Prepared to drop $300

[redsrbetter]

S3F, help me out PLEASE! I am prepared to drop $300 on this game tonight.

Twins +132
Radke
vs.

A's -142
Haren

The A's are heavily favored and are at home. If I were to bet on this game with that kind of money, I will need some advice. So please vote in the poll and send over some advice right away.

ATTENTION: THE POSTER THAT GIVES THE ABSOLUTE BEST ADVICE AND WINS THIS GAME FOR ME WILL GET A FREE GIFT OF THEIR LIKING FOR 30 OR LESS.

FREE $30 GIFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GiantsFanatic]

Twins because of these reasons.

1. Must win game for the Twins, win you stay alive, lose you go home.
2. This possibly could be Radke's last game in his career, and if thats true, you know he wants to out on top(with a win).
3. A's are like 0-9 in series clinching games in this century.

I dont know if you agree with me, but this is just my opinion.

Good luck!

[redsrbetter]

Yep, I remember reading that stat on the A's losing series clinching games. I did not know that Radke may be done after this year though. I like the edge there. But he is facing Haren. Radke had an equally as good season as Haren and both of these offenses are not known for their scoring.

Over/Under is 9 but I seem to lack ability to ever get the over/under right. In this case I would go with the under based on the thoughts I just pointed out, but I am going to choose the winner today.

So far so good. Nice choice GiantsFan and thank you. Dont forget to vote on the poll.

Anyone else have opinions?

[missionhockey21]

Honestly, this is just purely for discussion as I would hate for someone to take my advice and lost that kind of cash. But, I like the A's at home and Haren has excelled this season at home. Obviously the Twins are going to play all out in this game, at the same time though, the A's have the momentum. When you factor in the 0-9 statistic being with a pretty different A's team on the whole, I gotta go with the A's in this one.

Entire Season	TEAM	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HBP	BB	SO
Home	Oakland Athletics	5	7	3.75	16	16	0	0	0	0	103.1	97	47	43	11	3	19	75

[redsrbetter]

I like what you are saying here as far as the 0-9 goes. It is a different team and looking at the history of a team can be dangerous when making a wager. Teams are built differently year in and year out and sometimes they just click better. Thanks for the advice and Haren's line.

My gut tells me that Haren is simply the better pitcher in this matchup. But not by much. Its a really close call and we may have to rely on the chosen team's offense to get to the SP. So what team has the better offense?

[missionhockey21]

A's at home - 372 runs scored (.745 OPS). Twins away- 380 runs scored (.753 OPS).

A really tough matchup to call here.

[redsrbetter]

Thanks again mission. Those are extremely close stats. Overall for the season the A's lead in OBP and BA.

A's OBP .274 BA .254
Twins OBP .268 BA .212

A's BA is far better, but the Twins walk a whole lot more. Compare that thought with how often Haren gives up BB. Haren has 45 walks for the season which is not too bad considering how many innings he has pitched this year.

[redsfan28]

I'd go with the A's as well. Radke is nursing a bad pitching shoulder that has effected his mechanics for a while now. Plus, Radke hasn't exactly been a world beater lately. He has a propensity to give up home runs, which plays into the hands of the A's very well with Frank Thomas' propensity to hit home runs at a pretty good clip.

[redsrbetter]

So far the story of this game if it were predicted is looking like a good pitching matchup and a low scoring game. It could come down to the bullpens.

Both teams have a real nice closer. But the Twins are far better on this point. But when you look at relief you have to look further than the closer. So which team has the better bullpen?

[redsrbetter]

I'd go with the A's as well. Radke is nursing a bad pitching shoulder that has effected his mechanics for a while now. Plus, Radke hasn't exactly been a world beater lately. He has a propensity to give up home runs, which plays into the hands of the A's very well with Frank Thomas' propensity to hit home runs at a pretty good clip.

Nice advice here. In fact real nice. I did not know about Radke's shoulder and it will help my thoughts quite a bit. But looking over Radke's last 10 games he has a 1.43 ERA. I dont think his shoulder has really bothered his ability to get batters out. But what it looks like it has bothered is in his last 3 outings he hasn't gone more than 5.0 innings. This may play into the bullpen question as well and the long-reliever for the Twins. Which is who?

[DirtyKash]

Best advice: Take the A's on the moneyline because Radke just plain sucks. Simple as that.

[Providence A's]

Haren > Radke...Radke has a fractured shoulder...he's pitching hurt. Haren is a control pitcher who hardly walks anyone. The Twins are really going to have to hit him hard to have a chance IMHO.

[Fishercat]

I like Radke enough to be biased and I like the Twins, but the A's are the safer bet.

[Porter]

I would take the A's because of the lack of intelligence shown by the Twins in this series.

[Kingdom]

Save the money and buy a turkey.