Game Picks - Wednesday: April 14, 2010

Matusz was brilliant for the Orioles for seven innings. But his manager decided to try and get another inning out of him. Big mistake. And then the Orioles' bullpen did the rest of the damage in a game that featured two LOOGY implosions. So that pick went south. Anderson and Fister were both fantastic in the Oakland - Mariners game. Both threw power blanks all night. But Oakland's bullpen handed the game to the Mariners. Thus that pick went south. And then the Pirates unexpectedly beat the Giants. So those are the three picks that only made it a decent picking day on Tuesday. There were only nine games which is odd for a Tuesday.

The last couple of years, it seems increasingly necessary when picking games to predict when a team's bullpen will be the balance of a losing or winning game. This year, it seems that blown saves and blown leads are the norm. It's a given that the Royals' bullpen will blow the game. It just is. Poor Bannister pitched his heart out and left with another KC lead. But it disappeared quickly once he left.

Wednesday has a full slate of games (Yay!) so let's take a look:

• The Tigers over the Royals: The Tigers are winning often and Damon hasn't hit yet and neither has Ordonez. The Royals actually have an offense, but their bullpen has been offensive.
• The Yankees over the Angels: Yankee fans had to have deja vu all over again when Vazquez was lit up in his first start for the Yankees. If it happens again...well...it won't be pretty.
• The Red Sox over the Twins: Lackey starts for the Red Sox against Slowey. Like Lackey's chances.
• The Bay Rays over the Orioles: Not solid on Price, but even less solid on Bergesen.
• The Cubs over the Brewers: Rule #1 for 2010: Do not pick against Randy Wells.
• The Pirates over the Giants: Like this kid, Morton. He's still inconsistent, but he's got a lot of talent. Hey! Molina has two walks already! Maybe he'll get more than 19 this year.
• The Phillies over the Nationals: Saw the match up of Stammen versus Kendrick and the first gut reaction was that the Nationals were going to win. But it didn't sit well eventually.
• The Rangers over the Indians: Good match up of Masterson versus Wilson. Wilson has a better chance of throwing strikes.
• The White Sox over the Blue Jays: Morrow has a great arm and hit 99 MPH in his first start where he struck out five. But he also walked five, which is the rub for him.
• The Reds over the Marlins: Homer Bailey will have a good game and Volstad won't. That will be the difference. The Fan's guy, Micah Owings is pitching great in relief!
• The Cardinals over the Astros: Yes, the Astros will lose 162 games this year.
• The Rockies over the Mets: The Mets have had an awful start and don't be surprised if heads start to roll over there. They can't pitch and they can't hit. Bad combination.
• The Braves over the Padres: Like Hanson's prospects over Richard.
• The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: The D-backs are struggling on offense and the Dodgers are at home.
• The Athletics over the Mariners: Every night, the A's throw a good young arm at you. Tonight it's Gonzalez. Vargas is pitching for the Mariners. Ugh!

Yesterday: 6-3
Week: 22-14
Month: 73-33