Game Picks - Friday: July 31, 2009

Trading deadline day. The last day of July. Baseball is at its most active and interesting period of the season so far. What will unfold is as unpredictable as the games each night, as any of you could tell after watching this picker during this daily feature every day. It will be a day of wonder no matter what happens.

The picks were pretty successful yesterday. This picker was surprised that the Yankees showed so little offense against the White Sox. And it's official: The Fan has completely given up on Cueto. Every year he shows flashes of being the most dominant pitcher in the game. But nine times out of ten, he stinks up the joint. And his partner in crime, Volquez, is right there with him. How many sour picks has the Fan wasted on them anyway?

Today's picks are made with the current players these teams have on their roster. The Fan is not responsible for any bad picks caused by players traded during the day. Yeah, right.

• The White Sox over the Yankees: Sergio Mitre. Ugh.
• The Orioles over the Red Sox: Who knows who is going to close this game for the Orioles if it's close, but Guthrie is a better bet these days than Smoltz.
• The Tigers over the Indians: The Indians might not have Victor Martinez by the time this game is played. Add that to the fact that Carmona is making his first start since his demotion to the minors and it looks good to pick the Tigers.
• The Bay Rays over the Royals: The Bay Rays really needed a series against a weak team.
• The Rangers over the Mariners: Vargas versus Padilla? Ick. One of them has to win though.
• The Twins over the Angels: Blackburn should beat a struggling Santana.
• The Phillies over the Giants: Cliff Lee has a successful debut for his new team.
• The Brewers over the Padres: Would you believe that Gaudin has a better ERA than Looper? But Looper has won nine games and Gaudin, four.
• The Cardinals over the Astros: Boggs is back for the Cardinals, and even though it's his first start back, the Cardinals chances of a big game against Moehler are strong.
• The Braves over the Dodgers: Have to pick Hanson over Schmidt.
• The Cubs over the Marlins: This pick is problematic. The Marlins are at home and starting Volstad, who has been excellent lately. But the Cubs and Harden are on a roll.
• The Mets over the Diamondbacks: Hate picking the Mets to win when Livan is pitching...
• The Rockies over the Reds: The 10-3 Cook versus a guy named, Lehr, making his season debut.
• The Nationals over the Pirates: At least the Nats, who are terrible, still have all their guys. Who is left in Pittsburgh?

Yesterday: 8-4
Week: 39-31
Month: 195-147