My original use of the term "King Maker" comes from a baseball handicapping system that I developed a few years ago. The King Maker System was an extremely popular subject at Pregame and it exploded with the help of my partner (The Game/JD). With his help, we gathered as many as 2,200-3,000 page views during a period when Pregame had a much smaller membership base. In the end, I can thank the King Maker System for my... Read more

THE GRAND SALAMI REPORT FOR HUMP DAY This report is just a "forecast" of potential outcomes, based on a few simple indicators. It might save you a few minutes of research if I post some of this for you. We have 15 games today and 6 of those games have some of the meanest OVER Umpires calling the shots. Angel Hernandez is "influencing" the Nationals game tonight . He's the guy that screwed up the Tampa/Cleveland... Read more

DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH THIS INFORMATION: After all, it's your money.... The Boston Game Is More Likely To Exceed 9 Runs. The drawback comes first: Lester is actually getting his strike-outs (22/7 K/BB), but he's really missing the zone on batters and it appears that he's falling into hitter's counts on far too many occasions. He struck out 7 in a recent game, but hit 114 pitches after 6 innings of work. This... Read more

MLB UMPIRES AND PITCH COUNT: Expansion and Contraction Avid baseball followers have all seen it! Suddenly, an Umpire's strike zone seems to expand or contract as the game reaches the later innings. We've all seen games that we pegged as OVERS suddenly make us smile as 7 runs go across the plate in the first 4 innings, and we have had times where those games end on the same 7 runs on the last pitch! Most frustrated... Read more

The Adverse Affects of an OVER Umpire Gerry Davis and Mark Buehrle Mark Buehrle is a southpaw pitcher for the The White Sox. In many ways, this is your next Jamie Moyer in the making. He's a guy that has to have his "edges" and if they get taken away his pitches become VERY hittable. He no longer has any real power, and his "movement" is his only true weapon. So this is a pitcher that DEPENDS on an UNDER or NEUTRAL... Read more