Last night's picks were like Julio Teheran's season. I would "win" one pick and then "lose" one. And that pattern kept up all night until near the end, I finally got two in a row to finish just one pick over .500. It was not a great start to the post-All Star Break. And the Game of the Day pick was wrong too, which has been rare lately as the Twins beat the Indians.
And how unexplainable is baseball when the Royals and Ervin Santana shut out the Tigers, 1-0, on two hits?
Oh well, back to the drawing board. Here are Saturday's picks:
- The Phillies over the Mets: Jeremy Hefner let me down yesterday. Here I go writing a glowing article about him and he gets crushed. With that painful memory in mind, I am not going to pick Zack Wheeler and will instead go with Cole Hamels, who is finally starting to win some games.
- The White Sox over the Braves: The White Sox will have a nice day off of Paul Maholm and Jake Peavy is back in the rotation to shut down the Braves.
- The Red Sox over the Yankees: Now Almonte is hurt. The Yankees have had lots of luck, but it has been all bad. And yet Fox is still broadcasting the game because it is, "The Rivalry." The news is, Fox, that the Yankees have become the least entertaining club on the planet. Have fun making this one shine. John Lackey over Hiroki Kuroda.
- The Reds over the Pirates: Oh dear, here we go. Pirate angst will start to build. When is the last time A.J. Burnett won a game? It seems like forever. Mat Latos hasn't had any trouble winning at all. This one is all Reds.
- The Dodgers over the Nationals: It is time to face facts. The Nats are not going to come back, are they? They just cannot put it together. Meanwhile, the Dodgers cannot seem to lose lately. Zack Greinke over Gio Gonzalez.
- The Indians over the Twins: The Indians sure are confusing. Are they a good team? Can they contend? One day you say yes and the next you say no. Corey Kluber is just as perplexing. There are times he looks unbeatable and others where he gets knocked silly. I still think he is a better pick than Kevin Correia.
- The Tigers over the Royals: Will Justin Verlander look anything like Justin Verlander? If so, will the Tigers score off of Jeremy Guthrie? The questions abound. The Tigers should win. But that is what I said yesterday.
- The Brewers over the Marlins: Nathan Eovaldi has pitched really well thus far for the Marlins. But can you believe in it? I cannot. He still seems like a 4-A pitcher to me. Yovani Gallardo is solid at home and the only question is whether he will be traded.
- The Mariners over the Astros: Bud Norris sure made a case for himself yesterday to get traded. Not. Erik Bedard will not be coveted by anyone. Perhaps the rest has been good for Hisashi Iwakuma who had a rough patch there for a while.
- The Cardinals over the Padres: The Cards' bullpen was awful yesterday and they still won easily. Lance Lynn is better than Jake Westbrook, who won. So you should figure on Lynn winning too. Edinson Volquez has been better this year though.
- The Rockies over the Cubs: This is the same way I picked the game yesterday and the Cubs won. But Jeff Samardzija is capable of a shutdown game and he had one. I am not so sure Carlos Villanueva can do the same. Juan Nicasio goes for the Rockies.
- The Orioles over the Rangers: Picking against the Orioles like I did yesterday is not a good way to have success. The Orioles are a good team all around and it is okay if Chris Davis strikes out three times in four at bats. There are others that can pick him up. Miguel Gonzalez over Ross Wolf.
- The Giants over the Diamondbacks: The Giants' pitching is rounding into form finally and Matt Cain should keep that going today. Wade Miley can have a good game, but he is nowhere near where he was last year.
- The Angels over the Athletics: Josh Hamilton is slowing putting it together. This pick totally depends on C.J. Wilson having a good game. That is not comforting. Dan Straily sure has been good for a guy who cannot stick in the A's rotation for very long.
And the Game of the Day:
- The Bay Rays over the Blue Jays: I thought the Jays were going to win yesterday. But then the Rays hit four solo homers to tie and then pull away to win. Jeremy Hellickson has been solid for a month and a half now and should win this one unless Mark Buehrle has a good BABIP game.
Yesterday: 8-7
Week: 16-15
Month: 127-86
Season: 804-622
Games of the Day: 63-41
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