Since I'm not eligible to win the $3 million Beat the Streak grand prize, I might as well try to help you out. Every weekday, make sure to check out the Beat the Streak Report to improve your odds with all the stats goodness you could ever dream of. You know, assuming you could use an extra three mill.


August 19


Geoff Croke just keeps Rolen along.

Our leader, a.k.a. "gfc2112," is sitting pretty at 43 games after a 1-for-5 performance by the Reds third baseman last night at Arizona.

Was the .285 career hitter a slightly risky pick? Sure -- he wasn't among Wednesday's 15 most popular selections.

But he came into the game with seven hits in his last 11 at-bats, and I can't ever fault a streaker for picking against Rodrigo Lopez and a D-backs relief corps that close couldn't the bullpen door, let alone a game.

Anyway, the popular picks also panned out yesterday, with 12 of the 13 most-used players advancing gamers -- if you count Joey Votto and Alex Rodriguez receiving the ol' did-not-play pass.

Vlad Guerrero and Albert Pujols led the way, each going 1-for-4 to help a combined 16.6 percent of players.

Time for Thursday's picks


Oh, hello there ...


• James Loney: .533 AVG (8-for-15) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa

• Denard Span: .429 AVG (12-for-28) lifetime vs. White Sox starter Mark Buehrle

• Ryan Ludwick: .500 AVG (7-for-14) lifetime vs. Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano

• Miguel Cabrera: .444 AVG (4-for-9) lifetime vs. Yankees starter Phil Hughes


Feeling kinda spicy?


• Howard Kendrick: .409 AVG (9-for-22) lifetime vs. Red Sox starter Josh Beckett


You'll thank me later ...


• Adrian Beltre: .186 AVG (8-for-43) lifetime vs. Angels starter Ervin Santana

• Alexei Ramirez: .125 AVG (2-for-16) lifetime vs. Twins starter Carl Pavano

• Jimmy Rollins: .083 AVG (1-for-12) lifetime vs. Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez

• Andre Ethier: .091 AVG (1-for-11) lifetime vs. Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa


Leaderboard time!


Croke has pulled away from the pack Secretariat style, but "Jeabullseye" keeps chugging along in second place at 28 games.

"rtaylor2001" and "warriorcub" remain tied for third two games back.

They'll to need to kick their picking skills into high gear to make up that 15-game gap. I recommend searching the internet for BTS cheat codes. The one that starts with A, B, left trigger usually works.

Or not.


Top MLB streakers

• Alexei Ramirez: 12 games

• Bobby Abreu: 10 games

• Jose Lopez: 10 games

• Dan Uggla: 10 games

• Carl Crawford: 9 games

• David Ortiz: 9 games

• B.J. Upton: 9 games