Game Picks - Monday: August 22, 2011

Sunday was a kissing-your-sister kind of day. Yes, it was over .500, but just barely. There were lots of stupid picks and a couple of unlucky ones. Ubaldo Jimenez let this picker down (and his team) badly again. His season is officially in the disappointing category no matter what happens here on out.  The picks broke down thusly:

• Smart Picks: Red Sox, Yankees, Cardinals (the Game of the Day pick), Braves, Rockies and the Padres.
• Stupid Picks: Indians, Athletics, Rangers (oh yeah) and Orioles.
• Lucky Picks: Brewers and Bay Rays.
• Unlucky Picks: Phillies (rain ends Halladay's day early), Pirates (blown save) and the Astros. The Astros had them! Oh well.

There are eleven games on Monday's schedule including a day/night double-header in Pittsburgh. The picks:

• The Brewers and Pirates split their double header: Narveson is coming off the DL and faces Jeff Karstens in the first game. Zack Greinke should continue his dominance in the second game over emergency starter, Brad Lincoln.
• The Nationals over the Diamondbacks: The Nats are on a semi-roll including a big win over the Phillies yesterday. Ross Detwiler is not an elite pitcher, but he is solid and keeps his team in the game. Joe Saunders faces tough right-handed batters in the Nats' line up.
• The Indians over the Mariners: The Indians had a tough weekend against Detroit but Fausto Carmona has pitched much better of late. Meanwhile, Jason Vargas has been lit up lately.
• The Tigers over the Bay Rays: Great pitching match up of Justin Verlander versus the very hot Jeff Niemann. You just can't pick against Verlander these days.
• The Rangers over the Red Sox: The Rangers' right-handed bats should neutralize Erik Bedard and C.J. Wilson pitches well at home and faces a Red Sox line up without Ortiz and Youkilis.
• The Twins over the Orioles: Hard to know what to expect from Zach Britton coming off the disabled list. Carl Pavano seems like a safer pick. Ugh.
• The Braves over the Cubs: The Cubs have been playing much better, but Jair Jurrjens gets back on track with this one and beats Ryan Dempster, who is good at home.
• The Dodgers over the Cardinals: The Cardinals can't seem to keep a good thing going. Chris Carpenter has been much better but not dominant. Nathan Eovaldi has opened eyes for the Dodgers. If the young pitcher can hold down the Brewers' line up, he can do the same with the Cardinals.
• The Rockies over the Astros: Jhoulys Chacin will have to be on, but he should beat the Astros and Brett Myers.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Phillies over the Mets: Dillon Gee is the Mets' good luck charm, but they will need more than luck against Cliff Lee.

Yesterday: 8-7

Week: 8-7

Month: 165-119

Season: 1039-860

Games of the Day: 89-50