Week 12 predictions

Last week was an oddity in that the team with the higher ranking on my list was the victor in every single game.  So how did I only go 4-3 with my picks? Let me retroactively explain why I went against my own power rankings in the three games I misjudged.

Younger vs. Mamone:

So how does one have the gall to pick against the team with the best record in the league? It’s no secret that what makes Younger such a great team is their defense. Well in the same way that Municipal can neutralize a great offense, Union Hill can limit the powers of a great defensive team. On top of this Mamone has four players (Conti, Mamone, Turner, Tvrdik) who can easily hit it over the fence. Add the fact that Mamone was on a roll and I figured we would have our first game where Younger would perhaps give up double digit runs. It has to happen eventually, right? Even the great Goldfarb teams over the past few years had their occasionally poor games.

Lapine vs. Applebaum:

I didn’t really want to pick either of these teams. On one hand, Lapine was missing their #1 and 2 pitchers and on the other hand Applebaum was missing their #1 and 2 draft picks. Just from reading that game summary, it must have been the craziest game of the year. I learned that when in doubt, always pick against the team missing their pitcher.

Sarcona vs. Granese:

Here’s a situation where I thought one team whose record is worse than their run differential shows would beat a team whose record is better than their run differential shows. The bottom line may be that Sarcona is skilled at playing these tight games, something that will come in handy during the always low scoring playoff games. Did you know that six of Sarcona’s seven wins this year have been by either one or two runs?

This week’s predictions:

Tuscanyrose (Schef) v Nonna's (Lapine)

Jiffy Lube (Feldman) v Express Imprints (Pollock)

Bagel World (Goldfarb) v Ace Aluminum (Wallman)

Sports Zone (Randell) v Elite (Mamone)

Paco's (Granese) v Arrow (Beilis)

Fradkin Law (Jacoby) v CK Baseball (Harris)

Main Electric (Applebaum) v Massage Envy (Sarcona)

LawCash (Younger) v Pizza/Pasta (Carlin)