Thank goodness Monday was much better than Sunday. After a disastrous start to the week, Monday provided some recovery as only three picks were incorrect. One of those was picking against Boston. I never expected A.J. Griffin to pitch that badly. And I did not expect Jonathan Pettibone to pitch as well as he did for the Phillies. Or perhaps the Pirates' bats are that bad. The third bad pick was the Angels as their bullpen totally ralphed the game against the Rangers. But other than those three, it was a good night.
Of course there were two more postponements yesterday and of course they were in Minnesota and in Colorado. And of course, the Twins' postponement came against an interleague opponent. The scheduler should be fired. Both games will be attempted to be made up today in double-headers. So, there are seventeen games on the schedule. Wow! That is a lot of picking to do.
Tuesday:
- The Marlins over the Twins: I still think Ricky Nolasco beats Kevin Correia. That is, of course, if they play the game.
- The Rockies over the Braves: And I still think Coors Field makes a difference in this one. Jeff Francis has pitched there forever. Mike Minor has not.
- The Red Sox over the Athletics: This is not a lovely pitching match-up. For the A's, we have Bartolo Colon, or "Shrek" as my wife likes to call him. For the Red Sox, we have Alfredo Aceves. The Boston bullpen should be the difference.
- The Phillies over the Pirates: Cole Hamels has not pitched like the Cy Young Award pitcher I predicted he would be before the season. But he should be better than Jeff Locke. Neither team is hitting very well.
- The Cardinals over the Nationals: This is a tough one. I really like Ross Detwiler but the Nationals are sputtering out of the gate so far. And, Adam Wainwright has been fabulous so far this season. It is hard to pick against the Nationals at home, though, and that Cardinal bullpen worries me.
- The Blue Jays over the Orioles: Picking a knuckleball pitcher is so difficult because they are either very effective or absolutely terrible. R.A. Dickey has been both at times this season. The pick goes to the Blue Jays because Miguel Gonzalez has not been very good so far for the Orioles.
- The Tigers over the Royals: The Royals are not an automatic team to pick against this season. I like them actually. And I like the way Wade Davis has been pitching. But I think the Tigers will get to Davis and if Max Scherzer has a good day, the Royals won't hit anything.
- The Cubs over the Reds: Before you laugh at this one, both teams are in need of the starters going deep in the game after playing thirteen innings. Carlos Villanueva has averaged seven innings a start for the Cubs and the Reds have youngster, Tony Cingrani, pitching, which does not seem to be a likely long start. That is the rationale.
- The Dodgers over the Mets: Tough game to call again. Normally, the easy pick here would be Clayton Kershaw. But he has lost his last two. Jonathon Niese can be good at home and his Mets are hitting well. I have to go with Kershaw. If he is on, nobody can hit him.
- The White Sox over the Indians: This is an ugh game. I am not fond of Zach McAllister or Jose Quintana. But one of them has to win. This is a home town pick as that is the only advantage seen in this one.
- The Twins over the Marlins: I hate picking against the kid, Jose Fernandez. But I cannot see the Marlins sweeping a double-header and Mike Pelfrey has done a decent job for the Twins and should be good at home.
- The Mariners over the Astros: Hisashi Iwakuma has been fantastic and I dearly paid whenever picking against him. Bud Norris can be brilliant and he can be abominable. The trick is to figure out which day he will do which.
- The Rockies over the Braves: Look at me getting all jiggy with this pick. Julio Teheran has been a homer magnet in the big leagues. He is pitching today at Coors Field. Does that not seem to be a bad combination? Jon Garland makes me smile and I like that he has come back from the dead.
- The Rangers over the Angels: I do not care that the Angels are at home and are starting to hit the baseball. I simply cannot pick Jason Vargas against the Rangers. It is that simple. Alexi Ogando does not fill me with confidence either.
- The Brewers over the Padres: The Padres are a sad team right now and Clayton Richard, though often okay at home, should not be able to contain the Brewers. Yovani Gallardo, on the other hand, should not have much problem against the weak-hitting Padres.
- The Giants over the Diamondbacks: It is time for Matt Cain to break out of his funk and pitch like Matt Cain. His home ballpark is a good place to make that happen. Patrick Corbin is a good-looking young pitcher though for the Diamondbacks. If Cain is to win, it will be close and low-scoring.
And the Game of the Day!
- The Rays over the Yankees: The Yankees were 2-7 in Tropicana Field last year and 3-6 the year before that. They are already 0-1 this year. Tropicana is premium orange juice and the Yankees are pulp in that field. David Price over Phil Hughes.
Yesterday: 8-3
Week: 11-16
Month: 163-118
Games of the Day: 11-6
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