cano NYY (vs KCY): 14 points – 3-for-4 (.299), HR (21), 3 RBI (62), 2B, 2 R (53), SB (6)

3^rd Star: SS Hanley Ramirez LAD (at ARZ): 13 points – 3-for-6 (.409), HR (8), 3 RBI (24), 2B, 2 R (26), BB

BEST PITCHERS

1^st Star: SP Francisco Liriano PIT (vs OAK): 30 points – 7 IP (76.2 IP), 4 H, 0 ER (2.00 ERA), BB, 6 K (80 K), QS, W (9-3)

2^nd Star: SP Ivan Nova NYY (vs KCY): 28 points – 8 IP (52 IP), 5 H, 1 ER (3.64 ERA), 2 BB, 6 K (54 K), QS, W (4-2)

3^rd Star: SP C.J. Wilson LAA (at CHC): 28 points – 7 IP (120.1 IP), 4 H, 1 ER (3.37 ERA), 0 BB, 6 K (110 K), QS, W (9-6)

BEST OF THE WORST

1^st Star: SP Jeff Samardzija CHC (vs LAA): minus-23 points – 4.2 IP (124 IP), 9 H, 9 ER (4.06 ERA), 2 BB, 5 K (128 K), L (5-9)

2^nd Star: RP Henry Rodriguez CHC (vs LAA): minus-11 points – 0 IP (22 IP), 3 H, 2 ER (4.09 ERA), 2 BB, 0 K (12 K)

3^rd Star: OF Jesus Guzman SDG (vs SFO): minus-4 points – 0-for-4 (.238), 4 K

BEST CURRENT STREAKS: HITTERS

Hitting Streak: 21 (OF Jacoby Ellsbury BOS (at SEA) – 3-for-4 (.306), RBI (31), 2B, 2 R (57))

On-Base Streak: 25 (1B Joey Votto CIN (at MIL) – 1-for-3 (.318), 2B, R (62), 2 BB, K)

Run-Scoring Streak: 5 (TIE, OF Marlon Byrd NYM (at SFO), 3B Miguel Cabrera DET (vs CHW), 2B Matt Carpenter STL (vs HOU), OF Shane Victorino BOS (at SEA))

Home Run Streak: 2 (TIE, OF Marlon Byrd NYM (at SFO), DH David Ortiz BOS (at SEA), 1B Albert Pujols LAA (at CHC), OF Matt Tuiasosopo DET (vs CHW), OF Jayson Werth WSH (at PHL))

RBI Streak: 4 (TIE, C John Buck NYM (at SFO), OF J.D. Martinez HOU (at STL), OF Matt Tuiasosopo DET (vs CHW))

CURRENT CONTINUED STREAKS: PITCHERS

All pitchers listed below pitched yesterday

4^th consecutive start with a win for SP Gio Gonzalez WSH and SP Francisco Liriano PIT

8^th quality start in a row for SP Gio Gonzalez WSH

6^th start of 5 strikeouts or more for SP Justin Masterson CLE

3^rd straight appearance with a save for RP Edward Mujica STL

16^th straight scoreless appearance for RP Steve Cishek MIA and RP Paco Rodriguez LAD

***

Catch me on Sports With The StatMan, Wednesday nights at 11pm ET and Saturday mornings at 11am ET.  Check the latest schedule on our Show Page.  Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.  You can also find the show on iTunes and the Stitcher Smart Radio app by searching “Sports With The StatMan”.

Fantasy Today: July 10, 2013

FANTASY BASEBALL

BEST HITTERS

1^st Star: 3B Adrian Beltre TEX (at BAL): 18 points – 4-for-4 (.319), 2 HR (20), 5 RBI (52), 2 R, BB

2^nd Star: OF Alex Rios CHW (at DET): 15 points – 6-for-6 (.281), 2 RBI (40), 3B, R, 2 SB (19)

3^rd Star: DH David Ortiz BOS (at SEA): 15 points – 4-for-5 (.327), HR (18), RBI (62), 2 2B, 3 R, SB (3)

BEST PITCHERS

1^st Star: SP Wily Peralta MIL (vs CIN): 39 points – CG (106.1 IP) 3-hit ShO (4.83 ERA), 4 BB, 6 K (62 K), QS, W (6-9)

2^nd Star: SP Eric Stults SDG (vs COL): 32 points – CG (121 IP), 4 H, 1 ER (3.50 ERA), 3 BB, 5 K (74 K), QS, W (7-7)

3^rd Star: SP Adam Wainwright STL (vs HOU): 28 points – 7 IP (140.2 IP), 5 H, 1 ER (2.30 ERA), BB, 9 K (126 K), QS, W (12-5)

BEST OF THE WORST

1^st Star: SP Allen Webster BOS (at SEA): minus-20 points – 2.1 IP (26.1 IP), 6 H, 7 ER (9.57 ERA), 2 BB, 2 K (21 K)

2^nd Star: RP Michael Blazek STL (vs HOU): minus-12 points – 0.2 IP (3 IP), 2 H, 3 ER (9.00 ERA), 3 BB, 0 K (2 K)

3^rd Star: DH Travis Hafner NYY (vs KCY): minus-2 points – 0-for-3 (.217), BB, 3 K

BEST CURRENT STREAKS: HITTERS

Hitting Streak: 20 (OF Jacoby Ellsbury BOS – DNP at SEA)

On-Base Streak: 24 (1B Joey Votto CIN (at MIL))

Run-Scoring Streak: 9 (3B Kyle Seager SEA (vs BOS))

Home Run Streak: 3 (TIE, C George Kottaras KCY (DNP at NYY), C Jonathan Lucroy MIL (DNP vs CIN))

RBI Streak: 4 (TIE, OF Alfonso Soriano CHC (vs LAA), OF Matt Tuiasosopo DET (vs CHW)

CURRENT CONTINUED STREAKS: PITCHERS

All pitchers listed below pitched yesterday

2^nd consecutive start with a win for SP Cole Hamels PHL, SP Ricky Nolasco LAD, and SP Dan Straily OAK

8^th quality start in a row for SP Travis Wood CHC

5^th start of 5 strikeouts or more for SP Josh Johnson TOR

6^th straight appearance with a save for RP Grant Balfour OAK and RP Greg Holland KCY

12^th straight scoreless appearance for RP Kevin Siegrist STL

***

Catch me on Sports With The StatMan, Wednesday nights at 11pm ET and Saturday mornings at 11am ET.  Check the latest schedule on our Show Page.  Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.  You can also find the show on iTunes and the Stitcher Smart Radio app by searching “Sports With The StatMan”.

Fantasy Today: July 9, 2013

FANTASY BASEBALL

BEST HITTERS

1^st Star: LF Alfonso Soriano CHC (at CHW): 16 points – 3-for-4 (.263), HR (13), RBI (45), 2B, 4 R (41), BB, K, 2 SB (10))

2^nd Star: C Buster Posey SFO (vs NYM): 12 points – 5-for-8 (.318), HR (13), 2 RBI (50), 2 2B, R (35), K)

3^rd Star: OF Aaron Hicks MIN (at TBY): 10 points* – 4-for-4 (.205), 2 2B, 3B, 2 R (32))

* Honorable mention: 1B Justin Smoak SEA (vs BOS) – 10 points

BEST PITCHERS

1^st Star: SP Zack Greinke LAD (at ARZ): 32 points – 7 IP (76), 2 H, 0 ER (3.91), 2 BB, 7 K (59), QS, W (7-2)

2^nd Star: SP John Lannan PHL (vs WSH): 30 points – 8 IP (44.2), 4 H, 0 ER (4.23), 2 BB, 4 K (25), QS, W (2-3)

3^rd Star: SP Matt Garza CHC (at CHW): 27 points – 7 IP (64.1), 5 H, 1 ER (3.22), 0 BB, 6 K (58), QS, W (5-1)

BEST OF THE WORST

1^st Star: SP Scott Feldman BAL (vs TEX): minus-19 points – 5.1 IP (102.1), 9 H, 7 ER (3.87), BB, 2 K (75), L (7-7)

2^nd Star: RP Matt Thornton CHW (vs CHC): minus-15 points – 0.1 IP (27), 2 H, 3 ER (4.00), BB, L (0-3)

3^rd Star: 1B Brandon Belt SFO (vs NYM): minus-5 points – 0-8 (.256), 5 K (68)

BEST CURRENT STREAKS: HITTERS

Hitting Streak: 20 (OF Jacoby Ellsbury BOS – through 7/7)

On-Base Streak: 23 (1B Joey Votto CIN (at MIL))

Run-Scoring Streak: 8 (3B Kyle Seager SEA (vs BOS))

Home Run Streak: 3 (TIE, C George Kottaras KCY (last played: 7/7), C Jonathan Lucroy MIL (vs CIN))

RBI Streak: 4 (TIE, C A.J. Ellis LAD (at ARZ), 1B Adam LaRoche WSH (at PHL), C Jarrod Saltalamacchia BOS (at SEA))

CURRENT CONTINUED STREAKS: PITCHERS

4^th consecutive start with a win for SP Matt Garza CHC and SP Zack Greinke LAD

11^th quality start in a row for SP Bartolo Colon OAK

18^th start of 5 strikeouts or more for SP Max Scherzer DET

5^th straight appearance with a save for RP Grant Balfour OAK and RP Greg Holland KCY

21^st straight scoreless appearance for RP Luis Avilan ATL