The night ended early for this picker as an early tee time beckoned and when that nightlight
was turned on, the Angels held a 7-0 lead and the Padres held a 4-1 lead. The former
sounded like a done deal while the latter at least seemed plausible. Except both teams lost.
That turned a 5-0 start to a good day into just a so-so day with the picks going 4-7 the rest of
the way out. Mr. Scioscia, you left C.J. Wilson in there a tad too long, don't you think?
And...of course...the Game of the Day was incorrect. AGAIN! Blast it all!
Speaking of blasts, can you imagine what it would be like if Giancarlo Stanton played all his
games at Coors? Snikey! The shortest of the six homers Stanton has hit there is 434 feet.
That was the shortest! That is mind boggling.
Sunday's picks:
- The Tigers over the Orioles: We start the picks with a real tough one. Doug Fister has been terrific in the second half. Wei-Yin Chen has been very good all season. Each team has taken a game of the series. Both are contenders that really want this game. Have no idea who will win.
- The Rangers over the Blue Jays: So...Matt Harrison's shortest outing of the season was back in May against these same Blue Jays. But that was a different bunch of Blue Jays' batters. Harrison should do better this time around. Henderson Alvarez did not walk anyone his last start against the White Sox. That bodes well. Are all the games going to be this difficult today?
- The Reds over the Cubs: Chris Volstad's season has become a train wreck and he is 0-9. This picker wrote about him this week. He has lost fourteen straight decisions going back to last year. In Volstad's first twelve starts this season, the Cubs have won only one of those games. That should make Mat Latos the favorite here, right?
- The Dodgers over the Braves: Both Chad Billingsley and Mike Minor have been great in the last month. So who to pick? Billingsley's hot streak has been more impressive, so let's go that way.
- The Diamondbacks over the Astros: This picker hopes the Astros lose every game the rest of the season. Brad Mills was a good guy doing a thankless job and he gets fired for his troubles. His team always played hard and never gave up even though they were outgunned every day. Pathetic. Ian Kennedy over Armando Galarraga.
- The Royals over the White Sox: Jeremy Guthrie is one very hot pitcher right now. The Royals are playing pretty well. Jose Quintana has looked good as a starter though.
- The Phillies over the Brewers: This picker has picked against Kyle Kendrick about six straight times and the pick has been wrong most of them. This picker is a slow learner. Randy Wolf, meanwhile, has been worth picking against.
- The Pirates over the Cardinals: Never like to pick a pitcher in his first outing back from a long DL stint. Jaime Garcia is such a pitcher making his first start back today. Jeff Karstens seems like a bad fit against the Cardinals, but sticking with the overall strategy employed along the way.
- The Marlins over the Rockies: Giancarlo Stanton better be in that lineup. He has to hit another one just for the fun of it. Drew Pomeranz has had some of the luster wear off his prospect card. Josh Johnson is very good, but will he be in Coors?
- The Rays over the Angels: The heck with picking the Angels in this series. See how far that strategy has worked out so far. [[sigh]]. Matt Moore has been amazingly good of late and who cares if Zack Greinke is starting for the Angels. The darned Rays never lose.
- The Athletics over the Indians: Jarrod Parker needs a bounce back start to make this pick work out. But he is capable of that and the Indians' offense is capable of it too. Justin Masterson has been the second most unpredictable pitcher on the Indians.
- The Giants over the Padres: Clayton Richard at home is tough to pick against. But the Padres' pick yesterday still burns in the brain. Besides, Ryan Vogelsong is a great pitcher.
- The Twins over the Mariners: Sam Deduno has walked the planet but always seems to get out of trouble. His 4-0 record is hard to pick against, especially as bad as Blake Beavan can be at times.
- The Red Sox over the Yankees: The Red Sox' infielders have already made 117 diving stops in the infield in the first two games of the series. Struggling players get hot against the Yankees and that will include Josh Beckett. Hiroki Kuroda has been the Yankees' best pitcher. But we'll see.
And the Game of the Day
- The Nationals over the Mets: Jeremy Hefner is not half bad as a starter. But Gio Gonzalez is a fifteen game winner thus far. The odds are good that the Nats' hurler gets his sixteenth win.
Yesterday: 9-7
Last week: 59-38
Month: 145-106
Season: 987-786
Games of the Day: 72-58
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