Game Picks - Saturday: October 6, 2012

Holy cow! Got completely caught unawares today thinking the games did not start until tomorrow. Well, duh! It's a good thing, for once, that Major League Baseball wants so much to discourage our youth from falling in love with baseball to chase a few more dollars putting the games on at night. Their and the network's greed at least allowed the publishing of these picks before it was too late. Well, look at that! Not only did this paragraph explain why this post is so late, it also gave a political commentary on the current state of post season baseball. Bonus.

Yesterday was embarrassing. Not a single wild card pick was correct. Those plucky Orioles continued in their pluckiness and dethroned the 2010 and 2011 American League Champions. The Cardinals have started an entire new chapter of using the wild card and underdog status to make another run toward a second consecutive championship. To say this picker is on a really bad run is to put it mildly: Zero for two yesterday after finishing the last two days of the regular season at 11-19 and done much to ruin a perfectly good (if unknown) reputation.

Anyway, those picks better get made before it is too late to even bother. Here they are:

• The Tigers over the Athletics: No matter how charmed and impressive the A's run has been, how can you pick against Justin Verlander on any given game? The guy is simply the best pitcher in baseball right now. He has power, location and smarts. And one other thing that Jarrod Parker does not have--experience. Verlander has been here before. Plus, the game is in Detroit, so that won't hurt the Tigers' chances either.
• The Giants over the Reds: Every time the Reds are considered in this post season, the memory goes back to their last appearance against the Phillies when they were run over and pancaked. Yes, that was then and this is now but much of the Reds' team is the same as back then. Plus, their starting pitching is worrisome. But the Giants' pitching isn't as strong as its World Series run either. Oh, Matt Cain is still Matt Cain and that is why this pick is for the Giants. Him starting a series at home seems like a sure thing. Johnny Cueto seemed to lose steam at the end of the season. After tonight's game, the series is a crap shoot, but Cain was born to pitch playoff games.

Yesterday: 0-2

Post Season: 0-2

Season: 1333-1068