Lenny Dykstra….Stockpicking Savant?

by StockJockey

Sunday, October 22, 2006 - 10:03 pm

This is the first in our new series: Talking Heads

Lenny Dykstra was a one-man wrecking crew when he played for the Mets and Phillies back in the day. Brash and outspoken, he was the Charlie Hustle of his generation. He has parlayed his baseball earnings into a http://www.nj.com/mets/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1160455584216100.xml&coll=1">mini empire that includes car washes, quick lube outlets and other related business ventures. All in all, we would have to say that he has done well for himself despite some missteps along the way and lingering suspicions that he still parties too much.

Indeed, we think some of his television appearances have been quite bizarre as he adjusts to a different type of media glare. Of late, Lenny has frequently been quoted in the media advocating a deep-in the-money call strategy and has also been quoted on the record boasting of a near-perfect run of stock picks…

Dykstra says more than 90 percent of his stock picks are money-makers. And if you don’t believe it, he says with that familiar edge, ”go ahead, dude, look it up.”

Still, he can’t be any worse than some of those so called professionals CNBC trots out day after day, and we are willing to give him a shot at attaining guru status here at UTC. A reasonably lucid Dykstra was on Fox News Channel’s “Bulls and Bears” this past weekend (10/21/06) sharing his investment prowess with, well, anyone who will listen. His picks included:

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)
Yahoo (YHOO)
Anadarko Petroleum (APC)
Unit Corp (UNT)
Diageo PLC (DEO)

Despite our skepticism regarding ex-baseball players and ex-wrestlers who dispense financial advice to the unwashed masses, we are trying to have an open mind. And we have to be honest. We love Lenny Dykstra. We admired his grit during his playing days and now his attempts to create jobs and wealth since he retired from the game. We are just not convinced he is a stock savant with a 90% success rate, although he is probably better than Joe Battapaglia.

We also love a good scrap, and have an ego every bit as bloated as Lenny’s face and waistline. Thus we think a little wager is in order. We will submit five picks, including the high flying recent IPO Acme Packet (APKT)
and the following:

Express Scripts Inc.(ESRX)
Global Payments(GPN)
DeVry Inc. (DV)
Exlservice Holdings (EXLS)

The two portfolios will be tracked and we will update you periodically on the progress, or lack thereof. The circus will end on December 31st, 2006 and a winner declared.

Too, in honor of Lenny’s five flea ridden dog picks, we will make a modest donation to the North Shore Animal League at the contests end....and if we beat Lenny we will ask him to match our donation.

Game On, Nails