Game Picks - Sunday: August 7, 2011

The last two days were in the plus column thus ending the week in the plus column as well. But Friday was a much better day than Saturday. After two games in the Yankee - Red Sox series, this picker has gotten both picks wrong. Comically, the picks each day for the Reds have been wrong for a week as the Cubs keep cleaning their clocks. The Diamondbacks had a golden opportunity with the Phillies overwhelming the Giants all series but those D-backs simply couldn't take the bull by the horns. The Braves don't look like a contender at times and fell to the Mets. Brandon Morrow had a perfect game after five, but after Yunel Escobar messed up a play at short, Morrow had a loss after six. The A's put a beat down on the Bay Rays and Brandon McCarthy was better than this picker gave him credit for and that pick went bad. And finally, in the Rangers - Indians game, there was no scoring until the seventh inning. The Rangers won the inning, 4-3 but lost the game on a blown save by Neftali Feliz.

And so we head into a new week and a full day on the MLB schedule. Of course, the Yankees - Red Sox game will be the nationally televised game on ESPN. Well, duh. Here's how that game and the rest of the games should go:

• The Mets over the Braves: Dillon Gee has totally baffled the Braves three times and though Mike Minor has thrown well in the Braves' system, give the Mets the win.
• The Cardinals over the Marlins: Jaime Garcia must throw well on the road and the Cards need to get to Javier Vazquez to make this pick a good one.
• The Padres over the Pirates: The Pirates unfortunate slide continues as Kevin Correia has not been good of late. He is a better pitcher on the road however. Matt Latos should have a big game. This Fan thinks it all went downhill for the Pirates after they dumped Lyle Overbay. Just a thought...
• The Blue Jays over the Orioles: Alfredo Simon has been surprisingly good but Ricky Romero has been even better lately.
• The Bay Rays over the Athletics: The Rays are on this every other game thing. David Price has been disappointing, but he should beat a severely struggling Trevor Cahill.who has gone from ace to base.
• The Brewers over the Astros: The Brew Crew is on a serious roll and Zack Greinke keeps it going. Bud Norris is a good pitcher, but he had a blister problem his last outing.
• The White Sox over the Twins: Peavy was supposed to pitch yesterday but Zach Stewart got the call and was very good. Peavy hasn't won in a while and is due. Brian Duensing gets the loss.
• The Cubs over the Reds: Okay, the Fan cries, "Uncle," in this one. The Reds can't beat the Cubs. Randy Wells versus Bronson Arroyo.
• The Nationals over the Rockies: John Lannon hangs in there. Aaron Cook has a neck problem, but is still scheduled to pitch. We'll see.
• The Angels over the Mariners: Felix Hernandez doesn't have good success against the Angels and Ervin Santana has been unbelievable since early July.
• The Giants over the Phillies: Tim Lincecum saves the day with a good performance. Roy Oswalt makes his first start since mid-June and those kinds of starts always make this picker nervous.
• The Diamondbacks over the Dodgers: Ian Kennedy will win the battle of aces against Clayton Kershaw. Who knows how, but that's the pick. And yes, it's an emotional one and not a head pick.
• The Indians over the Rangers: Colby Lewis simply has not been reliable, mostly because of the long ball. Josh Tomlin, however, has been very reliable.
• The Red Sox over the Yankees: Josh Beckett either shuts the Yankees down entirely or the Yanks beat him the heck up. There never has been an in between. But the Red Sox love facing Freddie Garcia.. Red Sox back in first.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Tigers over the Royals: Bruce Chen's magic has lost its zen and a no-zen Chen won't get the "wen" against Max Scherzer.

Friday: 10-5

Saturday: 8-7

Last Week: 52-43

Month: 45-35

Season: 819-776

Games of the Day: 80-46