Talk about your roller-coaster week! Sunday was great. Monday was horrible
and then yesterday was terrific with only four incorrect picks. Of the four incorrect picks, the
Rays were an understandable one. Who expects that team to blow a save? But it happened.
The Red Sox pick was stupid in hindsight. The Diamondbacks pick was blinded by man-
love for Ian Kennedy. And for the Marlins, Josh Johnson did pitch a heck of a game, but
either Kyle Kendrick was fabulous or the Marlins' offense was terrible (or a combination of
both). The rest of the picks were spot on. The Jeremy Guthrie pick is probably the one this
picker is most proud of, with the Rockies' pick a close second.
Thomas Slocum, loyal reader, had a good day picking in his comments yesterday, though
he did not pick all the games. He called the results of Josh Beckett and Ian Kennedy spot
on.
Six of today's fifteen games are day games as Wednesday is getaway day in Major League
Baseball. As far as this picker is concerned, that makes Wednesday second only to Sunday
as the best day of the week. Here are Wednesday's picks:
- The Tigers over the Twins: A lot depends on the kind of outing Max Scherzer has. The kid has fabulous stuff but an inconsistent delivery. If he is on, this is an easy win for the Tigers. If he is not, then it could be a high scoring affair with Cole De Vries not able to hold down the Tigers. This picker had a dream last night where Leyland pinch hit for Prince Fielder against a lefty. Weird, eh?
- The Astros against the Cubs: Can the Astros really win two in a row? Against the Cubs they can. Bud Norris will have to be as good as his last start and Justin Germano only going five innings for the Cubs makes it hard for his team.
- The Rockies over the Brewers: John Axford has blown two of Mark Rogers' attempts for his first major league win. But Rogers will have trouble in Coors and it might not get to that this time. Guillermo Moscoso has pitched in Coors before and has something to prove as he is called up to take Pomeranz's place.
- The Mariners over the Bay Rays: Yeah, it looks like this picker has gone giddy with the Rays' loss yesterday. But it is Felix Hernandez tonight. They don't call him King Felix for nothing. Jeremy Hellickson is the Rays' weakest starter currently (which says something about how good that pitching staff is) and should give up a run or two. That might be all Hernandez needs.
- The Nationals over the Giants: Does this series feature some pitching or what? Last night's match-up was superb with Zimmermann and Bumgarner and tonight features Stephen Strasburg and Tim Lincecum. Going with Strasburg.
- The Orioles over the Red Sox: Okay. This picker has to admit that picking the Red Sox like they are a good team is not working very well. Perhaps it is time to face reality. AaRon Cook is always capable of a good BABIP game with his slow slop if the Orioles hit his pitches to fielders. But that is a hard way for a pitcher to make a living. Cook does not strike anyone out. He is the perfect Twins pitcher. Miguel Gonzalez is the kind of pitcher the Red Sox can hurt. But again...this is the Red Sox. Face reality, Tasker.
- Dodgers over the Pirates: Clayton Kershaw. Enough said. Wandy Rodriguez won't be able to keep up.
- The Yankees over the Rangers: This pick is not a ringing endorsement for the Yankees and never can be when Freddy Garcia starts. But the righty, Scott Feldman, puts the best lineup on the field for the Yankees and they should rake him at the Stadium. If Garcia can limit the damage to three runs in five innings, the Yankees should win.
- The Blue Jays over the White Sox: This is a sneaking suspicion that Ricky Romero is starting to get straightened out and if so, he is very good at home. Of course, the Blue Jays' current Triple-A lineup has to score some runs off of Gavin Floyd. If they don't get Floyd early, they won't late.
- The Reds over the Mets: Yes, R.A. Dickey starts this one for the Mets and yes, that should give his team a chance to win. But the Mets' offense has been invisible of late and Mike Leake gets the win. Wins like this is what winning teams do.
- The Braves over the Padres: It is very hard for this picker to trust Paul Maholm. But he has been solid all season, so it is getting harder to justify that mistrust. Edinson Volquez, on the other hand, has earned his mistrust.
- The Royals over the Athletics: The last time Will Smith pitched for the Royals, this picker scoffed and was made to look petty and stupid by the young hurler. So, naturally, this pick is the knee-jerk reaction going the other way. It's sort of like hitting the first putt too long and then hitting it short in compensation the next one. Brandon McCarthy goes for the A's.
- The Cardinals over the Diamondbacks: The Cardinals continue to seem like a playoff team. Adam Wainwright is a stud. Joe Saunders is occasionally decent. The Cardinals are at home. Yeah, that's the ticket.
- The Angels over the Indians: Who knows what to expect from Roberto Hernandez. Who is he, you ask? You remember him. He used to be Fausto Carmona. Oh! Yeah, him. His numbers look good in his rehab starts. But what does that mean? Ervin Santana has been bloody awful this season. But going with the Angels at home.
And the Game of the Day!
- The Phillies over the Marlins: The Fish are floating belly up in the tank. Roy Halladay has reeled off two classic Halladay starts in a row and should limit the Marlins to a run or two (if that). Mark Buehrle gives up three or four runs a game like clockwork. The math tells you the pick.
Yesterday: 11-4
Week: 24-17
Month: 109-85
Season; 951-765
Games of the Day: 72-54
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