Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Game Picks - Wednesday: July 20, 2011

Tuesday wasn't as successful as Sunday and Monday, but this picker still has a nice little week going. There were a couple of surprises that tripped up a few of the picks. Chris Perez blew a save and torched an amazing effort by Justin Masterson. The observation here is that blown saves seem to work both ways. The Indians loss via the blown save was offset by the Phillies winning off of a Cubs blown save. At least you can't blame Carlos Marmol for this one. The Blue Jays had to play fourteen innings to get that pick right. But no amount of innings could save the Marlins pick or the Red Sox pick. Joe Girardi never should have let Bartolo Colon start the seventh, but he did and that worked in the pick's favor but hurt this heart a little bit.

In other games, the Rangers hit several homers and Alexi Ogando pitched eight scoreless innings to secure that pick. Madison Bumgarner didn't walk anyone which allowed him to go deep into the game and beat the Dodgers to make the Game of the Day a winner. The Pirates didn't score four runs because Mike Leake was very good. But James McDonald was even better and the pick for the first place Pirates came in nicely. This picker should have seen the Mets winning as Jose Reyes simply provides a spark for that team. His return should have been noted and accounted for. It wasn't. Jordan Zimmermann's peripherals for the game were great, but the final results weren't. The Nats almost came all the way back but fell short. And finally, the Brewers and Tigers busted out their bats to bring those picks in.

A positive day. Not great, but positive. A few more days with picks at least that good would make this a banner week. Wednesday's picks:

  • The Red Sox over the Orioles: Yes, Jake Arrieta has nine wins. And yes, Andrew Miller is pitching for Boston. At least the Orioles can say they took one of the games. This games starts at 12:35!
  • The Twins over the Indians: Mauer is heating up and Nick Blackburn was pretty darn good his last time out. Josh Tomlin won his last start and had eleven wins, but he gave up five runs to the Orioles.
  • The Nationals over the Astros: The Jose Altuve era starts in Houston but Livan Hernandez should limit the Astros to four runs while the Nationals score five or more. Brett Myers gets the start for Houston.
  • The Phillies over the Cubs: Ryan Dempster has been consistently decent for the Cubs. Vance Worley has been consistently decent for the Phillies. The Phillies are simply the better team.
  • The Giants over the Dodgers: What a match up! Clayton Kershaw versus Tim Lincecum! Since the Giants are home and have the Panda hitting well and Belt contributing right off the bat and newcomer, Jeff Keppinger, let's go that way.
  • The Tigers over the Athletics: By all accounts, this pick should go to the A's. Brandon McCarthy is a known entity, but he's become a five inning pitcher. The Tigers start a kid making his major league debut with the unlikely name of Duane Below. Below has a 9-4 record in Triple A, but his peripherals don't blow you away.
  • The Blue Jays over the Mariners: Brandon Morrow is really good. Jason Vargas can be really good too. Toronto has the firepower at home to win.
  • The Bay Rays over the Yankees: David Price is terrific at home but he has had mixed results over the years against the Yankees. But you have to pick him when matched up with Freddie Garcia.
  • The Marlins over the Padres: This one is all gut feeling. Aaron Harang is due for a clunker after two scoreless starts off the DL. Ricky Nolasco has to feel good to know his team has no desire to trade him.
  • The Cardinals over the Mets: R. A. Dickey was a nice story for the Mets last year. This year has been a mess though. Kyle McClellan really needs to have a good game as his good start this year is petering out quite a bit in the last month or so.
  • The Royals over the White Sox: There's something about Bruce Chen that tantalizes hitters and yet he still wins. John Danks is making his first start since straining an oblique muscle. That's too dicey to pick.
  • The Rockies over the Braves: Coors Field is not a good place for the Braves nor Tim Hudson. Juan Nicasio with the win.
  • The Brewers over the Diamondbacks: Neither Chris Narveson or Joe Saunders instills a lot of confidence. But Braun is back in the line up. That seals this pick.
  • The Rangers over the Angels: Dan Haren is a worthy opponent, but going with Derek Holland, who has been smoking lately for the win.

And the Game of the Day!

  • The Pirates over the Reds: Okay, this Fan is officially on the bandwagon. Yeah, Johnny Cueto is pitching. But who cares. Weee! This is fun. Let's scratch our heads at Jeff Karstens again.

Yesterday: 9-6
Week: 29-13
Month: 129-96
Season: 793-657
Games of the Day: 69-39

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

wonderin what we'll do with Mac. he gets lefties out better than our lefties do, so maybe add a starter and bump him back to the pen?

Mozeliak did say he wanted ANY kind of pitching...