I am so bored with myself. Six straight days of mediocre, blah picking will do that. The week is only six picks above .500. Most of the days are above .500, but only slightly or barely. And yesterday was no different. Heck, I know you cannot predict what will happen in a baseball game. The mighty Red Sox can lose a game as Jon Lester was not quite as good as Chris Tillman. Yovani Gallardo can come back from the disabled list and be completely lights out. The poor pitching Angels can pitch a shutout against the Rays with Jason Vargas no less.
But still. Mediocrity day after day can get to you after a while.
Friday's picks:
- The Phillies over the Cubs: The Cubs will play their traditional Friday day game at home and those will be a lot more fun when the team is better. Jeff Samardzija is good enough to hold down the Phillies, but his team will not score against Roy Halladay, who is back and a welcomed sight (except in Chicago).
- The Yankees over the Orioles: I only pick the Yankees because they are at home where they have a better chance to win. All the Bronx team can really do at this point is act as spoilers. There are too many wildcard teams ahead of them. CC Sabathia over Miguel Gonzalez.
- The Nationals over the Mets: The Nationals are hot right now and the Mets are also playing pretty well. And Dillon Gee has been pitching better than Jordan Zimmermann has. But a hot Nats' lineup is much more imposing than a hot Mets' lineup.
- The Pirates over the Cardinals: The Cards have trouble against lefties. Francisco Liriano has been one of the hottest lefties in the game this season, even though he was humbled a bit in his last start. Shelby Miller can shut the Pirates down though. This game and this series will be interesting.
- The Blue Jays over the Royals: Mark Buehrle gets scoffed at pretty regular. But year after year, he is solid enough to make his mark. And he has been very good in the last month and a half. He can quickly shut down the Royals with an assortment of junk. Ervin Santana was pitching great, but has seemed to hit a wall lately.
- The Tigers over the Indians: The Tigers really spiked the Indians the last time they played and that was at the Indians' home park. This one is in Detroit. Rick Porcello goes against Zach McAllister which should be a pretty even pitching match-up.
- The Red Sox over the White Sox: I am hesitant to pick the Red Sox with Ryan Dempster on the mound. Despite his killer Harry Carey imitation, he has not pitched well this season. But this is the Red Sox we are talking about against the White Sox. Hector Santiago throws left-handed and that is the only reason he has a chance against the Red Sox. It sure seems like the Red Sox get more home games than anyone else.
- The Braves over the Marlins: Two young pitchers here. Julio Teheran goes for the Braves and the young phenom, Jose Fernandez, goes for the Marlins. If this game was in Miami, I would pick Fernandez every time. On the road, I will go with the Braves.
- The Angels over the Brewers: The Angels lose the DH in this series, but they really haven't had much of one since Albert Pujols went down anyway. Jered Weaver should win though the Brewers have been pesky lately. Wily Peralta goes for them.
- The Mariners over the Astros: This is a very exciting day for the Mariners and their fans as Taijuan Walker and his cool name and reputation takes the mound and makes his MLB debut. The #5 prospect in baseball has a big arm and his minor league numbers are a bit inflated because of the PCL. Brad Peacock goes for the Astros.
- The Reds over the Rockies: Bronson Arroyo pitching at Coors Field is a little frightening. But considering he is facing Jeff Manship, most reservations disappear.
- The Diamondbacks over the Giants: I really do not know how to pick this game. Tim Lincecum is so unpredictable and I don't like his chances in the desert air. Randall Delgado seems to have a better chance to me. But the D-backs have disappointed me all season.
- The Bay Rays over the Athletics: I get to rhyme this one if I say, "The Rays over the A's." But the good David Price better show up to make this prediction come true. Jarrod Parker is better at home though and that makes the pick more complicated.
- The Dodgers over the Padres: The Dodgers at home is always a good pick, even more so when Hyun-jin Ryu is pitching there. Eric Stults is going for the Padres. The Dodgers do need to just get over themselves about Puig though.
And the Game of the Day:
- The Rangers over the Twins: This seems like a mismatch, which is always frightening to me for some reason. Yu Darvish should completely dominate this game and Liam Hendriks is a 4-A kind of pitcher.
Yesterday; 5-4
Week: 35-29
Month: 222-169
Season: 1125-882
Games of the Day: 85-60 -2
No comments:
Post a Comment