Monday was just about as exciting a night as you could possibly imagine for a short schedule. First, Jason Giambi rocked the house with a walk off homer for the Rockies. Then there was a triple play by the Brewers in their win. The Mariners got back to back jacks to steal a win from the Blue Jays. Jason Isringhausen recorded his 300th career save. And last, but certainly not least, Jim Thome blasted homers 599 and 600. The pick tally caused by those events? Wrong, right, wrong, wrong, wrong. But who cares. Monday was a perfect night to be a Fan of Major League Baseball.
And what of all those incorrect picks? Well, they led to a mediocre night of picking but the total still came out in the positive. But again, all that was just meaningless compared to experiencing those plays. What a night of baseball!
And what makes baseball the greatest sport on earth? The very next night, there are more games and more magical moments to come: Tuesday's picks:
- The Red Sox and Bay Rays split their double-header: The Rays should find a way to win one of their games with James Shields and Jeff Niemann as their starters. Both have been red hot and the Bay Rays hit better on the road. The Red Sox counter with Jon Lester and Erik Bedard.
- The Phillies over the Diamondbacks: Yes, the Diamondbacks are the surprise team of the NL West, but they face Roy Halladay and can counter with only Josh Collmenter.
- The Reds over the Nationals: As much as this picker would love to see Chien-Ming Wang pitch well again, Mike Leake will get the win in this one.
- The Tigers over the Twins: Justin Verlander is amazing. What a year he is having. He shuts down the Twins while Nick Blackburn gets the loss.
- The Pirates over the Cardinals: The Fan is sad to report of the demise of the St. Louis Cardinals. They look sadly under the weather. Jeff Karstens should have the Cards beating the ball into the dirt all game and the Pirates scratch out a few runs on Chris Carpenter.
- The Braves over the Giants: Neither starting pitcher will last beyond four or five innings. The Braves should be able to win a slugfest that this game should be. Jonathan Sanchez versus Randall Delgado.
- The Astros over the Cubs: Brett Myers is 3-12. Got that. But he is 12-3 lifetime against the Cubs. That symmetry is enough to be a sign for this picker to pick him over Ryan Dempster.
- The Indians over the White Sox: Ubaldo Jimenez blows away White Sox hitters while Gavin Floyd pitches a decent game.
- The Brewers over the Dodgers: Yovani Gallardo keeps the ball rolling for the Brewers as they continue to win at home. Chad Billingsley has been only so-so lately for the Dodgers.
- The Rockies over the Marlins: Jhoulys Chacin was so good in his last outing that it's hard to pick against him here. Anibal Sanchez is a much better pitcher than his record.
- The Orioles over the Athletics: Brian Matusz has been pitching much better in the minors. Will it translate to the majors? We'll see. Guillermo Moscoso has had an up and down season. His last start was an up.
- The Mets over the Padres: Jonathan Niese threw 122 pitches in his last start, which is a bit scary for this start. But the Mets offense should be better than the Padres. Cory Luebke gets the start for the Friars.
- The Rangers over the Angels: A sweep would bury the Angels and the Rangers have it in sight with Derek Holland on the mound. Tyler Chatwood is a weak link in the Angels' rotation, which doesn't bode well.
- The Blue Jays over the Mariners: The Blue Jays are a puzzle lately. But they should win despite a Brad Mills start. Jason Vargas threw a lot of pitches his last start.
And the Game of the Day:
- The Yankees over the Royals: Ivan Nova is throwing the ball really well and the Yankees should beat Danny Duffy, though Duffy threw strikes for seven innings in his last outing.
Yesterday: 6-5
Week: 13-10
Month: 115-83
Season: 989-824
Games of the Day: 84-31
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