Saturday, July 02, 2011

Game Picks - Saturday: July 2, 2011

And yes, another day of interleague play ended and once again, this picker was just barely over .500. On Monday, while the rest of the country celebrates Independence Day, this Fan will celebrate the end of interleague play.

At least the Fan has learned a few things along the way. The first is that the Kansas City Royals can lose in any league. This picker has maintained every day that the team has to win once in a while. But they can't and won't. The manager seems to have gone belly up and doesn't care, which is a shame. The team takes its cue from him and rolls over day after day. Similarly, it has become clear that the Marlins can change managers, but they can't change their losing ways. And this one is fairly easy to pinpoint. As long as Emilio Bonifacio is in the line up, this team will continue to lose. Plain and simple. Oh yes, they also have absolutely no bullpen. The third thing learned is that the Brewers are a terrible interleague team. They simply cannot win consistently against American League teams in American League ballparks. And finally, the last lesson is that the Giants will never lose a one-run game ever again.

With those lessons in hand, perhaps this picker can have a good Saturday. Here are the picks:

  • The Phillies over the Blue Jays: Roy Halladay finally goes home. Do you think after all this time that the Doc won't be amped up for this one? Hardly. Carlos Villanueva has been pretty good, but this is Halladay's game.
  • The Nationals split their double-header with the Pirates: While the world plays interleague, these two teams revolve in their own orbit. They are tightly matched and should each win a game.
  • The White Sox over the Cubs: The White Sox are still in the AL Central Race. The Cubs are simply playing baseball games. Philip Humber over Matt Garza.
  • The Indians over the Reds: Fausto Carmona and Homer Bailey cancel each other out with a bit of sucktitude. Going then with the Indians who seem to have the Reds' number.
  • The Mets over the Yankees: Dillon Gee and his magic bullets should be better than Bartolo Colon coming off of the DL. At least, that's the theory.
  • The Tigers over the Giants: The Tigers tee off on Barry Zito and his slow tosses while Max Scherzer shuts down the Giants.
  • The Braves over the Orioles: This one is difficult. Believe it or not, Tim Hudson is 3-14 lifetime in interleague play. Ugh! But he also beat the Blue Jays last time out with a really good performance. Ugh. Jake Arrieta leads the Orioles in wins. Ugh. But he only lasted five innings his last time out. Ugh again.
  • The Twins over the Brewers: Chris Narveson beat the Twins last time out. Carl Pavano lost to the Brewers his last time out. So...we'll go with the opposites today.
  • The Cardinals over the Bay Rays: The first question is: Which is the real Jeff Niemann? The one from his first start or the one from his last start? The second question is: Which is the real Kyle McClellan? We'll find out today.
  • The Rangers over the Marlins: Derek Holland should have no trouble beating Brad Hand. Stranger things have happened. But this is the right pick.
  • The Rockies over the Royals: What a mess this one is. Kyle Davies is back to torture Royal fans everywhere. And Matt Reynolds got called up from the minors to take Jhoulys Chacin's place. Royals will still lose.
  • The Athletics over the Diamondbacks: Josh Outman has a great name. The D-backs are slipping a bit. Joe Saunders has been good though. Remind the Fan why he does this feature every day?
  • The Dodgers over the Angels: In a battle of aces, Clayton Kershaw comes out slightly ahead of Jared Weaver.
  • The Padres over the Mariners: The Mariners do not score when Doug Fister is pitching. He has the lowest run support of any pitcher in baseball. The Padres counter with Cory Luebke, who is capable of five good innings.

And the Game of the Day!

  • The Red Sox over the Astros: The Red Sox seemed to make a decision last night to stop losing to lousy teams. Not real down with Andrew Miller starting, but the Red Sox will get it done versus J. A. Happ or the bullpen that follows him.

Yesterday: 8-7
Week: 41-37
Month: 8-7
Season: 661-561
Games of the Day: 59-34

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