Thursday, May 19, 2011

Game Picks - Thursday: May 19, 2011

Late last night, this game picker was mulling what turned out to be a bad night of picking games. And during that thought process, it was decided that in the grand scheme of things, success or lack of success in picking games doesn't really matter much because baseball has been exciting. And that excitement is all that really matters when you love this game. Outside of maybe the Houston Astros, there aren't any really terrible teams and everyone is playing competitively. Games are going into extra innings and that doesn't necessarily mean the so-called "elite" team is going to win. It's fun to follow baseball right now.

So how can a bad night of picks compare with a Jason Vargas shutout or a Jake Peavy shutout. The latter was so gratifying for what he has been through. The Yankees won with a relief pitcher making his major league debut and pitching four innings of adventurous, but ultimately scoreless innings. Cody Ross was just another player on the Marlins, but in San Francisco he's a hero of the post season and of last night. The Pirates Charlie Morton threw a shutout against a first place team to improve his record to 5-1. Two of the Pirates' young players homered in the win. Yeah, this is fun. So what if the picks weren't very good. This Fan will take the excitement of baseball anyday!

And guess what? There are a full fifteen games on the schedule...on a Thursday! And five games are day games. How cool is that?

  • The Reds over the Pirates: On any given day, James McDonald can shut people down. But Johnny Cueto must be ridden here until he shows that this fast start is not a fluke.
  • The Mets over the Nationals: Impossible game to predict. Dillon Gee was all over the place his last start and still won. Livan Hernandez is, well, Livan Hernandez. Whatever that means.
  • The Cardinals over the Astros: J. A. Happ isn't a bad pitcher. But he's been a bad pitcher against the Cardinals. Kyle McClellan has been very good for the Cardinals.
  • The Athletics over the Twins: The Twins have handled the A's pretty well the last two nights. But Tyler Ross has had four very good starts in a row. Nick Blackburn has been solid for the Twins though and could throw a good game.
  • The Angels over the Mariners: Dan Haren should have no trouble against Doug Fister. But that was the thought last night with Jared Weaver. Still going with logic.
  • The Rockies over the Phillies: Jhoulys Chacin is very good...as long as his manager knows when to pull him. Joe Blanton doesn't seem right. His velocity is down. Plus, the Phillies are in one of their familiar offenseive funks again.
  • The Blue Jays over the Bay Rays: The Blue Jays should handle Wade Davis while Ricky Romero has been understated in his goodness. Bautista is due for a bomb.
  • The Marlins over the Cubs: Two struggling pitchers in Chris Volstad and Casey Coleman. If that holds true, the Marlins' offense will do more damage.
  • The Red Sox over the Tigers: Wow! What a match up in Justin Verlander versus Josh Beckett. The only edge goes to the Red Sox because they always seem to find a way.
  • The Indians over the White Sox: Worried about this one because Peavy's gem could inspire the White Sox. But Fausto Carmona should be better than Gavin Floyd. The Indians may be without Pronk though and are already missing Sizemore.
  • The Rangers over the Royals: The Royals have hit a low in their season and Luke Hochevar simply isn't that good. Derek Holland with the win.
  • The Braves over the Diamondbacks: Josh Collmenter has been amazing thus far. But he'll hit a snag tonight against the Braves. Jair Jurrjens makes this the battle of undefeated pitchers.
  • The Brewers over the Padres: Chris Narveson has looked great at times and bad at others. Aaron Harang the same. Harang is at home, which means that he won't be as bad as he was in Colorado. But still think the Brewers handle this one.
  • The Dodgers over the Giants: Wow! Two hard luck pitchers. Clay Billingsley gave up only one hit in his last loss and Bumgarner has four quality starts in a row with nothing to show for it. Something has to give here. Going with the Dodgers at home.

And the Game of the Day!

  • The Yankees over the Orioles: C. C. Sabathia will make sure the Yankees only need nine innings to win tonight. Brad Bergesen won't stand in the way of that.

Yesterday: 5-10  Spanked!
Week: 31-21
Month: 126-111
Season: 339-289
Games of the Day: 26-23

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