Baseball Bet For 2009

Boy, am I a fortune teller or what?

In yesterday's blog -- which was written several hours before the first pitch of the season -- I mentioned how even though the Phillies (my team) won the World Series last year, and my angst and stress for this season would be subdued because of that title.

However, being a diehard Phillies fan, I knew that even on opening night, at the first sign of problems, I'd be having all of the same negative feelings as always, despite the title from just a few months ago.

Here's what I said...

"...if Brett Myers gives up a 2-run home run in the first inning tonight, I'll be cursing under my breath, rolling my eyes, and filled with frustration...just not as much as in previous years."

Sure enough, Myers gave up a 1st inning two-run home run -- not to mention two more home runs in the 2nd inning (including one to a guy making his major league debut), and my blood pressure was rising just like it always does during baseball season.

Granted, I had a little more riding on last night's game than I normally would.

Along with my coworkers, Kevin Schramm and Jay Capron, we've concocted a series of baseball categories between our three favorite teams (Kevin - Cubs, Jay - White Sox, me - Phillies), that will result in a rather complex baseball bet for the year.

One of the categories - winning percentage on Sunday nights. I'm 0-1.

Here are the categories...

1) Total Wins

Simple enough, but we've weighted it so it balances out. Going off of a Vegas over/under win total, Jay's White Sox get a +12 advantage over Kev's Cubs. I get a +4 edge. With the Cubs favored to win more games than the other two teams, this seemed fair.

2) Sunday Winning Percentage

We were looking for a goofy category that would be fairly equal without having to weight the stats in favor of one team or another, and this was actually my idea. Considering I'm already 0-1, maybe not the best choice, but it is still early.

3) Total Team Saves

It doesn't matter who gets the save, all count the same for each team. The Phillies had more saves than the Cubs and the Sox last year, so I like this category.

4) Combined Home Runs Between 2 Players

We simply tried to grab two guys that had similar combined home run totals from 2008. Here's who we selected...

Cubs - Soto and Soriano (52 in 2008)
Sox - Thome and A. Ramirez (55 in 2008)
Phils - Utley and Werth (57 in 2008)

Again, I have no problems with this one.

5) Combined RBI Between 2 Players

Same premise. Our guys for this year...

Cubs - Soto and A. Ramirez (197 in 2008)
Sox - Quentin and Dye (196 in 2008)
Phils - Howard and Rollins (205 in 2008)

I like it.

At the end of the year, each category will be tabulated with first place getting three points, second getting two, and third getting one.

We'll hit a dinner spot sometime after the season with the loser picking up the tab, and the second place finisher leaving the tip.

I'll keep you updated throughout the season on how things are going.

Unless I'm losing.