Monday started off in good shape as both ends of the Yankees - Indians double-header were called correctly. But the day only ended up with seven out of eleven correct. Only one A.J. won yesterday and I predicted both would. Picking Wade Miley and Joe Blanton to win did not work out very well. And I did not expect the Twins to totally bash the White Sox. And no, Jeff Keppinger still has not walked this season after 126 plate appearances. His batting average is .183 and his on-base percentage is .180. Incredible. Between he and Adam Dunn, they make quite a pair.
The week stands at a super blah 13-13. That needs to be fixed. Here are Tuesday's picks:
- The Indians over the Phillies: There is no DH for the Indians, but they should still have enough offense. Scott Kazmir is missing a ton of bats and gets better every game. I am rooting hard for the guy. Jonathan Pettibone has been pretty good for the Phillies. Not an easy pick to start off with.
- The Brewers over the Pirates: Another tough pick. Kyle Lohse will almost always keep his team in the game allowing his offense to take over. But will it? The offense has been spotty at best. Even so, it has been a better offense than the Pirates. Of course, I say that and the Pirates will explode today. Jeff Locke has been pretty good for the Pirates.
- The Yankees over the Mariners: This is a big time match-up between Felix Hernandez and C.C. Sabathia. King Felix always dominates the Yankees, so it will depend on if Sabathia can match the zeroes. If he can, it becomes a bullpen game and favors the Yankees. Curtis Granderson should be back for this one.
- The Blue Jays over the Giants: This has the feel of one of those Barry Zito clunkers that happen once in a while. The artificial surface and the power of Bautista and Encarnacion as right-handed batters just makes me feel that way. Of course, R.A. Dickey has to be better than he has been to make the pick come out alright.
- The Tigers over the Astros: Doug Fister was not good his last time out. But the Astros do not hit well and strike out a lot. The Tigers should score a few off of Lucas Harrell and win like 5-2 or something.
- The Bay Rays over the Red Sox: Matt Moore has been awesome, dude. And he could give the Red Sox fits. John Lackey has looked pretty good so far with just a bad luck happening here or there. I need to go with the Rays at home.
- The Reds over the Marlins: Homer Bailey should get double-digit strikeouts in this one as the big ballpark in Miami keeps his mistakes in the yard. Poor Ricky Nolasco keeps slinging it for the Marlins in a losing battle.
- The Cubs over the Rockies: Don't look now, but the Cubs are on fire! And the Rockies have fallen into a serious hitting funk. Carlos Villanueva will keep the Rockies in that funk and the Cubs will club Jeff Francis.
- The White Sox over the Twins: Why do I keep picking the White Sox? Am I nuts or what? In this case, I just think Jake Peavy is better than Kevin Correia. But the Twins are playing good baseball right now, so I am probably an idiot.
- The Mets over the Cardinals: This is a battle of pitchers with one-syllable names. Gee. Gast. I like the symmetry there. Heck, John Gast even has two one-syllable names. We will have to call Dillon Gee, "Dil." Now we need John Buck to catch for the Mets and Tony Cruz to catch for the Cardinals and we will be right near a record for low syllable matchups. @dianagram will be all over this.
- The Diamondbacks over the Braves: I will say it over and over again, but Kirk Gibson and those plucky D-backs are too stubborn. You. Need. To. Separate. Wade Miley and Patrick Corbin in the rotation. Corbin has much better stuff, but the deliveries are much too similar to give the other team the advantage to see both in a row. But Corbin still beats Julio Teheran.
- The Royals over the Angels: The Angels have been like nurses in Death Race 2000. Yeah, that is a sick thought. But anyway, Jeremy Guthrie has been so good. He has to be picked. Jason Vargas? Not so much. Billy Butler was five for five yesterday.
- The Rangers over the Athletics: The A's got the better of the Rangers last year and the only thing preventing the Rangers from running away with the division is the same thing happening this year. They have a chance to get off to a good start as Derek Holland is starting to pull it together and Bartolo Colon will throw 90 fastballs.
- The Dodgers over the Nationals: Dan Haren looked better in his last start and Clayton Kershaw has not been a guaranteed win for the Dodgers. But the latter gives the Dodgers their best chance to win, which is sad considering how big their budget is.
And the Game of the Day!
- The Orioles over the Padres: The Padres will get a DH. But who? The Orioles' offense can crush people and they might do that today against Andrew Cashner, who has been up and down. The Padres face Chris Tillman, who still confuses me.
Yesterday: 7-4
Week: 13-13
Month: 98-73
Season: 327-237
Games of the Day: 30-12
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