Game Picks - Sunday: April 29, 2012

Let's get this out of the way right from the start. Picking the Yankees to win when Freddy Garcia was starting goes down as the stupidest pick in the history of this feature. The day was above .500 but how much better could it have been if Stephen Strasburg had been given some runs and Adam Kennedy hasn't been let down by his bullpen? Strasburg has now started 22 games in his career and picked up his tenth no-decision. What a waste. Do you know what his ERA is in those ten no-decisions? How about 1.44. Again, what a waste. Two things must happen. One, the opposing pitcher really focuses because he knows Strasburg won't give up many runs. And secondly, his team plays tighter than a snare drum. The extra-inning loss to the Dodgers also ruined Bryce Harper's debut. The kid went one for three with a ribby from a sac fly.

Oh, there were some good picks in there. The Angels won...finally. The Reds won behind Johnny Cueto as predicted. The Mets won as predicted as did the Cardinals and Blue Jays on a big game from Brandon Morrow. Wei-Lin Chen was fantastic for the Orioles, but the pick was the A's. Oops. The Rangers did win behind Colby Lewis as predicted. Joe Maddon left Jeff Niemann in the game one inning too long. Jake Peavy held the Red Sox about as good as you can hold a hot hitting team. But Jon Lester was even better and the pick went south to the tune of a 1-0 Red Sox win.

The Game of the Day feature has been awful streaky. It was correct seven days in a row. Now it has been incorrect for three days in a row. The Nats were the Game of the Week pick. Matt Kemp ruined that with his walk-off homer. How good is Vin Scully? On the call, Scully announces the homer and then stays quiet as Kemp frolicked and the crowd chanted, "MVP!" Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. Scully is a national treasure.

Okay, Sunday, here we come. A new week begins. The Royals - Twins were rained out yesterday and won't make up the game on Sunday. So fifteen games it is. Here are the picks:

• The Angels over the Indians: This picker is calling it. Pujols hits his first homer of the year off of Derek Lowe. Ervin Santana wins his first game of the year too.
• The Yankees over the Tigers: This picker is still steamed that the Yanks pitched Garcia yesterday. What a crock. C.C. Sabathia beats Max Scherzer in the series finale.
• The Blue Jays over the Mariners: Henderson Alverez has pitched so well and has nothing to show for it. The Blue Jays fix that today and beat Jason Vargas.
• The Marlins over the Diamondbacks: If Josh Johnson pitches like he did last time, the Marlins win. Wade Miley is good too, but going with Johnson and the Fish at home.
• The Reds over the Astros: The Astros brought up Jordan Lyles to start the game. Won't work. The Reds will jump all over him and Mat Latos will win.
• The Cubs over the Phillies: Matt Garza should shut down the feeble Phillies attack and the Phillies start Kyle Kendrick. Not a good idea.
• The Athletics over the Orioles: Probably should go with the Orioles, but if Bartolo Colon is strong, the A's could steal this one as the Orioles start Tommy Hunter.
• The Pirates over the Braves: Tim Hudson makes his first start of the season off the DL. Never like those situations. Going with Kevin Corriea instead.
• The Royals over the Twins: Save pitching match up as yesterday. Bruce Chen still beats Jason Marquis.
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: Can you say, "Sweep"? Even with Zack Greinke going for the Brew Crew, they lose a tight one to Jaime Garcia and company.
• The Mets over the Rockies: This picker doesn't want either Jamie Moyer or Johan Santana to lose. Both great stories this season. But one of them wins and the other doesn't. Think it will be Santana.
• The Giants over the Padres: Still have no faith in Clayton Richard. On the other hand, there is a lot of faith in Madison Bumgarner. 
• The Nationals over the Dodgers: Let's try this again. Gio Gonzalez is back in California and has been terrific thus far. He matches up against Chris Capuano. This game will depend on how patient the Nats are with Capuano. And the Nats aren't the most patient of teams.
• The Rangers over the Bay Rays: David Price has picked it up a notch, but the Rangers should get to him. Derek Holland will have to be good though.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Red Sox over the White Sox: The Red Sox are not dead. They are doing the same thing as last year. Slow start and then boom. The White Sox have so many holes in the lineup, that Josh Beckett won't have any trouble. Gavin Floyd gets cuffed around a bit.

Yesterday: 8-6

Last Week: 51-39

Season: 175-137

Games of the Day: 14-9